Poohshoney
<font color=6666CC>Ya-ya sister!<br><font color=gr
- Joined
- Dec 12, 2001
Carol (40, British) dangerously Disney obsessed.
Roland (35, German) puts up with me somehow.
Mickey our beanie, on his first trip `home´.
Sunday, 5 May 2002
Our last day. Oh dear. Wed agreed that MK was the best park for a last day somehow it IS Disney. I was very daring today I wore a skirt instead of a zeppelin! The heat rash had almost disappeared and as it was our last day it didnt matter as much. I slathered on the factor 45 and hoped for the best.
Saw two opposing views of motherhood before we left AKL. The first was a mother sincerely apologising to her little boy for forgetting to ask him if he needed the loo, then sharing his delight in the low washbasins, obviously made specially for him. It' s not often you see a small child treated with that much respect hats off to mum!
The rude woman at the bus stop contrasted nicely her two boys (6 & 9?) seemed very embarrassed by her. Her piece de resistance was when she completely ignored the queue of parents holding their babies and strollers she walked right past them so she could get on the bus first. Lovely example to set your kids.
We were through security very quickly today if anything MK was even less busy than the previous Sunday. We headed for Peter Pan first as wed missed it last time it was a walk on. This is my favourite Disneyland ride and I was a bit worried I wouldn't like the WDW one because the `stars´ were missing at the beginning but I liked it even more without them! The sky seemed vaster somehow and the ride was much longer and made more sense. I have a new favourite ride!
Back to Buzz next, wait time 10 mins. I did much better this time and was actually in the lead until Roland cheated and got 200,000 more in the last few seconds, beating me by about 90,000 points. Ok, I know he didnt cheat but I was robbed anyway. (I'm not sulking any more, really I'm not. My lip always curls like that).
Back over the bridge next for the show in front of Cinderellas Castle. We enjoyed this though we thought it a bit strange. It was as if somebody had started with a list of diverse characters and then tried to find a link. We stood by a drinking fountain to the castles right it was a good spot for us as it was nice and shady and there was a bit of garden in front of us, meaning our view couldnt be blocked; i.e. the two men, each well over six foot, who stood in front of the garden didnt block our view, even when they each put their children on their shoulders. Unfortunately, the little kiddies next to us couldnt say the same. Shame.
We did Jungle Cruise next saying it was a walk on was an understatement. We had to wait nearly 10 mins so that the boat was half full. I hadnt liked this much in Disneyland so I really wasn't bothered about doing it again but Roland had fond memories and that's why we were there. It was dire, worse than even I remembered. The CM was just awful, dreadful, disastrous. Roland no longer has any fond memories.
Things were heating up a bit but relief was at hand we spotted the citrus swirls (known in our house as lemon twirls because Roland can't remember the proper name). One thing confused us how can you have no-fat yoghurt? It doesnt make sense, specially not to the scientist in the family.
We were eating them on a shady bench opposite the Country Bears when a wilting family walked by and nearly robbed us of them. Where did you get those? they gasped. Holding onto ours tightly, we pointed in stereo and they staggered off to buy their own.
I got my desired return to Pirates of the Caribbean next I love that ride! And I saw the jail scene this time.
MK was beginning to fill up a bit more by then so we moved onto the second part of the plan; visiting Wilderness Lodge. I was being extra nice again we went by boat. We had a 10 minute wait which we passed watching a very entertaining duck and a woman wearing an orange bikini and a see through dress. We saw quite a lot of people in swimwear, especially at food courts. We found it a bit odd to be faced with half naked people outside a pool area, even when they had the figure for it. And its like being in a room with a TV on even if you don't want to watch it, you're eyes are mysteriously and irrevocably drawn to it
Just as I'd thought it would be, Wilderness Lodge was Rolands favourite MK resort. I loved the lobby but I was disappointed by the bit in front of the hotel it looks so vast on photos and it was tidgy. Roland would love to stay here but theres just one small problem my asthma. The lobby brought it on. Its such a shame as it really is lovely and Roland is really very disappointed. Can you tell how guilty I feel? Oh dear.
