Trip Report We tried New Things/Invasion of the Mother-In-Law- September 2016

catmandoo · Nov 19, 2016

Since the Mine Train was a no-go, we decided to hop across the way to visit with Frank's Favorite... Pooh. There was a 10 or so minute wait for the ride, so we got in line, then noticed Pooh and his Friends were having a meet and greet next door... we thought we'd visit them after the ride.

When we got off the ride, Pooh and his Friends were gone from the meet and greet, so we just moved on... I suggested we take a ride on the teacups... "*Sigh* If you want to..." was Frank's reply. We got into a purple teacup and Frank was THRILLED!

But I think he secretly loved it.

(look how cute he is!)
We headed into tomorrowland with no real plan, and saw that Buzz Lightyear had a 5 minute wait... so it was time for a rematch! For some reason our picture didn't show up this time... but I snagged some pictures of our scores.
First up- Me

And Frank-

He was mad cause I "cheated" again... I think he scored around 60,000 that time....

After that, we were a little tired from our big day... so, we decided to head out... Overall, it was a fun time.
We headed out of the Magic Kingdom...

And toward the buses.... we didn't wait long, and it was one of the double buses, so nearly everyone had a seat... There were maybe a couple standees...
When we got back to the hotel, we stopped at the food area for some beverages and then caught the resort loop bus back to Trinidad South... we got to our room, opened the door... and this was waiting for us. (photo by Frank)

Now... this was odd since we don't have a child... and had not asked for a crib or anything that sounded like a crib... or anything at all in fact.... So I called the front desk and they said just to put it outside. We did, however, keep the extra towels.

And that concludes our second day!
Next post- Day two by Frank
and on Day three... we visit with some animals and hoop it up.

catmandoo · Nov 19, 2016

Day two- By Frank

A bird and a Duck.

A mask on the Adventureland sign.

Me, posing on a rock bench

A skull on a post

This is where the rum has gone.

A handicap sign...

And finally, me waiting for the Hocus Pocus show.

See you soon for Day 3!

fractal · Nov 21, 2016

A few things.

First, congrats on the Anniversary! Not embarrassing at all - I thought for sure it was going to be the grape drink being spilled somewhere.

Second, love the report - very nice job with the photos! You can't have too many.

Third - Frank would make the best poker player. Cracking me up!

Finally - too funny about the crib!

catmandoo · Nov 26, 2016

Day 3- Saturday September 17

Since we had a late night at the Halloween party, we didn't have anything to early planned for this day. I think our first fastpass was around 10am. We didn't sleep too late.. I think we were up around 730, just out of habit I guess. We both get up pretty early for work. We took our time getting ready and then went to the bus stop. We didn't wait terribly long for the bus before we were on our way to...

Animal Kingdom is a strange park to me... It opened the year after my last childhood visit... and then I didn't visit again until about 7 years later... so it wasn't part of my growing up. Sometimes it doesn't feel very Disney to me... but it does contain my favorite ride in all of Disney World... stay tuned for that.
Anyway, made it through the bag check with no problems, then on our way to the entrance. Shortly after, we were in and headed back to Africa for our Safari fastpass.

As we passed by Pizzafari, I stopped in my tracks. THEY CHANGED THE MENU. I was devastated. I know it's not the best, but for some reason, I love the pizza they used to serve... SO with Pinocchio's Village Haus changing a few years ago... No pizza place at Epcot really (That I know of anyway)... and Pizza Planet being closed... it was a sad day.
Anyway, we moved along into Africa.
There was some sort of Music show or something going on and there was a crowd of people gathered in a circle dancing... the guy in the white shirt and red and blue hat was super into it.

After watching for a few minutes, we headed back and Mickey turned green, and we were into the line.

Lots of people must've had the same idea as us because I think we waited about 20 minutes in the line. It was nice to be in the shade at least... but eventually we were ushered into the waiting area and assigned to the first row of the vehicle. It think this was the first time we were ever in the front row. Our guide, Katie (I think), welcomed us and we were on our way.
There were actually quite a few animals out in the morning.... like this guy hiding behind the trees...

And this guy just out in the open...

And then there was a giraffe just posing by the side of the road for us. I got quite a few good pictures of him... he was pretty close to us.

There were some elephants out too!

For some reason I thought it would be fun to take this picture of our guide in the rearview mirror... I was trying to be artsy.

Coming up... The Safari continues... and we head out to find a Yeti.

mouse_luv · Nov 26, 2016

Love your tr! Following Along! Oh and Happy Anniversary!

catmandoo · Nov 26, 2016

Day 3 continued...

