"A for effort, C for execution." A September 2014 TR **07/04 THE END!*

[amberg93]

Honestly, I can't believe how fast this month is flying by and that you're back already. Of course I'm sure you feel the same, but I digress.

Oh Amber, this just makes me all kinds of happy. This is basically just one of the best things I could hear today.

This is very true. Nobody does Mountains quite like Disney.

I keep trying to get to Flame Tree and I keep failing. It's been years. It doesn't help that the line is always cra-cra when I'm there.

I actually did have that happen recently where someone spotted themselves in my photo. It was the Christmas TR. Pretty cool.

Ha, I can totally picture that banishment happening in the voice of James Earl Jones.

Trust me, the month is flying by for me too.

It was pretty exciting for me and I'm glad it brings other people happiness too cause it's been a long year.

It's worth the wait though, to eat at Flame Tree. Or, you know, get there for an early or late lunch and it's all good too.

See, this is my goal. To have someone tell me I got them.

Oooh, now I can too. And I want it. That's how it happened. i wasn't there, but that's totally how he spoke.

Congratulations on your milestone...and many more to come!!!

That's the plan!

What an amazing April for you! So glad to hear you had a great vacation and even happier to hear your news about being in remission for a year. That is just fantastic news!!! Congratulations !

Animal Kingdom! One of my favorite parks! "Flags are the balloons of Animal Kingdom"

I'm impressed with your "unimpressed face" on EE. It took me a long time to stop screaming like a crazy person for the sake of a funny picture!

Flametree's atmosphere is beautiful...especially with the screams from EE in the distance to add some mood music.

Ohmygosh, that picture of the guy saying "go and do not return" LOVE it

Thank you so much And today is my wedding anniversary so, lots of fun stuff happening this month. (Though Marie has to work, so less fun today).

They are the fballoons I mean, I always want to take pictures of them just hanging in the wind.

It was pretty sudden for me. I physically couldn't scream when I was sick so I figured, hey, might as well develop something awesome instead

It's so peaceful down there, I could sit for hours and it never feels crowded either. Plus, yeah, the screaming is nice.

Unexpectedly awesome pictures like that are what keeps me going ::yess::

First and most importantly, congrats on being in remission for a full year - really is amazing news!

I do so love the details in AK - I never saw the spider light nor those chairs of the roof - so much to see!

Glad you enjoyed you lunch and that sitting area is pretty fantastic!

For some reason that CM banishing the people makes me think of the Franch guards from Holy Grail: go away or I shall taunt you a second time!

Thank you!

There is so much at AK that I feel like every time I go I'm seeing something new, which is great because attraction wise there isn't a ton to keep busy with.

Good food, good sitting, it was an A+ meal activity.

I wasn't thinking about them but now I am and it makes it all the better.

Glad you and Marie had a great trip! A HUGE CONGRATS to you for being in remission for a year now!!!!! Best. News. Evah!

I love all the little details and such at AK. So cool! Great lunch and what a great spot to sit and enjoy your meal. I'll have to remember that!!

Thank you so much!

The lines can get pretty long at Flame Tree but the seating down by the water is so great and the food is so yummy that it's worth the wait for sure if you run into a line.

That's wonderful about being in remission for a year!

Expedition Everest is one of the best rides ever.

I LOVE Pumba with the grubs!

Thank you! It's pretty awesome

It is sooo much fun, but Marie always closers her eyes and refuses to look at the yeti?

It is a cute plush and you can always use for cute plushes.

 

[courtneybelle]

Dark places and scary dinosaurs are two of my least favorite things, but I'm glad you had a good first ride! And your ride photo is amazing.

So ecstatic you've been in remission for a year. Congrats, girl! You're a champ.

I had a really bad experience with the ribs last time I was at Flame Tree, but I think I'll have to try the pulled pork next time! It looks really good.

I had a giant stuffed Pumbaa with a mouth full of bugs when I was little! Oh man that picture makes me so nostalgic.

 

[amberg93]

Dark places and scary dinosaurs are two of my least favorite things, but I'm glad you had a good first ride! And your ride photo is amazing.

So ecstatic you've been in remission for a year. Congrats, girl! You're a champ.

I had a really bad experience with the ribs last time I was at Flame Tree, but I think I'll have to try the pulled pork next time! It looks really good.

