Preamble:
This trip was a bit different as it was just my wife and I getting away to celebrate our 25th anniversary, leaving the kids in the (gulp) fine care of their Grandparents and a "housemom". Itinerary was also different as my wife enjoys Disney, but not nearly at the pace or level of detail that I do. While allowing me to do much of the planning, she did provide input on certain items that I was happy to oblige. We also both agreed to try to do a number of things that we hadn't in past trips.
Oct. 2
Managed upgrades on the flight (nice start) and arrived late morning with Quicksilver right there to pick us up. So much quicker and nicer than Mear's cattle cars. Arrived at Poly and checked in to Tahiti, lagoon view rm 2019.
Great view except for the palm on that outstretch of land (where we saw a few weddings) that obscured the castle. I offered to chop it down for her, but we made do. Headed over to the gym at GF to work some kinks out, showered then headed over to Epcot for a quick walk through then on to Flying Fish (1st time). Great meal with Michael (from Slovenia) who was knowledgible, attentive and fun.
Took a leisurely stroll back for Illuminations. Had "reserved viewing" this time on the landing dock in front of Morocco. Wasn't as good as spots in Italy or UK/France, but it wasn't crowded and had a railing to lean on. Took our time getting back to the monorail for the ride home. The Tahiti building was close to TTC so we used that more than the Poly monorail.
Oct 3 AK day and of course it was hot and very humid. Got there about 10 and got onto Safari with only a 10 minute wait. Took the train, just for a ride, and to show my wife some of the animal facility. On to Lion King which looked terriffic. New lighting is more dramatic. Hit Dinosaur before lunch with only a 10 minute wait. Had lunch at Flame Tree, pork BBQ and ribs, yum! Visited TTBaB with only a short wait (I leaned), walked through the animal areas, saw Flights of Wonder (last time we saw it was in it's temporary tent). Took bets on the behavior of a rather extroverted 11 or so year old girl in the front row, and won when she jumped up to volunteer at the first chance. Took cruel delight when the hornbill wouldn't go for the grapes she threw. Got a good look at EE and listened to some guests discussing when the "hotel" there would be opening (seriously), I just held my tongue.
Then time (past time) for pre parade margaritas :slurp: at Tusker and on to the little reserved area on the bridge. Humidity and temp must have each gone up considerable as did the park population! Had a nice talk with Matthew who was "guarding" our little reserve spot. He's quite the mover and shaker, usually working at Pangani I believe. Having a great time at Disney, has found himself, has an offer to work at zoo's in Austrailia, and may eventually finish his undergraduate degree. Parade was fun, then it was time to head out for a gym visit, much needed shower, dinner at Kona Cafe and on to our first MNSSHP. As you can see on AkiraRaptor's pictures, there is a wonderful chocolate Lilo and Stitch on display...that they weren't quite ready to share. Meal was fine, but waitress was a bit distracted/overwhelmed.
Got to the party about 8 (hour after it had opened) and the gates weren't too backed up. Rode on the train with a very nice 250 lb or so Mickey with Minny and a little one (Eeyore). It was still about 85 with equal humidity....I felt for him in that costume as he was sweating even in the monorail. My wife really got into the trick or treating and our little orange backs sustained us throughout the rest of the trip. Lighting and the guests were very entertaining. Fireworks were nice, reminded me of earlier shows with the exception of when effects went off fully encircling the park...really a great effect. Saw the flight of the witch of course and headed to main street for the parade.
The headless horseman was great...couldn't imagine running that horse over the cobblestones (no less without a head and with sparking horseshoes). The parade was more entertaining that the current 3:00 by far. Some of the floats were very clever, and the dance numbers were great. Our favorite was the gravediggers. Watched their routine all the way up main street and it didn't repeat... caught a couple more rides (thunder mountain at night!). Couldn't convince my dear to stay beyond 10:30 (even with the promise of more chocolate), so we called it a day.
