Two Disney Nerds go coast to coast – A June WDW & DL trip report - day 10 - Animal Kingdom Adventure

[lumosq102]

Index is here
Day 9 is here

WDW 2018 – Day 10 – Animal Kingdom Adventures



Monday 18 July 2018

Now, I don’t want you to get used to this, but this morning started slowly. Very slooooooooowly.

I sprang out of bed, tripped across the room, grabbed Herc (the camera) and fell out onto the balcony just after 6am. For a good reason – just look at this sunrise:

























Bliss.

After stumbling back into the room after enjoying an utterly splendid sunrise I fell back into bed. R pretty much looked up from her bed, glared at me for disturbing her and settled back in for a good snooze.

Eventually we both dragged ourselves out of bed and started pottering around the room, I made coffee and then started the laundry we had sorted yesterday, watched lots of WESH news and assorted morning shows. After our mad week of rushing from one side of the continent and back again it was nice to just… be. Rest. I was able to book part of our accommodation for our 2019 trip that morning, so it was nice and satisfying to know we had another trip in the planning stages.

We eventually left the room a little after 11.30am and hopped on a bus to (Downtown) Disney Springs. That bus to Disney Springs is why we don’t go there more often – we finally arrived at Springs at 12:10 and headed straight to the Polite Pig for lunch.

R had been looking forward to this for an age. Unsurprisingly, the life long vegetarian was less enthused. She ordered the cedar plank salmon which is $22 – for a quick service! She had the sweet potato tots, coleslaw and cornbread as her sides.



And one of the cocktails on tap (the vodka lemonade I think)



I went with the 3 sides for $15 – the crispy sprouts, BBQ cauliflower and BBQ waffle fries and a soda.



They were lovely, but I do tire of having to eat from the side menu.

R however, was very happy



We left Polite Pig and went for a little wander around Disney Springs, calling in at World of Disney



And then on to my favourite place in Disney Springs – Cherry Tree Lane at the Marketplace Co-op. Otherwise known as the place where my 2 loves – vintage style and Disney – come together. R was terribly patient whilst I tried on pretty much every dress in the shop. I paid for my bounty (3 new dresses and 2 cardigans – thank heavens for that 20% DVC discount) and had my haul shipped back to the hotel. To get over the shock of spending lots of money, we did the only sensible thing we could do - we went to Sephora and spent more money. Disney really knew what they were doing when they reimagined Downtown Disney to Disney Springs – lots of new ways to separate me from my money!

We finished our shopping and jumped on a bus, first to Animal Kingdom Lodge, and then finally to Animal Kingdom itself, walking up to the gates just before 4pm.



R there with her Sephora haul, our first stop was the lockers to safely secure our purchases hopefully safe from that Animal Kingdom heat and headed straight to Starbucks for a couple of emergency cold brew coffees, taking refuge in Africa for a peaceful seat behind Tamu Tamu refreshments – so in need of the refreshment I didn’t even take a photo until we had consumed them both



Caffeine levels restored we headed back to Discovery Island for a quick picture with that glorious tree






And since we were in the neighbourhood… I have been obsessed with this tree since my first visit back in 2008 – and was the subject of my first ever Disney photo. It’s been a slippery slope since then.







We headed on up through Discovery Island and into Asia to head to our first fastpass but we had to stop for our favourite photo spot first.



We were both feeling a little hot & I was still a little (read – very) puffy from our overnight flight. The shininess is thanks to that ever present Animal Kingdom heat though



R was preparing herself for what for was ahead



It was yeti time



I was proud to say that I was River Guide of the month. R argued that it was she who received the honour. I still say it was me.





I adore the view from up here



Another one for the family album



We ambled on from Everest to possibly my favourite place in the park – Maharajah Jungle Trek.



Tigers, and bunnies





I made a new friend in the indoor exhibit



As usual, R was dashing off ahead whilst I lagged behind

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There were no tigers out and about, we wandered on and through and ended up in my favourite place in the park, and possibly in WDW.



