Dream Realized- report complete-4/1 no april fools
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Mypasttimes · 04-01-2003, 08:47 AM

Heres as they say..the rest of the story all in one post!!!
Day two
We awake and get some simple fruit, bagels and juice for breakfast and are still amazed at the accommodations, and the view of the animals eating their breakfast also. IT would be very easy to just spend all your time at this resort, they have activities there- all during the day that are free, and educational.( We have never in our 26+ years of marriage done anything this extravagant- well maybe once- but we normally stay at the All Star resorts (usually for about 59- 79 a night) we couldn’t resist treating ourselves this time to make up for the “bad” part of the December trip,109 a night. oh boy we might have just spoiled ourselves this time.that was a special rate that we got for Annual Passes and that time of year..Those same rooms cost as much as 450 a night during the holiday season!!! We were treated like royalty there. Okay back to the day. We had decided we would start the day at the Animal Kingdom then leave by 1 to go back to the Magic Kingdom for Charles to get a haircut on Main street.(something I had read about in the Disney Magazine and we thought might like to try at least onceJ So off to see the animals..We went to see Tarzan Rocks right off to mark that off or to do list, I decided that I might venture to Primeval whirl- Charles Waited while I rode, with him betting I might turn green- but didn’t. It’s a Bugs life was calling to us by then, so we donned our three d glasses for more insect humor and scent-sationalizm- I decided I might like to have some picture taken with Characters- since we so enjoyed it in December having our pix taken with Mickey!!! We made our way to Camp Minnie Mickey and headed for the Character Greeting trails- with little or no wait we had captured for posterity Us and Mickey, Minnie, and Goofy – a well spent thirty minutes and very pleased when I developed the film that all three pix were great!!! A Pretzel and bottle water were next up for hydration and nourishment. I found a couple really neat limited edition pins that had just come out that morning, added them to my collection and then we were on a hair raising- or is that an ear lowering mission!!! We caught the bus back to AKL and then hopped on the Magical Kingdom Bus- went straight to the Barbershop via a detour- wince they had moved it since I remembered. - the customers ahead of us where kind of fuddy duddy and we were wondering if this might be a bad idea.- But when Charles turn came, I said as he was taking off his hat, “we Thought if anyone could perform magic on this head of hair it would be here..The barber “responded- You need to go to Fantasy land for that request…and it was all laughs and smile from there..with pixie dust for us both and a very nice red Mickey in the center of Charles bald spot – which he kept covered by his hatJ A very fun and magical experience…with some great pictures!! We decided to have a go with the pesky pirates of the Caribbean and a Jamboree with the Country Bears…feelin like we had a full day we headed back to the room…Decided we might try and eat at Boma’s that night. Was able to get in for 7 ressies..after a delicious meal ( I liked it more than Charles as his taste buds are not as adventuresome as mine.) We thought we might go to Downtown for a bit, but got side tracked with a cultural presentation given by one of the interns from Zimbabwe. Very educational and interesting to be talking and hearing from them first hand about the animals and such in their country and what the “black market has done” to endanger the health and well being of natures bounty! We called it an early evening,(prompted by the weather man) returned to our room to find yet another picture , this time autographed to us both and with Mickey and Minnie both as well as a mug for Charles- all this was in response to an email I had sent in December and she was able to track us there…She had called the day before we left, and I returned her call when we checked in- a nice gift, and I talked with her the next morning about our December stay, and my concern for the “illness that was going around, and our fear that we would not get it again. “ Again we give thanks for a wonderfull day and find that we can hardly believe what a magical time it has been!!

Day Three-
Awake to the giraffes zebras and numerous other animals eating breakfast…and a weather report fit for an Eskimo..although we had brought our cold weather gear, our eagerness to actually wear it was lacking. We had planned to do MGM, slowly we got ready hoping that the sun would keep us warm. We arrived, rode the Great Movie..okay youknow its cold when there are icicles hanging from the water fountain!!! I rode Tower of Tower. Then we had chicken strips- We opted for the Muppet 3 –d and were seated very near the back, all the other times I have viewed this it has been toward the front, and I must say, it’s a bit different experience that far back, and it seems as if the quality of the film has been improved on. When we exited I thought I might try and find a stuffed animal of “bean bunny” but had no luck in that. We wondered through the Christmas store and toyed with the idea of buying one of Mickey’s House decorated for Christmas that lights up- but decided against it. We decided we would snag a bench for the parade, so an hour ahead we grabbed the first one on the right as you face the Hat, I thought to myself, this is a bench the Joy would appreciate,(our english friend) its right where the cars make there turn so there are no people around you!!! Again, great photo op there, but also the closest we came to turning into Mousesicles, I went in search of a warmer hat for Charles! IT seem the bench which was in the sun when we chose it, was not long after sitting in the shade because the sun went BEHIND the hat, at that time, I was wishing the hat was about 10 feet shorter. The balloon animator entertained us for most of the wait, which was very interesting. We managed to stay thawed and viewed the parade. In December we had went into the “one Mans dream” exhibit, but had not timed it right for the movie..we are so glad we saw the movie this time, it was so great to see so much of Walt in it!!!
WE then went over to the Animation area and went thru that show. With the sun heading down- we decided to head out for the Lodge, warmer gear and over to the Downtown area to eat. We went to Planet Hollywood,..not a positive experience this time, so it goes to the bottom of the food list for a while!! We had to walk to Down Town from there…was farther than it seemed with a wind-chill in the 20’s. We shopped a little I found a limited edition Jiminy coin there and had to have it!
We also decided that the appropriate stuffed animals for the trip would have to be Minnie and Mickey in Safari gear- so they were purchased to add to the collection. We also got the Animal Kingdom plate. Then headed back to the room- to see if they had taken in the animals or if they were out. Yep they were out!!! Watched then a bit from the warmth of the room, then laid our heads to rest with thanks for yet another magical but cold day!- oh yeah I forgot the first thing we did when we got back to the lodge was head to the snack bar for ice cream..we must be crazy!!!- or possible it was a frost bit brain.

