The start of this day needs some explanation.
I mean, this whole trip required the equivalent of a novel to document, meaning clearly anything we do needs explanation.
Yet, the start of this day needs some extra special explanation.
Jeff’s Disney World Philosophy:
Being the dead center of the trip where we’d already done all the Parks including a bonus Magic Kingdom day,
AND being the second day in what has been a “one day Park” on a few other
trips,
AND being that the Snow White dinner in the Wilderness Lodge would make
this a late night,
I had originally proposed this could be a sleep in day.
I pointed
out that the Park opened early to begin with and the only reason to try to make
the Extra Magic Hour Half Hour would be to run to the Avatar ride that no one
seemed to care much about.
When I mentioned this well before we left, everyone appeared to be on board with a mid-point communal burst of sanity. However, Disney Magic grows in intensity with proximity.
When I brought it up during the trip, several people started talking about how much they did enjoy the unique and imaginative experience that is Flight of Passage. As the conversation continued, I realized I was one of the several people.
Part of trying to communicate with Kim the night before via my brick like phone was addressing who was leaning towards ignoring the potential for a burst of sanity this morning.
Kim still had her sun poisoning and reaction issues. Grandma and Morgan both selected the burst of sanity option on their own. The three of them slept in.
The rest of us met on our bench by seven o’clock in the morning to go to Animal Kingdom, thus shattering the concept of the “sleep in day.”
So it was kind of a fiasco, but somehow it worked out anyway.
One of the fancy busses came with a piece of paper taped to the window indicating its destination. High tech indeed.
On the way to the Park, Anabelle and Aurora were talking about the fact that, while they truly loved being in Disney World, the length of this trip was definitely “enough.”
They also talked about falling asleep watching church and wondering if using Mickey in a priest costume would count.
Security was our usual amounts of fun. Anabelle had the metal Sucrets Band-Aid case out in her hand, and told them about the pin binder. Therefore, the phone charger was blamed by the scanner person for triggering her going to the bag check. The Cast Member at the check had “No idea” if that would trigger it, but did compliment Anabelle’s swirly design shorts.
I had “unclean finger” issues that prevented me from scanning to enter until I wiped it on my equally unclean shorts. The Magic of Disney arrived in what would be a new tradition.
We entered, of course, to the tune of “I Wanna Be Like You,” walked up the Oasis, and toward the Tree of Life, before hanging a left into AvatarLand. On this stroll, I realized that placing the new inserts into my four color high tops the night before had accomplished absolutely nothing. My sneakers were shot and my heel was in extreme pain with every step. This didn’t stop me from walking, because Disney, but I was a tad slower than usual.
(“No, you were like a zombie in those movies, dragging one foot behind you.”- Anabelle)
Note- I am not claiming to be in more pain than anyone else on this trip. Most of the adults (and a fair amount of the kids) had various foot/ knee/ hip/ back issues to put them in just as much pain as I was. Since I could feel mine, I’m pointing it out.
Jeff’s Disney World Philosophy-
Good shoes are INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT to surviving our Disney pace. Normally, I get a new custom set of four color Chuck Taylor’s before a trip, use them for various special occasions in the “between Disney periods” and replace them for the next trip. With Plague Times, I went nowhere in them after the last Disney Adventure and decided they would be good enough. I had forgotten the cardinal rule of Disney footwear. One of our Disney World vacations is far more than enough to kill ANY pair of shoes without help.
There was a guy with a sign out in the middle of nowhere in AvatarLand that said, Flight of Passage, forty-five minutes from this point. (Granted, his sign had the number on it. However, I read somewhere that to be a good writer, numbers under some value greater than this should be written out. Dig me, I’m a writer.) Most of us hopped on the line there, and did wait about forty-five minutes. Disney is accurate where people movement is concerned.
Rosa went on the Avatar
Boat ride, alone in the boat…TWICE! 
This was the first time we rode Flight of Passage without a FastPass, meaning we got to see the lab with the Giant Cat-Smurf in the oversized fish tank. Neat!
(Yes, consensus was that
sighting was not worth a “YAY” of any size. As much as we like this ride, even
streaming free on Disney Plus, none of us has been tempted to watch Avatar.)
When I mentioned this well before we left, everyone appeared to be on board with a mid-point communal burst of sanity. However, Disney Magic grows in intensity with proximity.
When I brought it up during the trip, several people started talking about how much they did enjoy the unique and imaginative experience that is Flight of Passage. As the conversation continued, I realized I was one of the several people.
Part of trying to communicate with Kim the night before via my brick like phone was addressing who was leaning towards ignoring the potential for a burst of sanity this morning.
Kim still had her sun poisoning and reaction issues. Grandma and Morgan both selected the burst of sanity option on their own. The three of them slept in.
The rest of us met on our bench by seven o’clock in the morning to go to Animal Kingdom, thus shattering the concept of the “sleep in day.”
So it was kind of a fiasco, but somehow it worked out anyway.
One of the fancy busses came with a piece of paper taped to the window indicating its destination. High tech indeed.
On the way to the Park, Anabelle and Aurora were talking about the fact that, while they truly loved being in Disney World, the length of this trip was definitely “enough.”
They also talked about falling asleep watching church and wondering if using Mickey in a priest costume would count.
Security was our usual amounts of fun. Anabelle had the metal Sucrets Band-Aid case out in her hand, and told them about the pin binder. Therefore, the phone charger was blamed by the scanner person for triggering her going to the bag check. The Cast Member at the check had “No idea” if that would trigger it, but did compliment Anabelle’s swirly design shorts.
I had “unclean finger” issues that prevented me from scanning to enter until I wiped it on my equally unclean shorts. The Magic of Disney arrived in what would be a new tradition.
We entered, of course, to the tune of “I Wanna Be Like You,” walked up the Oasis, and toward the Tree of Life, before hanging a left into AvatarLand. On this stroll, I realized that placing the new inserts into my four color high tops the night before had accomplished absolutely nothing. My sneakers were shot and my heel was in extreme pain with every step. This didn’t stop me from walking, because Disney, but I was a tad slower than usual.
