It's a Small but Magical World - a Thanksgiving 2018 Trip Report

[jrmint427]

I’m loving this trip report. I am a vegetarian from the Houston area and also going the week of thanksgiving so I’ve read lots of helpful things so far.

So many similarities! I'm glad the report is helpful, and hope you're having fun planning your Thanksgiving trip!

 

[jrmint427]

Beauty and the Beast

Belle is DD2’s favorite princess, and I love this stage show, so this is always a must-do on our list. I have pictures from when my family saw the same show back in 1995. Can you tell this picture is from 24 year ago?



My sisters and I got to meet Belle in her blue dress at MGM studios near the show on that trip.



I’m sure they must have made some changes over the years, but it’s impressive that the same show is still running strong!





It was about 5:30pm when we got out of the show. We had dinner reservations at 50’s Prime Time for 6:25pm and had planned to watch Fantasmic. I had even picked up a FP for it after our last FP on SDD. I really wanted to stick it out and finish off our evening, but our family was really, really cold. I suggested we ask if we could get into dinner early and then go from there.

When I first tried to check-in, I overheard the hostess telling walk-ins it would be a 45 minute wait. I knew at that point it wasn’t looking good for us. The waiting area inside the restaurant was so packed, we wouldn’t have had a place to sit while waiting. I asked at the hostess desk if we could check in early and she said we had to come back within 15 minutes of our reservation.

The adults huddled again and decided to ask if we could cancel the reservation. We were just too cold and there wasn’t even a good spot to wait indoors. I really wanted to see Fantasmic, but I knew we wouldn’t enjoy it as cold as we all were – and the temperature was still dropping. So I went back in and talked to a different hostess. She said she would cancel if we wanted for no charge, but also offered to let us check in now if we changed our minds. I thanked her but said we would cancel. I figured we would make a walk-in party happy, and sadly cancelled our Fantasmic FPs.

On the way out of the park I took more pictures of the holiday decorations.







We were in our car by 6:00pm and I was instantly grateful to be indoors with heat. I’m not sure if I mentioned earlier, but all of the adults had colds by this point (my husband was almost past his and my MIL and I had just started ours). Soup sounded really good for dinner so we debated between Olive Garden and Panera, but decided Panera would be faster and easier with the girls. So that’s where we went! I love their seasonal Autumn Squash soup.

We were back at the hotel by 7:00pm for an early bedtime. We had just one more park day to go!

Steps: 14,555
Miles: 5.2

 

[Lesley Wake]

Unfortunately, we never got our ride photos to show up, but DD4 LOVED this ride! I had watched the ride enough times to know what side to put her on – I wanted to be on the inner part of most of the turns so she would be lying into me on them, if that makes sense. When we got off she jumped up and down and announced she wanted to ride again! Lucky for her, she has a younger sister and we had rider swap, so she got to do just that.

Lucky her! I'm sure that will be nice in the near future!

Pat had been chatting with the lady next to him. He said he held her oxygen tank on the ride.

OMG, hilarious!

DD2 was sleeping, but DD4 is the one who really loves Doc. As soon as it was her turn to meet Doc, she started rolling her pant leg up. At first I was confused, but then I remembered she had scraped her knee – she was showing Doc her boo-boo!

Adorable adorable!

 

[jrmint427]

Animal Kingdom – November 29, 2018

The Starbucks at AK is my favorite Starbucks of anywhere, so we decided to skip The Mara and wait to get breakfast at Creature Comforts (what the Starbucks is called at Animal Kingdom). Our first FP was for the Safaris at 9:15am and we planned to give ourselves a break and just try to make it there by 10:00am so we would be inside our window.

Once again, we drove to the park – it was literally right around the corner from AKL! We parked at 8:43am and were inside the park at 9:20am. The lines to get through security and into the park were really long this day. We saw an Annual Passholder entrance with no line. I walked over to ask if we could use that entrance even if our whole party didn’t have APs. They told me that at least half the party needed to have APs to enter there. That wasn’t going to work for us, so I headed back to the regular line.

