Post by jawfish on Jan 11, 2024 22:47:03 GMT -5
Day 4 - Animal Kingdom + Epcot
Woke up at 7 to grab the LL for FoP (my fav ride). I booked 1:10 PM so we would not need to rush. Then went back to bed until 8:30. We ate breakfast and I got a little work done for an hour. Then we were off to catch the bus to Animal Kingdom. We are doing more AK and HS this trip since we are not on the Monorail line (we are PVB owners). Plus, with the cool weather, we knew the safari would be good. We left around 10:30 and got there before 11. Once in, we headed directly to the Safari. It said it would be a 55 min wait but the actual was only 35 min.
Our driver was a fast driver and not one to want to stop. What is it with these guys?? He also I think got confused, thinking he was on the Jungle Cruise, because he was trying to make jokes and unfortunately, most were really bad. It felt forced. However, we were rewarded with the Madarin Monkey in full view (no pic as speedy driver was bumping us past) and a male and female lion were up and about. I tried to grab some pics. I will post pics at the end in one post I think. I think this cool weather has the lions up more and out and about. The Savannah also had so many of the animals I think due to the cold weather. The sun was out and it felt like everyone was sunning themselves.
When we got off, we decided to use the restroom and then go for broke and do the Safari again, as the wait stated 25 min. Seemed this time we were on in about 25 minutes, so dead on. Isabella was our driver. I remember because she was the best driver we ever had. Like ever. She was informative, fun , friendly and stopped the truck at every single exhibit, even if only briefly. Unfortunately there were NO LIONS at all out this time. What a difference 40 minutes makes. I was bummed as this driver would have parked there I think. LOL It was still a good safari.
When we were done, we grabbed a popcorn as the stand was popping it fresh. We nibbled on that a bit, then headed over to Pandora to jump on our LL. On our way over, as we were headed to the side bridge just past the Lion King, there was a squirrel doing what squirrels do. A group of 4 boys, looked like ages 8 - 16, decided to corner the poor thing and start messing with it. I am normally a mind my own business gal, but I just could not do it and told them to leave it alone. At first, they laughed and were going to keep on, so I raised my voice and stepped in front of them and sternly told them to move on. Really ticked me off. We shook it off and those boys walked super slow so we got ahead of them. I am guessing they could not care less, but at least that poor little squirrel could get away.
Once in Pandora, we were 5 min before our time for FoP LL, so good to go. We walked right up and into the line. They put us on the far right lanes that go down. I don't remember ever going down there. We waited a few minutes and realized this is where they put folks with scooters and wheelchairs, since it is lower level. We got on pretty quick and as always, this ride was awesome. The ride was squeaky though, seems they need a little WD40.
Once done, we got in line for 2 margaritas with the boba balls (another favorite of mine). We decided not to grab anything to eat, as were headed over to watch the bird show, so figured we would eat at the Yak & Yeti takeout. We meandered over there and ordered fried rice and egg rolls, then sat over by the water to eat. Once done, we were just in time to catch the bird show. It never disappoints, we love watching the birds. Plus, the jokes are fin. The DW tried to volunteer for the "dollar stunt" but did not get picked. This is her 4th or 5th time trying and we noticed they had only selected men. Wonder if that has something to do with the birds training.
Epcot
Once done, we decided we wanted to head over to Epcot, so we headed toward the front. Seemed like everyone else had the same idea, as the Epcot bus line was long. We ended up standing. We are ok standing, so no big deal really. Once at Epcot, we were in without issue and took some pics of the signs for the Art Festival, which starts tomorrow. I think that is what we are bummed about the most having to leave a day early, we miss a day at the festival. We headed to Spaceship Earth next and both were ready for a nap, so sitting a bit and just resting is sometimes the highlight of that ride.
When we got off, we went to checkout the new section they took the walls down for. Looks like a lot of resting/seating areas, which I think is good. Not sure what all the eating tables will be for, guessing we will be getting some new eatery? Anyone know?
We moved on and decided to go RIGHT today. We worked our way around the world. Our first stop was in Canada, where DW saw a shirt she liked but the sizing was not right, so she passed. We stopped and checked the signs, which were mostly out, seeing what will be available tomorrow and Saturday before we leave in the festival booths. Saw a few goodies we want to try. When we got to France, DW got one of the orange slushy things. I tried it and did not care for it. I was a holdout for my beer in Germany. We checked Remy but the line was 90 minutes, so we passed. We did look around France, then decided to grab something to eat in the bakery/cafe.
