dandaman Reloaded: 8/22-9/2

Hiya, folks! I just got back from an awesome trip to the World… and then some! I have school starting tomorrow, so excuse any possible delays on posting. Today, I don’t think I’ll even get to WDW with the updates! I’ll writethe report, then put the pictures with captions in the second half.

On with the show!

Day 1: Virginia Company

My family and I woke up around 5 a.m., though truth be told, I doubt anyone got much sleep. We loaded up the car (I think my dad would do wonders playing Tetris…), and left the house about 8 in the morning.

Gee, after that last paragraph, we’re REALLY off to an interesting start.

Anyway, I don’t suppose there’s much to say about today. A few notes from what I recall:

- For some reason, Mapquest had us cut clear across Ohio’s heartland to West Virginia, instead of taking the Turnpike to I-77 at Cleveland. However, it was actually a lot more interesting to drive that way, as there was a lot of different scenery changes I didn’t expect.

- Ate at “the ol’ standby”, Steak ‘n Shake, just before Columbus. The first time we ate here was just outside WDW almost 6 years ago, and I’ve loved it ever since. P.S. To the servers: Is it really that weird to order a Side-By-Side shake with chocolate mint and orange Freeze?… :lookaroun

- Just before hitting West Virginia, there were some really spectacular clouds overhead. It made the scenery look close to perfect.

- We finally arrived in Beckley, WV, around 4 p.m., and did a bit o’ shopping… well, kinda. The family did shopping, while I played some songs on some $25000 digital piano. I was amused, if not briefly. :D

“Ze Photos”

Either those are the weirdest clouds I’ve ever seen, or a thousand jets streaked across the sky without me knowing.

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If only I’d put the camera settings to 1024x768 instead of the lowest resolution.

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Ooh, the Ohio River… no one’s EVER seen this shot before.
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Welcome to redneck country!
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OMG! They painted the Capitol Building GOLD!

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…And that’s it for the pics today. Not much you can do sitting around in the car for 8 hours.

Tomorrow, we visit North and South Carolina! (*holds cue card* “Ooh, aah!”)​
 

dandaman

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
All right, so now my family and I went back to the hotel, to avoid the typical Florida storms (which I LIVE for, usually. FIT in Melbourne, here I come!).

Flipping on the telly, I get nearly knocked out with a one-two punch of marketing in the same commercial break, at either its worst or finest. Ugh.

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*checks watch* 4:00... Right on cue!

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“Well, folks, this is called Inspiration Falls… Why? Because it inspires us to get the heck back to the dock, ASAP!!”

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“…And the winds swept them here to Typhoon Lagoon!”

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Question: Minus the blurriness, does this look like a Disneyland PotC concept drawing to anyone else? It’s supposed to be the Bayou, so it’s not out of the question!

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Ah, back at Epcot… and the Living Seas is finally open! (On hiatus last year)

…These divers rock.

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Nemo demonstrates the dangers of cloning.

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“Fish are friends, not food… in that case, GIMME SOME CANDY!”

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For Betty

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dandaman

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Da Burkes

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OMG… brace yourself… first FOOD picture!!!

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…Naturally, I order filet mignon at a seafood restaurant. (One could only guess where in Epcot THAT would be.)

Anyway, the 12 oz. NY Strip was surprisingly good, for it not really being the restaurant’s “specialty”. Au Gratin potatoes… eh, I usually don’t like them as it is.

I regret not taking a picture of the dessert: The Chocolate Wave. That had to be my favourite dessert of the trip, minus Dole Whips. The official description from the menu: Warm Dark Chocolate Cake with a White Chocolate Grand Marnier center with Chocolate Ganache and White Chocolate Ice Cream.”

My description? “Culinary bliss.”

It was getting awfully close to 9:00 as I finished the Wave, so Cameron and I decided to run for World Showcase. We got about halfway when the show started, but we made it to the Mexico bridge (great viewing spot, IMO) in time for the finale. No fireworks pics. Like I said, they don’t seem to turn out well.

Anyway, after Illuminations, it was, regrettably.. not EMH. Oh, well. It was a pretty tiring day to begin with! I got these next two shots as we exited via the International Gateway to the Boardwalk area. Usually we just end up taking a bus from one of the hotels to Downtown Disney, then taking a bus/boat back to our hotel. Beating the system has never been so rewarding. :D

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…And on this, the date of September the 11th… lest we forget… and God bless.

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dandaman

Well-Known Member
Original Poster

bayoutinkbelle

Active Member
Great update, Danny! Thanks for making me even more impatient for my own trip. :lol:

The model train exhibit is my son's favorite, too. And I love the your new head gear. I have to go home and wear mine around the house tonight. :D
 

jesserin

New Member
I might seem young, but my back and neck crack like I'm over 50. :lookaroun


*smile* don't crack your neck sonny... ;) it's bad for you!