(“No, you were like a zombie in those movies, dragging one foot behind you.”- Anabelle)
Note- I am not claiming to be in more pain than anyone else on this trip. Most of the adults (and a fair amount of the kids) had various foot/ knee/ hip/ back issues to put them in just as much pain as I was. Since I could feel mine, I’m pointing it out.
Jeff’s Disney World Philosophy-
Good shoes are INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT to surviving our Disney pace. Normally, I get a new custom set of four color Chuck Taylor’s before a trip, use them for various special occasions in the “between Disney periods” and replace them for the next trip. With Plague Times, I went nowhere in them after the last Disney Adventure and decided they would be good enough. I had forgotten the cardinal rule of Disney footwear. One of our Disney World vacations is far more than enough to kill ANY pair of shoes without help.
There was a guy with a sign out in the middle of nowhere in AvatarLand that said, Flight of Passage, forty-five minutes from this point. (Granted, his sign had the number on it. However, I read somewhere that to be a good writer, numbers under some value greater than this should be written out. Dig me, I’m a writer.) Most of us hopped on the line there, and did wait about forty-five minutes. Disney is accurate where people movement is concerned.
This was the first time we rode Flight of Passage without a FastPass, meaning we got to see the lab with the Giant Cat-Smurf in the oversized fish tank. Neat!
There were also caverns filled with glowing plants that were impossible to photograph, not that I didn’t try innumerable times.
In one of the halls were “pipes” on the walls with various materials labeled on them. Dave noticed they didn’t line up with the ones on the other side at the junction box. I suggested they use more ductile materials here in the future.
Dave did not buy this.
He’s getting better but we still need to work on more Disnification for him.
While we were being scanned for our Avatars, I could hear Anabelle say, “That sounds like…” and whip out her phone. This was followed by her stating, “The computer is Marinette from Ladybug.”
A girl, and fellow Miraculous fan apparently, behind us yelled, “I KNEW IT!!!”
Flight of Passage remained amazingly immersive and thrill packed, yet contained no real movement. It’s basically Soarin’ on steroids. We had a blast. Even separated by a wall, Anabelle and Aurora screamed to each other non-stop throughout the airborne adventure.
In addition, the restraint that holds riders onto the “Banshee” is a much gentler bladder squeezing clamp than Space Mountain. Therefore, while we did have to hit the rest room before leaving AvatarLand, I was not permanently damaged by it.
Here we parted ways, after Anabelle talked Aurora into a PhotoPass moment... at least theoretically. Honestly, I'm not sure when in the vacation this happened, and this is as good of a guess as any.
Jeff’s Disney World Philosophy:
To borrow and transmogrify from Dennis Leary, sometimes the best way to insure one remains a close family, is to stay the heck away from each other. At this time in our lives, all the kids were older and mostly able to exist on their own in the Parks, plus everyone had a phone. While there was still a majority of times we had fantastic experiences together, there were other times where people wanted to do different things, and even the most planning minded of Where Will We Go Next Guys cannot accommodate everyone. This day was filled with a huge amount of splitting apart and joining together of smaller groups, and I think it kept us all from killing each other while having fantastic times in various combinations on vacation.
Mission accomplished!
Dave took Veronica to the boat ride Rosa had been on, but the wait time had gone up. Aurora was not in the mood to hang around for that, or to accompany us to the Bumpy Bus. She crossed the massive Park to Everest and, thanks to the joys of the single rider line, went on it about five times.
Dave took Veronica to the boat ride Rosa had been on, but the wait time had gone up. Aurora was not in the mood to hang around for that, or to accompany us to the Bumpy Bus. She crossed the massive Park to Everest and, thanks to the joys of the single rider line, went on it about five times.
YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!
Rosa, Anabelle and I went to wait for the Bumpy Bus and Anabelle pointed out how she continued to attract British people based on interactions in Avatar and on this line. We saw beautiful animals in impressive habitats. As always, it was a great learning experience as well.
A female pelican chooses her mate, and it is for life.
A group of Giraffes is called a Tower.
A group of Rhinos is called a Crash.
Anabelle had never heard the joke “How do you stop a rhino from charging?
Take away its credit card.”
Old jokes are only old if you know them, I guess.
She laughed, and then said, “I hate you.”
Although, she did make me tell Aurora later.
The driver said they don’t like good byes, so he wished us “good journey” (or something like that, my sucking at languages knows no bounds) in Swahili, which was “Kwa Herini.”
As we exited the Bumpy Bus, and my chock full of pain heel hit the ground I yelped.
A group of Giraffes is called a Tower.
A group of Rhinos is called a Crash.
Anabelle had never heard the joke “How do you stop a rhino from charging?
Take away its credit card.”
Old jokes are only old if you know them, I guess.
She laughed, and then said, “I hate you.”
Although, she did make me tell Aurora later.
The driver said they don’t like good byes, so he wished us “good journey” (or something like that, my sucking at languages knows no bounds) in Swahili, which was “Kwa Herini.”
As we exited the Bumpy Bus, and my chock full of pain heel hit the ground I yelped.
They asked what
was wrong and I answered:
“I think I pulled my Kwa Herini.”
Anabelle responded, “You are the worst.”
Over at the first Lion King show of the day, Anabelle got a text and said to us, “Hey, Aurora’s in here!”
She quickly texted her cousin back:
“Time to watch my Dad fail at the hand jive again.”
Nice.
I wasn’t the only one due for ridicule during the entertainment. Rosa pointed out she only now realized why Anabelle calls Nakawa (Good Looking), “Feather Hat Man.”
Hint- it was related to his headgear.
Anabelle was doubly excited as “Feather Hat Man” was “the good one,” plus he waved to her. She was triply excited because the “Circle of Life Lady” Zawadi (The Gift) was also the good one. “She was a masterpiece, and made me cry every time she sang.” – Anabelle
Anabelle is very focused on the performers of this show, if that was not obvious.
