A Cancellation, A Proposal and A Lot of Food - Marathon Weekend 2017 COMPLETE!

I'm hoping to get back to regular trip report updates soon! I've been focused on wedding related stuff - I do have a planning report started for that which you can find here:


Since we are doing a Disney wedding, our closest family and friends are joining us - and only one of them has been to WDW before (and it was years ago, when she was a little kid). So, I've been focusing on getting as much information as possible together for them on my personal blog so that has taken up most of my spare time. I do have every dining review from our January 2017 trip completely written out on my blog though - I wanted our wedding guests to be able to start making decisions on ADR's quickly. So, since I have that much completed already, I now just need to go back and write the actual trip report (which I also have started on my blog). This report should start to move along quickly once I get a few more wedding related tasks out of the way! Thanks for sticking with me!
 
Breakfast for me most days is about an hour after I get to work, when I eat chips/chocolate/candy.

You racers always know the best ways to stay healthy.

I can't remember, I just know Luke said our Frosted Flakes in Canada are better?

Huh. Really. I wonder why?

Sigh. I also put on a pair of my Asics.

I couldn't do that. I'd need socks to prevent blisters.

I don't like doing more exercise than necessary.

:sad2: Sure. So... Run a 5K then.

I'm not a morning person haha. Even as a kid, my parents would have to wake me up on Christmas morning because I loved sleep that much.

Good grief!
Actually, my sister was the same way.

Thanks! Since that race I've had a skin infection and double ear infections - I'm pretty much the poster child for health.

Sorry to hear that. Hope you're doing better now?

I guess next time I need to take a selfie in front of it for you?

You could. But then I'd say it was photoshopped.

It's a good time to just admire all of the costumes around you. I believe it was around this point when a group dressed as the monorail ran past me.

:laughing: I hope they ran single file?

Thanks. I felt like I was dying those last few hundred feet. And 5k really isn't even that far!

It really isn't. I can drive that in no time.

Thank you! Now to start training again for the Super Heros 5k I signed up for at Disneyland in November...

Good for you!

This report should start to move along quickly once I get a few more wedding related tasks out of the way! Thanks for sticking with me!

No worries. #priorities.
I'll be here waiting. :)
 
I am so sorry about your loss! I am glad that you were able to talk to her while you at Disney. Congrats on the engagement though and good luck with the wedding planning!
 
In previous years, you had to purchase your runDisney pictures, but I believe the 5k we did was the first one where they switched to using their own Disney Photopass Photographers and all pictures were included with Memory Maker! It really made that $150 even more worth it!

Well, this is good news! :) I usually end up buying the MM anyway, even if I pretend I'm not sure about it!! One less thing to worry about!

You could always pack a little snack with you to eat during the 10k? At the end of the race, they do give you a little snack box filled with cookies, tortilla chips, plastic cheese, protein bars, etc - so there is food waiting for you at the finish line too!

Plastic cheese!? Can't wait !! :)
 


You racers always know the best ways to stay healthy.

Pfft, I would hardly consider myself to be a runner. But yes, if a nutritionist watched me eat for a week, they would probably have a heart attack.

I couldn't do that. I'd need socks to prevent blisters.

Sigh. I also put on my favourite Nike running socks.

:sad2: Sure. So... Run a 5K then.

You mean run a little bit until you come to another character line, then stand in it for 20 minutes? I was pretty good at that.

Sorry to hear that. Hope you're doing better now?

Mostly - yes! Still a few issues with my skin, but I finally have an appointment with a dermatologist.

You could. But then I'd say it was photoshopped.

What if it's a picture of me actually touching the sign?

:laughing: I hope they ran single file?

Of course they did! It was hilarious!

No worries. #priorities.
I'll be here waiting. :)

Next update will be up shortly :)

I am so sorry about your loss! I am glad that you were able to talk to her while you at Disney. Congrats on the engagement though and good luck with the wedding planning!

Thank you, and thank you for reading my trip report!

Well, this is good news! :) I usually end up buying the MM anyway, even if I pretend I'm not sure about it!! One less thing to worry about!



Plastic cheese!? Can't wait !! :)

The first year we went, I was so uncertain about Memory Maker, but now I can't imagine going on a trip without it!

