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Day 2 - Tuesday, May 18, 2004 :
We woke late this morning, no real surprise after all we accomplished yesterday. We took our time getting ready, Jeanne enjoyed her coffee, and I watched the
Resort TV channel. At 11:30am we drove over to Animal Kingdom Lodge, and parked. We had a dinner PS at Boma for tonight, and felt it would be easier to leave the
van there, and bus it to a park and back. Then after dinner we would have the van in place to go to PI. We hopped on a bus to AK, and entered with no delay.
We stopped at the Island Mercantile, and picked up some new annual passholder pins. We then went and got Kilimanjaro Safari FP's, good for 12:45-> 1:45pm. We
then hoofed it over to Flame Tree BBQ. We bought two of the adult meal vouchers ($25), and ordered a BBQ pork sammich for me, and a grilled chicken salad for
Jeanne, along with beverages. We then went out to the seating area that overlooks the Discovery River, and enjoyed our lunch. The work on Expedition
Everest seems to be progressing nicely since our last visit in December. The BBQ pork sammich was nothing spectacular, I think I should have gone with my usual
BBQ chicken which is always good. Jeanne enjoyed her salad. We then walked back to Africa via the rear paths, and saw DeVine along the walkway doing her thing.
She is the woman who appears to be a vine tree, and is quite good at it. Jeanne finds it creepy, but I enjoy it. She drew a good size crowd, who seemed amused
by her antics ( DeVine that is, not Jeanne). We then made it to the Gorilla trek, since we still had some time to kill before our FP's. We did the walk, but it
was really very slow in there today. We only saw one gorilla, and he was off in the distance and hard to see. We'll try this again later, and hopefully have
better luck. We then went to Kilimanjaro and rode our Safari using the FP. It was a great ride, and I got a ton of pictures. Some of them came out very well
too, I might add.
After KS, we wanted to catch Festival of the Lion King, which is my favorite show on property. When they got to the part where the girl flies in the air
during "Can You Feel The Love Tonight", she danced on the stage, but didn't do the aerial stuff. That segment seemed out of synch, and I was hoping it was a
one time thing, not a new part of the show. We asked a CM after the show, and she said it had to do with the performer who usually helps during that part of
the show not being available, and most certainly would return to the usual show for later shows.
After FOTLK we took a walk on some of the trails behind the Tree of Life, which for some reason I've never noticed before. We found some interesting animals
back there, including the capybara and some exotic birds. It was a nice distraction, and once again, I got some great pictures. We then walked back to
Africa, and paid a visit to the Dawa Bar. I grabbed a Jewel of the Nile, which was $6, and it tasted delicious. It consists of Capt Morgan rum, blue curacao,
pineapple juice, and sour mix. It was delicious and not too boozy tasting. We found a table under the covered area, and enjoyed the Jammin' Jungle parade from
there. It was a great spot, and a very relaxing break. I love the music for this parade, especially the ending part, "We're all one world". Unfortunately, this
part is abbreviated on the park music cd.I bought. I was really put into a good mood by the setting, the music, and the Jewel of the Nile!!! As the parade
ended, we decided to hit the safari once more, and had no wait at all. It was a very good ride, with a lively driver. The animals were very active too, and I
got some great pictures of the lions this go round. After our safari, we headed back to the bus stop, and caught the bus to AKL.
We wandered around AKL for a while as we had some time to kill before our PS at Boma. We ventured into the arcade, and I tried one of the race car driving
games, it was fun but not something I would want to do more than once. We finally made it inside to Boma, placed our name on the list, and were soon
seated. The dinner was great, and the service was superb tonight. I asked for, and was able to get Frunch with my dinner, it's not on the dinner menu, but if
you ask, they will usually find some for you. The dinner came to $71.69 with tip, and was worth every cent. After dinner, we hopped in the van, and drove
over to PI. At PI we went into the Adventurers Club, where Sugar Snap the Maid declared I was the new mayor of the AC. Unfortunately, being mayor didn't seem
to include any perks (such as free drinks!!!). After some time in the AC, it was time to head over to the CW for the 8:20pm show. The cast was Mary, Joy (
still Jeanne's favorite), Krista, Phillip (my favorite), and Matt. One of the highlights of the show was when they asked for an audience suggestion for a
poem. Someone yelled out " defenestration", which is certainly an unusual word. Phillip took up the challenge, and did a remarkably funny poem based on that
word (which means falling to death from a great height). It was absolutely hilarious, involving him posing as a medieval type in a castle tower, with a gas
problem, which subsequently propels him out the window to his death by defenestration. It was one of the funniest moments I've ever experienced at CW,
and Phillip once again showed me why he is my favorite!!!
After that show, we wandered around, but the shops are just not that interesting anymore since they changed them around. We then got back into CW for the 9:15pm
show, which had Joy ( still Jeanne's favorite), Krista, Matt, Jake & Phillip (still my favorite). The show was pretty good, but nothing could live up to
Phillip's act in the opening show. We also stayed and caught the 10:30pm show, which had Matt, Jake, Mary, Lisa ( the least favorite of both of us), and Robby
( who is new to us, but seems to be pretty good ). After the show we chatted for a few minutes with Matt & Mary, who recognized us from previous trips. We then
headed back to PO-FQ at 11:45pm, and went to bed after a long day.