In a first time for us at
the Festival of the Lion King, (which is rare given how often we’d seen it)
Hyena Man set his crotch ablaze.
For the second “Old Joke Anabelle Never Heard Before and Laughed At” of the day, I yelled, “Great Balls of Fire!!”
The show had both the good aerialist dancers (Arabesque) and Tumble Monkeys. (butt shaking)
However, the ensemble group was completely different from the ones performing the other day.
Yes, it is possible we have seen and will continue to see this show far too many times.
Anabelle stayed in texting contact with Aurora throughout the show, pointing out Rosa had not made fun of my hand jive…as of yet. Aurora postulated that my issues were because my hooves got in the way.
Aurora is Hilarious.
Anabelle also made a big “L” on her head when I found out I was, once more, forced to sing the high parts of the song that I cannot do in the finale.
Alas.
Following the show, Rosa
decided she was overdue for another Mickey Ice Cream. We all thanked her for
making us realize we were also overdue for Disney frozen treats. Aurora and I
went with Mickey Sandwiches this time. Anabelle discovered the joys of
Chocolate Covered Frozen Bananas.
We worked our way back down to Discovery Island to have a proper “Tough to Be a Bug” on this trip. Anabelle discovered, while there are many joys of Chocolate Covered Frozen Bananas, one was not the speed at which they could be consumed.
After taking a picture by the
trash can on purpose this time, she was forced to dump the last bit of her
snack before going in. She braved not sliding her butt all the way forward
during Hopper’s attack, and experienced the hornet sting for the first time in
her life. In karmic payback for the over exuberant hornets in my seat on the
last visit, a defective mechanism meant I went stingless for this show.
Sometime around this
junction, the people who had a rare morning burst of sanity began to arrive at
the Park. Grandma went to the Bugs Life movie and then the Lion King show. 
Kim
and Morgan showed up shortly after her and went to the Boneyard and to collect
Wilderness Explorer badges after Kim got a replacement for her humidity blurred PhotoPass from the previous Animal Kingdom day.
Or something like that
anyway.
Rosa followed her plan for the day of getting Gluten Free Churros, asking for a reduction in the sugar. Therefore, they only put two pounds on this time. Then she went over to the Lion King show again. That may have been the show Grandma started on.
At some point we crossed paths with Dave and Veronica…I think.
Yes, splitting up occasionally may have kept us from killing each other, but it did make it difficult to catalogue everyone’s whereabouts when I was the only one who took notes. There was a lot of after the fact questioning and guess work to forensically piece together the day.
Dave found a nearby beer cart. (Good on him! That Safari Amber was awesome.) I joined with the girls on the single rider of Expedition Everest. The guy next to me was super enthusiastic about my Tron shirt. He and his friends behind him were also insanely enthusiastic about the coaster- yelling, camping it up, and screaming at the top of their lungs for the entire ride. It was a true enhancement and many hoots.
The day of the group break ups and rejoinings continued. Aurora and Veronica went back up to the Lion King show. Rosa was still there…and maybe Grandma. Alternatively, she could have been shopping. Really, would it kill other people to take notes too?
Dave went in the opposite direction to meet Kim and Morgan at the Nemo show.
Anabelle and I were directionless for a bit. We’d missed several flotillas by small margins, sparking a longing in her. Anabelle was talking about how meeting characters was, and always has been, really one of her favorite things to do in the Parks. We rationalized that the line for Mickey and Minnie was in the air conditioning, which was a huge benefit on yet another sweltering day in Animal Kingdom. This offset the downside of the bugs residing in there that were also avoiding the heat. The line was fairly short. Considering how few places there are to meet Minnie and even less to meet multiple characters at once, any time this wait is brief surprises me. Then again, it has tiny entry walk ways coming off of a main route, with small signs. Maybe people can’t find it?
There was a little girl on line ahead of us who danced the whole time. She was a big fan of Anabelle’s “UP” Minnie ears. YAAY!
We reached the First Mice, and as always, it was worth it and a fantastically fun experience.
The Magic Photo box was broken…again. What an enormous surprise.
Mickey was one of the only characters or Cast Members in all of Disney World (including Batuu) that figured out, on his own, Anabelle’s nails were droids. He did a little Robot Dance to signify it, as he is an awesome mime.
This is why Mickey is in charge.
Minnie liked her nails too
and was one of many fans of her Little Donald. Anabelle told her it took four
hours to do those nails, and Minnie mimed shock and exhaustion. The Handler Cast
Member pointed out it might take Minnie less time because she has fewer
fingers.
(Unnerving yet Hilarious.)
Mickey liked my Pirate Belt buckle as well, and demonstrated more of his awesome mimeage by doing several fencing motions.
The Cast Member attendant there was yet another in the train of huge Tron fans in this location. These moments validated yet another one of my bizarre shirt selections in a seemingly unconnected Park. She was hugely excited about the new Tron coaster and gave us tips about how to get on the Guardians of the Galaxy ride during the second Virtual Queue sign up at One o’clock each day. They did not work, but she gets points for caring.
Jeff’s Disney World Philosophy:
It was getting close to the assigned lunch time. We didn’t have any reservations, since we had a Table Service dinner. However,
A) I know how much most of the family likes Flame Tree Barbecue
And
B) I have seen what horrifying things happen to this family in Animal Kingdom when everyone decides, “I can skip lunch because we’re having a big dinner.”
I worked hard, starting on our previous visit here and reinforcing it every day in between, to plant the idea that, since we’d be split much of this day, we should all meet at Flame Tree for lunch at One.
Sometimes, the Where Will We Go Next Guy runs on ulterior motives.
We had a bit of time, and Anabelle and I took the long way around (in the opposite direction in fact) to the meeting and went on the Everest Single Rider line. As we were boarding, we passed a woman claiming she should be allowed to go on again because she really didn’t enjoy it.
