I survived my first camping trip!

[Dizneydawn]

Where in SC are you headed? You just might be coming somewhere near me!
My son plays soccer at Anderson University so we will be going to see him a bit and also plan on visiting some sights/cities along the ocean in SC.

Amen to camping and people who are campers. No greater people in all the world and no greater place than FW to enjoy the camping and those who camp. Have a magical trip!

I am so excited now for this trip. It should be a blast!!!

 

[katiekomo]

Not to worry about the LK's, I took no offense. You appeared to be more inquiring than judging. You probably haven't seen so many in once place because there's nowhere else where there are more CHILDREN in one place.

I haven't yet worried about the KFK photos being seen so far. If someone decides to stalk me...here's their notice. KFK is probably packin'! Watch out! POW!

That's the truth! Although I did see a lot of kids when I worked there, my program was August-December... so it wasn't as kid-packed as June.

I think part of the narcissism is the thought that someone might actually care to stalk us! DH doesn't really "get" disboards yet... I think the thought of his wife posting photos on the interweb make him nervous.

I saw how you might go to the fanny-pack wearin' side... backpacks do get pretty sweaty and annoying. I used one of those back packs that just have the drawstrings that go over your shoulder - do you know what I'm talking about - and they cinch up? Makes it easier to sling over one shoulder if you want to get it off your back a while. I also have used a Vera Bradley hipster that has some convenient pockets.
Not that I have anything against fanny packs... DH actually has a really nice one (snicker) that he got when he was coaching - it has the NFL emblem on it and it's navy and very discreet looking. I make him carry the money and camera in it. I'm such a good wifey...

One thing we should have counted was Vera Bradley bags! They were everywhere! What is it with that?? I have a hipster that I use to keep my cross-stitching in (yes, I'm a twenty-something cross-stitcher... don't tease ). But yeah, I think I might go the hipster route before the FP route. If I do go the FP route I'm going to go all out with pink sequins. Maybe a pin on there that says, "Are you looking at my fanny... pack?" I mean, if you're gonna do, do it big. (There's the Texan in me coming out!)

I want to start by saying I totally owe you a depth of gratitude!

But we have tents and I enjoy camping and the people who are campers so why not enjoy it at WDW?

I was thrilled to read of your adventure and even more how much you did not regret your choice.

Thanks for helping me make my mind up. My fiance more than anyone will be your biggest fan after I go and tell him the news.

Probably a good thing you disguised yourself because he might want to stalk you with a list of other things he hopes I reduce the budget on!

Hooray! After getting SO much help and encouragement from everyone on the board, I really wanted to "give back" and try to help others! So I'm really glad that I've helped y'all!! Of course everyone will have a different experience (there were people there the same time that we were in the exact same loop that posted they had to change their plans mid-trip due to heat .) but these boards really help you learn from others' experiences. Glad I can contribute a little!

 

[katiekomo]

Part Three of June 8th, 2010
Let’s start this with some early morning shots of the campsite. This is site 1510. My only complaint was the lack of shade (we had some in the morning, but not in the afternoon.) Here is from the road:

By the tent, facing our clothesline:

(I heard someone mention on this board that you’re not supposed to use the trees to tie the clotheslines? Why is that?)
And here’s from the grill, facing the back of the tent:

Quick breakfast and we took the bus to the settlement for some coffee. The bus driver told us we needed to walk back to the bus, take it to the Outpost to catch the bus to MK. I thought maybe he had mis-understood which park we were going to? But when we got to the ferry, there were some confused people in the line waiting to take the bus to the MK. A CM came up and explained that the ferry that goes straight to MK doesn’t start running until 8am. We had planned on take whichever ferry came first anyway. We stopped at the Contemporary and walked over to MK. It was a hot morning and there wasn’t a whole ton of shade. So we enjoyed a sweaty 30 min waiting for RD. I had donned my mouse ears and braided pigtails. I sent this picture text to DH:

All of a sudden we saw our favorite family from Epcot! The one where the mom and dad were flirting and wearing mouse ears! This day, the whole family was in mouse ears and they were all wearing red shorts and grey shirts. The shirts weren’t matching… just all the same color. They looked great! I snapped another photo:

How cute is that?? And what are the odds that we'd see TWO memorable families twice during the week?
Here’s the crowd while we were waiting:

The RD show was cute. I loved how many of the characters walked with the crowd up mainstreet. We were right behind Aladdin and Jasmine. I know that there handlers had to be close by, but they were either hidden or in undercover clothes because it looked like they were without. I can imagine from the eyes of a child thinking that the real Jasmine and Aladdin are were scurrying to get to their favorite ride!
We had a very regimented touring plan for MK and followed it pretty well. We were able to do every ride on our list (which I think is every ride but Dumbo, Astro Orbiter and the Country Bear Jamboree… and we didn’t care to wait in line to see characters) with the exception of Snow White. We used FPs for Peter Pan, BTMM and Jungle Cruise--- everything else we were able to ride with minimal wait (less than 20 mins). LP’s a teacher and really enjoyed the Hall of Presidents (she thought it was just a movie and was surprised to see all of them come onstage!). Splash Mountain was a blast! We sat in the front row and got quite wet! LP thought it just went up, then down… so she screamed at every little drop. That might be the biggest tip I have for people bringing newbies to WDW—don’t tell them ANYTHING about the attractions before they experience them! (I guess that might only work for adventurous newbies… and maybe it’s best to tell kids what to expect? I guess I’ll figure that out when I have ‘em!)
We passed the stocks and had to grab a photo:

We had lunch at Pecos Bills. Quite delish! I had the pulled pork sandwich. I took the bread off and ate it with a fork. Next time I think I’ll utilize the fixin’s bar and make almost a little pulled pork salad thing. I’ll snap a photo and post if it’s any good…
I remembered not really liking Stitch’s Great Escape when it opened (and it gets awful reviews), but LP’s favorite character is Stitch so we did it… not as bad as I remembered.
I LOVED the Monster’s Inc Comedy Floor. I could have done that one over and over again!
It was getting later in the afternoon—time for our naps… but we snagged a quick photo by the castle on our way out (this is from Tomorrowland to the hub in front of the castle)(we’re doing our princess poses)

(You’ll notice had taken off the mouse ears… those were HOT.)
A note on fashion… well… more a note on what I wore during our time. Each day I wore a skirt. I wore biker shorts for modesty—getting in and out of those rides could have produced some embarrassing moments (especially Space Mountain!). Then I wore a tank top and a t-shirt. As soon as I got hot (also known as “as soon as I got off the bus”) I’d take the t-shirt off. Then, if we were in AC for a while (or at night when it got a tiny bit cooler) I would put the shirt back on. This worked really well for me. But I’m sure someone (if not many someone’s) found my sneaker and skirt fashion statement to be worthy of a few snickers. Meh.
Next up—a new favorite nap locale then DAK at night!

 

[kampfirekim]

I am so excited now for this trip. It should be a blast!!!

Anderson isn't very near me, but I hope you have fun anyway! I love the SC coastline....it is just BEAUTIFUL! Except for Myrtle Beach, most of it is virtually untouched and natural. Hope you enjoy!

I think part of the narcissism is the thought that someone might actually care to stalk us! DH doesn't really "get" disboards yet... I think the thought of his wife posting photos on the interweb make him nervous.

Hadn't thought of thinking I may be stalked as narcissism, but it does further prove the point doesn't it! One of my DH's worst fears is that some pic of my cleavage or something ridiculous as that will end up on the internet....In our former house the Front door had one of those extremely small windows at the very top to let in a little natural light (and it wasn't even completely transparent) and DH was constantly telling me not to walk in front of the window 'cause my pic would end up on the internet. Unless someone had climbed the very large tree in front of the house and waited for me to walk past the extremely tiny window, this was not possible. If by chance someone went to the trouble to do all of this just to capture me on film....then IMO, they deserved to be able to post the pic on the internet!

(I heard someone mention on this board that you’re not supposed to use the trees to tie the clotheslines? Why is that?)

When you are finished with your TR, you will need to read the "Linedrying clothes" thread. All questions on this subject will be answered and it will all make sense....well, at least you'll understand. BTW, I am in the Pro-clothesline camp! BTW again, your fashion looks fine to me!

Love your TR....looking forward to the rest!