Day Four.
Epcot was the plan for the day!! WE entered the park to see all the characters greeting you and some good photo ops!! We lingered there taking picture. There was no wait at Spaceship Earth so on we went- WE decided we might detour through innovention for a minute, hadn’t done that n a while. Then went straight to the Imagination Lab. We had gone there to have a picture taken in 2001 when we took his parents for their 50th wedding anniversary. Anyway they put you in front of a blue screen take your picture then they can insert it in one of many scenes. We decided we would try two scenes and then pick the one we liked best. We took the first one with the backdrop of the castle at night ( We had taken the one in 2001 with the castle during the day) the other back drop we chose was the Spaceship Earth with the hand. They turned out so well we bought them both- one an 8 by 10 (Epcot)and the other we had blown up into a poster!Us in front of the castle with fireworks going off behind it.!! We love em!! We had them sent to the resort for pickup the next day at 1- so we wouldn’t have to keep track of them the rest of the day- or have to deal with package pick up that evening. We had both decided we were gonna try something different for our lunches So form Imagination – we did Honey I shrunk the audience then we decided to stroll our way back to Japan and the Morocco respectively- Charles had decided he wanted something form the Yakatori house, which in all my trips had not realized it was the little building up on the hill in Japan, so had a good lunch while I took a few more pictures then we both went into Japan where we talked ourselves out of this really cool animated clock…Thought I might see if daughter can get one over there instead. I purchased a Lucky little cat to add to my collection and was surprised at how they had shortened the store and the inventory looked very different in there to us.I hate to purchase anything in there while Christy is in Japan..so I refrainedL. IT was off to Morocco for a vegetarian platter which I ate every bit of : I love hummus, taboleh and such so I was in my glory and topped it off with some BAKLAVE fingers..oh my gosh..what a way to end the meal. We were able to sit outside, in the beautiful sunshine that was amply warm if you could find it!! Frances was calling to us, so with a quick Oui, we were off to the Impressions De France- that is my favorite film, and I love to listen to the French accents of the cast members, although most time they are so thick I cant understand 1/10 of what they are saying, but I know its Disney so it must be good! Working our way back to England we caught the British Invasion- The group was good, but the audience was dead with the exception of this priceless grandmother of about 70-ish who had her husband bobbing and a nodding by the time it was all through..I love to watch people enjoy the music, as I am always singing along and at least tapping a foot or two. I do love to dance also..so it is with restraint that I don’t just getup there and shake a leg…. WE slowed a bit for Canada but did not linger long- Charles just kept hearing China call his name again.J As we were heading to Mexico we ran upon the Characters on Holiday- and took the opportunity with no crowd to get a Minnie picture and a Donald also. They still had the painted wood exhibit up in the Mexico pavilion, I enjoyed seeing that again..and opted to purchase one of the brightly painted suns as a remembrance for this trip- although I would have rather had one of the animals, but I have more hanging room than sittin room so the sun won out!! When we came out , we could see the afternoon Tapestry parade, and were sad we had forgotten it was Saturday- and the time was different. We did some China shopping, Charles added a new dagger to his collection, I a few sets of chopsticks. Upon exiting there we decided we want to have a really good seat..a really special seat for the Tapestry parade, so we went on hunt for the Joy and Fred bench (our english friends we met in December). IT was Empty!!!!WE were soooooooo excited. We were there well in advance, so we took turns seeing the living statue in Italy and wondering thru the shop in Germany. As time grew closer there was chatter about whether that is where the parade began or ended.. We weren't sure which but we knew it was one of them.- so either way it didn’t matter to us, we just knew in advance thanks to some new special friends that it was the best bench in the World to be sitting at!! Only thing that could have improved the spot was having them there with us there againJ I got some great pictures….and the puppets where incredibly interactive with our bench!!!The most magical moment of the trip came next….I have never seen this done before in my 6 or so viewing of the Dreams or Nations parade….one f the Cymbal puppets,, was playfull waving and hamming for the camera..I was smiling and taking pictures- then he pointed to Charles to get up…kept motioning, With hesitation Charles finally relented…Well the fellow danced around him in a circle, then he sat down right beside me..Talk about wishing for a video camera. it all happened so fast, Charles didn’t even think to grab the camera from me…..then he was gone , but not with out getting about 30 yards away, turning around and waving at me….priceless moment.After saying goodbye to our bench and talking about not seeing the parade again, we thought we might go over to the Boardwalk so Charles could check out the ESPN shop. We walked to the international gateway, as the boat was arriving, so ride it was…no more walkingJ WE didn’t stay long at the boardwalk- before we wanted to go to Downtown Disney… WE shopped a bit then Charles need to get off his feet, WE decided next time we need to do Downtown during the day- because by the time we have had a day at the park, Charles pain level is too high tolerate it very well. We went back to the Lodge, got our evening ice cream. He settled in for the evening and I went down to one of the overlooks that is manned by a staff member with night vision goggles, so I watched them a bit, wondered into the gift shop and picked up some animal beads ( I like to make jewelry tooo) Then its off to bed and looking forward to another day…sad that it is our last..

