8 days, 120,000 steps, and a whole lot of fun! Feb '14 TR 12/17/14 **COMPLETE**

[librarygeek]

Looks like a decent time in Hollywood Studios! I've always wanted to do Dine w/ an Imagineer but I always forget to book it. Too bad about the other guests trying to hog the conversation.

Sorry you got sick at your recent trip. When we came home, we both had a cold as well (and the beginnings of being sick definitely affected my ToT run.

I thought Dine with an Imagineer was really fascinating - I'd do it again, but not right away since it is a bit expensive. The fact that you get a 4 course meal though along with the experience is pretty good.

Ugh, I'm glad at least I wasn't sick when I was running - I got sick the day after.

Welcome Home Becky!!! I hope your recent trip was wonderful, and it looks like it was, despite getting sick.

Wow, back to back standby rides. You don't see that much anymore. And kudos to the 2 boys saluting in the RnRC photo.

And I spot a YMCA in your Tower photo!

Aww you guys drew Olaf???? The instructor didn't even give us that option. You did do a good job.

Seriously, people pay money for this and then just use the time to complain???? Guest Services is free people.

Thanks! I had a fantastic time with the exception of the half day I spent sick!

I noticed the salute but I didn't even catch the YMCA in the Tower photo! Good eye!

Yeah, little girls kept asking if we could do something from Frozen so we did Olaf!

I know, it's crazy - these were obviously some really entitled people that felt like they were the center of the universe

Sounds like you had a good time at HS! Cute Olaf Too bad dine with an imagineer was a bit of a disappointment, you'd think he could have steered the conversation back to more relevant discussions!! I'm glad the food was good, hard to go wrong with a dessert sampler.

I'm in suspense for your foreshadowing now... not that I'm excited to hear about a bad day, but still!

Yeah, I'm a little bummed the imagineer didn't do more to end those irrelevant conversations - he didn't seem to mind going on about how the bathrooms were designed in DVC!

Haha an update will come soon!

I'm joining in (and welcome back!).

Congrats on running the 10K - I love your metal! The rooms at AoA seem fun, and I love all of your pictures around the resort. The royal rooms are really awesome, too!

I'm sorry you had such crummy moments at MK. I hope they have a better handle on the Magic Bands by my next trip - I don't think I have your patience.

Dining with an Imagineer sounds fun! I'm glad you had a good time (even through you shared the experience with a bunch of grumblers).

Thank you! AoA is a ton of fun - even if you don't stay there it's nice to just walk around and see it!

Yeah, I think they're doing a bit better with the magic bands now, though there are still areas that need work. And I'm still not a fan of FP+.

 

[librarygeek]

A Not So Great Start

We woke up for our Animal Kingdom day, and I was feeling some weird sort of pains in my chest. Everyone freaks out at the word "chest pains," but I was pretty sure it wasn't that sort of super serious heart-attack type pain. It's really hard to explain, but it almost felt like my bones in my chest area were very sore or something. Later, it felt like there was a lot of pressure on my chest. But in the morning while it was there it wasn't so bad, just annoying, so we headed off to the Animal Kingdom.

When we arrived right at opening we saw DeVine! I had seen pictures but never actually come across her before, so I thought that was pretty cool. It was actually somewhat incredible to see how well she blended in with some of the trees and surroundings.



We went on Everest first, which was fun as always. After that we had a FP+ for the safari. It was a pretty good one - some good animals were visible, and the giraffes (my favorite) were out and about.







And as usual we walked the Pangani Forest Trail afterward:





At this point, we decided to do Flights of Wonder, since DH had never seen it and I hadn't in years. Plus, Festival of the Lion King was closed, which is usually one of our go-to shows in the AK.





Unfortunately, while we were watching the show my chest pains started getting worse. I enjoyed the show itself, but I couldn't concentrate on it too much. We thought maybe eating something would help, so we were to Pizzafari where I had a caesar salad and breadsticks. It was still really bad, so even though it was only around 11:00 we made the decision to go back to the room. I took a nap, hoping to feel better when I woke up - but I was so upset about losing part of our AK day.

I don't want to leave you in suspense about my health, so I will tell you now that when I woke up the pain was still there, but it was much less and we were able to go back into the park and enjoy our day.

