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Thank you. Your answers are most helpful!
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I love this "best times chart" I just ran across -- the Fantasyland expansion has changed it a bit (Dumbo is no longer a priority at park opening), and there are some tricks it doesn't touch on (late afternoon is a good time for a lot of Future World, which she only mentions with Spaceship Earth), but a great one-page overview that I wish I could have handed out to the troops when we were there.
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B_0y...MVE/edit?pli=1Comment
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Not ignoring your request, Pat -- just got slammed by a virus and then took me a while to get back on track.
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To resume:
While the Hermit and I were wandering around, Geek Dad and the three youngest went to get Fastpasses for Toy Story Mania for Ballet Girl and SeaWorld Son, who promptly changed those passes for ones Geek Dad and Warrior Girl had gotten earlier (which were too close to Jedi for Geek Dad), and zipped through the Walt Disney museum, which they enjoyed. Hubby most liked the diorama for New Fantasyland:
And they hit the Animation Academy, where they got to draw Flynn Rider (for which I am thankful, because Warrior Girl would have gotten fussed and refused to participate if it was most any of the classic characters).
Ballet Girl's drawing:
And Geek dad's version:
Then the girls got pictures with Wreck It Ralph and Vanelope. Vanelope suggested they pretend to be driving:
They rode Star Tours, then Geek Dad and Warrior Girl went to get ready for the Jedi Training while Ballet Girl and SeaWorld Son did Toy Story Mania again.
The Hermit and I sat in the Backlot express while I finished my cookie, then I joined hubby in front of the stage. Ballet Girl hurried up, and hubby handed her one camera so she could take stills while he took video -- pulling her in front of me and then standing beside her, meaning a fair percentage of all my pics include his back.
But they had the better cameras, plus mine started acting up right as Warrior Girl went up to fight Darth Vader, and I finally had to turn it off to get it to behave again, so it was just as well.
The Jedi Training Academy guy was great, very on top of it. One of the younger ones did not get how to work his sword and the CM coped beautifully with him, helping him while integrating it into his patter.
Warrior Girl thinking,Those fools trusted me with a light saber?
Ducking. That kid next to Warrior Girl is looking to get his head lopped off!
Warrior Girl living up to her name.
After the Training Academy, we split up again. The Hermit and I wandered into Backlot Express, but there wasn't anything I wanted there badly enough to wait in line, so after taking a few pics we wandered right back out again! I'd kind of planned on doing the Epcot resorts, but the Hermit thought going home sounded better and I wasn't opposed. I'd planned on afternoon breaks anyhow, because that's when the crowds and heat (her two least favorite things) are at their peak.
On our way back to the condo we hit the flea market right near the resort, because the Tinkerbell-over-London mug I so loved had developed a crack and I couldn't use it anymore, and I was hoping to find the exact same mug again. Didn't think my odds were very good, but the third stall with Disney mugs had a bunch of them! So I was happy. Then we got a gonzo huge slurpee and appreciated bargain prices for a change, heh. So we crashed at the resort for a while while the rest spent the whole day there.Last edited by Hobbitess; 04-01-2013, 11:28 PM.Comment
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Meanwhile, the rest of the crew was having a good ol’ time. They grabbed a snack at Writer’s Stop, retrieved some sandwiches from the front of the park, where SeaWorld Son insisted on a picture with this truck:
Then they sat in the stands, eating their lunch and waiting for Indiana Jones to start:
Geek Dad really liked the airplane – when Air & Space did an article on famous movie planes, they used a picture of the one at Hollywood Studios!
http://www.airspacemag.com/history-o...n=thumb#IMAGES
But personally, I think it looks unflyable – the propellers are so flat.
Geek dad got some nice action shots:
And some weird ones:
Then they rode Star Tours. Ballet Girl's journal is conflicting with her dad's pictures on what they did when, but at some point SeaWorld Son bought an Ewok, and at some other point they took pictures with the non-existent speeder bike:
Ballet Girl's journal also doesn't mention the Great Movie Ride, although I know they rode it and she liked it and everyone took pictures there. So who knows what they did all afternoon. Eventually they did the last show of Lights, Motors, Action, and then wandered the Streets of America:
And ran across the highlight of their day thusfar, namely Frank, Connor and Heather doing a skit where the director tries to get things done and his two helpers are Very Difficult, in the course of which Geek Dad and the kids got to play extras of various sorts:
Last edited by Hobbitess; 04-01-2013, 10:54 PM.Comment
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The Hermit and I returned to the park and did Muppet Vision 3-D. We caught the rest of them in the Streets of America area and, after quickly checking in, wandered on to do the AFI display at the end of the Studio Backlot Tour before it closed. Disney's website claims it's "Villains: Movie Characters You Love to Hate", so I was expecting to see all the stuff I was looking forward to in that exhibit -- Darth Vader's costume, Cruella deVille's, Jadis' chariot and costume from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe -- but it was all lies, LIES, I tell you.
