Trip Report SURPRISE SEPTEMBER TRIP REVEALED.... BUT WAS IT A SURPRISE?

This is my first trip report and I hope I can compare to the high standards of some of the trip reports I read before our trip, during my research period. Thank you by the way to all who indirectly made this a magically and memorable trip.

We did manage to make it to WDW and back home safely. Been home for about 6 days now and still working at cleaning/organizing everything after the trip. Especially all the photos taken. I had a personal count of about 2200 pictures/videos of my own. Now mind you most of those were similar. By that I mean, my cameras have the option of taking up to 3 photos in a row. I thought best to use this feature in order to acquire the perfect shot, instead of being stuck with only the 'one' picture of someone looking elsewhere or with their eyes closed. And of course there were those few shots taken of the ground that always appear to happen. Not to mention just over another 1000 photos in my Memory Maker account. I think this was a very good investment on my part.

I guess I should start by back tracking a little.

Why? Besides the answer of why not, this trip started to flourish by the kids last year asking if we could go to WDW. I promised we could in two or three years but we would have to cut back on some of our spending and start saving for it. So, true answer, promise made.

How? Things just ended up falling into place to go this September, about a year in advance. I was able to receive some severance from a project I was helping with and thought our WDW trip would be a good way of using it.

When? I was originally thinking of going around March 2017, near to DD's birthday, but further research provided information September provided some of the lowest crowd levels. This would be an extra benefit for someone who has not been to WDW in about 40 years to be able to get around. September provided some extra benefits besides the lower crowds, lower costs and free dining. I would happen to have the children for a 3 week period in September and would allow flexibility to when we would fly. (Only later to decide we would be driving instead, but still allow us to be at WDW longer than the normal 7 days I have the children.) It would also be DS's birthday during this 3 week period and who won't want to celebrate their birthday at WDW.

I decided we would drive down (more due to trying to keep it a secret longer), departing Canada on Monday, September 12th taking the scenic route to WDW. We would arrive at WDW on Thursday, September 15th and depart on Friday, September 23rd. This would give us newbies 7 full days in the parks to explore.

I should add that while I was organizing the above, the children were planning a trip for the three of us to go to WDW July 2017 for my birthday. I know I am mean in being so deceitful, but I actually did give them the option to help plan 'a trip I was planning' but they wanted it to be a surprise. So, really it is their own fault.

Who?

Me- Paul

DS - Daniel

DD - Christina

I think I will end it here for now. I will be back soon to report our departure and our first leg of our drive.

 

[Scoppin]

My score. Not as good as last time.

DD's score.

I did have the Incredibles Super Dance Party, Celebrate the Magic and Wishes Fireworks on the agenda prior to leaving MK for our dinner ADR at Chef Mickey's. Considering the weather, not likely these were going to occur. So, had to go with the flow and managed to get one more FP. Maybe not really needed, but maybe considering the weather and everyone wanting to take shelter, for Monster Inc Laugh Floor. This would be our second visit today. However, we had some time before our window opened. Why not put our feet up and take a slow ride under a canopy. We then crossed the walkway and made our way to TTA People Mover, for the second time today.

 

[Scoppin]

MONDAY, SEPT 19 - CONTINUED

DS enjoying having the car all to himself. Well him and Goofy. He is operating two guns with Goofy watching his 6.

There was a little more of a line this time to get on the TTA People Mover, I wonder why. Maybe the same reason we were getting on, rest and get away from the rain. Where did the sun go? Behind all of those clouds.

The rain had its light moments however was heavy for the most part, but people were still braving the elements some without rain gear.

Not the best of pictures but shows all the cars parked on the speedway. Glad we were able to get our ride earlier in the afternoon.

Here is an image of how hard it was coming down at times. I think some of those people on the other side were still there when we journeyed to the laugh floor. We weren't going to let a little rain stop us from enjoying the park. Oh, in case you were wondering, we are not taking shelter from the rain. We are actually going on the ride.

Which ride do you ask. Stitch of course. I had heard some negative things regarding this attraction and didn't have it on my agenda. But the kids saw the sign and asked. Actually asked about it earlier but brushed it off due to having to get somewhere else. I had no excuses now. I tried to say I had heard negative things about it, it was in the dark and the seats separated. In all honestly I was afraid how they would react if the seats separated in the dark.

The kids enjoyed the ride in the end. And the seats didn't separated, which I was most happy about. So, maybe things had changed and someone hadn't updated their information. Of course afterwards we were dumped into yet another gift shop. We spent some time looking around. DS was looking at the make your own lightsaber, but I asked how he was going to travel home with it and he already had two. He ended up not purchasing anything. DD on the other had did make a purchase, a 10" Stitch in a baby blanket. @JenniferS it may not be the large Stitch Hubby was looking at but it fit in her arms better.

