An Animal Kingdom State of Being with Cam and Fam COMPLETED 9/18 About This Page:

[davishomeschool]

Great update Cam!! I love your giraffe pictures!!!

[HollyH]

Catching up after Hurricane Irene rudely set me behind on my TR reading for a week!

Love, love, love the giraffe pictures -especially the Mom and baby pics. Adorable!

Glad you got a chance to listen to the VOL. I caught a performance for the first time last summer. Amazing. I hadn't thought to look for a CD either, but now it's on my list.

Great shopping finds -love the recycled paper bead bracelet. That's on the list now too. I love the Mickey soap at Basin, but my favorite is the red. It is "ginger ale" scented which I thought was quite unusual, but it certainly smells great. And you can tell Stefanie that using the soap doesn't "mess up" the Mickey heads. They keep their shape and just shrink. I actually think it's kind of cool myself.

[lindawdw]

I really enjoyed your pictures of the giraffes from your balcony!!! They're such graceful animals and just so beautiful You got some great purchases from the marketplace Sorry to see your trip report coming to end soon

[doccoc2002]

Great update!!! Can't wait to read more!

[Cam22]

Originally Posted by ilovedisney0_0

I am so envious of how LONG you get to go. Your trips are several days, and I think it makes for some nice, relaxed touring. What is that Dr. Spot soap from Basin? I have never heard of it...

Dr. Spot is a bar soap that removes stains, even old, dried on stains. it!

Originally Posted by BJ Wanlund

I may have to pick up a soap dish from WDW next time I go down, along with my other items on my shopping list for WDW, like Donald Duck shirts.

I'm ALWAYS on the lookout for Donald shirts, I've never really been able to find any decent Donald merch at the parks, as the best Donald merch I've ever gotten are the Chronological Donald Walt Disney Treasures DVD boxed sets, which I never once saw a Walt Disney Treasures DVD set in the parks.

Donald's thankfully got a presence in the online Disney Store though, and I've had my eye on a Donald watch for awhile that I can customize online and have shipped to me.

Apparently, they DON'T do that at WDW, which surprised me greatly, that'd make for a very wonderful souvenir from your trip IMO.

Anywho, I'm rambling on again for no good reason. Great shopping trip, not-so-good (I would even say "saddlecrap", LOL) bus waits, and surprisingly great trip into Disney's Hollywood Studios (I still wanna refer it to MGM, so if I do on accident please don't hurt me).

BJ

I think customized watched at WDW would be a hit! May be we should suggest it!

Originally Posted by tdhc

Back at Kidani, we went to the lobby first to pay some of our room charges plus check on the DVC free souvenir ( luck on this as the DVC rep was nowhere to be found and no one knew where he was because he was supposed to be on duty).

Great update. Love the tshirt. I know my DD would love it. I was wondering about the DVC free souvenir. Is this something that is always available? As new DVCers (only one trip so far) this would be great to know. Thanks!

With our Welcome Home materials there was a postcard this time to pick up a free Aulani print. Not really something I needed, so we didn't try back later and so never got one.

Originally Posted by HollyH

Catching up after Hurricane Irene rudely set me behind on my TR reading for a week!

Love, love, love the giraffe pictures -especially the Mom and baby pics. Adorable!

Glad you got a chance to listen to the VOL. I caught a performance for the first time last summer. Amazing. I hadn't thought to look for a CD either, but now it's on my list.

Great shopping finds -love the recycled paper bead bracelet. That's on the list now too. I love the Mickey soap at Basin, but my favorite is the red. It is "ginger ale" scented which I thought was quite unusual, but it certainly smells great. And you can tell Stefanie that using the soap doesn't "mess up" the Mickey heads. They keep their shape and just shrink. I actually think it's kind of cool myself.

I'll have to let her know, and then maybe she'll use it for bath time.

Originally Posted by davishomeschool

Great update Cam!! I love your giraffe pictures!!!

[Cam22]

Originally Posted by lindawdw

I really enjoyed your pictures of the giraffes from your balcony!!! They're such graceful animals and just so beautiful You got some great purchases from the marketplace Sorry to see your trip report coming to end soon

The giraffes are so interesting to watch and to photograph.