We tried the food court but we didnt like it much I ended up with raisin bran and Roland a muffin.
We just missed the boat back to the MK but there was another boat there so we asked where it was going the poor CM had practically no voice. And as luck had it (just as it always does) every single person who approached the boat asked her something, poor thing.
The boat went to Fort Wilderness and the Contemporary. I disliked this boat more than any other. Roland noticed I think it was the circulation in his hand stopping because I was gripping it so hard that gave it away. I was praised for my bravery but that didn't help this time I was really glad to get off and even more glad that we'd done with boating.
This visit to the Contemporary marked one of those great `aha´ moments in Rolands life. When I'd said I wanted to ride `in the front´ of the monorail, he'd thought I'd meant in the first carriage. (That explained why hed kept saying But the views the same, during last weeks strop). When we got up to the monorail platform I asked the CM if we could ride in the front and he was just about to say yes when he noticed the family behind us. Theyd bypassed him and gone straight to the driver wish I'd thought of that! And Roland finally understood what I'd meant the look of awe on his face as he realised what we'd missed out on was worth all the agro the week before. Almost.
The one MK must-do we hadn't done was watch the parade. We had about an hour to go so we meandered around, looking for something to fill the time with. We decided on the Enchanted Tiki Birds as wed enjoyed it in Disneyland. The CM there had been worthy of a show of his own, the birds had been pleasant enough all in all had been a nice cool break. This is where I risk alienating Tiki fans but I just can't pretend we found this anything less than absolutely AWFUL!!! We hated it so much I would have paid to be let out even if it had meant doing the worlds most dangerous roller coaster as a forfeit. Or even Jungle Cruise a hundred times. Nothing but nothing will ever get us in there again. We sat looking at each other in disbelief and our watches in the hope that it would all be over soon. And in my/our defence everyone in there seemed to react just the same way - apart from the man in front of us; he went to sleep. Clever man.
It was about half an hour to the parade by then time to find a good place to see it from. Up until Seaworld I'd always been the one to feel the heat most but after that we did a role reversal and Roland always wilted first. I really wanted to find the best viewing place possible for him and I think we did. We wandered all the way along the parade route, toying with a few possibilities but not many and none where Roland thought standing for half an hour + parade time was a good idea. Then we got to the Main St Station and struck lucky. We found a lovely place upstairs - with chairs! The view had its good and its bad points. The good was the excellent unobstructed view of the floats. The bad was that because we were at the end of it we didnt get to see the globes twirling. But for us the pros outweighed the cons and if we had the chance we'd try for there again.
Next to us and at the other end of the station was a group of sisters who came every year, staying in their parents Florida home. (Wonder if theyd adopt me).
Roland was a bit worried about the `sky caps´ the Avis info told us to use we didnt know what they were. Having got used to me knowing everything (thanks Nancy, et al!), he kept asking me what they were but I really didnt know. But as soon as I'd worked out that the nice ladies were American, I asked them. And thats how we got chatting.
The sister next to me came to Florida at least three times a year and she really was an expert. She gave us lots of tips for the future, including how to spot alligators. You drive a couple of miles down the road at night and then apparently if you shine a torch around you can see their little red beady eyes! I was relieved to find that this was all done from the safety of a car but still No, no, no, no, no, No! I'm a townie bunnies and lizards yes, even nesting birds are ok but alligators (and knowing my luck It'd be monster car-eating alligators) NO WAY!!!
The parade started then so I didnt get any other wildlife tips to pass on to you.
We loved the parade even without the globes twirling it was just so pretty. This might be the runner-up as our favourite parade but it was a very close fought contest!
And then we left. Roland did ask if I was sure I didnt really want to do anything else first but I knew I'd only be prolonging the agony. If we wandered round I'd just get more and more upset about leaving and it would spoil the happy memories we had and they were so very happy. Better to make a clean break.