Around 9:30am, we saw this beautiful sight:



I ordered venti coffees and lattes, as well as breakfast sandwiches and a scone and fruit for the girls. I gave my name (Jessica) and stood off to the side to wait. The first order out was for a name that didn’t sound remotely like mine, but I saw it just sitting on the counter… and sitting. I think it was Natalie or something like that. I eventually thought to ask what Natalie’s order was, and sure enough, it was our order.

We had passed Timon on our way to Starbucks. I really wanted to meet him since my MIL was wearing her Timon earrings (and I had on Pumba). The line didn’t look too bad, so we ate our breakfast while standing in line. The girls still weren’t overly excited about fur characters, but Timon was a nice one to meet! He loved that my MIL was wearing him on her earrings.





I felt terrible here. My eyes had been watering nonstop from my cold and one was swollen half shut. When we were leaving the park that evening, I met a woman on the tram whose roommate is a friend of Timon’s. I wondered if that could have been who we met!

We were in line for the Safaris right around 10:00am. When we were walking in the FP line, the girls were dragging their feet a bit as we ditched the stroller and a few parties walked around us while we were walking slowly. No problem, we were slow and the path was wide. When we were moving again at a better pace, the path narrowed, and another woman seemed to be anxiously trying to get around us. I asked her if she was with the people ahead of us, because I would have let her pass if that was the case. She said, “No, but we’re all going to the same place.” True enough, but I was a bit annoyed that so many people seemed to think lines were optional on this trip.

I’ll save pictures of the Safari for the next post because there are a lot!

 

[jrmint427]

Kilimanjaro Safaris

We had an awesome safari guide and we got to be in the front row for the first time. I usually like the back-row for picture taking, but I liked being close enough that we could ask our tour guide questions.



I don’t remember exactly what this animal was, but it seemed like more animals got close to the vehicle on this trip.



We got to see the hippos sun-bathing.



For some reason I had never noticed these waterfalls before. It’s amazing to me that I can go on the same ride so many times and always notice new things.



The wildebeest and giraffes were hanging out near each other.



One of the giraffes was laying down. Our guide said giraffes only do that when they feel safe and it’s a sign that they are happy here. I feel like I’ve seen a lot of giraffes laying down on the safari before, and once or twice at the zoo. I’m glad it’s a sign they are comfortable!



The elephants are one of my favorites, I always wish we could get closer to them on the Safari.



The rhinos were cuddled up together.



This ostrich got pretty close to us and then went to the restroom. We saw a few animals using the restroom on this trip!



A scimitar horned oryx crossed the road in front of us. Our tour guide explained that these guys were once extinct in the wild but have been successfully re-introduced.



It was as great safari!

 

[Cloe Colton]

The Starbucks at AK is my favorite Starbucks of anywhere, so we decided to skip The Mara and wait to get breakfast at Creature Comforts (what the Starbucks is called at Animal Kingdom).

This is my favorite starbucks on property too, I'm not sure why!

I gave my name (Jessica) and stood off to the side to wait. The first order out was for a name that didn’t sound remotely like mine, but I saw it just sitting on the counter… and sitting. I think it was Natalie or something like that. I eventually thought to ask what Natalie’s order was, and sure enough, it was our order.

Lol you have to think if they were even remotely listening to you if thats what they came up with

We had passed Timon on our way to Starbucks. I really wanted to meet him since my MIL was wearing her Timon earrings (and I had on Pumba). The line didn’t look too bad, so we ate our breakfast while standing in line. The girls still weren’t overly excited about fur characters, but Timon was a nice one to meet! He loved that my MIL was wearing him on her earrings.

That's awesome that you had a good character interaction! I was just talking to someone who went to Ohanas and her daughter was decked out in Stitch ears and shirt AND it was her birthday and Stitch didn't even react you would think that would be a super easy way to interact with a group if someone is wearing something with that character on it!

I felt terrible here. My eyes had been watering nonstop from my cold and one was swollen half shut.

