Rajah
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 17, 1999
This morning we were up by 10 am. I at least was well rested, I don't know about Michael though. We went through our normal routine, but weren't ready to go down to breakfast until about 11:00. By that time, we thought the Coral Cafe had stopped serving breakfast, and Michael for once wasn't in the mood for breakfast food. He'd be perfectly happy with lunch. I, on the other hand, wanted my omelet and hash browns, but if they'd stopped serving then they stopped serving and I'd settle for lunch. We decided to check the lunch menu at the Coral Cafe and maybe go over to the Garden Grove at the Swan.
When we got downstairs, we found out that the Coral Cafe was still serving breakfast after we asked to see their lunch menu. Turns out the Coral Cafe served breakfast until 11:30 after all, so I was happy and Michael was willing to have breakfast. Once again we hit the buffet, though this time oddly Michael only got some pancakes and sausage. I was the one who wanted the hearty breakfast with the bacon, omelet, and hash browns. Michael as always had coffee and I had orange juice.
This time, I'd agreed to leave most of our stuff upstairs, so after we were done eating we returned to the room for a few minutes. Michael rested for about 10 minutes while I took a few more pictures and made sure I'd gotten everything out of the vest the night before since I was back to my belly bag for today. I thought about using the camera vest all day, but spending a few minutes out on the balcony convinced me that it would be a hot day today and I didn't need the added layers the camera vest provided.
By the time we were out of the room, it was noon. This time we opted to drive since we had dinner plans at the Animal Kingdom Lodge at Jiko's and from there would be rushing up to the Magic Kingdom to try for Spectromagic. Getting from the Animal Kingdom to the Animal Kingdom Lodge would have been fairly easy, but getting from the Lodge back to the Magic Kingdom in a timely manner wasn't that likely unless we drove.
The drive was very relaxing despite the car that I hated, and we were parked in the Dinosaur rows. Once again we looked out at a parking lot that was nearly empty. I couldn't believe how big of a parking lot they have at the Animal Kingdom compared to how many cars were there. We found a spot not far from the aisle where the trams pick up, and as we walked up a tram was approaching.
The tram, however, was heading the other way and I looked at how far it could go before it would have to turn around compared to how long of a walk it would be and told Michael let's walk. Naturally, as soon as I said that (and survived the "I don't THINK so" look I got from Michael), the tram turned around almost right in front of us and stopped. Apparently, they weren't going to the end after all.
So we climbed into the tram and listened to the CM on the back as he told everyone to sit down and remember where you're parked. I don't remember the CM's name, but he had an *excellent* speaking voice. You know how some people have voices that just naturally lend themselves (or have been trained) to be a good radio or event announcer? That's what this guy's voice was. Very clear, very good pronunciation, and one of the few times I could actually understand what was being said on the tram.
When we arrived at Animal Kingdom, I made my usual detour for a picture of the entrance. I love the flowers that grow in various islands and planters along the walkway to the gate, and there were some very pretty ones growing this time. After that, we passed through the bag check (quick as usual and much much less crowded than I'd expected -- maybe because we were so late) then through the gate and immediately made our way into the Oasis.
On most trips, we will breeze through the Oasis and into the heart of the park. Usually, we're rushing because we're late or almost late for breakfast PS at Donald's Breakfastosaurus or for a show, but this time we had no time constraints saying "run" so we took our time as we walked through the Oasis. We stopped to admire some of the birds and fish (mostly birds) and the landscaping that in the past we've taken for granted. My favorite is the waterfall where two brilliantly blue Macaws (I think) were out on a perch.
We also actually saw a snake moving around. It's not the first time I've seen a snake "in the wild", but was the first time I've seen one there at the park. It went straight for the water, so I'm assuming it was a water snake of some sort. Especially with how fast it disappeared once it got in the water -- dang those things can move fast! The duck it swam past didn't even blink an eye, so it apparently wasn't concerned. We watched the snake until it started heading in the direction of the path. I like snakes when they're at a distance, but it was coming too close for me so at that point we continued on.
Our explorations of the Oasis took about 20 minutes, and then we were in the heart of the park. We still didn't spend a lot of time watching the rest of the animals, nor did we see all of the tucked-away areas in the Oasis, but we enjoyed our time. I'm going to have to try to budget more time to appreciate the other half of the Oasis next time
When we reached the area near the pin cart, we realized we did what we always tend to do at the parks. That is, we're so accustomed to the parks and know our way around well enough that we're usually half-way through the park before we realize that we never picked up a park map. Except in MGM where I know I need a map for some things. But it's never the *map* we need, it's the *showtimes* printed on the map that we want to see.
Well, no matter, we'd find a park map elsewhere. Instead, we just glanced at the showtimes on the wait time board and made note of what time each show was, then we paused to watch the musical group that was playing between the board and the pin cart for a few minutes before we moved on.
First stop this trip, as usual, was Dinoland USA. Normally, we go there for Tarzan Rocks or breakfast, but this time (since Tarzan was already showing and the next show wasn't for a few hours) we wanted Dinosaur. The wait time board had indicated about a thirty minute wait, but we decided to go see for ourselves. Frequently those wait times are off a bit, as though there's a 30 minute delay between showing the new wait time.
As we hoped, when we actually walked up to Dinosaur there was only about a 10 minute wait posted, and when we walked in that was about right. We did hit a little bit of a wait in the room with the Carnotaur skeleton in the center, but it wasn't much of one. Plus, the wait was a good thing: for the first time, Michael was able to see part of the introduction done by Bill Nye. I wouldn't be surprised if over half the guests that go through Dinosaur don't even know there's an introduction in that room because they move through it so fast.
Our ride through Dinosaur was fun, as always. We were seated next to two first-timers who had the rest of their 6-person party in the row behind us. They questioned the need to put things into the bags in front of them, and we *strongly* encouraged them to follow the instructions if they didn't want to lose their things. My camera wasn't going in the bag (though the video camera did), but that was for another reason and plus I had the strap around my neck.
As we took our trip back in time, I tried what I decided I could do last time: specifically, took some pictures. The first time, the flash accidentally went off even though I could have sworn I turned it off. But a quick tap of a button and no more flash, and that time was in the entrance where there were a lot of strobe effects *anyway* so it didn't hurt anything.
What did I get from the ride? One big red blur (the first dinosaur you stop to see), three black screens, and one black screen with a lighter colored line moving through it (the last nice dinosaur you encounter). So even with more of a time exposure, even at the points where the car slows down or stops momentarily, without a flash I couldn't get any good pictures in the ride. And I'm not going to use a flash. Oh well, it was fun trying anyway
As we left, we encountered a couple of people who obviously didn't listen to directions. They were calling across the track to the ride operator asking about their camera and bag. "It was a fairly large bag" and they held their hands out to indicate something the size of my belly bag. They did not look happy when they were told there was nothing the CMs could do about it until the end of the day when the ride was shut down. I don't know if they ever returned to get their camera and bag, but let that be a lesson: unless it's attached to you (strap, pin, clasp, etc), *put it in the pouch in front* if you don't want to lose something.
We paused in the store outside of Dinosaur to pick up a snack and I asked about park maps. Nope, they were all out. So after grabbing some candy of some sort for Michael (I don't think I got anything, but I ate more for breakfast), we made our way out of Dinoland. We paused to watch the construction going on, but we couldn't really see much of anything of the new rides besides the top of what will be the Triceratops Spin. It sure looks like it'll just be another Dumbo clone. We couldn't see anything of the construction of the roller coaster.
I tossed the idea to Michael of running into the Boneyard to take a look around since we'd never been in there, but he didn't want to see it at all. That's the big kid's sandbox with dinosaurs inside. I must admit, though I wanted to see what was on the other side of that fence, I wasn't that comfortable going in either. Funny... I'll stand in line for Dumbo or Pooh without flinching, I'll dress up in costume for a Halloween party, I'll take candy that mostly only kids are taking (but is for everyone), but I won't go into the kid's sandbox without a kid. Maybe if we'd been with a kid or with another party that had a kid, I would feel less conspicuous
Our next stop was back near the entrance and pin cart where I got a poweraide and Michael got an iced coffee. We found a small table and a couple of benches next to the closest shop and sat down for a couple of minutes, but I was restless. So I left Michael at the table to sip at his iced coffee while I went across the street to look at the pin cart. Just a few minutes later I came back to drag Michael over to see a few more pins. A few minutes after *that*, and we had five more pins in our collection. I'm sure Michael was rolling his eyes behind my back as I was making the purchase, but hey, I liked them
By this time, we were running low on things we wanted to do in the proper timing. I mentioned going over to see the tigers, but when we stopped at the wait/show time board to double-check when Tarzan Rocks was playing, we saw that a Flights of Wonder show would start in about 20 minutes and would be over with enough time to make it to Tarzan.
So we put the tigers on hold and went over to the Flights of Wonder theater instead. We got there before they started letting people in, but we weren't too early. Just a couple of minutes after arriving, a lady came out with a big owl on her wrist. I think it was an eagle owl. Whatever type it was, it was a beautiful bird, and she told the audience a little about owls and that owl in particular. I snapped several pictures before it was time to move into the theater. As we walked in, the lady was warning everyone over her little microphone not to stand up during the show.
We got a seat on the next-to-front row on the right hand side near the aisle -- a pretty good spot for seeing the birds, and the only people who "could" sit in front of us were handicapped parties. One party came up to sit there for a few minutes at the last minute, but I think they moved elsewhere where the lady's wheelchair wouldn't be as likely to roll.
As for the show itself, I really enjoyed it. It's not the best bird show I've seen, but it was a good one. I really liked their opening with a bunch of birds running or flying around in flocks, and the show had quite a bit of fun humor in it.
SPOILERS:
They had the typical things you'd expect in a bird show. The lady who stood up with a dollar bill while a crow flew up and grabbed it out of her hand, then flew back and gently returned it. A talking bird of some sort (parrot or parakeet, I don't remember which. Parrot, I think). A couple of beautiful exotic birds, including one that flew right over our heads. I have a great shot of that bird coming straight for us which was snapped before it registered how low that big bird was flying. And at one point they asked for a guest with a camera to come up. I raised my hand as wanting to go, but wasn't selected. The lady who was selected had a really complex camera which got a few laughs: it was just a disposable kodak. What they did to her was have her sit on a stool right next to and below the eagle owl's perch. Then they sent the owl out to a handler in the back, then had him come back up to his perch -- which brought him very close to the guest. She snapped her picture (and I'm pretty sure one reason they have the person with the camera is to offer some eye protection in case the bird strays a little, but I may be wrong on that). Then she squeaked...which got a comment from the main performer of be careful, the Owl's prey are mice that squeak like that. I don't think I've ever seen anyone run off stage as fast as she did And, as in all bird shows, they had one person fail to pay attention to the instructions and thus almost get hit by a bird. He stood up to take a picture when a bird was coming right for him (I think the hawk), and the bird barely swerved to miss him.