I had a giant stuffed Pumbaa with a mouth full of bugs when I was little! Oh man that picture makes me so nostalgic.

You and Marie both But thank you.

Thanks! It's pretty exciting, even for me.

I'm not a rib person, but I can speak to the awesomeness that is the pulled pork.

Aww, I had a lion when I was little. It wasn't a Disney lion but I named it Nala even though he was clearly a boy. But you know, children and cats will do as they please.

 

[amberg93]

Day 7, Part 3: "I could stay here all day."

I have to say Marie and I were both really impressed with the new theater and the themeing of it.

Hence, I took quite a few pictures while we were waiting for the show to start.

We were a bit early and got in literally as they started letting people into the fastpass area.

Sensible warning.

I love the CM uniforms that you can see in the background.

There are lots of little details around, but really that's no surprise because AK is always great with all themes they set.

At some point though, I started to take a bunch of pictures of Marie. You know, as I do.

This basically sums up how well that went.

Marie tried to take revenge and take pictures of me but clearly I didn't care. Also, shout out to the woman who is clearly focused here instead of me.

The lady who was letting people in told us that the first section to our right was the lion section and we were all set to go that way. However, the people inside directed us straight across and we ended up in the elephant section instead.

We sat in the back because there is a support back there that you can sort of lean against and if we weren't going to be lions I wanted to lean.

My sadness of not being a lion.

Sorry Simba, we were not with you this time.

The show, as usual, was incredible. So much so that Marie posted her love to Instagram.

Festival of the Lion King, as wonderful as ever. I could spend a whole Animal Kingdom watching this over and over and I'd be totally happy.

Once we'd finished we decided that we'd go and find the Fastpass+ kiosk to try and get another Fastpass set up for the day. Except we simply could not find the kiosk, so we asked someone and they told us it'd be right before the bridge out of Africa.

We looked around and did not spot it, so what did we do? Crossed the bridge, thinking maybe we'd misheard and they meant across the bridge.

We ended up here where we decided that we definitely hadn't heard right.

So we headed inside of a store where they were selling magic bands and had little displays and tried to do it there. No go. Finally we asked a worker inside and she informed us it's not a fastpass kiosk at all but a guy in a blue shirt with an ipad.

Oh. Well that explains why we didn't find him.

With that knowledge, we headed back into Africa.

And sure enough, right before the bridge over by Tusker House there was a guy in blue with an ipad who hooked us up with another Fastpass+

I had something I really wanted to do as we hadn't made it the last couple of times.

Since we had a bit of time before our new FP, Marie agreed.

It's an all sorts of evil.

We didn't have to wait long for the train and once we were loaded, I was pretty instantly annoyed. There weren't a lot of people that got into the car with us but the ones who did decided that they wanted to sit in the same row with Marie and me and they were a pretty large group so they took up all the extra space instead of just going into the completely empty back row. Like, I'm sorry but I don't understand that? Why squish everyone together in one row when you could sit in the back and have much more space?

Also, shortly after we got moving there was a child standing up. The conductor made two announcements that children had to remain seated, but the child didn't sit down. He had to stop the train and wait for the kid to sit down before we could get moving again.

On the plus side, we did get to see a rhino out.

It'd be really cool to go into these buildings, actually.

Our destination is coming up.

And we finally arrived!

Click for next post​

 

[Newsies]

First of all, I'm exhausted right now so I'm totally feeling the vibes from the "unimpressed" EE photo. I giggled.

Second of all, FTB looks soooooooooooo good and I can't believe I've been to AK twice and have NEVER been there. It's a must-do for me. The ribs look amazing!!!

Third of all, I'm sorry you didn't get the lion section... but your photos were on point! FotLK looks beautiful <3

ETA: ALSO- CONGRATS ON A YEAR IN REMISSION AMBER!!! HERE'S TO MANY MORE HAPPY, HEALTHY YEARS FULL OF DISNEY TRIPS AND PIXIE DUST

 

[tinkerjlee]

FoTLK! I can't wait to see this when I go in a few weeks to WDW! I have yet to see it.

How frustrating to have empty rows and people HAVE to choose to sit next to you and Marie. *smh* That was terrible with that child standing up. again *smh*
Can't wait to hear more!!