Omg I know that feeling so well. I've experienced two terrible colds on trips before and when I see the pictures from when I felt my worst I can't help but remember just how bad I felt lol you are a trooper though!

She said, “No, but we’re all going to the same place.” True enough, but I was a bit annoyed that so many people seemed to think lines were optional on this trip.

Lol yeah you're all going to the same place but if she cuts in front of you thats an extra person you need to wait for. People can be SO inconsiderate!

 

[jrmint427]

That's awesome that you had a good character interaction! I was just talking to someone who went to Ohanas and her daughter was decked out in Stitch ears and shirt AND it was her birthday and Stitch didn't even react you would think that would be a super easy way to interact with a group if someone is wearing something with that character on it!

That would make me sad! I was disappointed because Gaston didn't notice we were wearing clothes for him too. But didn't think to say anything myself until after we had already met him.

Omg I know that feeling so well. I've experienced two terrible colds on trips before and when I see the pictures from when I felt my worst I can't help but remember just how bad I felt lol you are a trooper though!

It's the worst! This was our last day though, and I was determined to make the best of it.

Lol yeah you're all going to the same place but if she cuts in front of you thats an extra person you need to wait for. People can be SO inconsiderate!

I know! I wanted to say something but decided to just ignore it and didn't move over for her to go around us. The line was stopped not far ahead of us - it's like people who race to red lights!

 

[jrmint427]

The Lion King & Pocahontas

Next up we had a 10:30am FP for the 11:00am showing of Festival of the Lion King. I had to stop to admire some of the Christmas decorations on our way there.





We watched this show on our previous Animal Kingdom day, but it’s a favorite for all of us. We were shocked when we saw how long the FP line was – it extended back to the stroller parking area and then wrapped around! We were joking with other people in line about how we were all glad we had FPs for this. We ended up with worse seats than when we arrived later and did standby the week before!

We were sat in the Lion King section again and initially had to sit in the second level of bleachers. But we noticed a few families squeezing closer together and decided that the girls could sit on our laps, so we moved down to the last row of benches in the lower section. DD4 kept telling me that she didn’t want the monkeys to pick at her this time.

Since I had mostly watched the show myself the first time, I decided I would take pictures and video of some of my favorite parts this time around. And with no one sitting right behind me, I could hold my camera a little higher without worrying about bothering other people. So enjoy some pictures below!







It was time for lunch after the show, but I had read that Pocahontas would be meeting at Discovery Island Trail around this time. We weren’t very hungry yet, so I suggested we try to find her on our way. Sure enough, we walked around a corner and saw a short line. A CM confirmed this was the meeting spot for Pocahontas, but warned that she wouldn’t have a Photo Pass photographer with her. But, there were several CMs/handlers in the area, so one said she could take pictures with my phone.

We didn’t have to wait very long before Pocahontas came out.



My pictures are never as good as the professional photographers, but I did catch a quick hug.



After the meet we headed to Pandora for lunch at Satu’li Canteen. I realized I might not have planned the best this day, as we were zig-zagging back and forth across the park, but it helped to get in our steps this day!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

After the meet we headed to Pandora for lunch at Satu’li Canteen. I realized I might not have planned the best this day, as we were zig-zagging back and forth across the park, but it helped to get in our steps this day!

It is hard to not zig zag sometimes!

 

[jrmint427]

Satu’li Canteen

The views in Pandora never disappoint.





I could have spent a lot longer here walking around and taking in the details, but we had young kids to feed. We had placed our mobile order just before walking over, so I went to wait for our food while Pat and his mom took the girls to find a table inside. It was still pretty cold out this day. This is where you order food at Satu’li Canteen.



When the food came out I realized it was more than I could carry on one tray so I texted Pat to ask for help with the food. I was happy to hear they had already found a table.

My MIL ordered the cheeseburger bao buns. She said these were really good! I read that they recently removed these from the adult menu, but you can still order them on the children’s menu.