We still had more time to work on so we finally made our way over to Carousel of Progress. It was nice to be able to seat down and final enjoy this show. After the tour through time, our FP window had opened and we made our way over to the Laugh Floor. The characters picked weren't as interactive as those from our earlier show, but we still enjoyed the show. However, we were now getting close to being late for our ADR. So, we made a b line out of Tomorrowland, out of MK and towards the monorail. I was hoping we would have better luck with our monorail ride than historically @Tuvalu has had, as we really didn't have any time to waste to back track and take another mode of transportation. And here is where I make another rookie mistake. In my haste, I followed the crowds up the ramps. And I do mean crowds as by the time we made it up to the top of the ramp it was completely full all the way down. I asked a few people around us if this was the correct side to get to Chef Mickey's at Comtempary. No one appeared to have a clue. I was able to ask a CM at the top, adding we were trying to get to our 9:20 pm ADR. She mentioned we were actually on the incorrect side and wanted the monorail on the other side. She suggested we could just step over to the other side and catch the monorail from the interior/exit platform. She then proceeded to ask some of those in the front to move to the side in order to allow us to move up to the front as we were just going to step through the monorail to the other side. The thing is, we weren't the only ones doing this. The kids were asking if we would have to jump across the gap in order to get to the other side while we were waiting for the monorail. I mentioned no, I don't think so was it would cause some liability issues. The monorail arrived and we proceeded to move through the monorail to the other side. We were then greeted by a less friendly CM, who was on the other side, the entrance platform of the monorail we wanted. He stated we could wait there. I tried to explain to him the CM on this side had suggested this the avenue to us. He replied he didn't care, we were not allowed to enter on this side and needed to enter from his side. I guess I could have been rude about it and just stood there and waited for the monorail. Like what was he really going to do from the other side. But we went down the exit ramp and up the proper entrance ramp. We had to sprint the last little way as the monorail had arrive. I wanted to thank the CM for his 'helpfulness' but didn't have the time to do so. And we were shortly on our way to the Comtempory. We were able to check in and get our pager, with only minutes to spare for our ADR.

I am not sure what I am looking at, but this was the best pictures of the kids. DS holding proud his bag of purchase and DD putting Stitch on Mickey. I am surprised there is still some fruit left. We did have some wait and I wasn't the only one to notice there were many who went in before us who had arrive after we did. However, before any more went in ahead of us the lights on our pager went off and we were seated at our table.

We were told of the rotation of the characters and the route they took, so we would know to return to our table if we were getting our food. But we had some time before our first character came to visit. We had time to grab some food and have some to eat. However, DS stated he wasn't feeling well and couldn't eat anything. I think the issue was he had ordered milk and it may have turned his stomach. I told him he wouldn't be able to drink mild for a while if this was the case. So, unfortunately he didn't eat anything during this dinner. DD and I made a few trips to the buffet bar before our first visit, which was close to 10:00 pm. But once they started, they were steady.

Our first visitor, Minnie.

Our second visitor, Goofy. I think he was happy to see his mini me.

Next up, the rest of the gang and the end of our 4th park day.

 

[Scoppin]

MONDAY, SEPT 19 -- CONCLUSION

After Goofy calmed down from seeing his mini me, he was more than happy to have his picture taken with the kids. He had one with me as well, however not of fair quality.

Pluto was up next and this time I am presentable enough to be posted with DD.

The kids with Pluto.

Up next, number one Duck with the kids and baby Stitch.

All thumbs up, well maybe one thumbs up and one number 1.

Mickey was more than happy to sign for DD, while she held up/'back' baby Stitch.

Mickey with the kids.

Mickey and I posing.

Even though DS was all smiles during the interactions, his stomach was not. Sadly to say, he didn't eat anything all night.

Our server, Sandra tended to all of our needs. She did inform us of the characters' route and did come by to make sure we had everything and to ensure we had see all the characters. She came to speak to us at the end of the night to ask if she had spoken Spanish to us during the night. I have mentioned she hadn't. She mentioned they usually seat all the Spanish speaking visitors in her section. She went on to say she moved to Florida when she was young from Venezuela. She had been working for WDW for 25 years in a number of different positions. She stated she liked to move around and try different positions nor get bored. We did spend some time talking. I did mentioned I had noticed a large number of Spanish speaking visitors at WDW. I know there had been a number of different threads which had made comments to the number of Spanish speaking visitors and Spanish tour groups. I may have the answer for you, if you are reading. Sandra mentioned, September is the start of the South American Summer Break.

The kids modeling the exit.

A picture at DD's request. Yes, we closed the place. Another 2 hour ADR under our belt. I had thought we may have been able to get a spot to view the Electrical Water Pageant after our ADR, but alas it was not meant to be. This would not be the last time our extended visit during an ADR would alter our plans.

We then found our way back to the monorail platform. We had a discussion with the three CMs there. Not sure why there were 3 as it was very quite. We were the only ones there. DS asked them about the transit cards. They have the kids one and mentioned each different method of transportation had their own cards and for them to request from the drivers. Then we had a delay. No, the monorail didn't stop working, go for testing or close for a party; we are not @Tuvalu. Or we just have beginners luck. The kids needed to make a pit stop, so the CMs opened the gate for them and instructed them where to find the restrooms. We did miss a monorail but one came shortly after the kids came back. My plan was to take the monorail back to MK and then bus to Sports. It wasn't until we were on the monorail I thought maybe we should have went to TTC and taken the bus from there. It would have been a good question to pose to the monorail CMs to see which would have been quicker, as it was not a direct monorail ride back to MK, but we had to run the full circuit. However, we make it to MK, down the monorail ramps and over to the bus depot. It was interesting as when we left certain parks late night we were certain we knew where we were going to get the bus. It would make sense the same place where we were dropped off. Not always. Sometimes we were directed to a different station as per a transportation CM. So, we just got use to asking in order to ensure we got on the correct bus. We had a little wait for the bus but nothing to worry about. We would be back home soon. DD got comfortable on the bus and took one last ride before getting to our room; the Daddy Carry. Yes, she fell asleep again. But after a little over 12 hours in the park, she did well.

I don't think I mentioned in Sunday's report, but DD didn't have any cough medicine Sunday night. She didn't like the taste of it, even though she picked it. And it was always a struggle for her to take it. But last night she stated she was feeling better. I mentioned she could forego the medicine for the night but if she coughed during the night she would be taking it tonight. Well, I didn't hear a cough during the night. At least one of us was feeling better now. One down, two to go.

Our nightly routine was once again upon us. The kids got ready for bed while I empty our backpack and charged our phones/cameras. I also had to stand our shoes up in the washroom in order to assist with their drying. Then I proceeded to review our agenda for the next day.