We continued along our way, and next up were the Lions. In all my trips on the Safari, I had never seen the lions, they were always hiding somewhere sleeping... But not this time! While he was sleeping, he was doing it in the open this time.

I was super excited to finally see the lion. And then we rounded the corner and saw.... his lady friend! Also sleeping, but outside!

Having seen the lions, I was good, contentedly waiting for the Safari to be over... we continued on our way, and then had to stop. It seemed the was a flock of Ostriches... Flock? Is that what a group of ostriches is called? Yes... according to the google. Anyway, they also had some white... four legged horned creatures with them... (I can never remember anything except Okapis.

We were waiting for a good five minutes while the guys in the blue truck tried to steer the animals off the path... Katie(?) kept randomly spouting facts and giving us a play by play of what they were doing. After a bit, we slowly crept along the path, cause they were still quite close to the side of the road. I took some close up pictures of the Ostriches, but this was my favorite.

The one in the back looks so surprised that we were there.
After that, our safari quickly came to an end and we said Kwaherini to she who might be named Katie. We had a fastpass for Expedition Everest coming up, so we headed that way... past the new Harambe Market. We took a moment to look around. I thought a few of the food choices looked promising, but Frank... not so much. A few years ago on our trip, I made him eat at Tusker House... and he had Macaroni and Cheese from the kid's buffet... and maybe chicken nuggets.

I'm not sure if this is a hidden mickey... since it's right out in the open...

I don't know what is going on with my font here, it keeps changing on its own.

So we continued on our way toward Everest... There, that's better. There was a monkey out swinging from the ropes.

We continued on our way and I tried to take a far off picture, but this girl evidently pulled the camera's focus. I think it turned out kind of neat anyway... with Everest all hazy in the distance...

We used our fastpasses for the ride and it was pretty much a walk-on. Oh! I almost forgot our Ride picture! Hang on while I go upload it.

...
...
...
...
Okay! I was being silly and Frank looks thrilled as usual... It seems the woman in front of us has lost her neck, though... how sad for her. And please excuse her gentleman friend's armpits.

(The yeti was not working...but that goes without saying)

Since it was getting close to noon, we were getting a bit hungry, so Frank decided we should head toward his favorite Animal Kingdom restaurant.
On the way, I took these two pictures of Everest in action.

Coming up... a bite to eat... a trip to the Big Blue World... and a sad moment.

blreinsel · Nov 26, 2016

What about Via Napoli at Epcot??

catmandoo · Nov 27, 2016

blgauger said:
What about Via Napoli at Epcot??

They have good pizza... but it's not the weird carboard-esque quick service pizza that I love for some reason.

catmandoo · Nov 27, 2016

Day three continued
So, we headed back to Dinoland USA to eat at Frank's favorite Animal Kingdom restaurant...

He mostly likes it for the toppings bar... and since Pizzafari (Or Pete's Safari as Frank calls it...) had changed the menu, I was fine with a burger. Which it what I had... the bacon cheeseburger... And there was guacamole on the toppings bar, so that was cool.

And Frank had a chicken sandwich of some sort... He said it was "Tasty"

And we got one of each of the desserts... Strawberry cheesecake and Turtle Brownie.

We left the restaurant through a side door... and come out right in front of my Favorite Ride in all of Walt Disney World.... which... unfortunately... was closed for refurbishment. :cry:

Knowing that we wouldn't be visiting for 2 or three years made this refurbishment hurt a lot... This is a representation of my face when I read the news it would be closed...

They did have the queue and surrounding area open to walk through, so that was nice... I got as close as I could without actually riding and took a few pictures with no people milling about.
Frank did not want to take this picture of the dinosaur eating him.

And one last shot of the front of the Building...

I sighed and we bid adieu to Dinosaur until the next time... uncertain of when that would be. But we had a fastpass to make, so we went on our way. We didn't venture into Chester and Hester's... but I did spot a little piece of home on our walk...

An old Ohio license plate!
I am glad they repainted this guy.

We walked along, headed back the way we came for our next fastpass...

Coming up- A trip to the Big Blue World... we learn that it's tough to be a bug... and venture back to Africa.

catmandoo · Nov 27, 2016

Day three continued...

We got to our destination and in line for what may be my favorite show in Animal Kingdom...

I don't know if Frank likes it, but I make him sit through it every time we go... I even have the CD soundtrack and have listened to it/seen the show enough to have it memorized, but it's still a thrilling spectacle for me...
We had decent seats with the fastpass and settled in for the show.

Most of my pictures came out blurry... cause of the dark and movement... I'm not sure quite yet how to work all the settings on the camera, but I got a couple decent shots...