Originally Posted by doccoc2002

Great update!!! Can't wait to read more!

Coming right up!

[Cam22]

Up Next: Laziness and Friends

Friday, June 17

I woke up first at 8:00, but I was still very sleepy, so I just rolled over and went back to sleep. I awoke again at about 9:15. I checked my e-mails, the PassPorter Mystery Photo Contest, and then woke Luke so we could get into our pool gear. Somewhere between 10:00 and 10:30, we were headed to Samawati Springs for some chillin’ by the pool. We found a spot on the far side of the pool and then because it was already oppressively hot, we all got in the pool. I was going to snap a few pictures but realized that though we had brought the camera, we had failed to put the battery back in after it charged over night.

About 11:45, Stefanie announced that she was hungry. She and I headed over to Maji Bar, getting a club sandwich with chips and a drink. We all three shared this lunch and then being hot again, we climbed back in the pool. Around 1:00 we were in the mood to visit a park, but we needed to clean up first. Just as we were packing up to leave the pool, Amy (iamgrumpy) sent a text asking if we might be coming to MK. In fact this was the park we had decided on as we hadn’t done BTMRR yet, a favorite for Luke. I let her know we were going to clean up and head there.

We all moved very quickly, and I even got a load in both the washer and dryer. While Luke was finishing up, I realized four giraffe were right outside our balcony again. I traded lenses on the camera and spent the next 10 to 15 minutes shooting pics. But eventually, the heat sent me back inside.





















































Luke took this photo from the living area of our one-bedroom villa as proof that the giraffes were just outside our balcony.



After taking just a few pictures , we were ready to head to the bus stop. Actually, we walked right on a waiting MK bus this time! On the bus ride we decided we would board WDWRR as soon as we got in the park, get off at Frontierland, and get BTMRR FastPasses. And we did just that. While on the bus, we overheard a family’s funny conversation about collecting “Vinylilluminations.”

As we chugged along on the train, I sent Amy a text about where we were. She was at Columbia Harbor House, so we planned to meet at Haunted Mansion. We had to weave through a crowd going the opposite direction as we were all trying to avoid the 3 o’clock parade. Stefanie kept repeating that she needed a drink, but I couldn’t get to a cart until just outside HM. The heat and humidity were a force to be reckoned with this day. Soon after getting the Coke, I spotted Amy and set off to give her a big hug. She and I chatted the whole way through Haunted Mansion and then laughed so hard at what the hitchhiking ghosts did to Luke and Stefanie in their doombuggy. Their ghosts chopped their heads off and then exchanged the bodies (Luke’s head on Stef’s body and vice versa). Totally hilarious! Our ghosts just shot our head off with a beam of light from a lantern. I truly love this addition!

After leaving our happy haunts behind, we leisurely walked back to BTMRR with Luke stopping for some pictures.







Amy and Stefanie headed into the Briar Patch shop to enjoy the A/C while Luke and I joined the BTMRR ride queue. Soon we were careening through the Wild West on our out-of-control mine train.



Back to civilization, we discovered that Stefanie and Amy had laid claim to the only two rocker in the shop.



Luke quickly discovered a Toy Story Racer car set that he wanted while Stefanie wanted to get a pair of Minnie sunglasses. I also found a cute Minnie nurse pin for our niece who had just passed her boards. As Stefanie and I were paying, I picked up 2 small boxes of Minnie’s cookies for snacking before our flight tomorrow.



Our plan now was to take the train back to Main Street to exit the park, but the train was having problems, so instead we walked in the heat back to the front gate. Once out we split up as Amy needed the resort monorail and we needed the express monorail.



We only had a short visit, but I was so happy to see Amy again. Two monorail trains (red first for Stefanie and then Tron for Luke) later and one funny overheard conversation on the red monorail, and we were at Epcot. A kid who was leaving MK was whining about the heat and his mother told him not to worry, “I know it’s hot but tomorrow we’ll be at Epcot. Everything is indoors at Epcot.” Luke and I mused over that comment off and on the rest of the evening, trying to figure out what she meant.

