Salute To The Troops Trip Report-Part 1 May 2-7

Great report so far! Keep it (and the pics!) coming!

I was wondering if that was a good deal or not. We are thinking of going for the F&WF. Love the pics, keep them coming

Great so far! Can't wait to see the rest. It's making me anxious to leave in a few days for my trip. How were the crowds for you?

Love reading your trip reports! Can't wait to read some more... Keep it coming!

We had a little fun along the way too J


We passed Kali River Rapids only to discover that they weren’t issuing FPs, and the wait was only 10 minutes. Makes sense, who would want to get soaked that early in the day? I wasn’t sure if the FP thing was temporary but as it turned out, they didn’t issue them all day.





So we grabbed two FPs for Expedition Everest and headed back to Africa for KJS. When I passed Flights of Wonder, I made a mental note; I loved this show last time and definitely try to see it each time we are at AK.



I grabbed a photo op in front of the tree…It was very very humid this morning!


Then I met up with DH and we took our fantastic safari!!




Samuel waiting in the queue:


And we’re off for our 2-week excursion!

Ravenclaw87 said:

Great report so far! Keep it (and the pics!) coming!

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I hope to get a little done each day! :wave:

Disney Soldier said:

I was wondering if that was a good deal or not. We are thinking of going for the F&WF. Love the pics, keep them coming

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It's an AWESOME deal!! When you say F&WF, I'm not sure what you mean? Especially if you do the 40% off of Disney property it is a great deal! You should call Disney direct, most of the operators are more than helpful to search packages for you that include the military discounts.

DizneyPryncess said:

Great so far! Can't wait to see the rest. It's making me anxious to leave in a few days for my trip. How were the crowds for you?

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Thanks! Crowds weren't too bad...I'd say 6-7 out of 10. Animal Kingdom seems more crowded at times because many of the trails are a little more narrow. Just utilize FPs and such and you won't even notice crowds. I do imagine the crowds will increase as the weeks of May go on and into the summer.

disneygirl1 said:

Love reading your trip reports! Can't wait to read some more... Keep it coming!

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Thanks! I appreciate the attention!:lol:

See…I told you he’s just as excited as me!

Food & Wine Festival

Oh good, they saved Baby Red!!


Next we followed the crowd to Pangani Forest Exploration Trail








Remember the photo ham I was telling you about? Here’s his version of the hippo skull behind him


And this is how wide a croc will open its mouth

Loving the pictures! Your boys are so cute too by the way!

Um, Aaron, I don’t think those are for standing…

A beautiful day to be under the canopy of trees at AK

Winding through the "maze" of bamboo

And this is my dear sweet husband trying to scare the bajeezus out of me with those damn rubber snakes. I'm so glad Disney doesn't have a snake/reptile house *shivers*

I got my first pressed penny of the trip at a gift shop(I believe it was Mombasa Marketplace and Ziwani Traders) and we headed over to:

For Expedition Everest!


The hubby in front of Everest


But first we had to stop along the way because I found a great place to photograph the tree again





It is a little place to sit on tables and munch called Upcountry Landing. It looks like it could end up being a queue for a little boat ride along the river…who knows? I think that’s a nice idea…

We had some time so we grabbed some ice cream



You mean my red ice cream is not shaped like Mickey? L

Ok, you’ve gotta love these signs in the EE queue right before you head onto the train platform:


(Sorry it’s blurry...its hard to take pictures as the line is moving and you feel like you are holding everyone up!)


Going up!

“Mr. Yeti, I respect thee!”

Looking over Asia from Everest


YIKES! (but I have to say the backward part is my ultimate fave) And I love how you just sit here for like 15 seconds listening to Yeti sounds. Just as you start to wonder if the ride has broken down, you plunge backward. Awesome!

Great report so far!! You're right the military salute is an awesome deal. I hope you can get the 40% off rooms next time too!!

I'm with Aaron by the way, I think all popsicles at Disney should be Mickey shaped.

Oh that’s what happened…

So after I rode, it was DH’s turn and we gave Caleb another chance to ride. He rode several times last time we were at AK and that was nearly 2 years ago. But for some reason, this time the yeti psyched him out…for now. So this time, Ben and I rode as single riders.