I guess I should continue with our Princess and Mickey count. We meet another 10 Princesses, okay maybe some we have meet before but who is taking notes, taking DD's Princess M&G count to 21. We also meet Mickey so this brings DS's Mickey M&G count up to 4. We also meet Pluto which made DS happy as well. He wished we had meet Pluto more often.

Tomorrow will be our only trip to Animal Kingdom.

 

[Tuvalu]

You made the right call not getting off the monorail at the TTC because resort buses do not depart from there (only from the MK depot.) You could have saved a little time by walking to the MK from the Contemporary, since the end of the walking path is near the bus depot.

 

[Scoppin]

You made the right call not getting off the monorail at the TTC because resort buses do not depart from there (only from the MK depot.) You could have saved a little time by walking to the MK from the Contemporary, since the end of the walking path is near the bus depot.

Thank you for the vote of confidence. Nice to know I made the correct call. I am not sure if walking would have been a good idea that late for DD.

 

[Scoppin]

One note before I move onto Day 5.

This will go back to our visit to Mickey's Star Traders, after our exit from Stitch, and reference to recent conversation regarding double wide strollers. While we were looking around the shop I noticed a mother with a double wide stroller. I can't remember if there was anyone in the stroller. But I did notice something else. As most of you know, these don't maneuver well between the aisles. But it gets a little more difficult when you place an umbrella stroller across the handles of the double wide. Yes, that would be correct. She had an umbrella stroller folded up laying across the handles of the double wide. The umbrella stroller had to extend at least 3-4" past the double wide on both sides. So, not like the double wide was bad enough, why not make is worse by making it even wider. I am just glad I didn't get clipped by it.

 

[Scoppin]

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20 -- ANIMAL KINGDOM

Well, it is official. Our trip is more than half over. 3 more days left in WDW and we are going to make the best of them. Today we are off to Animal Kingdom. The kids love animals and there are some different interactions so this should be interesting. What do you have planned? Well the start of the day may be a little, okay a lot, different than it will look like by the end of the day.

FP 9:30 - 10:30 am Kilimanjaro Safari
1:00 Lunch at Yak & Yeti Local Food Cafes
FP 2:00 - 3:00 pm Adventures Outpost Micky & Minnie M&G
FP 3:05 - 4:05 pm Kali River Rapids
6:50 pm ADR dinner at Tusker

Our morning routine was about as normal as it has been the past few days and went without much incident. It would be nice to actually make it to a park before rope drop, but it is difficult with you morning haters. Yes, we made it in before the official opening at MK on our first day, but it wasn't rope drop. Today would be no different. At least we would have tomorrow to fix this.

We didn't make it by 9:00 am but we weren't that far off, 9:10 am. We had Flik M&G on first however he had a line and the kids decided to skip him for now and move onto our firs FP. Yes, we would be quite early for it. We stepped up to the FP gate and I mentioned to the CM that we were early for our FP. I can't honestly remember if I asked if we could go in or if she did. But she did some magic on her computer and we turned Mickey's head green. Then she added, and in not a very pleasant tone, for us not to expect this as not everyone would let us in early. Her tone was in more like annoyance. That we had troubled her and she was doing us this huge favour. In all honestly, I don't remember seeing anyone in the stand by line, so we could have gone that way and gotten straight on the truck which was about to leave. We managed to get the last seats available. Right up front, behind the driver. The animal were out and moving. At least those not to lazy to do so. We were able to get plenty of wonderful pictures.

DDgetting ready to take pictures of the weird/strange creatures she will see. DS keeping an eye out for the animals.

There is that strange/weird creature DD found.

Cattle with some very large horns. They must have some very strong neck muscles otherwise they would be tipping forward. You know, like the dog on 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas.'

Giraffe found within the tall grass.

Giraffe more interested in breakfast than us. Not much of a host ignoring guests like that.

A couple of elephants.

Flamingos.

Rhino. He was close, but our driver ensured us we were safe. Rhinos don't see very well and probably couldn't even see us. I am sure he was able to smell us though.

But then again, he is a vegetarian and probably more interested in the grass. Whew!

From the other pictures I have seen, this guy doesn't move. Maybe it is more like Dad's lazy boy. No one else is allowed to sit in his seat.

We decided to take a walk along the Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail after our safari. Up next, photo proof of our walk.

 

[Scoppin]

TUESDAY, SEPT 20 -- CONTINUED

We first went into the bird aviary. It was interesting seeing all the birds flying around and all the nests in the trees. And good news, neither of us ended up being targets. We made it out and notice two zebras. Were able to get a couple of nice shots here, better than I was able to on the safari.

We then came upon the Gorilla observation area. This little guy was the main attraction. He is only 2 years old. I forget his name. The CM working the area had a lot to say about the gorillas we were able to see. There was another older junior gorilla who was via for attention.

A better shot of baby gorilla. They really should clean those windows better. Would allow for better pictures. Not to mention non reflective glass. In some pictures, I can actually see the CM due to the reflection.

DD was the one who actually noticed the Photographer walking the opposite way, and towards the bachelor gorilla area. So, we turned around and asked if she would like to take our picture. She did. This is not the best one of us, but is the best one with the gorilla. The gorilla is mostly behind the leafs in other of two and can only see a cheek. There were others waiting to have their picture taken, however the CM explained it is difficult to get more than a few pictures in as they tend to move. And by this time the gorilla was out of site.

In case you were not able to see the gorilla above, here is a better picture we took before we moved on and came back to have the photographer take some pictures.

Next up, a ride on the Express Wildlife Train.

