Trip Report Another Holiday, Trip Report - Dec 2018

Hello Friends!

It was about 3 months ago when I started my last trip report, which was our Alaskan Cruise trip on the Disney Wonder. Our last trip to WDW was exactly a year ago, so it has been a while (by our standards) since our last visit there.

Right now, we are only a few hours away from taking off to the Most Magical Place on Earth. A lot has happened since we were last there, the biggest one of which is, of course, the opening of Toy Story Land. Yup, we have Fast Passes for Slinky Dog! We also have Fast Passes for Flight of Passage, Mine Train, etc.. etc. So we will be on all the E-Ticket rides. We also have Fast Passes for Illuminations, since this will probably be the last time we will be seeing my most favorite nighttime show in all of WDW. It will probably be an emotional goodbye, I'm sure.

Tomorrow, we will be doing the Wanyama Safari for the 2nd time. The last time we did this was back in 2013. Back then, only guests staying at AKL got a chance to do this. We haven't done it again since, but that will change with this trip. So we are looking forward it. Later in the trip, we will do a "Sleigh Ride" at Fort Wilderness. It will be a fun way to look at all the holiday decorations that Disney guests staying there have put up. And of course, we will be attending a MVMCP. I wonder how many ginger molasses cookies I can consume in one evening?

As usual, Donald is all dressed in his elfs outfit, ready to go.

I will try to report live as much as I can from there. But right now, I need to go around the house to make sure I haven't forgotten anything! We leave for the airport in an hour!

Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

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We had a change of guide, as our driver now is our new guide. He was the keeper for the animals in the savanna surrounding Jambo House, and so he knew much more about the animals that he took care of there. We liked this a lot, because these are the very people that have very intimate knowledge of almost every single one of the animals there, since they took care of them. This was the best part of the whole safari.

Our safari continued as we saw lots and lots of animals, heard about them, and asked tons of questions. The truck continued to stop at every interesting moments during the ride.

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[ZapperZ]

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More view of the savanna and the lovely area surrounding Jambo House. In this shot, we were driving along the building where I stayed the last time I had a room at AKL. So this was the view that I woke up to every morning. Sigh.....

I would not be surprised if the animals were as curious about us as we were about them. Of course, they didn't have any animal guides to tell them about us and our poor behavior.

More giraffes. They were everywhere! Not that we were complaining.

Before we knew it, the safari was over, and we headed out of the last gate.

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[ZapperZ]

.. cont.

We headed back to Jambo House.

We were escorted to Jiko and a large table for the entire group in the middle of the restaurant.

It was a 4-course dinner, with each course having a wine pairing.

First course, bread. We had flat breads, papadams, accompanied by dips, chutneys, and what I think is a sheep's milk butter. I could eat the whole thing by myself.

Second course: a sampler of shrimp, greens, and crispy, filled pastries. Again, I could devour 4 of these easily!

Main course is truly family style. They brought out fish, chicken, and beef short ribs, with accompanying starch, grains, potatoes, and sauces. They put the chicken in front of me, with a spicy sambal on the side for those brave enough to try it (I did). Of course, we had a very good red wine (probably a pinotage, but I was long gone by then to remember much) to accompany the main course.

This was my plate of food during the main course. I had PLENTY to eat.

But it wasn't over yet. Finally, the dessert course. Don't ask me what they were, because by then, I was over the limit on food to remember. All I can recall was that I devoured all of them. Too bad I couldn't lick the slate that they were served on. The sauces were yummy!

This was why we decided to do the Wanyama Safari again. It was a wonderful time, very interesting, and you can't fault the food and service. It is why we will do it again.

Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

For this series of post, I'm calling it Happy Holidays from Living With The Land!

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[ZapperZ]

... cont. with Happy Holidays from Living With the Land.

We did this a total of 3 times, mainly because we had it in our fast-passes. But it gave us a chance to see many things that we missed.

Zz.

 

[MinnieM123]

OMG, I want that wreath in Living With the Land!!! (By the way, LWTL is my favorite Future World pavilion.)

 

[lindawdw]

Even though I was in Disney 12/10 - 12/13 I enjoyed all your pictures and comments immensely! I thought they did a great job decorating LWTL for the holidays and your safari tour and dinner looked amazing! Thanks again for taking us along on your trip!!!

 

[ZapperZ]

On this trip, we made our last viewing of my most favorite nighttime show in all of WDW - Illuminations.

I'll post the video of it later once I've edited it, so for now, it will be only the still photos that I took of it. We had the chance to see it twice, with the 2nd one at the Fastpass viewing area. The still photos here were from the first viewing, which was from the Japan pavilion.

The show began with what we have seen and loved, although there was a glaring glitch in the beginning because the first blast to accompany the beginning of the music didn't happen.

We go onnnn............

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[ZapperZ]

... cont.

Then, it was the holiday tag - Let There Be Peace on Earth.

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[ZapperZ]

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The finale was certainly spectacular and hair-raising. I did feel a bit sad, but I knew that I would get to see this one last time a few days later.

I will miss it terribly, and I hope they come up with something equally spectacular. But after my disappointment of the show that replaced Wishes at MK, I have quite a bit of apprehension of what they'll come up with. At least, I have several videos of Illuminations (and Wishes) that I've captured throughout the years, so it will never be lost.

Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

The next series of posts will be photos on the Holiday decorations around the World. The first one is from the Magic Kingdom.

From the main entrance train station.

Main Street USA

The Hub

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[ZapperZ]

... cont.

Still at MK, these are from MVMCP.

Well past midnight, a final goodbye to MVMCP.

Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

Continuing with the holiday decorations during the past trip to WDW, these are a few scenes from Epcot.

At the main entrance.

Heading toward World Showcase

The tree at the entrance to World Showcase

A very cute gingerbread train in the DVC lounge. Donald took a liking to it. Had to pull him away, though, before he took a bite out out it.

An evening shot.

Zz.