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Sunday, June 29 – Animal Kingdom and Trip Home
Cast of Characters
Ellen – Mom to Ben and Trip Planner
Ben – Friend to just about everyone (6 going on at least 16)
Mallary – Ellen’s cousin, partner in crime and Ben’s “mountain mama”
Having gone to bed late the night before and faced with checking out before hitting the parks, we decided against a wake-up call and going to breakfast at Boma (I still feel guilty that I forgot to call and cancel our PS reservations). (I also was getting confirmation that whatever was bothering me before Test Track the day before was definitely not only nerves, if you get my drift… [img]graemlins/sick.gif[/img] )
I was very proud that I managed to get everything back into one suitcase (albeit a very heavy suitcase) and backpack, and didn’t have to resort to the emergency back-up bags! ;) It was around 9:00 when we called bell services to come get our luggage and then off we went to Animal Kingdom with Bill the bus driver, after making a stop at Blizzard Beach. This was the closest I’ve ever been to a water park but it definitely does look like someplace we’ll be visiting in the future.
We weren’t going to have much time at Animal Kingdom (we had to be back at OKW to meet Omar at 2:00), so we decided to see the Tarzan show (a first for us) but not without stopping for Fast Passes to ITTBAB. We were maybe 12th on line for Tarzan and there was still quite a wait, so Mallary and Ben went off to see if they could ride Dinosaur before Tarzan started. They soon came back without much success, and it will be December before we can rescue Aladar. When we finally entered the theatre we had our choice of where to sit… rather than going down to the bottom tiers, we sat right at the railing and ended up having the skaters right in front of us. [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img] I know all the music from the Tarzan movie, so I think that added quite a bit to my enjoyment of the show which I know has many detractors. We all liked it, however, though I’m not so sure that we will be going again in December. I would have liked to seen Wonders of Flight, but there just wasn’t enough time. Off we went to visit Flik and the bug gang, and when we emerged it was starting to rain but not hard. There really wasn’t enough time to do much more, so we headed back to get a bus to OKW. We had maybe a 10 minute wait, and Scott drove up to take us back “home”. He and Ben became friends and told each other jokes, and chatted. We noticed that the sky looked very black, and it started raining harder when we reached the Hospitality House.
We no longer had a room to go back to, so we headed over to Olivia’s for lunch. Yum! [img]graemlins/tasty.gif[/img] We would have liked dessert, but our waitress brought us our check without asking us if we'd like anything more. Way too soon it was time to go look for Omar, but not without saying goodbye to Randy from Bell Services. (Now that I’m done with trip reports, my next task is to write a letter of commendation to WDW about Randy! [img]graemlins/notworthy.gif[/img] ) During lunch it had started pouring, with lightning and thunder to make the tropical storm complete! To tell the truth, I was a little worried that it would delay our flights, but they were on time.
Omar was dropped Mallary off at her terminal first and then we were dropped off at Delta. We checked our bags at the curbside check-in (what a relief to have that service back again), and headed toward Security. We were pulled aside for a second check and the guards were practically apologetic. I assured them, that we were grateful for all they were doing. Apparently, they hadn’t gotten the same gratitude from everyone they had talked to that day. They asked me to take off my shoes, but then switched and asked for Ben’s shoes instead (thank goodness because at my tonnage, it’s not easy to take my shoes on and off unless there’s a chair around). When Ben asked why they were checking his shoes, I told him that they were having a stinky shoes contest ;) . The security guard seconded it, but Ben’s shoes didn’t win!
Ben made more friends at the airport while waiting for our flight. Our last stroke of luck this trip was that the only empty seat on our flight was between Ben and myself (I had booked window and aisle for us)… so he was able to stretch out and sleep comfortably on the flight. Soon enough we saw the Verrazano Narrows Bridge through the window and knew that we were once again home.
This was a wonderful, short trip, but and did indeed serve as the Disney fix that we wanted and needed! I’m glad that Mallary was able to join us there for the third time, and will sorely miss her in December. We have a one-bedroom booked at the Villas at Wilderness Lodge (our first time staying there), and had originally planned to take along my nephew, his wife and their son who will be turning 2 the following month. However, they found out since we made the reservation that they’re expecting their second child in late October. My mother (in her late 70’s) and my stepfather (in his early 80’s) have never been to Disney World, so we’ve been trying to convince them to come. My mom will need a wheelchair, as she can’t do that much walking, but we’ll definitely manage. So while reveling in the memories of the trip we just took, I’m beginning to plan for our next trip! Only 155 Days 0 Hrs 9 Mins 13 Secs left to go. Hmmmm… what PS reservations do I need to make?
Thanks for reading (sorry the reports were so long-winded)… here’s a link to pictures from this trip: http://www.ofoto.com/I.jsp?m=73254887403&n=1334003185
[ July 07, 2002, 08:00 AM: Message edited by: PolyGirl40 ]
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Ellen -- Your reports were wonderful. Thank you so much for sharing your journey with us. What great photos. Ben is adorable. And I loved the picture of Stitch!
I removed the "period" at the end of the web link so it would work. [img]smile.gif[/img]
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Great reports and pictures Ellen. Thanks for reporting.
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Great reports Ellen. It sounds like you had a fabulous trip!
Carol, the period is still there, so the link isn't working. :(
[ July 07, 2002, 07:27 AM: Message edited by: Disney_nut ]
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Great report and I loved the pictures. THANKS again for sharing your trip.
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Ellen, thanks so much for taking the time to share your trip! I enjoyed each chapter. [img]smile.gif[/img] Lucky you that you're already counting down until the next visit! [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img]
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Ellen - all of your reports were fantastic. The pictures were all great too. Ben is a cutie pie. You are so lucky to already have another trip to look forward to. Thanks so much for sharing. [img]smile.gif[/img]
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Thanks for the wonderful trip reports!!
Isn't it great to have another trip to look forward to? Helps with the "letdown" of being back in the real world. [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img]
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Ellen-this was your first trip report I've read-it was great! [img]graemlins/muscles.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/clappy.gif[/img] I think I'll work backwards through your trip! :D
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Sounds like you really had a wonderful time! Glad you have another trip planned for December(I will also be there the same week so hopefully a meet will come together [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img] ) Thanks for the great reports!