We made our way up to Conservation Station and Affection Section. Chip and Dale had a line so we passed them and went to visit someone else, and enjoy the A/C for a little while. Rafiki was interesting. DS was talking about singing, you know that song from Lion King which for the love of me I can't remember at this time. Rafiki liked the interaction and singing. The picture below may appear odd, but I believe it was after Rafiki was trying to get the kids to say something but I ended up belted it out. I probably won't be able to write if I remembered it but it was the little introduction before the presentation of Simba. Its not really words but sounds. Rafiki jumped up and pointed to me as to say, 'yes that's it!'

The kids with Rafiki.

Me joining in and getting the head rest from Rafiki. I guess I am in.

A little fun with Rafiki.

We thanked Rafiki for his time. DS noticed the rooms in behind and asked to go in. We spent the time sitting down listening to the wildlife sounds. We were not done yet with Conservation Station. There were not any medical 'appointments' scheduled, which the kids were disappointed. We did stay for the start of the animal interaction show, but it was similar to what we have seen back home. But before we headed outside the kids wanted to take a few more photo ops.

They will be coming in the next post.

 

[Scoppin]

TUESDAY, SEPT 20 -- CONTINUED

The kids were in a photo op mood so I wasn't going to hold them back. I wasn't complaining about being in A/C for a little longer. Mind you it wasn't as warm out today as it had being the past 4 days. Actually, today would probably be the best weather day we had. Not scorching hot, extreme humidity and/or heavy down pour.

There were a number of large animal cut-outs around the building and the kids decided to have some fun with them.

Don't step on us!

Shhhhhhhhhhh!

Hey dude, how is it going?

AWWW! Elephant stampede!

Group photo with Nick, Judy and Chief Bogo.

Moving at the rate of Flash.

Now outside to Affection Station. The kids love animals, so getting up close and being able to pet the animal makes them happy. They liked the pigs/hogs.

The goats were friendly as well.

This one was wondering if he should make a break for their 'do not disturb' area but the back rub is just feeling soooo good.

So, good he didn't move a step and was able to enjoy a brush down by DD.

There were a few other animals around, some in their own pens, and not able to pet unless they got a little closer to their fence.

We then ventured to seen a couple of rodents after we were done here, before getting back to the main park.

 

[JenniferS]

Yeehaw, all caught up!

I am blown away by the crazy wait times compared to ours just a week earlier. As you may recall, we rode Soarin' TEN TIMES; mostly with a stand-by line of 5-15 mins.

Your kids are adorable. You are a great dad. And I'm hoping you are all better and fit as a fiddle before this trip ends.

And oh yeah, it was hot! For us too. We ended up throwing a fresh hotel face cloth in our bag every morning. I don't ever sweat at home, and I never used to at Disney ... until the past two years. (I can say it must be "the change". You cannot.)

Waiting for the next updates. Thanks for the shout-outs.

 

[Scoppin]

TUESDAY, SEPT 20 -- CONTINUED

Here comes a fun character experience. I believe I had mentioned we had a few character experiences we will remember for a while. This experience here, with Chip and Dale, is one of those. And I used some information from our encounter with them at Garden Grill, here.

It was a small wait to see these two and when it was finally our turn they were already in a giggly mood.

Here they are signing their autographs for the kids and exchanging the clipboards between them.

The kids with Chip and Dale.

Family shot with Chip and Dale.

The photographer thought we were done and had put down their camera. So, they thought. However, DS had asked if they were getting along better than they last time we had met them. They both shook their heads with fingers on noses and waved their other hand. DS continued by saying that they thought they other stank. I mentioned that they should use some deodorant. Then I had a brainstorm, and paired with my silliness, I picked up DD's misting water bottle and stated this may help. Then the shenanigans started up. First up was Dale.

I think we cut into the time of the people waiting behind us. I am sure they were ready to step up to take their pictures with the chipmunks before we stole their attention for a little while longer.

Dale again. And Chip got some as well.

Can't forget the back either.

I got a huge hug from Dale for my efforts of helping them smell better. I wonder if the visitors after us appreciated it as well?

And a big hug from Dale for DS as well. I can't remember why DD didn't get one, but I am sure she was giggling throughout all the shenanigans. As was probably everyone else watching us. Really, why just stand there, have them sign, take a couple of pictures and leave. Not much to remember. Why not make it an event. Then again it does depend upon the character and who is portraying them.

It was now time for us to say our goodbyes to Chip & Dale, as well as the rest of the area, and head back to the main park and see what other shenanigans we could get into to.

 

[Scoppin]

Yeehaw, all caught up!

I am blown away by the crazy wait times compared to ours just a week earlier. As you may recall, we rode Soarin' TEN TIMES; mostly with a stand-by line of 5-15 mins.

Your kids are adorable. You are a great dad. And I'm hoping you are all better and fit as a fiddle before this trip ends.

And oh yeah, it was hot! For us too. We ended up throwing a fresh hotel face cloth in our bag every morning. I don't ever sweat at home, and I never used to at Disney ... until the past two years. (I can say it must be "the change". You cannot.)

Waiting for the next updates. Thanks for the shout-outs.

Good thing most of it is pictures.

Yes, wait times longer than your stay but I am sure shorter than other times of the year. We just had to work around the main attractions.

Thank you and thank you. DD is by this time. DS and I are about there. But we didn't let it stop us. Mind you it might have affected our endurance a little and appetite.

I thought about using a face cloth as well, but didn't get to that point. It might have helped the kids on a couple of our days. I tried to bounce between the indoors and the outdoors.

They are coming out slowly. Work and life tends to get in the way.

No problem. You did assist in making our trip more enjoyable. Learned a lot from many on this forum. Just sometimes forget who I got from whom.