/SPOILERS
As I said, I really enjoyed the show, but Michael wasn't too sure of what to make of it. I love birds and for some reason don't have much problem with them flying *over* me. *At*, yes, *over*, no. So I enjoyed everything. But those birds are trained to fly just a few inches above the audience's heads, which Michael really didn't like. And the main performer's comment not to duck or the birds will just fly lower didn't help So let that be a warning -- if you don't like having birds (ranging from doves to exotic cranes to eagle owls or hawks) swooping over just a couple of inches over your head... skip this show Or sit in the VERY back
Just before the show finished, it started to rain. It wasn't raining very hard, though. At least not at first. By the time the show was over, it was coming down pretty hard. Only about a third of the people got up to go brave the rain, and the CMs came over the loudspeaker to announce that we were welcome to stay under cover in the theater for a little bit.
Michael and I talked about it for a few minutes and looked at the way it was raining and how the clouds looked. Now it was heavy, but we were familiar with these kinds of storms from home and we both figured it would pass fairly quickly. But in the meantime, we had both the digital still camera and the digital video camera to protect -- neither of us was really *that* worried about *us* getting wet, but we were worried about the equipment. I looked in my belly bag and found that I still had my poncho in there from our trip to the Magic Kingdom several days before (I always take a poncho for Splash Mountain). Michael, however, had no rain gear.
So, after sitting for a few minutes then getting restless, we decided to brave the rain. It looked like it was letting up. So he gave me the video camera (I was already carrying the still camera) and I put on my poncho and we stepped out of the cover of the theater. Only then it started raining even heavier and Michael decided he didn't want to go on. So he ducked under some shelter while I stood out in the rain (mostly protected by my poncho) and we made arrangements.
I turned my radio on and went off in search of a poncho for him. Mickey would just get a few bucks for one of those plastic ponchos. I made my way around to the closest store I was aware of, I think that was Beastly Bazaar, before I found something. But what I found wasn't the simple poncho... I instead found some really nice blue and green rain jackets. These jackets could fold down into their pockets to make a kind of pillow or for easier transport.
Of course, by the time I found these, the rain had pretty much stopped for the moment. Long enough anyway that Michael had left the cover of the booth he had been hiding in and come after me. So I directed him to where I was and we discussed the jackets. We both needed new rain jackets anyway, these seemed to be a good quality, and they were better protection than the ponchos plus easier to maneuver in. So we ended up getting a pair. The CM snipped the tags off of them and zipped them in the pockets for us so we could wear the jackets right then.
After our purchase, we made our way to Tarzan Rocks. We still had about 20 minutes before the show and the park wasn't that crowded, so we didn't expect a problem. But when we arrived, there was quite a line that was being held back not far into the walkway. They actually had a completely full theater, something we've never seen before when the park wasn't very crowded. The next show wasn't until after we had to be out of the park (or maybe it was going to be during the parade, I forget which), so we turned away slightly disappointed.
We speculate that the rain sent people running to the nearest shelter, and for those in and near Dinoland, that would have been Tarzan Rocks. We were a little disappointed since this is Michael's favorite show in Animal Kingdom (and possibly all of WDW not including the fireworks shows) and it's tied for first for me with Festival of the Lion King, but we have seen it several times so it wasn't a big loss. Instead, we decided to check out Dinosaur again. But the wait time that had been 10 minutes earlier in the day was now 35+, so we turned right back around.
Okay, now what?
A little checking of time and weather, and we decided the tigers needed a visit. So we backtracked into Asia and made our way into the Maharajah Jungle Trek. We paused very briefly to see the big lizard that was actually moving for once (he's always asleep when we come by), but otherwise bypassed the rest of the animals and went straight to the main attraction: the tigers.
The upper observation deck wasn't too crowded, but there wasn't really much to watch anyway. Two of the girls (all the tigers at the Jungle Trek are girls, or at least were last I checked) were gathered over by the entrance to their inner chambers. The door was down so they weren't really getting anywhere. One was just lying down staring at the door and waiting for it to open, but the other was impatient and started pacing. She moved around and around in circles, and kept trying the patience of the resting tigress as she kept stepping right over her hindquarters, then right over her head as she turned around, silly thing. There was more than enough room to go *around* the other tiger, but she wanted to step *over* the other tiger. Silly cat.
We watched for a few minutes, but when the first tigress showed no signs of wanting to move and the second showed no signs of wanting to move anywhere besides in that one small circle, we turned around and went down to the next viewing area.
No tigers there, but the next window down was where we found the other two. They were lying in the second big open area, but weren't really active. So we continued around to the next to last viewing area, where you're on the bridge without a window between you and the tigers. By the time we got around to the bridge, one of the girls in that area had started to pace. She went around and around, occasionally picking on her "sister" that was lying down, but she also did something else kinda funny.
Whenever she came to the window for the red viewing corner, she'd rise up on her hind legs and press her face and front pads against the window. She didn't act aggressive when doing it, more curious and bored than anything else. Then she'd stand there for a moment before dropping down to all fours and continuing on her rounds again. We watched and recorded for a few minutes, though it started raining again so Michael had to help me by holding my hood over the video camera so it wouldn't get too wet. Then we went around to that final viewing place.
We stayed in there for a few minutes watching the girl pace, and she eventually came up to the window again. One lady standing next to us tapped the glass ever so gently (a "hi there sweetie" type tap, not a "bang-bang scare you be active" type tap) and the girl put her paws and face up again -- right into the camera
I just wanted to reach through the glass and pet her (though I doubt I'd feel that way if the glass weren't there!) She had such sweet eyes. I know tigers have the reputation for being man-killers in some areas, but her eyes were so sweet. Michael's parent's cat Thomas has meaner or more aggressive eyes than this girl had. *Sigh*...I just love tigers
When we were done watching the tigers, we worked our way back out of the Maharajah Jungle Trek and back toward the Oasis. It was almost time for the parade, and we had dinner PS at Animal Kingdom Lodge not long after the parade, so we decided to watch the parade from somewhere close to the park entrance. As we walked, it was alternately drizzling and sunny, and we were very happy we'd purchased the raincoats.
Along the way to our preferred spot for the parade, we stopped at a store. Once again, Michael had remembered something I had forgotten. In our trip in March 2001, I purchased a neat folding hat that worked well as a fan as well. Both my mom and grandma expressed an interest in the hat, so we decided to look for them again while we were here. And we found them very early in the day, but since we didn't have a locker and didn't want to wait for the package pickup, we decided to buy them on the way out. I forgot. Michael didn't. Michael is the greatest
They had been pulled back off the street because of the rain, but the hats were still available. So we spent several minutes looking through the hats and selecting one for my mom, aunt, and grandma. We chuckled at a guy who discovered the hats. Michael thinks he was serious, I think he was teasing his wife, but the way he put the hat on was hilarious. Instead of having the brim of the hat coming over the eyes, he put it on so that the brim went straight up and made him look like a flower. Then went to show his wife. I think he finally figured out how the hat *really* worked, but it was good for a chuckle in the meantime.
Purchase made, we continued to our spot. The route was already getting full, but people were only one or two deep in most places and there were still some places that were open. We found one of those open places and staked out our spot right along the invisible rope. There wasn't even a rope or tape on the ground or a line on the ground or anything to indicate where you could or couldn't stand, so you mostly had to eyeball it.
The wait seemed like hours but was probably only about 20 minutes. The rain kept coming and going, and we wondered if the parade would even run. After that first downpour, it no longer rained heavy, but the constant drizzle was enough to get you wet nonetheless. And with the sun out in full force, I think the temperature was actually worse because of the drizzle than it would have been if either the rain had come down hard (in which case we wouldn't have been waiting to see the parade in the first place) or if it hadn't rained at all. Standing on that sidewalk was like standing in a sauna, and every time I took my jacket off it started raining. Every time I put it on, the rain stopped.
At one point, I sent Michael after more poweraide while I guarded our spot. When he returned with one for each of us, I convinced him to just *hold* the video camera this time. Didn't have to watch it much, just *hold* it. Finally he agreed because it came down to either he holds the video camera and records the parade, or I put the camera on the wet ground to record the parade. He didn't appreciate holding it, but we got our video and later that night he admitted he was glad we had the video even if he had to record it.
Also during the wait, we figured out what was happening with my camera. It seemed to be taking a lot longer to record pictures than it should be taking. Michael asked how many I had on that card, and sure enough it was more than I'd put on any single card in the past. So we guessed that the 96 meg memory card (of a brand name I didn't recognize) might be taking longer to write once you got it about half full. Sure enough, when I switched to a smaller-capacity card that still had room, the camera returned to normal. In most cases I wouldn't have noticed the delay, but I like to take action shots and sometimes those are in quick succession. Having the camera take 15+ seconds to record a picture can mean the difference between getting the shots you want and missing 5 or 10 pictures. Again, no big deal to most people, but to me it was irritating.
Anyway, finally, after what seemed like an hour, we were told the parade had started on the beginning of the route and would be here shortly. When it arrived, it was VERY obvious. Some of the floats could be seen from a good distance away, and the music could easily be heard. Of course, I think we were standing opposite a speaker and that might have something to do with it.
I really enjoyed this parade and think of all the original parades for the 100 Years of Magic, Mickey's Jammin' Jungle Safari was my favorite. The characters were all very active and fun, and the costumes were unique and very artistic. Most were big puppets similar to those found in Tapestry of Nations/Dreams but themed after animals instead of people. Some had interactive elements that made guest interaction a hoot. One was something like a water buffalo or wildebeest with birds fluttering around it, and the birds could land on guests and such. Another was a frog with a fluttering butterfly, and the fluttering butterfly made the day of a child around 3 years old who was sitting on his dad's shoulders next to us. The interaction was great And the music was a very fast-paced and up-beat tune. I think if I could only see one of the 100 Years of Magic parades, I'd have a hard time choosing between Mickey's Jammin' Jungle and Tapestry of Dreams.
After the parade, we immediately left the park. Michael wanted to go back to the Dolphin and change clothes because between the heat and the rain both of us were in bad shape. But looking at the time we didn't really have enough time. So we opted instead to just drive to the Animal Kingdom Lodge and make some purchases in the giftshop there. That also gave us time to explore the Lodge a little, which was half of my reason for wanting to go there in the first place.
So Michael agreed and we drove to the Lodge. The guard let us in with no problem after we told him about our PS and gave him our name. He gave us a temporary parking permit that would allow us to stay long enough for a good meal, then waved us through the gate.
We drove around until we found the parking lot and a spot, then rearranged our things so that we didn't have to have all of our park gear in the restaurant. After all, if we had a car, might as well use it for something besides transportation.
When we got out and approached the Lodge, we decided immediately that we'd have to spend at least one night here in the future. The landscaping was beautifully exotic, and the air was filled with the smell of either a spice or a sweet burning wood. Since they had several "communal fires" built up inside the Lodge, I suspect it was whatever wood they were burning. Maybe oak?
When we walked in to the lobby, we immediately hunted down a map. Luckily, there was one on the wall fairly close, so with that we were able to locate where we were, where Jiko's was, and where the store was. I think the store was within sight so that wasn't difficult to find.
We spent the next 15 or 20 minutes shopping and picking up some materials to freshen up. I got a very nice pink Animal Kingdom shirt with a collar, which makes it about the only Disney shirt I feel comfortable wearing to work. I also got another Animal Kingdom t-shirt which has a bunch of big cats on it. Michael got a t-shirt much like one I'd purchased in March, only his was on blue and mine was on white. I think it's the one with Mickey running from a cheetah and saying "Nice Kitty!!"