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

I so agree. This Theatre and the whole area around it are absolutely what this show deserved from day one. Be-autiful

Hmmm, so 2 CM's gave different directions as to your section. I guess that might explain the confused FPer's I saw.

Yup, this show is as good as it gets.

Maybe on a longer AK visit I will finally go back to Rafiki's. Seriously, I think it's been 9 years. Although hearing your train stories, maybe 9 years isn't long enough.

 

[roxy84]

ahh... I'm a little behind, so first, I'm glad you guys had a great vacation to the DR. Second, and most importantly - Congrats on your year anniversary of being in remission! That is such awesome news!

I have to confess, I didn't even know about Rafiki's Wildlife watch until my second last trip... We don't usually spend much time at AK, but I think we may have to try next trip.

I love the new Lion King theatre area. Beautiful and well themed.

 

[amberg93]

First of all, I'm exhausted right now so I'm totally feeling the vibes from the "unimpressed" EE photo. I giggled.

Second of all, FTB looks soooooooooooo good and I can't believe I've been to AK twice and have NEVER been there. It's a must-do for me. The ribs look amazing!!!

Third of all, I'm sorry you didn't get the lion section... but your photos were on point! FotLK looks beautiful <3

ETA: ALSO- CONGRATS ON A YEAR IN REMISSION AMBER!!! HERE'S TO MANY MORE HAPPY, HEALTHY YEARS FULL OF DISNEY TRIPS AND PIXIE DUST

Exhausted does equal unimpressed, and they're such fun faces to make.

Well you've got your upcoming trip where you can try it out. It'll be very delicious I'm sure. Marie likes them.

There's a bright side to everything and FotLK is always a bright side.

Thank you!! =D

FoTLK! I can't wait to see this when I go in a few weeks to WDW! I have yet to see it.

How frustrating to have empty rows and people HAVE to choose to sit next to you and Marie. *smh* That was terrible with that child standing up. again *smh*
Can't wait to hear more!!

You're going in just a few weeks? You're going to have an amazing time watching FotLK, it's a wonderful show and it's in the air conditioning so that's another plus point. Have an awesome time on your trip!

I know, people sometimes. That train ride was just not stellar.

I'm going to try and have a new chapter up tomorrow. I want to start posting more but we'll see what happens. Thanks for reading

I so agree. This Theatre and the whole area around it are absolutely what this show deserved from day one. Be-autiful

Hmmm, so 2 CM's gave different directions as to your section. I guess that might explain the confused FPer's I saw.

Yup, this show is as good as it gets.

Maybe on a longer AK visit I will finally go back to Rafiki's. Seriously, I think it's been 9 years. Although hearing your train stories, maybe 9 years isn't long enough.

The old theater was just not worthy of FotLK but I'm still sad we had to miss it last May as a result.

It probably does Us FPers can know what we're doing but the different directions will throw the best of us.

Definitely the best on Disney property, a reason for people who don't even like roller coasters like EE to make their way to AK.

It is nice to get out there and when people aren't stupid on the train it can also be a nice ride. So, it'd probably be good to visit again.

ahh... I'm a little behind, so first, I'm glad you guys had a great vacation to the DR. Second, and most importantly - Congrats on your year anniversary of being in remission! That is such awesome news!

I have to confess, I didn't even know about Rafiki's Wildlife watch until my second last trip... We don't usually spend much time at AK, but I think we may have to try next trip.

I love the new Lion King theatre area. Beautiful and well themed.

It's all okay Thank you! I'm very happy to be celebrating it.

Rafiki's is way out there so it's not surprising that you've missed it before. It's fun to explore out there though and it's sort of a way to get away from crowds if there are some because most people won't go out that way.

Very beautiful, very well done. A+ Disney on that area.

 

[amberg93]

So I did say that Marie would talk about our Dominican Republic experience at some point and she has (as well as some real Disney planning) in the PTR for November, so if you were interested in that I'll direct you to head over that way.

Day 7, Part 4: "Amber and Marie are at Disney World..."

When you arrive, Rafiki greets you to tell you to come on in.

And signs like this are pretty common.

There are little exhibits with small animals and cast members to tell you about them, which are pretty interesting as well.