 

[Scoppin]

TUESDAY, SEPT 20 -- CONTINUED

I am going to degress from the trip report for a little while to tell a tale from the weekend. I don't know how we got on this topic, but I know it started while we were getting out of the van to get to my soccer game. But the topic of surprise trips came up. I apoligized for keeping the WDW trip a surprised but added I did give them the option to help, even though they didn't know what the trip was for, when I told them I was planning a trip and asked if they wanted it to be a surprise or to help. DS replied, 'it is just like when I told DD when we were going to another suprise, not to worry because all of Daddy's suprises are great. Where did we go again on that trip?' I replied it was when we went to Medival Times Dinner and Show. DS replied, 'Oh yeah. But you did a great job in planning the WDW trip. It was like you had been there 20 times. You knew everything. (I am glad he thinks that as I did have my rookie moments) I replied it was just a lot of planning, research. asking a lot of people who had been there many times questions about things I didn't know, and reading their trip reports to get ideas. Yes, this is shout out to all who helped make this a great trip; @Tuvalu , @JenniferS , @Figment Forever , @Matty30 ,@blgauger , @DimpledDevil18 . @samantha788 and I am sorry if I have forgotten anyone but too many to remember and everyone had a positive affect on our trip.) But you had only been there twice and things really changed. I replied, 'yeah, I have been there twice in 40 years. I know someone (@Tuvalu ) who had been there 3 times since we have been there. DS replied, "Wow, it would be nice to be there that many times. I am glad we were able to go." And that was basically the discussion we had that Sunday morning. So, if not mentioned enough, thank you to all who shared your ideas/trip reports with us rookies who need leadership and helped make my two to truely have a magical experience at WDW.

Before we could get into any trouble we had to hop back onto the Wildlife train. But I think I almost got into some trouble before stepping onto the train. There were not many of us waiting for the train to head back. It was basically us and a couple of ladies on our side of the platform. And it was more or less empty when it pulled up. I made the slide comment of, 'I guess we basically have the train to ourselves. I guess we can have our own car.' I am not sure if the ladies took it the way it was intended, considering the look I got. It was if they thought I didn't want them in the same car as us. But really, it was just in reference to how empty the train was. Oh, well. The day will continue.

Getting ready to head back to the main park of AK. (You can also see how empty the car in front of us was. But this was not the car the ladies got on. The car behind us was just as empty, as was ours.)

Now we are back in Africa and continuing with our agenda. At least for now. I thought I would take this picture while on our way to our next M&G.

What is our next stop you may ask? No, it is not Mickey and Minnie. At least not yet. It is Baloo & King Louie. I had just received the live version of Jungle Book before debarking on our journey and included it in our traveling movie library. I think the kids watched it 3 times on the way down. So, they were excited to meet these two. They would have like to have seen a few more from the movie but these two did not disappoint. There was a nice long line waiting for us when we finally arrived. The two did take a couple of banana breaks while we were waiting and they were interactive with those who came to visit them. As we were soon to find out. It was warm, but not as warm as the past few days. The clouds would come eventually to help block the sun to help reduce the heat exhaustion. What to do while we wait? Why take some pictures. First the Tree of Life.

The Tree of Life with the kids.

Picture of the bridge.

Now I am all pictured out. Not much else to take pictures of while the line moved at a sloth's pace. What to do? Well why not play what can I see in The Tree of Life. So, for the next little while we tried to find a many animals as we could in the Tree of Life. This didn't take the we needed but it did pass some of the time. I believe it was at this time DD asked if we could go back to Sports early so they could go swimming. (it might have been while at Flights of Wonder but that was about to be our next stop) I have to say, our agenda was working to a tee up until this point. We were even ahead of schedule. Even with the long current wait we were currently experiencing. Well, the second half of our agenda was going to look like it just exploded with all of the rearranging that was going to happen. As I good Dad and going with the 'go with the flow' notion, I replied sure will just have to move a few things around. It wasn't noon just yet and we were planning on having lunch at Yak & Yeti. Dinner ADR was set for 6:50 and won't happen if they wanted to go swimming so let the frantic last minute planning begin. The first thing I wanted to do is reschedule our dinner ADR. I was able to see an opening in the 1:00 hour, but didn't secure it. I think it was because of a combination of the wifi connection and me worrying about having to pay for the 6:50 dinner due to a last minute cancellation. So, decided to go to Tusker's and ask the staff in person. As such the rest of this story will have to wait until after our conversation with the Tusker staff. Now back to our M&G.


The kids having a chat with King Louie. They were disappointed he was not able to sign, but understood the difficulty with those big long arms of his.

Baloo signing autographs while DS is getting a hug from King Louie.

DS dancing with Baloo. I believe a little singing may have been going on as well. Bare necessities to be specific.

Kids photo op with Baloo and King Louie.

We are not yet done with these two. I haven't had my turn yet. A few more pictures to come before we move on to Flights of Wonder.

 

[Scoppin]

TUESDAY, SEPT 20 -- CONTINUED

Okay time for some more shenanigans with these two furry guys.
First one big group hug. No I am not in there. But if you look closely, very closely you can barely see DD in the middle of the group hug.

DS got two big thumbs up when he asked how Mowgli was.

Baloo wanted a chest bump. The first attempt didn't work out very well as I wasn't sure what he was indicating. I finally figured it out. Mind you, he really didn't have to jump much.

Family shot with these two furry characters.

We were still ahead of schedule, even with our long wait time for the M&G. I am really glad I had included all show times on our agenda. Even if we weren't blowing up our afternoon agenda, I think we would have still have gone to Flights of Wonder as it was still early for our lunch.

Getting ready for the show. Got seats up at the top on the right hand side.

We were really close to one of the flights. This is the best shot. He was fast flying back as well. Not able to get a pic of him in flight.