Instead there's a reproduction of Scarlet O'Hara's curtain dress, a life boat from Titanic, armor from Gladiator, and various things from North by Northwest, Casablanca, The Godfather II and The Sound of Music. *sigh* Great for people who've seen the old exhibit, and actually we thought it was fine, it's just that I would have much preferred the other one because that had a higher percentage of movies I love -- not to mention a higher percentage of movies the Hermit has seen! If I'd known about the change ahead of time we could have caught up on some of them pretty happily; bugs me that the Disney website isn't up to date on that.
Then we got back together with the troops for a bit, seems like, but split up again because the Hermit and I decided we'd rather do "One Man's Dream" than go to Fantasmic. For some reason I didn't take many pictures after we got back, but I did get some of these adorable Figaro figures:
We had a bit of time before we needed to meet the troops, so we stopped into the ABC Commissary. I know it gets dreadful reviews when it comes to sandwiches, but I'd heard it was fine for desserts, which seems to be the case. We split a chocolate mousse and a strawberry parfait, and although I'd say the mousse was more pudding than mousse, we enjoyed them both.
Then we headed out to meet the troops and quickly realized that I'd managed to suggest a designated smoking area for our meeting place. But we just moved back on their presumed route and waited for them there, which worked out fine.
Turns out we'd missed quite a lot by not going to Fantasmic -- not the show itself, but what happened beforehand. Most of the family had gone to the stadium early, of course (Mr. Cool wandered in later), and as it happened Connor was wandering the audience and recognized Geek Dad, Seaworld Son, Ballet Girl and Warrior Girl, quickly counting them off as: “Giant Camera, Ewok, Tourist, Tourist!”
They got to talking, he eventually called Frank over and at one point they asked for our real family name. Then when the pre-show started, turns out they were hosting it. After directing some games with the audience (Finish the lyric, outscream the other team, etc.), Connor eventually announced a trivia game, and called Geek Dad and crew down. Mr. Cool was sitting elsewhere by himself. Our last name is the same as a critter from a science fiction series, so when Connor asked them their last name, a lady sitting by Mr. Cool exclaimed, “Oh, come on! That’s not a real name!”
Mr. Cool should have told her, "Hey, we had it first, lady."
Anyhow, Geek Dad and the kids were Team Tangled, they got all their questions right (with hints from Connor on the Tower of Terror one – none of us have even ridden it). So they all got Special Disney Popcorn, which totally Made Their Night. My three youngest were tripping over each other trying to tell me what a terrific time they'd had, and Geek Dad was clearly pleased as well. Even SeaWorld Son was willing to admit that Disney was as much fun (maybe more) as SeaWorld.
I thought Hollywood Studios would be the park that converted Mr. Cool. Far as I can tell, it had no real impact on him.
Kids with their Fantastic Fantasmic Popcorn -- since we never get them all smiling at once, we just keep clicking...
Last edited by Hobbitess; 04-01-2013, 10:44 PM.Comment
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Friday we went to the Art of Animation Resort and Pop Century. We were in a hurry for some reason; don't remember why, just remember Geek Dad was fussing over the time. Mostly we were there for some tie-dyed cheesecake at Pop, which I am inordinately fond of, but I wanted to get a quick look at the Art of Animation Resort since we were going right next door. I sure thought Geek Dad took some pictures there but were not finding them, so all I have is a couple I took in the Cars area.
I love how they've made tire tracks so it looks like he slid back into position!
I also like that they have Burma Shave-style signs:
Mater Used It
Dang Near Fainted
Looked Like He
Had Just
Been Painted
And then, instead of BurmaShave it says:
They have Disney versions of at least two of the common styles from the original: the Mater Used It jingle is typical of one sales type, while the Sheriff series on the other side is like Burma Shave's safety type. I've always thought Burma Shave was cool -- not just because of the signs, but because the original Burma Shave company even sent a guy to Mars! (Well, a Mars):
http://www.snopes.com/business/market/mars.asp
And of course, like Cars, it's part of the whole "Route 66" Vibe:
(from here: http://ninetoone.wordpress.com/2010/02/15/hello-world/ )
Ironically, there are now BurmaShave ads posted on Route 66 in Arizona -- which is one of the four (I think) states where the original company didn't put any up!
Unfortunately, about all we saw of AoA was a bit of the Cars area and the pool area in the distance. I really liked how deeply themed the Cars stuff was, and like how it feels like a series of little vignettes instead of randomly posed big icons. We didn't get that close, but from what we saw the Nemo pool looks cool. However I'm less enthused about the walls with the art sheets:
I dunno why, but for some reason the windows in the desert back ground don't bother me, but the windows in the "animation sheets" do. So for me, it's like the AoA is half better themed than the other Values (the vignettes), and half worse themed (the animation sheets). But I guess I'll probably like it once I get used to it.