I went to the doctor once I got home, and was diagnosed with something called Tietze Syndrome. Basically it's an inflammation of cartilage in your chest. My doctor described it as being like arthritis in the chest. For many people it is temporary, gone within 12 weeks, but for others it is chronic. Unfortunately, I seem to be in the latter camp as it has been coming and going since then. We don't know what has caused it, but the good news is that it doesn't actually do any damage to the body - it just causes some pain. I'm in no danger whatsoever and when it occurs I can usually get by with taking some painkillers.

But certainly bad timing for it to occur! As I said, we did get back into the park after my nap, and I'll fill you in on that during the next update

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

OK Becky, this title sounds ominous.

Oooh DiVine. She is creepy cool. I'm not sure which term describes her more though.

As long as I see giraffes I'm usually pretty satisfied wit the safari. Easily my favs.

Oh my goodness that's awful to hear. Glad it's not damaging certainly, that's the important thing, but still. I guess forcing you to leave AK early is damaging in a way though. But I guess on the plus side, at least you know what it is and can hopefully deal with it much better that way.

 

[SimplyGoofy]

I love finding DeVine! I especially love watching the people that walk right past her and instead look at the gathering of fools that are watching her (and wonder what on earth we're looking at!).

I'm glad you had a successful safari and a nice walk on the trail. I really enjoy the trails.

I'd love to see Flights of Wonder on our next trip - it's the only Animal Kingdom show that I've yet to see.

That's too bad about the chest pain! I'm glad it wasn't serious, but it still can put a damper on your plans (and touring plans!).

 

[blabbermouth]

Aww, sorry to hear about your "chest pains"! I get those sometimes too, still hard to convince yourself you're not having a heart attack and even when you know it's nothing serious, it still is stressful!

I can't wait to introduce my sister to AK! She is a huge animal person, so I know she'll just love it We decided to book at lunch at Sanaa on our AK day so we have some real relaxation time (day before the PHM) and can sit with a view of the animals!

 

[librarygeek]

OK Becky, this title sounds ominous.

Oooh DiVine. She is creepy cool. I'm not sure which term describes her more though.

As long as I see giraffes I'm usually pretty satisfied wit the safari. Easily my favs.

Oh my goodness that's awful to hear. Glad it's not damaging certainly, that's the important thing, but still. I guess forcing you to leave AK early is damaging in a way though. But I guess on the plus side, at least you know what it is and can hopefully deal with it much better that way.

Giraffes are pretty much all I need! I like it when the Lions are out too.

It is so much more of a relief to have a diagnosis and basically to know that it's not going to kill me, lol.

I love finding DeVine! I especially love watching the people that walk right past her and instead look at the gathering of fools that are watching her (and wonder what on earth we're looking at!).

I'm glad you had a successful safari and a nice walk on the trail. I really enjoy the trails.

I'd love to see Flights of Wonder on our next trip - it's the only Animal Kingdom show that I've yet to see.

That's too bad about the chest pain! I'm glad it wasn't serious, but it still can put a damper on your plans (and touring plans!).

We did spend a good bit of time watching DeVine and the groups of people that had no idea what was going on. So interesting!

I love the trails too. When I went to Disney recently with friends they didn't want to do the trails so I missed out, but there's always next time!

Aww, sorry to hear about your "chest pains"! I get those sometimes too, still hard to convince yourself you're not having a heart attack and even when you know it's nothing serious, it still is stressful!

I can't wait to introduce my sister to AK! She is a huge animal person, so I know she'll just love it We decided to book at lunch at Sanaa on our AK day so we have some real relaxation time (day before the PHM) and can sit with a view of the animals!

Right, you have chest pains and you immediately think "heart attack"! Apparently stress makes it worse too, of course, so it can be easy to work yourself into a bad place.

I'm sure your sister will love AK! It and MK are definitely my two favorites. Your plan sounds awesome - Sanaa is my favorite Disney (non-signature) restaurant!

 

[librarygeek]

If you're interested, I just started a new TR for the trip I just returned from! Lots of fun stuff going on in this one, including Food and Wine, MNSSHP, and The Tower Of Terror 10 miler! If you're interested in reading it's here:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=52473468

 

[scottny]

Nice time at MK.

