Tag Archives: Walt Disney World

Disney’s Animal Kingdom – 12 Hours of Fun!

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animal-kingdom-selfieI’m well aware there are certain people who do not appreciate Disney’s Animal Kingdom as a full-day park.  My family and I are not among them.  We were thrilled recently by the opportunity to spend 12+ hours in the amazingly themed, action-packed,  fun-filled Animal Kingdom.  From rope-drop to park closing, we had an amazing day and still did not see and do it all.animal-kingdom-sign

Disney’s Animal Kingdom – 12 Hours of Fun!

Pre-planning:  We booked two ADRs (Advance Dining Reservations) at 180 days pre-vacation at Tusker House for breakfast and Tiffins for an early dinner.  If, by some miracle, Rivers of Light would have come online for our trip, we were ready to turn one of these meals into a dining package.  As it turned out, Rivers of Light was still a no-show.  No matter, we enjoyed both of these restaurants and were very pleased with the choices.  We had also booked three FastPasses:  Expedition Everest, Kilimanjaro Safaris, and Primeval Whirl (Dinosaur was under refurbishment).tusker-house-breakfast-daisy

What we did for 12+ Hours

Morning:  We arrived early for breakfast and enjoyed Tusker House’s buffet which had both unique and traditional breakfast offerings.  We met Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, and Goofy – all were awesome and spent plenty of time with us for pictures.  As much as I love Donald, Goofy was extra entertaining.  tusker-house-goofyAfter breakfast, we waddled over to Kilimanjaro Safaris and visited with the friendly Cast Members there while we waited for the attraction to open.  Our group of seven and a family of three were the only ones on our safari and it was, hands down, the best experience we’d ever had on this attraction…even though the giraffes (except for one) and elephants seemed to be sleeping in that morning.  We were very excited to have an excellent view of the new African Painted Dogs!  Gorgeous!kilimanjaro-safaris-african-painted-dogsPost-safari, we explored the Gorilla Falls trail, used our Expedition Everest FastPass, strolled the Maharajah Jungle Trek, caught It’s Tough to Be a Bug, and took another safari (with FastPass) to see the previously missed close-up giraffes and elephants.

Afternoon:  We stopped by the Harambe Market in case anyone was hungry, but we only got drinks.  I guess we were still full from Tusker House.  dak-musicianWhile we were enjoying our beverages of choice, we were serenaded by a musician and it was wonderful!  He was very talented and made us feel special.  Then we explored Zuri’s Sweet Shop where we all bought souvenirs.  Zuri's-Sweets-ShopHats, toy Komodo Dragons, and stuffed African Painted Dogs were popular items with our group.  After that we hopped the train for Rafiki’s Planet Watch.  rafiki-meetingWhile there was not a lot going on in the animal care area, the Cast Members were chatty and informative, the animals in the petting area were cute, and Rafiki himself made an appearance and was very charming!rafikis-planet-watch-affection-sectionWe could have seen Festival of the Lion King instead, but Rafiki won out in the group vote and we were happy with our excursion to this seldom-visited section of the park.rafiki-teaching

As we took the train back, we noticed the sky was darkening.  By the time we exited the train and donned our ponchos, a torrential downpour was upon us and all areas of shelter nearby were packed.  I decided we should take a chance on Nomad Lounge (by Tiffins), hoping nobody else would realize it would be open.  nomad-lounge-in-the-rainYES! The place was virtually empty.  We found a table on the patio and ordered drinks and snacks which we made short work of as the rain let up and we headed back out for more fun.  nomad-lounge-snackWe wrapped up the afternoon with a series of rides on Primeval Whirl since there was no wait.  Before long, it was time to return to Tiffins for our early dinner reservation.primeval-whirl2

Evening:  Tiffins, which I will give a full review for soon, was delightful and delicious (truthfully, it was incredible)!  Once the sun began to set, we began what was the completely-new-to-us time of the day – we’d never been able to stay at Animal Kingdom so late before.  The park wouldn’t close until 8:30 and we were going to take advantage of every minute.  Kali-River-RapidsFirst, everyone (except Raymond and I) took multiple trips down Kali River Rapids (no wait).  Then we enjoyed Expedition Everest at night…amazing!everest-at-duskWe took our third Kilimanjaro Safari of the day to see the hyenas and all the nighttime effects before wrapping up this epic day by watching the Tree of Life awaken.tree-of-life-awakens