We hit the gift shop, where I got an AoA Nemo pin but didn't see anything else that tempted me, then headed over to Pop, where I agonized for some time over a bunch of charms, couldn't make up my mind, and bought nothing. And then we got some tie-dyed cheesecake.
The thing with tie-dyed cheesecake is, at home, when I make red velvet cake or much of anything else with coloring, I skip the coloring. I can't always taste colorants, but I have often enough I avoid them. And tie-dyed cheesecake is ALL colorants; it's red velvet cake with neon-dyed cheesecake on top:
(from the Dis boards Resort Thread for Pop)
^ That's what it usually looks like, except in a clamshell container, but on searching for a picture (we didn't take any), I ran across this:
(from this thread: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1216698)
Now I want one with *that* kind of presentation! :cool2:
Anyhow, that's one recipe I will never even bother trying to make at home, because I am dead certain half the appeal is the atmosphere.
It was a nice day, so we sat outside and had a peaceful moment with our cheesecake and just absorbing the ambiance. And that was about as exciting as Friday got.
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SATURDAY Animal Kingdom
So we pulled up to get our parking pass for the AK bright and early, and were promptly awarded with a Magical Moment card for "Dream Parking." The CM told us to follow the blue(?) line which led us past everyone else. I took a picture as soon as I got out -- only way we could have been closer to the gate would be to park on the grass.
The kids were more excited about this before their dad lined them up facing into the sun for a series of pictures. I moved him over a bit and they perked up again.
So we headed in, snapping pictures all the way.
I wish the Beastly Kingdom was still in the plans. And that there was a dragon ride in it. Although why Disney choose giant bats for the dragon's enemies is beyond me -- wouldn't another mythical being be better, like a manticore or gryphon? Either one have a hard time taking on a dragon by themselves and, like the bats, need the riders for help. Or they could have gone for tigers, who are traditionally the enemies of dragons in Chinese mythology. Or the fairies or sirens that Spanish dragons used to kidnap and hold prisoner. Nope. Giant bats.
Maybe I'm not so sad Beastly Kingdom never came to be after all.
I wonder if Fantasia Gardens mini-golf shares anything but the name with the Beastly Kingdom ride they'd planned. My guess is that, since the original Fantasia Gardens was going to be a flume ride, they decided they were never going to do it once they put in Kali Rive Rapids, so maybe there was some shared concept art or something.
If you scan down this page past the EE and Dinosaur stuff, there's some of the Beastly Kingdom concept art:
http://disneyandmore.blogspot.com/20...rtwork_25.html
Mazes are cool.
I'd promised Warrior Girl we'd do the Maharajah Jungle Trek first, which doesn't open until a half hour after the rest of the park, so the Hermit, Warrior Girl and I dawdled through the Oasis.
Everyone else headed straight for Kilimanjaro Safari. Geek Dad bought himself a new camera the month before; combine "unfamiliar camera" with "gloomy day" and "jouncy ride," and I didn't expect much, but he got a couple of shots I liked.
I dunno what this is, but it looks contented:
This rhino who held them up a bit, then wandered off:
And he got some kinda blurry ones of the male lion:
Then they did the Pangani Forest Trail, which is where I expect he took this picture of a hungry okapi:
I've always been fond of okapi. Their coloring is cool, and they were considered mythical beasts in Europe and the Americas until someone brought back proof of their existence in 1901. Before that, it was "the African unicorn." It's still called "the ghost of the forest." So I don't know why it is, when people ask, "Which savannah at the AKL has the best view?", that so many people say, "avoid the Pembe, it doesn't have any giraffe, just okapi." I even saw one person call okapi the "poor man's giraffe."
The Pembe is the smallest savannah, which I will bet is why it's not a favorite, I dunno why the okapi gets the blame.
/rant
Geek dad got a couple of clear pics of the gorilla's tush, and took many, many blurry ones of his face:
And he liked this bird's plumage:
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SATURDAY Animal Kingdom II
Meanwhile, the Hermit, Warrior Girl and I were dawdling along, talking to the occasional CM and looking at lots of birds.
And waterfalls:
And random architectural details:
And blurs in the distance that might possible be animals:
Pretty sure they're Reeve's muntjac, but you couldn't prove it by my pictures.
How about a bird and a waterfall as an apology for that last shot?
We stopped at the Anandapur Tea Cart. The Hermit got some Roobios, which she thought was bland; I got some Chai which I thought was good.
It was starting to look like Tiger Country.
