Ooo I'm really scaredd! A Sept '13 TR! updates x 4 10/13!

[STLMickeyMom]

i read your last updates, but for some reason didn't comment--sorry about that! congrats on your new job!

i love all your AK updates! I've never really liked this park, but we had a great time there on our last trip and it's really becoming a favorite (like any Disney park isn't?)!

we love the dinoland area too! it's so colorful and fun, and we love triceratop spin and dinosaur. after we rode primeval whirl on our first trip, DH doesn't really like it--too painful. the girls wanted to ride the last time we went, but neither one was tall enough. we weren't that disappointed...

i love all your character meet pics! how cool to see meeko! its so funny when people want to meet characters and then don't even know who they're seeing. of course, i really have no room to talk after taking the kids to the st patricks day parade this year and calling st Patrick the pope!

did you ever get to see Pocahontas? we looked for her several times in January, but never found her.

 

[missangelalexis]

LOL Chris' face on EE

Aww your pictures with Minnie & Mickey are adorable!!

Those candid shots came out so nice!

Meeko and Governor Ratcliffe- how awesome! And love all your other character photos too, you were on a roll!

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

Everest... Good. Everest and 5 minute wait... Priceless.

Haha, the kid in the front row looks a little uneasy though.

YAY, I'm so happy there is still a spot to meet the Mice together. There's something special about that.

I have to be honest. While I appreciate the CM maintaining the illusion, a time of when Poca would be back would be extremely helpful. I love CM's, but sometimes they can be just a bit too coy.

But then again... SCORE!!!! Ratcliffe and Meeko. That's rare, especially Ratcliffe. But Lordy it drives me nuts when people push and shove, etc. But to do that and not even know the characters!!???? Go home!!

 

[katt789]

Yay for updates!!!!

You guys were on a ROLL over at AK! I haven't done that much there in a while, well…september, bahha!! We had 2 days so it was super nice but still skipped most of dinoland and ittbab, it' just freaks me out! Lol.

And I TOTALLY remember that day! I was so sad meeko & radcliff were out on a day I missed lol! I dont think we ended up seeing poca either so it wouldn't have mattered not to see her haha!

All the character meets!! Yay!!

 

[lvcourtneyy]

i read your last updates, but for some reason didn't comment--sorry about that! congrats on your new job!

i love all your AK updates! I've never really liked this park, but we had a great time there on our last trip and it's really becoming a favorite (like any Disney park isn't?)!

we love the dinoland area too! it's so colorful and fun, and we love triceratop spin and dinosaur. after we rode primeval whirl on our first trip, DH doesn't really like it--too painful. the girls wanted to ride the last time we went, but neither one was tall enough. we weren't that disappointed...

i love all your character meet pics! how cool to see meeko! its so funny when people want to meet characters and then don't even know who they're seeing. of course, i really have no room to talk after taking the kids to the st patricks day parade this year and calling st Patrick the pope!

did you ever get to see Pocahontas? we looked for her several times in January, but never found her.

Thank you so much!

Yesss- Animal Kingdom is amazing and I feel like so many people miss so much of what it has to offer!

We love Primeval Whirl but it definitely is painful!

Ah we were so excited to see Meeko! He's so cute!

that would be me if I saw a celebrity or something! I'm the worst at facial recognition so I could see someone crazy and not even realize!

No! We never found Poca We met her in January by accident. We were in line for another character at Camp Mickey- Minnie and turned around and there she was! She's very elusive apparently!

LOL Chris' face on EE

Aww your pictures with Minnie & Mickey are adorable!!

Those candid shots came out so nice!

Meeko and Governor Ratcliffe- how awesome! And love all your other character photos too, you were on a roll!

Aw thank you! :good vibes

Ah it was so exciting to see them!

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Everest... Good. Everest and 5 minute wait... Priceless.

Haha, the kid in the front row looks a little uneasy though.

YAY, I'm so happy there is still a spot to meet the Mice together. There's something special about that.

I have to be honest. While I appreciate the CM maintaining the illusion, a time of when Poca would be back would be extremely helpful. I love CM's, but sometimes they can be just a bit too coy.

But then again... SCORE!!!! Ratcliffe and Meeko. That's rare, especially Ratcliffe. But Lordy it drives me nuts when people push and shove, etc. But to do that and not even know the characters!!???? Go home!!

this is true! seeing 5 minute waits for things is basically the best!

There really is something magical about meeting Mickey and Minnie together! Some of my favorite pictures from our first trip were meeting the mice together in TST.

I 1000% agree. While it was a cute answer, it was really not amusing at the time because I really wanted to meet Poca! But yes seeing Ratcliffe and Meeko made up for it!! I think Ratcliffe was out because he was at the Friday the 13th event the next day but it was so cool!

Yay for updates!!!!