What I was really looking forward to though is the fact that since Camp Mickey-Minnie has been torn away in anticipation for Avatarland, Guitar Dan has relocated out in front of the Conservation Building.

If you've never listened to him, he's fantastic. He plays a set of songs and then for the last song of the set, he asks for volunteers to make up a song for someone. Marie and I waited for this chance and jumped in as soon as he asked.

The hilarious result (a song for our lovely friend Rai who was originally supposed to join us last May but couldn't) can be found here, if you're interested.

Marie's giggling can also be heard because she was highly amused. Rightly so, too. If you ever want to brag about being at Disney to people back home (or abroad, in our case), Mr. Guitar Dan is the man to help you out.

Inside, there's plenty of interesting things to do and see.

Including this cast member who was giving a presentation with a monkey.

Another CM had a snake out and Marie touched it but I was not about that.

After moseying around for a little bit we made out way out to the Affection Section.

Where there is also a cast member out talking about birds.

Which was interesting even to the animals on break from getting affection.

The animals were very sassy though and they were not for me giving affection and kept running away. It was very sad for me.

I did find a pig that let me love him.

But the real victory came later:

Amber managed to chase down a goat long enough to pet it

After all of our affection was given, we headed back to the train to get going back to Harambe. This time around everyone stayed seated on the ride back and no one crowded Marie and me so all was well.

We even caught sight of some construction.

It'll be more exciting when it's not constuction but, it is what it is.

I love these Disney details.

Something about the timing of this picture with the way that the guy is walking really amuses me. I can't way why, but it does. Maybe it's cause he just looks like so happy to go up to this wall.

I'm also really in love with this picture. The flags, Everest, the clouds... all of it.

While outside our attraction of choice, we decided to get some more photopass pictures taken.

If you can't tell from the extreme squinting going on here, the sun was really bright and right in our eyes.

After the pictures our Fastpass time opened up and we went on the ride. For whatever reason the picture never made it into our Memory Maker but that's okay cause we had the other one.

Our final ride completed, we decided that it was time to say goodbye to Animal Kingdom and head back to our resort.

Continued in Next Post​

 

[amberg93]

Day 7, Part 5: "I'm going for a sunset golden."

When we got back to the resort, the first thing we decided that we needed to do was stop by the food court and get a snack.

We decided upon an ice cream cookie sandwich with m&m cookies, cookies and cream and chocolate ice cream. Obviously an excellent decision.

In a stunning turn of events (John Green voice, anyone?) it started raining.

So we decided that it was as good a time as any to go to the arcade and use up some of our credits.

We played some air hockey (Marie won).

And Ms. Pac Man.

Neither one of us was particularly skilled at this.

After all our credits were used up, we moseyed back to the room and waited for the rain to stop, hoping that it would do so before the scheduled nightly activity that I was most looking forward to.

Luckily, it did! And we headed out into the courtyard right across from our building where the fire pit is and they roast marshmallows nightly.

I am all about free marshmallows. They didn't have anything to make S'mores but that was okay.

The two entertainment girls who were in charge were fun to listen to.

It sprinkled a bit but the fire kept going so I made three marshmallows and gobbled them up when they were the appropriate golden tan on the outside and gooey on the inside.

As we left, it started to rain a bit more seriously though and I had nothing to keep me dry so I improvised.

Turns out, activity guides aren't actually great at doubling for an umbrella.

Once back in the room, we dried off some and tried to decide what we wanted to do for food. After looking online, we managed to snag a reservation at Wolfgang Puck Cafe for the evening and decided that some more Downtown Disney time wouldn't hurt. We had a little bit of time before we needed to leave, so we simply relaxed for a while.

For some reason, we decided that we'd rather take the bus over when it came time to go, so we ended up at the Marketplace.

Once again, we'd have to traverse the whole of Downtown Disney for food and it wasn't fun with the construction walls still up. At least going in this time around we knew what we were getting into and it wasn't hot.

Still, I'll be happy never to see walls like this again.

We also walked down along the water at some point to try and get away from the crowds, which worked really well and was nice.

You know what I will say about Wolfgang Puck Cafe? It's very stuck in the 90s design wise.

I mean, I don't think that's a bad thing but that was my first impression.

We were seated instantly upon arriving and were sure to mention our Tables in Wonderland card to our server right away.

