Our First Visit - A February 2019 Trip Report with Disney After Hours & Festival of the Arts

[cadien]

Some lobby photos.

The longer you look at this, the more animals you see.

Slightly more obvious animals.

DS observing a giraffe from our room's balcony. I texted this to my mother and she replied that she was watching the morning news and had JUST seen a Disney ad where a giraffe sticks its head in the hotel window.

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

DS was not a fan.

Well, good that he tried it and didn't freak out. I've heard the stretching room is what puts a lot of kids over the edge before they ever board the ride. Do you think that was the scariest part for him?

It's just as well that I didn't see that number until later because I would have felt obligated to go up and down the hallways for 140 more and I was really too beat.

Yup, I know that feeling. If you're so close to a milestone, you just want to hit the number. I've been known to run an extra half block because I want my watch to say I ray 10 miles, not 9.9.

It's much easier to make it to an early breakfast reservation when you're in the same building.

Agreed! It was so nice to just head down for our morning breakfast at our hotel, too.

His equivalent of vacation mimosas is being allowed doughnuts.

Yup, kids and sweets! Mine may have been more excited about the special treats than the rides.

 

[cadien]

Well, good that he tried it and didn't freak out. I've heard the stretching room is what puts a lot of kids over the edge before they ever board the ride. Do you think that was the scariest part for him?

I wasn't sure because he was in a doom buggy with his dad and I was in a different one. So I missed all his reactions. But I just now asked him what the scariest part of Haunted Mansion was and first he said "All of the parts" but then immediately followed up with the stretching room. Because it showed "how they all met their deaths."

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

I am following along.

Key Lime Tart - Strawberry Sauce, Tropical Fruit Glaze, Boba Pearls

This looks super cute. I knwo you said you didn't like it but it looks good.

Kids Menu Coral Reef Ice Cream Sandwich

It that made out of fruity pebbles?

It seemed like almost no one who wasn't FP was getting in though. I'm not sure how they allocate that. We had a great time in the queue spotting all kinds of fun t-shirts and hats/ears on other guests. T

I just read an article about Star Wars Galaxy Edge and the at Disney typically allots 75% of it's capacity to FPs!

Tuna Tartare - Sashimi Grade Tuna, Paddlefish Caviar, Avocado Crema

Yum!

Create-Your-Own Ice Cream Sundae (Kids menu)

How great is this? And they're incredibly generous with the toppings.

Cute! My girls love the make your own desserts.

DH had come to WDW pretty reluctantly, but he was already talking about "on our next visit" at dinner.

It is easy to get sucked in! Glad to hear he was liking his time there!

When we checked in, they gave us a pager and told us to have a seat. It was about three steps to the bench and we had barely sat when it buzzed. Okay?

This happened to us a couple times. It's a little weird but I guess they don't want to have you just standing there. I guess.

 

[cadien]

I am following along.

Yay!

It that made out of fruity pebbles?

It is. I forgot to answer @TheOneWithTheTriplets 's question on this. It's very fun and colorful, and if you squint you can tell it's a seashell (that wasn't immediately apparent in real life either), but it was not particularly edible. Very hard to bite into. DS also hates all kinds of breakfast cereal (sigh) so he just ate the ice cream.

 

[cadien]

Our Boma breakfast was an appropriate start to our day in African Kingdom. We had a 10:20 FP for Kilimanjaro Safaris. That was as early as I felt safe making it with everything I read about the buses. And we did only arrive at the ride with about 15 minutes to spare. The Tam Tam Drummers of Harambe were set up and playing right there, which was handy. Especially since we ended up never being able to make time to just stop and listen to a performance. We missed out on the acrobats for the same reason (DS does gymnastics and really loves acrobats). I spotted the Starbucks with the giant Mickey Head cinnamon rolls nearby as well but we never got hungry enough for one.

Even with the Fast Passes, the line took a while and it was already getting warm and humid. But there was some fun signage inside the station to keep us occupied. We took photos but with DS's camera and it turned out that it wasn't actually working. It was fully charged but kept shutting itself off for some reason and the only pictures we ended up with on it were from the cruise.

The people sitting behind us in the vehicle turned out to also be from North Dakota. With a state population of about 650,000, that's pretty unlikely to happen. Even stranger when you consider that our tour guide at our St. Thomas cruise stop was also from here. DH was wearing a shirt from a local brewpub and they read the back.

 

[cadien]

Our photos were not great. My phone is five years old and the camera is getting foggy. DH has upgraded twice since then (I let him use my free upgrades because I'm otherwise happy with what I have) but we let DS use it since his actual camera had just died. But they help us remember what we saw.

Loved that they have these guides.

It was like an antelope crossed with a hyena.

It was fun to do this the day after Jungle Cruise. Much less patter this time!

 

[cadien]

We spotted a few groups (or maybe the same one repeatedly) doing the Wild Africa Trek, like in these photos. We would absolutely have invested in that (or Savor the Savannah) except that DS was two months from turning 8, their minimum age for both experiences. A reason to return!

That reminds me that we did try to sign up for the brand new Up Close with Rhinos experience but it was full for our day. Surprisingly, DS wasn't interested in the elephants one (Caring for Giants). He didn't think it sounded exciting enough.

For people on the fence about this safari, there were all kinds of cool sights I just didn't get photos of.

 

[cadien]

Same sleeping lion from two sides. Despite the lack of activity, this is one of the top animals DS remembers. We saw a few females too, also all asleep.

 

[cadien]

Amazing horns on this one

 

[cadien]

We hadn't had enough of animals yet, and Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail is right there when you get off the Safari.

And you immediately see why it's named that way.

Waterfall selfie.