I actually found pictures I took of all the contents of the snack box from the race, they are on my other computer but I'll try and include them in a future post :)
 
January 5, 2017 - Part Two

I apologize for how small my pictures are, I type up these reports on my personal blog first and then just copy them over to here, and it shrinks my pics for some reason?

Once we finished the 5k and we had race medals and snack boxes in hand, we started heading towards the buses which take you back to your resort. But, our plan all along had been to not return to Old Key West where we were staying right away - we had Fastpasses to use! Originally, the plan was to jump on the bus heading to the Polynesian Resort so we could eat breakfast at Capt' Cook's ($8.49 for Tonga Toast there compared to $15 for basically the same thing at Kona Cafe), but once we finished the race we realized we were a little too late for that to work. So, we changed our plan on the fly and hopped on the bus to the Contemporary instead! The RunDisney bus let everyone off right in front of the main doors for the lobby, but that's not where we were headed! We had a bit of confusion at first about exactly where to go, but before too long we managed to find the walking path that leads to the Magic Kingdom. There were only a few people in line ahead of us at the security check-in point along the walking path, and we entered the park within the first 5 minutes of rope drop. Success!

While I was being cranky about our early morning wakeup, I took a screenshot of our plans for the day and set it as my lock screen on my phone. Seriously - such a great Disney hack!

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We followed the rest of the rope drop people down Main Street, but then instead of following the crowd turning right to Tomorrowland or onto the path to Fantasyland, we swung a left into Adventureland. First things first - a visit to the Adventureland bathrooms for a pee break! We were walking past a shop, and I decided to ask if we could have a plastic shopping bag, since we were both carrying our snack boxes from the race, and we both had on little running fanny-pack style things that we did not want to wear anymore. That was no problem, the cast member was really excited to see our medals and talk about the race.

As we continued along our way, we figured it was the perfect time to go on something we'd never done before - the Jungle Cruise! Since it still wasn't even half an hour into the park opening, the wait time was under 10 minutes. It was still operating as the Jingle Cruise, so we still technically haven't been on the Jungle Cruise...

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Oh the cheese! The terrible puns! I couldn't hear everything because of our location in the boat, but I laughed like an idiot at the things I could hear.

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After our silly cruise, we continued on our journey to the first Fastpass we had made - Splash Mountain! Our reasoning for this was that if we were sweaty from our run, it would be just like a shower as we went over the big drop haha. (Don't worry, we actually did go for real showers later).

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Of course, we got stopped right by the little waterfall at the end and Luke was getting splashed pretty good from it. I just love this picture, he was laughing so hard!

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And of course, our on-ride photo:

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After Splash, we were close to being within our window for our next FP, so we walked over to Big Thunder and went on the Wildest Ride in the Wilderness! For some reason, I didn't take a single picture of this - so just believe me when I say we did it.

By this point, we were starting to drag. We'd been up for hours, and we were getting tired and hungry. We checked the app, and saw that Peco's Bills was opening soon, so we slowly wandered over there. By the time we arrived, it was open and in we went for one of our favourite quick service meals :) The review can be found here.

Once we sat down to eat, we realized how tired we were . We ended up sitting there for almost an hour.

Eventually, we were in the window for the third Fastpass we had made - to meet the Talking Mickey on Main Street. It's a bit of an unconventional FP to grab, but we wanted a picture with Mickey with our medals and we didn't want to wait in the standby line.

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This was a really cute meet and greet, Mickey did a few magic tricks for us and was very chatty. It was worth the use of a FP, even if we were both exhausted. I just love our expressions in these following pictures haha.

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After talking to Mickey for a bit, we headed out of the park and caught a bus back to Old Key West. Once we were back in our room, we showered and changed into clean clothes, and then set out again to catch a bus to Disney Springs. We had a reservation at 2pm for T-Rex, which was probably not the greatest idea looking back. We were both so tired, all we wanted to do was have a nap, but it was too late to cancel and we didn't want to pay the $10 no-show fee. So, we went, and you can read all about it here.

Once we finished up our meal, we decided to take the boat back to Disney Springs. It's such a nice, relaxing way to travel around the Disney property :)

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The boat lets you off by the main building at OKW.

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The internal shuttle pulled up almost immediately, and we headed back to our room. It was pushing 4pm by the time we got back to our room, so we both fell asleep almost instantly.