Full disclosure here... I usually get teary a few times during this show... I lost my dad 10 years ago today... and some of the lyrics... and Marlin's search for his son.... Nemo realizing that Marlin would do anything for him... It makes me miss him a lot.

But moving on to happier things... We left the show, and I managed to snag a fastpass for the Lion King show... but we made a quick diversion before to see It's Tough To Be A Bug... not because it's a great show or anything... but because it's funny to see the audience reaction. There was a super grumpy Photopass photographer in the queue, so we decided to stop and she took this very off centered picture.

And after posting that.... I just realized I missed our Photopass pictures that we had taken on the Bridge betwixt Everest and Finding Nemo...
So here they are... (this photographer was super nice)
A freak snowstorm in Florida...

The "Bro Pose"

And this torturous pose for Frank... he had to put his arms around me... But it was magical.

You can just see the pain in his eyes...
Anyhow, We saw the show and enjoyed the crowd reactions... Good times.
On our way back to Africa, I stopped for my Favorite Disney Treat...

I could really go for one right now...
As we walked back to Africa, we passed this... I did not know this was a thing. I have no memory of it... has it always been there? It was roped off the entire time we were there.

Coming up... Back to Africa, where we learn it is a small world after all...

catmandoo · Nov 27, 2016

So we headed into Africa and toward the theater. I'm glad they built a dedicated theater for this show... it's always a great time. Funnily enough, I don't really like The Lion King movie... but the music is pretty great.

We went into the line behind family with a few kids... we were going along and I was looking to see if there were any other fastpasses we could get before we headed out... when I heard a woman say "Hi, Frank!" I looked up and the lady in front of us was talking to Frank. You can actually see her in the picture above holding the spray fan right by the fastpass entrance.
Turns out she was someone Frank used to work with at his old job, and they just happened to be there and in line in front of us. This was the first time we ever randomly ran into someone we know at Disney World. They chatted for a while as we waited to go in.
The thing I don't like about using a Fastpass for this show is they direct you where to sit... I feel like if it's a fastpass you should be able to sit wherever you want... I understand the logistics of it, it's just a little annoying.
Anyway, the show started and once again most of the pictures were blurry, but I got a few decent ones...
I love the tumble monkeys... they are my favorite part of this show.

The fire guy

The flying birds...

Getting close to the end...

And the finale. The Circle of Life.
We fought the crowds out of the theater and headed toward the park exit as there were no fastpasses we wanted... and could use a little break from the heat before we headed to dinner... on the way out, we saw these guys somewhere...

As we walked toward the bus stop, I had Frank stop to take this picture... You can just tell by his face that he truly did have a wild time

At the bus stop, we had a clear view of the Avatarland progress... I'm going to put it in a spoiler thing just in case people don't want to see...

I'm excited for it... I actually really enjoyed the movie... and watch it every so often. I know it's not super Disney-ish... but... times change and so must we.

Coming up... Dinner AND a show!

Tikitumeke · Nov 27, 2016

Oh my! You and Frank!! I cracked up reading this so many times!! The manatees holding the lettuce like "they are peoples" and the crib, and Frank's enthusiasm!! Can't wait for the rest.
- Jaimee and Ben from NZ

LeighM · Nov 28, 2016

I'm loving your trip report!!! Frank's (non) facial expressions are cracking me up LOL. I can't ride Expedition Everest but I know there is no way in this world that I could keep such a stoic expression on that ride :joyfull:

And I've never seen the Tree of Life Garden sign before. But I like it. And I looove Tusker House! The first time we ate there, my husband hated it because he wasn't the type to experiment with new foods. So he ate nothing but the meats and mini corn dogs off the children's buffet. However, each time we went back, he would try something new and he ended up really liking it too

I enjoyed seeing your pictures of the Lion King and Nemo shows. I've actually never seen either one because we always just miss the line cut off. Maybe we can make it one day! I lost my mother (and the last of my immediate family) over the summer and I've discovered that I can't watch some of my favorite Disney movies without turning into a bawling mess because they take on a whole new meaning now. I haven't even been able to watch Finding Dory yet :jawdrop:

catmandoo · Nov 28, 2016

Day three continued...

Okay y'all... let's try to finish this day up... and as the title of the trip report says... we tried new things, so here's the new thing of Day three.