We took our time walking to La Hacienda as the heat was really bothering Stefanie, and we couldn’t seem to find the indoors that the mom had spoken of. The sky was darkening as we traveled from Future World to World Showcase. At La Hacienda, we were taken in right away even though we were probably 20 minutes early. Thank goodness as that meant we were seated inside when a big storm blew in shortly afterwards. We couldn’t make much of it as screens covered most of the windows. My DSis Pam and Amy both sent texts to see if we were okay as they had seen bad weather where they were and heard about hail at Epcot. Needless to say, we took our time eating.




Just before the storm.





Luke and I shared the La Hacienda for 2 and Stefanie had the chicken tenders and rice. I ate Stefanie’s dessert and Luke had the sorbet trio that I had ordered.

A little after 7:00 we emerged into Mexico to see tons of leaves and branches strewn everywhere. The sun had come back out during our dessert, but the skies were darkening again and thunder could be heard. I looked at Luke and told him that I didn’t want to get soaked while waiting for Illuminations. An early night sounded wonderful to all of us! So revising our plans we traveled to Norway and purchased both Laila and Geir at The Puffin Roost.



We then set off for the front gate, but with the weather holding out, we stopped at Mouse Gear to get a small gift for Luke’s mom for watering our flowers while we’d been gone. Luke also found some auto magnets for each us (Peace, Love, Mickey for me; Tink for Stefanie; monorail for Luke). Stefanie just had to have another WDW pencil.



Back on our way out, more thundering and lightning resumed. We had a fairly average wait for an AKL bus, and then we walked the 4 – 5 minutes back to our room. I worked on laundry and packing Luke’s stuff, downloaded photos (after attempting few pictures of the zebras at twilight, but it was getting too dark), and wrote today’s notes. I was done by 11:00.

[Cam22]

Up Next: Laziness and Friends

Friday, June 17

I woke up first at 8:00, but I was still very sleepy, so I just rolled over and went back to sleep. I awoke again at about 9:15. I checked my e-mails, the PassPorter Mystery Photo Contest, and then woke Luke so we could get into our pool gear. Somewhere between 10:00 and 10:30, we were headed to Samawati Springs for some chillin’ by the pool. We found a spot on the far side of the pool and then because it was already oppressively hot, we all got in the pool. I was going to snap a few pictures but realized that though we had brought the camera, we had failed to put the battery back in after it charged over night.

About 11:45, Stefanie announced that she was hungry. She and I headed over to Maji Bar, getting a club sandwich with chips and a drink. We all three shared this lunch and then being hot again, we climbed back in the pool. Around 1:00 we were in the mood to visit a park, but we needed to clean up first. Just as we were packing up to leave the pool, Amy (iamgrumpy) sent a text asking if we might be coming to MK. In fact this was the park we had decided on as we hadn’t done BTMRR yet, a favorite for Luke. I let her know we were going to clean up and head there.

We all moved very quickly, and I even got a load in both the washer and dryer. While Luke was finishing up, I realized four giraffe were right outside our balcony again. I traded lenses on the camera and spent the next 10 to 15 minutes shooting pics. But eventually, the heat sent me back inside.





















































Luke took this photo from the living area of our one-bedroom villa as proof that the giraffes were just outside our balcony.



After taking just a few pictures , we were ready to head to the bus stop. Actually, we walked right on a waiting MK bus this time! On the bus ride we decided we would board WDWRR as soon as we got in the park, get off at Frontierland, and get BTMRR FastPasses. And we did just that. While on the bus, we overheard a family’s funny conversation about collecting “Vinylilluminations.”

As we chugged along on the train, I sent Amy a text about where we were. She was at Columbia Harbor House, so we planned to meet at Haunted Mansion. We had to weave through a crowd going the opposite direction as we were all trying to avoid the 3 o’clock parade. Stefanie kept repeating that she needed a drink, but I couldn’t get to a cart until just outside HM. The heat and humidity were a force to be reckoned with this day. Soon after getting the Coke, I spotted Amy and set off to give her a big hug. She and I chatted the whole way through Haunted Mansion and then laughed so hard at what the hitchhiking ghosts did to Luke and Stefanie in their doombuggy. Their ghosts chopped their heads off and then exchanged the bodies (Luke’s head on Stef’s body and vice versa). Totally hilarious! Our ghosts just shot our head off with a beam of light from a lantern. I truly love this addition!

