Lions and Tigers and CGI Bears, Oh My! June '16 - COMPLETED 6/4, page 22

[nilla]

Day 7 - Sunday - Animal Kingdom

Itinerary:

• Animal Kingdom at 9:00 Rope Drop
• Hair wraps for Kristin and Emily
• Return to CSR in the early afternoon
• Cab to Port Orleans Riverside
• Animal Kingdom...at night!

FastPass+:

• Kali River Rapids: 9:45-10:45
• Expedition Everest: 10:45-11:45
• Kilimanjaro Safaris: 7:35-8:35 pm

ADR:

• Boatwright's: 5:50

 

[nilla]

Sunday! We're officially on the back end of our Disney vacation, but we still have 6 more days! Plus, today's the first (and only) day this year in Animal Kingdom, and we're excited. It's open LATE tonight, and we've never been in that park at night. So I guess we WILL be staying past 3:00 pm this year.

We'll also be taking a mid-day break on our AK day this year, which we've never done before. We usually chew it up, spit it out, and head back to CSR or dinner late-afternoon.

We do want to take advantage of the light, early crowds, and rope drop is at 9:00. But we wake up, and Kristin's still sick. Yuck. She's going to tough it out, again, though, and while we don't make rope drop, we're at AK by 9:30. She's really tired of it!

Hey, look - Avatar construction!



Still haven't seen that film. No interest. The land will be amazing, though, and I'm excited with what they're proposing.

In we go, and we're really in no big hurry to get anywhere. Casual. We'll even stop to pet this guy:



Even Kristin gets in on it:



Hold on...what? Kristin HATES snakes. HATES them. We used to get a lot of garter snakes in our yard, and I'd have to come home from work to relocate them. Not quite as many since we got the dog, fortunately. But as you can see, she's petting a snake. Good for her! Overcome!

Emily and I make a "Pee Wee's Big Holiday" reference we make far too much on this day - "Snakes, blech! I hate snakes!"

Then, THIS happened:



Rivers of - um, I mean Jungle Book floats!

 

[nilla]

With over an hour until the close of our first FastPass booking, we decide to start the day in DinoLand U.S.A.. No complaints here!



I know what you're thinking. And I know what he's thinking:



"What the heck did I do??"

I like the theming of Restaurantosaurus, and the story behind it, which I only learned in the last year.





We rarely eat there, though. This year is no different. Fake dino bones!



Fake dino statue!



Now, it's time to ride the reason we're in DinoLand U.S.A. Yep, Dinosaur. We completely missed this one year (last year?), and it's one of my favorites, so we're not missing it again!

There's also no line for this, and we're in and out in no time. No photos, though. Not of the queue. Not of the ride (no flash photography - it messes with the homing signal and that's...well, bad). Not of the Japanese girls in line doing Winnie the Pooh Disneybounding. No photos. None.

So it's out of Dinosaur, and into the gift shop.



By "into the gift shop", I mean "through the gift shop as quickly as possible." I make sure to get Kristin's phone first, so I can get a lot of pics on the run:





I love this place...well, the theming. The merch? Not so much.

One last dino-shot...



..,and we're done with DinoLand. For now, at least.

 

[nilla]

Our Kali River Rapids FP window was open, so off to Asia we go. Rivers of - um, I mean Jungle Book floats!





We're opting out of that one. We would have watched Rivers of Light, but the reviews of the Jungle Book show don't make it sound very impressive. At least by Disney standards. Looks like we'll be able to see it pretty well from outside the theater, anyway.

Now this we'll be seeing from the inside:



But not yet. Love the hedges, btw.

Asia shot!



As you can tell, there's a very good chance of a thunderstorm today. Probably soon. Hopefully not too soon.

The apes are all-action today:







I could have stayed their all day. But no time - Kali!





The rain did hit right before we go in this queue, but it was over as quickly as it started. We literally walked under a sign and it stopped.

Me, pre ride. Noticeably not soaked:



Kristin didn't ride with us, for not wanting to get soaked reasons. So she got to take pictures:



Here we come!



And again!



Around the corner now:





Uh oh...coming in hot!







Boom - into the wall! Hard. We were really moving when we made contact!

We bounce off, and all is well:



We didn't get THAT wet on the ride, but we got wet. Jerks on the bridge apparently thought we needed to be more wet, so the elephants obliged:



Fun ride! Plus, we'll be cool the rest of the day. Unless it rains.