 

[mgsmom]

One thing we should have counted was Vera Bradley bags! They were everywhere! What is it with that?? I have a hipster that I use to keep my cross-stitching in (yes, I'm a twenty-something cross-stitcher... don't tease ). But yeah, I think I might go the hipster route before the FP route. If I do go the FP route I'm going to go all out with pink sequins. Maybe a pin on there that says, "Are you looking at my fanny... pack?" I mean, if you're gonna do, do it big. (There's the Texan in me coming out!)

I think the VB bags must be popular there because they are light and can be washed if they get dirty. I have used the Villager as diaper bag since I had DD - loads of pockets - plus I can throw it in the washer and it holds up. And yes, they have really cute patterns too
I used to cross-stitch a lot too!! Then DH got me a sewing machine and it's ON!! I'm actually making some Disney bags for us to take when we go.
You should def put the sequins on the FP - it would be awesome!

Part Three of June 8th, 2010
A note on fashion… well… more a note on what I wore during our time. Each day I wore a skirt. I wore biker shorts for modesty—getting in and out of those rides could have produced some embarrassing moments (especially Space Mountain!). Then I wore a tank top and a t-shirt. As soon as I got hot (also known as “as soon as I got off the bus”) I’d take the t-shirt off. Then, if we were in AC for a while (or at night when it got a tiny bit cooler) I would put the shirt back on. This worked really well for me. But I’m sure someone (if not many someone’s) found my sneaker and skirt fashion statement to be worthy of a few snickers. Meh.
Next up—a new favorite nap locale then DAK at night!

I'm with you on the skirt and sneakers! Last time we were there in July, I wore a cotton skirt with my boy short swimsuit bottoms underneath. Worked great! Very cool, I think better than shorts.

So, do tell - is it hotter in Florida or Texas right now???? Gotta be a toss up...

 

[Robert6401]

Huntington Beach State Park is where I will reccomend for the Carolina coast. Close enough to Myrtle Beach if you want to dabble in the commercialism, but far enough away that the crowds aren't bad and you really get a better feeling for SC's coastal community. Great seafood all around there, too.

 

[kampfirekim]

Huntington Beach State Park is where I will reccomend for the Carolina coast. Close enough to Myrtle Beach if you want to dabble in the commercialism, but far enough away that the crowds aren't bad and you really get a better feeling for SC's coastal community. Great seafood all around there, too.

Never actually stayed there, but I've always heard good reports and have been considering it ourselves in the near future.

 

[katiekomo]

So, do tell - is it hotter in Florida or Texas right now???? Gotta be a toss up...

Whew that's a good question! I'm tempted to say Texas... but I don't know... It feels hotter here because at the end of an errand I'm getting into a hot car, not an AC bus... but it was sweltering waiting for the AC bus!! I guess I'll be lame and call it a draw...

 

[katiekomo]

Part Two of June 9th, 2010

We took the boat back to FW. We were so tired we didn’t think we could walk one more step. So we didn’t! We plopped down on two beach chairs in the shade and took a nice snooze. I’m kind of surprised we were the only ones out there—that was a delightful nap!

Then it was off to DAK for EMH. This was my first EMH experience ever—and quite a fun one! We knew we’d be visiting DAK the next day, so we just went to see the tree lit up and get some big rides out of the way.

First up—Dinosaur. I told LP that it was like Ellen’s Energy Adventure. Which is true! Kind of. The car moves and there are dinosaurs. Afterwards, she told me that she did not agree. Ah well. I guess we’ll have to have differing opinions.

We were ready for dinner… so Restaurant-osaurus it was! We took a fun photo of the front—we told our DHs that those were their spots.

We really lingered over this dinner. So much so that it was almost 9pm when we got up! It’s not that the food was all that good (we both had the Mandarin Chicken Salad) but we got into a really good convo and couldn’t get up from the table! I’m glad that in the middle of all the Disney craziness we had a few chances like this to get into deep conversations.

With it getting close to closing time we walked over to Everest. My first time riding it (and of course LPs). We loved it! The nighttime definitely added to the scary factor! At one point I would swear we were going backwards.

On our way out we caught the last showing of Bugs Life. The CMs had a bit more pep in their step—I’m sure they had late-night plans back at the CP apartments!

