An Animal Kingdom State of Being with Cam and Fam COMPLETED 9/18 - Page 147 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Well, I was so very far behind!
I actually haven't been reading any trip reports for a couple of weeks for a couple of reasons. The main one - I have been too busy!
But now that I am all caught up, I find that I am sad. Sad that this magical trip is coming to a close. I am wondering, the last day or two, how is Stefanie handling the thought of leaving the magic of WDW and going home?
I just all of the beautiful pictures of the giraffes from your balcony! Isn't it amazing that you were there 2 days in a row at the right time! I would definitely frame many of those beautiful pictures!
I am so happy that you got to meet up with Amy! She is a sweetie!
Do you take a couple of empty bags with you for all of your great treasures??
Your meal at Teppan Edo looks and sounds so yummy! all of the great character interaction and pictures!
I am sure Stefanie was one happy princess!!
And such a magical surprise for Stefanie on her last day of this trip!
Oh what a wonderful and magical surprise!!!!! That Stefanie sure can make magic happen around her on this trip! Tell her I'm a very jealous about meeting Perla & Suzy! And someday I want to meet King Louie and tell him all about my naughty Kitten Mowgli! How fun - but I am sad to see this TR coming to an end.
Talk about magic to end the trip. What wonderful pictures and what a great surprise for everyone especially Stefanie...and Donald, just priceless, that last picture of their hug PERFECT.
I don't think a more perfect ending to the trip could have been had, even if you planned one yourself. This was just a magical ending.
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WOW! That WAS a cool surprise!! Have you ever had them do that before? I had no idea they opened those gates for character interactions!! What a PERFECT ending to your trip!!!
I had read of this happening to some of our PPers as they mentioned it in their TRs, but we had never experienced it before ourselves., so it was the perfect finish to a great trip!
Quote:
Originally Posted by JKnott17
What a wonderful surprise getting to visit with all of those characters!! And so nice of Donald to take the time to listen to Stef, dispite the CMs trying to herd you out of the area. Sounds like a great ending to your trip to me!
I could have hugged Donald, too, for taking time to respond to Stefanie.
Quote:
Originally Posted by luvnwdwgal
What a wonderful surprise! Now that's some Disney Magic! I'm so happy Stefanie got to experience it! I love how well her highlights show up in the pictures too!
Her highlights are still going strong, too!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Coop
How cool! What an AWESOME surprise! (And as always - great pics!)
I was trying to remember as I typed from my notes today how we first noticed the characters and all I really remember is Perla and Suzy walking right up and taking Stefanie by the hand. So !
Quote:
Originally Posted by doccoc2002
What a great last day! We have seen the characters come out before but never so many usually just 3 or 4. That is awesome. What a Magical way to end your final day!
I couldn't believe how many characters were there either.
I've never seen those gates open for anything other than special Food & Wine happenings. What an amazing last dose of Disney magic! I'm a big fan of the Cinderella mice also and would love to see Jaques and Gus-Gus in the parks.
We saw it opened a few nights earlier when some kind of convention/conference had people lined up for some fancy thing. Everyone in line was in semi-formal attire. We never expected it to open for us to go back!
Quote:
Originally Posted by omd
What an awesome surprise! I was actually teary seeing the joy on Stefanie's face while she was interacting with all the characters. I am so glad that she was able to experience this Disney magic. I'm sure she will always remember this special day.
I got very teary eyed writing it today, remembering how special she felt.
Quote:
Originally Posted by disneymom57
The most magical trip ever!
So true! Until the next one!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Luvsun
Well, I was so very far behind!
I actually haven't been reading any trip reports for a couple of weeks for a couple of reasons. The main one - I have been too busy!
But now that I am all caught up, I find that I am sad. Sad that this magical trip is coming to a close. I am wondering, the last day or two, how is Stefanie handling the thought of leaving the magic of WDW and going home?
I just all of the beautiful pictures of the giraffes from your balcony! Isn't it amazing that you were there 2 days in a row at the right time! I would definitely frame many of those beautiful pictures!
I am so happy that you got to meet up with Amy! She is a sweetie!
Do you take a couple of empty bags with you for all of your great treasures??
Your meal at Teppan Edo looks and sounds so yummy! all of the great character interaction and pictures!
I am sure Stefanie was one happy princess!!
And such a magical surprise for Stefanie on her last day of this trip!
We always pack one empty bag for the treasures! Stefanie does pretty good until the last day and then she fluctuates between happiness and sadness (and I'm not too far behind her).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nemo125
Oh what a wonderful and magical surprise!!!!! That Stefanie sure can make magic happen around her on this trip! Tell her I'm a very jealous about meeting Perla & Suzy! And someday I want to meet King Louie and tell him all about my naughty Kitten Mowgli! How fun - but I am sad to see this TR coming to an end.
Stefanie and I were talking as I wrote up the update today and she asked me when Disney was going to have Gus and Jaq sign autographs. She bought some Squinkies tonight, a complete set of Cinderella that includes Gus and Jaq and Suzy.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mcc0313
Talk about magic to end the trip. What wonderful pictures and what a great surprise for everyone especially Stefanie...and Donald, just priceless, that last picture of their hug PERFECT.
I don't think a more perfect ending to the trip could have been had, even if you planned one yourself. This was just a magical ending.
Donald was my hero this day! It amazes me how even on our last day Disney still has some magic in store for us!
I think that's the building they put up at the time of the Millenium Celebration. There were some International exhibits inside. I believe they also have used it for Party for the Senses?
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Very cool surprise. You have had a magical trip thus far, what more could anyone have asked for in a trip. Some people have all the luck. Congrats on such a marvelous trip Cam.
What a great surprise! Hmmm... new mystery - what is that building?