I ordered a bowl with the chili-spiced crispy fried tofu bowl, mixed whole grains and rice (I read they removed this too – WHY?!), and the creamy herb dressing for my sauce. I liked this even better than I expected to! It was healthy but also delicious. I would go back for this alone. Guess I’ll have to pick a new base next time.



Pat ordered the Chicken bowl with what I think was salad greens, but it looks like he got quinoa mixed in too. I’m pretty sure he got his with the black bean vinaigrette. He also loved his!



I ordered the cheese quesadilla for the girls. I think they liked it okay, but they really liked the chips.



We split the Blueberry Cream Cheese Mousse with passion fruit curd for dessert. I wasn’t sure I’d even like this because I usually dislike mousse, but this was a beautiful dessert, so I wanted to try it. Once again, we split one 5 ways and it was perfect. We all really liked this!



Satu’li Canteen was a great meal. We all felt like we ate fairly healthy and the quality of food was excellent. We’re already planning to go back on our next trip – maybe even twice!

 

[Lesley Wake]

I felt terrible here. My eyes had been watering nonstop from my cold and one was swollen half shut.

Aw, that sucks. The photo looks good though and you can't tell unless you know what to look for!

When we were moving again at a better pace, the path narrowed, and another woman seemed to be anxiously trying to get around us. I asked her if she was with the people ahead of us, because I would have let her pass if that was the case. She said, “No, but we’re all going to the same place.” True enough, but I was a bit annoyed that so many people seemed to think lines were optional on this trip.

I am always surprised by how rude people can get at Disney parks! I mean, even when I'm in line and there is a slow family in front of me, I just take that opportunity to walk a bit slower!

One of the giraffes was laying down. Our guide said giraffes only do that when they feel safe and it’s a sign that they are happy here. I feel like I’ve seen a lot of giraffes laying down on the safari before, and once or twice at the zoo. I’m glad it’s a sign they are comfortable!

That is very good to hear!

The elephants are one of my favorites, I always wish we could get closer to them on the Safari.

You should try out the Caring for Giants tour! I did it with my mom and we loved it. It's pretty affordable ($30 but there is an AP discount) and only 1 hr. Kids can go on it and you get to see the elephants from much closer, plus spend more time just appreciating them!

 

[jrmint427]

You should try out the Caring for Giants tour! I did it with my mom and we loved it. It's pretty affordable ($30 but there is an AP discount) and only 1 hr. Kids can go on it and you get to see the elephants from much closer, plus spend more time just appreciating them!

Thanks for the tip, I will look into that! That sounds like a lot of fun and the price isn't too bad.

 

[jrmint427]

Dinoland and Up!

We had originally planned to see the Up! Bird show at 1:30pm after lunch, but we were running behind schedule. My husband loves birds and this show was one of our favorite last year, so we agreed we would definitely make it to the 3:30pm show instead and looked for something else to do until then.

We hadn’t made it to Triceratops Spin yet, so that’s where we headed. Did I mention we did a lot of zig-zagging this day? While we ate lunch and then while we were walking to Dinoland, we were talking about a return trip. Maybe it wasn't the best timing because we were exhausted, but if we wanted to take advantage of the Bounce Back offer, we were going to have to book something by the next day. If we were going to book something, we needed to decide on dates and location – and quickly. I was emailing with my TA to confirm the cancellation policy, and we decided to book for Wilderness Lodge with plans to do another split stay between onsite and our family’s condo (if it was available). So I called our TA while we waited 20 minutes for Triceratops Spin to make our plans!

We squeezed into one car together.



We kept referring to this as the Dinosaur ride… since we skipped the real Dinosaur ride on this trip!



DD4’s face was pure joy the whole ride. This picture makes me happy every time I look at it.



She loved it so much she wanted to ride again! Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to wait in line again if we wanted to make it to the bird show - with one detour on the way.



