Polynesian Pixie Dust: A Love/Hate Vacationship. An October 2017 TR *updated 2/12x3 and Complete*

[xlsm]

Chapter Five Part Three

When I left off, we had wandered our way through the FP queue for Flight of Passage.

So what did we think?? Did my ride chicken/motion sick mom make it?

Yes she did! In fact, she declared it her favorite ride of the trip. She wanted to ride again until she saw the wait time.

The exit line spits you out on a long descending walkway that ends outside of Windtraders.

We obviously went inside, but the pictures I have of it aren't great, so moving on...

We did pause for selfies at the moss wall. Or at least A moss wall. Whether or not it's the famous instagram moss wall or not I have no idea!

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Regardless of whether or not it's the correct wall, it's still pretty all the same!

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I've seen Avatar once, but I don't remember what this thing is called, so I call it George the Robot Guy:

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George the Robot Guy was cool and all, but I was still more interested in the plant life.

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We were really just wandering around looking at everything and taking pictures, so nothing clever to say really...Here's more pics!

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I thought this bridge was so cool. It looked like it was made from twine or string.

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I really wish the pictures came close to showing you how beautiful it is. I know many of you have seen it already and know, but there's something so sad about a camera not capturing exactly what you remember. I try to be more careful about living in the moment and not behind a camera, but that's tough when something is just so darn pretty!!

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I knew the chances of riding River Journey was slim to none, but I had to check the wait time anyway. It was longer than the wait for FoP if you can believe that! Flight was 120 minutes and River was 180! No thanks!! I am hoping we can pick up a same day FP for it this week!

There's this cool sculpture thing outside that took me an embarrassingly long time to realize was the Shaman.

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I realized we could make it to the next showing of Festival of the Lion King, so we sadly left Pandora. Mom decided she wanted to stay until dark to see it all lit up. Would we make it that long?? You know me, so what's your best guess?? LOL! I won't spoil anything but...it's our only other night to see Happily Ever After instead of Hallowishes.

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Festival of the Lion King is my FAVORITE SHOW. It is a do not miss thing for me. I always say I'm going to make it through and not cry during Can You Feel the Love Tonight, but I fail every. single. time. Every performer is so amazing and powerful in this show. The only live performance that compares for me is Voices of Liberty. If you have never seen FOTLK, please go! Do it for me! Even though you don't know me and owe me nothing, LOL!! But seriously - go!

I took one token picture inside:

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and then just sat back to enjoy.

We were in the giraffe section. I want to be the volunteer they call up when they do animal sounds since I actually DO know what sound a giraffe makes after so many viewings of this show!

After the show we made it past most of the crowd crush quickly and didn't get slowed down too much by all the people. I was poised to pounce and get the heck out of that theater.

It was time to say goodbye to Africa

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We were on our way to Asia and our last Fast Pass of the day...not counting the free rider swaps we'd scored this morning! Along the way we admired the Tree of Life some more. How can you not, though??

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Our FP was for Kali River Rapids. After the rain in Pandora, I was afraid the day would get humid and hot, but it didn't. With the wind and clouds, it was actually nice and cool. I knew I'd get cold if I got wet on Kali and was trying to talk my mom into skipping it, but she wasn't cold so she wasn't taking my bait. So, that's where we headed.

Would I get soaked or would I make it out dry??

Find out next time!! I'll try to get at least one more update out tonight.

 

[xlsm]

Chapter Five Part Four

We stopped for a Photopass picture before going on into Asia...

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Little did I know this would be the last picture of me not completely soaked with water that I would take all day. Ugh.

Asia here we come!

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We were a bit early for our Kali pass so we decided to visit the Majarajah Jungle Trek first. Would I finally see tigers today?? They were off display in May when I was there.

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I love all of the Tibetan prayer flags. I know they're not *real* ones, but still!

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Oh my gosh!! I DO get to see a tiger!!

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Can you see him there against the back wall? Right in the center.