After one of the greatest, much-needed naps ever, we woke up around 8pm. For this trip, we did not purchase Park Hopper tickets, so we knew we were going back to Magic Kingdom. While we were sitting at T-Rex, we had actually managed to grab our fourth Fastpass of the day - for a late-night ride on Space Mountain!

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By the time we got up and got ready and actually got to the park, it was well into our Fastpass window. We did stop to take some pictures of the castle, and watch the projection show they were offering at the time (I want to say Celebrate the Magic?).

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We checked the time and headed over to Space Mountain, making it before our Fastpass expired. I'm just realizing now that we didn't get our on-ride photo from that, but that's ok - I hate that on-ride picture, it's taken from a really awkward angle.

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We headed over for a ride on Winnie-the-Pooh.

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I just love the dump shop the ride exits you into. The honey pot cash registers and drink cooler are too cute!

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I also had to bring this guy home with me :)

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It was getting late, but we saw a short wait time for Buzz Lightyear, so of course we had to battle it out there. We're so serious in our ride photo haha.

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Luke somehow managed to get his highest score ever:

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By the time we finished our Galactic Battle, the park was closed so we started making our way towards the entrance. I had to take a picture of the pretty castle all lit up

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We also stopped for Photopass pictures along Main Street (facing both directions!)

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We headed out of the park, caught a bus and went back to OKW to go to bed.​
 
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There were only a few people in line ahead of us at the security check-in point along the walking path, and we entered the park within the first 5 minutes of rope drop. Success!

Wow! I can't even imagine - what I productive morning!

While I was being cranky about our early morning wakeup, I took a screenshot of our plans for the day and set it as my lock screen on my phone. Seriously - such a great Disney hack!

I need to do this! I've seen a lot of people do it and it's suuuuch a good idea.

As we continued along our way, we figured it was the perfect time to go on something we'd never done before - the Jungle Cruise! Since it still wasn't even half an hour into the park opening, the wait time was under 10 minutes. It was still operating as the Jingle Cruise, so we still technically haven't been on the Jungle Cruise...

You've never been on Jungle Cruise!! Wow! It's a guilty-pleasure-favourite of mine. Jingle Cruise is very similar with just a few holiday gags thrown in, so you've basically done it now. I love how cheesey it is! But I hate how difficult it can be to hear the skipper. The sound systems are terrible, and it's worse depending on where you are in the boat like you said.

We had a reservation at 2pm for T-Rex, which was probably not the greatest idea looking back. We were both so tired, all we wanted to do was have a nap, but it was too late to cancel and we didn't want to pay the $10 no-show fee.

Such an ambitious day! I'll have to remember to try not to overbook us too much on our 5K day this winter. But awesome you got through so much before your nap.

I just love the dump shop the ride exits you into. The honey pot cash registers and drink cooler are too cute!

Me too <3

I also had to bring this guy home with me :)

I also brought a [different] Eeyore home with me last time. Love him!
 


It's a bit of an unconventional FP to grab, but we wanted a picture with Mickey with our medals and we didn't want to wait in the standby line.

I always want to do this, but we always miss this FP!

We were both so tired, all we wanted to do was have a nap, but it was too late to cancel and we didn't want to pay the $10 no-show fee. So, we went, and you can read all about it here.

Have you ever tried altering the reservation to another day before the time? Sometimes that works.
 
I'm so impressed that you guys went to the park right after the race. I need to shower right away, which means missing the early morning short lines :(
Sounds like you guys had an awesome morning at the park. I love your pictures with Mickey Mouse!
You guys look so intense in your Buzz Lightyear picture. I guess that's why Luke got such a high score - being super intense pays off sometimes!
 
Wow! I can't even imagine - what I productive morning!

I hate waking up early, but it's almost worth it at Disney since you can get so much done!

I need to do this! I've seen a lot of people do it and it's suuuuch a good idea.

It really helps to save your battery too!

You've never been on Jungle Cruise!! Wow! It's a guilty-pleasure-favourite of mine. Jingle Cruise is very similar with just a few holiday gags thrown in, so you've basically done it now. I love how cheesey it is! But I hate how difficult it can be to hear the skipper. The sound systems are terrible, and it's worse depending on where you are in the boat like you said.

We had actually made a Fastpass for Jungle Cruise for our other Magic Kingdom day on this trip, but after we were able to pretty much walk onto it we changed our fastpass. But - we would have been on it one way or another on that trip!