We had passed the Up! characters Dug and Russell earlier in the day and DD4 said she wanted to meet them. She calls all characters from that movie “Up” including Carl! We jumped in line a little before 3:00pm and the line was supposedly about 20 minutes long, so we would be cutting it close but decided it was worth the wait. There was a really friendly woman in line ahead of us. She was giving us some great advice on the parks, so I asked her, “Do you work here?” She confirmed that she was a CM who led the elephant and rhino tours. We enjoyed chatting with her, it made the line move more quickly! She was almost at the end of her program and was soaking up some time in the park before leaving. Before we knew it, it was our turn to meet Dug and Russell.

I should have known how this would go, despite the fact that DD4 had begged us to meet them. The girls just aren’t quite ready for the fur characters! But Dug and Russell were both amazing at trying to engage with the girls though, and made it into a great meet anyway.

You can tell DD2 is suspicious of Dug.



DD4 eventually approached to get her autographs.



Russell called us over to the corner to pet a squirrel. It was a great way to get the girls to warm up!





Both girls were holding the characters' hands by the time we took a family picture! I was impressed.



DD4 even gave Russell a hug… thought she looks like she’s trying to not get too close.



We wrapped up around 3:10pm, which was perfect timing to still make it to the Up! show.

 

[jrmint427]

Up! Bird Show and Flight of Passage

Of course DD4 needed a bathroom right before the show… by the time we stopped there and parked the stroller, we were walking in right before the show started. We found seats in the very back row. I was so excited to see the new show, but the girls were being really antsy, so I had a hard time following much of the story. I did recognize the male host as being the same guy we saw and met the year before.



At one point they asked everyone seated on the aisle to stand up and form a human bridge for a bird to fly through. Pat got to be part of this, which was awesome.

I liked seeing all the birds, but really wished I could have heard/followed more of the show. I spent the whole time trying to wrangle the girls. They were in an over-tired/silly mood at this point. Pat said the Up! version felt a little clunky, but he liked that they were trying to integrate a Disney movie into it. We’re both unsure if the show still would have been a little hard to follow even if we weren’t dealing with the kids. We both loved the singing bird, though!

After the show we searched for a snack on our way to our 4:40pm FP for Flight of Passage. We found a spot to get a popcorn refill and Pat and his mom each got a beer. I tried the beer (I think it was Safari Amber?) and really liked it, but I don’t like popcorn and I wanted to save my snack for something more appealing to me than beer or popcorn.

We stopped for a picture in front of the Tree of Life on our way to Pandora. The girls couldn’t put the popcorn down for a picture! They are mid-chew in every picture we got. A CM was in line ahead of us. He said he had to remove the Animal Kingdom frame that some people got to use for their pictures, and warned us we couldn’t use the frame. We didn’t mind because we wanted a picture like this anyway, with just the Tree of Life.



We got to Pandora and found a CM to help set up rider swap. As promised, Pat would get to ride this one twice. They warned us that even with the FP, it would be about 30-35 minutes before Pat and his mom got off the ride, and told me I could meet them in the gift shop (of course!).

I dropped them off and went in search of a snack for me. DD2 quickly fell asleep in the stroller. I found Pongu Pongu and I hadn’t read about it in advance, but the Pongu Lumpia sounded amazing to me – a pineapple and cream cheese spring roll? Yes, please! I ordered 2, planning to split one with DD4 and save the other for Pat and his mom.



DD4 did not like this, so I had one to myself! No complaints here, I enjoyed every bite. I got DD4 set up with a scratch-a-picture activity book and called my parents while we waited. After 30 minutes had passed, we moved to wait inside the gift shop, as that’s where Pat and his mom were expecting to find us. Of course, DD4 wanted everything in sight! She was temporarily distracted while face-timing with my parents until it had been almost 40 minutes and I asked for my phone back so I could see if Pat or his mom had texted. Almost as soon as I took it back, we saw them coming out. It was my turn to ride!

Pat and I headed back in. His mom did tell me she liked the Pongu Lumpia I left behind for her

We walked almost straight into the pre-show, but it did take at least 30 minutes for the whole experience. We had our picture taken in the first pre-show.