Fun times at Epcot.

Glad to hear your trip was good.

Nice Olaf.

Nice you saw Characterpalooza but too bad it rained. I would love to see it one time.

Love Dine with an Imagineer. Very informative.

Glad you found out what it is. I have pains in the chest but the doctor says it is a pulled something. Nothing can be done.

All caught up again.

 

[khaleesi]

Ack!!! I have no idea how I missed this, but I'm here now! Hopefully you aren't done yet. LOL. I'm only through page once I gotta get in gear and head out the door, but I'll catch up later on tonight!

I have no words for how much I LOVE all that Lion King stuff!!! The shower tiles are really incredible! And I love those tables (I think?) with the song lyrics!!!

I still can't believe we were there at the same time and didn't realize it. Oops!!

And...I see your name!!!! So cool!!

***
Okay, all caught up!!!! And heading over to your NEXT report shortly!!!

Love your DisneyQuest stuff!! I'm always intrigued by it but I seems like something that might be a little less fun if you're solo. The pics from Typhon Lagoon are great, too.

The comment you made about running a race, showering, and napping all before breakfast was awesome! I loved seeing everyone wearing their medals while I was there. Your Chef Mickey pics are great, as were your photo shoot shots. Love the one of you and hubby with your race medal

Seeing your AoA pics is seriously making me consider a weekend trip. No parks. Just resorts. Not sure how happy that would actually make me once I was there, but it has potential!!!

Bummer that you had some rough patches at MK. And huge bummer that you weren't feeling well at AK. So happy that it's nothing serious!!

I know I've forgotten things I wanted to comment on, but hopefully things got better as the rest of your trip continued!

((hugs))

 

[librarygeek]

Nice time at MK.

Fun times at Epcot.

Glad to hear your trip was good.

Nice Olaf.

Nice you saw Characterpalooza but too bad it rained. I would love to see it one time.

Love Dine with an Imagineer. Very informative.

Glad you found out what it is. I have pains in the chest but the doctor says it is a pulled something. Nothing can be done.

All caught up again.

Thank you! I'm hoping we will stumble upon characterpalooza again. It doesn't seem to be too consistent. And I'm sorry to hear you have some chest pains too

Ack!!! I have no idea how I missed this, but I'm here now! Hopefully you aren't done yet. LOL. I'm only through page once I gotta get in gear and head out the door, but I'll catch up later on tonight!

I have no words for how much I LOVE all that Lion King stuff!!! The shower tiles are really incredible! And I love those tables (I think?) with the song lyrics!!!

I still can't believe we were there at the same time and didn't realize it. Oops!!

And...I see your name!!!! So cool!!

***
Okay, all caught up!!!! And heading over to your NEXT report shortly!!!

Love your DisneyQuest stuff!! I'm always intrigued by it but I seems like something that might be a little less fun if you're solo. The pics from Typhon Lagoon are great, too.

The comment you made about running a race, showering, and napping all before breakfast was awesome! I loved seeing everyone wearing their medals while I was there. Your Chef Mickey pics are great, as were your photo shoot shots. Love the one of you and hubby with your race medal

Seeing your AoA pics is seriously making me consider a weekend trip. No parks. Just resorts. Not sure how happy that would actually make me once I was there, but it has potential!!!

Bummer that you had some rough patches at MK. And huge bummer that you weren't feeling well at AK. So happy that it's nothing serious!!

I know I've forgotten things I wanted to comment on, but hopefully things got better as the rest of your trip continued!

((hugs))

Hi!! Well, now is a good time to catch up! I've thought about a resort trip too but I don't know if i could stay out of the parks... there are so many great resorts to see though!

 

[librarygeek]

Finishing up Animal Kingdom

So after my pains and my nap, I was feeling better to at least head back into the park and do some of the things that we didn’t get to during the first two hours we spent at AK. So back we went!



And we decided to do Dinosaur, since we hadn’t done that in the morning. I was still a little scared of that ride, haha. Especially at the point where they take the picture! DH made a funny face on purpose because that’s just how he is.