Such an ambitious day! I'll have to remember to try not to overbook us too much on our 5K day this winter. But awesome you got through so much before your nap.

Yes, you will want a nap after your 5k! I won't be making any lunch ADR's for that day in 2018, we can just grab quick service somewhere.

I also brought a [different] Eeyore home with me last time. Love him!

Eeyore is probably my favourite character :love:

I always want to do this, but we always miss this FP!

It was really cute! I'm glad we chose it :)

Have you ever tried altering the reservation to another day before the time? Sometimes that works.

I'll need to remember this!

I'm so impressed that you guys went to the park right after the race. I need to shower right away, which means missing the early morning short lines :(

Yeah, we decided to just embrace being gross for a few hours haha (actually, since we spent so much time walking/standing in character lines during the 5k, we really weren't that sweaty at all). I also knew if we went back to the room after the race I would probably fall asleep and we'd completely screw up our sleep schedule for days.

Sounds like you guys had an awesome morning at the park. I love your pictures with Mickey Mouse!

We didn't go on a ton of rides, but I was happy with how much we did accomplish :)

You guys look so intense in your Buzz Lightyear picture. I guess that's why Luke got such a high score - being super intense pays off sometimes!

He hasn't even come close to that score again!
 
a visit to the Adventureland bathrooms for a pee break!
This made me laugh!

It was still operating as the Jingle Cruise, so we still technically haven't been on the Jungle Cruise...
IMO Jingle Cruise is much better than Jungle Cruise. I never care if we ride Jungle Cruise on our trips but when it's Jingle Cruise? More than once, baby!

Oh the cheese! The terrible puns!
LOL that' the fun of it! But I do think the jokes are cuter during Jingle Cruise.

This was a really cute meet and greet, Mickey did a few magic tricks for us and was very chatty. It was worth the use of a FP,
We have yet to meet Talking Mickey. I want to do it but then always forget about it when we're there, especially since the boys aren't really into meeting characters anymore. I also want to meet Merida again (we did it once a few years ago) so maybe I'll be able to talk them into at least one of these on our next trip.
 
But yes, if a nutritionist watched me eat for a week, they would probably have a heart attack.

Which technically would make you healthier than the nutritionist, no?
Not much less healthy than dropping dead.

Sigh. I also put on my favourite Nike running socks.

OMG.
Do you realize what's happening here?

I'm mentally dressing you in my mind!



Guys aren't supposed to do that!


Dang. I lost my stupid man card.... again!

You mean run a little bit until you come to another character line, then stand in it for 20 minutes? I was pretty good at that.

:laughing:

Mostly - yes! Still a few issues with my skin, but I finally have an appointment with a dermatologist.

Oh good! I'm very glad to hear that!

What if it's a picture of me actually touching the sign?

'shopped!

Of course they did! It was hilarious!

Brilliant! :laughing:

Going back up to read the update...
 
I apologize for how small my pictures are, I type up these reports on my personal blog first and then just copy them over to here, and it shrinks my pics for some reason?

So what you're saying is, no matter how inconvenient it might be, you'll post here first.

Got it.

we started heading towards the buses which take you back to your resort.

What? No personal golf cart to take you? You just ran a race!

Capt' Cook's ($8.49 for Tonga Toast there compared to $15 for basically the same thing at Kona Cafe

This is good info. Thanks!

we entered the park within the first 5 minutes of rope drop. Success!

Nice!

First things first - a visit to the Adventureland bathrooms for a pee break

I've never tried that ride. How is it?



:rolleyes1

the cast member was really excited to see our medals and talk about the race.

:)

we figured it was the perfect time to go on something we'd never done before - the Jungle Cruise!

What? Never!

Then you were due!

It was still operating as the Jingle Cruise, so we still technically haven't been on the Jungle Cruise...

Guess you'll just have to go again.

Oh the cheese! The terrible puns! I couldn't hear everything because of our location in the boat, but I laughed like an idiot at the things I could hear.

:laughing: Good! That means you had a good skipper.
They make or break that ride.

Our reasoning for this was that if we were sweaty from our run, it would be just like a shower as we went over the big drop haha.

:laughing: Good to have a solid hygiene plan.

Of course, we got stopped right by the little waterfall at the end and Luke was getting splashed pretty good from it. I just love this picture, he was laughing so hard!

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I love that shot! That's great! :goodvibes

And of course, our on-ride photo:

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Like it!