I get the purpose of a pre-show, but I feel like they really draw this one out. I hope that when the ride becomes less popular (wishful thinking, I know) that they might shorten the pre-show to get people through more quickly.

This ride is still the most amazing ride I’ve ever been on. I forced myself to look away from the screen when we first got in the air, because I was curious how high up we were. Honestly, I couldn’t tell how high we went, so I turned back to the screen because I didn’t want to miss any part of the experience. It was just as good as when I rode it for the first time a year before – I felt like I was truly flying!

It was 5:40pm when we got off the ride and met Grandma and the girls. It took almost exactly 1 hour for us all to ride using rider swap. For reference, Touring Plans had predicted 52 minutes, so they weren’t far off. When we got to the gift shop, DD2 was still sleeping, but we saw DD4 had talked Grandma into a souvenir – she had a light-up necklace! We walked around the gift shop for a few minutes before wandering out.



We had an hour until dinner and no plans. We hadn’t gotten to ride Expedition Everest yet this day, so we decided to head in that direction. As we were walking, I was able to grab us Fast Passes with the refresh strategy! My MIL said she didn’t want to ride, so she would stay with the girls while we went on the roller coaster.

I took a few pictures of Pandora at night as we left.

 

[jrmint427]

Expedition Everest

On our way to Asia, we realized that the pathways were way less crowded. This was SO nice! I felt almost giddy, taking an evening stroll without the crowds. Animal Kingdom is so beautiful at night.



We saw the River of Lights arena full of people and realized there was going to be an early show that I wasn’t aware of – I think at 6:15pm? I was a little disappointed I hadn’t tried to get a Fast Pass for it, but we had said this was something we could miss on this trip if we needed to. And the show must have been why the pathways were suddenly so empty. However, we found a spot outside of the arena where my MIL and the girls could watch some of the show while Pat and I rode Expedition Everest.



On our way to EE we passed a CM holding a pretty lantern. And wearing a camera on her neck. We walked right by and then doubled back to ask if she was taking pictures with the lantern. She was! She said we were the first for the evening, so she took a few test shots and then took our picture. She asked a CM holding a “Stroller Parking” sign to move out of the frame. It wasn’t the Rapunzel lantern picture (which I’ve still never gotten a picture with), but I liked how these came out. And even better, there was no waiting in line!





We probably didn’t even need the FP for EE. Maybe it was because ROL was going on, but standby wasn’t long at all and we were the only people in the FP line so we walked right on. Expedition Everest is a completely different experience at night. I was so glad we did this! It’s scarier to go through the tunnels when it’s pitch black. I even caught a picture of ROL as we were going up the big hill!



We caught up with Grandma and the girls, who weren’t able to see everything in ROL but still enjoyed having something to watch while we were gone. We needed to book it to our dinner reservation. We were going to be eating at the Rainforest Café!

 

[Cloe Colton]

I feel like the other lantern shots are just as pretty and definitely nice to get without the crazy wait times!!

How cool to be able to see Rivers of Light going up the hill!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

I liked seeing all the birds, but really wished I could have heard/followed more of the show. I spent the whole time trying to wrangle the girls. They were in an over-tired/silly mood at this point. Pat said the Up! version felt a little clunky, but he liked that they were trying to integrate a Disney movie into it. We’re both unsure if the show still would have been a little hard to follow even if we weren’t dealing with the kids. We both loved the singing bird, though!

I suspect that it's not a good story regardless of children distracting you or not.

Of course DD4 needed a bathroom right before the show… by the time we stopped there and parked the stroller, we were walking in right before the show started.

Ha! That should be the title of every trip report with small children!

he Pongu Lumpia sounded amazing to me – a pineapple and cream cheese spring roll? Yes, please! I ordered 2, planning to split one with DD4 and save the other for Pat and his mom.

I was thinking that you said that plan didn't work but apparently it did.

