Tag Archives: Animal Kingdom

Disney’s Animal Kingdom – Yak and Yeti

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RM-Yak-&-Yeti-AccessoriesI’m not a big fan of fast food or counter-service restaurants at home.  When I’m not on vacation, I probably don’t eat at a fast food place once a month.  I like to cook and I try to avoid fried and processed foods.  I like to think we save money by not eating out much.  I also figure if we eat well most of the time, we earn the right to splurge a bit (or a lot) when we go to Disney World.

I’m not the person who can tell you where on Disney property to find the best hamburger or pizza.  I’ve only eaten one Disney World hamburger (Olivia’s Duval Street Burger at Old Key West and it was spectacular).  Anytime I’ve tried pizza, I’ve been remarkably disappointed.  Pizza and hamburgers aside, there are some mighty good counter-service eateries to be found at Disney World.  You just have to know where they are.

Let’s talk Animal Kingdom.  Personally, I’m hoping for the addition of more counter-service choices as the park expands.  In October, Raymond and I found ourselves there and in dire need of a late, but not too heavy, lunch.  Normally, we’re Flame Tree Barbeque fans, but I’d heard that Yak & Yeti had a quick-service counter serving a variety of Pan-Asian menu items that were both tasty and inexpensive (relatively speaking, of course).  We had FastPasses for Expedition Everest, so grabbing a bite in the park’s Asia section was convenient.RM-Yak&Yeti

As with everything in Animal Kingdom, the Yak & Yeti’s exterior is full of fun and interesting details.  Unlike most restaurants at Walt Disney World which are either table service OR counter service, the Yak & Yeti is both.  Inside is a sit down restaurant, outside is a quick-service counter. RM-Yak-&-Yeti-Menu-Blue

Because it was so late in the day, we skipped the main menu items and ordered from the “Sides” section.  We each ordered the Chicken Fried Rice ($3.99 ea.) and we got an order of two eggrolls ($5.49) to share.  To wash it down, we added two Safari Ambers ($7.00 ea.).RM-Yak-&-Yeti-Seating

Nearby, we found a covered seating area filled with large tables and soon found ourselves sitting with a friendly family from Alabama.  It was warm out, but the shade and cold beer helped a lot.  Too much food!  Can you believe it?  I ate only half of the rice and my eggroll and was full.  The food was good, the beer refreshing.  Not gourmet or fancy, but our meal at Yak & Yeti was satisfying and tasty. RM-Yak-&-Yeti-Fried-Rice RM-Yak-&-Yeti-Eggroll

Have you tried the Yak & Yeti?  What did you think? For more pictures and full menu information, visit the Yak & Yeti website here.

The Current State of Animal Kingdom

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RM-Animal-Kingdom-Construction-WallsFirst I’ve got to tell you that I am totally and completely excited about the transformation that is underway at Disney’s Animal Kingdom park.  When construction is complete, there will be much more to see and do – and more time for doing it!  We’ll have Pandora and all the certain wonders that will offer, we’ll have a nighttime show and extended park hours, we’ll most likely have more dining and shopping options to choose from.  There’s nothing I’m not loving about the future of Animal Kingdom.

The present, though, is painful.  You can still visit the park and have a great time, but if you’re a regular visitor like me, the construction walls and the closed-in feeling they create is hard to take.  The view-obstructing equipment is an eyesore.  RM-Animal-Kingdom-Construction-EquipmentOn our last visit, we still had fun on Expedition Everest and the Kilimanjaro Safari, but a big part of Animal Kingdom’s charm is missing right now.  That’s because, for me, one of the highlights of being at Animal Kingdom is walking through the different sections – Asia, Africa, and Dinoland – and taking in some of the most awesome details Disney Imagineering has ever introduced.  Short-term sacrifice, long-term gain, I know, I know.RM-Pangani-Forest

While we were there, the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail was undergoing refurbishment.  The entrance was closed and guests were being directed to enter the trail via the exit.  This area of the park is a must-see for me and this time I was especially interested in taking the trail due to the recent birth of not one, but two baby gorillas.  So, even knowing that the underwater hippo viewing area and the aviary would be closed, I still wanted to try to spot one of the new babies.

Boy, was it crowded!  Since the exit was now both entrance and exit, there was no flow of traffic and it was chaotic.  People were basically just standing around in large groups, mostly watching one of three exhibits (as far as I could tell) – The two gorilla enclosures and the meerkat area.Gorilla at Animal Kingdom WDW

The male gorilla exhibit is always popular and that day was no exception.  Those guys are just fun to watch – it doesn’t matter if they’re just sitting or eating or using a bowl to get a drink of water from the stream that runs through their forested hillside – those big, strong gorillas are fascinating!RM-Meerkat-Feast

In the meerkat viewing area, a Cast Member was sitting in the middle of the enclosure feeding meerkats what looked like chunks of raw chicken from what looked like a giant pair of tweezers.  The Cast Member would use the chicken bits to lure the meerkats up onto some small platforms for better viewing by the audience.  I’d never seen anything like this and enjoyed watching for quite a while.  Those little guys are pretty cute.RM-Two-Gorillas-and-Baby