Day 3 Wednesday , May 19, 2004:
We got up, got showered and dressed, and headed over to CVS on 192, as Jeanne had to pick up a prescription. While waiting for her prescription, I tried the
free blood pressure cuff thingy, and found my BP is slightly elevated, which came as a shock, as it's usually a bit below average. I better get it checked
when I return. We then drove back to PO-FQ, parked the van, and headed over to the boat dock for the boat ride to DTD. We had a very good skipper, Donald, who
provided a steady stream of narration along the trip. He told us about the treehouse villas, the wildlife along the route, and the new Saratoga Springs. He
even pointed out a few birds along the way too. He really enjoyed his job, and it made for a very enjoyable trip. We docked at DTD Marketplace, and exited the
boat. We decided to check out Earl of Sandwich, which wasn't open on our last trip. There was no line to speak of inside. I ordered the "Original", which is
roast beef, cheddar cheese, and horseradish sauce, heated on a warm roll. Jeanne had the Cobb Salad, which is freshly made as you order, and I had a coke. The
total came to $13, which was very reasonable, and the food was very good. We enjoyed the food at the indoor tables, but there are also additional tables
outside if you desire them.
After eating, we made it over to World of Disney for some shopping. I bought a few more desk set pieces that were marked down ( I didn't get the complete set
at the outlet), a tie, a candle, the new Wishes CD, a picture frame, and an anklet. The total came to $112 with my AP discount. We then hit the home shop,
where we bought a white Mickey toothbrush holder, and a white Mickey soapdish, which came to $19. We then hit Basin, and bought some of the soaps in there, in
particular the vanilla ones that smell so good. They even had one with Mickeys inside, so we got one of those too. We then walked back to the boat dock, and
caught a boat back to PO. Unfortunately, we had a different and much more sedate skipper, I don't think he said two words the entire trip back. I did manage to
take a bunch of pictures on the trip though.
Once we arrived back at PO, we stopped by the room, freshened up, and then went out front and caught a bus to the MK, arriving at 4:00pm. When we entered the
MK, we went straight to City Hall, and I inquired about signing up for the Veteran of the Day ceremony during my stay. They had several openings available,
and I signed up for Thursday, May 27. This involves being selected to assist with the MK Color Guard doing the daily flag retreat ceremony, and it is a very
nice event. I did this on my last trip in December, and was glad to be able to do it once again. After leaving City Hall, I noticed the Main St Gallery was
closed, and they had a sign directing people to the shop inside the castle for Gallery merchandise. I hope this wasn't a trend towards reducing the gallery
stores, first the one at PI, now the one at MK. We then wandered over to the Haunted Mansion, and rode it with no wait at all. After the ride was over , it
started to rain, and we went to the castle. I checked out the gallery store inside, and bought a 11x14 matted print of Walt Disney, riding in a car with
Mickey Mouse at Disneyland. It cost $18, and had a little metal nameplate under the picture with Walt's signature. We then left the castle, went to Peter Pan
and got a FP for later on, and went back to City Hall to try for a dinner PS. They had an opening at Liberty Tree Tavern for 8:05pm. We have never eaten
there, so we figured we would give it a try and took the PS. We then wandered up Main St, and stopped at the Main St Ice cream Parlor, where we each had a Coke
Float, which came to $7.50 for the two. We then walked over to Peter Pan, and rode it using our FP's. We then walked over to Tomorrowland, and got a FP for
Buzz Lightyear. We then rode Carousel of Progress, with about only ten or so people. After COP, we rode the Tomorrowland Transit Authority, and then followed
that up with a spin on Buzz with our FP's.
It was then time to mosey over to Liberty Tree Tavern, and we arrived at 8:00pm. The lobby was packed, and there was one extremely upset guy with his family who
was loudly complaining that he had been passed over. He was getting really annoying, and they finally found him a table. We ended up waiting until 8:35pm,
which meant we were going to miss Wishes, but I knew we would get to see it some other night. The food was very good, I believe there was ham, roast turkey, and
roast beef, along with stuffing, and a very good salad. The characters also came by a few times, and we grabbed a few pictures. The dinner came to $46, with a $9
tip, for a total of $55. As expected, Wishes commenced while we were eating, and although we could hear a little bit of it, we had no chance to see the
fireworks.
After dinner, as this was one of the late night Extra Hours nights, we hit Jungle Cruise, with about a ten minute wait. The park was very crowded, much
more so than on an E Ride Night. After Jungle Cruise, we walked over to Pooh, and got a FP. The FP didn't list a time for another FP, so we walked to
Tomorrowland, and I found I was able to get a FP for Buzz. I then walked to Space Mountain, and found I was able to get on for there also. It appears they
allow FP's, but don't limit them to the 2 hour window they use during regular park hours. Tomorrowland was extremely crowded, but having the FP's definitely
helped. Most people didn't even try to get FP's, maybe they didn't think they were available that night. We went to ride Buzz, using our FP, but
unfortunately, the guns in our car didn't work. We told the CM at the end of the ride, and he allowed us to stay on and ride it a 2nd time, without exiting the
ride. That was very nice, although my score didn't reflect my added experience as a return rider. After Buzz, I rode Space, while Jeanne waited. I got the back
seat, on the right side, and had an enjoyable ride. After Space, we walked back to Fantasyland, and rode Pooh with our FP. We still had about a 10 minute wait
with the FP, but it was better than the standby line. We then went to Mickey's Philharmagic, and were able to do it 2x in a row, as the theater was only about
1/3 full. After the 2nd sitting of Philharmagic, we went and rode BTMRR, which had no line at all. Then we followed that up with Splash Mountain, which also
had no line. We definitely got our money's worth tonight, even with the large crowds for the Extra Magic Hours. I do think I would prefer the old E Nights
instead, as the crowds are much smaller, even if you do have to pay the extra $12. After Splash, we wandered out the exit, catching a bus at 12:15am back to
PO.
Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
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