(Sea)Lions & Gators & Dolphins….Oh, My! A Halloween PTR/TR with a “wild” theme - Oct/Nov '18

[pattyw]

Happy New Year Gina and everyone else here!!

Your grand cat looks like my Todd:

 

[halfpintpeggy]

We've actually never gotten around to trying the zebra domes. What's the flavor like in the cake-y part?

 

[verleniahall]

Happy New Year!

 

[sk8jdgca]

The Boma/Jikko tour has no signup. I just looked on the activity sheet for AKL-Jambo. You meet in the bar area of Jikko. It says it is suitable for older children but two families brought their little kids and then did not control them. It was a bit annoying but the tour leader tried to make sure we all heard him. It is not a tour for children unless your kids are foodies who are going to be on master chef jr.

Then one lady with a southern accent asked if Africa had to import corn from USA

 

[Monykalyn]

The Boma/Jikko tour has no signup. I just looked on the activity sheet for AKL-Jambo. You meet in the bar area of Jikko. It says it is suitable for older children but two families brought their little kids and then did not control them. It was a bit annoying but the tour leader tried to make sure we all heard him. It is not a tour for children unless your kids are foodies who are going to be on master chef jr.

Then one lady with a southern accent asked if Africa had to import corn from USA

Where’s the “SMH” emoji?

Yeah we just showed up at correct time. We had a small group of couples so I thought the tour was fun.

 

[Pumpkin1172]

Hi Gina it looks like you enjoyed your Xmas with your family. I know exactly how you feel. It's hard being away from the kiddos. We went to Calgary to spend ours with the dd and future son in law. It was great and of course too short. And wow...your pictures of AKL. Looks like I will need to put that on my list of places to see next time I get to visit Disney!

 

[bobbie68]

Hi Gina I enjoyed the pics of your trip back home. I love your grand-kitty. I enjoyed your pics of AKL, we love walking around there. I am getting excited for my surprise for Liv there the one night in June. I am hoping the Savanna and CL will be good.

Happy New Year to you and all your peeps that follow here!! I think we have you beat for non-party people for New Year's... We heated appetizers in the oven and watched two movies with the teens. We actually almost missed New Year, we caught it just in time.

I am looking forward to the rest of your trip report!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Happy New Year Gina to you and your family!

We had a great mini-vacation in St. Augustine last week, and I’ve locked in Alaska for June! I’m sure we will squeeze in a weekend in Orlando at some point, but probably not until late in the coming year.

Happy New Year, Brian!

You have an exciting 2019 already planned out! Are you doing an Alaska cruise, or will you be exploring the north by land? The kiddos will be traveling with you, yes?

Happy New Years Gina! Sounds like trip home was a great success and glad you got to spend so much time with family, and that the travel was smooth.

Will have to knock Boma off the list sometime-and I'd love to stay at AKL again. Those veranda viewing areas with the chairs? Yeah I may have spent some time there with a drink in hand - even in august it is too tempting to sit and animal gaze!! In the evenings we have seen the animals closer. They do tend to stick to where the "hidden" feeders are though-which is far enough away from people to touch them. Can't trust the more...challenged...among us to not do something stupid.

You could always meet us in Vegas in a couple weeks for a winter break...

Ooooh, Vegas!! Sounds fun! We've never been but its on our bucket list of places to visit. When do you leave on your next adventure?

Happy New Year to all!

Happy New Year to you as well, my friend. I hope 2019 is a kinder year for your family .

We're flying this time!

The zebra domes didn't live up to the hype for me either.

I'm glad we're not the only ones for whom zebra domes weren't the Be All and End All. I think we're Disney oddballs, though. We weren't super impressed with the school bread in Norway, either .

Happy New Year to everyone here!

Glad your travels were safe Gina. Gave a little wave as we bombed by Belleville on our way to and from TO for the family visitations.

It sure was wonderful to have such calm weather for traveling.....much better than last year!

How's your mom doing?

