mgmnut
08-08-2011, 10:27 AM
Day 2 - Animal Kingdom, Evening EMH at MK
ME
DW
DS - 13
DD - 13
Home: Boston, Ma
Staying at the Villas at Wilderness Lodge
July 16 -July 23
Oops, missed the 6am wake up call!! Everyone slept until 8am. DD had knocked the phone receiver on her night stand off the hook during the night. I told DW this was going to be a laid back vacation, but come on, we just over slept 2 hours and I did have a game plan now in jeopardy. I’ll admit it, I turned into a drill sergeant. Get up, brush your teeth, get in the shower, get dressed, let’s move people!!!!!! We were still at AK by 9:15 and the crowds were still low. As planned we went straight to EE only stopping once for a Photopass opportunity….. Smile…. Click…move on. We zipped through the EE queue and on in just about 2 - 3 trains. We got off and jumped right back in line, and again 1 more time. From there it was off to Kilimanjaro Safari before it got too hot and all the animals went in or became inactive in the heat. Our timing was great, we didn’t wait long for the Safari lines were short , plenty of animals were out and very active.
After the Safari we grabbed a fast pass for Kali River Rapids and then went to watch Flights of Wonder. It was a good show with the usual bird tricks (grab a dollar, bring it back) but still very enjoyable. After Flights of Wonder we went in search of lunch and found Yak and Yeti Counter Service, I would have to say some of the best CS I have had in the parks and would definitely go there again, in fact if we go back it‘s a must. After lunch we went back to Kali River Rapids, our FP time had come around. The Stand-by wait for Kali was an hour at this point. Thank Goodness we had a FP, if I had waited an hour for that ride I would have been pretty upset, It was so short and hardly anyone got wet. I have been on before but I guess I didn’t recall how short and tame it actually was. After Kali we did Pangani Forest Exploration Trail, and then Maharajah Jungle Trek on our way back for another run on EE. Line for EE was pretty long, close to an hour now, so we used some instant Fast Passes from our tour of BLT the day prior and rode again. After EE we went to watch Finding Nemo, which I felt was very good, plus it was so nice and cool inside the theater. After Nemo we headed off for the Tree of Life for It‘s Tough to be a Bug. When we were almost inside they shut down the show for technical issues, so instead we went to see Festival of the Lion King, it was good but we were late so we were way in the back. People were blocking our view a lot of the time by holding up cell phones and cameras recording the show. DS really enjoyed this show with all the acrobatics. When we left FOTLK we headed back to the ToL and found the Tough to be a Bug show was running again. We saw the show, had a few more Photopass pics taken, and headed out of the park. We did not do Dinosaur and Primeval Whirl was closed, but we had seen pretty much everything else we wanted to, and took our time doing it.
We hopped on the bus to head back to WL for a shower and to get ready for Dinner at Artist Point. Everyone got cleaned up, dressed nice but comfortable, and headed down to Artist Point. We waited a few minutes for our table but not very long at all. Our waiter was very nice, very informative and knowledgeable on the menu. We started with some Apps, a cheese plate, crab cakes and I had the Smokey Portobello Mushroom soup at the waiters recommendation, it was incredible. It had roasted shiitakes mushrooms in it that tasted similar to bacon pieces, the soup was so creamy, I have to find the recipe. For dinner my son had the Tenderloin of Beef, I had the Cedar Plank Salmon (yum!), DW and DD both had a Shellfish meal I personally didn’t care for but they both thoroughly enjoyed. I felt bad for our waiter, although I felt his service was great, there was a table next to us giving him a hard time. I may be too sympathetic because for years both DW and I both worked in service (14 years for me, DW even longer). I was a bartender and waiter and she was a waitress. We worked in a very high end restaurant and both did very well, that is actually where we met. We are both long out of that business now, but still remember how it can be. The table was a couple with 2 very little kids. I was worried that we were properly dressed? This family was pretty dressed down, the man had what looked like a concert shirt and flip flops on, the kids in 5 minutes had a little of everything from the table onto the floor and was using a spoon and plate to entertain themselves (clank, clank, clank) The woman was just a miserable whiner. If you think I am rude for eavesdropping… don’t, they were very loud about their issues, you would have had to make quite an effort to not overhear them, especially seeing they were at the table immediately to the side of us. The man with the flip flops at one point actually kicked them off under the table. The woman’s issue was that she ordered her steak Med rare and felt it was undercooked. Ok ,med is a warm pink center, Med Rare has a red center, rare is mostly red. This steak was dead on Med Rare from what I could see. Again, she was very loud about it and actually started crying, tears and all, because of the way it was cooked. Smelled like people looking for a Comp meal if I ever smelt one. We had our coffee and dessert, told the waiter how much we enjoyed the service, and went back to the room to get ready for EMH at MK. Sorry to run on about AP but it really hit a button with me that this waiter was being treated that way.