People are astonishing.
I take that back, I have stopped being surprised by this behavior.
People are selfish, and stupid.
Honestly, I love the whole ride on Everest- the sensations, the visuals, the story- with one exception.
It is that one big dip when the train is racing backwards in the dark. My stomach always ends up in my shoes.
It’s definitely worth it for the rest of the experience though.
In a “Hey Imagineering, I think you missed something” moment, Anabelle’s hands brushed the Yeti as she passed under it, yielding far more screams than usual.
We both made the Italian
“Capice” hands for the PhotoPass picture, as a nod to our ancestors…or
something.
If it wasn’t us, here would be where I’d say, “We met for lunch at the Flame Tree.”
Instead, we sort of trickled in at various times from various directions, some folks with other, pre-selected, food.
The only thing that could have (but didn’t) motivate Morgan for an early arrival for this morning was a guaranteed trip on Kali River Rapids. It was still a goal of the day for him. After the Nemo show, he and his parents made it on just before Kali broke down. There were two down sides to this ride.
A) They had to deal with people INCENSED that those who paid for lightning lane were allowed to cut ahead of them.
B) Dave’s hat blew off and sank sadly into the rapids.
“I think I pulled my Kwa Herini.”
Anabelle responded, “You are the worst.”
Over at the first Lion King show of the day, Anabelle got a text and said to us, “Hey, Aurora’s in here!”
She quickly texted her cousin back:
“Time to watch my Dad fail at the hand jive again.”
Nice.
I wasn’t the only one due for ridicule during the entertainment. Rosa pointed out she only now realized why Anabelle calls Nakawa (Good Looking), “Feather Hat Man.”
Hint- it was related to his headgear.
Anabelle was doubly excited as “Feather Hat Man” was “the good one,” plus he waved to her. She was triply excited because the “Circle of Life Lady” Zawadi (The Gift) was also the good one. “She was a masterpiece, and made me cry every time she sang.” – Anabelle
Anabelle is very focused on the performers of this show, if that was not obvious.
For the second “Old Joke Anabelle Never Heard Before and Laughed At” of the day, I yelled, “Great Balls of Fire!!”
The show had both the good aerialist dancers (Arabesque) and Tumble Monkeys. (butt shaking)
However, the ensemble group was completely different from the ones performing the other day.
Yes, it is possible we have seen and will continue to see this show far too many times.
Anabelle stayed in texting contact with Aurora throughout the show, pointing out Rosa had not made fun of my hand jive…as of yet. Aurora postulated that my issues were because my hooves got in the way.
Aurora is Hilarious.
Anabelle also made a big “L” on her head when I found out I was, once more, forced to sing the high parts of the song that I cannot do in the finale.
Alas.
We worked our way back down to Discovery Island to have a proper “Tough to Be a Bug” on this trip. Anabelle discovered, while there are many joys of Chocolate Covered Frozen Bananas, one was not the speed at which they could be consumed.
Rosa followed her plan for the day of getting Gluten Free Churros, asking for a reduction in the sugar. Therefore, they only put two pounds on this time. Then she went over to the Lion King show again. That may have been the show Grandma started on.
At some point we crossed paths with Dave and Veronica…I think.
Yes, splitting up occasionally may have kept us from killing each other, but it did make it difficult to catalogue everyone’s whereabouts when I was the only one who took notes. There was a lot of after the fact questioning and guess work to forensically piece together the day.
Dave found a nearby beer cart. (Good on him! That Safari Amber was awesome.) I joined with the girls on the single rider of Expedition Everest. The guy next to me was super enthusiastic about my Tron shirt. He and his friends behind him were also insanely enthusiastic about the coaster- yelling, camping it up, and screaming at the top of their lungs for the entire ride. It was a true enhancement and many hoots.
The day of the group break ups and rejoinings continued. Aurora and Veronica went back up to the Lion King show. Rosa was still there…and maybe Grandma. Alternatively, she could have been shopping. Really, would it kill other people to take notes too?
Dave went in the opposite direction to meet Kim and Morgan at the Nemo show.
Anabelle and I were directionless for a bit. We’d missed several flotillas by small margins, sparking a longing in her. Anabelle was talking about how meeting characters was, and always has been, really one of her favorite things to do in the Parks. We rationalized that the line for Mickey and Minnie was in the air conditioning, which was a huge benefit on yet another sweltering day in Animal Kingdom. This offset the downside of the bugs residing in there that were also avoiding the heat. The line was fairly short. Considering how few places there are to meet Minnie and even less to meet multiple characters at once, any time this wait is brief surprises me. Then again, it has tiny entry walk ways coming off of a main route, with small signs. Maybe people can’t find it?
There was a little girl on line ahead of us who danced the whole time. She was a big fan of Anabelle’s “UP” Minnie ears. YAAY!
We reached the First Mice, and as always, it was worth it and a fantastically fun experience.
The Magic Photo box was broken…again. What an enormous surprise.
Mickey was one of the only characters or Cast Members in all of Disney World (including Batuu) that figured out, on his own, Anabelle’s nails were droids. He did a little Robot Dance to signify it, as he is an awesome mime.
This is why Mickey is in charge.
(Unnerving yet Hilarious.)
Mickey liked my Pirate Belt buckle as well, and demonstrated more of his awesome mimeage by doing several fencing motions.
The Cast Member attendant there was yet another in the train of huge Tron fans in this location. These moments validated yet another one of my bizarre shirt selections in a seemingly unconnected Park. She was hugely excited about the new Tron coaster and gave us tips about how to get on the Guardians of the Galaxy ride during the second Virtual Queue sign up at One o’clock each day. They did not work, but she gets points for caring.
Jeff’s Disney World Philosophy:
It was getting close to the assigned lunch time. We didn’t have any reservations, since we had a Table Service dinner. However,
A) I know how much most of the family likes Flame Tree Barbecue
And
B) I have seen what horrifying things happen to this family in Animal Kingdom when everyone decides, “I can skip lunch because we’re having a big dinner.”