Then it was time for Everest. I brought out my camera this time, inspired by Rob and his awesome Everest pics! It was really fun to get some on-ride shots, and I was happy with how they came out! It’s nice to have some different perspectives and “less typical” photos.







Before we left the Animal Kingdom we had to go back and do my favorite thing one more time: the safari!















We had dinner reservations at Sanaa, which we were super excited to finally be able to try. They were relatively early reservations, I think around 5, which worked because I was pretty hungry by then. We hopped on the bus over to AKL. I loved the atmosphere with the animals – but the food was even better! We started with the bread service, which was fantastic. So tasty!



It was still pretty early in the evening by the time we were done, so we came up with a plan for how to spend our last night in Disney before leaving the next day! And I was definitely excited about it.

 

[blabbermouth]

Glad you were feeling better enough to head back to AK and get in some of the main rides. I'm really looking forward to Sanaa, will you be writing about it in your dining review? I'm curious if you got a view or not!

 

[librarygeek]

Glad you were feeling better enough to head back to AK and get in some of the main rides. I'm really looking forward to Sanaa, will you be writing about it in your dining review? I'm curious if you got a view or not!

I absolutely will be doing a review of Sanaa in my dining review - I've just fallen a little behind on that But I will be updating it soon! It was one of our favorite places. I'm pretty sure i have a picture that shows the view of where we were sitting

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

Haha Dino pics are always great. The little one behind you cracks me up. "Nope not scared... but I'm not lookin' either."

Awww Becky, thanks for the shout out! I'm certainly not the first, but I appreciate it just the same. There's so many great spots to shoot too.

Wow, look at the lions all being seen and stuff.

 

[elphie101]

Now I'm all caught up! I see you've started a TR for October - I can't wait to hop over there!

I'm so sorry about your chest pains and what you seem to be dealing with now, though I'm glad it doesn't seem to be life threatening or too serious. You got a lot done at AK too even with hoofing it back to the resort.

 

[librarygeek]

Haha Dino pics are always great. The little one behind you cracks me up. "Nope not scared... but I'm not lookin' either."

Awww Becky, thanks for the shout out! I'm certainly not the first, but I appreciate it just the same. There's so many great spots to shoot too.

Wow, look at the lions all being seen and stuff.

You're right, Dinosaur pics are probably the funniest ones! We've seen some really good ones.

And hey, you inspire me

Now I'm all caught up! I see you've started a TR for October - I can't wait to hop over there!

I'm so sorry about your chest pains and what you seem to be dealing with now, though I'm glad it doesn't seem to be life threatening or too serious. You got a lot done at AK too even with hoofing it back to the resort.

Glad that you're back!!

 

[scottny]

Nice safari pics.

Great update and pics.

 

[librarygeek]

Nice safari pics.

Great update and pics.

Thank you!

 

[librarygeek]

The Best Way to End A Day

After dinner at Sanaa, we still had the whole evening left - so we decided to go over to the Magic Kingdom! We had never gotten around to seeing Wishes (except from the California Grill), so this seemed like a good opportunity to do that. We went to catch a bus from AKL, and I loved the new electronic signs that tell you how long it takes for the bus to come!



We got there before Wishes started, and actually decided to secure a spot on Main Street, right in the middle. This is something I don't normally do because I don't like big crowds, and I can get a little panicky sometimes. But I wanted to try it at least once! We enjoyed the pre-show:



And then it was on to Wishes! Really, the pictures speak for themselves when it comes to this show:



And I actually spotted Tinkerbell for the first time! I normally miss her. This is a terrible pic but it's proof lol:











It was really great to see Wishes with that "front row view," but I think most of the time I'll stick to the side, where it's not quite as overwhelmingly crowded.

After Wishes the park was still open for a bit, so we headed to Adventureland to play Sorcerer's of the Magic Kingdom. And while we were there, we had to of course stop of a citrus swirl!



Since we still had a little time, we decided to hit up something without a wait... which turned out to be It's a Small World. A nice way to end some time in the Magic Kingdom.

 

[mdsouth]

Happy you got to see Tinker Bell fly at Wishes. It is magical.

Like you a normally avoid the big crowd in the middle. But on my Feb trip, we too watched it from the hub in front of the castle. It was great!