Purchases made, we hunted down some public restrooms where we were able to freshen up a bit. After the chance to change shirts, comb our hair, and otherwise freshen up, we both felt much better. And we still had about 30 minutes or so to explore the Lodge itself. We looked around the lobby a little, then found our way outdoors. I really wanted to see the savannah and gathering places out the back door, and so did Michael.
When we did get outdoors, we were very impressed. Michael didn't believe that you really could have animals come up to within a few feet of your balcony. However, there were indeed rooms facing out over the savannah and the electric fences (disguised very cleverly as bushes and grass) weren't that far from the rooms.
The first place we looked didn't have very many animals. I think only a couple of birds that were roosting on some old trees. However, we noticed that a lot of the people outside (which wasn't many, maybe 15 or 20) were gathering in one particular corner of the viewing area. When we went over there, we found out why. There were several animals visible out further in the savannah. Of the animals I can name, we saw a giraffe or two and some zebras. There were two or three other hoofed mammals within sight once you started looking, but I don't know what any of them were. Except I think one was a kind of antelope.
We watched the animals for quite a while, and Michael couldn't stop repeating "We have to stay here". I couldn't stop agreeing. Even though we love the Wilderness Lodge, I don't think I've ever been at a Disney resort that was so peaceful.
Finally it was time to go back inside. Neither of us wanted to, we were both having too much fun, but we were also both getting hungry. The smell of either food cooking or the wood burning was really increasing our appetites (and the fact that we'd had nothing really to eat since breakfast has nothing to do with things of course) and we were very anxious to find Jiko's.
So inside we went and started wandering around. I think it took us a good 10 minutes to find Jiko's, even with looking at maps and trying to follow our noses. We found the lounge easily enough and enjoyed watching the indoor waterfall, we enjoyed seeing the decor, but we had the hardest time finding Jiko's.
When we finally did, it was really a neat restaurant. We got there just before opening so still had a few minutes to sit and relax before dinner, and furthermore it gave us the opportunity to look over the menu and get a picture of the restaurant before it got crowded. We also got a chance to look over Boma's a little, and decided Jiko's was more our style but if we stayed there we'd try Boma's as well. We just like a more quiet dinner and Boma's seemed a little loud.
When we were called, we were given a seat by the window where we could look out across the resort. No animals visible from where we were, but we had a nice view of a small pond and the building. Our server was Mike, and he was the best server we've ever had in any restaurant. When he saw me pulling out the camera (intending to get a picture out the window) he came over and offered to get our picture. Then said if there were any other pictures we'd like him to take of us, he'd be more than happy to do so. And throughout the meal he was the most informed server we've ever talked to and knew the menu better than the back of his hand. And if you asked something he didn't know, he'd go find out very quickly and be right back with you. Excellent server.
We each started off with an appetizer. I had the crispy cinnamon spiced beef roll with vegetable banana dip after Mike assured me the spiced was flavored rather than hot. I can't handle spicy foods, and sometimes I can't even handle flavorful foods, but they sounded really good. Michael ordered the duck firecracker with oyster dipping sauce. When each came, they were a piece of art. Michael loved his, and I think my beef rolls were some of the best things I've ever tasted.
The bread came shortly after in an interesting wire basket, and with two different kinds of dipping sauce. One was a peanut honey herb sauce, and the other was hummis with chickpea puree. They were okay, and Michael liked one while I liked the other, but neither of us loved the sauces.
For dinner, I ordered the pan roasted monkfish with a tomato butter sauce. I'd heard good reviews about that dish, and even though I'm not a big fish eater, I was curious. Mike described it as being like a firm but moist fish with a lobster flavor. I think his description was right on. And the sauce was delicious. The only problem is all that butter built up a little so that I was only able to eat about 3/4 of the fish before it was too powerful. I seem to have that problem with a lot of foods. And I would definitely order the monkfish again though I think next time I'd rather try one of the other entrees I had a hard time deciding between.
Michael had the duck two ways, and he really liked it as well. He warned that it was something I wouldn't like, however, because it was rather spicy. He ate almost all of it, though, so it was just right for him.
For drinks, I tried a wine but didn't like it. Not unusual -- I've rarely found a wine that I like, and Michael did like it so he finished it for me. Instead, I think I got a sprite. Michael had another wine that I don't think either of us could pronounce, but he said it went perfectly with the duck.
After we finished our main course, we stopped Mike and said we did have another picture we'd like -- this one of him. He suggested he grab another CM to take the picture so all three of us could be in it, then proceeded to do so. It took the other CM three tries to get a successful shot, but after he stopped covering up the flash with his finger the picture came out well.
Though we were almost full and on a slightly tight schedule (we wanted to see Spectromagic at the Magic Kingdom), we decided to try a dessert. So operating off of another recommendation from the DIS, we split the Bosc Pear Turnover with pear-vanilla sauce. When it came, I think we finished eating it almost before Mike had taken three steps, it was that good!
When Mike came back, he successfully sold us on yet another dessert! We were so relaxed and having so much fun there that we said why not, so tried the Cardamom Chocolate Kgetsana. They're little pockets of a stiff pastry wrapped around some chocolate and a macadamia nut, and with some really good orange liquor dipping sauce. Michael also ordered a Grand Mariner, one of the few alcoholic beverages I actually *like*, to go with it.
Finally, it was time to go. Neither of us wanted to, and we walked away vowing that we'd be back. This had been the best meal we'd ever had. The atmosphere was fantastic, very friendly, and very relaxing. Our server was the best a server possibly could be. The food absolutely delicious despite its exoticness, and the desserts were to die for. And, as I found out later, this was one of the only places I've ever eaten where I came away with no hint of a stomachache and none came on me later.
More relaxed than we'd been in months, we trekked back out to the car. Now was time for the race. We'd cut dinner a lot closer than we'd intended to do since our next stop was back at the Magic Kingdom for the parade. But if we missed Spectromagic, then oh well. This dinner was worth it!
We drove up to the Magic Kingdom as fast as we could (within the speed limit, of course) and parked, remarking about how odd it was to be coming to the Magic Kingdom from the parking lot and our OWN car (rental though it was) instead of the bus stop or a friend's car. Then we hurried to the tram stop since a tram was approaching. Michael had the sense of mind to actually check and remember which section we parked in, or I would have been lost a few hours later.
Making our way through the monorail ride, past security, and up to the turnstiles, I checked my watch regularly. Were we going to make it for Spectromagic? I was pretty certain it would start on the Main Street side, and so listened carefully as we walked up. At first, I heard nothing but the usual sounds of Main Street coming from beyond the railroad tracks, so remarked to Michael that no it hadn't started yet.
"How can you tell?" he asked. Because we don't hear the mu--
Of course, right then is when the music for Spectromagic started, just as Michael stepped through the turnstile. "There it is!" I said and pulled him onto Main Street itself.
Naturally, it was quite crowded with people stacked five and six deep along the curb, and there was NO way we'd be able to get through the crowds to get down Main Street and watch the parade from elsewhere. So we maneuvered our way to a point behind a few people, where we hoped to actually have a place to see the parade, and just as we found our spot the gates opened and the first float appears. (For those who haven't seen Spectromagic before, there's actually several seconds -- maybe even a minute of music before the parade first appears).
We couldn't have timed it better. Spectromagic with literally no wait, even if we didn't have the best view. The floats were large enough that we actually could see better than I'd anticipated, and I smiled as I started silently humming along to the music. I'd seen Spectromagic once before in its previous run, but this was Michael's first time, so I stayed quiet and let him watch while I tried to get pictures. Video just wouldn't happen this viewing.
After the last float of Spectromagic drifted past and around Town Square, I asked him what he thought. Pretty good, but it's not Main Street Electrical Parade. So given the option of this a second time or Tapestry of Dreams again? No hesitation: Tapestry of Dreams.
We couldn't stand discussing this for very long on Main Street, though, because the crowds were marching around and past us to get out of the park. We briefly toyed with trying to get up to Adventureland and cut over to see the parade at Frontierland once again, but one look at the crowds and how long it took for the parade to get there and how tired our feet were, we decided there was no way. We'd maybe make it to Frontierland about the time the parade was half-over, and we still likely wouldn't have had any better view.
But we still had about thirty minutes to kill before we wanted to find our spot for Fantasy in the Sky. We knew that this time we wanted to watch the fireworks from the Town Square area of Main Street, so we didn't want to venture far. There was no way in these crowds we'd have enough time to get anywhere but the hub before it would be time to turn around and come back. So we looked around and found ourselves standing right next to the Disney Gallery shop.
It had been a while since we'd spread our drool over the many cels and paintings in the Gallery, so we decided that would be the perfect place to kill some time. During our drooling, Michael found a painting he really, really wanted. We both knew it would be out of our pricerange, but when he purchased a couple of postcards I wanted he asked about the price. That's a sign of how much he likes it -- that he, on his on initiative, actually *asked* about something. He usually leaves that to me.
Well, as we figured, it was out of our price range. Though not as far out of it as I had figured it would be. It was only $1000 instead of the $3000 I anticipated. I found something I liked, too, but that poster was only about $18 and I only didn't get it because I have nowhere to put more posters.
After we finished shopping in there, we checked out the firehouse nearby (the first time we'd been inside) and I pointed out the barber shop. Some cute antiques (or at least antique-style) furnishings in there Then we found our way to where Main Street splits to encircle the island in the middle of Town Square. There we set up shop for our wait for the fireworks that were about thirty minutes away.
Did you know that standing still in the middle of a flood of people, most of which are going in the same direction (toward you), it is very easy to get dizzy and seasick fairly quickly?
I finally had to focus on some Mickey and Minnie balloons a CM was selling a few feet away. While they bobbed and weaved among each other, they were still more stable than trying to people-watch.
Finally, the fireworks were just about to begin. We had our spot almost dead on the trolley tracks down the middle of Main Street, people were beginning to crowd around for the fireworks, but we had a clear view of the castle. I started getting my cameras ready (I'd be operating both again this visit) and getting excited for the fireworks (I always get excited for fireworks, I'm like a little kid when it's fireworks time)... when a CM with a radio walked up and started dispersing everyone standing in our general area.
"Please don't stand there, please move over to the sidewalk or farther up Main Street so we can keep this area clear for a walkway."
Grr.
Well, after all that waiting for a spot with a view straight down Main Street, I really didn't want to give it up. So I took a quick glance around and saw that he stopped moving people about ten steps in front of us. Taking a chance, I rebelled from the other guests who were moving to the sidewalks and instead just moved forward five or ten steps. Michael kinda gave me a look, but hey if the CM wanted us moved from this point, he'd say so again and *then* we'd move. I figured what are the chances of him recognizing one specific couple from all the people he just moved, right?
Actually, the chances were pretty good, because about five minutes later that CM walked past again and chuckled. He came over close enough to talk specifically to us and commented something along the lines of "Didn't like the view from the sidewalk, huh?" It wasn't a "hey, I *THOUGHT* I told you to move!" type tone of voice, it was an amused one. So I grinned in response and answered that I like it better from here. He shrugged with a smile and moved on, and so we got to keep our spot.