Em wants to be more wet:



At least she's no longer sitting IN the fountain, but it does look like her head went in. Unless that was from Kali.

This is fun:

 

[nilla]

We have a while until we have to ride Everest, so I suggest we go see the gorillas. I ALWAYS suggest we go see the gorillas, so that should come as no surprise to anyone reading this Trip Report. Unless you haven't read my other Trip Reports. And to you, I say, "go read my other Trip Reports, please." But not until after we're done with this Trip Report. Or whenever you want. Thanks!

Photos on the way to the Pangani Forest Trail:



Here's Emily!



And here's my Teriyaki Beef Slider!



Oh yeah, I got a Teriyaki Beef Slider. From this place:



It was great! The spicy pickle that came with it was REALLY spicy, too. Good. And it hit the spot.

Animal Kingdom impressed me with their Disney Dining Plan snack credit options. Big fan.

Waterfall photos!





We get some photos of the Harambe Market, in lieu of actually eating at the Harambe Market:





I liked that place last year, but Kristin and the kids weren't fans. We're eating at the Pepper Market again today!

 

[nilla]

But not yet! We have other orders of business first. Like this:



Six-year-old Lilly in a bucket! We've seen here every year since she was an infant (except for one year when she was hiding, but let's not worry about that), and she's as fun as ever. Getting big, too.

Her at-least-half brother is on the run:



She's staying in the bucket. Her other at-least-half brother is chillin':



As is Dad. Mom grabs a different bucket, sits on top of it, then...well, I won't talk about that. It was pretty nasty.

Instead, here's this guy again:





His half-brother is back. With leaf.



Now Mom's in the bucket.



They sure do like that bucket. One-year-old gorilla fight!



These two went at it for a while. The one of the right was more of the instigator:



Dad slept through most of it, but did get annoyed with them at times. Mostly when the rolled into him.

Lilly's eating:



The boys are once again fighting:



And we're just about ready to go. Ok, we're never ready to go. At least I'm not. But I guess we have to go. Not sure why, but we do.

We reluctantly leave the area. I get a "7" shot for the TR day header, and off we go...

 

[nilla]

...to see larger gorillas!



Buckets are all the rage this year:



We didn't spend a ton of time watching the adult males, but got plenty of time with the little ones, so I'm happy. Besides, it's time to ride Everest. Am I right, Fichwa! Fellow?



I'll take that as a yes. Since the opportunity arises, we photograph this:



And get a Photopass CM to photograph this:



We reach Everest. We'll be riding as three this year, since Emily has inexplicably stated that she does not want to ride it. She used to LOVE this ride. She went on it single-rider last year. I don't get it.

Speaking of not getting it, we don't get any photos. None. No idea why. But we didn't.

Great ride! Emily's missing out. I REALLY can't wait to ride it in the dark tonight!

 

[nilla]

If you read the itinerary for today, you'll recall that one of our plans - well, one of the girls' plans - was to get hair wraps. If you don't, perhaps you should go back and read it again. And pay better attention this time.

Thank you.

Anyway, they each got two at Caribbean Beach last year, but there's no such station at Coronado, so they thought they were stuck. Hair wraps and the Murphy bed are the only two things Kristin liked about CBR over CSR.

But they really want hair wraps.

Unsure of where to get hair wraps outside of CBR, Kristin asked me to start a thread on the 'Boards asking about it. So I did. And got no replies. Zero. None. It was embarrassing.

This new technology "Google search" is really useful, though, and from what we could find, Kristin and Emily could get them in Animal Kingdom. A phone CM confirms it, and we're happy.

The girls located the station, and off they went:





Here's what Kristin got:



And here's what it looked like going in:



Done!





Here's Emily, pre-wrap:



And here's what it looked like going in:



So where were the boys? In DinoLand U.S.A., of course! Yep, Dylan and I saw a 20-minute standby for Dinosaur and jumped on it. And it was fun! Even with the large high school tour group in front of us, we got on relatively quickly.

We got to the hair wrapping station just as Em was wrapping up. No pun intended. Honest.

No photo of Em's after it was done, for some reason. But you should be able to see it later.

With that done, we decided it was time to head back to CSR for lunch. A few photos on the way, as Kristin checks out the Rainforest Cafe menu:





As always seems to be the case, we end up sprinting to the bus stop to get on the bus back to Coronado. Made it! It's really not that easy running in Keens, by the way.

