A Mi11ion Dreams = 2018 - Day 18 - Animal Kingdom, FoP and a fantastic Dibb meet.
 

Welcome back:wavey::wavey: and thanks for reading so far - appreciate this trip goes beyond the number of days usually read and I'm glad you are sticking with us:thumbs-up:thumbs-up

Day 17 is just a click here away of you missed it


The whole index is also here


and by popular request, the link to all of our previous trip reports is here.

Many Disney days, Anna Maria Island, Treasure Island, Clearwater, Vero Beach, St. Augustine, Miami Beach and so much more in between.

As for today...


Welcome to Day 18

Sunday 12th August 2018

it seemed a slow(ish!) morning after yet another late night, with more football on the TV,we turned it off and we departed the villa just after 10-30, which after the late night was no mean feat! :spin:

With a quick stop at the 7-11 for a Sunday Orlando Sentinel, the only paper you ever buy just for all the adverts and coupons!

In fact now the only paper we ever buy, which really is a sign of the times!:erm:

We had not even thought we could have turned last night around so quick, but we were on a mission today and it was all time limited.

Our timing today was perfect as once again we arrived just as the left hand side of the car park was closed and they started parking on the other side – as mentioned the last time this happened this is Karma for all those times I have been parked closer to the 192 than AK entrance! :spin::spin:

We were parked once more in the right hand side of the car park this time even closer to the preferred parking zone in Peacock 7.



An Animal Kingdom Sunday lies ahead.

It was just 11am and we sensed it was going to be busy today – the car park told it’s own story.

We were not in a hurry though , so stopped for coffee and a bit of coffee and breakfast at Starbucks





Then took ourselves off to Everest for the single rider line, and more excuses to have photopass photos that look a bit different.:erm:






This was all before, our first fast pass which took us to Nemo for the 1pm show – I will avoid adding all the usual stuff about how good this show is, but if you have not seen it you are missing out. Will add a few photos though!













In between times, this morning, we had been in touch with fellow Dibber Kitty Black Dog and family who were also in Animal Kingdom today. They were at Flight of Passage and had so many fantastic things planned for today and were enjoying it so much from FoP to Tiffins .:cool2:

We used our 2nd FP of the day on Everest and rode together at the back.
With Josh being given a mention - having felt he was missed so much last year:spin:












We then kept the slow pace going, and made for the train to the Conservation Station - it has been a few years since we did this and amid rumours of it closing, I had earmarked one last visit, just in case. (it did close over the winter and is now open and with a refurb for 2019)





We arrived and made the walk to the main building where it all takes place, we got a photo with Rafiki and got to see a turtle being operated on.





There was a lovely moment with a Doc McStuffins CM playing and interacting so much with a young visitor:cry: – it was one of those moments you look and recognise the time the CM here has the opportunity to make some amazing memories, it also reminded Alison and I as to how those Disney Junior days are well past us and possibly a great opportunity to share a photo from 2011, which remains one of our favourites to this day – Handy Manny and Joe.



We looked, laughed and possibly just had that intake of awareness that those days really did have a magical twist when you found a character that interacted like the CM from Doc McStuffins today. Such a special memory for the family and to be honest, it was just beautiful to watch.



We looked around and headed back, then did the walk around the walk through zoo – again something in AK that is fascinating and is missed by so many in the rush to the rides and also because it is not highlighted – it is interesting to do and a good opportunity for a couple of photos.







It was also an opportunity to see what happens if you press a couple of buttons on your camera! Worth doing when you feel as if you have taken millions of pictures and now you see what happens if you press two buttons – now that is why they are there! :erm::blush:

We had a drink pit stop in Africa whilst listening to the band and having finally found the shop that Alison has been trying to find since when we were on the dining plan.



It is the sweet shop close to the safari – we had wracked our brains about it for so long and had this in a variety of parks, places and in the end when we walked in we all looked around and just made that shrugged shoulder gesture- here it is!
Photos taken for future reference!:thumbs-up


As we walked to Pandora for our final fast pass, the rumble of thunder filled the air- the Jungle Trek and Everest were now closed and thankfully there is no danger of missing out on a Flight of Passage ride due to weather.

Good to see the Floridian wildlife are still alive and in the parks-







The rain had not started as we made our exit, AK was the last place to experience the incoming weather, which the weather apps showed were incoming.
The Dibb wait times indicator was showing that all the outdoor rides at the three other parks had already been closed for three quarters of an hour, with a couple of lightning flashes on our way to the row behind preferred parking! We knew it was headed slowly this way.

We had made it!

By the time we were on the Sherbeth Road the rain was pouring down. It did skirt around us and to be honest we had got away lightly.
The rest of our day had a very special Dibb meet ahead of us. One that was planned only days ago, yet after our last meeting we decided it would be great to meet up again and continue the chat.

We changed, got an Uber down to Millers at Champions Gate to meet Kitty Black Dog and family. It was just after 6-30.

One of the nicest things about the evening is we took no photos of the event , just a couple of the food We just spent the whole night chatting and sharing so many holiday stories and experiences.
It was such a pleasure to get to know you and share such a few hours of your holiday. We all hope we can do the same again some day.

