It's The Greatest Hits Tour Aug 2018: Day 9 - Animal Kingdom, Tusker House, Blaze Pizza

[moosha]

Day 9 - Sunday 19th August 2018

This morning we were up about 6 am. Everyone had cereal except me and we left a bit after 8.



Freya's choice of pin for today:



We drove to Animal Kingdom...





...and when we pulled up at the parking kiosk, I told the very enthusiastic CM we were resort guests. He asked which resort and when I told him ‘Yacht Club’ he replied ‘you’re correct!’

We parked up in Dinosaur 34 and walked to the entrance. It was nice and quiet so we got a photo in front of the Tree of Life.



We were staying away from Pandora for now so avoided the majority of people (including lots of runners) heading that way and joined the much smaller group of people at the Africa rope drop, arriving about 8.35 am. Mat was a bit put out that Starbucks wasn’t yet open and he wasn’t the only one. Quite a few people kept trying to enter but found the doors locked and walked sadly away.

Twinning:



The CMs were letting people through who had Tusker House breakfast reservations but they didn’t drop the ‘rope’ until 9. By then there were quite a few people waiting but nothing like what I expected was going on over in Pandora.



When they let us go, we walked over to the safaris and waited about five minutes.



Our driver was Everett and he was very enthusiastic with a lovely southern accent. Mat was really impressed with him (he’s a bit of a grumpy old man so when he’s really pleased with something I always think it’s high praise indeed.) Everett was fun and gave us lots of interesting facts. The two I wrote in my notes are that giraffes sleep for 30 minutes a day and eat for 20 hours, and that pelicans eat the young of other pelican families.









After the safari we bought fruit from the Harambe Fruit Market (our traditional Animal Kingdom breakfast / mid-morning snack.) Seren got strawberries, Freya had an apple, Mat chose a banana and I went for pineapple slices and grapes. Being the only one who hadn’t eaten anything so far, two things for me felt justified. We often sit at Flame Tree Barbecue to eat our fruit as the view is so pretty but today we took it to the covered seating area at Tamu Tamu Refreshments.









Once we’d eaten all our yummy fruit the girls did a quick pin trade...



...and then we took the walk past the Lion King theatre into Pandora.













We were excited to be entering a completely new land for us. I had seen lots of photos so I knew what to expect but it was more of a surprise for the others. We all thought it was beautiful.





























It is a bit disorienting to enter a new land after being so familiar with everything else in the parks but eventually we found Na’vi River Journey which we had a FP+ for.





We waited about five minutes.We were given the front of the boat and we all really liked the ride. We thought it was beautiful and the Na’vi animatronic is really impressive. I get what some people say about it being a bit boring because ‘nothing really happens’ but the first time it’s so pretty and immersive. We haven’t actually ridden it again since in two trips so maybe it suffers from not being a great repeat ride.

It was coffee time so we popped to Starbucks.



Mat got his usual double espresso and I had my usual black Americano. We always have a good laugh in Starbucks in the US as they seem to really struggle to get Mat’s name right. He’s usually Max but today he was:



We had decided to take our coffees to the lovely seating area at Flame Tree Barbecue and as we started walking we came across the Timon meet. The girls really wanted to meet him and the line was short so we joined it. Unfortunately just before it was our turn he went for a ten minute break. We spent the time taking silly selfies while I prayed to the gods that my coffee wouldn’t go cold before I could sit down and drink it. We also caught a rare sighting of Bolt who was doing a limited edition meet across the way which had very long queues.



About ten minutes after we joined the queue it was the girls’ turn to meet Timon. Because we were holding our coffees we thought we would just rely on the PhotoPass photos and Seren's selfie rather than take photos with our phones. Unfortunately I've just gone into the PhotoPass folder Mat made when he downloaded them from Disney, and there are so many photos missing . Nearly two years later, there's nothing I can do about that which is pretty depressing. There is not a single PhotoPass photo from today. So this is the one Timon photo we have.





Mat had finished his mini coffee while we waited for Timon so we took my coffee and some lovely Starbucks tap water over to Flame Tree.



We sat and watched Everest from there as we had FP+ for it a bit later. The plan was that Freya and I probably would just cancel ours as she was scared of it and the other two would ride. However Freya and I were watching it across the water from Flame Tree and were considering being brave enough to ride again.



We’d avoided it in 2017 after not enjoying it in 2015 and the other two had ridden without us. However we had loved it in 2014 and this year we were feeling a bit braver after falling in love with The Mummy. I wanted to do it but Freya still wasn’t sure so we agreed that we'd go round there when it was time a bit later and have a look at it up close.