Day Five…a magical day and appropriate ending.

Our plan for the day was to allow me to Killamanjaro Safari which I hadn’t done. We went straight away to Africa , I got a fast pass, we spent some time getting a snack and shopping in Harambe- then off to my safari..the animals were out in force, and I shot a roll of film with little hope that it would turn out, but magically the pictures where quite good for us moving so fast! We wanted to catch the Festival of the Lion King one more time,so off we went. We were seated in the elephant section- same seat as we had in December near the bottom and on the aisle….looking face to face with Simba. We too love that show…so it’s a must do on our list!!!sometimes twice. We perused the shops, I located the shop that had the annual passholders pins and bought them both. We wanted to make sure that we got our pictures/packages from Epcot so decided to go back to the Animal Kingdom Lodge they were there, hurrah. We took a rest and then headed back to the Animal Kingdom for the Parade..again great spot we got..great pictures, one of Pluto hamming with Charles – then its was off to the Polynesian for our dinner at Ohanas. WE got there earlier than we thought so I made a mad dash back to the Magic Kingdom for my new favorite souvenir, a license plate..the ones made of plastic not metal. Gonna hang um on the wall..just decided that that day so went on a buying frenzy at every park I could make it to…I left the Poly at 5 walked out and the monorail was waiting for me…went straight to the main street Emporium- walked back out up to the resort monorail, again, there was a train there..straight back to the Poly all in 42 minutes….talk about luck! We checked in for our seating and asked about a certain waitress some one had told us about at the Lodge, then I asked if her station had a good view of the castle- since I knew the fireworks would go off during our dinner! Yep she had the best table in the whole resturant..I said, okay that’s the one we want..well about 20 mintues later, we were seated at table *** right up to the glass with a clear view of the castle. How wonderfull it was to watch the castle change colors as we ate. Then they turn the lights down, pipe the music in , and also stop serving during the fireworks. Trully magical. to the end the evening there we took our picture near the fat man holding his bely whie we ere holding ours..to funny. After dinner we were on a mission to pick up a license plate form Epcot…so over to the TTC to pick up the Epcot Monorail- we asked about riding in the cab up front…which was unoccupied..I have done that before- but never at night and never to Epcot…so imagine the magic as we are approaching Epcot,to turn and be looking straight at the hand and the ball, larger than life…too magical. We got to MouseGears picked up a couple more goodies, then back to the Lodge. What a perfect ending to a wonder filled day. Charles went back to the room, and I opted to go to Downtown for one last time. I found a great little t shirt that had Jiminy on it, that I had not seen earlier that week. I asked the staff if I might do some rubbings of the brass medallion that were inset in the floor at the lodge, it was nearly 11 by then, and there were most accommodating. The cast member even gave me amug of the animal kingdom lodge and some other “Disney things and even put them in an Animal Kingdom Lodge file folder….so there you have it…Did you feel like you were there.. ??

Well thats the trip report for now..with dreams of doing it one more time this year.

Our magical moments were many and we so loved the AKL, that we redecorated our bathroom wiht that theme..so know we can go on safari everyday- even have picture of us with Mick and Min in there as well as animal picture shot, the lodge from Arusha rock...and found some great wall paper and huge plaster giraffe head to hang onthe wall...Thei trip will stay atthe top of our list for a long time..Hope you enjoyed the trip report..sorry it tiik me two months to figure out how to cut an paste...

Till next I post,
PEG

[ 04-01-2003, 08:49 AM: Message edited by: Mypasttimes ]

**CRCrazy** · 04-01-2003, 09:38 AM

Great report - I'm so glad your trip went better this time!!

Isn't that front of the cab ride to Epcot awesome - We did that last March - the trip is so much longer - you can really spend some quality time talking with the driver. Great Fun!

AKLRULZ · 04-01-2003, 05:47 PM

Excellent! Love it that you enjoyed the AKL so much - welcome to the club! [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/wavin.gif[/img]