thejens
06-19-2010, 11:39 PM
Sunday, May 30, 2010
We were through the gates at Animal Kingdom at 8:45, and they were already letting folks in. It is so beautiful there. I rushed to get the EE fast passes for the rest of my crowd while they headed to Safari. The walk on line for EE was already very long and there was even a line for the fast passes. I watched a little Orangutan play on the way to Safari. The Safari is such a relaxing way to start the day. We saw so many animals. We especially enjoy the elephants and giraffes. I think they have adapted the script for the poachers so that it is not so corny, but actually makes sense. They don’t seem to have the falling bridge anymore, though. Next my dare devil boys rode Expedition Everest. Zac loved it and announced that after he does Space Mountain he will have done all the mountains! Pretty brave for a 6 year old. I happily watched the Orangutans. We got fast passes for Kali and headed into DinoLand. My brave 6 year old is not too big for Triceratops Spin. He loved it and said that he could all of Disney World from up here! Primeval Whirl had a 60 minute walk on and it didn’t seem like the fast pass machine was working so we headed to Dinosaur. The kids find this scary, but I really like it. I was very disappointed that the scary dino wasn’t working properly. I hope they fix this and don’t let it languish forever like the Yeti. This attraction is pretty much dependent on the special effects. Next stop, Kali. We love this ride and always seem to be drenched. Today was no exception. If we had an endless supply of fast passes we would go on over and over. Although we did bring a change of clothes, we decided to simply head back to the resort and go swimming. I do love the Lion King and Nemo, but we’ve seen these every year, so it was okay to miss.
We took the boat over to Riverside since that pool looked more fun to our big kid. Zac continued his daring streak enjoyed this pool slide. It was fun. I enjoyed the tranquil setting for this pool and the fact that we were able to find chairs where we could see the slide and most of the pool. After an hour or so here, we decided to try out the French Quarter pool. The serpent slide is cute and the colorful theming is fun, but it is hard to see all the different areas of the pool at once and it was challenging to keep an eye on the kids. Zac liked this slide too.
Ben is driving us nuts today. Some kind of sullen, smart mouth, arrogant pre-teen has taken over his body. He is not bringing out the best in me. I am trying to not sink to his level, reminding myself that he goes through these little challenging phases and that this will pass. Zac continues to adore him and want his attention and interaction. Ben throws him around in the pool like a cat playing with a minnow. Zac doesn’t mind being dunked a million times. They needle and pick at each other and Ben is too rough and Zac exaggerates his injuries. We are never sure when to ignore it or who to scold. As soon as we intervene they are frolicking like puppies and looking at us with laughing eyes.
Finally, at dinner at Sanaa, everything seems to come together. The beauty of Kidani Village amazes me. The art work, detail, rich natural textures and whimsical lamps create the most magical ambiance. There seems to be a touch more color in this lodge than Jambo House. Finally we step in toward the stairs to the restaurant and see giraffes, zebra, antelope and more just feet away from the window. We are drawn outside to see these amazing animals and are almost disappointed to be seated. We ask to wait a few more minutes for a window table and are accommodated. We have a very nice and knowledgeable waitress who explains differences in the menu since last year and discusses the animals we see. She talks about the habits of one of the giraffes, and is clearly thrilled that a Wildebeest is expecting. She shows her passion for her work and does a great job for us all night, recommending a good South African wine and explaining every menu item beautifully. We begin with the bread tray with three dips and the salad sampler. The four of us love this. Zac is happy that a grilled fish is on the kids menu. Ben and Jenny have steak and I enjoy a seafood with a very delicate broth with a touch of curry and some light vegetables. We have dessert, which is really too much, but of course, we don’t decline. I have the dessert sampler with a mini chocolate cake, a Chai custard (very light and interesting) and some kind of frozen custard like confection with strawberries. The nicest thing is that Ben seemed to warm up and we all laughed together a lot. I love my sweet family.