Back at AKL we watched the animals from the balcony and then I packed. I'd read a brilliant tip on the Disboards about filling half-empty suitcases with bubble wrap it fills them up without weighing anything. When you return youve got room for everything youve bought and you can either throw the bubble wrap away or use it to pack breakables. Now I'm good at packing so I managed to pack all our things, including the new stuff, and still managed to get all the bubble wrap in! Roland was speechless with admiration. I just hated wasting it.
Wed decided to spend the rest of the day watching the animals but shock, horror we'd run out of bagels! (And other food). So we went to Mara and then brought everything back to our room to eat. This was easier said than done. Roland had another salad (he said they were very good) and we both ordered the sugar cane chicken minus the red stuff on mine because of my allergies. We had to give our order to one young man, take the written order to the cashier to pay and then wait for another young man to bring us our chicken. Bet you've guessed what happened yep, mine came with red stuff. And the young man didnt speak English. I was not a happy bunny. It was my last night, I didn't want to leave Disney and then the young man mistakenly thought I'd agreed to have the chicken anyway. I snarled. Bad Carol. Three CMs scurried round and got me my order in a fraction of the wait time we'd had before. I smiled as sweetly as I could and they looked very relieved. Sorry chaps.
A quick tip here the sugar cane chicken is delicious! We both adored it and wished it was sold everywhere. And it came with pap what more could a girl ask for? (Dont answer that one.) Oh, I forgot to say I also got a brownie. I was sad, it was huge, the two of us were made for each other.
We watched the animals for as long as we could and then did our last tour of the hotel, buying Rolands mug on the way.
We loved Animal Kingdom Lodge and would definitely recommend it. But will we be back? Probably not. We felt the room and its view couldnt be bettered but even so, three days of watching the animals was enough for us. Walking round the hotel was nice because it was beautiful but we missed our outdoor strolls. Arusha Rock couldnt compare with the lakes at CBR and Riverside. And we definitely wouldnt have been happy with our stay if wed had a standard view beautiful as AKL is, watching the animals from our own room was the highlight.
Will we back to Boma? Oh yes please!
Next, Day 16 Sounds good to us!
Roland (35, German) puts up with me somehow.
Mickey our beanie, on his first trip `home´.
Sunday, 5 May 2002
Our last day. Oh dear. Wed agreed that MK was the best park for a last day somehow it IS Disney. I was very daring today I wore a skirt instead of a zeppelin! The heat rash had almost disappeared and as it was our last day it didnt matter as much. I slathered on the factor 45 and hoped for the best.
Saw two opposing views of motherhood before we left AKL. The first was a mother sincerely apologising to her little boy for forgetting to ask him if he needed the loo, then sharing his delight in the low washbasins, obviously made specially for him. It' s not often you see a small child treated with that much respect hats off to mum!
The rude woman at the bus stop contrasted nicely her two boys (6 & 9?) seemed very embarrassed by her. Her piece de resistance was when she completely ignored the queue of parents holding their babies and strollers she walked right past them so she could get on the bus first. Lovely example to set your kids.
We were through security very quickly today if anything MK was even less busy than the previous Sunday. We headed for Peter Pan first as wed missed it last time it was a walk on. This is my favourite Disneyland ride and I was a bit worried I wouldn't like the WDW one because the `stars´ were missing at the beginning but I liked it even more without them! The sky seemed vaster somehow and the ride was much longer and made more sense. I have a new favourite ride!
Back to Buzz next, wait time 10 mins. I did much better this time and was actually in the lead until Roland cheated and got 200,000 more in the last few seconds, beating me by about 90,000 points. Ok, I know he didnt cheat but I was robbed anyway. (I'm not sulking any more, really I'm not. My lip always curls like that).
Back over the bridge next for the show in front of Cinderellas Castle. We enjoyed this though we thought it a bit strange. It was as if somebody had started with a list of diverse characters and then tried to find a link. We stood by a drinking fountain to the castles right it was a good spot for us as it was nice and shady and there was a bit of garden in front of us, meaning our view couldnt be blocked; i.e. the two men, each well over six foot, who stood in front of the garden didnt block our view, even when they each put their children on their shoulders. Unfortunately, the little kiddies next to us couldnt say the same. Shame.