They started us off with some bread, which was good.

Marie got a peach fruit blast for drinking.

And for her main course the sirloin burger. Which she enjoyed as much as an average burger can be enjoyed.

Whereas I got the barbeque chicken pizza, expecting it to be like the barbeque chicken pizza at Wolfgang Puck Express.

Everyone, the pizzas are not the same. This pizza is not even in the same league as the Wolfgang Puck Express barbeque pizza. Do not fall prey to this easy mistake for you will be disappointed and sad, like I was. I think I ate two slices and couldn't finish the rest, but didn't even bother bringing it back.

For our ride back, we wanted to take the boat to the resort, but also were too lazy to walk the whole way after all that eating, so we chose to take the boat from the West Side over to the Marketplace.

Due to limited space, we were almost not let on and the people behind us weren't, which they were not pleased to hear in the slightest.

We stopped into Basin because Marie was really interested in getting something from there.

Considered getting some of this soap because it's the prettiest.

Though Marie also really liked this one too.

Ultimately, though, she got one of the sugar scrubs.

Finally got me one of these! Basin sugar scrub. Smells so good, it makes me wanna eat my hands.

We actually haven't used it at home yet, but isn't that always the way? We've got to crack it open soon.

Sugar scrub purchased we were then in a bit of a hurry because we were going to be getting closer to the time when the boats stopped running for the night, so we hurried over to the dock.

The ride back wasn't too long and was very peaceful. Boat transportation ftw!

Soon enough, we were pulled back into the French Quarter and I felt the need to take the following picture:

Fairly tired, we headed back to our room and settled in for the night.

Click for next post​

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

I have yet to see Guitar Dan in person. I know about him, but I didn't always visit Camp Minnie-Mickey, and haven't been to Rafiki in ages. But Carrie had a video of the girls when they were younger being seranaded by him, and it was too cute. I love this little song he did you you guys. So clever.

Nope, Rob still does not do snakes.

That Ice Cream Sammich. That looks seriously delightful

Aww that's so cool you did the marshmallow roast. Such a cool extra bit of Disney fun. I did something similar, but mine didn't look quite so good.

Wow, that's interesting and surprising. I would have expected the Cafe Pizza to be better. Weird, but good to know.

 

[courtneybelle]

Looks like such a fun afternoon at AK!! I really have to check out that petting zoo when I'm there this summer.

That ice cream cookie sandwich looks amazing right now, as does the toasted marshmallow!!

That's so disappointing about Wolfgang Puck Cafe. The Express is one of my favorites, SO weird that the pizza wouldn't be the same...

 

[amberg93]

I have yet to see Guitar Dan in person. I know about him, but I didn't always visit Camp Minnie-Mickey, and haven't been to Rafiki in ages. But Carrie had a video of the girls when they were younger being seranaded by him, and it was too cute. I love this little song he did you you guys. So clever.

Nope, Rob still does not do snakes.

That Ice Cream Sammich. That looks seriously delightful

Aww that's so cool you did the marshmallow roast. Such a cool extra bit of Disney fun. I did something similar, but mine didn't look quite so good.

Wow, that's interesting and surprising. I would have expected the Cafe Pizza to be better. Weird, but good to know.

Aww that video does sound cute. And he's certainly quick on his feet. It's definitely worth the trip out to see him if you have the time.

Amber doesn't do the snakes either. We can start a club.

It was so good. I don't know how Marie managed to eat one with her bare hands our first trip though. It's a spoon operation.

Resort specific activities are just so fun and we wanted to take advantage of it while we were there.

I expected it to be better too but it wasn't. It was really different tasting and just overall not as good. But you live and you learn, I guess.

Looks like such a fun afternoon at AK!! I really have to check out that petting zoo when I'm there this summer.

That ice cream cookie sandwich looks amazing right now, as does the toasted marshmallow!!

That's so disappointing about Wolfgang Puck Cafe. The Express is one of my favorites, SO weird that the pizza wouldn't be the same...

You will. I hear if you go early morning and they've got stuff scheduled for the animals you can watch them do it out there. Very cool area and just so fun and nice.

I was jonesing for an ice cream cookie sandwich after seeing the pictures again. It was an A+ operation.