The kids enjoyed the show and the funny 'tour guide' as well. We now headed back towards Tusker's to see if we could talk our way into an earlier reservation, as I had seen an opening. I spoke with a couple of the CMs and they mentioned they would not be able to squeeze us in at this time as it was currently one of their busy periods. Suggesting I keep checking the app for open reservations and if I was not able to get one to come back around 3:00 and they would find us a spot. They added I won't have to worry about the no show fee as the app would clear the original reservation and I wasn't able to get a new ADR, they would be able to do it on their computer when they checked us in. I thanked them for their time/assistance and stated we would be back. We now had a little extra time to kill. So we decided to walk back towards the park entrance when we came upon a lonely photographer. So, we stopped and kept her company for a little while.
Family pic with the African wall behind us.

Family close up pic. Not sure if I mentioned it in an earlier post, but we decided to make this a Canada Day. Wearing our colours/love for our country. DS didn't have any Canada wear which was suitable for Florida weather so he decided to wear red. He may have led out our big secret, Canada is a Rebel outpost.

Silly pic of the kids with Stitch. I bet they were wanting an ice cream by this time. But good thing they didn't have one, as Stitch would have probably eaten it.

We then asked the photographer if she could confirm the M&G location for Flik. It was a little early for him to come back, but we thought it was a good time/place for a rest until 1:30. Besides, we have waited longer in other line and this way we would be right up in front and able to move onto our next stop. I got us three cups of ice water to drink while we waited. I like the idea of biodegradable straws, but I have to admit, they are different and really take some getting use to. While waiting for Flik, the question if we were in the correct spot came up as no one was joining the line. DD decided to walked across the walkway to ask the CM working the gift shop cart. She confirmed we were in the correct location. I also took this time to secure us a new ADR for Tusker's, 2:00 pm. So, lunch was now secure and another visit Donald and his friends was in our future.

Flik finally came out and the kids were happy to see him. Flik had noticed DS's button and asked how old he was. Actually he decided to guess DS's age and got it correct. Here we have DS's amazed look that Flik got his age correct and Flik with his hands up in saying, 'see I got it right.'

A few more Flik pictures to come and one other stop before lunch.

 

[Scoppin]

TUESDAY, SEPT 20 -- CONTINUED

The other thing I was able to do while waiting for Flik was to change our FP time to M&G Mickey and Minnie, considering our new lunch time. Was able to get it changed to 5:40 pm, but still not totally happy about the time.

More Flik adventures. After Flik guessed DS's age he turned to DD and guessed her age. There was a little confusion though. He put up all his fingers and we mentioned he was incorrect. Until we figured out he only had 8 fingers, then it was like, Yes, you got it! You can see DS was trying to help Flik with his guess, before we noticed Flik's finger count..

Kids with Flik.

Family photo with Flik.

We then ventured over to It's Tough to be a Bug in order to enjoy a show before lunch and use a little A/C. Actually, it was more escape from the rain rather than the heat. It had started to rain a little as we were winding through the queue and didn't have to pull out the rain coats. Maybe after the show. I also had to mention to the kids, more to DD, some aspects of the show. Namely the bees and stinging portion. DD can get a little nervous around bees due to her allergy, so I wanted to prepare her so she won't freak out during the show. Her response, she was going to sit on my lap throughout the show. The kids noticed we were entering the Tree of Life and thought it was really cool we were going to be inside the tree to watch the show. We enjoyed the show and to be honest, I never felt the' bee stings' but DS did. The bugs crawling around the seat at the end of the show was interesting. It is too bad they were not also crawling around on the back rest, but then again I might still be there enjoying the back massage. It was now time for us to head over to our lunch ADR. I was trying to pull out our raincoats upon exiting, when I asked the CM at the exit door if it was still raining. She replied no, it had stopped and it only rained for about 10 minutes. I am sure I looked at her kind of confused like, , and then stated I was surprised as it appeared it was going to rain for a while considering the clouds.

We made the short walk in good time, but not without incident. We were not far from Tuskers when a kid, I would say preteen, was running/dodging between people trying to get to his family. Well he zagged a little to close to DD and would have knocked her over if we weren't paying attention. This bothered DD for a while as she keep mentioning how rude the kid was and he could have easily knocked her over. I was not able to react to the situation as the kid was long gone by the time we were able to react. But we pulled ourselves together and checked in for our lunch. The two ladies I had spoken to earlier about changing our ADR recognized me when I stepped up. I mentioned I was able to change our dinner ADR to a 2:00 lunch. They replied they were glad I was able to do so and mentioned for me to just stand off to the side and listen for our name as the pagers were not working properly. It was not much of a wait, thinking about 10 minutes before we were seated. We were not seated in the main lounge area, but a smaller room. It did get a little 'crowded' when the gang made their round to see everyone. However, it was close to the washrooms which can always good with my two. Our server, Luis, came and gave us a complete run down of who the characters were, how they were coming to be coming in, about the food and took our drink orders. We made our way over to the buffet in order to select what we wanted to eat. The kids went with the kids basic menu. It was just the other day when we were talking about trying other foods at home. This discussion was more geared towards DD, but DS mentioned he would like to try African food. I looked over at him and replied he had that opportunity to do so while at WDW when we were at Tuskers and asked if he had, knowing he did not. He replied he did not. He is generally more willing to try something new than his sister is.

We were able to eat before we had our first visitor. The main Duck himself.

Goofy was up next.

I am not sure what DS is trying to do here. Rubbing is tummy while tapping his head?

Daisy was up next. You can see it was a full house by this time. You can just see Donald's head in the bottom right of the picture and Goofy's back on the left.

And finally Mickey.

We are not quite finished here at Tuskers just yet. Just out of picture room. Back with a few more pictures and more about our lunch in a little while.