We got to MK at about 10:30 for EMH. The kids were so excited to be able to be in MK until 3am…ok, so was I. We watched the Magic Memories and you show, it is really awesome, took advantage of a Photopass opportunity, and then it was off to Swiss Family Tree House. The Tree House is scary at night, it’s hard to see the stairs, but what a great view from up top at night. Next stop was POTC, it was our first time seeing it with Capt. Jack Sparrow, I liked it, DD loved it. From there we did Splash Mountain twice, the line was only about 15mins. The BTMRR line was too long, so we headed for HM, I loved the new queue area and all the changes inside, finally a refurb done right. From there we went to Fantasy Land, it was just after 12am at this point and crowds were thinning out. Since there were virtually no lines, just for nostalgia, we did Small World, Snow Whites Scary Adventure, Peter Pan, Dumbo, and Winnie the Pooh. I was surprised how much the kids enjoyed or rather appreciated these rides. We moved on to Tomorrowland, rode the Speedway (walked on) Buzz Lightyear (walked on) Space Mountain 3 times (almost a walk on) and Astro Orbiters (walk on). EMH was not very crowded after 1am, by 2am we almost felt like we had the park to ourselves, I love when a plan comes together. After Park Closing it was a quick boat ride back to WL. I think I was asleep before my head hit the pillow, it was about 3:45am.
Wake up call set for 6:30, Plan for Day 3 EPCOT…………
ME
DW
DS - 13
DD - 13
Home: Boston, Ma
Staying at the Villas at Wilderness Lodge
July 16 -July 23
Oops, missed the 6am wake up call!! Everyone slept until 8am. DD had knocked the phone receiver on her night stand off the hook during the night. I told DW this was going to be a laid back vacation, but come on, we just over slept 2 hours and I did have a game plan now in jeopardy. I’ll admit it, I turned into a drill sergeant. Get up, brush your teeth, get in the shower, get dressed, let’s move people!!!!!! We were still at AK by 9:15 and the crowds were still low. As planned we went straight to EE only stopping once for a Photopass opportunity….. Smile…. Click…move on. We zipped through the EE queue and on in just about 2 - 3 trains. We got off and jumped right back in line, and again 1 more time. From there it was off to Kilimanjaro Safari before it got too hot and all the animals went in or became inactive in the heat. Our timing was great, we didn’t wait long for the Safari lines were short , plenty of animals were out and very active.
After the Safari we grabbed a fast pass for Kali River Rapids and then went to watch Flights of Wonder. It was a good show with the usual bird tricks (grab a dollar, bring it back) but still very enjoyable. After Flights of Wonder we went in search of lunch and found Yak and Yeti Counter Service, I would have to say some of the best CS I have had in the parks and would definitely go there again, in fact if we go back it‘s a must. After lunch we went back to Kali River Rapids, our FP time had come around. The Stand-by wait for Kali was an hour at this point. Thank Goodness we had a FP, if I had waited an hour for that ride I would have been pretty upset, It was so short and hardly anyone got wet. I have been on before but I guess I didn’t recall how short and tame it actually was. After Kali we did Pangani Forest Exploration Trail, and then Maharajah Jungle Trek on our way back for another run on EE. Line for EE was pretty long, close to an hour now, so we used some instant Fast Passes from our tour of BLT the day prior and rode again. After EE we went to watch Finding Nemo, which I felt was very good, plus it was so nice and cool inside the theater. After Nemo we headed off for the Tree of Life for It‘s Tough to be a Bug. When we were almost inside they shut down the show for technical issues, so instead we went to see Festival of the Lion King, it was good but we were late so we were way in the back. People were blocking our view a lot of the time by holding up cell phones and cameras recording the show. DS really enjoyed this show with all the acrobatics. When we left FOTLK we headed back to the ToL and found the Tough to be a Bug show was running again. We saw the show, had a few more Photopass pics taken, and headed out of the park. We did not do Dinosaur and Primeval Whirl was closed, but we had seen pretty much everything else we wanted to, and took our time doing it.
