It's All Fun and Games Until Someone Needs An Eyepatch - A Dec TR Complete 8/31

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas!

We had a good Christmas here at home. The cats especially enjoyed their Christmas. They enjoyed unwrapping their present and Amber really liked the new cat "pagoda" I got them.





Erich once again did a wonderful job with his creative gift wrapping.



The African Savanna was very well done I thought. Each of the animals was a present as was the sun.








We got some Skype time in with our Dad and Facetimed with our family in Ohio. My grandparents had never done video chat before so it was rather amusing watching them try to figure out how it worked.

I've been working a string of night shifts since Christmas Day and have two more to go and then I will have a few days off. We'll be helping Erich move out of his apartment the next few days and then he will be coming home to spend a few nights before he moves to British Columbia on January 2nd. In between all that I hope to get out an update or two.

 

[Elevationist]

Oh my goodness, she looks SO HAPPY!!! Look at that sweet kitty face!!!

I love that tree!!! Beautiful!

The African Savanna was very well done I thought. Each of the animals was a present as was the sun.

WOW. That's is incredible! Never seen anything like it!

 

[UGAFan0829]

Lessa! I can't believe that I came across your report! It seems like it's been ages since I last read one of your reports! I am SO excited to have found this!!!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Oh my goodness, she looks SO HAPPY!!! Look at that sweet kitty face!!!

Yes, between the cat perch and her super strength catnip toy she was in seventh heaven. I think she and Hobbes spent most of Christmas stoned from the catnip.

I love that tree!!! Beautiful!

Thanks! We have a Disney tree in the basement rec room as well but it is not nearly as pretty.

WOW. That's is incredible! Never seen anything like it!

Yep, Erich is definitely creative. For my birthday he created a castle with a fire breathing dragon on top.

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Lessa! I can't believe that I came across your report! It seems like it's been ages since I last read one of your reports! I am SO excited to have found this!!!

Hi Missy! It is good to see an old Dis friend still around on the boards. I disappeared for a few years while in nursing school but now I am back in the Dis world!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

On our first full day at Disney I woke up around 6am to Mom playing a loud video on her laptop. Apparently she didn't realize that she hadn't put her earphones in. I asked her to please turn the volume off and Alek said if it had been anybody else (Erich or I) he would have thrown a pillow at her.

I tried to get back to sleep but it was a no go, I was up for the day. It was too dark outside still to see any animals so I jumped in the shower. Eventually it was light enough to see outside and lucky us we had tons of animals! Apparently the animals loved hanging out by our room in the early morning. This was perfect as it was the time when we would actually be in the room to see them.

Sorry for the quality of the photos, most were taken with my phone in the low light. Although some from Erich's camera are really good.























I think the vulture picture was actually taken the day before due to the amount of sun in the picture but we were able to see them from our room every day. Hard to tell as the date on Erich's camera was not set properly and so all his pictures are jumbled up.

After watching the animals for a bit I went into the room to grab some breakfast. We had picked up fruit, yogurt and milk at the grocery store the night before.

After breakfast I decided to go watch the animals a bit more. When I had left the balcony earlier I had left the door open. Well, I guess Mom decided to close it and I didn't notice because, BAM! I walked right into the glass sliding door. Alek and Erich got a really good laugh out of that. Especially because some of our favourite childhood stories are 1) Alek walking into the glass sliding door at our grandparents house when he was young and 2)Erich chasing our dog around in the backyard in Virginia and running/falling arms first through the glass screen door. Needless to say my walking into the glass door was a running joke for the rest of the trip, especially that day. I doubt that they will ever let me forget it.

We had not planned to rush to rope drop that morning but since we were all awake and ready to go we decided that we may as well head to the park. We would be going to Animal Kingdom and decided to take the bus instead of driving since we were so close. Usually I am all about getting to the parks for rope drop but fastpass + has pretty much eliminated the necessity of that.

Luck was with us and the bus pulled up right after we arrived at the bus stop.

A very short bus ride later we were walking up to our first park of the trip. It was just before rope drop. Since we were not in a rush we stopped at the Christmas Tree to get our picture taken.

 

[DonnaBeeGood]

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[adudeinblue]

That's a pretty awesome tree! I didn't think about asking until now, but did you enjoy your bus rides or car rides more? I mean AKL to AK is a short ride, but did you guys utilize more disney transport?

 

[FancyNancy]

Subbing in! I love those make your own Rice Krispy Treats at Goofy's! Looks like your trip report is off to an awesome start

 

[hokieinpa]

Whew, all caught up!

Your AKL pictures are making me SO EXCITED for May! The pool looks amazing! And I just love all of the animal pictures. How amazing is it to wake up and see a zebra from your balcony??

I'm glad you got to tour AOA. We stayed there last October in a Nemo suite. It was a perfect family resort. I agree that the Cars area has the best theme!

Fun but crowded night in DS (it's hard to write that - DTD just automatically comes out!). It was pretty busy when we were there on a Saturday night.

I'm sorry you didn't get to sleep in much on your first day. But at least you got a great view from your balcony! And great timing with the bus to AK! How is the bus set up at AKL? From what I've read it's different from Values. Are there lines or just open areas?

Great pictures in front of the tree!!

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

It was like the safari right outside your room, pretty good to see every day

 

[DisneyJo]

How great that you had so many animals to view but not so good about the patio door, glass hurts!!

 

[Elevationist]

Eventually it was light enough to see outside and lucky us we had tons of animals! Apparently the animals loved hanging out by our room in the early morning. This was perfect as it was the time when we would actually be in the room to see them.

Oh my gosh! So many!!! You lucky ducks!