 

[Scoppin]

TUESDAY, SEPT 20 -- CONTINUED

I was able to do a little more adjusting to our agenda. First, an earlier FP for Micky & Minnie M&G for 5:10. Then able to move our Kali River Rapids FP from 3:05 to 6:25. Everything else should be able to fall into place. But let's finish with Tuskers first.

Family pick with Mickey.

We had a very good server again, Luis. He was always coming by to see how we were doing, if we needed anything and was always in the room in order to take our family pictures with the characters. He asked how our trip was going, especially after learning it was our first trip and DS's birthday. In fact at one point, DD mentioned she had missed taking a selfie with Mickey and this was close to the time we were going to leave for our next stop, Festival of the Lion King. So, we we really couldn't wait until they came around again. Luis mentioned Micky was still in the large room and took us over there and explained to the character CM the current situation and DD was able to get her selfie with Mickey. So, you know what this means, pictures with the server. But first a picture of the birthday boy.

Luis did ask us if we were going to see the Lion King. I mentioned it was next on our agenda. He mentioned we could just use the door to the left of our dining room and we would get there quicker. This door would come in handy a little later in our adventure. But first we came across yet another lonely Disney photographer. Well you knew we had to stop and keep her company for a little while.

We then made our way into line to wait for the start of the show. We did have some time to wait, about 20 minutes until show time. Good thing we had a little shade and we spent some of our time talking with a mother and son. DS would have been just a little younger. They had been there a 'few' times before and were really big pin collectors.

We were ushered into our seats after a little while. We were in the giraffe section. Everyone was given there instructions about staying in their seats and if they needed to use the restrooms to go into the aisle, up the stairs and ask a CM and they would be able to assist. Maybe someone who has also seen this show confirm these instructions or otherwise I was just hearing things. This would come into play a little later.

So, we have the elephant to our left.

The giraffe to our right.

Warthog in front of us

And the monkeys in front of us.

Into the second half of the show, DS mentioned he had to use the restroom. I mentioned for him to go up the stairs and ask a CM for assistance. He did but was back very quickly. I mentioned that it was quick and if he felt better. He replied he didn't to. The CM told him to return back to his seat as there were no restrooms. I replied that was not what I heard, confirmed if he still had to go and we would take care of it. He replied he could wait. I was a little hot under the collar at this time, because how do you give instructions to go ask a CM about washrooms and then tell a kid you don't have any. I can hold it. Kids, not always. Better hope DS would be able to as if not, I really won't be able to hold back my displeasure as now I would have a child with wet clothes and it won't be because we had been on Kali River Rapids. These aren't enough, I need one with smoke coming out of the ears.

The show finally ended and we had to make our way through the crowd, and it appeared to be a full house, to the exit doors which were located on the opposite side of where we were sitting, of course. So, I took lead and made a path for us like a lineman would for their running back, but with excuse mes in there. Normally, I would let people in if they were waiting on the sides, but this wasn't I time to be nice, I was on a mission. We managed to make it outside to find out we were on the side of Tuskers. Perfect, something is working. Now, to manage across all the pedestrians and make our way back into Tuskers, via the side door so we won't have to worry about being able to use their washroom. Both kids decided to make use of this stop before moving on. Before they came out, ran into an old friend, Luis. He mentioned we were back. Yes, I mentioned DS had to use the restroom as was told not one in Lion King. He replied of course and then asked if we enjoyed the show. I said we did.

We were now off to our next show. We had a little time so we stopped out front of Everest as the kids wanted to see the ride. Actually, DD was asking about going on it. I stated no, they could watch from the observation area and I was going into the gift shop. I didn't see anything I wanted and went back out to see the kids. DS was not interested in going on Everest considering the going backwards part and DD would not challenge it alone. We continued our trek over to our next stop. But first a different view of Everest.

Onward.

 

[Scoppin]

TUESDAY, SEPT 20 -- CONTINUED

So, where are we off to, maybe this will be a good hint.

Sorry, but my other pictures were not worthy of being posted.

Our next mission, one more Princess to visit for my Princess. I knew this would going to be close considering the time the show ended and Pocahontas' M&G ended at 6:00 pm. The slow moving traffic out of the theater was not helping matters much either. We couldn't really dart and dodge for a while. At least not until the crowds started to thin out a little. I wasn't in that much of a hurry. But we did run into someone who was. Or should I say he ran into someone else. We were crossing the bridge from dino land and there was this guy pushing an umbrella stroller at a very 'high' rate of speed trying to dodge through the crowd. And I understand there are people who like to take their time in order to take in all the sights and sounds or maybe they just can't move as fast as others. Well this guy clipped the heal of a lady and her 'I will presume' husband had a few words to say which included for the guy to watch out. I am not sure if the guy even slowed down but turned his head around and told them they shouldn't walk so slow and to get out of the way. There wasn't even a slight bit of remorse. Like really, you are going to blame someone else for you running into the back of someone. I would hate to be in front of him on the road. I through out a few comments out his way which may have included for him to watch out as there are many people walking and may have referred him to a mule's cousin. But really, do you really have to be that way. I would have hated to see him when the park was busy.

Okay, back to our day. We were at the entrance of the M&G shortly afterwards. We actually almost walked right by it. We arrive a little before 6 and this was to be tight for our next FP who's window closing at 6:10. We had about 20 minutes to work with before the extra time kicked in. We were waiting up near the entrance of the line not moving at all. I had two thoughts, one since we were at the back of the line, it was getting close to 6 and the line was not moving we were not going to get the opportunity to meet Pocahontas as we were going to be told her time was over. I was also looking back expecting to see a CM raise the rope at the entrance in order to prevent others from entering. But this did not occur. Then the line moved. And when I say moved it moved through the winding pathway to the M&G area. This was the time I noticed there were not that many people ahead of us, but we were in a good position, and Pocahontas was not there. Then Pocahontas arrived and people started taking pictures with her and getting her autograph. However she was not alone. She had company arrive shortly after she did. At this point I was glad we were not at the front of the line, otherwise we would have missed this rare opportunity. The kids also looked at each other saying this was a rare character. Who is it you ask?