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Happy New Year Gina and everyone else here!!

Your grand cat looks like my Todd:

View attachment 372805

Happy New Year, Patty & Joe!
Aw, your Todd is quite the handsome chap! His mustache makes him look very distinguished!

Happy New Year Gina and family. We had a quiet night, just a few drinks after getting in from work and a lazy day today.
We went to AKL to view the Christmas Tree and animals, but they were quite close that day, think it was mid afternoon. We took a few pictures of others whilst we were on holiday and a few families asked us as we were walking by. It's a nice thing to do

I bet their Christmas tree was a stunner!! Probably a bazillion feet tall in that grand lobby. Do you have any photos you can share?

We've actually never gotten around to trying the zebra domes. What's the flavor like in the cake-y part?

Honestly, neither Steve nor I found they had much flavor at all . Perhaps that's part of the reason we found them to be a bit of a disappointment.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, my friend! Your Disney countdown on Facebook makes me smile!!

The Boma/Jikko tour has no signup. I just looked on the activity sheet for AKL-Jambo. You meet in the bar area of Jikko. It says it is suitable for older children but two families brought their little kids and then did not control them. It was a bit annoying but the tour leader tried to make sure we all heard him. It is not a tour for children unless your kids are foodies who are going to be on master chef jr.

Then one lady with a southern accent asked if Africa had to import corn from USA

Thanks for that info! I think we may try to work that into our May trip, if the timing is right. I love the great ideas you guys share!!

Of all the wonderful family-friendly things to do at Disney, it boggles the mind as to why parents would take small children to something like that tour .

Where’s the “SMH” emoji?

Yeah we just showed up at correct time. We had a small group of couples so I thought the tour was fun.

Do either of you recall if it was held multiple times each day? Or just once?

Hi Gina it looks like you enjoyed your Xmas with your family. I know exactly how you feel. It's hard being away from the kiddos. We went to Calgary to spend ours with the dd and future son in law. It was great and of course too short. And wow...your pictures of AKL. Looks like I will need to put that on my list of places to see next time I get to visit Disney!

How cold was Calgary at Christmas? Did you have to deal with much snow? So glad you had the chance to spend the holidays with your dd and her beloved . And I bet the loved having mom and dad visit!!

Hi Gina I enjoyed the pics of your trip back home. I love your grand-kitty. I enjoyed your pics of AKL, we love walking around there. I am getting excited for my surprise for Liv there the one night in June. I am hoping the Savanna and CL will be good.

Happy New Year to you and all your peeps that follow here!! I think we have you beat for non-party people for New Year's... We heated appetizers in the oven and watched two movies with the teens. We actually almost missed New Year, we caught it just in time.

I am looking forward to the rest of your trip report!

Thank you!!

Staying club level will be an amazing experience for you all.....one I've never had the privilege of enjoying yet! Can't wait to hear all about it!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Hey all, I finally had some time to check in and get caught up on your messages. I know I have been terrible at updating lately, and frankly....

I really, really wanted to do better....and I haven't started out the new year very well in that regards, have I?

That said, I made a couple of New Years resolutions that I vowed to uphold as the calendar switched from 2018 to 2019, and those tasks have been taking up quite a bit of my leisure time over the last week. I'm making progress, though, and I can officially say that I completed our photo book from our October trip and placed my order with Picaboo yesterday .... so glad to finally have that job done! I also have our green card applications almost finalized and ready to submit to Steve's company's legal department for processing.....I hope to wrap up that paperwork by the end of the week. Being able to scratch those two items off my list will be a good feeling, indeed.

So hopefully I can soon get back on track with this report and resume updates within the next couple of days. Once January is over, things should (conceivably) slow down a bit at work, which will help me be a bit less mind-weary when I get home. After working almost full time during the holiday season, I am hoping I'm back to my 3-days-a-week schedule from hereon out.

Once again, I thank you all for your patience. It's a wonder I have ANY readers left .

