Flowers, Food, and Family - mom and dad FINALLY come to Disney with me! update 6/22

[librarygeek]

Back to Epcot

After our day in Islands of Adventure, we had plans to go to Epcot for dinner. We went back to our hotel for a little bit in between. We had thought about going in the pool or something, but in the end I just napped.

We headed to Epcot around 6, and grabbed fastpasses for Test Track. They were good between 8-9, so we were hoping we'd be done with dinner in time to ride Test Track one more time before leaving!

I made sure we got another group photopass shot to document our time in Epcot that day:



Our dinner reservation was at San Angel Inn, so we made our way over to Mexico. We rode the boat ride again and poked around the merchandise before checking into the restaurant.

I'm pretty sure this huge sombrero is just begging people to try it on for pictures. I wonder how many they actually sell?


We checked in about 15 minutes early, but weren't seated until a little after 7. It was about a 20 or 25 minute wait, and the longest we waited for any restaurant.



We had a great table, right in the middle of the restaurant. I managed to convince DH to split the 3 course meal with me, and I was pleasantly surprised by how good everything was!

And the meal went pretty quickly, so we had plenty of time to use our Test Track fastpasses. This time DH and I decided to build and design the most ridiculous car that we could - it was wider than it was long! It was hilarious, and we laughed so much during it. And surprisingly at the end it got a pretty high score.



I love this picture - Mom and Dad are SO READY, and DH and I just look funny lol:


And here's a few more random shots I took around Epcot that evening:









Just as we were leaving the parking lot Illuminations started, so we got to watch some of the fireworks as we drove away. Not quite as good a view as we had the night before , but still nice!

The next day we were heading to Animal Kingdom!

 

[librarygeek]

Animal Kingdom - Morning

The next day was off to Animal Kingdom! Mom had never been there before, and Dad had only been once. AK does have a special place in my heart. I really love it there. We headed right for the safari, so we could see the animals first thing in the morning. On the way we passed some signs celebrating AK's 15th anniversary. The official celebration had been on Monday, but we were still there for the week!





This is by far my favorite park to take pictures in, so bear with me while I share some of them with you!





We didn't have to wait long for the safari. The animals were out and about, and I got lots of great pictures. Much better this time around then last time i was there in February. It was cold that week and the animals all seemed to be hiding. Maybe they knew somewhere that it was warmer.





The giraffes are my favorite!



It was so funny - at one point there were four giraffes walking in a straight line across the road. We joked that it looked like a Beatles album cover! I wasn't able to get all 4 of them in the same picture, but here are three of the "giraffe Beatles":





The elephants are always fun too, and the baby was out:


Sleepy kitties!


Loved spotting this warthog!


After the safari it always seems to make sense to me to the Pangani forest trail, so that was next. And of course I got a lot more animal pictures!







The other major ride we wanted to make sure we got in was Everest, so we headed over there to grab some fastpasses.



It was about an hour or so until they were good, so in the meantime we headed to Dinosaur to try that ride, since my app told me it only had a 10 minute wait.



I had only been on Dinosaur once before, and my eyes were shut the entire time. I really don't like scary rides! But I agreed to go on it this time, knowing that I could always close my eyes. I have to say, I was pretty brave and had my eyes open for more than half of the time! And I actually enjoyed it too! Though from the ride photo you can definitely see that the dino scared me at the end - everyone else is looking right at it and I'm looking away (we're in the back row)!



Once we got off the ride we still had about 20 minutes before Everest and we weren't sure what we would do with that time. Then my dad realized he'd left his hat on the Dinosaur ride. He didn't want to ask about it, but I told him if any place will be able to get it back, it's Disney! Sure enough, 15 minutes later he had his hat! Since we had the photopass plus they were able to retrace which vehicle we were in based on the photo with the car number on it and grab it for him! Yay Disney!