The food was excellent and I know that the gluten free request from KBD was successful in Millers, which is worth noting if anyone reads this and is curious as to how you cope with food requests on holiday. :thumbs-up










They seem much more aware of all forms of dietary requirements over here than the rolled eyes and offer of a salad in the UK.

It is impossible to describe just how quickly 4 hours vanished, but tonight, they did in the blink of an eye.

I know how much planning has gone into their holiday and I also appreciate that Kitty Black Dog has read possibly every single trip report on the whole of The Dibb in planning their holiday:d:, they were experiencing such an amazing time and were also such fantastic people to share the evening with.

It had gone ten thirty by the time we even looked at the time:erm:- how does that happen? Thankfully we were not being ejected from our table in the restaurant, despite being sat down for so long:cool2:

They very kindly offered us a lift back in their very nice Infiniti hire car – quality hire car :cool2::spin: Need to put this one on the list for the future:thumbs-up

Thank you to all of the Kitty Black Dog family for sharing such a great evening, I hope we can do the same again soon.

Great day and a fantastic evening to round it all off - see you all real soon for Day 19.

Thanks for reading :wavey:

DAY 19 is here

Parking score ✅

Once again love your PP ride photos 😁

Love Nemo.

I highly recommend stopping off at Nomads lounge (same building as Tiffins) for a quick or slow 😉 beverage if you can bear the prices 😳 We have 2 coeliacs in our family and they do gluten free churros with custard and jam = happy child, happy mummy (cocktails are great too 😉 ) It’s also such a quiet and relaxing place to be. Even sitting outside overlooking the water and trees feels like a world away from being in a theme park. (Thanks for the tip HappyHaunt1000)

Next time can we ask for Josh to takes us out on a rafting expedition? Are his rates reasonable?

Another’s great EE Photo

Oh my goodness Joe looks so cute in that photo. He’s a mini Manny

Great photos at Rafiki’s, sorry I was hiding behind the grass 😳. If you said you were going to take a photo I’d have smiled 😉😂

We used up the last of our credits on sweets in Zuri’s sweet shop, glad Alison found it 😁

It was such a fun evening and great to spend some proper time together. We were still laughing days later and wishing we could squeeze more time in together before the end of your holiday. Totally forgot to get photos 🤦🏻 Definitely an evening etched in our memories, thank you 😁

PS: ... and not a ‘P’ in sight :pgig:

It sounds like another lovely day. As usual you've done some fab poses for the photos on Everest.

We didn't make it over to Rafiki last summer, well I will have to rectify that this year. It's always nice to get the train over and be away from the hustle and bustle.

A relaxed evening with friends. Great food and great conversation by the sounds of it.

I'm so glad they've announced Planet Watch will be re-opening, we were there shortly after they had announced the closure and even the CMs were unsure of what the future was.

Another fabulous day, I am inspired by the fact you never seem to rush but still have very full days.

You have hit the whole nail on the head once again - from very early Disney days we have found that the more we take time to soak up 'The Magic' the more it comes to find us.

Sounds odd but in our first few visits we got home and need a rest as we tried to do so much in too short a time.
We have been lucky in stretching out our summer visits and it has taught us to absorb, enjoy and simply look at what is in front of us.
I would honestly say we didn't do all of that in our first few visits:blush::(


For anyone who reads any of this - the slower you go to explore the magic - the more it will come and meet you :cool2:

Thank you:wavey::wavey:

Glad you like the Everest poses!:blush:

Just read today that Rafiki will not reopen until late August this year, which is a shame as AK is that little bit smaller without it.

The evening was a Dibb night to remember:cool2::thumbs-up:thumbs-up

...now as for that summer 2019 Dibb meet :pgig:

No :mad2: I've already got Rafiki in my plan. Now I'm going to have to unlamimate the plan, re do the spreadsheet and it's all gone to hell in handcart ;) ok so, I haven't actually laminated anything ever, but I do have it in my plans.

Also, I was just thinking to myself over the weekend that I really needed to take things easier this year so we could enjoy the experience of being in the park and not feel like I'm a scout leader with a troop trailing behind me who have to follow along in my wake. Then first thing Monday morning while checking my emails you'd replied to Colette about the magic finding you! It was a sign :pgig:

I'll send you a pm with the parks we are at each day this summer. We're onsite at POFQ from 30th July and then go to universal on 13th August for 2 nights. Hopefully we will be able to catch up in a park or at Disney Springs sometime. :thumbs-up

Awww the photo of the two handy mannys ❤️. I was looking at pictures the other day of my big 12 year old being batman in the garden when he was 3... Cringe for him! We also had a couple of lovely interactions on our 2015 trip with my then 6 year old boy and Minnie! Xx

Amazing how quickly those days leave you and you are left with different types of holiday photos.

Glad you enjoyed the two Handy Mannys still one of my favourites:cool2:

CM interactions really do make a huge difference.

Thanks for reading as always :wavey::wavey:

Glad to bring the spreadsheet to a halt! Hope it provides some fresh impetus to slowing things down a bit:cool2:

Will definitely make plans for a meet up in the summer:thumbs-up:thumbs-up