This trip was a bit different as it was just my wife and I getting away to celebrate our 25th anniversary, leaving the kids in the (gulp) fine care of their Grandparents and a "housemom". Itinerary was also different as my wife enjoys Disney, but not nearly at the pace or level of detail that I do. While allowing me to do much of the planning, she did provide input on certain items that I was happy to oblige. We also both agreed to try to do a number of things that we hadn't in past trips.
Oct. 2
Managed upgrades on the flight (nice start) and arrived late morning with Quicksilver right there to pick us up. So much quicker and nicer than Mear's cattle cars. Arrived at Poly and checked in to Tahiti, lagoon view rm 2019.
Great view except for the palm on that outstretch of land (where we saw a few weddings) that obscured the castle. I offered to chop it down for her, but we made do. Headed over to the gym at GF to work some kinks out, showered then headed over to Epcot for a quick walk through then on to Flying Fish (1st time). Great meal with Michael (from Slovenia) who was knowledgible, attentive and fun.
Took a leisurely stroll back for Illuminations. Had "reserved viewing" this time on the landing dock in front of Morocco. Wasn't as good as spots in Italy or UK/France, but it wasn't crowded and had a railing to lean on. Took our time getting back to the monorail for the ride home. The Tahiti building was close to TTC so we used that more than the Poly monorail.
Oct 3 AK day and of course it was hot and very humid. Got there about 10 and got onto Safari with only a 10 minute wait. Took the train, just for a ride, and to show my wife some of the animal facility. On to Lion King which looked terriffic. New lighting is more dramatic. Hit Dinosaur before lunch with only a 10 minute wait. Had lunch at Flame Tree, pork BBQ and ribs, yum! Visited TTBaB with only a short wait (I leaned), walked through the animal areas, saw Flights of Wonder (last time we saw it was in it's temporary tent). Took bets on the behavior of a rather extroverted 11 or so year old girl in the front row, and won when she jumped up to volunteer at the first chance. Took cruel delight when the hornbill wouldn't go for the grapes she threw. Got a good look at EE and listened to some guests discussing when the "hotel" there would be opening (seriously), I just held my tongue.
Then time (past time) for pre parade margaritas :slurp: at Tusker and on to the little reserved area on the bridge. Humidity and temp must have each gone up considerable as did the park population! Had a nice talk with Matthew who was "guarding" our little reserve spot. He's quite the mover and shaker, usually working at Pangani I believe. Having a great time at Disney, has found himself, has an offer to work at zoo's in Austrailia, and may eventually finish his undergraduate degree. Parade was fun, then it was time to head out for a gym visit, much needed shower, dinner at Kona Cafe and on to our first MNSSHP. As you can see on AkiraRaptor's pictures, there is a wonderful chocolate Lilo and Stitch on display...that they weren't quite ready to share. Meal was fine, but waitress was a bit distracted/overwhelmed.
Got to the party about 8 (hour after it had opened) and the gates weren't too backed up. Rode on the train with a very nice 250 lb or so Mickey with Minny and a little one (Eeyore). It was still about 85 with equal humidity....I felt for him in that costume as he was sweating even in the monorail. My wife really got into the trick or treating and our little orange backs sustained us throughout the rest of the trip. Lighting and the guests were very entertaining. Fireworks were nice, reminded me of earlier shows with the exception of when effects went off fully encircling the park...really a great effect. Saw the flight of the witch of course and headed to main street for the parade.
The headless horseman was great...couldn't imagine running that horse over the cobblestones (no less without a head and with sparking horseshoes). The parade was more entertaining that the current 3:00 by far. Some of the floats were very clever, and the dance numbers were great. Our favorite was the gravediggers. Watched their routine all the way up main street and it didn't repeat... caught a couple more rides (thunder mountain at night!). Couldn't convince my dear to stay beyond 10:30 (even with the promise of more chocolate), so we called it a day.
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