I don't really know, but Laurie mentions a few uses of it below. I know a few nights before the end of our trip folks in dressy attire were lined up to go in for what looked like a dinner.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lauriep
I think that's the building they put up at the time of the Millenium Celebration. There were some International exhibits inside. I believe they also have used it for Party for the Senses?
It seems like a very huge building to be used so infrequently.
Very cool surprise. You have had a magical trip thus far, what more could anyone have asked for in a trip. Some people have all the luck. Congrats on such a marvelous trip Cam.
We were quite pleased with our magical trip!
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
I'm all caught up. What great character interaction!
Stefanie and characters always means fun for our family!
At 5:10 we took our claim slip to Bell Services and our luggage was brought to the DME pick up spot in front of AKL right in the sun. At 5:25 our DME bus arrived and our driver, James Thompson, got us into the A/C bus quickly, and then it was off to Pop Century for a few more families. James talked about NASCAR with us as he goes annually to the Budweiser Shootout. Soon the movie was playing and Stefanie kept saying, “Look, Momma!” At one point she asked, “Are we not at Disney World anymore?” and had the saddest little face when I responded, “No.” Then she said, “I don’t want to leave, Mom!” I’m ready for home, but I will miss the Disney bubble, too.
We were at MCO by 6:15 where quite a few tears were shed. A sky cap helped with put all our bags on a cart. As the bags were weighed, Luke’s was 51.5 pounds, so we opened it and added his toiletry kit to my suitcase. But then mine was a pound over. I took out the ponchos and my jewelry bag and packed them in the carry on bag. Good to go now!
Next up was security check—my nemesis. The line was long, crowded, and slow moving, but eventually we emerged unscathed on the other side. We boarded the shuttle and then walked to an empty table by McDonald’s. First, everyone took potty breaks. Stefanie’s toilet kept flushing before she was done, which got both us giggling. Next she and I ordered dinner – nuggets and fries for her and a burger and fries for me. Just as we returned to the table, I looked outside to zero visibility. A massive storm with lots of lightning, thunder, and hail was passing right over the airport. We heard there was even a tornado warning at one point. Ann and I began texting back and forth as she was watching the storm on the Weather Channel. A bit later an announcer said, “This is a massive storm. We really do NOT know when you will leave!” Interesting way to end our Orlando stay! Finally, the weather cleared up around 7:45, but flights had been delayed and so ours also got pushed back – first until 10, but then moved back up to 9:20 (only an hour late).
One bonus of the delay – While eating at McD’s, we met our pilots who were grabbing a bite since there was no rush. Stefanie chatted with them and showed them her Donald Duck.
A not so good thingy—Luke’s throat had started to hurt! Bummer!
At 8:22 the St. Louis flight that had boarded at our terminal came back in. Not a good sign! Our flight was now backed up to 9:45 and then 10:00. Then 10:10. We didn’t start boarding until 10:10. Luke snagged great seats: Row 4 Seats ABC. There was a back log as every plane that had been late began to push back at the same time, and the poor air traffic controllers had to sort it out, which took a while. By 10:55 we were finally cleared for departure. The flight crew was very appreciative of the goody bags. And the pilots even remembered Stefanie’s name. They wanted her to come into the cockpit before we flew out, but she said she couldn’t really drive the plane.
It was another 5 minutes before we took off (11:00 PM EDT). From that point the flight home was fairly uneventful. Stefanie and I both had a bit too much pressure in our ears and heads as we began the descent. She was fine by Sunday, but my head, especially my jaws (due to TMJ) were still feeling some ill effects for another 24 hours. We landed in BNA around 12:30 AM CDT. The flight crew continued to thank us as we disembarked the plane. After a brief potty break, we took the escalator down one floor to conveyor belt 2 to await our luggage. Thankfully, ours were some of the first bags unloaded. Soon we were on an elevator to the first floor and off to shuttle pick up. If I hadn’t had one large suitcase, my laptop, and a medium carryon bag plus my backpack, I’d have taken a picture of Stefanie as she very seriously pushed her new suitcase. It was serious, adult business! At the shuttle pick up, Luke called Executive Parking and Travel, and soon we and 3 other groups were aboard the shuttle, headed back to our respective cars. My Edge was running and cooling as we arrived. Our bags were the last off the shuttle because we had the most and the heaviest. This is such a wonderful service both at the beginning and end of a long trip. Luke quickly had all the bags packed in the back, and we piled in to make the 2 ½ hour trip home. Without a lot of traffic, we made great time on I-65 and then the Natcher Parkway. We pulled into our garage at 2:22 AM CDT, totally exhausted, but also totally happy from our latest WDW adventure.
Luke brought ALL our mail inside as it have been delivered that afternoon. Then we unpacked the Edge, leaving the suitcases in the front hall. I got Stefanie and me ready for bed and lights were out by 3:00 AM CDT. At some point in the night, Stefanie came in to camp out on the floor as a thunderstorm blew in. Exhaustion kept us in bed late: Stefanie and I were up by 10:30; Luke at 11:30. And thus ends another Cam and Fam Disney vacation!
It's always sad to read the end of a TR, but you had some pretty great memories from this trip! What an ordeal having to wait for that storm to blow through, Glad you got home safe, though!
Sorry that Luke's throat was hurting...I hope he's feeling better!
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Sad that this magical trip is coming to a close. I am wondering, the last day or two, how is Stefanie handling the thought of leaving the magic of WDW and going home? 
all of the beautiful pictures of the giraffes from your balcony! Isn't it amazing that you were there 2 days in a row at the right time! I would definitely frame many of those beautiful pictures! 
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Have you ever had them do that before? I had no idea they opened those gates for character interactions!! What a PERFECT ending to your trip!!!
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This is such a wonderful service both at the beginning and end of a long trip. 
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