I present to you, my birdies.















I just adore those birds. And that’s with me cutting down the number of photos I had taken to about 25%. They are a joy, and when you are in there with minimal other people, they get so sassy and brave… sweet little feathered darlings.

Monkey business



We had our next fast pass coming up, so we took a slow walk back over to Africa in time for the next showing of Festival of the Lion King.



Its my second favourite show in the park, not to diminish what a great show it is – the performers are amazing, the songs are great and I do appreciate the new show building.









My favourite FotLK photo



Lets all bellow it together – BE PREPARED!



This guy is just phenomenal

























I do love that show, so beautifully done. We have booked the Tiffins VIP package for our next trip so I’m rather looking forward to seeing it from the front row.

We headed back out into the park, but whilst the rest of the crowds were heading into Harambe, we were turning right and heading into Pandora. I love the view from here though. They did such a great job with the Harambe expansion, its hard to remember that this whole port area was only added a few years ago.



The path down to Pandora was pretty quiet and before we knew it we could hear the animals of the area, then as you turn the corner you find yourself looking at this:



Joe Rohde is a blinking genius. He took a film I cared nothing about and created a land that has such a sense of place, such story, that it doesn’t matter if you’re an uber fan or never seen the film, its glorious.



Can anyone else see a sad old man face on that floating mountain?







Our fast pass for Flight of Passage was already open so we quickly headed on in and wound our way up through the line









My only issue with the fastpass line is that you miss the story that you get in the standby line. Of course, you’re also not waiting for half a day, so these things balance out!



We rode, we revelled in the wonder and delight that is riding over gorgeous scenery on the back of a banshee. I love it.

We were out of line a little after 7pm and were starting to feel a little hungry. As we planned to have dinner in Pandora today we figured now was a good a time as any and headed over to Satuli Canteen, mobile ordering as we went.

We had a little bit of a wait at the mobile order window despite there being no one else in line, seriously – I had never seen the order area so quiet.

But finally our food arrived and we headed back out to the not quiet restaurant to find a seat and get to eating.

I went with the crispy tofu and rice with the creamy herb dressing



The tofu and rice were lovely, of course, but the spice had been dialled down on the tofu and the whole thing just felt… lacking. Less food, less interest than the last time we were here. I’m not going to lie, I was disappointed. There was less salad this time too – possibly not an issue for some people, but I really enjoyed that crunchy slaw and would have preferred the larger portion.

R went with the beef with the hash as her base, and again the creamy dressing. She felt that the beef was not as good quality as last time, not as thinly sliced and the base was oddly oily. It wasn’t bad, but nowhere near as good as last time.



One plus in the Satuli box – they have cherry coke at the drink dispenser. R went with her usual Pandoran Sunrise.



Overall, we were just left a bit disappointed by our Satuli visit for this trip. They have now changed the rice base to rice and black beans. I hate black beans. The other bases are now noodles and the red and sweet potato hash. It hasn’t made the list for next trip.

Back out in the Valley of Mo’ara the sun was starting its descent and the sky was looking particularly glorious.

[lumosq102]

We took a slow walk through the land to the main entrance, heading back into Animal Kingdom proper. We still had many adventures to attend to!





We were back at the Tree of Life, hopping through the shops en route to get a little blast of air conditioning, and noticed that 2 of my boys (otherwise known as the black vultures that hang around WDW – I’m very fond of them) were flying over the horizon. So, more photos had to be taken.



There they are, doing their thing in the left corner of the picture. Such cuties.

Wandering onwards, our next destination was Dinoland



I’m a little disappointed in us that we never made it to Donald’s Dino Bash (thankfully it has been extended to this year too!) but lets take a moment to appreciate the adorable addition to the bone yard for this event:



The dino is wearing a little Donald Duck hat. Fantastic.