Look how calm this man is. What's his secret?

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Is it the birds? He's surrounded by them. Are birds the only thing I need to reach a zen state?? I'm willing to get a whole houseful and try.

Ooh, but THESE guys are angry and hunting tigers!!

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They should probably spend time with birds. I hear that helps calm things down

I was still trying to convince my mom to skip Kali, but she was having none of it, so I gave in, and once we completed our jungle trek, we hopped in line with our Fast Pass.

I haven't been on this ride since like 2014, and the ride stopped while we were on it and we were stuck waiting to fall over a ledge for like 15 minutes. Would we make it without stopping this time??

The ride line was pretty to look at, and it was fun to see something I hadn't seen for a long time.

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I liked these story board things in the roof of one of the covered buildings along the queue:

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Don't you just love the level of detail all around Animal Kingdom? It's like a love story to the world. Like, "Here, take all of these beautiful things - look at them and appreciate them. They're real, they exist. There is more out there than your cell phone"...but also please take a picture of these beautiful things WITH your cell phone and post them on Insta, kthxbye.

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We boarded our rafty thing and we had a pretty fun group with us. A family with a couple of younger kids, and a pair of preteen looking guys. The little girls with the family were as concerned as I was about getting wet.

So did we get wet or not?? Oh, Lord.

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Sorry for that really unflattering photo, but it's all I have to show you just how soaked we got. It was like a never ending onslaught of water. It wasn't just us, everyone on that boat looked like they'd jumped directly into the water.

Remember how I said I was afraid I'd be cold? Yep. Freezing.

Mom and I went into the restroom to try and dry off. We failed.

Mom made us stop at the photopass photographer by the monkeys as we were leaving Hell...I mean, Anandapur Village, or whatever the Kali area is called!

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I was ready to move on to Expedition Everest - maybe the wind from the ride would dry me off!

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As we walked toward Everest, I told mom she could wait in the dump shop. I asked her if she wanted to give it a try...

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You know what she said??

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Can you believe it??? She did it!! And she didn't hate it! But she didn't want to ride again either
She was so proud of herself. She kept asking me to take pictures that would show just how big it was so my stepdad would understand what a big, scary, ride she'd done, lol.

Hail, the conquering heroes!!

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Since she'd managed Everest, I knew Dinosaur would be nothing, and she agreed to come with me for that one, too.

Onward to Dinoland USA!!

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There's a chance I'll get another update out, but if not, this is where I leave you until I get back from our New Year's Eve trip, aka, the "holy mother we've lost our minds" trip.

 

[Raeven]

I've never ridden Kali because I hate getting wet on rides!

She was so proud of herself. She kept asking me to take pictures that would show just how big it was so my stepdad would understand what a big, scary, ride she'd done, lol.

 

[shannie102]

Enjoy your next trip- hope you keep some of your sanity

 

[Sailormoon2]

So many amazing Photopass photos!! WOW!! What an awesome AK day! That is my favourite park and you did all the best things!! Such fun selfies with the TH characters too!!!

 

[missangelalexis]

You definitely hit the PP jackpot, so many cute photos!

Love all the Tusker House photos. That selfie with Donald is amazing!

I'm glad you enjoyed Pandora so much!! And that your mom loved FoP!

I'm sorry you got so soaked on Kali!

YAY you convinced your mom to do Everest! That's awesome!

 

[ariane37]

DH and I are leaving for Disney World the day after tomorrow!!

You are there now! Jealous! But I hope you guys are having the time of your lives! Believe it or not, yesterday Steve and Ricky decided they wanted to go down today and come back Monday. We found half way decent flights but the absolute ONLY room available was at the GF (I have no problem with that) for just over $1000 a night. Steve had a problem with that

Oddly Shaped Monkey Wall!!

I've never noticed this before but now will be looking for it in Feb.

