Trip Report: An Evening Safari

If you missed the last update you can check it out here.

My cousins (Scott & Shelly) were going on Flight of Passage with their oldest. So, they asked if we could watch their youngest-Hayley. We said sure and we would take her on the safari. Two-year-olds love animals, right?

Dad held her and she promptly fell asleep. Kids can be heavy when their dead weight. I tried carrying her and lasted like 30 seconds. 

It was really cool to see the safari at night/dusk. We were able to watch the sunset and saw 3 lions. It was a pretty bumpy ride. I probably only noticed because I was worried it would wake-up Hayley. She didn't wake-up-she was dead to the world.

Then, we were off to Pandora to see it at night. Plus, we had to return Hayley to her parents.

It was cool to see the bio-luminescence but it was kind of underwhelming. People probably oversold this land at night.

I bought the Night Blossom drink to give it a try. It was ok, but just a little too rich for me. I would have preferred a lemonade over limeade, too. I only drank about half of it. But I'm glad I gave it a try.

Up next: Will We Be Rained Out Again?

Trip Report: Dining With Character

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It was dinner time. For some reason we didn't know Tusker House was a character meal so that was a nice bonus. Areana had been getting a ton of autographs so it worked out nicely for her, too.

The food was ok. It just wasn't necessarily my style. The dessert was really good-there was a strawberry thing I particularly liked. 

The characters were great-especially Daisy. She was twirling around and showing off her outfit. Daisy actually stopped by our table twice. The other characters were Goofy, Donald, and Mickey.

Oh, I almost forgot: they serve Jungle Juice here. We got unlimited refills which was awesome.

After dinner, our group parted ways. My cousins were off to use FastPasses they had for Expedition Everest.

We would be getting back together later for another safari ride.

The parents and I ended up at the Maharajah Jungle Trek. It would be closing soon and some of the animals already went inside.

There was only one tiger-a male. I love seeing the tigers. The female tiger was inside with the babies. He obviously wanted to go in with them.

We did see a crap-ton of birds which were cool to look at. 

Then, we went to take in the Tree of Life gardens. Denise wanted to rest so it was just dad and I walking around.

We started with the animals carved in the tree. I don't know when I last really looked at all those details. It's amazing to think how much effort and imagination went into this design.

There weren't a ton of animals out in the trails. We did see a bunch of fish. We saw some lesser flamingos which are more pink than the greater flamingos you see on the safari.

It was nice to take all this in. And there was barely anyone on the tour.

Up next: An Evening Safari

Trip Report: Flight of Passage

If you missed the last update you can check it out here.

I picked up a Mickey pretzel to try and pick me up before our Safari FastPasses.

Our safari driver was better than our last one. They really got in to the shaky bridge part which was good. 

Then, we met up with my cousins-Jorge, Amy, and their daughter Areana. We were lucky to get FastPasses for Flight of Passage at the same time. We hadn't even tried to do that.

I was sad about not seeing the queue. Everyone says the queue is amazing. I'm sure I'll see it in person someday, but there's no way I'm waiting for 2-3 hours to see it.

The ride was pretty spectacular. It reminds me of Soarin' but better. And i'm more comfortable in this one because you're strapped in real tight and have something to hold on to. I think it's best to go in with limited knowledge and just experience it so I won't say much about it. I definitely screamed but in excitement not terror. My dad said it is his new favorite ride and that's really saying something.

We hung out by WindTraders so I could call Disney Dining. Earlier in the week we had made Rivers of Light dinner package reservations at Tusker House. Now, we were trying to add my cousins. I was successful in making the change

So we stayed in Pandora for a little while to relax and take everything in before we were headed to dinner.

Up next: Dining with Character

Trip Report: The Saddest Sight You'll Ever See

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Today is the last full day. I woke up a little after 8 (before my alarm) and started getting myself around. We were planning to meet at Animal Kingdom around noon so I had a lot of time.

I showered, ate breakfast, and then started packing. I figured it would save me time that night.

I was also starting to feel the Disney blues. 

