365 Days round. Wait whats that, Flamingos? A toddlers first trip. (Report)

Hello, and welcome to my trip report. I created a PTR back in January, but didn't keep up with it, so lets try again. Our trip was May 14th - May 19th, and we stayed at a Studio Villa at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge - Jambo House.

The title of our trip is a story in itself. Last year on May 20th, out to see the latest pirates flick, my wife and I decided that it was time to get something planned to take our daughter. It just so happens exactly 365 days later, we would be arriving back home from our trip to WDW.

Before I go any further, lets introduce the members of our trip.

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Me: Paul, 30 yrs old, 5 Time visitor (84’, 96’, 97’, 99’, 00’) to WDW. My last time in the park was for my youngest sisters make a wish trip, and we actually only visited MK and HS.

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Wife: Christina, 29 yrs old, recently graduated from nursing school. Visited WDW when she was a child, and doesn’t remember much.

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Daughter: Lorelai, 4 yrs old, going on 5. A humongous fan of flamingos. Most of her pet fish, gerbil, and a past box turtle had the name flamingo in it. She loves animals, and her favorite pet is Pascal the house cat. Rapunzel (Lorelai), Flynn (me), and Pascal have wonderful adventures around the house.

We packed up the car on the 11th, and slept in on the 12th in preparation for the long drive ahead. Lorelai had a T-ball game that afternoon, then we were off. On saturday morning, my wifes cousin, who works for a non-for-profit animal shelter texted my wife about a puppy that arrived that morning. We had been talking about getting a new dog after we got home, because our other dog seemed to be very lonely. We had to put our lab down in march, because he had bone cancer, and the little dog seemed to be depressed after he was gone. Plus we just wanted a new dog in the house because we are animal lovers. Anyway, she sent us photos and we instantly fell in love. Lorelai and Christina named him Lucky, which was a great fit I thought. Indianapolis just got Andrew Luck in the draft, so now Lucky can have his own jersey. :D

So around 6:30, we headed out on our trip. First stop, an hour away to meet our new puppy. He was going to stay with my wife's cousin while we were gone, but we wanted to meet the little guy before we left. After that we grabbed a quick bite to eat, and started the long journey south. Around Seymour Indiana, it started to rain. That rain lasted all night, into the morning, when we stopped for breakfast in Valdosta Georgia. Other than the rain, and the drunk guy at the gas station who almost vomited on me in the bathroom the drive down was uneventful.

I didnt take any photos on the way down, so sorry for the lack of photos in this first post. I promise with the posts to come there will be plenty of photos to look at. Until then, take care, and have a magical day!
 

tehSAC

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
So I left Mom and Lorelai in the room to get some rest, and I went out and explored the resort further.


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I filled up my memory card, so I had to run back up to the room and grab my computer. Found a nice spot and watched the Giraffes on the savanna, as I downloaded pictures. I had to have room for more, we were going back to the MK tonight!
 

tehSAC

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
When they finally awoke, Lorelai wanted to do some swimming before we headed back out. I think her and I spent around an hour at the pool before heading back up to the room to get ready. Looking at the weather, it looked like we might be getting wet at the parks that night too. We also decided then that we would cancel our breakfast for the morning at Tusker House, because she wasnt too interested in it, she had met who she wanted to meet, and we knew it would be a late night. A decision we did not regret.

So we packed up, headed out to the car, and went to look for a place to eat. Lorelai made the decision for us this evening. The "Peanut" place is where we were going. Logans Roadhouse is the "peanut" place as lorelai calls it, and there happened to be one near I-4 on 192. Perfect! As we arrived, the skies were turning black, and the wind started to pick up. We were hoping it would blow over. Dinner was good, and quick. Next stop, Magic Kingdom!

