Trip Report: Seeing More Animals

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

When we got off our tour, our FastPass for Dinosaur was ready so we were off to Dinoland. The line was kind of long, but moved fast. Does Bill Nye still have a part? I didn't hear him and know he and Disney were having some issues.

I know this pre-show video and ride way too well. I can recite the whole thing. #NoShame. But it's a classic and I love the smell in the boarding area-is that weird?

Things were working out because then our FP for Nav'i River Journey were ready. This line was a little long, too, but it's actually short, so the line can be kind of misleading.

This ride is very pretty. And after riding it twice, I will say I think it gets better as it goes on. Like you get more entranced as you go through-or at least I do. 

It was still peak lunch hour when we get off and we like eating during off hours to avoid crowds. So, we hit up the Gorilla Trail.

You may have noticed by now that we don't tour the parks very efficiently when it comes to the walking.

The Gorilla Trail-formerly Pangani Exploration trail-is nice, but I prefer the other one. But I really like tigers and bats. 

I like seeing the naked mole rats and I got to see the second-biggest bullfrog species. My parents always have a frog on their porch so it was nice to see his cousin.

My stepmom could watch the gorillas for hours. They were pretty cool today. There were some younger ones which kept wrestling. They would separate and then charge each other again. At one point, it looked like one was put in time out by one of the adults and was pouting. It was cute.

Up next: Flame Tree Again

Trip Report: More Elephant Fun (10/17)

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

Let's start with some more facts about the elephants at the Animal Kingdom.

The matriarch is 38 and 9,000 pounds. They said female elephants are normally around 8,000 pounds so she's super big. And the matriarch's aren't necessarily the oldest, but they are the wisest. Which makes sense to me.

Then there's Nadira who is one of the daughters. She's very tall and leggy. Her mom is Donna. Donna is also baby Stella's mom. Stella is 10 months old (as of our visit) and 900 pounds. Apparently they will nurse for 2-3 years.

One of the male elephants is 12,000 pounds so that's big!

We also got to talk to an African ambassador. Her name was Kathleen and she was from South Africa. She was finishing up her year and Disney and would be leaving in just 4 days. But she was hoping to get her green card and come back to the States.

She told us about the dangers elephants face in Africa. And how they impact the ecosystem since they are a keystone species. African farmers have started using these cool bee hives to discourage elephants from trampling on their land.

I highly recommend this tour. Plus, all the proceeds go to the Disney conservation fund. My dad actually said he feels bad about using the DVC discount. So, he planned to make a donation when we got home.

Up next: Seeing More Animals 

Trip Report: Caring for Giants (10/17)

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

Another day, another late start. Our only plan for the morning was a tour at 11 at the Animal Kingdom. We were going to meet there at 10:30.

I left for the bus stop a little after 9:30. There were several people in line and the monitor didn't even have a time for the next Animal Kingdom bus.

Dun dun dun...

Something must have been up because I was texting with my dad and he said the same thing was happening at the Contemporary.

Eventually 3 buses showed up and I just barely got on the first one. I couldn't even hold onto the bars and had to grab the straps instead. It was quite the ab and bicep workout.

But I did get to the park on time and waited for my parents by the tour check-in.

At 11 our Caring for Giants tour started. The check-in and start is near Kilimanjaro Safaris. 

We were taken backstage by Kendal. He was a nice and enthusiastic guy. Of course, we weren't allowed to take any pictures backstage.

Kendal told us about Disney's composting program since we drove behind Tusker House. Then we drove by the night barns. Apparently the elephants come in every night because they like the A/C. And they know and answer to their names. But the crocodiles never come in. And they don't answer to their names if you were wondering. 

Then, he handed us over to our animal guide, Amber. Now, we were able to start taking pictures and video.

Your basically just on the other side of the elephant enclosures that you pass on the safari. We were able to see the trucks driving by.

There are 10 elephants-7 females and 2 males/bachelors. And that includes the baby-Stella. They are a matriarchal animal and we heard some fun stories about the herd matriarch. I think they said her name was Rafiki or Fiki...something like that.

I have so many notes about the tour, this will have to continue in another update.

Up next: More elephant fun

Trip Report: Curds & Whey...er Gravy (10/18)

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

Dad and I finished up golfing around 4:30. We had no plans until 8 which was dinner reservations at Splittsville.

Originally we were planning on going back to the hotel, but I suggested just going straight to Disney Springs. I knew we were planning on shopping and thought it would be better to do this before dinner. Plus, I didn't want to travel for over an hour on a bus to rest in a hotel room for 30 minutes.

I convinced them, so we spent a few more minutes at the Swan. My dad and I drank some Powerade to get those electrolytes back up.

Then, we caught a bus to Disney Springs.

Our first stop when we got there was the Daily Poutine. We got a regular poutine to share. And we each got a watermelon lemonade-Odwalla of course.

It was a nice little snack to tide us over until our dinner. And the lemonade was very refreshing.

Then, we were ready to shop.

Uniqlo was cool but a little bit of a bust for us. I bought a few things at World of Disney. Does anyone else always get lost in this store? I picked up some bath salts and bath bombs at Basin.

I stopped in the Co-Op. I got 3 postcards from the Wonderground Gallery. The dresses at Cherry Tree Lane are just beautiful and totally my aesthetic.

Then, it was off to Splittsville.

We got the loaded fries as an appetizer. My entree was the taco salad sans jalapenos-I just don't like the taste of peppers. 

The taco salad was good, but the fries were better. They were very salty but I'm very OK with that.

Originally, we were going to try bowling, but we were too tired. So at about 9:30 we headed to our respective hotels. 

Steps Walked: 17,178

Up Next: Caring for Giants

Trip Report: More New Things (10/17)

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

We waited for about ten minutes for a boat at the International Gateway. We were able to get seats in the back/outside. Those Crescent Lake boats can be stuffy inside so that was good.

There was a short sun shower while we were docked at the Beach Club, but what are you going to do.

Eventually, we got to the Dolphin resort which was where we thought we needed to be for mini-golf.

Turns out we actually needed to be at the Swan. So, we walked over. It took a little bit to figure out how to start the walk but it wasn't bad. Denise decided to stay at the hotel to rest in the AC. 

Dad and I made the one minute walk from the Swan to the mini-golf course. 

They said it would be a 10 minute wait and we could hang out in the arcade since there was AC.

That was a horrible idea. When we were waved out 5 minutes later, the heat and humid was extra oppressive.

We did what we call the fun course with the fantastical Fantasia elements.

We had fun even with the heat. Some of the holes were easier than others. I had one really bad one-score of 3- and 3 hole in ones (holes in one?). 

There was a family of four in front of us so we usually had to wait a couple minutes for them to finish. This helped because we were able to see their play discussions and assess our options.

My dad won at 50 and I had 56. He was 3 under par.

My favorite holes were the inside one because it was cooler and the one were the cherub plays music when you get the ball in.

After years of saying we would do this-finally did! I highly recommend it. It is totally worth it and there are AP/DVC discounts. 

Up next: Curds and Whey...er Gravy