I worked hard, starting on our previous visit here and reinforcing it every day in between, to plant the idea that, since we’d be split much of this day, we should all meet at Flame Tree for lunch at One.
Sometimes, the Where Will We Go Next Guy runs on ulterior motives.
We had a bit of time, and Anabelle and I took the long way around (in the opposite direction in fact) to the meeting and went on the Everest Single Rider line. As we were boarding, we passed a woman claiming she should be allowed to go on again because she really didn’t enjoy it.
People are astonishing.
I take that back, I have stopped being surprised by this behavior.
People are selfish, and stupid.
Honestly, I love the whole ride on Everest- the sensations, the visuals, the story- with one exception.
It is that one big dip when the train is racing backwards in the dark. My stomach always ends up in my shoes.
It’s definitely worth it for the rest of the experience though.
In a “Hey Imagineering, I think you missed something” moment, Anabelle’s hands brushed the Yeti as she passed under it, yielding far more screams than usual.
If it wasn’t us, here would be where I’d say, “We met for lunch at the Flame Tree.”
Instead, we sort of trickled in at various times from various directions, some folks with other, pre-selected, food.
The only thing that could have (but didn’t) motivate Morgan for an early arrival for this morning was a guaranteed trip on Kali River Rapids. It was still a goal of the day for him. After the Nemo show, he and his parents made it on just before Kali broke down. There were two down sides to this ride.
A) They had to deal with people INCENSED that those who paid for lightning lane were allowed to cut ahead of them.
B) Dave’s hat blew off and sank sadly into the rapids.
They joined up with the rest of us at the riverside tables near Flame Tree while we were eating. Kim was recovering from her sun poisoning, but the aftereffects meant the smell of the barbecue bothered her. She and Morgan grabbed some dinosaur nuggets on the way.
Most of the rest of us ate at the best Counter Service place in Disney.
YAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!
Veronica however, was determined to taste the insane concoction that is the “Pulled Pork Jelly Donut.” Grandma, Dave and Morgan had a bite, and thought it was good as well. Anabelle and Aurora disagreed…violently. After all the tasting, Veronica cemented her vote in the “good” column by returning to the Eight Spoon Café to buy a second one to have on her own.
There is a good chance I would have tasted it too, but when Gluten Free French Fries are ordered, one must wait for brand new, never touched by gluten potatoes to be flown in from Idaho. This is the only explanation for how long I was up at the counter waiting when the tasting occurred. Luckily, I had my Safari Amber Ale with me…but in future I may have to grab one of those Lovecraftian meat and (newly identified as raspberry) fruit filling confections for a trial.
(Does Gridding for next time count when it’s still “this time?”)
While the tasting was going on Ibises, Sparrows and other local Avian life, plus a flyover from the Parrot show, converged on the tables to Hitchcockian levels. (Hey, I think I know where the "stunt ibis" picture came from!) Aurora was not pleased, except for the Ducks, which are apparently acceptable.
We were all full and ready to continue the small group divide and combine method of conquering the rest of the day at Animal Kingdom.
So it was kind of a fiasco, but somehow it worked out anyway.
Aurora spent the afternoon similar to the morning, bouncing back and forth between Everest and the Lion King show. She went on the roller coaster ten times!
As for the show, she tied or possibly broke Rosa’s record for viewings in one day.
Grandma did another Lion King or two, followed by an - unprecedented in our family at Disney World - second burst of sanity in one day. (I know, Guinness should record that one.) She left the Park early to get cleaned up and change in the bathroom, then rest a while in the Wilderness Lodge lobby before dinner. She may have done Dinosaur at some point before leaving, she likes that one.
I think Kim, Dave and Morgan were with her for a Lion King show or two.
(Again- does anyone else take notes? No.
Okay, does anyone else frequently walk into large stationary objects in the Parks?
Also no, but not the point.)
Veronica and Anabelle ran off to Asia to ride Kali River Rapids. I got a text from Anabelle asking if I remembered how disappointed she was because she got no water on her the lasttime she tried this ride. That was not a problem for this go around, as she got soaked.
Rosa agreed to come with me for a nice (read- shady) walk through of the Asian Safari. (Someday I will remember what it is really called, or not be too lazy to look it up. Today is not looking good.)
YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!
The feature of this safari was normally the Tigers. They were smarter than we were, as they decided to stay in the Air Conditioning (and get paid) rather than come outside.
Alas.
Speaking of things that vanish and appear seemingly at will:
After finding it alone earlier, then completely failing to find it with Anabelle, Rosa and I stumbled upon the Kaa from Jungle Book Magic Shot I found when I was alone on our previous Disney Trip and we had one of our many cute pictures together.
Rosa was severely behind on her daily quota of Lion King Shows and crossed into Africa. I took a solo run through the Gorilla Falls Safari. First, I stopped for some desperately needed fuel in the form of a Diet Coke. I was running on these by this point, as Anabelle was running on Sprites.
The Cast Member at the soda cart was one of those Extra Awesome Happy Disney folks, and we chatted for a while because he was fun. (I’m fun as well, but I would have still been with me if I left after a shorter conversation.)
After their excessive activity earlier in the trip, I was pretty sure the Colobus Monkeys had died when I noted their total lack of any motion. In the little room before the bird cage section, I met Denise, an Awesome Happy Disney Cast Member from New Jersey. I thanked her for moving the massive Goliath Frog from the center of the room, mentioning my childhood phobia. I thought it was shifted because of social distance restructuring due to the Plague.
No, it turns out that the Frog actually died.
I felt bad…
a little.
Fine, I pretended to feel bad.
Anyway, I learned a huge
amount about the Naked Mole Rats from her. (They live way longer than I thought
for a small rodent.) We chatted a bunch about New York Zoos, Aquariums, and
driving around the city. When another guest had a question, I leisurely
strolled forth on my solo excursion.