We arrived around 6:30 PM, and got a front row spot in the lot. If you are familiar with the lot, just as you go under the bridge on the tram, you see a pillar for the monorail, thats where we were! Perfect! Lorelai elected to ride the Monorail, and we happened to catch the Avenger Wrapped one. It was a nice trip, but I forgot how high those things get off the ground. :D

Just as we got through the turnstyle, it started to rain. It was just a drizzle, but we put on our ponchos, just in case. Lorelai wanted to do the Laugh Floor first, so thats the way we headed. We had very little wait, just enough time to text in a couple jokes, hoping they would be read. And what do you know, they read 2 of jokes! That was pretty cool. Lorelai enjoyed the show, but was worried we wouldn't produce enough laughter to open the doors. So to make sure we didnt get stuck, she laughed at everything, and I mean everything. She also made sure it would be heard. It was better than the show in my opinion.

Next up we helped save the galaxy on Space Ranger Spin. Lorelai and Mom rode in one car, and I rode by myself. I actually maxed out my score, but Lorelai won. ;)


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She then said she wanted to ride Small World again, so thats the direction we headed. The crowds were starting to build for the parade and fireworks, so it was a bit tricky to get through, but we made it, and there was no wait.

I could see that she was still a bit sleepy, so after that, we decided it was time to go find a spot so she would be able to see. She loved how the castle changed colors, and I had to make sure I took a few photos of the castle as it was pink.


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We sat on the outside of the hub, near the tomorrowland entrance and had a great view of everything. I sat there, because I always remembered Tinkerbell flying down during the show, but we never saw her. Im not sure if it was because of weather, or if its just not done anymore. The castle show was great and so were the fireworks. I had never seen the MSEP, so that was new for all of us. I wish it was Spectro, because the music brings back so many memories of when we came as kids.

The rush of people out of there made us decide to take it easy and grab a dish of ice cream. We sat at a table and all had a scoop of ice cream, then decided to head out. We were there for the kiss goodnight, but it seemed like we were the only ones. It felt like that morning when we walked into the park with no one but cast members. Lorelai traded pins with every cast member on Main Street that had pins to trade. She loved doing that more than anything I think. Just the interaction she had with everyone was special.


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We actually ended up catching the last monorail to the TTC. We unloaded, and headed back to the resort. We all snuggled into the bed and finished Lady in the Tramp before we fell asleep.

We decided that since tomorrow was going to be a day where the forecast had it raining all day, we would just sleep in and take our time.
 

foreverbelle

Well-Known Member
'The peanut place.'

Love it. My son-appropriately named Logan-loves the place and calls it the peanut place as well.

That is one wicked Castle picture. The clouds and all just make it look eerie...
 

PolynesianPrincess

Well-Known Member
Loving your TR so far!! Your daughter is adorable! So awesome seeing her react to everything on her first visit!

Tinkerbell does fly still! We saw Wishes 3 times earlier this month and she only flew once. The other nights it was a little windy. I hear if the weather isn't ideal she won't fly.

Last November we saw Aladdin and Jasmine ride the magic carpets over in Adventureland. I wasn't sure if other characters rode other rides as well so it was cool to see the White Rabbit rode next to you guys.

I got a little teary eyed over the story with Rapunzel. It really is all those moments that make Disney so magical. Things like that, kids talk about for so long. You know it's really special if it sticks in their mind like that. We met Rapunzel and Flynn at the Christmas party last year and she was awesome to interact with :)

Great pics! AKL is beautiful! We also booked with DVCRequest for Wilderness Lodge and had nothing but a great experience. We tried to book with them for our trip in Sept but they only had Saratoga Springs available :( so we're going to stick with free dining this time around but for sure in the future we will use them. The savings we got were great!

Can't wait to read more!
 

tehSAC

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
So the next morning we all slept in until around 9:30. I got up and got ready as they watched some tv. We were taking it easy today. Lorelai had mentioned she wanted to go to Hollywood Studios "so daddy can ride star wars, and I can play with the big ant." So we decided today would be better than any other. There wasn't much we wanted to do there actually, when we talked about it. I headed down to the gift shop to pick up her flamingo we had purchased at Epcot. I also decided it was time to get a mickey waffle at The Mara. Also grabbed some bacon and fruit, and we shared it all in the room.