One last thought on this short post:
What’s up with the “breaking of show” at DAK? The EMH night (and the next day) we saw many CMs walking to and from their shift. On our way out after Bug’s Life I saw lots of CMs heading to the exit and other managers saying, “have a good night” to them. Also, I saw two CMs leaving with their lunch kits complaining about health insurance (or something?). It appears as though the cast parking lot and guest parking lot are the same (or at least the CMs and guests walk the same path to their cars). Not that I really care (I’ll share some walking space with CMs as they leave the park after their shift!) but it seems to be a far cry from the "Utilidor access only" at MK.

Our final full day is coming up!

 

[BradyBz12]

My ears can't even hear the words "YOU CAN'T"! On the off chance they do hear the words, my reply is "Don't tell ME what I can't do!" HAHAHAHA!

Ah, a girl after my own heart!

I'm a little late to the party, but great job on the TR!

Was the Sushi from "Tokyo Dining?" The wife and I are sushi fans and we have a ressie for Tokyo Dining in a couple of weeks. Supposedly their sushi is better than Teppan Edo's???

Teppan Edo is "ok" for sushi, and Puck's at DTD is sometimes good but it can be inconsistent and the last few times we were there in the past 2-3 years the service was awful. I haven't tried the sushi bar at the S&D yet (hopefully this Nov) but IMO if you want really good sushi at WDW there are 2 choices IMO - California Grill (fantastic), and the best kept secret in all the World IMO, the Kona Sushi Bar. The latter is located right outside Kona Cafe at the Poly and is actually a coffee bar by day. At 5 pm it switches to a sushi bar. Not an enormous selection (although more than Teppan Edo) but it's excellent. And to make things better, it's nearly always a walk up (at least that's the case when we're there in Nov/Dec) and you can order off the regular Kona Cafe menu as well.

Now shhhh.... don't tell anyone. It'll be our little secret.

 

[ambertides]

Next on our touring plan was The Voyage of the Little Mermaid. So we watched it. I barely remembered seeing it 6 years ago, but I thought I remembered being impressed? Well, this time I was NOT. Sure, there were some neat things… but not really worth the price of admission (which was nothing).

Awwe, that's probably my favorite attraction at DHS. I usually sit way back on one of the benches and I've been really tempted to ask and see if they'll let me stay there for a few shows. It's so nice and cool in there. But then, I'm a ride chicken, so, perhaps easily impressed.

One thing we should have counted was Vera Bradley bags! They were everywhere! What is it with that?? I have a hipster that I use to keep my cross-stitching in (yes, I'm a twenty-something cross-stitcher... don't tease ).

I was a 20-something knitter - now a 30-something knitter. We are just ahead of the game.

So, do tell - is it hotter in Florida or Texas right now???? Gotta be a toss up...

IME, having lived in both, Texas is way hotter, but Florida is stickier.

 

[Tri-circle-D]

We took the boat back to FW. We were so tired we didn’t think we could walk one more step. So we didn’t! We plopped down on two beach chairs in the shade and took a nice snooze. I’m kind of surprised we were the only ones out there—that was a delightful nap!


One last thought on this short post:
What’s up with the “breaking of show” at DAK? The EMH night (and the next day) we saw many CMs walking to and from their shift. On our way out after Bug’s Life I saw lots of CMs heading to the exit and other managers saying, “have a good night” to them. Also, I saw two CMs leaving with their lunch kits complaining about health insurance (or something?). It appears as though the cast parking lot and guest parking lot are the same (or at least the CMs and guests walk the same path to their cars). Not that I really care (I’ll share some walking space with CMs as they leave the park after their shift!) but it seems to be a far cry from the "Utilidor access only" at MK.

A couple of comments and questions before this great report ends:

1. Did you visit the Wilderness Lodge on this visit? There are some great places in their lobby to take a break from the heat. Also, there is a small lobby for the villas with some game tables and couches- another great place to escape from the heat. Plus, it is easy to get there from the Fort.

2. Yes, the employee parking lot for AK is just outside the entrance. When we do a rope drop, we typically find ourselves walking side by side with garishly costumed cast members. I never thought about this before, but you are right- Walt would not have approved such a thing.