I don't remember much about the fireworks themselves this time, because I was trying to both video and take photos, but I do remember thinking that if the photos suffered, oh well. I've got more photos of Fantasy in the Sky than I can shake a stick at, so no harm done. But what we didn't have was good video. So I concentrated on the video while trying to get a few photos, and as a result don't remember much of that particular run other than that I enjoyed it as usual and my arms were dead tired afterwards.
After pausing to let my arms rest, we went over to City Hall. Our schedule for the rest of the night had us pretty open, and we'd originally thought of going to Disneyquest. But neither of us really felt up to it tonight, so we decided to try for an older attraction that had been on our list of things to see since our first visit in January of 2000. That being, the Electrical Water Pageant. We weren't sure if it was running or not, and I couldn't remember when the pageant would reach the various points, but I knew the CMs at City Hall could find out. I also really wanted to see the Kiss Goodnight again, but didn't know if it would be running tonight or not.
So in I went to City Hall, expecting a huge crowd of people looking for lost party members, lost items, or just plain lost. Instead, I found a City Hall nearly deserted. I didn't even have to wait three minutes for a CM to call me up to help me. And, as expected, he was able to find the times of both performances. Not only did he give me the time of the first Kiss Goodnight (9pm, right when the park officially closed), but also the times of every run of the Kiss Goodnight that night, as well as what time to catch the Electrical Water Pageant from the Contemporary. We knew the chances were very slim that we'd make it to the Pageant anywhere *but* the Contemporary, so that's all we asked about. Many thanks to such a friendly and helpful CM, who had a hard time tracking down the times for one of the two (I don't remember which was harder to find).
We looked at our watches and saw that it wouldn't be long before the first Kiss Goodnight, so decided to try to fight our way up Main Street.
Getting UP Main Street when everyone else in the park is trying to get DOWN Main Street is always an interesting experience. And despite rumors and supposition that the parks wouldn't be very crowded right then due to low interest in travel, the park crowds were almost the worst I've ever seen them.
So we fought and dodged and squirmed and excuse-me'd our way up to the hub, emerging onto an area of blessed uncrowdedness. We worked our way around to the castle side of the hub and collapsed on the concrete planters not far from where I'd watched Cinderella's Surprise Celebration earlier that week. As we waited for the Kiss Goodnight, we watched people. It was fun seeing all the excited people getting their picture taken in front of the beautifully lit castle. And the group of some sort that seemed to be performing some "tribal ritual dance" was interesting to watch. I think they were either a youth group from a school or church, or a group of cheerleaders, but they sure were loud and we couldn't understand a word they were saying. Interesting, what happens in front of the Castle when the park is closing.
Finally, 9pm arrived and we waited breathlessly for the castle to go dark and the chimes to echo across the hub.
There were the chimes.
But why is the regular Main Street music still playing. And why didn't the castle go dark?
Wait, can you hear something speaking? Yeah, there's a voice coming from somewhere near the castle. But you can't hear what its saying.
There are the chimes again.
Where'd the "kiss" part go?
Then the music came up full blast again, and we looked at each other in bafflement. The one and only other time we'd seen the Kiss Goodnight, all other speakers in the hub were tuned to the Kiss. The castle went dark and chimes sounded, and sparkling lights danced across the castle in waves before it was lit up and went through a color sequence. Then more sparkles danced across as Mickey said goodnight to everyone.
This was not the same thing.
Thinking maybe the CM had just been mistaken about the 9pm showtime, we decided to sit and wait for the 9:30 Kiss Goodnight. 30 minutes of resting, watching the castle as the park emptied. We could do that.
Well, okay, Michael could do that. After five minutes I was back on my feet and running all over the hub getting pictures of the castle from different angles. With Walt and Mickey. Without Walt and Mickey. From Liberty Square where some of the castle was reflected in the water. From Tomorrowland where the bushes of the rose garden were in the foreground, or the Mickey and Minnie topiaries were in the front.
It was during this exploration that I once again got to see something Michael has missed every time: a bunny. A little brown cotton-tail bunny was near the rose garden and stopped right in the path in front of me. Quickly, I snapped a picture, and this time I caught him on film. I followed him as he raced into the bushes to hide and snapped a couple more before deciding to let the little critter be and focus on the castle once again.
Finally, 9:30 arrived and it was time for the second Kiss Goodnight. This time, the court was almost deserted and we could hear a bit better.
But once again, the castle failed to go dark. No sparklies. And the other hub and Main Street speakers continued to play the Main Street area music. This time, we could understand more of what was said, so we could identify that yes this was the so-called "kiss goodnight". But instead of the narrator and Mickey thanking everyone for coming to the park, a young boy mentioned something about a man, a dream, and a mouse and a birthday. And then there was a chime again and things went back to normal.
We felt gypped. Not majorly, really... after all, most of the people who go to Disneyworld haven't ever heard of the Kiss Goodnight. For that matter, a large number of the people who WORK at Disneyworld haven't ever seen the Kiss Goodnight. Only a small number of people would know what it was, and even a smaller number would actually make a point of staying to see it. So though we were disappointed, we understood this would be a change very few would notice.
At least we'd had a nice relaxing 30 minutes in the setting of the castle.
Strike one for tonight. But we still had enough time to catch the Electrical Water Pageant over at the Contemporary if we hurried. And hurry we did, as much as our tired feet would let us anyway. Up to the monorail, off at the Contemporary, then down to the docks where we just walked until we couldn't get any farther out on the water. There wasn't any indication of whether this was where you were supposed to watch the show or not, but there were a few other people out there who were waiting for the same thing so we figured maybe we were in the right place.
Several minutes went by with no sign of the show. We asked the others waiting and they said they'd seen it disappearing around the island toward the Wilderness Lodge, and there were two lines of little red dots floating out there somewhere heading in our direction. So apparently we hadn't missed it.
We located the rows of dots on the water and tried to see if they were attached to floats. No luck. So we tried using the binoculars set up on the dock. The little red dots in a sea of dark became bigger red dots in a sea of dark. Still couldn't tell if they were the floats or not. So we tried zooming in with the video camera, which has a bit more gamma control and can see better in the dark. The little red dots became big red lines as even the slightest movement was magnified greatly in the viewfinder. Still couldn't tell. So we gave up and just waited.
We didn't have to wait too long, and it was overall a pleasurable wait standing out on the dock and watching the boats move past on the water. One boat came for either the Wilderness Lodge or Fort Wilderness or both, but I think only one couple got on. The CM driving that boat assured us we hadn't missed the show yet before he embarked on his journey once again.
Finally, the dots pulled up close enough that we could see they were indeed the barges for the Electrical Water Pageant, and immediately after making that observation the music started up.
I must say this was much cuter than I'd anticipated. Sure, it's maybe a little "old and outdated", no the music wasn't all super-modern from the most recent shows, no it wasn't as extravagant as the Main Street Electrical Parade or Spectromagic. But it was very cute and a very fun parade, and about twice as long as I expected. I'll definitely try to catch this again in the future.
Once the show was over, we walked away from the dock with a smile and feeling better. We'd missed the Kiss Goodnight as we saw it back in March, but the Electrical Water Pageant was a fair trade-off. If you find yourself needing something to see over in the Magic Kingdom area after dark... you might try checking this one out. As far as I know, you can see it from a beach or dock from the Grand Floridian, Poly, Wilderness Lodge, or the Contemporary.
Oh, one thing we were concerned about with seeing the Pageant was how late the monorails would run and stop at TTC. I think when we asked we were told that night they'd stop running to TTC around 11pm, which was two hours after the Magic Kingdom closed, but they'd still have stops at the resorts. Michael wondered if we'd be calling it a little close until I pointed out that as long as the monorail ran from the Contemporary to the Polynesian, we could always walk back to our car if we had to. He felt a little better after that, though neither of us really wanted to walk that far if we didn't have to.
Which, we didn't have to. I think it was about 10:30 when we stepped onto the Monorail to return to TTC. And the trams were even running to take us to our car. One even pulled up just as we got in line, and Michael even remembered where we parked! So all in all, our first solo visit to TTC turned out well.
Tired after our long day, we drove back to the Dolphin and parked in the lot that was still almost completely empty. It still felt strange to enter such a deserted parking lot.
When we got back up to our room, I pulled out my phone to see if I could catch Becky. When I first called her, there was no answer so I died laughing to her answering message. I don't remember exactly what it was now, but it was funny. Then almost immediately after I left a message, the phone rang again. It was Becky, she just wanted me to hear her message.
I spent the next twenty minutes or so visiting with my long-time friend while Michael got ready for bed. I found out that she had been off yesterday (Thursday) and so felt bad that I hadn't called her earlier, but she'd try to catch us tomorrow after she got off work. I felt a little better that we'd be able to see her after all.
I did have one heck of a scare while standing out on the balcony visiting with her, though! Our balcony faced in the general direction of Epcot. If the Boardwalk weren't in our way, we'd have a fairly straight shot for the World Showcase Lagoon. How do I know?
While talking to Becky and looking out over the water, I suddenly saw this HUGE fireball go bursting into the sky. No sound, no accompanying fireworks... just this HUGE fireball. It burst into the sky and rolled around violently until burning itself out and leaving just a cloud of black smoke that quickly dissipated to leave no trace of the event.
Let me tell you... with the terrorist attacks just a month and a half earlier and the fear that Disneyworld might be a target, that scared the bejeebers out of me! But after the initial moment of panic (and scaring Becky leaving her going "Tammi? Tammi, what happened?" until I remembered I was on the phone) I calmed down and thought about it rationally.
There were no sirens, and the people you could still hear on the Boardwalk weren't acting any different. There was no further sign of smoke, fire, or explosions. There were no airplanes, helicopters, or any other indication of how a malicious fireball could appear in the middle of the air. And after thinking about it, we were almost directly in line of sight of the World Showcase Lagoon (which I hadn't realized before that night).
The fireball looked VERY familiar. I even have a picture of a similar fireball erupting into existence from the Illuminations barge. This was just about four times the size of the one on the lake, and in the sky instead of on the ground. But it acted exactly like a larger version of the controlled explosions that occur almost nightly in Epcot. So it likely came from the same source, or at least operated off of the same fuel.
Still slightly nervous, my next thought was that they'd had a problem with the barge and there had been an accidental explosion. But again... no sounds of panic or emergency coming from anywhere that I could hear. So I thought about it some more.
Every night, the barge erupts in a ball of fire for Illuminations. But never have I seen it go out as though it had run out of fuel. Most likely, they would want to leave a little bit of reserve fuel ready so that the fireballs would work properly and on cue. Which would probably mean that the barge would have a little fuel left over after the show was done. Since the fuel, I think, was a form of gas, they'd need a safe way of disposing of it.
So what's the best way to get rid of just a little extra fireball-gas?
Light it on fire in another controlled explosion. Which would make that fireball just another element of Illuminations being taken down for the night.
Becky agreed that it probably was related to the cleanup, and we finished our plans to meet the next day. I stayed out on the balcony for a few more minutes, listening to the soothing sound of the fountain (which was back on again) and trying to relax. But finally my sore feet sent me back inside where I could relax and take my weight off of them. They were much sorer than usual and in a different way. Getting my feet all wet because I was wearing sandals at Animal Kingdom when it rained, then walking around in wet shoes and socks for the remainder of the day probably wasn't the best of ideas.