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After breakfast, Lorelai and I headed down to the pool, and it started to drizzle. No one was in the pool, but the guards were still around, so we went ahead and took a dip. That dip lasted around 2 hours, when mom finally came down and wanted to know where we had been. So we went back to the room, got dressed and headed towards the car. Lorelai had us detour to the Gift Shop to look for some more pins. She wanted more Orange Bird pins, and mom and I wanted to find some cheap pins for her to trade. She ended up having almost every CM in the gift shop trade with her. A couple of the CM's actually just gave her a couple of theirs, and only asked for a smile for the trades.

We grabbed a quick bite to eat at McDonalds, and had take a detour to Target for some supplies and snack refills, before heading to Hollywood Studios. We arrived at HS around 2:30, and first ran into some street performers.


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Lorelai, Mom and I watched for awhile, then mom wanted to do some shopping. When the show finished, we found mom shopping where they do some hat stitching in HS. Lorelai had her hat with her, so she picked out a font and color, and they gave us a time to come back and pick it up.

It started to rain again, as we found a spot along the street for the upcoming parade. Christina and I started to chat with a woman next to us about the upcoming Star Wars weekend, etc. I was being optimistic about fastpasses for Toy Story still being handed out so I took off with the tickets to see if I could get some. Of course there was none, and I was okay with that. I took my time getting back to our spot, and it was starting to rain a bit harder now. When I got back to the spot, I found my wife and the lady we were talking too, still chatting it up. Christina then mentioned she was from a town about 20 minutes from us. So we had more in common then. We talked with her and her husband until the parade started. By the time the floats started to come around it was starting to rain steadily.


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Lorelai seemed to enjoy the parade. I couldn't get that darn song out of my head the rest of the day though. Although it wasn't too bad, reminded me of being at a colts home game after we score. :D

Anyway, the rain started to let up, so I took off my poncho, but Lorelai wanted to keep hers on. She remembered me talking about a prop in the studios she wanted to see. So that's where we headed next.
 

tehSAC

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
So we headed back towards the back of the park to find an umbrella, because we hadn't seen enough rain yet today. :D
http://forums.wdwmagic.com/newreply.php?do=newreply&noquote=1&p=4972030

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After singing in the rain, we headed over to play like tiny little people in the Honey I Shrunk the Kids Playground. Because of the rain, they had it closed, so we headed over to the backlot express to wait it out. We got a couple Ice Waters, and made them into Cherry Limeades, and Lorelai also had a chocolate cake.


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We also traded pins with a CM from Australia, and an older man from a town in Ohio close to where we have a family owned cabin. Both were very friendly and we passed the time talking to them about their home towns. Eventually they opened the playground and we were off to play for awhile.


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She was having a blast, but I wasn't. My camera was acting up, and the lighting wasn't great taking photos in the area. I went back to the stroller, and messed with my camera till it started acting better. I guess you could say I put it in time out. About the time I headed back into the play area, the skies let loose. So I grabbed the stroller, and found some cover, because I knew they would be out soon. We huddled under an arch and waited out the storm. We figured it would be best to cover up and make the walk towards Star Tours. Would Lorelai enjoy it? Stay tuned to find out in the next update.
 

PeoplemoverTTA

Well-Known Member
I am loving your TR-great job!

Your story about ice cream at 10am reminds me of my first trip in 1986. We were in line for Journey Into Imagination and the line was way out the door, about 1/3 if the way to The Living Seas (hard to imagine, I know!). It was about 9:30-10am, and it was already really hot out. My parents turned to us (I was 6 at the time), and said, "How would you guys like some ice cream?"

We were all in shock, lol. Our parents actually let us eat ice cream for breakfast! Only in WDW :D

My mom loved telling the story of how we all squealed in shock over the ice cream. I always loved hearing her tell stories about that first WDW trip :)

Looking forward to reading the rest of your report!
 

tehSAC

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
So I left off us traveling up the streets of america towards Star Tours. I was excited to see the new version of one of my favorite rides. I used to ride Star Tours over and over, while the rest of my family was off doing RnR, or ToT. So I wanted Lorelai to experience this too. Plus she love C3P0, so it wasnt too much of a hassle to get her onto the ride.