So it was perfect timing to get on Everest. Since my mom wasn't going my dad had to ride with a single rider, who talked his ear off the whole time AND spoiled what was going to happen on the coaster! It was my dad's first time and I had tried not to tell him anything so he would be surprised! I was not thrilled but he still enjoyed it. Plus, since we were separated we ended up in different pictures, which was also lame. But the ride is still amazing!



We had a reservation for lunch at the Yak and Yeti. We shared some appetizers and entrees, and really enjoyed everything! I would definitely come back to Yak and Yeti in the future!



And of course for drinks, my mom and I both got yak attacks!

 

[teekathepony]

I've always wanted to eat at San Angel but it either doesn't make the cut, or we cancel when we're there for some reason. Some day!
I really enjoy AK, especially taking pictures around there. Great morning there so far, you guys got a lot done!

 

[lsenquiz]

Following along. I would love to be able to go to Flower and Garden someday. Right now DS's school schedule does not allow for it

I plan to get caught up tonight.

 

[wiigirl]

awesome update. That Yak Attack looks delish!

 

[librarygeek]

I've always wanted to eat at San Angel but it either doesn't make the cut, or we cancel when we're there for some reason. Some day!
I really enjoy AK, especially taking pictures around there. Great morning there so far, you guys got a lot done!

We had to make sure we got to San Angel, since it was the one place that my dad requested! AK makes me so happy, especially when the animals are out and active!

Following along. I would love to be able to go to Flower and Garden someday. Right now DS's school schedule does not allow for it

I plan to get caught up tonight.

Thanks for joining in! I hope your schedule allows you to get to Flower and Garden someday - it really is worthwhile. I might end up working in a school so I'm trying to get lots of Disney trips in now while my schedule is more flexible!

awesome update. That Yak Attack looks delish!

All of the drinks at Yak and Yeti sounded amazing, I want to go back just so I can try them all!

 

[klacey1]

That is so annoying about the man who ruined EE for your dad! Why would anyone do that?!
You're not the only one who needs to look away on Dinosaur! I'm not crazy about rides where things jump out at me!

 

[librarygeek]

That is so annoying about the man who ruined EE for your dad! Why would anyone do that?!
You're not the only one who needs to look away on Dinosaur! I'm not crazy about rides where things jump out at me!

I'm the same way about those types of rides! It even took me a few times to keep my eyes open the entire time on the Haunted Mansion, lol!

 

[librarygeek]

Animal Kingdom/Downtown Disney

After lunch we decided to grab fastpasses for the safari, so we could ride it again. In the meantime we wanted to check out the Festival of the Lion King show, so we headed over that way. On the way we passed this statue of Daisy, and poor Daisy had a lizard hanging out on her nose!



The previous Lion King show hadn't let out yet, so in the meantime I checked out the character meet and greets. The line for Chip and Dale was pretty short, and I hadn't met them before, so I convinced DH to take a picture with me!



Once that was done it was time to go in and get our seats for Lion King. I love, love this show. Lion King is one of my favorite movies, so I always enjoy hearing the music. And I think the performers in this are incredible. My mom really enjoyed it a lot too, though the guys thought it was just okay.











When the show was over the window for our fast pass was good, so we went back on the safari. This was definitely everyone's favorite part of AK! We switched sides this time so that we could see what we hadn't seen before, and I got plenty more pictures! I could ride the safari all day and never get tired of it.











After the safari we still wanted to see more animals, so we did the Maharajah Jungle Trek.





There wasn't anything else that anyone was really dying to do, so we made our way out of the park. On our way we passed the parade:



And got some more photopass pictures:







Once back at the resort we finally got to try out the pool! The water was perfect and it was a really good swim. When we had showered and gotten changed we had to figure out what to do for dinner, since we didn't have any plans or reservations. I managed to convince my family to do Earl of Sandwich, so it was back to Downtown Disney!