I didn't take a single picture of this - so just believe me when I say we did it.

Pictures or it didn't happen!

We checked the app, and saw that Peco's Bills was opening soon, so we slowly wandered over there. By the time we arrived, it was open and in we went for one of our favourite quick service meals :) The review can be found here.

I dunno.... I really liked the burgers there.

Once we sat down to eat, we realized how tired we were . We ended up sitting there for almost an hour.

Yep. You were pooped all right.
When you're sitting and there's an entire theme park open to you...

It's a bit of an unconventional FP to grab, but we wanted a picture with Mickey with our medals and we didn't want to wait in the standby line.

So that makes it a wise choice.

We had a reservation at 2pm for T-Rex, which was probably not the greatest idea looking back. We were both so tired, all we wanted to do was have a nap, but it was too late to cancel and we didn't want to pay the $10 no-show fee.

So $10 trumps exhaustion. Got it.

Once we finished up our meal, we decided to take the boat back to Disney Springs. It's such a nice, relaxing way to travel around the Disney property :)

::yes:: Loved taking the boat from POR too.

The internal shuttle pulled up almost immediately

Oh! Didn't know there was one. Nice!

It was pushing 4pm by the time we got back to our room, so we both fell asleep almost instantly.

Man, you guys must've been wiped.

We did stop to take some pictures of the castle, and watch the projection show they were offering at the time (I want to say Celebrate the Magic?).

I think so? Not sure if it's been changed recently or not like Wishes.

I hate that on-ride picture, it's taken from a really awkward angle.

You know, you're right. I never thought about it that way before.

I just love the dump shop the ride exits you into. The honey pot cash registers and drink cooler are too cute!

Never even noticed... and Kay and I spent a fair amount of time in there, too!

I also had to bring this guy home with me :)

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Of course you did! :)

We're so serious in our ride photo haha.

Competition. It's on.

Luke somehow managed to get his highest score ever:

Good for him!


I noticed you didn't show us your score.

We headed out of the park, caught a bus and went back to OKW to go to bed.

End of a very long day.
 
This made me laugh!

It had been hours since we'd gone by this point! It was a really great pee break haha!

IMO Jingle Cruise is much better than Jungle Cruise. I never care if we ride Jungle Cruise on our trips but when it's Jingle Cruise? More than once, baby!

Yeah, it's a must for me now. So cheesy, but I have a simple sense of humor sometimes haha.

LOL that' the fun of it! But I do think the jokes are cuter during Jingle Cruise.

Now I need to try and get on the regular version at some point so I can do a proper comparison...

We have yet to meet Talking Mickey. I want to do it but then always forget about it when we're there, especially since the boys aren't really into meeting characters anymore. I also want to meet Merida again (we did it once a few years ago) so maybe I'll be able to talk them into at least one of these on our next trip.

Talking Mickey was great! He did some Magic Tricks for us haha :)

I still need to meet Merida!

Now THIS is pure Disney happiness!!!

I know, right! So much happiness in one picture!
 
So what you're saying is, no matter how inconvenient it might be, you'll post here first.

Got it.

I know you type up your reports elsewhere before putting them on here - do you just do the words and then insert the pictures directly here?

What? No personal golf cart to take you? You just ran a race!

I know, the nerve! I wouldn't mind having a personal golf cart to ride around Disney all the time! :rotfl:


I've never tried that ride. How is it?


:rolleyes1

One of my fav's! :laughing:

What? Never!

Then you were due!

We did originally have a Fastpass for it for our next Magic Kingdom day - we were determined to go on Jungle Cruise at some point on this trip! We just did it sooner than planned :)

Guess you'll just have to go again.

Any excuse to plan another Disney trip!

:laughing: Good! That means you had a good skipper.
They make or break that ride.

From what I could hear, we had a good one!

:laughing: Good to have a solid hygiene plan.

:rotfl:

I love that shot! That's great! :goodvibes

He was soaked after we got off that ride!


It's not as great as some of the ones you've got on that ride, I need to start thinking about how to get a good one next trip...

I dunno.... I really liked the burgers there.

That was before my Disney time, so I've only known the current menu. I'm also not much for burgers, so the current menu is up my alley!


Yep. You were pooped all right.
When you're sitting and there's an entire theme park open to you...

And it wasn't even that busy in the park, but we just couldn't bring ourselves to move.

