Trip Report Whoa, Wait a Minute......Weren't You JUST There??!! *COMPLETED*

Hi, my name is Tuvalu and I am a Disneyholic.

(Go on, respond "Hi Tuvalu." I'll wait.)

My last trip to WDW was June 4-12, 2016. Before that May 3-8, 2016. Before that April 3-9, 2016. And my first trip of 2016 was February 18-22. If you are curious about those trip reports, they can be found here:

February ~ http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/up-where-they-walk-up-where-they-run-19-3-miles.910930/ (Written by my DDD ~ Darling Disney Daughter )
April ~ http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/go-with-the-flow-its-spring-break-you-know-completed.912354/
May ~ http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/relaxin-on-the-rue-dbaga-completed.913182/

In the interest of full disclosure, I have three more trips planned for 2016 ~ July, October and December.

Can't. Stop. Going.

It is never my intention to be boastful about my vacation frequency. I am very aware of how fortunate I am. If not for the good friends I have made on this site, I would not be posting trip reports at all. So a big thank you to all who have encouraged and supported me. Your kindness means a lot.

Now, on with our most recent adventure!

The deets:
Cast ~ Tuvalu, Woody and Em
Date ~ June 4-12, 2016
Resorts ~ Port Orleans French Quarter & Polynesian Village

Did we have fun? You betcha! Even Tropical Storm Colin couldn't dampen our joy .

Stay tuned....

 

[disneypearl]

That little Minnie Mouse looks so soft! How sweet. I am sure your Granddaughter will love having it to cuddle with.

 

[BWK05]

For our GRANDDAUGHTER!!!! Yes, it's a girl!!! When I read your post @BWK05 I couldn't help but laugh...I probably will find myself at that tea party someday!


Congratulations!! Haha bet you didn't know I was physic!!

 

[bethymouse]

were you still at the Poly on Wednesday?)
We left Wednesday around 9am. But, we still experienced a power outage while we were there ( that one we were not told about).

 

[Tuvalu]

View attachment 150419 Congratulations Tuvalu! I just bought this one for my mom and I think it would look lovely on you as well. You are going to be wonderful grandparents!

This shirt is adorable! What a sweet gift for your mom! Thank you for the nice compliments .

 

[Tuvalu]

That little Minnie Mouse looks so soft! How sweet. I am sure your Granddaughter will love having it to cuddle with.

Minnie is super soft! I know she will be the first of many Minnie items.

Congratulations!! Haha bet you didn't know I was physic!!

Indeed I did not!

We left Wednesday around 9am. But, we still experienced a power outage while we were there ( that one we were not told about).

Bummer!

 

[MinnieM123]

We also enjoyed listening to the lady next to us (with her preteen daughter) who was a first-timer to Sanaa. She clearly knew nothing about the menu and was clearly not an adventuresome diner and clearly wanted to eat as cheaply as possible. Do your homework before making that ADR!!

(For the record, she ordered the bread service ("too spicy") and shared a potjie with double butter chicken and basmati rice...which her daughter didn't eat any of. "Well, this wasn't what I expected."

Perhaps they mixed up their restaurant locations/directions notes prior to going to Sanaa, and thought that they were actually in the location for Cosmic Ray's . . . ?

 

[Tuvalu]

Wednesday evening

Remember I said this was our non-park day? I should have emphasized the word day. Because we had plans to visit AK at night, following our dinner at Sanaa.

I had booked three fastpasses, scoring "Jungle Book Alive With Magic" the day those fastpasses were released. I anticipated that all 3 of us would go to AK; I did not anticipate Woody's last-minute work crisis he needed to tend to. His bus to MK (where he would transfer to the monorail) was waiting at the stop when we arrived. Thankfully, the AK bus wasn't far behind ~ Em and I were dangerously close to the end of our first FP window.

How close? Let's just say it required a run from the turnstiles to Harambe! Then there was an emergency pit stop: "Mom, I won't be able to make it on a bumpy safari ride!" ~ which caused us both to explode into laughter, exacerbating the already-pressing issue at hand!

