Cam's Golden Birthday Adventure **Updated 8/23** COMPLETE - Page 27 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Great updates Cam. Sounds like a great day for Father's Day despite the rain. Hope your phone shows up. Teppan sounded like an awesome meal, it's on our list to try. Sunday Brunch at House of Blues sounds incredible except for the bus ride. Hope the backpack exchange turns out okay, but I seem to remember from the beginning that you only had the one little pic of it. Hurry back with more.
When we decide to head to Hollywood Studios for the afternoon, will we finally get to see Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular? And what about that cute, cool backpack exchange?
Day 9 – Monday, June 16 at DHS and AK
A definite pattern has emerged as I once again awoke at 9:00. I had my usual Pop Tart and then began checking e-mails and organizing pictures on the computer and backing up on Mickey CDs. Luke and Stefanie were still deeply asleep. We basically had a very lazy morning. At some point we all got ready and decided to do a little search of our own for my missing cell phone. The plan was to take a bus to the Magic Kingdom, then the monorail to the Grand Floridian, and then back to the Ticket and Transportation Center to check at Lost and Found.
Before we headed to the bus stops, Luke wanted a picture of the birthday girl with the DVC Mickey topiary.
As it turned out, our bus to the Magic Kingdom stopped first at the Grand Floridian, so we chose to disembark here. As we entered the lobby a hotel manager noticed us looking around rather aimlessly. He asked if he could help and I explained my losing my cell phone two nights ago. He quickly went to their lost and found, but sadly, did not find my phone. So next up was a trip on the elevator to the next level to board the monorail.
Luke got some really cool shots of our approaching monorail as we waited on the platform.
As we were on the resort monorail, we stopped at Magic Kingdom and the Contemporary before reaching the TTC. Next was a photo of the monorail sign.
From the monorail platform is was a fairly short walk to the Lost and Found, which is also the building where the kennel is located.
I went to the window, which oddly for WDW did not have a line. The friendly cast member behind the window searched the computer data base to see if my cell phone appeared anywhere in the system. No luck! Then she began to electronically complete an official form so that if the phone was found they could contact me whether we were still at Disney or already home. The whole process took about 15 minutes.
While I was answering a battery of questions, Stefanie had her picture taken with the Dalmatians.
Having done all we could do in the search for the missing phone, we moved to the bus stops at TTC to catch a ride to Hollywood Studios. We were still hoping to catch Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular. The wait at TTC seems much longer than the wait at the resorts or parks. But at least we were in the shade.
Sometime later we were finally on bus headed to Hollywood Studios. But before we entered the park, I had to have my picture with my favorite Star Wars character, Yoda.
I even attempted to strike the same pose.
First task once inside, acquire FastPasses for Indiana Jones. We sped off, splitting up at one point as Stefanie and I took a shortcut to the FastPass area. But we couldn’t do anything as Luke had all our tickets. He was only a few seconds behind us. Soon we had FastPasses for a late afternoon showing.
By now we were all three hungry for lunch, and Luke suggested we try Backlot Express as we had never eaten here. But before we reached the restaurant, we spotted the Backlot Express Cart where Stefanie and I still hoped to score the Donald Duck Stormtrooper t-shirts. We got lucky and they had one in the right size for both of us. Luke also purchased several Star Wars Racers that he had been eying for days.
Okay, now we finally headed off for lunch. Just to let you know up front, I was not impressed with Backlot Express for the food or accommodations. So many folks without food reserve tables that many others, us included, wandered for 10 – 15 minutes trying to get a spot to simply set our food down as well as ourselves. Stefanie got the kids chicken nugget meal, which she found acceptable. Luke got a veggie sandwich, which he felt was fair. I chose the Southwest Salad because its picture reminded me of the one at McDs that I am so fond of. This one did not have Southwest dressing and what little dressing it did have left the salad quite dry. I love salads, but they have to have enough dressing. I don’t plan on visiting this one anytime in the future.
While eating, we discussed what to do next and noticed that a showing of Lights, Motors, Action would fit in nicely before our FastPasses opened up for Indiana Jones. As we walked across the park to the arena, we began to notice some storm clouds forming overhead. We walked right into the stadium and found the closest seats we’ve ever had for this attraction. And the seats were still covered in case the rain did come. And the rain did come, not pouring but enough to postpone the show by half an hour. When the sun came out it was amazing how quickly the course dried out. Even though I know all the secrets, I still love this show.
When it was over, we knew we were going to have to walk in record speed to make our FastPass time to Indiana Jones. Luke led us, weaving us through pedestrian traffic like a pro, and then suddenly just feet away from the Indiana Jones entrance we were stopped dead by the afternoon parade. By the time it finished up, we were too late – all seats were taken. A very cantankerous cast member was pitching a fit about there being no more room. I really didn’t notice all his drama as I couldn’t see any rebels in the crowd who were trying to create problems. Maybe the heat got to him. We figured we still have 3 more days to give this show a try, so no stress.
So what to do next? Luke still hadn’t ridden Rock ‘n Roller Coaster and Stefanie and I were ready to get back into some airconditioning so we headed off in that direction. First, we stopped for a Photopass picture in front of my favorite ride, Tower of Terror.
I just had to insert Pluto as Stefanie is looking at who knows what.
Stefanie and I left Luke to make a trek through all the shops. We began to make a wish list for Christmas as we were already over budget on souvenirs and overloaded for packing for the flight home. In hardly anytime at all Luke was back with us.