More than 12 hours after we arrived, we caught the bus back to Bay Lake Tower.  Sure, we skipped things like Finding Nemo The Musical, Festival of the Lion King and Flights of Wonder, but we rode awesome thrill rides multiple times (no wait), had all the safari experiences possible, enjoyed some fantastic food and soaked up all the incredible theming and ambiance Animal Kingdom has to offer.  When the World of Pandora opens and Rivers of Light finally launches, we’ll have to make multi-day plans here on every visit!

What are your favorite things to do at Animal Kingdom?  Are you looking forward to the parks upcoming additions?

Disney World! Always New Things to Try

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Walt Disney World – Trying new things and revisiting old favorites is what makes every visit different from the one before.  I’m committed to adding something new to every trip…our most recent Disney vacation was no exception.

Disney World! Always New Things to Try

Most of the items on this list rate their very own review in the future (please stand by).  Today I’m going for a quick rundown of what was new (to us) and what our initial impressions were.  Please feel free to weigh in on what you’re looking forward to trying for the first time on your next Walt Disney World visit.

  1. Mad Tea Party.  Yes, that’s right, Raymond and I have never, not once, taken a spin on this most iconic of Magic Kingdom attractions.  Now we can say we’ve done it. Aaaaaaand that’s pretty much all I have to say about that…for now.on-the-tea-cups
  2. Disney Springs’ new offerings.  We didn’t have a great deal of time to spare, but we did manage to grab lunch at Morimoto Street Food (new walk-up counter service at Morimoto Asia) and check out a few of the new stores in the new retail shopping section.  Lunch was great, the stores were okay.  In spite of all the fancy, new high-end offerings, I found myself pulled back to my old favorites like the Marketplace Co-Op and Disney’s Days of Christmas.  That’s where I spent my money.  schweitzer-falls-fanI was inordinately happy with my Schweitzer Falls t-shirt buy…can you blame me?tiffins-exterior
  3. Animal Kingdom’s Nomad Lounge and Tiffins – Guys!  We give these new places a resounding, unanimous vote of approval!  I promise more details later, but if you’re on the fence about trying one or both…get off the fence on the side of definitely going.via-napoli-pizza-slice
  4. Epcot’s Via Napoli – Raymond and I enjoyed a special dining experience here during the 2014 Food & Wine festival, but had never made a regular ADR for a meal here until this visit.  I’d been skeptical of reviews that said the pizza was fantastic (Disney pizza is typically anything but fantastic) and the food excellent overall, but I’m a believer now and cannot wait to go back!  We were very happy!sci-fi-dine-in-menu
  5. Disney’s Hollywood Studios’ Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater – All I can say in my own defense was that I thought it would be unique and fun.  Yeahhhhh….not so much.  Didn’t hate it, but now that we’ve given it a try, there’s no need to go back.  For the price, service level, and menu, there are too many superior choices…we’ll put this in the “once and done” category.  I’ll go ahead and add that for us, the service was subpar and the seating less than ideal for a party of more than four.frozen-ever-after-figures
  6. Frozen Ever After – Raymond and I managed to score a FastPass for this and ride it on the first day of our vacation.  I hate that we couldn’t get FastPasses for the rest of our party!  This attraction is outstanding.  Let’s not debate its suitability for the Norway Pavilion in Epcot and just focus on the experience alone…wonderful!soarin-new
  7. Soarin’ – This was THE one thing I was most looking forward to.  I’ve always been a fan and could not wait to check out the new version.  I was both delighted and disappointed in equal measure.  Have you ridden it yet?  What did you think?

Okay, now it’s your turn.  Have you tried any/all of these yet?  Where do we agree and disagree?

Disney World October 2016 Hurricane Recap

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What a trip!  Food & Wine, Hurricane Matthew, old favorites, new restaurants and attractions – so much happened in just 8 days…here’s the rundown of the highs, lows, and unusual happenings.