We were fourteen minutes past the end of our window, but Mickey's head turned green!

I had no interest riding Kilimanjaro Safari in the dark (I have stayed at AKL and know how hard it is to see the animals at night, even under artificial moonlight) but thought a ride at sunset would be fun. After all, wouldn't the animals be more active during the cooler part of the day?

I want you to look closely at the next several pictures and tell me which animals you see.

"Hey Tuvalu, I don't see any animals." EXACTLY. Not a rhino. Not a croc. Not a giraffe. Not an antelope. No African dogs (which are always active and visible). No monkeys. Not a single elephant. No zebras, cheetahs, or warthogs. Not an ostrich. You know the part of the tour when you reach the big savanna and the guide says, "Oh this is my favorite part where the animals gather"? Our guide merely said, "Huh."

And then he said, "Look, there's a bunny." A bunny ??!! Em and I raced through the park with full bellies and bladders for a bunny??!!! I wish I was making this up....sadly, I am not!!

Just when we thought our safari was going to be a complete bust, a miracle happened.

Big cat sighting!

But honestly, a little cat sighting can be even better.

C'mon, how cute is this??!!

 

[disneypearl]

You didn't take a picture of the bunny!?! I probably would have.

 

[Beckett]

That was probably Judy Hopps investigating where all the animals were

 

[Tuvalu]

If I'd only realized we'd seen a celebrity bunny (Judy Hopps, thanks @Beckett) I would have taken a picture for you, @disneypearl!

Since Em and I were totally underwhelmed with our pitiful safari ride, I can only imagine what any first-timers on our jeep thought. So consider yourselves warned, any safari newbies out there ~ steer clear of a sunset safari!

Our window was now open for our second FP, but since Woody had returned to the Poly Em did not want to ride Everest alone. She suggested shopping.

There was a jammin' street party going on when we passed by.

The stores at AK are our favorites. We had fun browsing ~ which (after our earlier spending spree) was all we could afford to do!

Soon it was time to make our way to the Jungle Book theater.

 

[Tuvalu]

We entered the theater about a half hour before the show started. It was a tad toasty, and being squished together on a bench did not help matters. It was a bit surprising that the FP seating area was not dead center but a bit off to the side. If we had waited any longer to enter the theater, we would have been really off center!

As we sat, the man next to me decided to become my very best friend. The conversation began pleasantly enough, but I soon realized that the oversized beer in his hand was not his first. Or even his second. Or third. He became a little miffed at me when I would not stand up for the wave....all 4 times. But he would laugh it off and keep talking to me anyway. Emily took secret pleasure in the fact that drunk dude was not talking to her.

At last the show began!

The show itself was fine. The singers and dancers were talented but the water screens need a lot of work! Fantasmic doesn't have water screen issues, so why does Jungle Book? Maybe the poor screen quality is one of the (seemingly many) reasons for the "Rivers of Light" delay?

If you ask Em what was her favorite part of the experience, she would say the two little boys behind us who sang along to "The Bare Necessities" at the top of their lungs.

It was a long, hot, crowded walk to the park exit. We stopped briefly at the Tree of Life to watch one of the "Awakenings". That was super cool!

We would have stayed to watch another if we weren't so hot and tired. We were glad to see the Poly bus waiting for us, and we made it back to the resort in time to *hear* the Wishes finale.

Coming up...have we seen the last of Tropical Storm Colin?

 

[Gabe1]

Note to self: never slide over on Spaceship Earth. How horrid!

It would make me very sad to see F&G being disassembled. I don't know why they don't leave the floating planters in place year-round.

Duly noted too!

 

[Figgy1]

You were so lucky I've never seen a lion awake there

 

[MinnieM123]

You were so lucky I've never seen a lion awake there

One time (over the course of many years) I saw the lion up and walking around--and--hear the ROAR! Really loud and awesome! (Again, that was one time only . . .)

 

[Courtney6682]

Beautiful nighttime pics of AK!