3. I would like to hear more about Garden Grocer. Can you give us an idea of the cost? Folks ask about it from time to time- mostly cabin people- and I have never really gotten a grip on whether it is outrageously expensive or not.

4. Also, this is trivial, but what did you do about towels? I think you were the one asking about bringing a chamois type towel. Is that what you did?

TCD

 

[kampfirekim]

Awwe, that's probably my favorite attraction at DHS. I usually sit way back on one of the benches and I've been really tempted to ask and see if they'll let me stay there for a few shows. It's so nice and cool in there. But then, I'm a ride chicken, so, perhaps easily impressed.



I was a 20-something knitter - now a 30-something knitter. We are just ahead of the game.



IME, having lived in both, Texas is way hotter, but Florida is stickier.

When DS was 4 we took him to see the Voyage of the Little Mermaid...he hated it.....and in fact later in the day when we were walking in the direction of the VOTLM, he began yelling and pulling away..."NOOOOOO! NOT THE LITTLE MERMAID...NOT THE LITTLE MERMAID!" (I still kind of like it.)

I was a 20 something cross-stitcher, then a 30 something occasional cross-stitcher. Now I am a forty something with two DS' 5 & 7 who now needs readers and avoids needlepoint like the plague!

Sorry katiekomo, just a little idle chit chat while we eagerly await the finale of your great TR.

 

[Lil' Lisa]

...I was a 20 something cross-stitcher, then a 30 something occasional cross-stitcher. Now I am a forty something with two DS' 5 & 7 who now needs readers and avoids needlepoint like the plague! ...

Sounds like me! I used to love to cross-stitch.

 

[jenscourt]

I still love to cross stitch and needlepoint....even though I am turning the big 4-0 this year and now have glasses. I've made all of my nieces and nephews (I have no children) their Christmas stockings (needlepoint) when they were born. Hopefully, I will have a little bit of a break as I've made one each year for the last four years.

 

[Running_Bell]

I am really so excited to have read this. We will tent camp at Fort Wilderness for the first time this winter. We've been 3 times to FW, however, we always borrowed our neighbors RV. We've discovered how much we love tent camping recently and now want to try it at FW. Of course, there is electricity at the FW sites... this will be a nice luxury. We are now more excited than ever.

 

[ambertides]

When DS was 4 we took him to see the Voyage of the Little Mermaid...he hated it.....and in fact later in the day when we were walking in the direction of the VOTLM, he began yelling and pulling away..."NOOOOOO! NOT THE LITTLE MERMAID...NOT THE LITTLE MERMAID!" (I still kind of like it.)

Your DS sounds like my DH!

I was a 20 something cross-stitcher, then a 30 something occasional cross-stitcher. Now I am a forty something with two DS' 5 & 7 who now needs readers and avoids needlepoint like the plague!

I did some cross stitch in my teens, I really enjoyed it, but it can definitely cross your eyes! Plus I could never keep my backs from looking like a mess. Luckily I don't need to see to knit.

Sorry katiekomo, just a little idle chit chat while we eagerly await the finale of your great TR.

 

[katiekomo]

I still love to cross stitch and needlepoint....even though I am turning the big 4-0 this year and now have glasses. I've made all of my nieces and nephews (I have no children) their Christmas stockings (needlepoint) when they were born. Hopefully, I will have a little bit of a break as I've made one each year for the last four years.

I've been on the hunt for a Christmas stocking cross-stitch pattern. I'd like to make my DH and I one before we have kids, then make them each one as they come. I know it will be QUITE the task, so I'd like to start early... but I just can't find one I like! If you (or any other stitchers out there!) know of some traditional Christmas stocking patterns (with no Santa Claus or Child on them) will you PM me? (I've seen a few with a Child as the main focus of the design... that's what I mean by no child!)

A couple of comments and questions before this great report ends:

1. Did you visit the Wilderness Lodge on this visit? There are some great places in their lobby to take a break from the heat. Also, there is a small lobby for the villas with some game tables and couches- another great place to escape from the heat. Plus, it is easy to get there from the Fort.

2. Yes, the employee parking lot for AK is just outside the entrance. When we do a rope drop, we typically find ourselves walking side by side with garishly costumed cast members. I never thought about this before, but you are right- Walt would not have approved such a thing.