Save yourself the walk and just go to WPE. I mean, it's nice to say that we have crossed another restaurant off of our list but just... don't go expecting the pizza to be as good over there.

 

[amberg93]

Day 8, Part 1: "Is that a line?"

We got up fairly early again as we were drawing to the end of our trip and going to my favorite park.

First we left out Marie's tipping envelope of the day though.

And then headed out to catch a bus, not having to wait too long before one came along and then having a short ride over to Epcot. Let me tell you, one of the things that I love the best about the French Quarter (and you know there are many) is its location. It's very centrally located, so the bus rides are never that long.

When we arrived, we found that we were getting in right about the time of the monorail and there was quite a sizable gathering of people entering the park.

Like usual, Marie and I picked the slowest bag check line but isn't that just life. Besides, it didn't matter too much because in the end we still were able to enter the park.

And soon we were seeing this beauty.

And then this one.

Our fastpass this morning was for Test Track and we decided to go right away just in case the weather decided to mess with us.

The weather wasn't a problem and we got through really quickly, though I missed taking a picture of the car that we designed.

The guys behind us were incredibly amused that Marie and I had used our time to look over the offerings of the Food and Wine festival, but like, why wouldn't we? Learn to multi-task, young men.

Once we were finished, we made our way over to the next big ticket attraction that was a must do for us.

Watching the Fountain of Nations.

Just kidding, though I could watch that fountain all day, probably.

No, our destination was much more popular.

I want to say that the wait time was about accurate but we weren't in any hurry for anything else so we waited. It is Marie's happy place, after all.

Once we'd soared over California, we continued to our next task.

We had to get ourselves some of that Strawberry Shortcake. Once again, it was amazing.

With our stomachs happy, we decided to go for what turned out to be another popular choice.

Look at all these people about to learn about living with the land.

I really like this picture, so I'm including it.

A not so hidden Mickey.

And another.

This cucumber was earning it's ears. This was the first time that I'd noticed the red signs that announced it but I thought it was really cute.

Having accomplished all that we had set out to accomplish, we were ready to bid adieu to the Land.

Afterward, running into the rarest of all Disney creatures..

The Disney Duck. He was just chilling there, taking in the Epcot ambiance and I don't blame him.

Because we hadn't done it since our first trip in November 2012, we decided that we were going to do Journey Into Imagination again.

I do love the building, it's so beautiful.

We wondered how we were going to brave the crowds.

I wonder if those chairs are actually comfortable.

RIP Robin.

We had a surprise when we got further in though.

Look, it's a line. An actual line. We were pretty surprised.

Our ride was pleasant and we realized that we'd forgotten that's where the Epcot bus music came from.

We of course had to play around some at the end because we're really just big kids.

Click for next post​

 

[courtneybelle]

LOVE your Test Track ride picture! My favorite ride photo I've ever taken is of my dad and me on Splash Mountain looking at park maps so any and all variations make me super happy.

I am very glad you beat the crowds at Living with the Land and Figment

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

My goodness those Mousekeeping envelopes are clever. Jack and Sally, very cool.

Hmmm, that's a good point I probably wouldn't have thought of that regarding Test Track. Especially given the weather last September, jumping in while you can is a sound strategy.

NICE!!!

Aww, it looks like the CM is smiling for yor picture.

We had to get ourselves some of that Strawberry Shortcake. Once again, it was amazing.

Obviously. SSSS is always a great choice.

I really like this picture, so I'm including it.

HAHA, this cracked me up. I can't think of a better reason though.

 

[kroseycorn]

Once we were finished, we made our way over to the next big ticket attraction that was a must do for us.

Watching the Fountain of Nations.

Just kidding, though I could watch that fountain all day, probably.​

​

Not sure why, but I read this as "Fountain of Nachos"... and in the fraction of a second before I looked at the photo, I was like, "whaaaaaat? Where is this glorious F&W attraction?!"

 

[Cando86]

I am right there with Marie - Soarin' is my happy place! And follow that with Strawberry Shortcake from Sunshine Seasons?! You ladies do Disney RIGHT!

A Figment line?! What is happening to the World?!

 

[tinkerjlee]

Great afternoon at AK!

Roasted marshmallows, YUMMY! Too bad they didn't have chocolate & graham crackers to make s'mores.

AWESOME Test Track photo!!!! Love it!!!