So that makes it a wise choice.

:thumbsup2

So $10 trumps exhaustion. Got it.

I guess so. Plus I wanted to see the dinosaurs haha.

::yes:: Loved taking the boat from POR too.

It's such a great way to travel around the Disney property!

Oh! Didn't know there was one. Nice!

OKW is HUGE! The internal shuttle was really handy!

Man, you guys must've been wiped.


I pretty much stop functioning like a human being when I'm that overtired. That was such a good nap.

You know, you're right. I never thought about it that way before.

The on-ride pic from Space Mountain at Disneyland is so much better, it's more of a front-on angle and just makes so much more sense!

Of course you did! :)

My Eeyore collection is getting pretty impressive :)

Good for him!


I noticed you didn't show us your score.

Haha, at one point I just stopped playing to watch him since his score was so high.
 
January 6, 2017

We woke up a little later than originally planned (but still pretty early for vacation in my opinion). Luke started his morning with a coffee in the room while I got ready for the day.



We headed out, and caught a bus to Animal Kingdom - my favourite park! By the time we arrived, the park was already open, but the lineup to scan your Magicband was huge - luckily we remembered a tip we had read about going through the Rainforest Cafe! So, we veered hard left, entered the restaurant, walked through the gift shop and came out into a little courtyard with a scanner and a very bored looking cast member. There wasn't a single other person in line ahead of us, so we quickly scanned our bands/fingerprint, and into the park we went!

I just love the tree of life, but I didn't get a picture of our first sighting of it since I decided to Facetime my mom, who was still in New Brunswick visiting my grandmother in the hospital. I showed my Nanny the Tree, and then as we walked along towards Africa we came upon the monkeys right across from Creature Comforts (the Starbucks in the park). Luke decided to use that time to run into Starbucks to grab his "You Are Here" mug for his collection, while I let my Nanny watch the monkeys for awhile.
(I borrowed this picture from Google)

By the time Luke waited in line to buy his mug, and I said my goodbye to my mom and grandmother, we realized our original plan of a ride on the Safari wouldn't be possible. So, instead we just headed towards our first reservation of the day - Tusker House!




Tusker House is on our must-do every time list, the food is great, the characters are great and I love the look of the restaurant itself. We were a few minutes early for our reservation, but we checked in anyways. We were told to have a seat in the outdoor waiting area, and we only waited about 5-10 minutes before being called and led to our table. The rest of the review can be found here.

After stuffing ourselves full, we decided to do something low impact to let our bellies settle from all that food - so off to It's Tough to Be a Bug! I just love walking underneath the tree and seeing all the detail they put into it.









The show itself doesn't change, and we've seen it multiple times now, but it's cute and worth doing at least once. I always lean forward during the poke in the back part though - I honestly don't even know what that feels like since I can't bring myself to sit back for it haha.​

The park was insanely busy this day - like way busier than I'm used to at Animal Kingdom. We took our time walking around, paying attention to all of the detail Disney put into the park until we realized we were already in our Fastpass window on Expedition Everest - my favourite ride at WDW!



We stopped for a few Photopass pictures on the bridge since the line was not very long. I also love the shirts we were both wearing that day - people kept stopping to ask Luke where his Flash shirt came from. I don't think many people understood what mine was...




From this picture, the park doesn't look too busy, but trust me, it was insane for some reason!


We slowly made our way over to DinoLand, had a pee break and then it was time for our 2nd Fastpass of the day - Dinosaur!



Shortly after we entered the Fastpass line, the line came to a complete stop. So we waited. And waited some more. People around us started checking the app, and we found out the ride was temporarily closed. Since we were already in line, and wait times for everything were much too high for our liking, we decided to just stay put. It ended up not being too terrible, and about 20 minutes later the line began moving again.




I definitely don't love this ride, but I don't hate it either. I just think the Indiana Jones ride in California is so much better (and they are similar ride systems). We seem to go on Dinosaur at least once every trip though!




Due to the delay (from the time we entered the Fastpass line until we exited the ride was ~45 minutes), we didn't have time for any other rides if we wanted to make it to the 5pm Festival of the Lion King show. So, once again we crossed the park to get back to Africa.



We had used our third Fastpass of the day for this show. We had watched it on our trip in 2016, but we were seated in the very back. We were hoping for better seats, since we loved what we had been able to see last time, and it worked out well for us!