 

[nilla]

We get back to CSR around 12:30, and get off at Station 1. Kristin gets a photo of her "Cinderella Bridge":



And another:



And another:



And then, this:





It was some sort of daily Fiesta thing at El Centro, which involved Photopass CMs, props, and inflatable toys in the fountain. Oh, and music. I think it was Katy Perry's "Firework" at this time, which was also part of Emily's 5th grade "moving on" ceremony.

Next stop, Pepper Market!

I was in the mood for a burger, and the Aztec burger (as per the WDW website, "1/2 lb Burger, Fried Onions, Fried Jalapeños, Guacamole, Chipotle Aïoli and Pepper Jack Cheese served with Garlic Parmesan Fries") was a perfect choice:



They have really good burgers here!

Kristin got the Texas Bacon Burger, but I don't know that we photographed it. We may have accidentally, in another shot, but not by itself.

Dylan got a regular bacon cheeseburger:



And a brownie:



Emily went for some type of noodles, which are basically a variation on mac and cheese:



As is becoming the routine, she also got the vanilla soft serve:



Great lunch! I think I love PM almost as much, if not as much, as Old Port Royale at CBR. Very close.

We head back to the room afterwards, taking one photo on the way:



We got back to the room, and Dylan immediately got in bed with the iPad:



You know, that's not a bad idea. The bed part, at least. I'm taking a nap. And I don't care what you think about it.

I set my alarm for an hour out, and I promised Emily I'd take her swimming then. She wanted to go right away, but is willing to compromise. But for now, sleep!

Wonderful sleep...

(Up next - off to Port Orleans Riverside for dinner at Boatwright's!)

 

[rndmr2]

Great day at AK so far, you got a lot done in that few hours. Love all the gorilla pics, those babies are so cute.

Looking forward to Night time at AK.

 

[ArielSRL]

Glad to hear you are going to ride EE at night. It was ridiculously awesome! And I agree about JB. We did have plans to see it but dumped it in favor of a sunset safari and EE in the dark.

The burgers at the Pepper Market do sound good. Not sure that I'll get back over there though unless we go back to moderate and other resorts are booked. Just not a fave. Yes, I know, saying that on your TR puts me at risk for getting kicked off but oh well....I said it. Lol.

Looking forward to your take on AK at night.

 

[QueenJen]

Great day at AK! It looked like Emily had a soaked head on the ride-but her hair looks "wetter" near the fountain.

I'm sure the family had to pry you away from the gorillas.

I've made a note about the slider. That will be a great snack option for DH.

So - just a thought for your faithful readers (and a chance for you to feel the Disney Magic). Since you will not be going to Disney next year and it is unlikely that Kristin will write a TR........how about filling the gap in your sig by writing your 2013 TR next year. . Just planting the seed. Lol

 

[Jetku]

Great report so far. You've convinced me to want to stay at CSR!

 

[BlvInMagic]

What a great morning at Animal Kingdom and kudos for Kristin for powering through! Totally stinks to be sick on vacation Whenever we try to take a mid-day resort break + nap, it never fails that housekeeping is just starting to work on our room and we are roomless, cranky, and tired... womp womp.

 

[FoundNemoLostDori]

Great photos! I'm learning some new things about AK. More food photos please! YUM!

 

[cajunfan]

Enjoying your report...can't wait to read more!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

looks like a fun day at Animal Kingdom - though sorry Kristen was still feeling sick. Good for her touching the snake!

And that's cool she got pictures of you all on Kali River Rapids

I love how you guys check on the gorillas each year and track their progress. seriously though, those buckets are like the 1996 tickle-me Elmo's of the gorilla world

Glad you figured something out about the hair wraps ... I think they do them at the water parks as well

Pepper Market looks pretty solid - that Aztec burger sounds great

 

[pagek83]

Just found your report and it's great as always! Can't wait to read about the rest of your trip!

 

[DLHNYC]

The only thing better than a day at Disney is a day at Disney with a mid-day nap! (Great TR so far!)

 

[HeyIt'sMe]

Grea jt update. The Gorilla kiddos still look adorable!

Disney naps.....just took one.
Hit MK early today. Got back to the Poly just before it started storming. It's been storming since. Heading to Ohana for dinner tonight. So we don't have far to travel!

Looking forward to reading about your evening at Animal Kingdom.