Our next FP+ was Dinosaur but we had a little bit of time before that so the three members of the family who don’t mind getting huge bruises and having their skin scraped (happened to me) went off to ride Primeval Whirl while I found my usual spot outside the ride and caught up with my notes.



For some reason they all enjoyed Primeval Whirl as per usual.



We used our Dinosaur FastPass+ and basically walked straight on.



I love this ride. I love the cheesy pre-show and I love how dark and bumpy it is. I always think we’re gonna get back to the loading area and find all our bags have fallen out of the vehicle as it’s a bit crazy.

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[moosha]

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The girls wanted to meet the characters at Donald’s Dino Bash while we were here as they looked so cute all dressed up. First they met Daisy...



...and then Chip and Dale. They had to wait in line for 10 minutes for the chipmunks as they were really popular in those cute little suits. Seren took loads of photos in the line to pass the time:







All of the characters were so sweet and they got some good selfies with them.





It was time to go and have a look at Expedition Everest. On the way someone took this random photo which is apparently the only one we took today lining up the mountain with the statue. I wouldn't have taken a photo with people in like this so it wasn't me but I don't understand why we didn't wait to get a better one. Maybe we were running really late for our FP+.



Freya was still pretty scared of the big climb but apprehensively agreed to ride on two conditions: 1) she could have the big fluffy Marie she had her eye on as a reward and 2) she could ride with me. Personally as I was a bit scared I would have preferred to ride with dare-devil Seren for reassurance rather than someone even more terrified than me, but of course I agreed to sit with her.

We pretty much walked straight on with our FP+. I guess if you’re nervous about a ride, going straight on is probably better but Freya and I were freaking out a little bit by the time we set off. I’ve definitely learnt though that if I’m scared about a ride, trying to turn my nerves to excitement and ‘wooooooh-ing’ definitely helps rather than clinging on for dear life and ending up screaming my head off. I had to reassure Freya a bit on the climb. I think in the end she decided closing her eyes and pretending we weren’t really that high up was her preferred strategy.

We both really enjoyed the ride although I was shaking when we got off. It’s only the drop that I don’t really like, especially with the brief pause beforehand which just builds up my nerves. I love the backwards part though, so fun.

When we got back it was a bit of a bunfight to tap in for our photos on the screen as there were so many people there. We struggled to get close enough to the tap things to add the photos to our Magic Bands because people were just standing there watching the screens and taking photos of their pictures. We managed to squeeze in and tap just before the pictures disappeared. And as I already said, we don't have the photos in our account anyway. Some rude young woman barged through everyone saying ‘Move! Move! Move’ Honestly some people, she was clearly more important than everyone else.



We had a bit of time before our lunch reservation so we decided to do the Animal Kingdom Insta walls which were all around Harambe.

















Then we restroomed at the toilets by the Lion King theatre (my preferred Animal Kingdom restrooms) before checking in at Tusker House. We had registered Seren’s allergy on the booking and so when we checked in we were given the allergy sheet. This was a new thing since our 2017 trip and it was so much better. We were given one at all of the Disney buffets we visited in 2018 and 2019. Before then, if someone had an allergy Disney generally required that a chef walk the buffet with you explaining what was unsafe. This often led to a delay getting started with the food which wasn’t ideal (especially if you have a Freya in your party or if characters are arriving imminently at the table.) The sheet detailed every item on the buffet with tick boxes for all allergens and it also showed what was vegetarian. This was so helpful as apart from Seren’s tree nut allergy, we could also see what items included dairy and eggs so it made life a lot easier for Mat and I too.

While we waited to be called we perused the sheet to get an idea of what to avoid. We also helped ourselves to iced water from the water station in the waiting area. There were two signs asking people not to refill bottles from here for hygiene reasons, yet quite a few people were.

After about five minutes we were called by an enthusiastic host and taken to our table. Our waitress was from Seoul and she was really quite rude unfortunately. Very abrupt and not very friendly at all. On our previous three visits to Tusker House we’d had great servers so this was disappointing. She asked about the allergy and we replied politely that Seren had a tree nut allergy but we had the sheet and could work out what she could have. But she sort of grabbed the sheet and went through everything, marking things with a pen that Seren could eat. If we had asked for extra help it would have been fine, but we could clearly see what she could eat and since she was a) pescatarian and b) fussy, she’d already honed in on about six things she wanted to eat so this was a waste of time. She abruptly verbally listed the soft drinks on the menu and seemed a bit annoyed when I asked for the drinks menu because I wanted to order a cocktail which was much better value on the dining plan than a soft drink, and hey, I’m on holiday. In the end I ordered a Bahama Mama, and Mat ordered a mojito, also for me as he was driving. Both were really good.