:lookaroun


Great Job though Danny... i love reading your updates... you boys are so creative with your TR's it's like we're there with y'all! so funny!
:kiss: Love it!
 

dandaman

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Day 9: Rock You Like A… Tropical Storm…?

The only thing I’d like to add before I continue with pics is this: kudos to the fear-mongering media at its finest! You managed to keep lines at Animal Kingdom nonexistent, even with the off-season! BRAVO!

In all seriousness… Ernesto who? The worst we got during the entire day is showcased at the end of this update. (And I know how much you want to get to the end of this update, so…)

ONTO THE PHOTOS!

Exclusive shot #… I dunno… 815 by now, probably…

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And now, an expedition to the twin peaks of Kilimanjaro. (A year’s supply of pocket lint if you get this reference.)

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mine

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You talkin’ to me?

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You talkin’ to ME?!

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Tommie… BESIDE A TREE!

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“I’m telling’ you, Carl, even I’m annoyed by the Texas Longhorns fans.”

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The retirement party moved from Busch Gardens!

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dandaman

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Gazelle Incognito

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“Bob… are we white with black stripes, or black with white stripes?”

“Don’t get all existential on me here!”

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“I think you’re both loony.”

“No one cares what you think!”

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If you can figure out a caption for this, e-mail me. I got nothing.

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Scar… THROUGH THE REEDS!

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Heh, we were first of the day on both Kilimanjaro Safaris, and Conservation Station!

SNAKES ON A MURAL!

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And now, an uber-super-colossaly exclusive shot… of the smallest Hidden Mickey on property!

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And one of my other favourites. (There are at least 30 on the entrance mural alone.)

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Purty

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Matokeo ya Utafutaji kwa… Swahili for, “a picture for Dot”

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dandaman

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Um… yeah. It’s a tree.

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Choose Your Own Adventure!

a) One of these things is not like the others.

b) A tree… THROUGH THE TREES!

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This was probably the closest we’ve ever sat during Festival of the Lion King!

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dandaman

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
So, around 2:00, I got kinda bored of Animal Kingdom… so I took a shuttle to Orlando International, and hitched the next flight to the Himalayas, all in a matter of minutes! Amazing!

This looks promising… Hey! Free fruit!

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So, apparently, the tea train excursions just re-opened after some “most odd occurrences”, according to the manager of the Anandapur Rail Service.

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Some say different. I asked a local what he thought of the railway’s return. He kept shouting, “Fear the wrath of the Yeti!”. I wanted to believe him at the time, but the fact that he was wearing only a sandwich board titled “THE END IS NEAR” didn’t really make his information credible… or so I thought.

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So, me being either brave or fool enough to ride a suspicious train to the “top of the world”, I cut through town to find the base station for the ARS.

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A strange museum was off to the side, so I decided to have a look-see. It was a Yeti museum, oddly enough. Many artifacts were on hand, including this HUGE footprint of the big hairy guy himself. Now, I’ll be honest, I’m nowhere close to believing things just from “souvenirs”. First, though, I needed to get my bearings.

“You are here.”

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I found the station with little difficulty after that. I just missed the train, but coincidentally, they had another one not a minute behind. Curious…

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The railway’s seats were surprisingly comfortable. (Why you’d ever need lap bars on a railroad, I’d soon find out.) I talked with the station master, and he gave the go-ahead for Expedition: Everest!

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Before we scaled the mountain, I was given a guided tour through the old tea plantations… very interesting.

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We made it to the base of the mountain, and we were on our way up!

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dandaman

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
The magic of Disney apparently reaches all the way around the world…

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…And so does Ernesto.

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…Huh?

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Holy…! This can’t be normal!… I hope that’s my stomach growling.

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So, if I ever needed proof that the Yeti is real… this would be it. Uh-oh.

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OMG AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA hey look a shiny watch AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!

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People say he’s a myth, an illusion, a scam. I say otherwise, and I say this: THE YETI IS REAL. (And about 15 feet tall, to boot.) I would’ve snapped a picture, but I did some quick thinking and decided against it for two reasons:

1. He swiped at my camera!

2. You don’t want to throw off a 1 ½ story-high monster with flash photography.

The only thing I care about is, I know I survived.

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(Oh, and I did the same thing all over again 12 more times in a row, but you didn’t hear that from me.)

I leave Asia with not one, but TWO exclusive shots!

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…Aaaaaand I’m back in Florida already.

SNAKES ON A WALL!

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