After leaving our happy haunts behind, we leisurely walked back to BTMRR with Luke stopping for some pictures.







Amy and Stefanie headed into the Briar Patch shop to enjoy the A/C while Luke and I joined the BTMRR ride queue. Soon we were careening through the Wild West on our out-of-control mine train.



Back to civilization, we discovered that Stefanie and Amy had laid claim to the only two rocker in the shop.



Luke quickly discovered a Toy Story Racer car set that he wanted while Stefanie wanted to get a pair of Minnie sunglasses. I also found a cute Minnie nurse pin for our niece who had just passed her boards. As Stefanie and I were paying, I picked up 2 small boxes of Minnie’s cookies for snacking before our flight tomorrow.



Our plan now was to take the train back to Main Street to exit the park, but the train was having problems, so instead we walked in the heat back to the front gate. Once out we split up as Amy needed the resort monorail and we needed the express monorail.



We only had a short visit, but I was so happy to see Amy again. Two monorail trains (red first for Stefanie and then Tron for Luke) later and one funny overheard conversation on the red monorail, and we were at Epcot. A kid who was leaving MK was whining about the heat and his mother told him not to worry, “I know it’s hot but tomorrow we’ll be at Epcot. Everything is indoors at Epcot.” Luke and I mused over that comment off and on the rest of the evening, trying to figure out what she meant.

We took our time walking to La Hacienda as the heat was really bothering Stefanie, and we couldn’t seem to find the indoors that the mom had spoken of. The sky was darkening as we traveled from Future World to World Showcase. At La Hacienda, we were taken in right away even though we were probably 20 minutes early. Thank goodness as that meant we were seated inside when a big storm blew in shortly afterwards. We couldn’t make much of it as screens covered most of the windows. My DSis Pam and Amy both sent texts to see if we were okay as they had seen bad weather where they were and heard about hail at Epcot. Needless to say, we took our time eating.




Just before the storm.





Luke and I shared the La Hacienda for 2 and Stefanie had the chicken tenders and rice. I ate Stefanie’s dessert and Luke had the sorbet trio that I had ordered.

A little after 7:00 we emerged into Mexico to see tons of leaves and branches strewn everywhere. The sun had come back out during our dessert, but the skies were darkening again and thunder could be heard. I looked at Luke and told him that I didn’t want to get soaked while waiting for Illuminations. An early night sounded wonderful to all of us! So revising our plans we traveled to Norway and purchased both Laila and Geir at The Puffin Roost.



We then set off for the front gate, but with the weather holding out, we stopped at Mouse Gear to get a small gift for Luke’s mom for watering our flowers while we’d been gone. Luke also found some auto magnets for each us (Peace, Love, Mickey for me; Tink for Stefanie; monorail for Luke). Stefanie just had to have another WDW pencil.



Back on our way out, more thundering and lightning resumed. We had a fairly average wait for an AKL bus, and then we walked the 4 – 5 minutes back to our room. I worked on laundry and packing Luke’s stuff, downloaded photos (after attempting few pictures of the zebras at twilight, but it was getting too dark), and wrote today’s notes. I was done by 11:00.




Up Next: "The time has come to say good-bye . . . "

[Colexis Mom]

Glad you had a great time at DTD and DHS! Love the giraffe pictures! Sorry it's been so hot and humid! Sounds like a great time relaxing by the pool, and at MK!

[Colexis Mom]

Glad you had a great time at DTD and DHS! Love the giraffe pictures! Sorry it's been so hot and humid! Sounds like a great time relaxing by the pool, and at MK!

[angiek1024]

Whew! Just got all caught up with your report! I have been so busy with school starting back, Logan playing football and work. Looks like you all have had a great trip!

[eff051102]

Great pictures of the animals from your room. Can't believe it's almost over.

[lauriep]

Lovely morning with the animals off your balcony and the pool. Glad you got some time with Amy at MK, but sorry it was so uncomfortably hot.

[WeRDisneyFanatics]

Fun shopping trip at DTD! Glad you were safe inside during the storm!

[cubfancolleen]

Sounds like you really lucked out in getting in to La Hacienda before the storm hit!