You guys were on a ROLL over at AK! I haven't done that much there in a while, well…september, bahha!! We had 2 days so it was super nice but still skipped most of dinoland and ittbab, it' just freaks me out! Lol.

And I TOTALLY remember that day! I was so sad meeko & radcliff were out on a day I missed lol! I dont think we ended up seeing poca either so it wouldn't have mattered not to see her haha!

All the character meets!! Yay!!

it's crazy how many times you've been back since September!

Hahaha it seems like Poca was particularly elusive in September !

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Hello! I'm trying really really hard to catch up on her and I have to say I'm getting there!

A few exciting things happened this week! After working a 61 hour work week, I was so thrilled to be going to see ALADDIN on broadway! And even more exciting, we had front row seats!

photo 1 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

Suffice to say, it was AMAZING. Like way exceeded my expectations (which were pretty high already)! They did an amazing job with Proud of Your Boy, Howard Ashman's song that was cut from the movie originally! And they added some songs which were all phenomenal also. If you can get yourself a chance to see it, GO!

And then last night, I picked up my first brand new car! It's a 2014 Nissan Versa Note & it's gorgeous and I'm so excited!

photo 2 by RN Courtney, on Flickr
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After all our character fun in Camp Mickey-Minnie, there was only one logical place to go!

IMG_2519 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

It was time for the best show-- Festival of the Lion King!

And of course, the only thing to do when waiting-- selfie time.

IMG_2520 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

IMG_2522 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

Soon enough it was time for the 12:30 show to begin!

DSCN3228 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

DSCN3229 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

DSCN3233 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

DSCN3234 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

Every single time I say I'm gonna take less pictures .....

but then I take a million anyway.

DSCN3236 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

DSCN3238 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

Oh hey Pumbaa!

DSCN3239 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

DSCN3240 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

Oh look, the main lion himself.

DSCN3241 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

DSCN3244 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

Timon and the tumble monkeys are kinda adorable!

DSCN3246 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

DSCN3248 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

DSCN3249 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

DSCN3251 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

DSCN3252 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

I wonder how long they have to train to be a tumble monkey. Like, what they do seems really intense! DSCN3253 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

DSCN3256 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

 

[lvcourtneyy]

It's kinda fun to look at their facial expressions.

DSCN3257 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

Oh Timon.

DSCN3259 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

DSCN3262 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

DSCN3263 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

DSCN3266 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

This part of the show always reminds me of Kat!

DSCN3268 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

DSCN3269 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

DSCN3270 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

DSCN3271 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

DSCN3272 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

DSCN3282 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

DSCN3286 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

DSCN3287 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

DSCN3288 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

After the magnificent, as always, show was over, it was time for lunch!

Any guesses where we were headed?

 

[katt789]

Ugh!! all of my feeeeeels!!! I cannot wait til that show is back open!!!

And I'm guessing Tusker for lunch?! Unless you did breakfast there that day and I just don't remember that? bhahaha

 

[missangelalexis]

You definitely are working hard on catching up!!

Yay for seeing Aladdin, and front row how amazing! Congrats on your new car!

Great FOTLK photos!

 

[STLMickeyMom]

Looks so fun! We've still never seen FotLK. Now we'll have to wait until it comes back.....whenever that is.

Aladdin sounds so fun! And front row? Awesome!

Cute car! So fun to get a new car!

 

[deedee2177]

Great updates!!! I can't believe it's already been 2 weeks ago I was in the MK! I'm trying to use some self control and wait until 2015 to go back!!

Writing my TR helps

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

Congratulations on your first new car Courtney!!!! I guess 61 hour work weeks are good for something, lol.

Haha, yeah, I've tried the "not taking pictures" thing before. Which usually results in taking 3 times as many as normal. But oh well.

 

[lvcourtneyy]

You definitely are working hard on catching up!!

Yay for seeing Aladdin, and front row how amazing! Congrats on your new car!

Great FOTLK photos!

Thank you! It was an amazing show!

Looks so fun! We've still never seen FotLK. Now we'll have to wait until it comes back.....whenever that is.

Aladdin sounds so fun! And front row? Awesome!

Cute car! So fun to get a new car!

Ah you guys definitely do need to see it!

Aladdin was phenomenal! And thank you, I love it!

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Ugh!! all of my feeeeeels!!! I cannot wait til that show is back open!!!

And I'm guessing Tusker for lunch?! Unless you did breakfast there that day and I just don't remember that? bhahaha

It's so crazy that it's closed!

Ahh you're a good guesser!

Great updates!!! I can't believe it's already been 2 weeks ago I was in the MK! I'm trying to use some self control and wait until 2015 to go back!!

Writing my TR helps

Thank you! Ah I can't believe your trip is over already! It seems like just yesterday that April felt like forever away! I have to come catch up on your report to hear all about it!

Congratulations on your first new car Courtney!!!! I guess 61 hour work weeks are good for something, lol.