I love this show so much! It's definitely a can't miss for us on every trip! The singers, the acrobats - everyone in this show is so talented.

Once the show ended, Luke decided he needed to grab a little snack for himself - and stopped for a Dole Whip with coconut rum, one of his favourite WDW treats.



He ate it as we walked out of the park and to the buses - we had a supper reservation to get to!

As we left the park, I had to stop to snap a picture of the Animal Kingdom tree:



We ended up waiting a few minutes for a bus back to Old Key West, which had me quite worried. We had a reservation at Olivia's, and I just knew we were going to be late. We did end up getting there late, but it ended up being fine, and you can read our review of our supper over on my dining report.​

Originally, we had booked this supper as a way to ensure we were back at Old Key West so Luke could get a good night's sleep before his half marathon the next morning. While we were eating, we found out the race had been cancelled, so this was no longer a necessity. Once we finished our meal, we caught the internal shuttle bus back to our room, and noticed these signs at all of the bus stops.


It wasn't very late when we got back to our room, not even 8:30pm. We each showered, got caught up on Facebook, Instagram, the DisBoards, etc, Luke drank some of the beer we had ordered from Garden Grocer, we watched a bit of TV. Eventually we realized we were tired, and called it a night by 10pm. It was also nice falling asleep knowing we had no alarm set for the next day :)
 
Tusker House is on our must-do every time list, the food is great, the characters are great and I love the look of the restaurant itself.

I love Tusker House! We are skipping it this trip in lieu of Tiffins while we still have the AP discount, but I have a feeling it will pop back up next trip :P

I just love walking underneath the tree and seeing all the detail they put into it.

Me too! I remember when Animal Kingdom first opened they had all these specials on Disney Channel about it, and the part where they talked about the tree was always my favorite. It's so intricate and detailed, and you can look forever and ever and always find new things.

I always lean forward during the poke in the back part though - I honestly don't even know what that feels like since I can't bring myself to sit back for it haha.

Oh girl, I haven't leaned back for that in fifteen years.

Expedition Everest - my favourite ride at WDW!

Mine too! Always a great ride :)

I love this show so much! It's definitely a can't miss for us on every trip! The singers, the acrobats - everyone in this show is so talented.

I haven't seen it in years, so I need to do that next time too!
 
Smart move leaning forward during the poke in the back part of It's Tough to be a Bug - that's the worst part. There's no reason for an attraction to be poking people in the back. So painful.

Is that a Yeti on your shirt? Very cool - that's actually probably the perfect shirt for Animal Kingdom! I love it!!

Going to sleep without having an alarm set is awesome. Bummer that it's because the race got cancelled, but ... I'm glad you found the bright side of the cancellation!
 
All caught up!!

We also stopped for Photopass pictures along Main Street (facing both directions!)

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I love these pictures!

We woke up a little later than originally planned (but still pretty early for vacation in my opinion). Luke started his morning with a coffee in the room while I got ready for the day.


now THAT is the way to start the day!

We headed out, and caught a bus to Animal Kingdom - my favourite park! By the time we arrived, the park was already open, but the lineup to scan your Magicband was huge - luckily we remembered a tip we had read about going through the Rainforest Cafe! So, we veered hard left, entered the restaurant, walked through the gift shop and came out into a little courtyard with a scanner and a very bored looking cast member. There wasn't a single other person in line ahead of us, so we quickly scanned our bands/fingerprint, and into the park we went!

Thanks for the tip! Good to know!


Is that...fake snow?? Cool!

I definitely don't love this ride, but I don't hate it either. I just think the Indiana Jones ride in California is so much better (and they are similar ride systems).

Agreed. I love Indiana Jones but can't really stand Dinosaur.

Once the show ended, Luke decided he needed to grab a little snack for himself - and stopped for a Dole Whip with coconut rum, one of his favourite WDW treats.


OMG where is this from in AK?!? I have to get one!

It wasn't very late when we got back to our room, not even 8:30pm. We each showered, got caught up on Facebook, Instagram, the DisBoards, etc, Luke drank some of the beer we had ordered from Garden Grocer, we watched a bit of TV. Eventually we realized we were tired, and called it a night by 10pm. It was also nice falling asleep knowing we had no alarm set for the next day :)

Sorry about the cancellation but yay for not having to wake up so early!
 

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