We did Jungle Cruise next saying it was a walk on was an understatement. We had to wait nearly 10 mins so that the boat was half full. I hadnt liked this much in Disneyland so I really wasn't bothered about doing it again but Roland had fond memories and that's why we were there. It was dire, worse than even I remembered. The CM was just awful, dreadful, disastrous. Roland no longer has any fond memories.
Things were heating up a bit but relief was at hand we spotted the citrus swirls (known in our house as lemon twirls because Roland can't remember the proper name). One thing confused us how can you have no-fat yoghurt? It doesnt make sense, specially not to the scientist in the family.
We were eating them on a shady bench opposite the Country Bears when a wilting family walked by and nearly robbed us of them. Where did you get those? they gasped. Holding onto ours tightly, we pointed in stereo and they staggered off to buy their own.
I got my desired return to Pirates of the Caribbean next I love that ride! And I saw the jail scene this time.
MK was beginning to fill up a bit more by then so we moved onto the second part of the plan; visiting Wilderness Lodge. I was being extra nice again we went by boat. We had a 10 minute wait which we passed watching a very entertaining duck and a woman wearing an orange bikini and a see through dress. We saw quite a lot of people in swimwear, especially at food courts. We found it a bit odd to be faced with half naked people outside a pool area, even when they had the figure for it. And its like being in a room with a TV on even if you don't want to watch it, you're eyes are mysteriously and irrevocably drawn to it
Just as I'd thought it would be, Wilderness Lodge was Rolands favourite MK resort. I loved the lobby but I was disappointed by the bit in front of the hotel it looks so vast on photos and it was tidgy. Roland would love to stay here but theres just one small problem my asthma. The lobby brought it on. Its such a shame as it really is lovely and Roland is really very disappointed. Can you tell how guilty I feel? Oh dear.
We tried the food court but we didnt like it much I ended up with raisin bran and Roland a muffin.
We just missed the boat back to the MK but there was another boat there so we asked where it was going the poor CM had practically no voice. And as luck had it (just as it always does) every single person who approached the boat asked her something, poor thing.
The boat went to Fort Wilderness and the Contemporary. I disliked this boat more than any other. Roland noticed I think it was the circulation in his hand stopping because I was gripping it so hard that gave it away. I was praised for my bravery but that didn't help this time I was really glad to get off and even more glad that we'd done with boating.
This visit to the Contemporary marked one of those great `aha´ moments in Rolands life. When I'd said I wanted to ride `in the front´ of the monorail, he'd thought I'd meant in the first carriage. (That explained why hed kept saying But the views the same, during last weeks strop). When we got up to the monorail platform I asked the CM if we could ride in the front and he was just about to say yes when he noticed the family behind us. Theyd bypassed him and gone straight to the driver wish I'd thought of that! And Roland finally understood what I'd meant the look of awe on his face as he realised what we'd missed out on was worth all the agro the week before. Almost.
The one MK must-do we hadn't done was watch the parade. We had about an hour to go so we meandered around, looking for something to fill the time with. We decided on the Enchanted Tiki Birds as wed enjoyed it in Disneyland. The CM there had been worthy of a show of his own, the birds had been pleasant enough all in all had been a nice cool break. This is where I risk alienating Tiki fans but I just can't pretend we found this anything less than absolutely AWFUL!!! We hated it so much I would have paid to be let out even if it had meant doing the worlds most dangerous roller coaster as a forfeit. Or even Jungle Cruise a hundred times. Nothing but nothing will ever get us in there again. We sat looking at each other in disbelief and our watches in the hope that it would all be over soon. And in my/our defence everyone in there seemed to react just the same way - apart from the man in front of us; he went to sleep. Clever man.
It was about half an hour to the parade by then time to find a good place to see it from. Up until Seaworld I'd always been the one to feel the heat most but after that we did a role reversal and Roland always wilted first. I really wanted to find the best viewing place possible for him and I think we did. We wandered all the way along the parade route, toying with a few possibilities but not many and none where Roland thought standing for half an hour + parade time was a good idea. Then we got to the Main St Station and struck lucky. We found a lovely place upstairs - with chairs! The view had its good and its bad points. The good was the excellent unobstructed view of the floats. The bad was that because we were at the end of it we didnt get to see the globes twirling. But for us the pros outweighed the cons and if we had the chance we'd try for there again.