In the bird area, they were feeding the Finches, leading to a massive colorful flock.
(That sounds dirtier than it should.)
The Hippo was eating too!
YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!
Multiple texts were fired back and forth as we experienced the Park separately. Anabelle and Veronica were taking their soggy selves over to Everest. I hobbled over, as my heel threatened further to explode, and met them at the exit. While that was going on, I let Rosa know we were all headed towards Dinosaur.
Anabelle did a pin trade for something. I was hot and in pain, and whatever my notes say isn’t a word in any known language.
While that was happening and we were waiting for Rosa, I planned to walk through the Cretaceous Trail. I wanted to see the Dinosaur statues, since I had never done this.
It was closed.
Alas.
The four of us finally gathered together, and rode Dinosaur.
So it was kind of a fiasco, but somehow it worked out anyway.
Being seasoned pros at the ride PhotoPass by this point, we all posed to make it look like we were pushing Veronica out of the car to be devoured by the awesome looking, if paleontologically inaccurate beast.
We are hilarious.
The two girls ran to go on the newly dubbed Tipsy Topsy Triceratops.
I… well…collapsed is probably the most accurate term,
Onto a bench in DinoLand.
Fine, I pretended to feel bad.
In the bird area, they were feeding the Finches, leading to a massive colorful flock.
(That sounds dirtier than it should.)
YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!
Multiple texts were fired back and forth as we experienced the Park separately. Anabelle and Veronica were taking their soggy selves over to Everest. I hobbled over, as my heel threatened further to explode, and met them at the exit. While that was going on, I let Rosa know we were all headed towards Dinosaur.
Anabelle did a pin trade for something. I was hot and in pain, and whatever my notes say isn’t a word in any known language.
While that was happening and we were waiting for Rosa, I planned to walk through the Cretaceous Trail. I wanted to see the Dinosaur statues, since I had never done this.
It was closed.
Alas.
The four of us finally gathered together, and rode Dinosaur.
So it was kind of a fiasco, but somehow it worked out anyway.
Being seasoned pros at the ride PhotoPass by this point, we all posed to make it look like we were pushing Veronica out of the car to be devoured by the awesome looking, if paleontologically inaccurate beast.
The two girls ran to go on the newly dubbed Tipsy Topsy Triceratops.
I… well…collapsed is probably the most accurate term,
Onto a bench in DinoLand.
Anabelle traded for a Cinderella pin. (Maybe, really, check with her.)
Anabelle and Veronica were going to try to squeeze on Flight of Passage, which showed some line dippage, before attending the last Lion King show of the day at Six PM. While they did, Rosa and I were planning to take sickeningly sweet pictures together in AvatarLand.
Except the kids went the wrong way and headed up into Discovery Island when we entered AvatarLand. They may have contacted Aurora to meet them, since en route they learned that there was no Six O’clock Lion King show and the last one at Five was very soon.
Limping quickly alongside my wife, we took the secret passage from AvatarLand into Africa. The rest of Kim’s family was already there, having gone to multiple shows in a row. Kim had formed a “funny face” bond with one of the Tumble Monkeys during a solo viewing before this show.
Without knowing this was the last one until it was almost far too late, we all charged in frantically from multiple directions, sat in different places, and participated in the Five O’clock Lion King Show together but in multiple groups. This is more evidence that though we may be divided, we usually do the same things.
So it was kind of a fiasco, but somehow it worked out anyway.
When Rosa and I got to our seats, I received a text from my loving daughter.
“Guess who’s sitting in the aweemaways?
At least try to do the hand jive this time smh.”
(Note to other clueless old fossils: “smh” is not making that sound as a dismissing “feh” sort of thing. It is short for “shaking my head.” The fact that I did not know this earned me yet another “smh.”)
The digital head shaking was followed by her sending a photo of herself giving me the “loser” head sign once more with the text:
Being an intelligent and mature adult, I responded thusly:
“Pllllbbbbbbbbttttthhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!”
(Note- That is not an abbreviation for anything.)
For the final show, the Tumble Monkeys definitely did way more improvisation, which was hysterical.
They weren’t the only ones. Timon and the Stilt Guy were pretending to throw food to each other diverting attention away from the main act.
YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!
For a change, the weather smiled on us. As the show concluded, all the outdoor attractions were listed as closed. We exited to a wet ground but sunny skies.
Just missed us that time! Good thing we weren’t in EPCOT.
“Yes! Yes I did!" - Morgan
Rosa had the idea of going to the Wilderness Lodge dinner via our hotel since it was earlier than we originally planned on being done in the park. (I never found out if they changed the show times, or I am a buffoon and can’t read a schedule. I’m sure I know where most people believe the smart money is.) We stopped for more disgustingly cute PhotoPasses along the way as well. (We do that.) I was trying to figure out and explain what time we’d need to leave the hotel based on what time we originally planned to leave Animal Kingdom. This was not easy as:
A) Animal Kingdom is further away
B) Going from one hotel to another instead of starting at a Park is not direct and required a change over.
C) My brain was barely functioning having to deal with being both exhausted and in pain.
Because of this attempt at explaining, we walked to the wrong side of the Disney bus collection. A bus marked for our hotel drove by and we sprinted/ hobbled around the stops area to the other side.
When we got there, a ride to our hotel was just pulling in.
I think we outran a bus.
Go us!
Being that we were in a hurry, of course there were wheelchair boarding delays and other general technical problems to address before leaving.
We reached our room following the short ride. My calculations confirmed that even with me stopping to use the rest room in the main building, the original idea of showering off the days’ worth of Animal Kingdom filth was not to be. We cleaned up as much as possible, changed to our Snow White themed shirts, because even when worn out and rushed the Shirt Grid must be respected. As we left the room, I tossed my foot damaging, custom, four color high tops into the trash…
Alas.
Originally, due to bugs and the motion in general, Rosa did not want to take a boat, even though a bus to the Magic Kingdom followed by cutting across Bay Lake was the most direct route other times we’ve been in The World.