We hopped on the bus to head back to WL for a shower and to get ready for Dinner at Artist Point. Everyone got cleaned up, dressed nice but comfortable, and headed down to Artist Point. We waited a few minutes for our table but not very long at all. Our waiter was very nice, very informative and knowledgeable on the menu. We started with some Apps, a cheese plate, crab cakes and I had the Smokey Portobello Mushroom soup at the waiters recommendation, it was incredible. It had roasted shiitakes mushrooms in it that tasted similar to bacon pieces, the soup was so creamy, I have to find the recipe. For dinner my son had the Tenderloin of Beef, I had the Cedar Plank Salmon (yum!), DW and DD both had a Shellfish meal I personally didn’t care for but they both thoroughly enjoyed. I felt bad for our waiter, although I felt his service was great, there was a table next to us giving him a hard time. I may be too sympathetic because for years both DW and I both worked in service (14 years for me, DW even longer). I was a bartender and waiter and she was a waitress. We worked in a very high end restaurant and both did very well, that is actually where we met. We are both long out of that business now, but still remember how it can be. The table was a couple with 2 very little kids. I was worried that we were properly dressed? This family was pretty dressed down, the man had what looked like a concert shirt and flip flops on, the kids in 5 minutes had a little of everything from the table onto the floor and was using a spoon and plate to entertain themselves (clank, clank, clank) The woman was just a miserable whiner. If you think I am rude for eavesdropping… don’t, they were very loud about their issues, you would have had to make quite an effort to not overhear them, especially seeing they were at the table immediately to the side of us. The man with the flip flops at one point actually kicked them off under the table. The woman’s issue was that she ordered her steak Med rare and felt it was undercooked. Ok ,med is a warm pink center, Med Rare has a red center, rare is mostly red. This steak was dead on Med Rare from what I could see. Again, she was very loud about it and actually started crying, tears and all, because of the way it was cooked. Smelled like people looking for a Comp meal if I ever smelt one. We had our coffee and dessert, told the waiter how much we enjoyed the service, and went back to the room to get ready for EMH at MK. Sorry to run on about AP but it really hit a button with me that this waiter was being treated that way.
We got to MK at about 10:30 for EMH. The kids were so excited to be able to be in MK until 3am…ok, so was I. We watched the Magic Memories and you show, it is really awesome, took advantage of a Photopass opportunity, and then it was off to Swiss Family Tree House. The Tree House is scary at night, it’s hard to see the stairs, but what a great view from up top at night. Next stop was POTC, it was our first time seeing it with Capt. Jack Sparrow, I liked it, DD loved it. From there we did Splash Mountain twice, the line was only about 15mins. The BTMRR line was too long, so we headed for HM, I loved the new queue area and all the changes inside, finally a refurb done right. From there we went to Fantasy Land, it was just after 12am at this point and crowds were thinning out. Since there were virtually no lines, just for nostalgia, we did Small World, Snow Whites Scary Adventure, Peter Pan, Dumbo, and Winnie the Pooh. I was surprised how much the kids enjoyed or rather appreciated these rides. We moved on to Tomorrowland, rode the Speedway (walked on) Buzz Lightyear (walked on) Space Mountain 3 times (almost a walk on) and Astro Orbiters (walk on). EMH was not very crowded after 1am, by 2am we almost felt like we had the park to ourselves, I love when a plan comes together. After Park Closing it was a quick boat ride back to WL. I think I was asleep before my head hit the pillow, it was about 3:45am.
Wake up call set for 6:30, Plan for Day 3 EPCOT…………