 

[ScarletBegonias]

Congrats on a Granddaughter!!!!

 

[Tuvalu]

Thursday, June 9

Woody's alarm startled me awake at 6:15 a.m. We needed an early start if we wanted to see the MK Welcome Show at 7:40 a.m. Now you know we've had bad experiences with the monorail (as in long delays or not operating at all)...and boat transport did not begin until 7:30...so odds were not in our favor of actually making it to MK on time. But Em and I were bound and determined to do our part!

We grabbed a quick breakfast in the lounge before heading for the monorail. Woody had a morning call and would meet us later. Neither Em nor I carried an umbrella or rain jacket since we were trusting in the "dry" forecast on the Weather Channel app.

A monorail pulled up just as we arrived on the platform ~ score! We waited a little bit in the Poly station, and again in the GF station, but we made it to bag check just as the "show starts in 5 minutes" announcement was made. There were only a couple of people ahead of us in line and we thought we had it made....

....until we realized the security screener was vying for the "Most Thorough" award. She opened EVERY zipper in EVERY backpack/purse and pulled items out and set them on the table. I carry a small purse with a small zippered compartment for cash/change, and when she PULLED MY MONEY OUT a tiny blood vessel burst in my forehead.

So yeah, we were still in the bag check line when Scoop Sanderson greeted and the Trolley performers sang and danced. I was able to snap these pics as the train pulled in.

But it gets better. Just after the firework blast and as guests started to funnel into the train tunnels to enter the park, TS Colin decided to give an encore.

And Em and I were trapped in the turnstile area.

 

[TheMouseFan]

I had a security screener like that the first day we were at AK, and I was carrying my big backpack with LOTS of stuff in it! She handled absolutely everything in my bag. She even opened my wallet! I, like you, about had a fit!! Then once we were through the line, I had to take everything out again so I could rearrange it the way I had it packed in the first place!

That's funny (ok, not really funny!) about the rain on Thursday morning. We had none at Disney Springs!

 

[Ciara]

Thursday, June 9

Woody's alarm startled me awake at 6:15 a.m. We needed an early start if we wanted to see the MK Welcome Show at 7:40 a.m. Now you know we've had bad experiences with the monorail (as in long delays or not operating at all)...and boat transport did not begin until 7:30...so odds were not in our favor of actually making it to MK on time. But Em and I were bound and determined to do our part!

We grabbed a quick breakfast in the lounge before heading for the monorail. Woody had a morning call and would meet us later. Neither Em nor I carried an umbrella or rain jacket since we were trusting in the "dry" forecast on the Weather Channel app.

A monorail pulled up just as we arrived on the platform ~ score! We waited a little bit in the Poly station, and again in the GF station, but we made it to bag check just as the "show starts in 5 minutes" announcement was made. There were only a couple of people ahead of us in line and we thought we had it made....

....until we realized the security screener was vying for the "Most Thorough" award. She opened EVERY zipper in EVERY backpack/purse and pulled items out and set them on the table. I carry a small purse with a small zippered compartment for cash/change, and when she PULLED MY MONEY OUT a tiny blood vessel burst in my forehead.

So yeah, we were still in the bag check line when Scoop Sanderson greeted and the Trolley performers sang and danced. I was able to snap these pics as the train pulled in.
View attachment 150993

View attachment 150994

But it gets better. Just after the firework blast and as guests started to funnel into the train tunnels to enter the park, TS Colin decided to give an encore.

View attachment 150995

And Em and I were trapped in the turnstile area.

I know they have to be thorough but taking someones money out?! That seems a bit much. Lets just show everyone nearby how much cash you have on you

 

[MinnieM123]

@Tuvalu , after reading your latest attempt to catch the MK Welcome Show, I've come to the conclusion that this show is detrimental to your health. Something, no, multiple things, happen each time you try to see this show -- and each time it's something different to mess up your plans. Cut your losses! The MK Welcome show is just NOT MEANT TO BE FOR YOU!! (Instead just go over to the Poly, and stuff Tonga Toast down your gullet--far more satisfying! )