After breakfast I decided to go watch the animals a bit more. When I had left the balcony earlier I had left the door open. Well, I guess Mom decided to close it and I didn't notice because, BAM! I walked right into the glass sliding door. Alek and Erich got a really good laugh out of that. Especially because some of our favourite childhood stories are 1) Alek walking into the glass sliding door at our grandparents house when he was young and 2)Erich chasing our dog around in the backyard in Virginia and running/falling arms first through the glass screen door. Needless to say my walking into the glass door was a running joke for the rest of the trip, especially that day. I doubt that they will ever let me forget it.

Okay, I shouldn't laugh, but I am. You poor thing!

I love this shot! So sweet!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

WOW - so cool to have giraffes right outside your room! Don't worry about the patio door, just think of it as you "putting your mark" on AKL. Your Christmas tree pictures are fabulous!

We were very lucky with the animals. When I first saw that we were at the very back end of the savanna I was worried that we wouldn't see much but apparently they like to get out of the way of the main viewpoint and hang out by our more private corner in the mornings. That or the food/caretakers come out near our room and so they know to congregate there.

That's a pretty awesome tree! I didn't think about asking until now, but did you enjoy your bus rides or car rides more? I mean AKL to AK is a short ride, but did you guys utilize more disney transport?

I always enjoy driving myself more. I like the control of being able to leave when I want without having to wait for a bus and not having to stand and be crowded in with a bunch of tired sweaty strangers. Our bus rides on this trip were not terrible and we certainly rode the bus more than we have on past trips but I think I will still always prefer having a car at my disposal. The car is also so much more convenient for going to Downtown Disney and going off property to eat/shop/groceries.

This trip we took the bus to AK, MK for the Christmas Party and to DHS (i had heard about the hellish parking and driving situation there due to the lights). The rest of the time we drove.

Subbing in! I love those make your own Rice Krispy Treats at Goofy's! Looks like your trip report is off to an awesome start

Welcome! I try and design a treat every trip. Gives me something yummy to snack on in the room throughout the week.

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Your AKL pictures are making me SO EXCITED for May! The pool looks amazing! And I just love all of the animal pictures. How amazing is it to wake up and see a zebra from your balcony??

It is pretty awesome! Loved waking up and seeing the animals first thing.

Fun but crowded night in DS (it's hard to write that - DTD just automatically comes out!). It was pretty busy when we were there on a Saturday night.

I know, I still have to remind myself it is Disney springs now. My first instinct is to call it DTD.

And great timing with the bus to AK! How is the bus set up at AKL? From what I've read it's different from Values. Are there lines or just open areas?

Covered open areas near the gift shop entrance. There are a few benches. I can't compare to the Values as I have never taken the bus while staying at a Value.

It was like the safari right outside your room, pretty good to see every day

Yep, it was fun to see the animals every morning and to look and see if anything different had shown up.

How great that you had so many animals to view but not so good about the patio door, glass hurts!!

Yeah, not my finest moment. My excuse is that my mind was still clouded with sleep.

Okay, I shouldn't laugh, but I am. You poor thing!

You can go ahead and laugh, it was a pretty ridiculous thing that i did.

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

After stopping for photopass at the Christmas tree it was time to enter the park. We got to try out the new "turnstile". Not too complicated, hold the Magic Band to the Mickey until he starts spinning and then scan your finger.

We wandered through the oasis at the front of the park but there wasn't much out to see so we started to head in the direction of Africa.

Mom and I stopped in at Starbucks on the way. I grabbed a Gingerbread Latte and pondered if I wanted to get the Animal Kingdom mug. I ended up not getting it as I already have too many mugs. I decided that later on I would get the special Christmas mug.



Another detour on the way to Africa, photopass! This photographer was a lot of fun. I love when you get a photopass photographer who has fun with their job. You end up getting better and more varied shots than those who just do the standard two snaps and their done.













After having fun posing for the camera we wandered over to the Safari entrance where we saw a massive group of people outside the entrance even though the wait time was posted as 10 minutes. I figured that couldn't be right so I asked a CM. They said that actually was right and that the line had just opened as they were late getting all the trucks started. I was really surprised as I hadn't thought we would get on the safari first thing due to our relaxed and slow entry to the park.

The line was essentially a walk through until we got to the front where they put you into rows. Mom chatted with the Cast Member at the front of the line and she talked about how she moved from Chicago 5 years before and it was the best decision she had made, especially when she sees posts about the snow back north. Apparently she hates snow, even the snow on Main St. Shocking!

The safari went well, we saw lots of animals. Here are a few shots.



We got to see the baby giraffes, they were adorable! Our guide told us about the father who came to AK 2 years ago and has had seven kids so far "He really likes it here!".











Thought these rhinos looked like conjoined twins.

 

[FancyNancy]

Love that you got a pic of the wild dogs! They were not on the safari that I took back in May. Great PP pics too!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Love that you got a pic of the wild dogs! They were not on the safari that I took back in May. Great PP pics too!

If I remember correctly the wild dogs have been added for the upcoming night safari. I am so looking forward to all the new attractions coming to WDW over these next few years. Can't wait to see them all!

 

[DonnaBeeGood]

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[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Thank you for keeping me motivated - I think AK will be my earliest morning with DH so that we can go on the Safari twice as early as we can! We won't be getting the photopass (we are both notoriously unphotogenic) - wouldn't want to stress out the photographers, but your brothers crack me up!

Definitely make AK a rope drop day if you want to guarantee riding the safari more than once without waiting in very long lines. Best way to do it in my opinion is head to the safari right away once the park opens and make your fastpass for the late afternoon. That way you have a greater chance of more varied animal activity.