Pat and I headed back in. His mom did tell me she liked the Pongu Lumpia I left behind for her

A nice little reward for her!

but we saw DD4 had talked Grandma into a souvenir – she had a light-up necklace!

Hey, she earned that waiting an hour!

Great picture!

However, we found a spot outside of the arena where my MIL and the girls could watch some of the show while Pat and I rode Expedition Everest.

That is nice that they had something to do while they waited.

Another great picture!

We probably didn’t even need the FP for EE. Maybe it was because ROL was going on, but standby wasn’t long at all and we were the only people in the FP line so we walked right on. Expedition Everest is a completely different experience at night. I was so glad we did this! It’s scarier to go through the tunnels when it’s pitch black. I even caught a picture of ROL as we were going up the big hill!

It's great at night. Def my favorite time to ride it.

 

[jrmint427]

Rainforest Café

Pat and his family ate at Rainforest Café 20 years ago, in 1998, when it first opened. Here are Pat and his mom on that trip.



It was fun for them to bring their girls/grandchildren back 20 years later. Sadly, DD4 fell asleep on our way and slept through the entire meal!



I ate at a different Rainforest Café with my family when I was younger, but this was my first time at this location. The theming was more involved than I had remembered it being!



While we were waiting to be seated, Pat and I went to the bar to order drinks. Our bartender was really nice and said if we didn’t like what we ordered, he would make us a new drink for free. He also told us we could save a few dollars by not ordering the souvenir cup. I went with the Mongoose Mai Tai and loved it! It reminded me of an amoretto sour, one of my favorite drinks from my college days.



It was so good, Pat’s mom ordered one once we were sat.

Our server was Debbie. She was awesome! She told us that everyone calls her Mama and she had been working there for about fifteen years. She made sure that the girls’ food came out first, offered extra food to go, and chatted with us several times. We will definitely ask for her if we go back on our next trip.

I ordered pizza for the girls. I was sad DD4 never woke up to see the restaurant, but DD2 seemed to really enjoy all the animals! The girls did get to go to Rainforest Café in Disney Springs on our last trip, but they went with just my parents, so they had been more recently than I had.



I ordered a veggie burger for myself. It was a little spicy and not very good, but I ate it. I really liked the mashed potatoes I ordered with it. They came out separately because I was supposed to get mashed potatoes instead of fries, but they left the fries too.





Pat’s mom ordered a real burger and Pat had the NY Strip Steak. We all thought the food was just so-so, but the service and ambience was great. Dinner was $107 before trip (including 3 alcoholic drinks).



The same elephant as the picture from 1998 (maybe?) - I think they changed the direction she faces:



It was after 8pm when we finished eating, so the park was closed and we headed home. I was sad that this was our last park day and we would be leaving the next morning!

Steps: 16,713
Miles: 6.77

That's it for the official trip report! I have one more post on the ride home and some final thoughts on whether or not the Dining Plan would have been worth it for our family after tallying up our receipts. Thank you so much for following along so far!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

It reminded me of an amoretto sour, one of my favorite drinks from my college days.

Amaretto Sours were my drink in college as well. I can't even tell you when the last time was I had one, though.

What!?! You guys need to go back and get a re-creation of that shot of DH and his mom!

That's it for the official trip report! I have one more post on the ride home and some final thoughts on whether or not the Dining Plan would have been worth it for our family after tallying up our receipts. Thank you so much for following along so far!

Oh no!!! Sad to hear the trip is almost over. I hope you have another trip in the works?!

 

[jrmint427]

Amaretto Sours were my drink in college as well. I can't even tell you when the last time was I had one, though.

Me either! It had been so long but that drink brought me wayyy back lol!

What!?! You guys need to go back and get a re-creation of that shot of DH and his mom!

I wished I had found that picture before our trip! We were talking about their trip while we were at the restaurant, and I pulled that picture out when we got back home. We definitely need to recreate it!

Oh no!!! Sad to hear the trip is almost over. I hope you have another trip in the works?!

I’m sad too! But yes, we are going back in September of this year . It helps to have another trip to be planning!