Week 2 – Girls Gone WILD (or to Animal Kingdom)

 

Jan 12

Total miles =658

 

I want to take this opportunity to point out the shirt my friend is wearing.  It says, "This area is being refurbished for your future enjoyment."  Note the pink hair.  She's a breast cancer survivor getting ready for her, ah, "refurbishment".  This is the ULTIMATE Disney breast cancer shirt!!!  What does it say about her that she bought this right after her diagnosis?AWESOME!!!!!   

  

Hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil, have no fun!  Uh-huh! Right! No fun at Disney. That’s why I’m going every week!  It’s just no fun, no fun at all, and if you believe that and stay home, the lines will be shorter for the 3 of us!  

 

Today’s adventure was a walk on the wild side to Animal Kingdom.  It was three amigos up before the sun to make it to the gate in time, or very shortly after, opening.  We carried the full complement of admission media: a seasonal pass, a FL resident 4 day, and my annual pass (also known as the pass of free parking, which is almost as expensive as actually entering Disney parks and more expensive than some shoes I wear to Disney).  This meant we were parking for FREE and going to one park, no hopping.  We were also on a mission to see and do everything, and I mean e v e r y t h i n g.  Fortunately, the park was open until 8:00.  It was ours for the enduring taking. Did I really  use the “E” word?  Let me ‘splain, Lucy. See, 12 hours on my tootsies hurts whether it’s at home or at Disney. No amount of pixie dust and Mickey Magic can erase the intense, burning foot pain of commando-touring, but an 800 mg Ibuprofen, Dr Pepper, and a hit of chocolate can soothe me enough to soldier onward if there’s the promise of a seat in the near future. I've had an unusual double tendon transfer surgery in both feet, so I am a connoisseur of foot pain.

 

Now, before you read my bit about the safari, just keep in mind I've been on this every time of day, and I have to have ridden it about 50 times. Maybe I should keep a ride tally this year. Hmmm. Something to think about.

 

*Touring Tip*

I'd forgotten the magic of Kilimanjaro Safaris first thing in the morning.  The animals are feeding, so they are out and moving.  This is THE time to go, bar none.  Sure, you'll see animals any other time of day, but if you want the absolute best experience, go at opening and head straight for the safari. You can catch It's Tough to Be a Bug at the end of the day before you leave, and there will be a 10 min wait.  Just walk by that big Tree of Life, and don't get sucked in. Save it for the end.  It's just like Spaceship Earth at Epcot. You'll walk right on at the end of the night.

Even the lions were visible and moving!

Thanks to my friend for ALL the pictures, as my cameras were stolen at Disney. (refer to Week 1) The Great Camera Caper has impaired my posting schedule, but I'm trying to catch up. 

We rode, explored, watched shows, snacked.... OH... snacked!

We can be rather cheap fiscally responsible, and I was feeling a bit off.  I scored a big plastic tub of watermelon at the fruit cart in front of the safari for $2.50 give or tax a few cents.  Then I went to Kusafiri Bakery at Harambe Village (about 10 steps from the fruit cart) and paid $2.59 for a bagel and cream cheese.  An overpriced bottle of Captive-Audience Coke rounded out my migraine-prevention buffet which came in at about $8. Considering the food items were healthy, I was full, and I'd succumbed to a theme park bottle of soda which I never do, I thought that was pretty good for the money.

On to the Pangini Trail Aviary (easily overlooked) and the little yellow birds building nests....  This was SO fascinating!

Aren't the little birds just beautiful? (and my friend’s pictures are pretty impressive, too!)

Hi, Little Birds!!!

Well, Hello to You, Too! 

 

Here's a little something I made for you!

 

Ready….

Aim….

Fire!!!!!!!

Direct Hit!

Here is a ruling power in my universe.  If a bird or mammal can reach a spot high enough to unload its cargo on anyone’s head, I will be blessed with the “all-natural, organic, conditioning treatment” in my hair.  Right. I DID say mammal. BTDT. Baby wipes simply don’t get it done, but it IS the Fastpass to the shower. (The cat responsible lived to see another day and was NOT hurled out of the van that was speeding down the highway at 55 mph, but said van increased velocity directly after cat was secured by hyperventilating and snorting offspring.) 

Bottom Line:  It’s easier to list what we didn’t do than everything we did. 

• Kali River Rapids was closed.
• Triceratops Spin
• petting goats (although we went to Rafiki’s Planet Watch)
• Character Landing

  My challenge is really on for this park, but I am confident there are overlooked gems to explore.  Disney has layers upon layers of details, and taking the time to appreciate those is a whole new experience.   

New

• Healthy & Inexpensive snacks: bagels & watermelon
• Props for Expedition Everest pictures
• Getting up at the butt crack of dawn. (OK, so not new but So Yesterday!) Mornings are painful.  

Snacks

I spent approx $8 for a huge bagel, a plastic tub of watermelon, and an overpriced bottle of Coke.  I don’t normally buy bagels at Disney, because I haven’t thought them a good value, being that I can buy an entire package of bagels at the grocery store for the price of 1 Disney bagel.  However, the Disney bagel was considerably larger than the ones in the 6 pack at the store, it was fresh, and for approx $2 it was quite filling.  I purchased it at Kusafiri which used to be part of Tusker House in Harambe Village, Africa section.
The watermelon was priced lower than I’ve seen off property, so I don’t know if this will last.  I bought it back by Kilimanjaro Safaris (the cart is obvious) also in Harambe Village.  It was a square, fold-closed, clear container that was totally full.  It was $2.25 plus tax, making it slightly over $2.50. This was refreshing and delicious, and I’ll be on the lookout for this. The Coke doesn’t belong on this list, but I submitted to Disney’s captive audience pricing and bought it to soothe a migraine.  It was the most expensive item on the list at $2.50 + tax.

Props for Pictures – Not realizing the importance of the moment, I failed to buy a picture to document this.  It never occurred to me I’d want to blog it.  Let me attempt to draw you a mental picture.  In my effort to 1) raise the bar on picture poses, 2) amaze and impress my friends, 3) make a fool of myself in front of as many people as possible… I decided not to announce my plans to the “girls” but just proceeded, as I rode beside strangers, to carry out my posing for the camera on Expedition Everest. The picture is taken as you begin going down the big hill, so you do have to brace yourself to do this and prepare your props. First Photo: They look normal, I’m on a cell phone having a very animated conversation. Second Photo:  They look normal all screaming and carrying on, and I’m drinking a bottle of Coke.  To avert disasters, I took my phone out of the case and just held the case, and I left the lid on my Coke.  Now, you might want to make any preparations before boarding the ride instead of freeing your phone while going up an enormous hill.  Feel free to be original that way.
Tip  Have fun with the photos on the rides. Let the boring masses do the same-ole, same-old. See who in your group can make the silliest pose or face. (I’d love to do a page of these, hint, hint!) The easiest place to do this is Spaceship Earth in EPCOT.