We shared a lobster bisque bowl and a creme brûlée. I would not get the bowl again but the creme brûlée was really good. Nothing wrong with the bowl, I am just not a soggy bread girl. I would have preferred a bowl of bisque instead. We had to stand to eat, as there is very little seating in there and it was all taken. We worked our way out after we ate and next stop was Morocco. DW saw a sign for sangria and so we went to check that out. $22 for a small cup, she passed. She loves the Sangria here at SSR, so I will likely ensure tomorrow night we get a couple cups for her before we leave.
Next stop, Germany. I got the Grapefruit beer and DW got the Dunkel, plus our 2 shots of Fig Vodka. It is tradition. We sat on the wall for a bit and just people watched while we enjoyed our beer. It was still chilly but we were layered, so not cold at all. DW got an ornament for the tree in the shop. She is German and they have a pickle on their tree. So... they had an ornament that was a "pickle jar" and she thought it would be funny and good bragging rights to say "you have one, I have a whole jar" to her sisters. We chatted with the sales woman who rung us up and asked how she liked being here. This was her second time. She had been here 5 years ago before Covid. Interestingly, she said the vibe was different somehow but she could not put her finger on it.
After Germany, we headed toward the front. We went through Japan and browsed the shop but did not buy anything. When we got to the front, I filled up my popcorn bucket, as I was in the mood for a little salt. Then, we made a call to our niece by SPaceship Earth (her fav ride) before heading out. Bus ride back was long, as the bus was packed and we were standing again.
When we got back to the room, we cut up some apples. We shared that and then we ate some popcorn. I had a banana and DW had a few M&M's. Dinner of champions! Did a little work, took a shower and now headed to bed.
Tomorrow we plan on heading to Hollywood Studio first thing in the AM. We tried to switch to Epcot but no dice. We asked a CM at Epcot today and she said we had to check into our park first, then can come over to Epcot whenever we like. So, we'll grab a LL and do RoR, maybe hit Toy Story since we missed it the other day and I'd like to do Frozen. Then over to Epcot. There is rain in the forecast but much warmer, so we shall see how that goes. All in all, a good day in our happy place. Good night.
Woke up at 7 to grab the LL for FoP (my fav ride). I booked 1:10 PM so we would not need to rush. Then went back to bed until 8:30. We ate breakfast and I got a little work done for an hour. Then we were off to catch the bus to Animal Kingdom. We are doing more AK and HS this trip since we are not on the Monorail line (we are PVB owners). Plus, with the cool weather, we knew the safari would be good. We left around 10:30 and got there before 11. Once in, we headed directly to the Safari. It said it would be a 55 min wait but the actual was only 35 min.
Our driver was a fast driver and not one to want to stop. What is it with these guys?? He also I think got confused, thinking he was on the Jungle Cruise, because he was trying to make jokes and unfortunately, most were really bad. It felt forced. However, we were rewarded with the Madarin Monkey in full view (no pic as speedy driver was bumping us past) and a male and female lion were up and about. I tried to grab some pics. I will post pics at the end in one post I think. I think this cool weather has the lions up more and out and about. The Savannah also had so many of the animals I think due to the cold weather. The sun was out and it felt like everyone was sunning themselves.
When we got off, we decided to use the restroom and then go for broke and do the Safari again, as the wait stated 25 min. Seemed this time we were on in about 25 minutes, so dead on. Isabella was our driver. I remember because she was the best driver we ever had. Like ever. She was informative, fun , friendly and stopped the truck at every single exhibit, even if only briefly. Unfortunately there were NO LIONS at all out this time. What a difference 40 minutes makes. I was bummed as this driver would have parked there I think. LOL It was still a good safari.
When we were done, we grabbed a popcorn as the stand was popping it fresh. We nibbled on that a bit, then headed over to Pandora to jump on our LL. On our way over, as we were headed to the side bridge just past the Lion King, there was a squirrel doing what squirrels do. A group of 4 boys, looked like ages 8 - 16, decided to corner the poor thing and start messing with it. I am normally a mind my own business gal, but I just could not do it and told them to leave it alone. At first, they laughed and were going to keep on, so I raised my voice and stepped in front of them and sternly told them to move on. Really ticked me off. We shook it off and those boys walked super slow so we got ahead of them. I am guessing they could not care less, but at least that poor little squirrel could get away.