We walked right up to the ride vehicle and watched the opening spiel. Soon the doors opened and we were off. Our first ride had Darth Vader, Kashyyyk (Wookie Planet), Admiral Ackbar, and Coruscant. Lorelai would scream with joy when we would jump to lightspeed. So I know she was loving it.

I loved it too. Very impressed with the new ride, and I think it was a great update for it. I could have rode it all day long. Plus I love the smell. Yea I'm odd.

Anyway, we headed out, and Lorelai and I wanted to go again. Mom was up for it too, so again we walked right up to our ride vehicle.


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This time our ride went as followed. Droid, Mom was the Rebel Spy, Kashyyyk (Wookie Planet), Admiral Ackbar, Death Star. Mom was safely delivered to her destination, and we all walked out with a grin on our face.

When we walked out there was a Jedi Training Academy show going on so we watched for a few minutes, before heading back to the playground. Lorelai loved this area, and would have played for hours here, if we would have let her. We ended up playing for around 45 minutes, before we headed out again. Mike and Sully's meet and greet was closed by then so we just decided that we would call it a day. Lorelai wasn't interested in doing any other rides, so we just headed down through the Pixar area of the park. We saw the green army men, but she wasnt interested in meeting them, but she did see Jessie. We hopped in line, and the closed it right after us. So again we made great timing.


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After we met Jessie, we walked by TSM, and I noticed the wait time said 75 minutes, but there was no one in the outside queue. I told Lorelai I would carry her on my shoulders and we could play Ispy, if we did it. Man am I glad we did. We walked right up to Potato Head, and were on the ride within 25 minutes. Im not sure if they were trying to keep people away or the timer outside was broke, but I didn't care. We were getting on without a fast pass, and under a 25 minute wait.


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I can see why its a popular ride, but they need to give you an ice pack for your arm after you get off. I would have loved to go on again, but I was happy we were able to do it this trip.


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We thought about waiting to meet Woody and Buzz, but the CM said it was around an hour wait. If we would have gotten in the line at that time, we would have been the last for the day, but we decided against it. Instead we made some pressed pennies, and made our way towards the exit. We picked up Lorelai's ears, and headed towards the exit. It started to rain again heavily as we boarded the tram to where we parked.


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We stopped for dinner at Ci-Ci's pizza before heading back to the resort for the night. We actually all swam again for an hour before heading back up to the room for baths, Illuminations from the Balcony, and a Disney Classic - Alice in Wonderland.
 

tehSAC

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
The evening before was beautiful, but we were ready for a new day.


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Thursday morning, we awoke at 8 AM to the sound of mowers on the savanna. It was odd seeing all the mowers, and workers out on the savanna. It was also funny seeing the them herd the wildebeest with golf carts. I could tell it was going to be a hot one, it was very hazy, and you could already feel the humidity.


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We enjoyed this tree, or should we call it a tree-tena?


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So on today's agenda was to visit animal kingdom to see Kilimanjaro Safari's and a few of the sites. I had been to AK once in 99, long before Everest and a few other things. I wanted to stroll around the park after the 2 week safari, and then head back to the resort for a break.


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We arrived around 9:45, so there was quite a stampeded heading back to Africa. I was a bit concerned it would be a long wait, but it was very reasonable. When I say reasonable, I mean 5 minute wait. I was thinking to my self, was our luck going to run out at some point?
 

tehSAC

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
We were in the front seat for our trip, and as we loaded, a CM handed Lorelai a Honorary Safari Driver card. She thought it meant she could sit in the front seat with the driver, but I had to explain to her that it was just for fun.


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When our truck rounded the corner near the Lions, an Ostrich decided it was his turn to be on the road. It was quite an enjoyable experience. He walked on the road for around 5 minutes, completely oblivious of large truck behind him on the road. Eventually he made his way off the road, and we made it back to the exit. Lorelai and Mom really enjoyed the ride. Mom said it was one of the highlights of the trip to her.


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We hopped off our safari, and headed for the wild africa trek.


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My favorite part of the trek had to be all of the African Cichlids. I once had a large tank full of them. I love how colorful they are, and their colorful personalities.