Everyone ate well. I started with a plate of mostly salad and bread, with the highlights being the tomato houmous, the roasted cauliflower salad and the herb focaccia. The falafel were mushy and flavourless and really the only low point. I got a second plate of hot food and loved the vegetable tandoori, it was so tasty and pretty spicy. The sweet plantains were also good as were the roasted potatoes. The only vegetarian things that weren’t suitable for vegans besides the obvious meat and fish items were the whipped mashed potatoes, a creamy salad dressing, and pigeon peas and rice.

Freya's plate:



Seren' plate:



Mat's plate:



My salad plate:



My second plate:



There were no vegan desserts but like I’ve said before we aren’t bothered about dessert. Seren was given a plate of allergy cookies which were also vegan but she didn’t really like them. The standard chocolate chip cookies weren’t listed as vegetarian on the allergy menu so Freya steered clear of them but was in a big strop about it. We were pretty confident the cookies would actually be vegetarian but you never know. She got a couple of other things instead and we all had some fruit.

The girls met Donald, Daisy, Mickey and then Goofy.

























The selfie Seren got with Goofy was pretty dodgy.



Since the restaurant was emptying out as it was late in the lunch period, the characters were coming round again so we decided to wait for Goofy to come back so Seren could get a better photo, so we didn’t rush the end of our meal.





We had decided that our waitress was up there with our worst ever Disney servers. We’ve had two who were really rude and unprofessional, one at Flying Fish and one at Yak and Yeti who put us off ever returning to those restaurants. She wasn’t as bad as those two but her manner was rude and she wasn’t helpful or attentive. The way she was just didn’t seem appropriate for a fun character meal like Tusker House. We had decided to leave her a $1 tip in acknowledgment of this because we really felt she didn’t deserve a proper tip because she wasn’t doing her job properly. She came over as we were sat there, basically to find out if we wanted the check and it felt more like ‘are you going any time soon?’ rather than ‘is there anything else that I can get you?’ We told her we were waiting to see Goofy again for a better picture and she went over to get him and dragged him straight over to see us. Seren got a better selfie so she was pleased.



The waitress didn’t have to do that so we upped her tip to $10 and left as quick as we could. The experience with our server wasn’t enough to put us off Tusker House as it’s up there with Crystal Palace as our joint favourite character meal and sure enough when we returned in February 2019 we had a better server and another great meal.





Mat and I fancied another coffee so we went back to Starbucks. We decided to get the new Animal Kingdom ‘You Are Here’ mug while we were here after seeing them in the store earlier in the day. All four park ones had been updated since our last visit 15 months before. I collect these and I have about 45 from around the world so it was a given that I would be purchasing the new ones during this trip. I was also very excited that the mini Christmas ornament versions were in stock at this time of year as they’d never been available on our previous Easter trips. So, big and little Animal Kingdom mugs purchased, we drank our coffees outside and then went into the ‘big shop’ (Discovery Trading Company). We all love this shop, more than the other ‘big shops’ at the other parks.

We bought Freya the Marie soft toy she’d chosen in advance as her bribe for riding Everest and Seren bought some Halloween candy for her then boyfriend. It was a cute little Mickey pumpkin filled with sweets. We also got her some Sally ears to go with her Sally dress for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. While we were browsing, Seren popped outside with Freya to FaceTime her boyfriend by the Tree of Life but the WiFi was so bad she gave up after a few minutes.

So cute:









When we were all done in the shop we had some PhotoPass photos taken in front of the Tree of Life. We'll have to just imagine them here. They were the ones where the photographer gives you an animal print frame to hold. Then we did It's Tough To Be A Bug which we all like even though it's a bit scary.







Then we walked to the park exit. We decided to get the tram because it was so hot and we thought the breeze might cool us down. I’m not a fan of trams, I like to walk because I’m too impatient to wait for it to fill up. There was a lot of faffing and waiting today with the CM calling for no further boarding and then letting more people on and doing the safety checks again a couple of times. So I was a little irritated but it was still better than walking in the August heat which was apparently 105 degrees according to the car when we got back to it.



We drove to Super Target at Rolling Oaks for a random selection of stuff: almond milk, postcards for family which we never sent, wet wipes, cold bottles of water to drink now as we were really thirsty, a Marie Tsum Tsum for Freya and peperoncini Kettle Chips.