I had us down for 20 minutes here on Touring Plans and looking at our timestamps, it was a good 45 minutes. There were periodic informational stations and we didn't even spend much time in those, not least because they were super crowded. There seemed to be large groups of older kids (5th-7th grade?) going through at the same time as us. Maybe a school field trip. It was Friday.

I'm not a bird watcher, and don't have any decent photos, but there were lots of really neat ones to spot. Very bright unusual colors, long feathers, etc. Colorful fish in the streams too.

The meerkats were popular of course.

Baby meerkat!

There was also a viewing area for younger gorillas and their mothers.

There's at least one trying to sleep under this plant but the one that's easier to see apparently wanted to play. Or just take the shade for themselves.

 

[cadien]

It was now about 11:45 and although our lunch reservations weren't until 1:30, we were doing well. That Boma food was sticking around. It was getting even warmer, however, so we stopped at Tamu Tamu Refreshments.

DFB's photo.

DS got a Dole Whip float with pineapple juice and DH got the one with coconut rum. Somehow I forgot to get a sip of either one, so I still don't know how they're different from the Dole Whip on the cruise ships. I was interested in the African coffee if it was available iced, but it wasn't. (It has the same Amarula creme liqueur that they flavor the Zebra Domes with.) I could remember that there was another cocktail somewhere in Animal Kingdom that I wanted to try, but I'd forgotten to save my snack list somewhere I could access it without internet and didn't want to use up too many minutes or too much battery, so I checked out the menu board at Dawa Bar right across the way while the others were in line at Tamu Tamu, but nothing there grabbed me.


We had a 12:30 FP for Expedition Everest so it seemed like a good time to head towards Asia. Passing through Discovery Island, we were trying to get a selfie with the big tree when a nice woman in a Pizza Planet tee offered to take one for us. It looks like DS and I dressed completely at random but there was a plan...

Very cute theming. We didn't build in time for the show, however. It wasn't a priority for any of us compared to other options.

These two are official Photo Pass shots. I was getting better at spotting them. No Magic Shot this time.

 

[cadien]

I found the theming in Asia a lot more fun than in Africa, even though I have no more interest in visiting there. I think it's because I have mountain climbers in my family, so I could connect more to the expedition theming rather than it being anything about the local culture. I did also recently read DS Around the World in 80 Days.

Close up of the sign: Internet Cafe. Remember those?

I found my cocktail at Thirsty River Bar & Trek Snacks. (Disney's photo)

Himalayan Ghost - Snow Leopard Vodka, Guava and odwalla® Lemonade

Apparently I was on a guava kick this trip. Guava and plantains were consistent themes in both San Juan and Animal Kingdom, so it was nice continuity. It was nice to sit for a bit too. My Keens were relatively new because my last black pair had broken after a couple years heavy use, and the newer style was not providing the support that I usually get from them. And of course this was day two of heavy walking around.

 

[cadien]

Time to line up for Expedition Everest.

Backing up a little, the Animal Planet channel did a 40-minute program on Animal Kingdom and the designing thereof, and we had paid the $2.99 back in May to watch it via Amazon Prime. So this was one ride where I knew what to expect and was pretty leery about going. But I knew I'd regret it if I wimped out and didn't participate with the rest of the family. The video was also handy for helping DS decide between the Finding Nemo show and Festival of the Lion King, since we wouldn't have time for both.

It was a really interesting looking queue -- all the reports and photos -- and mostly shaded, so it could be fun to do without a FP on a trip where we had a lot more time. But most of it wouldn't engage DS's interest yet anyway.

So we survived. We look much jollier in this photo than we felt. In zoom, everyone has bits of hair flying back. But it didn't bang me around as much as Space Mountain did. DS hollered "I regret this!!!" a few times, but mostly in jest. Afterwards he described the ride as "Barftastic," but he still calls it one of the highlights of our entire stay. That and Spaceship Earth.

We didn't visit many gift shops but this had some unique items. Nothing we bought in the end, although DH really coveted a fancier leather version of the hat he was wearing. As usual, there was nothing DS couldn't live without. (I SO appreciate that about him. I was a super greedy kid, maybe because we could never get any of it.) I think he tends to wait until the last possible store, just in case he sees something better.

I really hate the trend of graphic tees with v-necks. It just doesn't work.

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

A walk through Gorilla Falls and a trip to Tamu Tamu were both things I didn't manage to fit in. The animal views on the trail look very cool.

Hubby and I had a ton of fun on EE, but we didn't even try to convince the girls to try it. They don't like things that go backwards (they even disliked the backward part of Spaceship Earth) so a roller coaster ride that goes through a dark cave backwards was never going to happen.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

How did you like Boma breakfast?

 

[missangelalexis]

Sounds like a good rest of the night at MK! You all did a lot and your lantern photos came out great!

Yum, looks like a good breakfast! POG mimosas are probably so delicious!

 

[DLo]

Hopping a board a little late. Enjoying your report and looking forward to reading more

 

[cadien]

A walk through Gorilla Falls and a trip to Tamu Tamu were both things I didn't manage to fit in. The animal views on the trail look very cool.

There's just so much to fit in!

How did you like Boma breakfast?

It was delicious. We don't do many buffets because DH dislikes them, but I really appreciated the chance to try totally new things. But the rest of the table was just as happy with their traditional breakfast choices.

Yum, looks like a good breakfast! POG mimosas are probably so delicious!

They are! And festive!

Hopping a board a little late. Enjoying your report and looking forward to reading more

Thanks!

 

[cadien]

I'll get back to Animal Kingdom soon, but this is a safe space to share something related. I can call it my trip souvenir since I bought it soon after we got home. I told DH that since I have unlocked the next level of Disney fandom, pricing out DVC is inevitable. He disagrees.