After a quick stop back at the resort to cool off and freshen up, we headed back toward the Magic Kingdom and boarded a boat... as we waved goodbye to the Magic Kingdom

(does anyone else feel like a lot of my pictures are slightly slanted? Anyone? I feel like it's the camera)
We enjoyed the breeze as we floated across the lake... saw the ruins of River Country... and arrived at our Destination

We were a bit early for our reservation, so we wandered around a bit... I had been nursing a pretty good headache for awhile, but silly me, hadn't thought to pack any extra Aleve or Tylenol besides what was in my pill minder for the days... (Yes, I have a pill minder... I am old) so we stopped at the little store. Turns out the gal at the register was from a town that was only a few miles away from where we live. So we chatted with her a bit about some local places. I paid for the very expensive Tylenol and went on our way. It was getting a little dark, and we still had some time, so we sat on a bench and just people watched for awhile.

I almost considered springing for a carriage ride... but the $45 price was a bit steep, so I settled for just a picture of the horse. (This may seem strange considering that just 9 months Frank and I and our friends Sarah and Sarah took a carriage ride through Central Park, which was a bit more expensive...But I digress)

As we sat and people watched, one thing stood out... there was a group of people with Hula Hoops, and one of them was a little girl, maybe 3 or so, who was just so determined that she was going to get that hoop to go around... and it was maybe one of the cutest things I'd ever seen.
But soon enough, it was time to check in, and shortly after, we were seated for....

catmandoo · Nov 28, 2016

Dangit, I hit the wrong button....
The Hoop-De-Doo Revue! (this picture is terrible... The other one was worse... Frank was not on anything, I swear)

We headed inside and were seated.

I'd called several months in advance to get our reservation... and I went to the concierge right when we arrived, so I was a little disappointed in our seat.... way off to the side and two back, with a nice post in front of us... but... it is what it is and that's how my life goes.
Anyway, we were seated and our waiter (I didn't write his name down... we'll call him Mark) came over to take our drink orders and said we could get started on Salad and Cornbread.

(I love cornbread, so I didn't get a picture before I started...)

And here are our drinks... I was excited that adult beverages were included... I had the Sangria and Frank had probably Bud Light.

The show started as we were having our salad...

It was a rousing opening number... and the show continued as we enjoyed our salad and drinks... and the cornbread.

And now since I am weird and planned this to be the last picture of the post... I'm stopping.... even though I can still fit some pictures in this one.

Coming up, the main course and we are attacked.

catmandoo · Nov 28, 2016

Day three... finishing up.
I don't remember... but I feel like there was some sort of song about ribs as they passed out the main course... I could be crazy though... There should've been a song about ribs if there wasn't.

The ribs were delicious... and Frank enjoyed the chicken. Over all, it was a decent meal.
I think they let us eat in silence for awhile with no show going on...
But it continued on and they did the whole "Anyone celebrating anything?" And we remained silent... as I've said, I don't like to be the center of attention...

Soon enough, it was time for dessert, and I know for sure there was a song about this... cause they wore tablecloths on their necks...

Here is our waiter doing a high kick.

Our dessert was delivered... and just happened to be Frank's favorite (sometimes) Strawberry Shortcake! (he has a love/hate relationship with it... he only likes certain ones and this one was "Okay". Bubba Gump's is the best according to him)

Shortly after, the show was over.

Overall, I enjoyed it... Would I see it again? Probably not... there are other places to eat and shows to see... (Next time I really want to try Spirit of Aloha... but I think the food there might be a bit exotic for Frank... We'll see, we have a couple years to decide...
We waled out and headed to the boat to go back across the lake to catch the bus.

As were were standing on the dock... that's when we were attacked... by bug. Hundreds of them... all around... It was horrible.

There was also a group of people from Michigan... so, rivals or something (Go sports!) and they were super drunk and it was kind of funny, but we chatted for awhile and shared suggestions of things to do.
We had a nice boat ride back, and then onto the bus. On the bus at the hotel, there was a single mother with her two kids... probably about 10 and 11 years old. NO wait! We first encountered them at the bus stop after we got some beverages... yes... and the little boy was talking to us... saying it was their last night and they didn't want to go home. They were going to spend their last day before they left at Disney Springs... (Which used to be called The Boardwalk according to their mother...)

We got back to Trinidad South and up to our room, another day down...

Coming up after the post (or two... he took a lot!) of Frank's pictures... Day 4! Where we do some old favorites... and again Try something new! Oh... and the random selection begins. :banghead:

catmandoo · Nov 28, 2016

Day three by Frank- Part 1

Some good advice

A rhinososcerous (This is actually a decent picture)

The scariest animal on the Safari

An interesting picture of Mickey

a fan

Me eating my Mickey bar... (He takes a lot of pictures of me eating Mickey Bars... for some reason he finds it hilarious cause I usually drop some on myself at some point)

And a close up...