As time passed (and no busses for EPCOT or MGM Showed up at our hotel) Rosa relented and we boarded transportation to the Magic Kingdom. However, as we got off our bus I asked the driver and he gave me the bus stop number for Wilderness Lodge. Rosa was thrilled, “We don’t have to take a mosquito infested boat.”
(Apologies to the many Awesome Happy Disney Captains we’ve met over the years. Disney boats are very nice, but we’ve usually had terrible luck with them.)
While we were having our own adventures, Anabelle kept us abreast of their disaster. No busses for the Wilderness Lodge came for a very, veeeeeeery long time. I think they got on theirs after we left the All Star Movies. This led to both groups arriving at the Wilderness Lodge roughly at the same time.
So it was kind of a fiasco, but somehow it worked out anyway.
Anabelle changed into her Peppa dress (from Encanto for the Philistines who do not recognize the name instantly) as her dinner wear and looked spectacular. While everyone was shopping in the store, Uncle Dave misidentified Púa the Pig from Moana as a Cow.
This meant every time we saw an animal the rest of the trip, the kids would get Dave’s attention and say, “Look! A cow!”
While we all accept that Uncle Dave still needs a bit more Disnification, it was nice to have a break from everyone making fun of me for being a horse.
We still had a bit of a wait and the check in Cast Member told us they were running behind in the restaurant. The people before and after us on line were INCENSED!!!!
“How dare Disney take the time to provide EVERYONE made to order food and individual character experiences that feel personal and intimate?”
I’m paraphrasing, but that’s what these bottom of the barrel folks were saying.
We were extra polite and friendly to enhance the Cast Member’s Awesome Happiness, because she had to deal with far more than enough unpleasantness already.
Due to our unusual stop off on the way there, and Grandma always needing coffee access, some of us had our resort mugs with us. Fantastically, the mugs went back to working at any hotel, not just the Guest’s location. This change allowed some runs to the Wilderness Lodge cafeteria while waiting, preventing a complete mental and physical shut down for many of us.
Anabelle used the time in two other ways.
The first was her triumphant reunion with the Bridge of Wahs.
YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!
The second came while making use of the excessively comfy rocking chairs in the lobby. Anabelle found the Cardinal Professional Ballerina Man on Instagram and messaged him with how impressed she (and the rest of our family) was with his formal dancing skills.
He answered her immediately, sending her into complete shock and leading to her throwing her phone across the lobby towards the Bridge of Wahs.
Once she retrieved the device, she saw his very grateful and heartfelt thank you, explaining that’s why they do what they do.
YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!
We went upstairs to the gorgeous, magical and relaxing atmosphere of Storybook Dining.
YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!
Alicia was our Awesome and Happy Disney waitress. She usually worked at Roaring Fork (KETCHUP!!!!) making her extra fun, and also grateful when she got to eat in this more upscale location.
Oh nuts, Roaring Fork is the cafeteria. The “KETCHUP!” place is Whispering Canyon Café.
Alicia was outstanding anyway, and she should work wherever the heck she wants from now on. So there.
Grumpy came by next, shooed the children away while he signed the books and then threw the pens across the table. (Awesome!)
Hilarious.
Uncle Dave got a picture with him too, it’s a Dad thing.
The appetizers had the same general layout on the cute stands and the same base ingredients as our last visit …but all had slightly varied flavors including different ingredients than last time. They were all fantastic. Disney’s allergy handling was again on point, with Rosa getting her own little tray with Gluten Free versions as needed.
Using my menu print outs yet again (HA!) Anabelle and Aurora decided to have the “Tricken’ Chicken,” which was made out of Cauliflower. When they asked what the vegetable of the day was, Alicia told them, “Cauliflower.”
“Cauliflower Fiesta!!!!!”
We are always extra fun when exhausted!
Grandma said she had to remember to take out her Snow White shirt during dinner. (Meaning remove her jacket as the Air Conditioning was insanely high everywhere.)
Anabelle misheard her and thought Grandma said she had to take off her shirt. This lead to Anabelle asking:
“Are you wearing a Snow White bra I don’t know about?”
During conversations about Anabelle’s pre-meal brush with fame, Grandma also admitted she was convinced the second Cardinal Dancer was a woman.
I think we were all out in the sun far too long. The enjoyment of the Pulled Pork Jelly Donut might have been the first clue.
While modified from last time, the Straaiingy Mushroom soup was still excellent. Aurora formed a personal bond with it.
She had many bowls.
According to Anabelle- “Like… so many.”
This is because not everyone wanted theirs, and there were extras.
There were extras because the Appetizer Guy said to let him know if we wanted more of something.
Between the quality of the food and the lateness of the meal, when he passed the table to check on us, we asked:
“Can we really get more?”
When he replied in the affirmative and inquired as to what we wanted more of we answered as one:
“EVERYTHING!!!”
The second round was greeted by thunderous applause from our table.
Somewhere between appetizer rounds, Snow White was introduced and had her own personal frolic.
We already know about the Cauliflower twins. Many of the rest of us had what I had seen people have on our last trip, but resisted the temptation of.
Jeff’s Disney World Philosophy:
Being overheated, exhausted and in pain can wear on one’s resistance to temptation. However, that can be a good thing. The reason I usually try to eat healthy, even on vacation, is to allow the occasional worthwhile splurge.
The “rare as you legally can make it” Prime Rib with Horseradish sauce, Garlic Mashed Potatoes and a Popover was beyond worthwhile.
It was beyond a splurge.
YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!!!
Rosa raved happily for months after our last trip about the Oso Bucco she had at this location. Then, when she had to go Gluten Free, she was crushed and saddened that she would not be able to have the Oso Bucco again. Finally when she saw how many of the offerings were Gluten Free on the Artist’s Point menu, she was excited again about asking for the Oso Bucco.