Everyone loved their sandwiches. We visited a few other shops and then talked about dessert at Ghiradelli. I'd always wanted to try one of their sundaes but they are too big for me alone. DH was supposed to split one with me, but once we looked at the menu he said it was "Too much chocolate" (Umm, it's Ghiradelli). So I didn't get my ice cream, which I was a little sad about - I think I was also just sad that our Disney trip was coming to an end. We visited a few more shops, watched the sun set, and then headed back to the resort to pack up and get ready to go home the next day.

 

[tiggerfan77]

You got a lot of great shots of the animals on the safari! I love how close-up the giraffes were. Also the lizard on Daisy's nose was really cute
Earl of Sandwich is one of my favorite places to eat at DD. You can't beat the price and the sandwiches are really good and really filling. Sorry you didn't get your sundae. They are huge but I have managed to finish mine by myself, even though it made me just want to lay down after I was done! LOL!

 

[wiigirl]

Great pics!

 

[librarygeek]

You got a lot of great shots of the animals on the safari! I love how close-up the giraffes were. Also the lizard on Daisy's nose was really cute
Earl of Sandwich is one of my favorite places to eat at DD. You can't beat the price and the sandwiches are really good and really filling. Sorry you didn't get your sundae. They are huge but I have managed to finish mine by myself, even though it made me just want to lay down after I was done! LOL!

Thank you! And I think what I'll have to do is go to Ghiradelli sometime and just have a sundae as dinner - that way I won't be too full to eat it!

Great pics!

Thank you!

 

[DVCAdrienne]

Thank you for posting this awesome report.

Congratulations to the both of you

 

[librarygeek]

Thank you for posting this awesome report.

Congratulations to the both of you

Thank you! And thank you so much for reading!

 

[teekathepony]

Great FOTLK and Safari pictures! I could ride the safari all day too. I just love watching all the animals!

 

[librarygeek]

Great FOTLK and Safari pictures! I could ride the safari all day too. I just love watching all the animals!

Thank you! I'm staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge on an upcoming trip and I'm so excited to hang out with the animals right at my hotel!

 

[librarygeek]

The End!

And that's the end of my trip report! It was a great trip, and I had a fantastic time. I can't be too down, though, because I'm going back... in 4 days!! I'm off on Wednesday on a solo trip to go for a friend's wedding. I'm sure there will be a TR when I return so if you're interested about reading another one of my trip reports stay tuned and I'll post a link here!

Also, I'm always looking for other TR and dining reviews to read, so if you have one going on and I don't follow it already, share the link here with me so I can read it!

Thank you all for following along!

 

[shalom]

This time DH and I decided to build and design the most ridiculous car that we could - it was wider than it was long! It was hilarious, and we laughed so much during it. And surprisingly at the end it got a pretty high score.

That makes me think of the AMC Pacer. Everyone thought it was a goofy little thing because it was so wide, but my friend who owned one swore it was faster and turned better than anything else she'd owned!

You got some great safari pics, and I am really impressed with your bat pic.

This time your hubby reminded me at time or two of Rory, from Dr. Who. Maybe he's just got that s-f/fantasy sidekick look.

Thanks for a great trip report, and glad to hear there's another on the way.

 

[librarygeek]

That makes me think of the AMC Pacer. Everyone thought it was a goofy little thing because it was so wide, but my friend who owned one swore it was faster and turned better than anything else she'd owned!

You got some great safari pics, and I am really impressed with your bat pic.

This time your hubby reminded me at time or two of Rory, from Dr. Who. Maybe he's just got that s-f/fantasy sidekick look.

Thanks for a great trip report, and glad to hear there's another on the way.

Thank you! I am (shockingly) not really familiar with Dr. Who, so I'll have to look that one up! DH is definitely a Sci-Fi sort of guy, though he's mostly into Star Trek

Edited to Add: Just looked up Rory from Dr. Who... I can definitely see it!!

 

[librarygeek]

If anyone is interested in following along with my TR for my solo trip I just got back from last week, the link is now here!

http://disboards.com/showthread.php?p=48879458