At this point we decided to head out of Hollywood Studios and move on to Animal Kingdom Lodge in order to check out the developments on Kidani Village before my birthday dinner at Boma. I’m sure I’ve already mentioned this, but my 50th birthday and anniversary present was additional DVC points at Animal Kingdom Villas. Luke had actually given me two options for my present: Either points at AKV or a Lincoln MKX. I figured a gift that lasted 50 years was better than a vehicle that would depreciated the moment we drove it off the lot. I chose the gift that we could all share for many years. So we were really excited to see how the work was going on our new home. Right now I’m anxiously awaiting August 10th so we can book our first trip to our second DVC home.
After wandering through the lodge to get pictures of the new construction, Luke also thought he should take a few of the original lodge.
The last is my favorite.
Then it was time to check in at Boma. We had a very short wait and then were taken to a table in the back with windows that overlooked the back of the resort. Our server Doug volunteered to take our picture. Unfortunately, we didn’t check it, so we didn’t realize it was blurry until much later.
Boma is my absolute favorite, so that is why I chose it for my birthday bash. The only problem is I always overeat here, loads of falafel, Buboti, Potatoes with Afritude, and then the desserts. Not thinking that I might get a special birthday dessert, I chose 3 or 4 selections from the buffet. I had eaten a quite a bit of each when Doug arrived with the coolest birthday dessert yet.
I ate two of the little cakes and shared one with Luke.
Stuffed to the brim, we decided some walking outside and checking out the savannah would be a good idea. I was hoping to see giraffes, but the construction had them elsewhere.
So I just took this photo of hidden Mickey in the rock.
Slightly disappointed, we headed to Zawadi for a little browsing; except for the t-shirt Stefanie bought. From there we moved to the bus stops for a quick ride over to Animal Kingdom. Once there, we made a bee line for Island Mercantile to exchange my backpack. I had absolutely no trouble with the exchange. They even let me transfer all the goodies from the old bag to the new one. I initially had a little trouble with this zipper, but then it caught and seemed (emphasis on seemed) to be fine. I also found a really neat AK long-sleeve t-shirt that I bought to pull out when the cooler weather finally arrives.
More adventures were calling, so we got in line for It’s Tough to Be a Bug. When it was over, we moved on to Dinosaur, which we hadn’t ridden yet. Stefanie is always a bit apprehensive about this one, but we talk her through what it is like, and then she says it’s okay. And it usually is, but this year was different. Immediately after getting off, Stefanie (and I quote) said, “I don’t like Dinosaurs; they’re for boys. I’ve had enough.” As we walked through Dinoland, a cast member stopped us and told us we had won a chance to play two of the arcade games with the guarantee that one of us would win a prize. Stefanie chose Wacky Fossil as she has played Wack-a-Mole before and loved it. I figured she would win, but her Dad took the prize, a stuffed dinosaur. When he offered it to Stefanie, she reminded us in no uncertain terms that she did NOT like dinosaurs. I think we left it in the room in hopes that someone who likes dinosaurs would eventually get it.
Stefanie has mentioned having her photo here before, but usually it’s too crowded.
Somewhere in Dinoland, we picked up Extra Magic Hour bracelets and decided that Luke could ride Expedition Everest again while Stefanie and I checked out the gift shop.
One nighttime Photopass photo with Everest in the background.
Stefanie and I were very thirsty by this time, but every beverage kiosk was crowded. We decided instead to find a spot outside to watch the coaster. A little later, Luke was back with us and we headed off in search of some liquid refreshment. Animal Kingdom is a very different park after dark. Some portions truly felt deserted, but I truly enjoyed the feeling of having the park to ourselves. I stopped to get pictures of the Tree of life at night, but none of them turned out very well.
Even the Photopass picture is a bit blurry.
We came out of the wild near Pizzafari, and since it was still open, headed in for a couple of drinks. When the cast member who was giving us our drinks noticed my birthday pin, she came back quickly with a chocolate cake. Thank goodness it was packaged for carrying back to the room because I was still very full from Boma.
Having had a wonderful day, we decided it was time to head home and get some rest for tomorrow’s adventures. We knew we wanted to try Toy Story Midway Mania one more time and dinner would be at San Angel Inn in Epcot. Will I finally break 100,000 on Toy Story Midway Mania?
Sorry about your lunch, but it sounds like Boma more than made up for it and what a great birthday dessert!! That backpack is starting to sound like more trouble.
What a great birthday you had - shame about the cell phone and Indiana Jones, but the day sounds perfect apart from those things and I love the idea of a birthday dinner at Boma. What a great choice.
Great update, Cam!! Even with a late start to your day, you got a lot accomplished! you haven't been able to locate your phone yet and you missed Indiana Jones again! Hoping you'll be able to catch it later in your trip. Boma!! Isn't AK great in the dark?? It takes on such a different feel! Hope you break 100,000 on TSMM!!
Sounds like a great birthday Cam. So sorry you missed Indiana Jones, hope you get to see it and you find your cell phone. Great birthday dinner. I've never been in AK at night. Looks awesome. Sure hope the new backpack works out. Hurry back.
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I am so sorry you missed Indy - I hope you get to see it before it is time to go home!
Well, the backpack swap doesn't sound very promising! Something tells me that there is a malfunction with this one too!
Your meal at Boma sounds delicious! I just love Boma - it is definitely in my top 5!
Congratulations on your additional DVC points! What a great birthday present!
I can't wait to find out if you break the 100,000 mark at TSMM!
Oh - I just have to tell you, I have the same blue Mickey t-shirt that you are sporting in your pictures today!
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Glad to hear MK was much better. I hope your phone shows up soon!!!
Kris
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you haven't been able to locate your phone yet and you missed Indiana Jones again! 
Hoping you'll be able to catch it later in your trip. Boma!! 
Isn't AK great in the dark?? It takes on such a different feel! Hope you break 100,000 on TSMM!!
And congrats on the points to AKLV 
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