None other than Governor Ratcliffe. There was no photographer for him but the CM was more than happy to take some family pictures. You can tell the happy surprise look on the kids.

Character mode.

Then we moved over to meet the Princess herself. She was very interactive with the kids in a very gentle manner. She asked the kids from which tribe they belong and mentioned we had traveled far.

I have no idea the reason for the big smile but I couldn't not include it. Big smiles like that always makes me smile, warms me from the inside out and lets me know the right choices are being made.

Kids with Pocahontas.

Family picture.

We thanked the Princess for her time and had to move onto our next M&G, whose window had now officially closed and we were entering extra time. Good thing we were not too far and managed to arrive before the extra time window closed. We mentioned we were glad we were still able to get through, as Mickey's head turned green, as we were late. I don't think we really needed the FP as there were not many in the queue ahead of us or even behind us. And I do mean not many. 2 maybe 3 families ahead of us and 1 maybe 2 behind us. But we were able to see the happy mouse couple in a short while.

I am not sure what was going on here to have Mickey covering his mouth and Minnie pointing at him. But it did have DD's attention.

There have not been as many pictures with DD getting a big hug so I thought I would share one, to ensure everyone she was not being left behind.

Kids with the happy mouse couple.

We are not yet done with this M&G. A few more pictures before we leave them. Then one last attraction, whose FP window is now open, before we try to leave the park.

 

[ScarletBegonias]

I am so glad I found your report! I followed along during your PTR!!

I was not able to watch your reveal video at work, but it sounds like it was amazing. I am so impressed you managed to keep it a secret until you were AT Disney! That was awesome.

You did such a great job with this trip and you look like (so far) you were having a wonderful time! What a great Dad you are! Your kids will never forget this trip!

 

[Scoppin]

I am so glad I found your report! I followed along during your PTR!!

I was not able to watch your reveal video at work, but it sounds like it was amazing. I am so impressed you managed to keep it a secret until you were AT Disney! That was awesome.

You did such a great job with this trip and you look like (so far) you were having a wonderful time! What a great Dad you are! Your kids will never forget this trip!

I am glad you were able to find it.

I am unable to watch videos at work as well. However, am able to watch videos at home. Hopefully, a different location may work for you. Their expressions were priceless. Pictures would not have done it justice. It was difficult at times, I really just wanted to blurt it out but had to hold myself back as I knew (hoped) they would be surprised.

Thank you. I will admit I was a little nervous on how it would turn out and how they would enjoy it. I have to give a huge credit to this forum and writers for all the information shared and aided in my planning.

This still talk about it, about being able to go back but know it may be unlikely. I may suggest to them to request to be adopted by @Tuvalu as they may be able to go several times a year. Or is that per month?

 

[Scoppin]

TUESDAY, SEPT 20 -- CONTINUED

More M&G with Mickey and Minnie before we head to our next stop.

Family shot.

Big hugs good bye from Mickey to DS.

And big good bye hugs from Mickey for DD as well.

We have tons of time to make it to our next and final FP so no need to rush, but if the kids would like to go swimming then no side trips in order. It was a short walk to Kali Rapids, but before entering the queue a strategic pit stop first had to be made. Okay, now we are ready to maneuver through he queue. Okay maybe not totally ready. Had to stop to take some pictures of my monkeys in front of these monkey. We could actually see the monkeys, but they are not actually in the picture. They were not actually being playful. The only one we saw was laying down. Can't say the same for my two. Okay now a fast pace down through the queue. Yeah, really didn't need a FP but we had it. And more regarding this to come.

We got to the end of the queue and I asked the CM where the lockers were, as I didn't see any in the queue, as I wanted to put our backpack and clipboards in one. She mentioned it was back up at the front, adding I could go up the exit and back the same way. I told the kids to stay where they were and I would be back. I was not gone long but returned with our camera in order to take pictures.

DS trying to look through the fog/mist trying to see what is coming. You can tell that his jaw is open. And this is early in our ride, as the seats/he are still dry.

Yes, I did bring my camera along for this ride. However I was ready for the water. I had a zip lock bag with me. So, when ever I thought we were going to get soaked I would quickly throw the camera and actually my had into the bag and turn it so that the camera won't get wet.

A shot of Everest and a rainbow on the left.

Poor truck. Stuck on the embankment.

Remember someone liking elephants.

I did mentioned we didn't need a FP for this ride, didn't I. We were the only three in our raft. We came to the end and ready to disembark when the CM asked if we wanted to go again. The kids looked at each other and shouted YES! So, we didn't even get out of the raft just continued on for another ride. This time with another family of 3. I am certain if the kids wanted to go a third time we could have. Maybe even a fourth time if we really wanted to. Guess not many people wanted to ride it later in the evening. It wasn't my plan either, but you have to go with the flow.

DS got soaked on our first ride. But not where we thought we would, such as at the bottom of the first drop. He got nailed by the elephants near the end of the ride, when he thought he was in the clear. And when I say nailed, I do mean nailed. He was in their direct line of fire and there was no where for him to go. He tried to dodged it the best he could, but it just bounced off the back of his chair back at him. And not just once but twice.

DD and I were for the most part dry after our first run. Not so much after our second.

But DD is still all smiles.

I still have a few more pictures from Kali and one last report should end our visit to Animal Kingdom.