Monday, May 31, Memorial Day at Epcot
I feel more like I am at Disney in this park. We get there before opening and after we are allowed in the first part of Future Land it is fun to see the cast from Soaring and Test Track, and oh, yes are there other attractions?, come out to basically keep us from trampling one another. The cast chat with the guests and don’t appear to be frightened by the fast pass seeking hoards. Now the Mickey and pals come out and help us with the count down before the cast leads us on a controlled walk to Soaring (or Fast Track.) I am always amazed by how well Disney handles these potentially horrifying situations! I fast pass Soarin while my family parks the stroller and heads into stand-by by line. I don’t like to by pass everyone to catch up with them and my family is annoyed by this, but it just seems rude to me. We don’t wait long. Soarin is the perfect way to start the day. Zac is so much fun this year because he remembers the past years and is so excited to be tall enough for everything. He insists on showing everyone that he IS tall enough. We always joke that you must pull your feet up so they don’t get wet in the ocean and he carries on with this joke all day. Next we do Nemo, a walk-on. I love the aquarium and it is nice to relax and slow down here. After this I dart over to Test Track to get FPs while the rest head to Spaceship Earth. I confess that I did jump over the rail to join them in line here. Some how it doesn’t seem as bad when you are not pushing past everyone, excuse me, excuse me.... The boys find the computer generated future to be hilarious. It is 11:00 and we are hungry so head into the world. The boys want to do the Mission Kim Possibles they did not complete last year and I want to do counter service in France so we head to France after getting our assignment in Innovations. The ham and cheese croissants are delicious. We also loved the Napoleon, Chocolate Croissant, and Creme Brule. The cheese plate is good but the baguettes are just not that true French bread I love. We also enjoy a frozen cappuccino and une espresso. I was dying for some real coffee.
Oddly we must go to Italy to get our Mission in Japan. The boys love their mission while the adults take turns shopping and keeping an eye on them. Zac is loving it, running and hiding around corners and having a ball. I decide to buy one birthday gift for my niece Lindsey in every country and am challenged to make this affordable. As the mother of two boys, however, it is so nice to shop for a 9 year old girl. In Japan I choose a fan with her name written on it and a meditation tape since she has recently begun practicing meditation. In Morocco I buy a bead necklace and folding wallet. In France a tiny flip book of Degas’ dancer. In Italy a bracelet. In China chopsticks. It is hard for me to stop at one thing. I confess I bought myself a necklace in Italy also. The boys do another Kim Possible Mission in China and Zac enjoys the kidcot stations and they both collect charms for the masks. Zac would be happy to color with markers for hours on end. I enjoy walking around and shopping and would like to take in some of the movies, but the boys are getting hot and restless. We head to Test Track to use our Fast Passes before dinner. Zac is a little nervous, but enjoys it. We head to the Boardwalk for an early dinner at Kouzzina’s. We arrive at 5:20, exactly on time, but wait for about 15 minutes or so. This is fine as we have time to freshen up, comb our hair and sit and rest our feet. The boys are cranky and rowdy and picking at each other. We are hoping some rest and fluid and dinner will improve their moods.
It does. We enjoy Greek Salads, Lamb Shank and Flank Steak. It is not our favorite place, but we are glad we tried it. The desserts were very good: chocolate molten cake and Greek doughnuts (fried dough.) Zac enjoyed the kid’s pizza, fresh fruit, carrots and celery and even a scoop of ice cream with toppings. We let Zac get the light up Buzz Lightyear drink and he loved the toy even though he was not fond of the sweet punch drink. This is a “yuk-elixir” he said. Then, after purchasing a disgusting sugar straw for the boys (after post poning this purchase all day) we head for our last flight on Soarin’. Zac is positively giddy with sugar and fatigue, but at least the boys are happy and not picking at each other. Soarin’ is also a wonderful way to end our day and we almost leave the park, but it is time for Illuminations so we stay. We stand near the boat dock and enjoy the show. I love this, but wonder if there is anywhere you feel like you have an unobstructed view?
We leave the park happy and tired. I am a little worried that tomorrow is extra early hours at MK.
I have little moments of childlike joy: watching the sea horses and star fish and crabs, admiring the gardens, swinging my feet during Soarin’, appreciating the beauty of Morocco and the other special details in the countries. I find myself wishing I could learn to speak every language and write haikus and read all the history books....