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[moosha]

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Then we headed back to the Yacht Club and saw the girls' soft toys had been having fun while we were out.



We took our refillable mugs down to The Market. Seren and Mat got water, Freya got peach Fanta and I got Cherry Coke. We took them back to the room and got showered ready to go to Disney Springs for dinner. The plan was to go to Blaze.

Just as we were about to leave the hotel it started to rain. We considered going to Ale and Compass for dinner instead so we didn’t have to get wet, or book Raglan Road and make a mad dash to Springs knowing we had a guaranteed table in the dry. But with either of those options we would have had to pay out of pocket because all of our other table service credits were already allocated, so we decided just to suck it up and stick with Blaze.

We wanted to get the bus so that Mat could drink. We put on our rain jackets and headed out to the bus stop. When we got there it was 6.52 pm and the next Disney Springs bus was due at 7.10 pm. The arrival time kept moving back by one minute which was a pain. Quite a lot of people were arriving at the bus stop and it was getting pretty crowded as barely any buses were arriving. A couple were saying that they had been waiting 30 minutes for a Springs bus. When it got to 7.16 pm we decided to give up and drive so Mat went back to the room to get the keys.

We got soaked on the dash to the car as it was really raining. We parked in the Orange Garage after Mat went the wrong way and we had to make a second attempt. We parked up and walked round to Blaze. Luckily the rain had eased off and wasn’t too bad but it was thundering and lightning.

I wrote in my notes at this point that I love Disney Springs which probably goes without saying as I’m sure most people here do. But DS is definitely one of my favourite places to go, probably in the world, and definitely in Orlando. In fact I’d probably choose a day and evening in Disney Springs over Epcot, my least favourite WDW theme park. And I don’t even like shopping really, but the shops here are just nice to mooch around, especially the Disney ones. I love the look and feel of Springs in general and I always love having a meal at one of the restaurants or a drink at one of the bars.

Anyway, we ordered exactly what we’d had on our previous visit a few days ago; a cheese and tomato with one half pineapple (Seren) and one half mushrooms (Freya) for the girls, and a create your own pizza with vegan cheese for Mat and I to share with red onion, mushrooms, red peppers, kalamata olives and pineapple. We used two counter service credits but couldn’t have cans of San Pellegrino on the Dining Plan, only fountain drinks, wine or beer. They didn’t have any red wine so I got a Chardonnay. I don’t like white wine so as expected it was grim.









We sat outside and there were lots of massive forks of lightning which made the whole sky light up white. It was quite an experience.



When we’d finished eating we all wanted the same again so Mat and Seren went back inside to order another two pizzas. When they came back Mat said he’d charged it to the room because he didn’t want the drinks. I wasn’t very happy about that because we were supposed to be using counter service credits for the meal. He could have just not bothered to collect fountain drinks, it still would have saved us money which is obviously the point of the Dining Plan.

When we’d finished eating we walked to World of Disney. It was still raining a little.

World of Disney was half its usual size at this time because it was still undergoing the big renovations so there wasn’t a lot to see. We were collecting our $200 gift card and we weren’t sure whereabouts in the shop we were supposed to pick it up from as the shop looked a lot different to the last time we collected one a few years before. We wandered around aimlessly for a few minutes and then asked a CM where the Information Desk was. It was actually right by the tills. I went over and got that all sorted which took a few minutes and then we left the store as we didn’t want to buy anything.

We then had a look around the Marketplace Co-op and bought some cute art postcards to frame. We spent about $25 and paid with the gift card. We had planned to divide the card four ways and each have $50 to spend but we kind of stuck to that loosely in the end. We love the Wonderground Gallery and The Dress Shop on Cherry Tree Lane, they’re definitely our favourite parts of The Marketplace.

We then walked back towards the Orange Garage, and by this point the weather was lovely again. We stopped at the Star Wars and Marvel Shops on the West Side as Seren was looking for yet another present for her boyfriend. She didn’t buy anything. Freya was really tired so we went back to the car and she fell asleep as soon as we set off.

Freya and I went straight back to the room so she could get into bed, and Seren and Mat stopped off at The Market. She wanted a bottle of water and Mat wanted to get some wine so he could have a drink before bed on the days he was driving. He chose Chateau Smith Cabernet Sauvignon. He asked the lady at the counter for wine glasses and she said ‘I’ll get you the fancy ones.”



Seren then went to sleep and we had a glass of the wine before bed. It was really good. I fell asleep writing my notes at about 11.30 pm.

[disneywiseowl]

Another great day. Thx again for posting. 🙂