Before drifting off to sleep, I went through my usual routine of notes, photos, and zipping through the videos. Then we both crashed for the night.
When we got downstairs, we found out that the Coral Cafe was still serving breakfast after we asked to see their lunch menu. Turns out the Coral Cafe served breakfast until 11:30 after all, so I was happy and Michael was willing to have breakfast. Once again we hit the buffet, though this time oddly Michael only got some pancakes and sausage. I was the one who wanted the hearty breakfast with the bacon, omelet, and hash browns. Michael as always had coffee and I had orange juice.
This time, I'd agreed to leave most of our stuff upstairs, so after we were done eating we returned to the room for a few minutes. Michael rested for about 10 minutes while I took a few more pictures and made sure I'd gotten everything out of the vest the night before since I was back to my belly bag for today. I thought about using the camera vest all day, but spending a few minutes out on the balcony convinced me that it would be a hot day today and I didn't need the added layers the camera vest provided.
By the time we were out of the room, it was noon. This time we opted to drive since we had dinner plans at the Animal Kingdom Lodge at Jiko's and from there would be rushing up to the Magic Kingdom to try for Spectromagic. Getting from the Animal Kingdom to the Animal Kingdom Lodge would have been fairly easy, but getting from the Lodge back to the Magic Kingdom in a timely manner wasn't that likely unless we drove.
The drive was very relaxing despite the car that I hated, and we were parked in the Dinosaur rows. Once again we looked out at a parking lot that was nearly empty. I couldn't believe how big of a parking lot they have at the Animal Kingdom compared to how many cars were there. We found a spot not far from the aisle where the trams pick up, and as we walked up a tram was approaching.
The tram, however, was heading the other way and I looked at how far it could go before it would have to turn around compared to how long of a walk it would be and told Michael let's walk. Naturally, as soon as I said that (and survived the "I don't THINK so" look I got from Michael), the tram turned around almost right in front of us and stopped. Apparently, they weren't going to the end after all.
So we climbed into the tram and listened to the CM on the back as he told everyone to sit down and remember where you're parked. I don't remember the CM's name, but he had an *excellent* speaking voice. You know how some people have voices that just naturally lend themselves (or have been trained) to be a good radio or event announcer? That's what this guy's voice was. Very clear, very good pronunciation, and one of the few times I could actually understand what was being said on the tram.
When we arrived at Animal Kingdom, I made my usual detour for a picture of the entrance. I love the flowers that grow in various islands and planters along the walkway to the gate, and there were some very pretty ones growing this time. After that, we passed through the bag check (quick as usual and much much less crowded than I'd expected -- maybe because we were so late) then through the gate and immediately made our way into the Oasis.
On most trips, we will breeze through the Oasis and into the heart of the park. Usually, we're rushing because we're late or almost late for breakfast PS at Donald's Breakfastosaurus or for a show, but this time we had no time constraints saying "run" so we took our time as we walked through the Oasis. We stopped to admire some of the birds and fish (mostly birds) and the landscaping that in the past we've taken for granted. My favorite is the waterfall where two brilliantly blue Macaws (I think) were out on a perch.
We also actually saw a snake moving around. It's not the first time I've seen a snake "in the wild", but was the first time I've seen one there at the park. It went straight for the water, so I'm assuming it was a water snake of some sort. Especially with how fast it disappeared once it got in the water -- dang those things can move fast! The duck it swam past didn't even blink an eye, so it apparently wasn't concerned. We watched the snake until it started heading in the direction of the path. I like snakes when they're at a distance, but it was coming too close for me so at that point we continued on.
Our explorations of the Oasis took about 20 minutes, and then we were in the heart of the park. We still didn't spend a lot of time watching the rest of the animals, nor did we see all of the tucked-away areas in the Oasis, but we enjoyed our time. I'm going to have to try to budget more time to appreciate the other half of the Oasis next time
When we reached the area near the pin cart, we realized we did what we always tend to do at the parks. That is, we're so accustomed to the parks and know our way around well enough that we're usually half-way through the park before we realize that we never picked up a park map. Except in MGM where I know I need a map for some things. But it's never the *map* we need, it's the *showtimes* printed on the map that we want to see.
Well, no matter, we'd find a park map elsewhere. Instead, we just glanced at the showtimes on the wait time board and made note of what time each show was, then we paused to watch the musical group that was playing between the board and the pin cart for a few minutes before we moved on.
First stop this trip, as usual, was Dinoland USA. Normally, we go there for Tarzan Rocks or breakfast, but this time (since Tarzan was already showing and the next show wasn't for a few hours) we wanted Dinosaur. The wait time board had indicated about a thirty minute wait, but we decided to go see for ourselves. Frequently those wait times are off a bit, as though there's a 30 minute delay between showing the new wait time.
As we hoped, when we actually walked up to Dinosaur there was only about a 10 minute wait posted, and when we walked in that was about right. We did hit a little bit of a wait in the room with the Carnotaur skeleton in the center, but it wasn't much of one. Plus, the wait was a good thing: for the first time, Michael was able to see part of the introduction done by Bill Nye. I wouldn't be surprised if over half the guests that go through Dinosaur don't even know there's an introduction in that room because they move through it so fast.
Our ride through Dinosaur was fun, as always. We were seated next to two first-timers who had the rest of their 6-person party in the row behind us. They questioned the need to put things into the bags in front of them, and we *strongly* encouraged them to follow the instructions if they didn't want to lose their things. My camera wasn't going in the bag (though the video camera did), but that was for another reason and plus I had the strap around my neck.
As we took our trip back in time, I tried what I decided I could do last time: specifically, took some pictures. The first time, the flash accidentally went off even though I could have sworn I turned it off. But a quick tap of a button and no more flash, and that time was in the entrance where there were a lot of strobe effects *anyway* so it didn't hurt anything.
What did I get from the ride? One big red blur (the first dinosaur you stop to see), three black screens, and one black screen with a lighter colored line moving through it (the last nice dinosaur you encounter). So even with more of a time exposure, even at the points where the car slows down or stops momentarily, without a flash I couldn't get any good pictures in the ride. And I'm not going to use a flash. Oh well, it was fun trying anyway
As we left, we encountered a couple of people who obviously didn't listen to directions. They were calling across the track to the ride operator asking about their camera and bag. "It was a fairly large bag" and they held their hands out to indicate something the size of my belly bag. They did not look happy when they were told there was nothing the CMs could do about it until the end of the day when the ride was shut down. I don't know if they ever returned to get their camera and bag, but let that be a lesson: unless it's attached to you (strap, pin, clasp, etc), *put it in the pouch in front* if you don't want to lose something.
We paused in the store outside of Dinosaur to pick up a snack and I asked about park maps. Nope, they were all out. So after grabbing some candy of some sort for Michael (I don't think I got anything, but I ate more for breakfast), we made our way out of Dinoland. We paused to watch the construction going on, but we couldn't really see much of anything of the new rides besides the top of what will be the Triceratops Spin. It sure looks like it'll just be another Dumbo clone. We couldn't see anything of the construction of the roller coaster.
I tossed the idea to Michael of running into the Boneyard to take a look around since we'd never been in there, but he didn't want to see it at all. That's the big kid's sandbox with dinosaurs inside. I must admit, though I wanted to see what was on the other side of that fence, I wasn't that comfortable going in either. Funny... I'll stand in line for Dumbo or Pooh without flinching, I'll dress up in costume for a Halloween party, I'll take candy that mostly only kids are taking (but is for everyone), but I won't go into the kid's sandbox without a kid. Maybe if we'd been with a kid or with another party that had a kid, I would feel less conspicuous
Our next stop was back near the entrance and pin cart where I got a poweraide and Michael got an iced coffee. We found a small table and a couple of benches next to the closest shop and sat down for a couple of minutes, but I was restless. So I left Michael at the table to sip at his iced coffee while I went across the street to look at the pin cart. Just a few minutes later I came back to drag Michael over to see a few more pins. A few minutes after *that*, and we had five more pins in our collection. I'm sure Michael was rolling his eyes behind my back as I was making the purchase, but hey, I liked them
By this time, we were running low on things we wanted to do in the proper timing. I mentioned going over to see the tigers, but when we stopped at the wait/show time board to double-check when Tarzan Rocks was playing, we saw that a Flights of Wonder show would start in about 20 minutes and would be over with enough time to make it to Tarzan.
So we put the tigers on hold and went over to the Flights of Wonder theater instead. We got there before they started letting people in, but we weren't too early. Just a couple of minutes after arriving, a lady came out with a big owl on her wrist. I think it was an eagle owl. Whatever type it was, it was a beautiful bird, and she told the audience a little about owls and that owl in particular. I snapped several pictures before it was time to move into the theater. As we walked in, the lady was warning everyone over her little microphone not to stand up during the show.
We got a seat on the next-to-front row on the right hand side near the aisle -- a pretty good spot for seeing the birds, and the only people who "could" sit in front of us were handicapped parties. One party came up to sit there for a few minutes at the last minute, but I think they moved elsewhere where the lady's wheelchair wouldn't be as likely to roll.
As for the show itself, I really enjoyed it. It's not the best bird show I've seen, but it was a good one. I really liked their opening with a bunch of birds running or flying around in flocks, and the show had quite a bit of fun humor in it.
SPOILERS:
They had the typical things you'd expect in a bird show. The lady who stood up with a dollar bill while a crow flew up and grabbed it out of her hand, then flew back and gently returned it. A talking bird of some sort (parrot or parakeet, I don't remember which. Parrot, I think). A couple of beautiful exotic birds, including one that flew right over our heads. I have a great shot of that bird coming straight for us which was snapped before it registered how low that big bird was flying. And at one point they asked for a guest with a camera to come up. I raised my hand as wanting to go, but wasn't selected. The lady who was selected had a really complex camera which got a few laughs: it was just a disposable kodak. What they did to her was have her sit on a stool right next to and below the eagle owl's perch. Then they sent the owl out to a handler in the back, then had him come back up to his perch -- which brought him very close to the guest. She snapped her picture (and I'm pretty sure one reason they have the person with the camera is to offer some eye protection in case the bird strays a little, but I may be wrong on that). Then she squeaked...which got a comment from the main performer of be careful, the Owl's prey are mice that squeak like that. I don't think I've ever seen anyone run off stage as fast as she did
And, as in all bird shows, they had one person fail to pay attention to the instructions and thus almost get hit by a bird. He stood up to take a picture when a bird was coming right for him (I think the hawk), and the bird barely swerved to miss him./SPOILERS
As I said, I really enjoyed the show, but Michael wasn't too sure of what to make of it. I love birds and for some reason don't have much problem with them flying *over* me. *At*, yes, *over*, no. So I enjoyed everything. But those birds are trained to fly just a few inches above the audience's heads, which Michael really didn't like. And the main performer's comment not to duck or the birds will just fly lower didn't help
So let that be a warning -- if you don't like having birds (ranging from doves to exotic cranes to eagle owls or hawks) swooping over just a couple of inches over your head... skip this show Or sit in the VERY back Just before the show finished, it started to rain. It wasn't raining very hard, though. At least not at first. By the time the show was over, it was coming down pretty hard. Only about a third of the people got up to go brave the rain, and the CMs came over the loudspeaker to announce that we were welcome to stay under cover in the theater for a little bit.