I found this entire culinary journey puzzling. The reason is before, during and after the last trip, and also before this trip, there was no Oso Bucco listed anywhere on the menu for Artist’s Point.
YAAAAAAAAAAY!
Speaking of past experiences, I had been laughing at the drink I had here called, “The Antidote” for the past three years, as anyone who knows me has experienced.
(In fact, many of them had asked me to please shut up about it.)
It had a sprig of thyme in it. Thyme heals all wounds…Antidote…bwa ha ha ha!!!!
Then my drink came this night. The Antidote.
There was no sprig of thyme in it.
MY WHOLE LIFE HAS BEEN A LIE!!!!!
I said maybe I needed a “Thyme out.”
Anabelle threatened me with bodily harm.
Anyway…
While we were very happily eating, the “Silly Song” played, the characters danced, and we clapped along, cheering heavily for our buddy the Appetizer Guy who was going hard the whole time.
Snow White came by, and Anabelle told Grandma to make sure her bra was ready. There were multiple pictures. Veronica took pictures with all the Snow White characters on her own. I really shouldn’t have to document that separately by now.
We were then summoned to see the Queen.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!
Sorry, she still give me the Heebie Jeebies.
We took a zillion combinations of pictures with her. Grandma brought a villains mask one of her bowling friends gave her that she put on for a picture. I emailed the image to her team, and only afterwards realized it might have been for a surprise. Therefore, I quickly contacted them again and asked them to pretend I never sent the photo.
Don’t tell Grandma either, promise?
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!
When filling the water glasses some was spilled on Anabelle. “Why is the water always on me?” she asked. Followed by, “Oh well, it’s better than fire.”
This is not inaccurate.
Also similar was Aurora bonding with one of them, suggesting we steal the “purple desserts” from other tables. Anabelle had “Soooo many Panna Cottas.” This included stealing one from Uncle Dave. (Establishing a pattern, we’d later learn.)
“Oh, that’s where it went!”- Uncle Dave
Or maybe even the horrifying side.
We finished what was the best meal of the trip for the second Disney Vacation in a row, and left full, happy…and insanely tired as it was a Quarter to Eleven. Over half the group had been on the go for sixteen hours. Morgan had already claimed a section of the bench in the corner, and attempted to continue his meal time nap streak by curling up on it during dessert. This late at night, leaving him there wasn’t an option and we had to wake him and take him with us.
As the various, and fully expected, bathroom trips happened, a couple of young boys asked Rosa if she had pins to trade. She directed them to Anabelle and they stood comparing binders in the lobby. It was cool seeing her be the senior pin trader after her shy beginnings.
As they finished a trade that left both sides extremely happy, Uncle Dave called in that the bus to the Magic Kingdom was there.
We all ran out to find a bus there…
In the Magic Kingdom space…
That was not going to the Magic Kingdom.
Alas.
When the first bus left and a new one pulled in, that driver also told us he wasn’t going to the Magic Kingdom but that the other bus was. (You know, that bus with the driver I just mentioned that said he wasn’t going to the Magic Kingdom?)
Although she had two bursts of sanity to rest that day, which many of the others of us hadn’t, Grandma was still supremely Disney Exhausted. Instead of merely explaining where we had to go, she tried to explain the first bus driver’s story to the second bus driver.
Many people were confused at that bus stop, and it wasn’t only us.
There was a bus behind the Magic Kingdom stop that said “Mulan” as its destination. This occurred on multiple occasions, and I have no decent or logical explanation for it.
I do have an explanation for what happened next. The explanation is that some Awesome Happy Disney people set the Awesome bar truly high and well above the rest.
The “Mulan” bus driver called me over while everyone else involved were being confused and asked, “Where are you trying to go?”
When I told him the Magic Kingdom to transfer, he explained he was asking we were ultimately trying to get to.
I told him the All Star Movies Resort.
Amazingly, he said, “I can do that, I don’t have to be at the Magic Kingdom until 11:45.”
I was understandably baffled and puzzled. Therefore, I asked him to confirm his offer.
The next trick was extricating my family from their baffling and puzzling conversation and explain how the wonderful driver over there was going to take care of us.
Given the level of bafflment and puzzlement we’d all already generated this took a considerable bit of time and communication to get across.
Eventually we all happily boarded the bus for what is normally an impossible non-stop ride.
So it was kind of a fiasco, but somehow it worked out anyway.
Not only was he Awesome, but his bus’s music was Awesome far and above standard “Shosty” levels.
It played:
The Meco disco version of the “Star Wars Theme,”
“New York, New York” (Rosa and I may have started a seated kick line, it was late and it’s hard to say.),
The “Banana Splits Theme,” (YAAY!)
The “Laverne and Shirley Theme,”
‘Material Girl.”
For most of us, including the girls, the day went from “Soooo early” to “Soooo late.” The combined exhaustion of the day and relief of the bus led the three of them to be at maximum silliness for the entire ride, which is always wonderful to experience.
We checked our rider’s name tag as we exited to be sure to give him a glowing Cast Member Review.
It was “Eric from the Bronx”
You can’t ever go wrong with an Eric from the Bronx.
He and Grandma talked about locations for a bit before we staggered back into the hotel.
We returned to our Disney homes and learned the cheese remained in Kim’s room. An irate call to the front desk revealed a “duty man” would come and clean the Murphy Beds. We had already gotten ready for bed at this point, and the Sinus Infection Anabelle and I had ending as we started the trip came roaring back to join us this night. With everything closed down, I rehydrated with the foul acai blueberry concoction while getting the sorely needed mug fill ups to survive the next morning.
We left a sign on the door saying it was too late for whatever Duty the Man was going to do, and for him to come back tomorrow.
Anabelle and I started our prescription refills to deal with the roaring back that was happening in our faces, but it was a bit late. We coughed most of the night, preventing Rosa from sleeping, pretty much at all. Polite society would refer to us as “heavily congested.” In our terms we were “Unending rivers of snot.” This would have eventual consequences.
24702 steps 10.4 miles
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