We had a fastpass calling us – it was time to step back in time and rescue us a dino





We forgot our scared faces



Dinosaur saved to run amuck through the institute, we made a hasty retreat through to the Dino Store which always makes me laugh with its delightfully simplistic puns,






The line was pretty short for Primeval Whirl, so we figured why not and hopped in line. I know it’s basic, but sometimes you just need to be thrown around a track with lots of drops and spins



Although age means once is enough. Once upon a time we’re have been repeat riders – although the popularity has gone up hugely since the introduction of FP+ so that’s not really an option anymore regardless.

It was turning into a glorious Florida night



It was just coming up to 9pm as we wandered over to Expedition Everest, the floats for Rivers of Light were just starting to come out onto the lagoon.



We had no time for that however; we had a mountain to conquer!



The standby line was delightfully empty too



It seems this evening R and I were endorsing tea, and Susan had taken my position of river guide of the month. Oh how quickly they forget…

Ride photo time – I look like I was saluting, whilst trying for a more explorer looking into the distance pose. Failed that one.



The ride time had slipped even further down so we headed back around and was very quickly at the head of the line again, only to find that we were once more river guide of the month. So flighty, these awards…





Time was ticking on and we both wanted to spend some time in Pandora before park close so we wandered on over, stopping on the path between Asia & Africa when we found ourselves the only people in the area and the Tree of Life – Awakenings – was happening.

We must have stayed here for about 20 minutes in the end, in fact 20 minutes exactly – my first photo was at 9.35, the last at 9.54. We were transfixed. I won’t share every photo I took of the tree that night as heavens knows there are literally hundreds, but goodness it was blissful to just plant ourselves here in the peace and quiet and just enjoy the show. Its gorgeous. Fingers crossed we will be as lucky for the new Lion King show that’s starting whilst we are there in May, but that’s probably pushing it.































The flowers!





We pulled ourselves away and headed into Pandora. We tired first to enter through the Africa entrance only to find it was closed off, so we walked back towards Discovery Island and headed in there. Our first stop was for a drink – we were both parched.



Pongu Pongu it was! We were hoping to get a couple of ice waters with our order, but we were rather bluntly told we would have to go into Satuli Canteen for that (despite every other small kiosk I have asked that serves food has been able to give us ice water, but whatever). We had other priorities though, and were soon enjoying a couple of these delights:



The rum blossom. Essentially, they take the night blossom and pour a shot of rum on top.

It is delicious.

We found a spot to stop and just watched the world go by for a little while with out drinks. Pandora is so pretty at night it was just lovely to sit and watch it all happen around us.

At 10.25 we hauled ourselves up and took what was left of our drinks and joined the end of the line for Flight of Passage.

[lumosq102]

It definitely took longer than the last time we tried this on our last trip, but still so worth it



















We were back outside the ride at 11.30pm, just over an hour since we had got in line. I would much rather do this than spend 3 hours here in the heat of the day when there is other things we could be doing, and that way I would never get photos of a semi empty Pandora at night.







Happy R
























there is something delightfully spooky about finding a park just this empty







R contemplates the end of her night



That way?



No, that way



We made it to the exit at 11:50pm, almost forgot to pick up our packages from the lockers so quickly doubled back and grabbed our purchases along with a couple of bottles of water from the little shop. We then just made it to the bus stop in time to hop on to the bus back to the Polynesian – perfect timing! Finally making it back to the resort at 00:30. No night time pictures from the balcony tonight, we were done. We were extra thankful for those 2 bathrooms tonight through – 2 showers and sinks make for a much quicker bedtime routine!

And with that we were done with another day, and what a day it had been.

Until tomorrow! Thank you so much for reading along.

Day 11 is here

[MrsSilverStar]

A day bookended with a beautiful sunrise and gorgeous nighttime Animal Kingdom - amazing photos! Your report always gets me excited about our upcoming trip so thank you!

[Palm trees]

Those sunrise pictures are absolutely beautiful. I'm looking forwards to your next instalment.