We headed out of the trek and back into africa. Lorelai had noticed the face painting area before walking into the safari, and we told her after the ride she could get one. So thats where we headed next.
 

tehSAC

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
So Lorelai and I went to get her face painted, and mom did some shopping. Lorelai picked the rainbow design and I think it turned out very well.


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We caught up with mom, and rounded the corner towards Asia. Lorelai found some drums to play with, but behind us there was a crowd building. I wasnt sure what was going on, but I went ahead and took a peek.


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It was Devine! She had just came out from backstage and everyone was watching her perform. I overhead one guy talking about her, guessing she was a new character from the avengers. Funny thing is, people started to believe him.


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We stopped shortly after for a snack. I believe it was a Strawberry slushie/smoothie deal, and a pretzel. We were sitting in what I believe used to be the entrance/exit for the abandon boat ride.


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I went down as far as I could to take a couple shots of the Tree of Life, but I was photo bombed.


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:ROFLOL: My child is such a ham!
 

LuLaSue

Well-Known Member
Your report is absolutely wonderful! Your daughter is so full of joy that it just spills over! Thanks so much for sharing!
 

tehSAC

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Great trip report! Love all your pics! :wave:

Thanks and Thanks!

Gorgeous shot! She looks so happy. And they did a fabulous job on her rainbow.

Thanks! She loves to get her face painted, and this has to be one of the best ones she had. It took alot to get it washed off too. :ROFLOL:

Your report is absolutely wonderful! Your daughter is so full of joy that it just spills over! Thanks so much for sharing!

Thank you. I'm not the best at writing, but I am enjoying it.
 

tehSAC

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
After our snack, we continued on our walk towards Everest. Lorelai found another musical instrument to play with on our journey.


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We thought about going on the Kali River Rapids, but Lorelai didnt want to get wet and loose her face paint. So on we went around the corner.


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I really loved all the detail in the area. I could have walked around and snapped photos all day, but it was starting to get hotter, so we kept moving.

We ended up in Chester and Hester's area, and I hated it. In our entire trip, this was the only place I showed any hate towards Disney. I despise carnival games, and to see them in a Disney park, got under my skin. Of course I put on a happy face and let Lorelai play a few before we headed out.

Near the entrance of A Bug's Life, Christina saw something we had to do. As I stated in my first post, Lorelai loves everything Flamingos, and she saw a character artist that could make her into a Flamingo. It was a no brainer.


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We finished up, and started to make our way out of the park for the afternoon. It was around 1 PM, so we figured it would give us time to swim, nap, and then head to the MK for the night. Lorelai saw a pin trading area, before leaving the area, so we went over to trade. What happened next was something we never expected.

:)
 

tehSAC

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
So as the story goes, Lorelai was trading pins with various CM's in the area, and Mom was talking to a CM about her recently graduating college with her nursing degree. I guess the conversation all started because Mom was wearing her nursing school t-shirt that day, and the CM took notice. Something must have happened to her in her past, because she was telling us how much she appreciated nurses and what they do. She then asked us if we had seen the Festival of the Lion King, to which we responded no. She mentioned that the next showing was at 1:30 and that it was the best show in all of Disney. We explained that we were heading back to the resort for an afternoon break, but she insisted we go on her behalf. She then took out her phone, and made a call. Eventually she told us that we would be VIP for the upcoming show, and told us where to go and who to see at the exit of the show. We were shocked, we didn't ask for this, and didn't know what to say. We both gave her hugs, and she urged us to have a great time. I wish I would have remembered her name, or seen her again after the show, because it was such a memorable experience. The Fairy Dust we had seen already in our trip already, and this is happening too, I was in shock.

We made it to the show building, and there was a CM waiting for us, and he showed us into the show building. The building was already full, and our seats were the only ones left in the building. We sat in the Giraffe section right on the floor. Soon the show started, and out came the performers.


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After the introductions, the woman above, came over to Lorelai and asked for her help. Lorelai looked at us both and we said it was okay. They introduced her, and had her teach the audience how to sound like a giraffe.


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She did great! It was truly a memorable experience, something I will never forget.

Soon the show started and the show was wonderful. Lorelai loved every minute of the show too.


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-
 

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