After that, we decided it was already getting hot enough to ride Kali River Rapids. The stand-by said 40 minutes but it was only 15-20.
Yay!! Aaron is tall enough now, which meant we got to ride one of our first family rides of the trip. (he wasn't standing up straight in this picture)














Just before you enter the temple part of the queue I noticed that they’ve got chainsaw noises going on in the forest part…I love the detail Disney puts into everything

Ooh I can't wait to read more Melanee. I don't think I knew your name before you introduced yourself in this here trip report!! Love the AK pictures :sohappy:.

Caleb goes, “How come that one guy’s only got one arm?”




Samuel had to measure himself at every measuring station




Come on lady, quit taking pictures and get on!






Hmmm, this looks pretty fun


And they LOVED getting wet!!

Right at first as the ride started, we went down the conveyor and there is a huge geyser that dies down as your boat goes over it then shoots right back up…and guess who it fell on…just ME! My dreams of having a mild ride were killed right away-lol
They LOVED getting soaked!! As soon as they got off, Samuel wanted to go right back on but we moved on.
Anyone see themselves in this picture??

The monkeys, you can see this in the distance

Ok, whoever designed this splashy fountain area right outside of Kali River Rapids sucks!! It is like a kid magnet, not so much a joy to parents who would like their kids to walk out of Animal Kingdom with a dry cell in their bodies. The kids were already wet and in the mood for water fun, so they ended up getting SOAKED to the bone!! I let down my mom meter though and just let them have their fun. I had extra clothes thank goodness!

After all the water fun, our tummies decided it was time for lunch. So we got some dry clothes on the drenched children and headed over to Flame Tree BBQ. I was interested in the water-side seating I’ve heard of. On the way over to Discovery Island, we grabbed 2 more FPs for EE, checked out the times for Finding Nemo: The Musical, and got 2 FPs for Dinosaur (Rawrrrrr).



There’s also a great photo op near the water-side tables for Flame Tree BBQ





I've been trying out the vegetation-in-front style of pic a lot lately I guess LOL


Lunch was good!! The ribs ended up giving Ben a real stomachache though later on in the day (as I'll mention). I don’t know if it was just too heavy or what…I had the smoked turkey sandwich with really good coleslaw. The kids had the first of their many hotdog meals of the trip.
Aaron was more interested in chasing ducks than eating lunch. I kept telling him the ducks didn’t want to play and he said “I just want to say hi!!” as the ducks bolted off!


One crazy thing happened while we were there eating lunch. I was taking pictures while keeping a close eye on Aaron chasing ducks. Well, while my eye was looking through the lens and not Aaron for a split second, he managed to swipe someone's little cake they'd purchased for lunch!! I turned around and he was showing me "his cake". I was mortified!!! My son just stole someone's dessert! I frantically looked around the tables and we even went to a few nearby sections but I have no idea what happened. I didn't see anyone eating lunch still who was looking for a cake. And there wasn't any food carts nearby either. It was the weirdest thing...I did make an effort but then gave up. I kept the cake but it melted and we had to throw it away later. :shrug:

We sat by this garden pool and watched the ducks swim and play. I loved the beautiful flowers, and was taking pics of them when the dessert-stealing happened.

Anyone know what these weeping trumpet style ones are called?


After lunch, everyone was full, rested and dry and we walked over to It’s Tough to Be a Bug! We’ve never seen this show, but I wondered about Aaron. He’s not a fan of the dark room/loud noises combo. So I sat near an exit in case I had to bolt early. My intuition was right and he hated it from the start so he and I left. We had a great time exploring the trails winding through the Tree of Life though. All of the carvings and details are really a sight not to miss!
Elephant


Monkeys/Baboons


Beetle


Deer/Elk


I love this guy, he's amazing...he's as large as an average human guy is tall


Another Elephant


A whole bunch of things!


Samuel in his cute bug glasses:


Once the show was over, I met DH and the older boys. I asked Caleb(9-years-old) if he liked it and his exact quote was, "Uh uh (shaking head), I was VERY disappointed!" DH liked the show and I guess Samuel did, but as a whole ITTBAB rubbed our fam the wrong way I guess.

Next we decided that DH would take Caleb and they’d go use the FPs for Dinosaur and get a child swap so I could go after. So I took the younger kids to find the stroller. A word of warning: Make sure you know exactly where to exit ITTBAB because otherwise you’ll do what I did and wander around along the Tree of Life trails looking for your stroller. There are trails all over the place and although they are great for sightseeing and moseying around, they are not so great when you are packing a 45-lb child desperate to find your stroller. So find the stroller parking when you go IN.