The area I’d specifically come to see – The female gorilla area – was the most crowded place of all, and with good reason.  RM-Gorilla-and-Baby-in-GrassBoth new mothers had their babies out to play on the grass.  In the center of the area, one mother and baby were accompanied by another gorilla and both adults were completely captivated by the baby who was lying on her (his?) back on the grass between them.RM-Gorilla-and-Baby The other mother and baby were way over to the very left side of the viewing window.  This mom seemed content to let her baby, unsteady and wobbly though it was, explore the grass in front of where she was sitting.  RM-Gorilla-Holding-BabyWhen the baby took a tumble, his (her?) mom was there with a quick cuddle.  I was thrilled to get to see these beautiful, loving animals at such a special time.

Braving the current state of Animal Kingdom takes some patience.  The core of the park is still there to enjoy, even if it’s disguised by those darned construction walls!  I know in the end, it will all be worth the inconvenience and the anticipation.  Have you been to Animal Kingdom lately?  What was your experience there?

October in Walt Disney World – Trip Review

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Magic Kingdom Entrance in OctoberIt was the best of times – two adults, seven days, the World was our oyster.  We’d planned some special events for this trip to celebrate our 25th Wedding Anniversary and we enjoyed each and every one of them, though admittedly some more than others.

We purchased Memory Maker (see first review here) to make sure we ended up with some non-selfies to commemorate the occasion (full 2nd Memory Maker review to follow) and booked dining reservations at some places we had not tried before.  After all was said and done, I’d summarize our adventures into three categories:  The VERY Best, the Just Okay, and the Could Have Been Better.  These were our experiences only – your own may be completely different and isn’t that so much a part of what we love about Walt Disney World?  Something for everyone!  Note:  Over the next couple of weeks, I will write detailed reviews of each experience.

The VERY Best:

Citricos (Grand Floridian Resort and Spa), the California Grill (The Contemporary Resort) and IMG_5997Sanaa (Animal Kingdom’s Kidani Village) – We enjoyed our meals at these three restaurants and thought the food, service and atmosphere were all perfect.

Epcot’s International Food & Wine Festival – The food/beverage booths were wonderful and the entire experience was a lot of fun.  We might not have gotten to each item on our wish list, but every morsel we tried was delectable!  We will be doing this again!

Bay Lake Tower – Our studio on the 3rd floor was exactly right for us.  It was roomy with an excellent view of Bay Lake.  Sunrise was incredible!  At first, I was a little disappointed at not being higher up, but once I realized that the Electrical Water Pageant would be happily making its way along Bay Lake’s shore each night where I could see (and hear) it well, I was more than happy with our location.  The distance between Bay Lake Tower’s front door and the bag check area in Magic Kingdom is exactly a half a mile.  Loved the walk!

IMG_5906Senses Spa Massage for Two (Grand Floridian) – Worth every penny.  The spa is gorgeous and we felt very special and pampered.  The massage was incredibly relaxing and we could not have asked for a more luxurious setting.

The Weather – We had one rainy afternoon and a bit of rain the next morning.  Compared to the Florida weather in the weeks leading up to our visit, this was as perfect as we could have wished for.  Having never been to Florida in October, I was captivated by the sky – breathtaking sunrises and sunsets with the most amazingly perfect blue skies and fluffy white clouds during the day.  The warm days and cool-ish evenings were wonderful.

Getting SOAKED on Splash Mountain, Drying off on the PeopleMover – What can I say?  We were in the very first log of the day on Splash – got over-the-head-in-our-faces sopping wet and PeopleMoverthen had the PeopleMover nearly to ourselves to cruise around and air dry.  Can you think of a more fun way to start the day?

The Just Okay

Be Our Guest – Yes, it’s beautiful inside!  It’s also very pricey and the food, while okay, was the poorest aspect of dining there.  We ate there for both lunch and dinner and, for the money, we could have eaten much better meals.  The West Wing (dinner) was unbelievably dark….like pitch black.  We couldn’t believe the servers weren’t running into each other, guests, tables, etc.  At lunch, the food was not as good as at dinner, but the seating location was better (we got to sit where we wanted).  Again, a full review will follow, but if you’re going just to see the inside, try to get a lunch reservation and order whatever is the least expensive menu option.  NOTE:  The Cast Members we encountered here were outstanding.

The Italian Food & Wine Pairing – This was in Via Napoli in Epcot’s Italy Pavilion and the seating took place in a large, open, extremely noisy space.  We had wonderful tablemates and would have loved talking to them more, but we couldn’t hear each other AT ALL!  The fare was just okay.  Having never been to an event of this type before, I’m not sure what I was expecting, but I did think it would be more enjoyable.  The French Regional Lunch we tried at Monsieur Paul (France Pavilion) was much better.

MNSSHP CastleMickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party – All I could think about was how much more I would have loved it if our children (even though they’re grown) had been with us.  We liked dressing up and enjoyed the short waits for the attractions.  The fireworks and parade were very well done, but not being big on sweets, we didn’t pick up a single treat.  I do know that attending on the 6th night of our stay meant we were pretty wiped out to begin with.  Maybe we’d have liked it more if we’d been more perky.  I’d try the party again, but with more than just the two of us.