Next to us and at the other end of the station was a group of sisters who came every year, staying in their parents Florida home. (Wonder if theyd adopt me).
Roland was a bit worried about the `sky caps´ the Avis info told us to use we didnt know what they were. Having got used to me knowing everything (thanks Nancy, et al!), he kept asking me what they were but I really didnt know. But as soon as I'd worked out that the nice ladies were American, I asked them. And thats how we got chatting.
The sister next to me came to Florida at least three times a year and she really was an expert. She gave us lots of tips for the future, including how to spot alligators. You drive a couple of miles down the road at night and then apparently if you shine a torch around you can see their little red beady eyes! I was relieved to find that this was all done from the safety of a car but still No, no, no, no, no, No! I'm a townie bunnies and lizards yes, even nesting birds are ok but alligators (and knowing my luck It'd be monster car-eating alligators) NO WAY!!!
The parade started then so I didnt get any other wildlife tips to pass on to you.
We loved the parade even without the globes twirling it was just so pretty. This might be the runner-up as our favourite parade but it was a very close fought contest!
And then we left. Roland did ask if I was sure I didnt really want to do anything else first but I knew I'd only be prolonging the agony. If we wandered round I'd just get more and more upset about leaving and it would spoil the happy memories we had and they were so very happy. Better to make a clean break.
Back at AKL we watched the animals from the balcony and then I packed. I'd read a brilliant tip on the Disboards about filling half-empty suitcases with bubble wrap it fills them up without weighing anything. When you return youve got room for everything youve bought and you can either throw the bubble wrap away or use it to pack breakables. Now I'm good at packing so I managed to pack all our things, including the new stuff, and still managed to get all the bubble wrap in! Roland was speechless with admiration. I just hated wasting it.
Wed decided to spend the rest of the day watching the animals but shock, horror we'd run out of bagels! (And other food). So we went to Mara and then brought everything back to our room to eat. This was easier said than done. Roland had another salad (he said they were very good) and we both ordered the sugar cane chicken minus the red stuff on mine because of my allergies. We had to give our order to one young man, take the written order to the cashier to pay and then wait for another young man to bring us our chicken. Bet you've guessed what happened yep, mine came with red stuff. And the young man didnt speak English. I was not a happy bunny. It was my last night, I didn't want to leave Disney and then the young man mistakenly thought I'd agreed to have the chicken anyway. I snarled. Bad Carol. Three CMs scurried round and got me my order in a fraction of the wait time we'd had before. I smiled as sweetly as I could and they looked very relieved. Sorry chaps.
A quick tip here the sugar cane chicken is delicious! We both adored it and wished it was sold everywhere. And it came with pap what more could a girl ask for? (Dont answer that one.) Oh, I forgot to say I also got a brownie. I was sad, it was huge, the two of us were made for each other.
We watched the animals for as long as we could and then did our last tour of the hotel, buying Rolands mug on the way.
We loved Animal Kingdom Lodge and would definitely recommend it. But will we be back? Probably not. We felt the room and its view couldnt be bettered but even so, three days of watching the animals was enough for us. Walking round the hotel was nice because it was beautiful but we missed our outdoor strolls. Arusha Rock couldnt compare with the lakes at CBR and Riverside. And we definitely wouldnt have been happy with our stay if wed had a standard view beautiful as AKL is, watching the animals from our own room was the highlight.
Will we back to Boma? Oh yes please!
Next, Day 16 Sounds good to us!
Just wanted to say thank you for the fab reports, I have read, re read them and been there with you. I am with you on delaying the inevitable, leaving the parks for the last time, it only 
Alligators!! Snappy, little critters, aren't they! We saw our first "in the flesh" one at Kennedy Space Centre (oops, sorry, Center). Fortunately is was down a bit of an incline to the lake, so felt reasonably safe, but BIG RESPECT to anything with THAT many teeth