3. I would like to hear more about Garden Grocer. Can you give us an idea of the cost? Folks ask about it from time to time- mostly cabin people- and I have never really gotten a grip on whether it is outrageously expensive or not.

4. Also, this is trivial, but what did you do about towels? I think you were the one asking about bringing a chamois type towel. Is that what you did?

TCD

1. I didn't, but I will next time! Great tip!!

2. Agreed.

3. I scoured the website (gardengrocer.com) before I ordered and copied down the prices. In fact, they have a tool where you can put something as a favorite. So I created a (free) account and every time I read something on here that clued me into what I might need/want I added it to my favorites. The price is higher than anywhere off-site, but lower than Disney. Since our only off-site option was a taxi, it made since for us. The biggest "waste" was that there were only two of us. So a box of graham crackers wasn't needed... but over all it was a good deal. The total was $100 (including delivery and a $20 tip). If I had to do it again... the styrofoam coolers were a must have, the hot dogs were perfect (they have my brand: Hebrew National), the water bottles were great, the chips and hummus got eaten. We had to order an entire bag of charcoal but barely used a quarter of it... not sure how to get around that next time (without renting a golf cart and looping to find some nice Dis'ers who will share). We never ended up making smores-- next time I'll buy the kit from Disney. Yes it's expensive, but the two of us could have shared and we didn't need an entire bag of marshmallows. I was surprised we didn't drink but 4 of our 12-pack of diet cokes, so I'd probably not buy those next time either. They forgot the ice, so they gave me dry ice. That worked well, but I still had to buy two more bags before the trip was over (which I had planned for). It felt like expensive when I bought it... but $4 isn't something to fret over.

4. Yes! I did get a Sammy! But I ended up barely using it! I also brought two thin towels. The original idea was to use the thin towel for my hair and the Sammy for my body. But the Sammy didn't feel the same as a towel, so my towel did double duty (I always had one towel drying). I did use the Sammy in the tent. If you get it wet and put it back in the plastic thing, it stays wet and can keep you cool during the day.

I am really so excited to have read this. We will tent camp at Fort Wilderness for the first ti

me this winter. We've been 3 times to FW, however, we always borrowed our neighbors RV. We've discovered how much we love tent camping recently and now want to try it at FW. Of course, there is electricity at the FW sites... this will be a nice luxury. We are now more excited than ever.

Hooray! I'm glad I can help! I can't imagine not have electricity!! How would you plug in your phone at night??

 

[katiekomo]

Part One of June 10th, 2010

Our last full day at WDW! This was our planned DAK day. We were there in time to get a cup of coffee outside the park AND see the RD show! There was an airplane writing in the sky that morning. Messages like “Jesus loves you” and such. We wondered who might be footing the bill for that? And Orlando mega-church? A Christian with deep pockets? We saw it later that afternoon from the Fort, so I don’t think that was a cheap venture…

We started with Everest. Much different during the day! (But still good!) I have heard talks of a large animatronic Yeti named Betsy. We did not see her. We did see the projection of a Yeti (like the shadow). Although I'm sure impressive, I didn't think the ride was lacking. LP who had heard nothing of this did not think that there was anything missing. Meh.

We rode Primevil Whirl and were paired with a couple on their honeymoon. They were very cute!

We walked onto Kali River Rapids and shared the “boat” (what do we call that?) with a family who had chosen to stay on. We donned our ponchos, but thankfully didn’t get too wet. Pretty fun ride!

Being LSU fans (one of us married into the family and the other played soccer for the school) we wanted to see the Tiger on the Maharaja Jungle Trek. Sadly, much like Old Mike, the tiger was just lounging.

We got FPs for Kilimanjaro Safaris and saw Flight of Wonder. Wow! Why haven’t I heard of this before? Delight! We were so impressed! I liked that it wasn’t too hokey. Not at all what I was expecting (which was a parrot riding a bicycle or a monkey playing symbols).

We opted out of the train ride to Conservation Station. I know that could have been a mistake, but we were nearing the end of our trip… and our stamina!

Pangani Forest Trail was great! The apes were our favorite. They were moving around a lot and interacting with each other. Then one beat his chest which was funny. Then another turned its butt to us and peed! Maybe that’s why Walt started with the animatronic animals!