Disney World October 2016 Hurricane Recap

We arrived in time to celebrate Magic Kingdom’s 45th Anniversary and we ran over to the insanely crowded park for a few minutes just so we could say we were there.  As we were grabbing Mickey pretzels in Tomorrowland, I spotted someone I knew instantly!  Jeanie Gallo from The Princess Papers!  jeanie-lisaI was so happy to finally meet her in person after being friends with her on Facebook for a long time.  Jeanie was every bit as sweet and lovely in person as one would expect from her blog and Facebook page!  We took a few minutes to chat and planned to meet up again later in the week…sadly, this would not happen.magic-kingdom-october-2016

We’d planned our week carefully, with lots of park touring, dining, and FastPass action.  We were seriously determined to pack in as much fun as possible and make the most of every day.  Saturday night at Epcot, Sunday at Magic Kingdom, Monday at the Studios and Epcot, Tuesday at Animal Kingdom, Wednesday back to the Studios and Epcot again, Thursday to Magic Kingdom and Epcot….*insert sound of squealing breaks here*  Hello Hurricane Matthew.wdw-hurricane-matthew-approaches

Up until Thursday afternoon, we were on a roll!  For a party of 7 adults, we were accomplishing a tremendous amount and nothing was slowing us down…not even some serious afternoon torrential downpours during the week.  As we hit Magic Kingdom on Thursday morning, it was clear that Matthew’s arrival was imminent and we knew some serious vacation interruption was highly likely.  We took our morning plans seriously and were making terrific progress when we decided we needed a snack from Gaston’s Tavern.  While looking for a table, I heard someone call my name and was delighted to come face to face with Judith – The Disney Exchange’s official listener #20!  judith-disney-exchange-listenerJudith and I visited while she waited on hold to change her resort reservations since her flight home had already been cancelled due to the impending storm.

After our snacks, we headed for our last Magic Kingdom attraction, Space Mountain, where we ran into Judith and her husband and we all rode together.  That afternoon, we lunched at Whispering Canyon (always a pleasure) and hopped to Epcot.  By this time, we were being told of the planned 5:00 pm park closure.  Determined to tough it out until the very end, we donned our ponchos and made our way to World Showcase to meet up with Nick, Barbie and their friends Jill and Zach.  meetup-in-epcotI took a few minutes to see if I could cancel our Shula’s Steakhouse reservation for that evening and book something at our resort.  Unbelievably, I scored a 9:10 pm ADR at The California Grill.

Time flew as fast as the wind was picking up!  Before long, we headed to MouseGear to stock up on some hurricane supplies and souvenirs (just in case).  mousegear-shopping-spreeBy 5:00 sharp, we were on the monorail headed to the Contemporary and Bay Lake Tower.  Because of the somewhat tricky logistics of getting all resort guests situated, the trip took about an hour.

Once in our rooms at Bay Lake Tower, we had time to clean up before heading over to the Contemporary for dinner.  Already short-staffed, the restaurant was turning away all walkups (except for one extreme jerk who, after insulting Cast Members and demanding to speak to a manager – who he also insulted for not looking like a manager – and insisting his “kid” would not eat the food anywhere else, was allowed up to the restaurant…much to our disappointment.)  While Matthew gained in intensity outside, we enjoyed a delicious dinner and excellent service.  It was strange to see Magic Kingdom so dark from inside California Grill.

I’ll save the rest of the Disney World during a hurricane details for another post, but we ended up spending nearly all of Friday in our resort rooms.  We had plenty of food (picked up at the Contemporary’s Fantasia Market on Thursday) and Disney movies played on TV all day.  We never lost electricity and never felt in any danger from the storm.  Housekeeping stopped by to check on us and drop off towels and soap/shampoo.wdw-hurricane-supplies

By early afternoon, everyone except Raymond and I decided the storm had let up enough to get out and walk around.  By late afternoon, we were certain we could make our dinner reservation at The Swan’s Il Mulino.  We heard Disney Springs would be opening after 4:00 pm.  Lots of folks were out and about by this time – Raymond, Joseph, and I even arranged a meetup with Dave Tupper (Disney fan from Hawaii who’s been my friend on social media for years and has been a guest on The Disney Exchange) and his beautiful daughter.  Thanks for the Aulani gifts, Dave!meeting-disney-friends