Michael and I talked about it for a few minutes and looked at the way it was raining and how the clouds looked. Now it was heavy, but we were familiar with these kinds of storms from home and we both figured it would pass fairly quickly. But in the meantime, we had both the digital still camera and the digital video camera to protect -- neither of us was really *that* worried about *us* getting wet, but we were worried about the equipment. I looked in my belly bag and found that I still had my poncho in there from our trip to the Magic Kingdom several days before (I always take a poncho for Splash Mountain). Michael, however, had no rain gear.
So, after sitting for a few minutes then getting restless, we decided to brave the rain. It looked like it was letting up. So he gave me the video camera (I was already carrying the still camera) and I put on my poncho and we stepped out of the cover of the theater. Only then it started raining even heavier and Michael decided he didn't want to go on. So he ducked under some shelter while I stood out in the rain (mostly protected by my poncho) and we made arrangements.
I turned my radio on and went off in search of a poncho for him. Mickey would just get a few bucks for one of those plastic ponchos. I made my way around to the closest store I was aware of, I think that was Beastly Bazaar, before I found something. But what I found wasn't the simple poncho... I instead found some really nice blue and green rain jackets. These jackets could fold down into their pockets to make a kind of pillow or for easier transport.
Of course, by the time I found these, the rain had pretty much stopped for the moment. Long enough anyway that Michael had left the cover of the booth he had been hiding in and come after me. So I directed him to where I was and we discussed the jackets. We both needed new rain jackets anyway, these seemed to be a good quality, and they were better protection than the ponchos plus easier to maneuver in. So we ended up getting a pair. The CM snipped the tags off of them and zipped them in the pockets for us so we could wear the jackets right then.
After our purchase, we made our way to Tarzan Rocks. We still had about 20 minutes before the show and the park wasn't that crowded, so we didn't expect a problem. But when we arrived, there was quite a line that was being held back not far into the walkway. They actually had a completely full theater, something we've never seen before when the park wasn't very crowded. The next show wasn't until after we had to be out of the park (or maybe it was going to be during the parade, I forget which), so we turned away slightly disappointed.
We speculate that the rain sent people running to the nearest shelter, and for those in and near Dinoland, that would have been Tarzan Rocks. We were a little disappointed since this is Michael's favorite show in Animal Kingdom (and possibly all of WDW not including the fireworks shows) and it's tied for first for me with Festival of the Lion King, but we have seen it several times so it wasn't a big loss. Instead, we decided to check out Dinosaur again. But the wait time that had been 10 minutes earlier in the day was now 35+, so we turned right back around.
Okay, now what?
A little checking of time and weather, and we decided the tigers needed a visit. So we backtracked into Asia and made our way into the Maharajah Jungle Trek. We paused very briefly to see the big lizard that was actually moving for once (he's always asleep when we come by), but otherwise bypassed the rest of the animals and went straight to the main attraction: the tigers.
The upper observation deck wasn't too crowded, but there wasn't really much to watch anyway. Two of the girls (all the tigers at the Jungle Trek are girls, or at least were last I checked) were gathered over by the entrance to their inner chambers. The door was down so they weren't really getting anywhere. One was just lying down staring at the door and waiting for it to open, but the other was impatient and started pacing. She moved around and around in circles, and kept trying the patience of the resting tigress as she kept stepping right over her hindquarters, then right over her head as she turned around, silly thing. There was more than enough room to go *around* the other tiger, but she wanted to step *over* the other tiger. Silly cat.
We watched for a few minutes, but when the first tigress showed no signs of wanting to move and the second showed no signs of wanting to move anywhere besides in that one small circle, we turned around and went down to the next viewing area.
No tigers there, but the next window down was where we found the other two. They were lying in the second big open area, but weren't really active. So we continued around to the next to last viewing area, where you're on the bridge without a window between you and the tigers. By the time we got around to the bridge, one of the girls in that area had started to pace. She went around and around, occasionally picking on her "sister" that was lying down, but she also did something else kinda funny.
Whenever she came to the window for the red viewing corner, she'd rise up on her hind legs and press her face and front pads against the window. She didn't act aggressive when doing it, more curious and bored than anything else. Then she'd stand there for a moment before dropping down to all fours and continuing on her rounds again. We watched and recorded for a few minutes, though it started raining again so Michael had to help me by holding my hood over the video camera so it wouldn't get too wet. Then we went around to that final viewing place.
We stayed in there for a few minutes watching the girl pace, and she eventually came up to the window again. One lady standing next to us tapped the glass ever so gently (a "hi there sweetie" type tap, not a "bang-bang scare you be active" type tap) and the girl put her paws and face up again -- right into the camera
I just wanted to reach through the glass and pet her (though I doubt I'd feel that way if the glass weren't there!) She had such sweet eyes. I know tigers have the reputation for being man-killers in some areas, but her eyes were so sweet. Michael's parent's cat Thomas has meaner or more aggressive eyes than this girl had. *Sigh*...I just love tigers When we were done watching the tigers, we worked our way back out of the Maharajah Jungle Trek and back toward the Oasis. It was almost time for the parade, and we had dinner PS at Animal Kingdom Lodge not long after the parade, so we decided to watch the parade from somewhere close to the park entrance. As we walked, it was alternately drizzling and sunny, and we were very happy we'd purchased the raincoats.
Along the way to our preferred spot for the parade, we stopped at a store. Once again, Michael had remembered something I had forgotten. In our trip in March 2001, I purchased a neat folding hat that worked well as a fan as well. Both my mom and grandma expressed an interest in the hat, so we decided to look for them again while we were here. And we found them very early in the day, but since we didn't have a locker and didn't want to wait for the package pickup, we decided to buy them on the way out. I forgot. Michael didn't. Michael is the greatest
They had been pulled back off the street because of the rain, but the hats were still available. So we spent several minutes looking through the hats and selecting one for my mom, aunt, and grandma. We chuckled at a guy who discovered the hats. Michael thinks he was serious, I think he was teasing his wife, but the way he put the hat on was hilarious. Instead of having the brim of the hat coming over the eyes, he put it on so that the brim went straight up and made him look like a flower. Then went to show his wife. I think he finally figured out how the hat *really* worked, but it was good for a chuckle in the meantime.
Purchase made, we continued to our spot. The route was already getting full, but people were only one or two deep in most places and there were still some places that were open. We found one of those open places and staked out our spot right along the invisible rope. There wasn't even a rope or tape on the ground or a line on the ground or anything to indicate where you could or couldn't stand, so you mostly had to eyeball it.
The wait seemed like hours but was probably only about 20 minutes. The rain kept coming and going, and we wondered if the parade would even run. After that first downpour, it no longer rained heavy, but the constant drizzle was enough to get you wet nonetheless. And with the sun out in full force, I think the temperature was actually worse because of the drizzle than it would have been if either the rain had come down hard (in which case we wouldn't have been waiting to see the parade in the first place) or if it hadn't rained at all. Standing on that sidewalk was like standing in a sauna, and every time I took my jacket off it started raining. Every time I put it on, the rain stopped.
At one point, I sent Michael after more poweraide while I guarded our spot. When he returned with one for each of us, I convinced him to just *hold* the video camera this time. Didn't have to watch it much, just *hold* it. Finally he agreed because it came down to either he holds the video camera and records the parade, or I put the camera on the wet ground to record the parade. He didn't appreciate holding it, but we got our video and later that night he admitted he was glad we had the video even if he had to record it.
Also during the wait, we figured out what was happening with my camera. It seemed to be taking a lot longer to record pictures than it should be taking. Michael asked how many I had on that card, and sure enough it was more than I'd put on any single card in the past. So we guessed that the 96 meg memory card (of a brand name I didn't recognize) might be taking longer to write once you got it about half full. Sure enough, when I switched to a smaller-capacity card that still had room, the camera returned to normal. In most cases I wouldn't have noticed the delay, but I like to take action shots and sometimes those are in quick succession. Having the camera take 15+ seconds to record a picture can mean the difference between getting the shots you want and missing 5 or 10 pictures. Again, no big deal to most people, but to me it was irritating.
Anyway, finally, after what seemed like an hour, we were told the parade had started on the beginning of the route and would be here shortly. When it arrived, it was VERY obvious. Some of the floats could be seen from a good distance away, and the music could easily be heard. Of course, I think we were standing opposite a speaker and that might have something to do with it.
I really enjoyed this parade and think of all the original parades for the 100 Years of Magic, Mickey's Jammin' Jungle Safari was my favorite. The characters were all very active and fun, and the costumes were unique and very artistic. Most were big puppets similar to those found in Tapestry of Nations/Dreams but themed after animals instead of people. Some had interactive elements that made guest interaction a hoot. One was something like a water buffalo or wildebeest with birds fluttering around it, and the birds could land on guests and such. Another was a frog with a fluttering butterfly, and the fluttering butterfly made the day of a child around 3 years old who was sitting on his dad's shoulders next to us. The interaction was great
And the music was a very fast-paced and up-beat tune. I think if I could only see one of the 100 Years of Magic parades, I'd have a hard time choosing between Mickey's Jammin' Jungle and Tapestry of Dreams.After the parade, we immediately left the park. Michael wanted to go back to the Dolphin and change clothes because between the heat and the rain both of us were in bad shape. But looking at the time we didn't really have enough time. So we opted instead to just drive to the Animal Kingdom Lodge and make some purchases in the giftshop there. That also gave us time to explore the Lodge a little, which was half of my reason for wanting to go there in the first place.
So Michael agreed and we drove to the Lodge. The guard let us in with no problem after we told him about our PS and gave him our name. He gave us a temporary parking permit that would allow us to stay long enough for a good meal, then waved us through the gate.
We drove around until we found the parking lot and a spot, then rearranged our things so that we didn't have to have all of our park gear in the restaurant. After all, if we had a car, might as well use it for something besides transportation.
When we got out and approached the Lodge, we decided immediately that we'd have to spend at least one night here in the future. The landscaping was beautifully exotic, and the air was filled with the smell of either a spice or a sweet burning wood. Since they had several "communal fires" built up inside the Lodge, I suspect it was whatever wood they were burning. Maybe oak?
When we walked in to the lobby, we immediately hunted down a map. Luckily, there was one on the wall fairly close, so with that we were able to locate where we were, where Jiko's was, and where the store was. I think the store was within sight so that wasn't difficult to find.
We spent the next 15 or 20 minutes shopping and picking up some materials to freshen up. I got a very nice pink Animal Kingdom shirt with a collar, which makes it about the only Disney shirt I feel comfortable wearing to work. I also got another Animal Kingdom t-shirt which has a bunch of big cats on it. Michael got a t-shirt much like one I'd purchased in March, only his was on blue and mine was on white. I think it's the one with Mickey running from a cheetah and saying "Nice Kitty!!"