We had lunch at Tamu Tamu refreshments. I had the Tuna Salad Pita with apple slices. It was good, but the apple slices tasted a little chemical-y. But I was glad to have the option!

Our FPs for KS was ready so we rode it. It was right around 1pm and the animals seemed to be hopping! People have told me to ride it early in the morning to see the most animals, but I can’t imagine seeing more!! Especially the rhinos and giraffes (they were EVERYWERE—walking in front of our car and right next to us!)

On the way to see Nemo, we ran into DeVine. I thought I had heard that she was elusive, so I was really excited!

Nemo was really good! But then we saw the Lion King… and that was AMAZING!! Both I’ll do on the next trip.

We knew that the ME was going to pick us up EARLY in the morning (um… 6am?!) so instead of napping, we went back to the tent to pack up what we could. That included the kitchen and almost all of our clothes. We fixed it so the next morning we’d just have to pack the tent, the air mattresses and some lagniappe items… we figured it would take about an hour to do that and shower. But before I tell you about our interesting morning, I’ll need to tell you about the rest of the day…

That night, a trip to DHS for Fantasmic!

 

[kampfirekim]

Your DS sounds like my DH!

Part One of June 10th, 2010

Our last full day at WDW! This was our planned DAK day. We were there in time to get a cup of coffee outside the park AND see the RD show! There was an airplane writing in the sky that morning. Messages like “Jesus loves you” and such. We wondered who might be footing the bill for that? And Orlando mega-church? A Christian with deep pockets? We saw it later that afternoon from the Fort, so I don’t think that was a cheap venture…

We started with Everest. Much different during the day! (But still good!) I have heard talks of a large animatronic Yeti named Betsy. We did not see her. We did see the projection of a Yeti (like the shadow). Although I'm sure impressive, I didn't think the ride was lacking. LP who had heard nothing of this did not think that there was anything missing. Meh.

We walked onto Kali River Rapids and shared the “boat” (what do we call that?) with a family who had chosen to stay on. We donned our ponchos, but thankfully didn’t get too wet. Pretty fun ride!

Being LSU fans (one of us married into the family and the other played soccer for the school) we wanted to see the Tiger on the Maharaja Jungle Trek. Sadly, much like Old Mike, the tiger was just lounging.

We got FPs for Kilimanjaro Safaris and saw Flight of Wonder. Wow! Why haven’t I heard of this before? Delight! We were so impressed! I liked that it wasn’t too hokey. Not at all what I was expecting (which was a parrot riding a bicycle or a monkey playing symbols).

We opted out of the train ride to Conservation Station. I know that could have been a mistake, but we were nearing the end of our trip… and our stamina!

Our FPs for KS was ready so we rode it. It was right around 1pm and the animals seemed to be hopping! People have told me to ride it early in the morning to see the most animals, but I can’t imagine seeing more!! Especially the rhinos and giraffes (they were EVERYWERE—walking in front of our car and right next to us!)

Nemo was really good! But then we saw the Lion King… and that was AMAZING!! Both I’ll do on the next trip.

We knew that the ME was going to pick us up EARLY in the morning (um… 6am?!) so instead of napping, we went back to the tent to pack up what we could. That included the kitchen and almost all of our clothes. We fixed it so the next morning we’d just have to pack the tent, the air mattresses and some lagniappe items… we figured it would take about an hour to do that and shower. But before I tell you about our interesting morning, I’ll need to tell you about the rest of the day…

That night, a trip to DHS for Fantasmic!

Love the Jesus Jet. Some don't, but I do.

There is an animatronic yedi on EE. You must've had your eyes closed.

I love the Kali River if I don't have to wait. Sorry the tiger was tired. We actually saw at least five a couple of years ago. They were beautiful and I got great pics.

IMHO, you didn't miss much at Conservation Station. We went once. It was more than enough for us. Sounds like you made a good decision on that one.

Glad you got a great Safari. It rained once while we were on and it was FANTASTIC! The animals were running everywhere! Even the lions were moving. The rain blowing into the truck just added to the excitement.

Love your pack up plan! Looking forward to hearing about your interesting morning. BTW, great TR. It's been a lot of fun!