Around 10:20 I left the room. And there was the saddest thing hanging on my door. It was my check-out/Magical Express paperwork.

I got some Fanta from the food court and then hung out at the main pool. I thought about checking out the other sections of the resort, but wasn't feeling very driven to.

A little after 11 I got in the line for the bus and was off to the park.

First thing I did when I got in the park was head to a gift shop. They were supposed to have a cutting board. I had looked it up on the Shop Disney Parks App. But they didn't have it.

After that disappointment, I was off to Flights of Wonder to make up with my family. They showed up a little after noon.

We watched some of the pre-show-or I would call it that. There was a castmember standing outside the theater with an owl and he was giving out owl facts. I really love Flights of Wonder and I'm sad it has been replaced. I will remain open-minded for the new Up themed show.

Up next: Flight of Passage

Trip Report: Wrapping Up the Night

If you missed the last update, you can check it out here.

From Hollywood Studios, we caught a bus to Wilderness Lodge. Our plan was to eat dinner there. It took quite awhile to get a bus and I don't complain about Disney transportation easily-see earlier rant. There were 5 Saratoga Springs busses that left empty before we got our bus.

There was a duck waiting in line with us which was cute.

This is a good time for another PSA: don't feed the animals.

But we did eventually get a bus and were off to the resort. My parents talked to a nice couple with 3 kids. Their kids were beautiful and the youngest was performing Disney songs for us.

Once at the hotel, we headed straight to Geyser Point and grabbed a table. I ordered a water (gotta stay hydrated) and the smoked turkey sandwich. It tasted OK, but I was starting to crash again. Plus, I was still a little full from my milkshake.

The restaurant/bar is a nice place to hang out. There was a nice breeze off the water.

Then, we went to the boat dock. The plan was to catch the electrical water pageant which is a favorite of my dad's. I was too tired and needed to get back to my room.

While we waited four our boats (Contemporary for them and Magic Kingdom for me) we were swarmed by bugs. A boat captain told us they're called midges. They don't bite, but are very annoying.

My parents left first. My boat stopped at Fort Wilderness before heading to Magic Kingdom.

There was a Halloween Party scheduled for that night. There was a family of five behind me dressed like Star Wars characters. The parents were Han and Leia while the kids were Luke, Chewie, and Darth Vader. They were very cute. It was nice to see some of the party lighting and stuff from outside the park.

I did have to go through security to get to the bus stop. It was painless and after a 5-10 minute wait I caught a bus. 

At the hotel, I stopped at the gift shop to pick up packages I sent back to the hotel. In the room, I prepped a little for the next day and then went to bed. My plan was to sleep in the next day.

Up next: The Saddest Sight You'll Ever See

Trip Report: More Family Time

If you missed the last update, you can read it here.

After our second snack at Baseline Taphouse we decided to use one of our complimentary FastPasses at Toy Story Midway Mania. We happened to run into some family who also had FastPasses.

Hayden, one of my cousin's kids wanted to ride with Mr. Grumpy Pants (my dad) so I rode with my stepmom. I did pretty good for me and was best in the vehicle with 141,000 points.

Hayden and family had FastPasses/Rider Swap tickets for Tower of Terror. My stepmom decided to use her last bonus FastPass to go with them.

First, we had to stop so the little ones could meet Sophia from Sophia the First. Then, it was off to the Tower of Terror.

It was time for the baby to have a bottle. Since dad and I both aren't fans of Tower of Terror we said we would take care of her so both her parents (Dan & Lisa) could go for a ride.

Apparently, Hayden has no fear and liked riding with my stepmom. He was asking her to ride Expedition  Everest with him tomorrow. We all chatted for a little while and then parted ways again.

Before leaving, we stopped at the Tune-In Lounge. I wanted to try the PB&J milkshake. I've heard so much about them. It was good and the flavor wasn't overpowering like some can be. And it was super-filling-I couldn't even finish it.

Then, it was goodbye, Hollywood Studios. Nice knowing you!

Up next: Wrapping Up the Night