Purchases made, we hunted down some public restrooms where we were able to freshen up a bit. After the chance to change shirts, comb our hair, and otherwise freshen up, we both felt much better. And we still had about 30 minutes or so to explore the Lodge itself. We looked around the lobby a little, then found our way outdoors. I really wanted to see the savannah and gathering places out the back door, and so did Michael.
When we did get outdoors, we were very impressed. Michael didn't believe that you really could have animals come up to within a few feet of your balcony. However, there were indeed rooms facing out over the savannah and the electric fences (disguised very cleverly as bushes and grass) weren't that far from the rooms.
The first place we looked didn't have very many animals. I think only a couple of birds that were roosting on some old trees. However, we noticed that a lot of the people outside (which wasn't many, maybe 15 or 20) were gathering in one particular corner of the viewing area. When we went over there, we found out why. There were several animals visible out further in the savannah. Of the animals I can name, we saw a giraffe or two and some zebras. There were two or three other hoofed mammals within sight once you started looking, but I don't know what any of them were. Except I think one was a kind of antelope.
We watched the animals for quite a while, and Michael couldn't stop repeating "We have to stay here". I couldn't stop agreeing. Even though we love the Wilderness Lodge, I don't think I've ever been at a Disney resort that was so peaceful.
Finally it was time to go back inside. Neither of us wanted to, we were both having too much fun, but we were also both getting hungry. The smell of either food cooking or the wood burning was really increasing our appetites (and the fact that we'd had nothing really to eat since breakfast has nothing to do with things of course) and we were very anxious to find Jiko's.
So inside we went and started wandering around. I think it took us a good 10 minutes to find Jiko's, even with looking at maps and trying to follow our noses. We found the lounge easily enough and enjoyed watching the indoor waterfall, we enjoyed seeing the decor, but we had the hardest time finding Jiko's.
When we finally did, it was really a neat restaurant. We got there just before opening so still had a few minutes to sit and relax before dinner, and furthermore it gave us the opportunity to look over the menu and get a picture of the restaurant before it got crowded. We also got a chance to look over Boma's a little, and decided Jiko's was more our style but if we stayed there we'd try Boma's as well. We just like a more quiet dinner and Boma's seemed a little loud.
When we were called, we were given a seat by the window where we could look out across the resort. No animals visible from where we were, but we had a nice view of a small pond and the building. Our server was Mike, and he was the best server we've ever had in any restaurant. When he saw me pulling out the camera (intending to get a picture out the window) he came over and offered to get our picture. Then said if there were any other pictures we'd like him to take of us, he'd be more than happy to do so. And throughout the meal he was the most informed server we've ever talked to and knew the menu better than the back of his hand. And if you asked something he didn't know, he'd go find out very quickly and be right back with you. Excellent server.
We each started off with an appetizer. I had the crispy cinnamon spiced beef roll with vegetable banana dip after Mike assured me the spiced was flavored rather than hot. I can't handle spicy foods, and sometimes I can't even handle flavorful foods, but they sounded really good. Michael ordered the duck firecracker with oyster dipping sauce. When each came, they were a piece of art. Michael loved his, and I think my beef rolls were some of the best things I've ever tasted.
The bread came shortly after in an interesting wire basket, and with two different kinds of dipping sauce. One was a peanut honey herb sauce, and the other was hummis with chickpea puree. They were okay, and Michael liked one while I liked the other, but neither of us loved the sauces.
For dinner, I ordered the pan roasted monkfish with a tomato butter sauce. I'd heard good reviews about that dish, and even though I'm not a big fish eater, I was curious. Mike described it as being like a firm but moist fish with a lobster flavor. I think his description was right on. And the sauce was delicious. The only problem is all that butter built up a little so that I was only able to eat about 3/4 of the fish before it was too powerful. I seem to have that problem with a lot of foods. And I would definitely order the monkfish again though I think next time I'd rather try one of the other entrees I had a hard time deciding between.
Michael had the duck two ways, and he really liked it as well. He warned that it was something I wouldn't like, however, because it was rather spicy. He ate almost all of it, though, so it was just right for him.
For drinks, I tried a wine but didn't like it. Not unusual -- I've rarely found a wine that I like, and Michael did like it so he finished it for me. Instead, I think I got a sprite. Michael had another wine that I don't think either of us could pronounce, but he said it went perfectly with the duck.
After we finished our main course, we stopped Mike and said we did have another picture we'd like -- this one of him. He suggested he grab another CM to take the picture so all three of us could be in it, then proceeded to do so. It took the other CM three tries to get a successful shot, but after he stopped covering up the flash with his finger the picture came out well.
Though we were almost full and on a slightly tight schedule (we wanted to see Spectromagic at the Magic Kingdom), we decided to try a dessert. So operating off of another recommendation from the DIS, we split the Bosc Pear Turnover with pear-vanilla sauce. When it came, I think we finished eating it almost before Mike had taken three steps, it was that good!
When Mike came back, he successfully sold us on yet another dessert! We were so relaxed and having so much fun there that we said why not, so tried the Cardamom Chocolate Kgetsana. They're little pockets of a stiff pastry wrapped around some chocolate and a macadamia nut, and with some really good orange liquor dipping sauce. Michael also ordered a Grand Mariner, one of the few alcoholic beverages I actually *like*, to go with it.
Finally, it was time to go. Neither of us wanted to, and we walked away vowing that we'd be back. This had been the best meal we'd ever had. The atmosphere was fantastic, very friendly, and very relaxing. Our server was the best a server possibly could be. The food absolutely delicious despite its exoticness, and the desserts were to die for. And, as I found out later, this was one of the only places I've ever eaten where I came away with no hint of a stomachache and none came on me later.
More relaxed than we'd been in months, we trekked back out to the car. Now was time for the race. We'd cut dinner a lot closer than we'd intended to do since our next stop was back at the Magic Kingdom for the parade. But if we missed Spectromagic, then oh well. This dinner was worth it!
We drove up to the Magic Kingdom as fast as we could (within the speed limit, of course) and parked, remarking about how odd it was to be coming to the Magic Kingdom from the parking lot and our OWN car (rental though it was) instead of the bus stop or a friend's car. Then we hurried to the tram stop since a tram was approaching. Michael had the sense of mind to actually check and remember which section we parked in, or I would have been lost a few hours later.
Making our way through the monorail ride, past security, and up to the turnstiles, I checked my watch regularly. Were we going to make it for Spectromagic? I was pretty certain it would start on the Main Street side, and so listened carefully as we walked up. At first, I heard nothing but the usual sounds of Main Street coming from beyond the railroad tracks, so remarked to Michael that no it hadn't started yet.
"How can you tell?" he asked. Because we don't hear the mu--
Of course, right then is when the music for Spectromagic started, just as Michael stepped through the turnstile. "There it is!" I said and pulled him onto Main Street itself.
Naturally, it was quite crowded with people stacked five and six deep along the curb, and there was NO way we'd be able to get through the crowds to get down Main Street and watch the parade from elsewhere. So we maneuvered our way to a point behind a few people, where we hoped to actually have a place to see the parade, and just as we found our spot the gates opened and the first float appears. (For those who haven't seen Spectromagic before, there's actually several seconds -- maybe even a minute of music before the parade first appears).
We couldn't have timed it better. Spectromagic with literally no wait, even if we didn't have the best view. The floats were large enough that we actually could see better than I'd anticipated, and I smiled as I started silently humming along to the music. I'd seen Spectromagic once before in its previous run, but this was Michael's first time, so I stayed quiet and let him watch while I tried to get pictures. Video just wouldn't happen this viewing.
After the last float of Spectromagic drifted past and around Town Square, I asked him what he thought. Pretty good, but it's not Main Street Electrical Parade. So given the option of this a second time or Tapestry of Dreams again? No hesitation: Tapestry of Dreams.
We couldn't stand discussing this for very long on Main Street, though, because the crowds were marching around and past us to get out of the park. We briefly toyed with trying to get up to Adventureland and cut over to see the parade at Frontierland once again, but one look at the crowds and how long it took for the parade to get there and how tired our feet were, we decided there was no way. We'd maybe make it to Frontierland about the time the parade was half-over, and we still likely wouldn't have had any better view.
But we still had about thirty minutes to kill before we wanted to find our spot for Fantasy in the Sky. We knew that this time we wanted to watch the fireworks from the Town Square area of Main Street, so we didn't want to venture far. There was no way in these crowds we'd have enough time to get anywhere but the hub before it would be time to turn around and come back. So we looked around and found ourselves standing right next to the Disney Gallery shop.
It had been a while since we'd spread our drool over the many cels and paintings in the Gallery, so we decided that would be the perfect place to kill some time. During our drooling, Michael found a painting he really, really wanted. We both knew it would be out of our pricerange, but when he purchased a couple of postcards I wanted he asked about the price. That's a sign of how much he likes it -- that he, on his on initiative, actually *asked* about something. He usually leaves that to me.
Well, as we figured, it was out of our price range. Though not as far out of it as I had figured it would be. It was only $1000 instead of the $3000 I anticipated. I found something I liked, too, but that poster was only about $18 and I only didn't get it because I have nowhere to put more posters.
After we finished shopping in there, we checked out the firehouse nearby (the first time we'd been inside) and I pointed out the barber shop. Some cute antiques (or at least antique-style) furnishings in there
Then we found our way to where Main Street splits to encircle the island in the middle of Town Square. There we set up shop for our wait for the fireworks that were about thirty minutes away.Did you know that standing still in the middle of a flood of people, most of which are going in the same direction (toward you), it is very easy to get dizzy and seasick fairly quickly?
I finally had to focus on some Mickey and Minnie balloons a CM was selling a few feet away. While they bobbed and weaved among each other, they were still more stable than trying to people-watch.Finally, the fireworks were just about to begin. We had our spot almost dead on the trolley tracks down the middle of Main Street, people were beginning to crowd around for the fireworks, but we had a clear view of the castle. I started getting my cameras ready (I'd be operating both again this visit) and getting excited for the fireworks (I always get excited for fireworks, I'm like a little kid when it's fireworks time)... when a CM with a radio walked up and started dispersing everyone standing in our general area.
"Please don't stand there, please move over to the sidewalk or farther up Main Street so we can keep this area clear for a walkway."
Grr.
Well, after all that waiting for a spot with a view straight down Main Street, I really didn't want to give it up. So I took a quick glance around and saw that he stopped moving people about ten steps in front of us. Taking a chance, I rebelled from the other guests who were moving to the sidewalks and instead just moved forward five or ten steps. Michael kinda gave me a look, but hey if the CM wanted us moved from this point, he'd say so again and *then* we'd move. I figured what are the chances of him recognizing one specific couple from all the people he just moved, right?
Actually, the chances were pretty good, because about five minutes later that CM walked past again and chuckled. He came over close enough to talk specifically to us and commented something along the lines of "Didn't like the view from the sidewalk, huh?" It wasn't a "hey, I *THOUGHT* I told you to move!" type tone of voice, it was an amused one. So I grinned in response and answered that I like it better from here. He shrugged with a smile and moved on, and so we got to keep our spot.
I don't remember much about the fireworks themselves this time, because I was trying to both video and take photos, but I do remember thinking that if the photos suffered, oh well. I've got more photos of Fantasy in the Sky than I can shake a stick at, so no harm done. But what we didn't have was good video. So I concentrated on the video while trying to get a few photos, and as a result don't remember much of that particular run other than that I enjoyed it as usual and my arms were dead tired afterwards.