On a happy note, we're down to only 117 days until our spring trip! Crazy to think that in just over two weeks, we'll be down to double digits . I guess I'd better get cracking or we'll still be talking about October when we're boarding the plane in May!!

 

[Callie]

I leave 3 weeks from today! Then a week after we come back is the big day in my life adventure. So much going on in such a short span. I've been keeping up with the report but haven't had much time to post back.

My mom is a busy bee tho this year, she is going on the Disney trip and then Alaska Cruise in July with my sister.

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

Well I’m not much of a photographer Gina so I have this picture from when we went. I think my hubby may have the others.

These are of some of the animals we saw at AKL that afternoon.

 

[PrincessP]

Well, I know you feel bad when you don’t have a chance to post as often or as soon as you like, but with the transition into the new year, I think we’re all trying to scramble to get things in order....so your delays mean your readers don’t get behind, either. So no worries!

Loved your AKL report. We stayed one night a couple of years ago as a treat for our last vacation day. It also meant we could make fast passes earlier than the 30 day mark since we opted to stay offsite the other days of our trip. So that was a nice bonus.

Anyway, the beds were sooooo comfortable. We loved the lobby, the animals, etc. We didn’t spend nearly enough time exploring everything, though.....didn’t try any of the restaurants, the pool, or even visit the gift shop. So...this summer, we will likely skip theme parks (maybe just do a waterpark)....but we have a tradition of eating at a Crystal Palace at MK for b’fast.....it is my son’s favorite. Boma might just have to be the stand in this year. It looks like we would all be very happy with their breakfast. Wow! All of the food looks fantastic....and who can resist simba waffles?! I have always wanted to try the zebra domes as well.

I love all the details and photos you share....it really helps get a true picture of your adventures, and I learn so many things to help plan our own vacations.

It was fun to see a glimpse of your Christmas visits, etc. as well. Glad the grand kitty could help you not miss Dash and Violet as much....he sounds like a fun and playful little personality.

Look forward to your next installment....but no guilt if you can’t get it posted soon....life gets in the way at times.

 

[PrincessP]

Caption Request
Not to hijack your thread, but I know how much everyone here likes their cat memes. So perhaps a little X-Mas fun for my friends. I need a good caption for this picture of our Pixel. Think this might just have to go on next year's Christmas card...



.

My caption submission..

“Ahem...I am the best gift ever! My presence is your present. Merry Christmas!”

 

[afan]

No more samples at Ghiradelli but you may be able to request one https://www.wdwmagic.com/dining/ghi...rardelli-brings-to-an-end-sample-handouts.htm

Gina I know this is always a stop for you and Steve.

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

No more samples at Ghiradelli but you may be able to request one https://www.wdwmagic.com/dining/ghi...rardelli-brings-to-an-end-sample-handouts.htm

Gina I know this is always a stop for you and Steve.

We always stop by too! Glad we managed to get a few in December

 

[chicagoshannon]

I think Ghiradelli will see a lot less foot traffic now that this is out. I don't blame them really though as I'd say most people just stop in for the free stuff.

 

[verleniahall]

I think Ghiradelli will see a lot less foot traffic now that this is out. I don't blame them really though as I'd say most people just stop in for the free stuff.

not necessarily- it is a popular spot to cash in snack credits before leaving for home

 

[afan]

not necessarily- it is a popular spot to cash in snack credits before leaving for home

The one time we went to get ice cream it was packed and it wasn't people getting a sample they were buying. It's an all ghiradelli thing so I would imagine it's other stores that the free sample thing is problematic than at WDW.

 

[chicagoshannon]

I didn't realize they did snack credits there (we never get the dining plan). When we stop in it's usually just people getting the free chocolate. The Ice cream side is always busy though for sure! We're usually at the Springs early in the day so that may be the difference.

I think we have 10 days til our trip! Hoping TSA isn't an issue. Of course the one time we decide to fly down the government shuts down.