Haha, yeah, I've tried the "not taking pictures" thing before. Which usually results in taking 3 times as many as normal. But oh well.

Thank you! Yes they have to be good for something other than exhaustion don't they?!

Yeah, I clearly suck at the not taking pictures deal. I like to photo-document everything!

 

[kitty2kidz]

Joining in late-- we are going this september!!

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Joining in late-- we are going this september!!

Welcome! You're not that late! This is the slowest moving trip report, possibly of all time. Hope your trip is (was?) fantastic!

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Once upon a time, I was writing a trip report. And with some magic, 4 months have gone by and I really don't know where they went.

Seriously though, this year really has flown by. I hope everyone had a great summer and that some of you will bear with me while I try to finish this report!
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When we left off, we had just finished watching FOTLK and were headed to lunch.

Our destination?

DSCN3289 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

Those of you who have been with us for a little while know our love of Tusker House!

We checked in and lined up to get our picture taken with Donald.

Photo0177FourBySix by RN Courtney, on Flickr

Photo0179FourBySix by RN Courtney, on Flickr

We headed inside and were seated, hoping to see our fabulous waiter from January but no such luck. There were no characters in sight, so it was time for FOOD!

DSCN3290 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

This is Chris' plate and I would try to tell you what's on it except I think it's pretty much everything. I can identify some salmon on the top and that's really about it.

DSCN3291 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

This is my plate-- doesn't it look so much neater? Starting from the top, there's carved steak from the serving station, samosas, some kinda rice, curry chicken, mashed potatoes, perhaps some other kind of potato, corn bread and caesar salad.

Everything was pretty delicious, with the samosas, curry chicken and corn bread being the highlights of the meal!

DSCN3292 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

Chris' second plate. He eats a lot, could you tell?

DSCN3293 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

Now compare that to my second plate. As you can see, the highlights made a reappearance. And I took a few bites of salmon because I've never actually tried it and it seemed like as good a time as any to give it a whirl. I wasn't a huge fan but I've never been big on fish!

After all of that food, it was finally time for some characters!

DSCN3294 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

DSCN3295 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

DSCN3297 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

DSCN3298 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

The characters were cute and playful, nothing particularly special to note though.

Then it was time for dessert!

DSCN3299 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

After all that food, we were kinda stuffed so we decided to split a little of everything. Bread pudding, a delicious brownie, some kind of bar with nuts, and chocolate lava cake. The chocolate lava cake was my favorite, the bar was Chris'!

After we paid with our Magicbands, we practically rolled ourselves out of the restaurant and spent a little time outside listening to the music.

IMG_2524 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

We decided to head for another trip to Africa for a 2 week safari to give us a chance to rest off some of the food.

IMG_2525 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

Some animal highlights from our trip:

DSCN3304 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

DSCN3314 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

DSCN3315 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

DSCN3319 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

DSCN3335 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

This big cat wanted very little to do with us.

DSCN3340 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

So did this one.

DSCN3342 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

She looks very happy to see us doesn't she?

DSCN3343 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

One of my favorite safari pictures ever.

DSCN3345 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

 

[lvcourtneyy]

We encounter a traffic jam of sorts in our travels.

DSCN3346 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

No worries, we'll just extend our two week trip.

DSCN3347 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

DSCN3348 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

I guess we bored him enough for him to move on.

DSCN3349 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

DSCN3350 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

Now this guy wanted to be on the other side of the road.

DSCN3354 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

More lions! Best day ever!

DSCN3356 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

Once we were back from our safari, it had started to rain. We had planned on spending the rest of the time til closing at Animal Kingdom then heading over to the Magic Kingdom but the rain was putting a damper on those plans!

We waited a bit in the gift shop in Africa and the rain just kept getting harder. After texting Kat, who was in the MK, we found out there was not nearly as bad of a downpour over there! So we made the decision to head out of AK early and head over. Of course, in making our way to the bus stop we got COMPLETELY soaked.

So there are no pictures of that lovely incident until we finally arrived at the Magic Kingdom around 4:15 pm.

DSCN3362 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

This was nothing compared to the amount of water in Animal Kingdom.

DSCN3364 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

MONORAIL time!

DSCN3365 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

DSCN3366 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

Hey there Contemporary!

DSCN3367 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

DSCN3369 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

DSCN3370 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

We arrived at the Magic Kindom for the first time this trip! And there were signs of MNSSHP! :good vibes

DSCN3371 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

DSCN3372 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

And really, who can walk into the Magic Kingdom, especially the first time, without a castle picture (or 20)?

DSCN3374 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

DSCN3375 by RN Courtney, on Flickr

Up next: our Magic Kingdom adventures!

 

[missangelalexis]

Glad to see you back!

Love your pics at Tusker House.

Great safari pictures, especially of the lion!

Can't wait to hear about MK