Once we were all ready to leave for dinner, we called Uber since no Disney transportation was operating and, even though we arrived quite early, were welcomed at Il Mulino with open arms.  The menu was limited due to the storm, but the service was wonderful and, for our last night at Walt Disney World, we had a great evening.il-mulino-selfie

Saturday (departure day) would not normally have been a park day, but after missing out on Friday and with an 8:00 am opening at all the parks (7:00 am at Animal Kingdom), we knew we had to squeeze in a bit more Disney magic.  We arrived at Magic Kingdom in time to meet Nick and Barbie for the opening show.  nick-lisaOnce in the park, the early crowds were low and we were on a mission!  In 90 minutes we’d hit Space Mountain, it’s a small world, Haunted Mansion, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, and Pirates of the Caribbean.  I also had time to meet the Dapper Dans (and pose for a picture!) and enjoy a Citrus Swirl.

We rushed back to Bay Lake Tower, grabbed our suitcases, and waited for Disney’s Magical Express to take us to the airport where, surprisingly, our flight home was on time!  I’ve got tons more details to share with you about dining and new (to us) attractions over the next couple of weeks, so please check back for more about this trip.

I want to extend a special great big thank you to those of you who reached out to me while we were at Walt Disney World during Hurricane Matthew – your concern was deeply appreciated!!!

 

Who Would Love Talking Mickey Mouse?

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Who Would Love Talking Mickey Mouse?

Last year, Raymond and I found ourselves with a few minutes to spare in Magic Kingdom. I’m not certain now if we were between FastPasses or waiting for a dining reservation, but we used the My Disney Experience app to check wait times for various attractions.  I noticed that meeting Mickey in the Town Square Theater had only a 30 minute wait.  We’d had FastPasses for Mickey that we did not use back in 2014, so I was all, “Hey! We can meet Mickey now!” and Raymond, being Raymond, took a deep breath and gave me the look that means he’ll do it because he loves me and wants me to be happy.  Off we went!town-square-theater-pigs-postertown-square-theater-sleep-poster

When we entered the theater that day, there were two lines – one for Tinker Bell and one for Mickey. Tinker Bell’s line was much longer than Mickey’s.  We moved along at a steady pace and I started taking in some of the surrounding details.  There were a bunch of cute posters to look at as we moved ever closer to The Big Cheese.  town-square-theater-headless-horseman-posterThe queue narrowed as we made our way down a hall and into a room decorated as an office.  On the far side of the room was a closed door. town-square-theater-art-publicity-dept town-square-theater-mcduck-safe town-square-theater-mail-slots As each party’s turn to see Mickey arrived, they were ushered through the door, which was quickly closed again behind them.  Much mystery surrounded the meeting of the Mouse.

Finally it was our turn! We entered what was clearly Mickey’s dressing room and there he was!  He was dressed in his magician’s costume and surrounded by much Mickey paraphernalia.  mickeys-dressing-room-props mickeys-dressing-room-wardrobe-trunk mickeys-dressing-room-tuxedoMickey walked towards us to exclaim, “It’s YOU!” and my first reaction was nervous laughter.  I was not expecting to be overcome by a small but undeniable amount of fear (for lack of a better word).  Talking Mickey was kind of creeping me out.  He said Mickey stuff you’d expect like, “Great to see ya, Pal” or things to that effect.  I’m sure he has a variety of phrases from which to choose, but we felt suddenly awkward now that we were face to face with THE Mouse.    mickey-mouse-talksHe did his best to make us feel welcome, but the talking threw me off my usually happy-to-meet-you character mode.  We posed for a couple of pictures and, saying goodbye, moved quickly for the exit.mickey-the-magnificent-meet-and-greet

My first impression of the situation was that maybe I’m too old for the kind of technological advance that makes a previously beloved (but silent) Disney character into a blinking, talking one.  I want quiet Mickey back.  While I’m sure Mickey Mouse fans of all ages may enjoy meeting this new marvel of communication, I’m probably going back to putting my character-meeting efforts into seeing Donald – who IS my absolute favorite character and still quiet as a mouse…uhm…Duck?

Have you met Talking Mickey?  How’d it go?