After pausing to let my arms rest, we went over to City Hall. Our schedule for the rest of the night had us pretty open, and we'd originally thought of going to Disneyquest. But neither of us really felt up to it tonight, so we decided to try for an older attraction that had been on our list of things to see since our first visit in January of 2000. That being, the Electrical Water Pageant. We weren't sure if it was running or not, and I couldn't remember when the pageant would reach the various points, but I knew the CMs at City Hall could find out. I also really wanted to see the Kiss Goodnight again, but didn't know if it would be running tonight or not.
So in I went to City Hall, expecting a huge crowd of people looking for lost party members, lost items, or just plain lost. Instead, I found a City Hall nearly deserted. I didn't even have to wait three minutes for a CM to call me up to help me. And, as expected, he was able to find the times of both performances. Not only did he give me the time of the first Kiss Goodnight (9pm, right when the park officially closed), but also the times of every run of the Kiss Goodnight that night, as well as what time to catch the Electrical Water Pageant from the Contemporary. We knew the chances were very slim that we'd make it to the Pageant anywhere *but* the Contemporary, so that's all we asked about. Many thanks to such a friendly and helpful CM, who had a hard time tracking down the times for one of the two (I don't remember which was harder to find).
We looked at our watches and saw that it wouldn't be long before the first Kiss Goodnight, so decided to try to fight our way up Main Street.
Getting UP Main Street when everyone else in the park is trying to get DOWN Main Street is always an interesting experience. And despite rumors and supposition that the parks wouldn't be very crowded right then due to low interest in travel, the park crowds were almost the worst I've ever seen them.
So we fought and dodged and squirmed and excuse-me'd our way up to the hub, emerging onto an area of blessed uncrowdedness. We worked our way around to the castle side of the hub and collapsed on the concrete planters not far from where I'd watched Cinderella's Surprise Celebration earlier that week. As we waited for the Kiss Goodnight, we watched people. It was fun seeing all the excited people getting their picture taken in front of the beautifully lit castle. And the group of some sort that seemed to be performing some "tribal ritual dance" was interesting to watch. I think they were either a youth group from a school or church, or a group of cheerleaders, but they sure were loud and we couldn't understand a word they were saying. Interesting, what happens in front of the Castle when the park is closing.
Finally, 9pm arrived and we waited breathlessly for the castle to go dark and the chimes to echo across the hub.
There were the chimes.
But why is the regular Main Street music still playing. And why didn't the castle go dark?
Wait, can you hear something speaking? Yeah, there's a voice coming from somewhere near the castle. But you can't hear what its saying.
There are the chimes again.
Where'd the "kiss" part go?
Then the music came up full blast again, and we looked at each other in bafflement. The one and only other time we'd seen the Kiss Goodnight, all other speakers in the hub were tuned to the Kiss. The castle went dark and chimes sounded, and sparkling lights danced across the castle in waves before it was lit up and went through a color sequence. Then more sparkles danced across as Mickey said goodnight to everyone.
This was not the same thing.
Thinking maybe the CM had just been mistaken about the 9pm showtime, we decided to sit and wait for the 9:30 Kiss Goodnight. 30 minutes of resting, watching the castle as the park emptied. We could do that.
Well, okay, Michael could do that. After five minutes I was back on my feet and running all over the hub getting pictures of the castle from different angles. With Walt and Mickey. Without Walt and Mickey. From Liberty Square where some of the castle was reflected in the water. From Tomorrowland where the bushes of the rose garden were in the foreground, or the Mickey and Minnie topiaries were in the front.
It was during this exploration that I once again got to see something Michael has missed every time: a bunny. A little brown cotton-tail bunny was near the rose garden and stopped right in the path in front of me. Quickly, I snapped a picture, and this time I caught him on film. I followed him as he raced into the bushes to hide and snapped a couple more before deciding to let the little critter be and focus on the castle once again.
Finally, 9:30 arrived and it was time for the second Kiss Goodnight. This time, the court was almost deserted and we could hear a bit better.
But once again, the castle failed to go dark. No sparklies. And the other hub and Main Street speakers continued to play the Main Street area music. This time, we could understand more of what was said, so we could identify that yes this was the so-called "kiss goodnight". But instead of the narrator and Mickey thanking everyone for coming to the park, a young boy mentioned something about a man, a dream, and a mouse and a birthday. And then there was a chime again and things went back to normal.
We felt gypped. Not majorly, really... after all, most of the people who go to Disneyworld haven't ever heard of the Kiss Goodnight. For that matter, a large number of the people who WORK at Disneyworld haven't ever seen the Kiss Goodnight. Only a small number of people would know what it was, and even a smaller number would actually make a point of staying to see it. So though we were disappointed, we understood this would be a change very few would notice.
At least we'd had a nice relaxing 30 minutes in the setting of the castle.
Strike one for tonight. But we still had enough time to catch the Electrical Water Pageant over at the Contemporary if we hurried. And hurry we did, as much as our tired feet would let us anyway. Up to the monorail, off at the Contemporary, then down to the docks where we just walked until we couldn't get any farther out on the water. There wasn't any indication of whether this was where you were supposed to watch the show or not, but there were a few other people out there who were waiting for the same thing so we figured maybe we were in the right place.
Several minutes went by with no sign of the show. We asked the others waiting and they said they'd seen it disappearing around the island toward the Wilderness Lodge, and there were two lines of little red dots floating out there somewhere heading in our direction. So apparently we hadn't missed it.
We located the rows of dots on the water and tried to see if they were attached to floats. No luck. So we tried using the binoculars set up on the dock. The little red dots in a sea of dark became bigger red dots in a sea of dark. Still couldn't tell if they were the floats or not. So we tried zooming in with the video camera, which has a bit more gamma control and can see better in the dark. The little red dots became big red lines as even the slightest movement was magnified greatly in the viewfinder. Still couldn't tell. So we gave up and just waited.
We didn't have to wait too long, and it was overall a pleasurable wait standing out on the dock and watching the boats move past on the water. One boat came for either the Wilderness Lodge or Fort Wilderness or both, but I think only one couple got on. The CM driving that boat assured us we hadn't missed the show yet before he embarked on his journey once again.
Finally, the dots pulled up close enough that we could see they were indeed the barges for the Electrical Water Pageant, and immediately after making that observation the music started up.
I must say this was much cuter than I'd anticipated. Sure, it's maybe a little "old and outdated", no the music wasn't all super-modern from the most recent shows, no it wasn't as extravagant as the Main Street Electrical Parade or Spectromagic. But it was very cute and a very fun parade, and about twice as long as I expected. I'll definitely try to catch this again in the future.
Once the show was over, we walked away from the dock with a smile and feeling better. We'd missed the Kiss Goodnight as we saw it back in March, but the Electrical Water Pageant was a fair trade-off. If you find yourself needing something to see over in the Magic Kingdom area after dark... you might try checking this one out. As far as I know, you can see it from a beach or dock from the Grand Floridian, Poly, Wilderness Lodge, or the Contemporary.
Oh, one thing we were concerned about with seeing the Pageant was how late the monorails would run and stop at TTC. I think when we asked we were told that night they'd stop running to TTC around 11pm, which was two hours after the Magic Kingdom closed, but they'd still have stops at the resorts. Michael wondered if we'd be calling it a little close until I pointed out that as long as the monorail ran from the Contemporary to the Polynesian, we could always walk back to our car if we had to. He felt a little better after that, though neither of us really wanted to walk that far if we didn't have to.
Which, we didn't have to. I think it was about 10:30 when we stepped onto the Monorail to return to TTC. And the trams were even running to take us to our car. One even pulled up just as we got in line, and Michael even remembered where we parked! So all in all, our first solo visit to TTC turned out well.
Tired after our long day, we drove back to the Dolphin and parked in the lot that was still almost completely empty. It still felt strange to enter such a deserted parking lot.
When we got back up to our room, I pulled out my phone to see if I could catch Becky. When I first called her, there was no answer so I died laughing to her answering message. I don't remember exactly what it was now, but it was funny. Then almost immediately after I left a message, the phone rang again. It was Becky, she just wanted me to hear her message.
I spent the next twenty minutes or so visiting with my long-time friend while Michael got ready for bed. I found out that she had been off yesterday (Thursday) and so felt bad that I hadn't called her earlier, but she'd try to catch us tomorrow after she got off work. I felt a little better that we'd be able to see her after all.
I did have one heck of a scare while standing out on the balcony visiting with her, though! Our balcony faced in the general direction of Epcot. If the Boardwalk weren't in our way, we'd have a fairly straight shot for the World Showcase Lagoon. How do I know?
While talking to Becky and looking out over the water, I suddenly saw this HUGE fireball go bursting into the sky. No sound, no accompanying fireworks... just this HUGE fireball. It burst into the sky and rolled around violently until burning itself out and leaving just a cloud of black smoke that quickly dissipated to leave no trace of the event.
Let me tell you... with the terrorist attacks just a month and a half earlier and the fear that Disneyworld might be a target, that scared the bejeebers out of me! But after the initial moment of panic (and scaring Becky leaving her going "Tammi? Tammi, what happened?" until I remembered I was on the phone) I calmed down and thought about it rationally.
There were no sirens, and the people you could still hear on the Boardwalk weren't acting any different. There was no further sign of smoke, fire, or explosions. There were no airplanes, helicopters, or any other indication of how a malicious fireball could appear in the middle of the air. And after thinking about it, we were almost directly in line of sight of the World Showcase Lagoon (which I hadn't realized before that night).
The fireball looked VERY familiar. I even have a picture of a similar fireball erupting into existence from the Illuminations barge. This was just about four times the size of the one on the lake, and in the sky instead of on the ground. But it acted exactly like a larger version of the controlled explosions that occur almost nightly in Epcot. So it likely came from the same source, or at least operated off of the same fuel.
Still slightly nervous, my next thought was that they'd had a problem with the barge and there had been an accidental explosion. But again... no sounds of panic or emergency coming from anywhere that I could hear. So I thought about it some more.
Every night, the barge erupts in a ball of fire for Illuminations. But never have I seen it go out as though it had run out of fuel. Most likely, they would want to leave a little bit of reserve fuel ready so that the fireballs would work properly and on cue. Which would probably mean that the barge would have a little fuel left over after the show was done. Since the fuel, I think, was a form of gas, they'd need a safe way of disposing of it.
So what's the best way to get rid of just a little extra fireball-gas?
Light it on fire in another controlled explosion. Which would make that fireball just another element of Illuminations being taken down for the night.
Becky agreed that it probably was related to the cleanup, and we finished our plans to meet the next day. I stayed out on the balcony for a few more minutes, listening to the soothing sound of the fountain (which was back on again) and trying to relax. But finally my sore feet sent me back inside where I could relax and take my weight off of them. They were much sorer than usual and in a different way. Getting my feet all wet because I was wearing sandals at Animal Kingdom when it rained, then walking around in wet shoes and socks for the remainder of the day probably wasn't the best of ideas.
Before drifting off to sleep, I went through my usual routine of notes, photos, and zipping through the videos. Then we both crashed for the night.