And Me praying over how delicious it is...

Those were just 3 of the 21 pictures he took of me eating the Mickey bar... (Side note, I love that my hair gets curly in Florida... it does not do that in Ohio)

catmandoo · Nov 28, 2016

Day three by Frank- Part 2

More good advice...

"This is not Magical"- Frank

He took this picture just to rub it in.

A tree.

A sign

King Louie just walking around (remember when characters did that?)

A pacifier in some stones...

And finally, me. Sad that Dinosaur is closed.

See you soon for Day 4!

PacNWTigger · Nov 29, 2016

Frank sure takes some great pics! :hilarious:

I'm sincerely enjoying your trip report. I think we're going to try the Spirit of Aloha show the next time we visit WDW. My guy is a super picky eater, so I have to think very carefully about our ADR's too.

catmandoo · Nov 29, 2016

Day four- Sunday Sept 18th

So, in my haste to make plans for the trip... I scheduled the morning of this day really close together...

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train 1010-1110
Be Our Guest Lunch 1045
Peter Pan’s Flight 1150-1250

So, knowing we had to get up early, I set the alarm on my phone and we went to sleep the night before... and since I am me, I set the Alarm for the wrong time and we woke up around 845am. "Oh poo!" I said... but I used a different word. So we hurried and got showered and dressed and were on our way to the bus stop at around 9:30... and we waited... and waited... and waited... while about 3 buses came for Epcot, two for Hollywood Studios... one for Animal Kingdom... and one for Disney Springs. Then FINALLY the Magic Kingdom bus shows up...
The ride was uneventful, and once we got there, I was trying to hurry in so as not to miss our Mine Train fastpass...
This is the view when we got to the bag check.

So, I made my way through (Frank had gone through the No Bag line)
And of course, since we were in a hurry, sure enough, the security guy came up to me "Sir, you've been randomly selected for additional security screening.) Slightly annoyed, I made my way over and emptied everything on to the table, through the metal detector, and on my way.

Let's start Counting now... that's 1.

It was now about 25 after 10, well into our Fastpass window and 20 minutes before our lunch reservation... But I was NOT missing the Mine Train.
So we hurried down Main Street and said "Hi!" to an old friend... yes, the CRANE!

And we finally made it to the Mine train around 1030... and only waited about 5 minutes in the fast pass line before we were off... And got one of the greatest on-ride photos of all time. This is the one that made the Memory Maker worth it for me.
Ready?

Glorious.
And here is our other one from the ride.

So the wuick ride came to an end, and I feel like we sat there in front of the Dwarfs cottage for while... long enough for me to get a decent picture of it...

And then we were freed, and made it to the Be Our Guest check in right at 1045! We had pre ordered, so we got our rose and went on in... We found a seat in the West Wing (Completing my goal of eating in every room) and sat to wait for our food. Soon enough it arrived, and I arranged it just so... in order to get all of it into one picture. I had the Croque Monsieur and French Onion Soup, Frank had the Braised Pork... and we split a Strawberry Cupcake and Chocolate Orange Eclair for Dessert.

I'd heard good things about the soup, and it did not disappoint. I'd rank it number 2 of all the French Onion soup I have ever had... the best being at this little Cafe in France next to the Moulin Rouge.

After lunch, it was time for our Peter Pan fastpass... I got no good pictures of it, but it's always an enjoyable ride. After that, we headed to Mickey's Philharmagic, which is probably my favorite 3D show on the property. We the made a pit stop in the most fabulously themed restrooms in the world, and headed to The Haunted Mansion.
We made our way through the queue and I was disappointed that most of the interactive thigns were not working or blocked off. Frank was looking nervous.

We were ushered into the Stretching room... and moved to the dead center of the room. (Actually we moved to the wall that would be moving to reveal the door so we could be first in line) and then we all herded onto the Doom Buggies. I think the was maybe the first time we made it through the entire Haunted Mansion without stopping.
When it was over, we headed into the Wild West of Frontierland and decided to take a break from the heat (This might have been the day the heat index was like 105 degrees) and visit with The Country Bears.

This is another show I've seen enough that I can sing along. I'm glad it's still around.

When the jamboree was over, we cut through, looking for an adventure... but instead, I found something even better... a little cupful of Heaven..

It sure hit the spot on a day that was hot. (I had to... I'm sorry.)

Coming up- We go for niles and niles... and take what was to be our final ride on a classic.

Trip Report We tried New Things/Invasion of the Mother-In-Law- September 2016

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

New Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member