Could Have Been Better

My Disney Experience / Disney’s Computer System – Still very glitchy.  My app actually showed MDE App Glitch“closed” for every single Magic Kingdom attraction for much of a day – many rides were down at one time  (Pirates, PhilharMagic, Small World, Pooh), but certainly not all of them.  On that same day, we were told before leaving Bay Lake Tower that Walt Disney World’s entire computer system was having issues.  I don’t know if that was related to why so many attractions were closed, but the wait times at the remaining attractions were pushed way up as a result.  We left Magic Kingdom, hopped on the Monorail and did some Resortloop shopping – hoping things would clear up while we were gone.  Sadly, we saw and heard a lot of unhappiness in Magic Kingdom that day.  Similar to what happened in May, Raymond’s Magic Band didn’t work at park entrances for the first three parks we visited, but at least the problem was resolved after that.  The funniest glitch was that I didn’t have charging privileges on my Magic Band after we checked in even though I was the one who gave the credit card to link at check-in.  Considering how convenient I find that touch-to-pay feature, I probably shouldn’t have had that issue fixed!

Animal-Kingdom-Construction-WallsAnimal Kingdom – I’m not criticizing, honestly, and I totally understand that short-term sacrifice will lead to long-term gains (and more FUN!).  It was heartbreaking, though, to see the amount of construction equipment, construction walls, abbreviated attractions, etc. in our beloved Animal Kingdom.  We spent Saturday (10/11/14) afternoon there and had planned to return on a weekday for a longer visit, but after seeing how much the construction detracted from the overall experience, we didn’t go back.  I did get to ride my favorite attractions and see the two new baby gorillas which was great.

Epcot’s New Lumberjack Show (Canada Pavilion) – I’ve got nothing nice to say – so I’m not saying anything at all.

Have you ever visited Walt Disney World in October?  What were your favorite and least Canadian Lumberjack Show in Epcotfavorite experiences?  What should we try next time?

 

 

 

Walt Disney World Mid-Vacation Check-in

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Cinderella Castle at NightWith just a couple of days left to enjoy this week at Walt Disney World, I thought I’d post a quick update about how it’s been going…

What a GREAT time we’re having!  Everyday has been packed with fun – even though, by our usual vacation standards, we’ve been really taking it easy and going with the flow.  We’re trying a lot of things for the first time and revisiting some old favorites.  Mostly, we’ve been staying in the moment, stopping to smell the roses, so to speak.  This is what has certainly made our first trip as a couple in 25 years extremely special!

Here are 5 things that we’ve learned so far:

1. Animal Kingdom is experiencing some major growing pains and construction walls are Dawa Bareverywhere.  Even so, we had a wonderful afternoon there on Saturday – saw some amazing things even – like BOTH of the new baby gorillas and a cast member feeding the Meerkats by hand.  We enjoyed Kilimanjaro Safari in the late afternoon nearly as much as we usually do first thing in the morning.  We also spent a delightful and relaxing few minutes enjoying a cocktail at the Dawa Bar.

2. The road from Jambo House to Kidani Village is paved with….lizards.  We counted 31 along and on the walkway on our way to Sanaa.  Every great thing we’ve heard about Sanaa was true!  We had a great dinner and the bread service?  Just amazing!!!

Path from Jambo House to Kidani Village3. Excitement is in the air at the Studios.  You can feel changes coming and while it’ll be a little sad to see original attractions make way for new ones, the park needs some TLC and we will welcome the changes with open arms.  We saw the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular just in case it’s next on the chopping block and you know what?  I loved it as much as I did the first time I ever saw it.

4. Citrico’s (table service, Grand Floridian) has got to be one of the most underrated dining experiences on Disney property.  Everything from the atmosphere to the service to the fantastic food was perfect.  We can’t wait to go back.

5. The Food and Wine Festival at Epcot is a big bunch of fun.  We made friends everywhere we stopped.  We haven’t disliked a single thing we’ve tried so far and I can’t wait to rank everything when we’re finished.  Brazil’s Crispy Pork Belly – To. Die. For.  We started off sharing everything we tried, but by the time we reached the Brazil kiosk, we knew better than to try to share that porcine delicacy!  You don’t stayed married for 25 years without perfecting certain strategies.  We strongly recommend at least one serving per person to keep the peace.

Well…I hate to cut this short, but our ADR at California Grill is in about 40 minutes and that’s barely enough time for me to get gussied up a bit.  I’ll be back home in a few days with reviews, tips and tricks, loads of pictures, and much more about our trip.  I’ll leave you with this picture of me…well, technically not me, but certainly how I felt I must have looked after our first afternoon in World Showcase sampling all the tasty offerings at the Food & Wine Festival.  If most of the pictures in this post appear sideways to you, my sincerest apologies – taken with my new iPhone 6, I’m having a super hard time getting them to appear correctly.  I’ll be working on that!

Country Bear Portrait