Or maybe dragon country. Nope, with those rounded ears, I'm calling it a tiger. Or a dragon-tiger.
Warrior Girl talked to the CM about the komodo dragons for a while. Venomous saliva? Warrior Girl's a fan.
She also liked the bats:
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SATURDAY Animal Kingdom III
But where we spent the most time was with the tiger, who was pacing off to the left. He'd walk over to the pool...
Stand there a moment...
Turn around...
And walk back.
After watching him do this a couple of times, Warrior Girl finally asked the CM standing there, "Does he do anything else?" The CM replied, "Well, they're creatures of habit, you know, and this is his usual morning routine."
But after doing that three or four times, he got more adventurous and headed around behind the pool...
And up to the other side...
Where he'd consider jumping -- I've seen them on videos galloping around across here like it was nothing, but apparently it takes considerable thought some days...
He'd gather himself up a bit...
Annnnnnd walk away again:
He went back to his route over to the left again, although this time when he came back he kept going up and around to the right side again, and each time he'd gather himself on the edge of the pool just long enough to convince Warrior Girl he was really going to jump this time -- before resuming his pacing. He didn't always go as far back as he did the first time, and eventually he'd just barely started up the hill when he stopped, turned around, and gathered himself up on the edge without even contemplating the idea. I took tons of pictures as he did this, and the sun must have shifted just enough that they are uniformly dreadful. *sigh*
After gathering himself up tighter than ever for that jump across, he suddenly reaches out one paw...
And steps across. What's more, after that big ol' production going over the first time, he pokes around on the wet steps a bit, then returns the way he came, and doesn't even bother collecting himself -- he basically hops across with just a longer stride than usual:
Then he starts pacing in a big loop that doesn't even involve looking into the water. Apparently, that jump is his big challenge of the day, and he's done. So, if the tigers have been asleep every time you're there -- now you know what you've been missing.Comment
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Disneyworld
Hobbitess
Enjoyed reading your trip report!
Nice photos. Thanks for sharing.Comment
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Thank you for your kind words, Marti.
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Warrior Girl appreciated most aspects of the Maharajah Jungle trek, including the artwork.
Note her shirt -- it's got Mickey running from a cheetah, crying, "Nice kitty, nice kitty!" Warrior Girl is convinced the cheetah takes him down and takes him out just off panel.
I think these are blackbuck does. Whatever they are, they were having a good ol' time bouncing across from one side to the other, then milling about until something set them off again.
Geek Dad and his crew joined us by Maharajah Jungle Trek so Warrior Girl could switch to them while the Hermit and I wandered Asia a bit. We listened to a guy play an Anklung for a while.
Here's an example of what an anklung sounds like -- reminded me sort of a marimba, but obviously it's played very differently:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZ3HgrXw670
When he was done, we went to check out the palm leaf weaving.
About that time the guy who'd been doing it switched out with a lady, and the crowd dispersed considerable a bit after that, and the weaver offered to do an animal for the Hermit, who requested a fish (there were three choices -- fish and bird were two, maybe the third was a turtle?). The hermit wore her fish proudly for the rest of the day:
Checking the schedule, we saw it was about time for a bird show, and we were about done with Asia anyhow, so we got a pretzel and a drink and got in line. They did a brief bird show before they let us in, during which we realized everyone else in the family was going to that show as well, but since we were at different points in the line, Mr. Cool sat square in the middle while Geek Dad and the younger ones sat toward the right and the Hermit and I sat in the risers in the back (I'm short, I like serious risers).
This time sitting by himself was to Mr. Cool's advantage -- he got called on to participate in a trick:
If he doesn't watch it, people are going to start thinking he's having a good time... You could see the bird better if he were wearing a brighter color shirt, but it's there in this second shot:
Warrior Girl also got to participate -- she was called up to have a "special photography session":
Which she may or may not have appreciated.
What's funny is that, in this picture Warrior Girl is ducking and the other lady looks cool, but if I remember rightly, the other lady ended up ducking more than Warrior Girl.
After the bird show, the Hermit and I headed to Africa, while Geek Dad and the younger ones headed out to watch the Festival of the Lion King, which they enjoyed.
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Then they had some ice cream and headed for Dinoland:
Dinosaur! instantly became Warrior Girl's favorite ride. Here she is with her favorite dinosaur:
Then they spent some time exploring the boneyard and dug up some bones:
They watched Finding Nemo: The Musical, then headed out to the Maharajah Jungle Trek. The critters were not as active, but I like hubby's pics a lot better than mine! He's the real photographer of the family.
Then the younger girls danced, first in Asia...
and then in Africa, where people were line dancing to the band:
Warrior Girl has dropped out, and I think even Ballet Girl was getting a little tired:
So they decided it was time to sit on the train and take it easy on the way out to Rafiki's.Comment
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