[Rabel]

what a beautiful sunrise, and such a long day! I have never been to Animal Kingdom at night but it looks stunning in your photos

[Goldia]

No park until 4pm, that's late for you. This day was bookended by beautiful sunrise photos and then the tree of life photos! Aah, I'm sighing.

I really need to get to polite pig, I think it is now top of my list for QS places to visit. The food looks so yummy.

I love that photo spot with the stadium for ROL and Everest behind you, I didn't notice any puffiness, maybe a tiny bit of glistening. But I'm always a hot sweaty mess at AK, I've no idea how somewhere with so much shade can be so hot.

Your 2nd favourite show? It's my favourite, i think it's the songs and the crowd interaction, and the monkeys...ok it's the whole thing I just love it all! I also really like that route from Africa into Pandora it's a beautiful walk and even when the park was heaving it wasn't busy.

Lucky you remembered your purchases before it was too late. I love being in AK at night, perhaps as we're so used to it shutting at 5pm it still feels like we're being given a sneak preview of something we shouldn't be seeing.

[lumosq102]

Originally Posted by MrsSilverStar

A day bookended with a beautiful sunrise and gorgeous nighttime Animal Kingdom - amazing photos! Your report always gets me excited about our upcoming trip so thank you!

See more...

Thank you so much! And thank you for reading

Its getting me excited too - we fly 5 weeks tomorrow!

Originally Posted by Palm trees

Those sunrise pictures are absolutely
beautiful. I'm looking forwards to your next instalment.

See more...

Thank you very much! I'm utterly obsessed with WDW sunrises, so this won't be the last early morning Poly view - but they're all a little different. A little look at tomorrow's sunrise:

Originally Posted by Rabel

what a beautiful sunrise, and such a long day! I have never been to Animal Kingdom at night but it looks stunning in your photos

See more...

It was heavenly Worth dragging myself out of bed for

I highly recommend AK at night - Everest is so much better at night, and its comparatively quiet so you get to wander around those lovely tree lined paths as the sun sets and then in the darkness... its lovely.

Originally Posted by Goldia

No park until 4pm, that's late for you. This day was bookended by beautiful sunrise photos and then the tree of life photos! Aah, I'm sighing.

I really need to get to polite pig, I think it is now top of my list for QS places to visit. The food looks so yummy.

I love that photo spot with the stadium for ROL and Everest behind you, I didn't notice any puffiness, maybe a tiny bit of glistening. But I'm always a hot sweaty mess at AK, I've no idea how somewhere with so much shade can be so hot.

Your 2nd favourite show? It's my favourite, i think it's the songs and the crowd interaction, and the monkeys...ok it's the whole thing I just love it all! I also really like that route from Africa into Pandora it's a beautiful walk and even when the park was heaving it wasn't busy.

Lucky you remembered your purchases before it was too late. I love being in AK at night, perhaps as we're so used to it shutting at 5pm it still feels like we're being given a sneak preview of something we shouldn't be seeing.

See more...

It was a really late start, which always feels really weird to us. It doesn't happen often! We have one day on the next trip scheduled for a late start since we're going to Cali Grill for brunch (day after my 40th birthday - will need that hair of the dog) but that's it. We really needed the rest though, and that room? It was a nice place to just be for a while.

I have a huge soft spot for the Finding Nemo show - I think its that I'm a sucker for actual puppets... those sharks are one of our most quoted park lines (if you feel like eating, swim to a meeting! Kills me). But its a tough call - depends on how I feel on any given day. They're both glorious.

I'd highly recommend Polite pig - the cocktails are great (even if they are on tap) and the food is all at a really high standard. Its pricey though, so a great use of those QS credits!

As always, thank you so much for reading and commenting - always look forward to hearing what you have to say

[Juliemack]

I could look at your photos for hours, there's so much detail. I hope we get a look at your new dresses, I love all of your outfits. I saw this dress posted on twitter today ... how cute is the little bag! 😍