We were through the gates at Animal Kingdom at 8:45, and they were already letting folks in. It is so beautiful there. I rushed to get the EE fast passes for the rest of my crowd while they headed to Safari. The walk on line for EE was already very long and there was even a line for the fast passes. I watched a little Orangutan play on the way to Safari. The Safari is such a relaxing way to start the day. We saw so many animals. We especially enjoy the elephants and giraffes. I think they have adapted the script for the poachers so that it is not so corny, but actually makes sense. They don’t seem to have the falling bridge anymore, though. Next my dare devil boys rode Expedition Everest. Zac loved it and announced that after he does Space Mountain he will have done all the mountains! Pretty brave for a 6 year old. I happily watched the Orangutans. We got fast passes for Kali and headed into DinoLand. My brave 6 year old is not too big for Triceratops Spin. He loved it and said that he could all of Disney World from up here! Primeval Whirl had a 60 minute walk on and it didn’t seem like the fast pass machine was working so we headed to Dinosaur. The kids find this scary, but I really like it. I was very disappointed that the scary dino wasn’t working properly. I hope they fix this and don’t let it languish forever like the Yeti. This attraction is pretty much dependent on the special effects. Next stop, Kali. We love this ride and always seem to be drenched. Today was no exception. If we had an endless supply of fast passes we would go on over and over. Although we did bring a change of clothes, we decided to simply head back to the resort and go swimming. I do love the Lion King and Nemo, but we’ve seen these every year, so it was okay to miss.
We took the boat over to Riverside since that pool looked more fun to our big kid. Zac continued his daring streak enjoyed this pool slide. It was fun. I enjoyed the tranquil setting for this pool and the fact that we were able to find chairs where we could see the slide and most of the pool. After an hour or so here, we decided to try out the French Quarter pool. The serpent slide is cute and the colorful theming is fun, but it is hard to see all the different areas of the pool at once and it was challenging to keep an eye on the kids. Zac liked this slide too.
Ben is driving us nuts today. Some kind of sullen, smart mouth, arrogant pre-teen has taken over his body. He is not bringing out the best in me. I am trying to not sink to his level, reminding myself that he goes through these little challenging phases and that this will pass. Zac continues to adore him and want his attention and interaction. Ben throws him around in the pool like a cat playing with a minnow. Zac doesn’t mind being dunked a million times. They needle and pick at each other and Ben is too rough and Zac exaggerates his injuries. We are never sure when to ignore it or who to scold. As soon as we intervene they are frolicking like puppies and looking at us with laughing eyes.
Finally, at dinner at Sanaa, everything seems to come together. The beauty of Kidani Village amazes me. The art work, detail, rich natural textures and whimsical lamps create the most magical ambiance. There seems to be a touch more color in this lodge than Jambo House. Finally we step in toward the stairs to the restaurant and see giraffes, zebra, antelope and more just feet away from the window. We are drawn outside to see these amazing animals and are almost disappointed to be seated. We ask to wait a few more minutes for a window table and are accommodated. We have a very nice and knowledgeable waitress who explains differences in the menu since last year and discusses the animals we see. She talks about the habits of one of the giraffes, and is clearly thrilled that a Wildebeest is expecting. She shows her passion for her work and does a great job for us all night, recommending a good South African wine and explaining every menu item beautifully. We begin with the bread tray with three dips and the salad sampler. The four of us love this. Zac is happy that a grilled fish is on the kids menu. Ben and Jenny have steak and I enjoy a seafood with a very delicate broth with a touch of curry and some light vegetables. We have dessert, which is really too much, but of course, we don’t decline. I have the dessert sampler with a mini chocolate cake, a Chai custard (very light and interesting) and some kind of frozen custard like confection with strawberries. The nicest thing is that Ben seemed to warm up and we all laughed together a lot. I love my sweet family.
