Jeff G
10-05-2007, 11:48 AM
Cast: Jeff (me), Cheryl (DW), Ray (my Dad), Nancy (my Mom), Karissa (DD age 11), Chase (DS age 8), Peyton (DS age 2) & Madison (DD 7 mons.)
Hotel - Port Orleans Riverside - Alligator Bayou, Building 16
A pre-trip note, this is my parents third trip to WDW with us, the prior two have ended up being the two most rain filled trips we’ve ever had. Last year without them it never rained in 10 days.
Thursday, September 27 - We were up early and on the way to AK. Today we waited a minute or two for the bus to show (the longest wait all week). We arrived to the AK gates around 8:30. Wes the talking Palm was interacting with the kids which they loved. We entered AK around 8:45 and waited for the ropes to drop at 9:00. The first ride was Kilamajro Safari. The animals were everywhere including a giraffe that was about a foot from myself and Peyton (DS2), he loves animals and enjoyed the ride as did the rest of us. We then headed to EE catching a couple characters on the way. We got to EE and walked on with many of the cars going out half empty. We did the ride four times in less than ½ hour taking turns sitting out with the little ones. Chase (DS8) & Karissa (DD11) decided they wanted to ride Kahli. Every time Chase rides this he gets soaked along with the person sitting next to him so I positioned him next to my dad:thedolls:. Sure enough he got soaked as well as our half of the raft, the other side complained because they wanted to get wet but were still dry. After Kahli we checked out Maharajah Jungle Trek trail before heading to Dinoland where we let Peyton ride the Triceratops Spin while Karissa and Chase rode Primeval Whirl. My mom didn’t want to ride Dinosaur so she took Peyton and Madison to the Boneyard while the rest of our party rode. As we left the pre-show a CM pulled us aside and announced we had won a YOMD prize which allowed us to cut to the front of the line and have our very own car where she presented us a YOMD certificate. We were very excited. With having just our family in the car the photo turned out awesome so we picked up one up as a souvenir. Boy was mom jealous of our ride on Dinosaur. After Dinosaur we did It’s Tough to Be a Bug before grabbing lunch at the Flame Tree Barbecue which was average at best (I miss Tuskerhouse). Our table was situated right next to the river that faces EE, half way through diner a boat with Minnie, Mickey, Donald and Goofy passed and waived right to our section. The kids loved it. After lunch we explored a few of the trails around the Tree of Life working our way over to catch Pocahontas and Festival of the Lion King. When the shows let out it was almost 3:00 and we realized we either would miss the Nemo show or Conservation Station which we seem to miss more often than not. We choose to catch the 3:15 Nemo show which was outstanding. After Nemo we started our way out because we had a 5:15 ADR at Whispering Canyon exploring the trails on our way. The kids loved the many animals we found. I know a lot of people say AK isn’t a full day park which I can’t figure. We waited in no lines, walked into ITTBAB as it was starting and walked into the other shows just a few minutes early and still missed quite a bit leaving at 4:30. Whispering Canyon was fun as usual. I ended up being delivered a huge coke which the kids thought was hilarious, they also loved the ketchup bottle delivery. The food was good and service here was just better than average. While eating I noticed the skies were still blue so I commented to my mom and dad that their luck was changing with the rain. Not even two minutes later it was pouring with blue skies all around. When we finished diner the rain was gone so the good news is it never affected us. After dinner rwe caught a boat to the MK to catch a bus back to the POR for a swim and to relax.
A few pictures:
That is one close giraffe. (http://s155.photobucket.com/albums/s314/jgroff7/?action=view¤t=IMG_2916.jpg)
A boat load of characters. (http://s155.photobucket.com/albums/s314/jgroff7/?action=view¤t=IMG_2924.jpg)
A nice boat ride from WL to MK. (http://s155.photobucket.com/albums/s314/jgroff7/?action=view¤t=IMG_2931.jpg)
Hotel - Port Orleans Riverside - Alligator Bayou, Building 16
A pre-trip note, this is my parents third trip to WDW with us, the prior two have ended up being the two most rain filled trips we’ve ever had. Last year without them it never rained in 10 days.
Thursday, September 27 - We were up early and on the way to AK. Today we waited a minute or two for the bus to show (the longest wait all week). We arrived to the AK gates around 8:30. Wes the talking Palm was interacting with the kids which they loved. We entered AK around 8:45 and waited for the ropes to drop at 9:00. The first ride was Kilamajro Safari. The animals were everywhere including a giraffe that was about a foot from myself and Peyton (DS2), he loves animals and enjoyed the ride as did the rest of us. We then headed to EE catching a couple characters on the way. We got to EE and walked on with many of the cars going out half empty. We did the ride four times in less than ½ hour taking turns sitting out with the little ones. Chase (DS8) & Karissa (DD11) decided they wanted to ride Kahli. Every time Chase rides this he gets soaked along with the person sitting next to him so I positioned him next to my dad:thedolls:. Sure enough he got soaked as well as our half of the raft, the other side complained because they wanted to get wet but were still dry. After Kahli we checked out Maharajah Jungle Trek trail before heading to Dinoland where we let Peyton ride the Triceratops Spin while Karissa and Chase rode Primeval Whirl. My mom didn’t want to ride Dinosaur so she took Peyton and Madison to the Boneyard while the rest of our party rode. As we left the pre-show a CM pulled us aside and announced we had won a YOMD prize which allowed us to cut to the front of the line and have our very own car where she presented us a YOMD certificate. We were very excited. With having just our family in the car the photo turned out awesome so we picked up one up as a souvenir. Boy was mom jealous of our ride on Dinosaur. After Dinosaur we did It’s Tough to Be a Bug before grabbing lunch at the Flame Tree Barbecue which was average at best (I miss Tuskerhouse). Our table was situated right next to the river that faces EE, half way through diner a boat with Minnie, Mickey, Donald and Goofy passed and waived right to our section. The kids loved it. After lunch we explored a few of the trails around the Tree of Life working our way over to catch Pocahontas and Festival of the Lion King. When the shows let out it was almost 3:00 and we realized we either would miss the Nemo show or Conservation Station which we seem to miss more often than not. We choose to catch the 3:15 Nemo show which was outstanding. After Nemo we started our way out because we had a 5:15 ADR at Whispering Canyon exploring the trails on our way. The kids loved the many animals we found. I know a lot of people say AK isn’t a full day park which I can’t figure. We waited in no lines, walked into ITTBAB as it was starting and walked into the other shows just a few minutes early and still missed quite a bit leaving at 4:30. Whispering Canyon was fun as usual. I ended up being delivered a huge coke which the kids thought was hilarious, they also loved the ketchup bottle delivery. The food was good and service here was just better than average. While eating I noticed the skies were still blue so I commented to my mom and dad that their luck was changing with the rain. Not even two minutes later it was pouring with blue skies all around. When we finished diner the rain was gone so the good news is it never affected us. After dinner rwe caught a boat to the MK to catch a bus back to the POR for a swim and to relax.
A few pictures:
That is one close giraffe. (http://s155.photobucket.com/albums/s314/jgroff7/?action=view¤t=IMG_2916.jpg)
A boat load of characters. (http://s155.photobucket.com/albums/s314/jgroff7/?action=view¤t=IMG_2924.jpg)
A nice boat ride from WL to MK. (http://s155.photobucket.com/albums/s314/jgroff7/?action=view¤t=IMG_2931.jpg)