Once in Pandora, we were 5 min before our time for FoP LL, so good to go. We walked right up and into the line. They put us on the far right lanes that go down. I don't remember ever going down there. We waited a few minutes and realized this is where they put folks with scooters and wheelchairs, since it is lower level. We got on pretty quick and as always, this ride was awesome. The ride was squeaky though, seems they need a little WD40.
Once done, we got in line for 2 margaritas with the boba balls (another favorite of mine). We decided not to grab anything to eat, as were headed over to watch the bird show, so figured we would eat at the Yak & Yeti takeout. We meandered over there and ordered fried rice and egg rolls, then sat over by the water to eat. Once done, we were just in time to catch the bird show. It never disappoints, we love watching the birds. Plus, the jokes are fin. The DW tried to volunteer for the "dollar stunt" but did not get picked. This is her 4th or 5th time trying and we noticed they had only selected men. Wonder if that has something to do with the birds training.
Epcot
Once done, we decided we wanted to head over to Epcot, so we headed toward the front. Seemed like everyone else had the same idea, as the Epcot bus line was long. We ended up standing. We are ok standing, so no big deal really. Once at Epcot, we were in without issue and took some pics of the signs for the Art Festival, which starts tomorrow. I think that is what we are bummed about the most having to leave a day early, we miss a day at the festival. We headed to Spaceship Earth next and both were ready for a nap, so sitting a bit and just resting is sometimes the highlight of that ride.
When we got off, we went to checkout the new section they took the walls down for. Looks like a lot of resting/seating areas, which I think is good. Not sure what all the eating tables will be for, guessing we will be getting some new eatery? Anyone know?
We moved on and decided to go RIGHT today. We worked our way around the world. Our first stop was in Canada, where DW saw a shirt she liked but the sizing was not right, so she passed. We stopped and checked the signs, which were mostly out, seeing what will be available tomorrow and Saturday before we leave in the festival booths. Saw a few goodies we want to try. When we got to France, DW got one of the orange slushy things. I tried it and did not care for it. I was a holdout for my beer in Germany. We checked Remy but the line was 90 minutes, so we passed. We did look around France, then decided to grab something to eat in the bakery/cafe.
We shared a lobster bisque bowl and a creme brûlée. I would not get the bowl again but the creme brûlée was really good. Nothing wrong with the bowl, I am just not a soggy bread girl. I would have preferred a bowl of bisque instead. We had to stand to eat, as there is very little seating in there and it was all taken. We worked our way out after we ate and next stop was Morocco. DW saw a sign for sangria and so we went to check that out. $22 for a small cup, she passed. She loves the Sangria here at SSR, so I will likely ensure tomorrow night we get a couple cups for her before we leave.
Next stop, Germany. I got the Grapefruit beer and DW got the Dunkel, plus our 2 shots of Fig Vodka. It is tradition. We sat on the wall for a bit and just people watched while we enjoyed our beer. It was still chilly but we were layered, so not cold at all. DW got an ornament for the tree in the shop. She is German and they have a pickle on their tree. So... they had an ornament that was a "pickle jar" and she thought it would be funny and good bragging rights to say "you have one, I have a whole jar" to her sisters. We chatted with the sales woman who rung us up and asked how she liked being here. This was her second time. She had been here 5 years ago before Covid. Interestingly, she said the vibe was different somehow but she could not put her finger on it.
After Germany, we headed toward the front. We went through Japan and browsed the shop but did not buy anything. When we got to the front, I filled up my popcorn bucket, as I was in the mood for a little salt. Then, we made a call to our niece by SPaceship Earth (her fav ride) before heading out. Bus ride back was long, as the bus was packed and we were standing again.
When we got back to the room, we cut up some apples. We shared that and then we ate some popcorn. I had a banana and DW had a few M&M's. Dinner of champions! Did a little work, took a shower and now headed to bed.
Tomorrow we plan on heading to Hollywood Studio first thing in the AM. We tried to switch to Epcot but no dice. We asked a CM at Epcot today and she said we had to check into our park first, then can come over to Epcot whenever we like. So, we'll grab a LL and do RoR, maybe hit Toy Story since we missed it the other day and I'd like to do Frozen. Then over to Epcot. There is rain in the forecast but much warmer, so we shall see how that goes. All in all, a good day in our happy place. Good night.