Monday, May 31, Memorial Day at Epcot
I feel more like I am at Disney in this park. We get there before opening and after we are allowed in the first part of Future Land it is fun to see the cast from Soaring and Test Track, and oh, yes are there other attractions?, come out to basically keep us from trampling one another. The cast chat with the guests and don’t appear to be frightened by the fast pass seeking hoards. Now the Mickey and pals come out and help us with the count down before the cast leads us on a controlled walk to Soaring (or Fast Track.) I am always amazed by how well Disney handles these potentially horrifying situations! I fast pass Soarin while my family parks the stroller and heads into stand-by by line. I don’t like to by pass everyone to catch up with them and my family is annoyed by this, but it just seems rude to me. We don’t wait long. Soarin is the perfect way to start the day. Zac is so much fun this year because he remembers the past years and is so excited to be tall enough for everything. He insists on showing everyone that he IS tall enough. We always joke that you must pull your feet up so they don’t get wet in the ocean and he carries on with this joke all day. Next we do Nemo, a walk-on. I love the aquarium and it is nice to relax and slow down here. After this I dart over to Test Track to get FPs while the rest head to Spaceship Earth. I confess that I did jump over the rail to join them in line here. Some how it doesn’t seem as bad when you are not pushing past everyone, excuse me, excuse me.... The boys find the computer generated future to be hilarious. It is 11:00 and we are hungry so head into the world. The boys want to do the Mission Kim Possibles they did not complete last year and I want to do counter service in France so we head to France after getting our assignment in Innovations. The ham and cheese croissants are delicious. We also loved the Napoleon, Chocolate Croissant, and Creme Brule. The cheese plate is good but the baguettes are just not that true French bread I love. We also enjoy a frozen cappuccino and une espresso. I was dying for some real coffee.
Oddly we must go to Italy to get our Mission in Japan. The boys love their mission while the adults take turns shopping and keeping an eye on them. Zac is loving it, running and hiding around corners and having a ball. I decide to buy one birthday gift for my niece Lindsey in every country and am challenged to make this affordable. As the mother of two boys, however, it is so nice to shop for a 9 year old girl. In Japan I choose a fan with her name written on it and a meditation tape since she has recently begun practicing meditation. In Morocco I buy a bead necklace and folding wallet. In France a tiny flip book of Degas’ dancer. In Italy a bracelet. In China chopsticks. It is hard for me to stop at one thing. I confess I bought myself a necklace in Italy also. The boys do another Kim Possible Mission in China and Zac enjoys the kidcot stations and they both collect charms for the masks. Zac would be happy to color with markers for hours on end. I enjoy walking around and shopping and would like to take in some of the movies, but the boys are getting hot and restless. We head to Test Track to use our Fast Passes before dinner. Zac is a little nervous, but enjoys it. We head to the Boardwalk for an early dinner at Kouzzina’s. We arrive at 5:20, exactly on time, but wait for about 15 minutes or so. This is fine as we have time to freshen up, comb our hair and sit and rest our feet. The boys are cranky and rowdy and picking at each other. We are hoping some rest and fluid and dinner will improve their moods.
It does. We enjoy Greek Salads, Lamb Shank and Flank Steak. It is not our favorite place, but we are glad we tried it. The desserts were very good: chocolate molten cake and Greek doughnuts (fried dough.) Zac enjoyed the kid’s pizza, fresh fruit, carrots and celery and even a scoop of ice cream with toppings. We let Zac get the light up Buzz Lightyear drink and he loved the toy even though he was not fond of the sweet punch drink. This is a “yuk-elixir” he said. Then, after purchasing a disgusting sugar straw for the boys (after post poning this purchase all day) we head for our last flight on Soarin’. Zac is positively giddy with sugar and fatigue, but at least the boys are happy and not picking at each other. Soarin’ is also a wonderful way to end our day and we almost leave the park, but it is time for Illuminations so we stay. We stand near the boat dock and enjoy the show. I love this, but wonder if there is anywhere you feel like you have an unobstructed view?
We leave the park happy and tired. I am a little worried that tomorrow is extra early hours at MK.
I have little moments of childlike joy: watching the sea horses and star fish and crabs, admiring the gardens, swinging my feet during Soarin’, appreciating the beauty of Morocco and the other special details in the countries. I find myself wishing I could learn to speak every language and write haikus and read all the history books....