(I've mentioned my mom is a breast cancer survivor...yes, she IS actually wearing a shirt that says Save the Hooters )

Love it. I would totally wear it and if it didn't have animals on it - like if it actually had boobs on it - Ricky would wear it too lol

Oh look, I have 35 chins! One for every year of my life!

Story of my life! My life of many chins!

"it never asked for a credit card, I just clicked on Tusker House and picked a time! That means I got it, right?"

OMG, the reason people who aren't Disney experts need to use a TRAVEL AGENT!

All of the characters were a lot of fun, as you can probably tell!!

We thought the same thing when we went in August, best character interaction here!

well, I do have my Christmas Roomba running (which I am OBSESSED with, by the way.

So cool! I've thought of getting one but so far haven't. How does it work?

I've seen Avatar once, but I don't remember what this thing is called, so I call it George the Robot Guy:

lol, I saw the movie once also but for the life of me can't remember where the robot came in.

Don't you just love the level of detail all around Animal Kingdom?

YES. One of the reasons I hate when people say they want to skip it

So did we get wet or not?? Oh, Lord.

You guys really had a great day at AK, love it

I've never ridden Kali because I hate getting wet on rides!

Oh knock it off and get on Kali

 

[thumper*]

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. I hope your enjoying your present trip. I hear it was cold and wet there today and thought of you. Hope you were able to enjoy yourselves anyway.
Isn't Pandora wonderful. Always shocked to see the wait so long for NRR also.
Man did you guys get soaked on Kali

 

[dnllmz]

I'm all caught up. I hope you're having a fund NY trip. If you see this before your AK day, we were able to ride Navi River during the last hour the park was open on our Nov/Dec trip. The wait time was listed as 15 minutes but it was walk on.

 

[xlsm]

We are back from our NYE trip!!

It was cold every day (some more than others!!), and wet a couple of days, but we had a great time! I am going to try to get a TR started for it asap. Probably either later this afternoon or tomorrow. I'm having trouble coming up with a title, though!!

I should have more time starting next week so I hope I can get this finished up and that one rolling along...it was a shorter trip so it will be a shorter report.

 

[coloredimage]

I finally caught up! I hate being wet, especially when I know I'll be cold AND wet so you are a braver person than I am to go on Kali lol.

 

[oceanmarina]

Hi just binge read your TR and absolutely loved it!

Your mom is adorable! My mom hasn't been to Disney since our family trips in the early 80's, so your TR has me thinking of taking her. She loves walking so I'm not worried about that but she gets vertigo very easily - she said she remembers the teacup ride making her very, very dizzy. And we go every August,but she doesn't love high heat, so that is another issue. But your TR has got me thinking about a mother daughter trip.

Loved your breakfast pictures of the GF cafe, wow that lobster Benedict looked fantastic. I'm definitely putting that on my list of places to try.

I think you mom lost her ride wimp status. I lose my mind on 7 DMT every time. I chickened out of barnstormer. I don't think I would put one toe on Everest. Props to her!


I enjoyed your pictures of MNSSHP. We went our first time this past August 25, while we enjoyed it I don't think we would go again due to all the crowds and long waits for everything. Not worth the $$ - only because of the crowd levels in my opinion.

Looking forward to your holiday mini trip report,I always wondered what the crowds are like that week.

Can't wait to read more! Marina

 

[xlsm]

New Year's Eve TR started here: No Kids, Gnu Year!

 

[xlsm]

Hello, hello!!

Let's just dive right into the next chapter section...

Chapter Five Part Five

Ok, so, let's see...I had been forced onto Kali, gotten absolutely soaked, was very cold, and then somehow managed to get my mom on Everest...then Dinoland. That's where we left off I think!

When we got to Dinoland USA, we took a little bit of time to look around...mom loved all the kitsch and fun of the area. I always do too! I get that it doesn't really "go" with the rest of the park, but I still think it looks cute, and I enjoy the novelty of it!

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Not today, Primeval Hurl. Not. Today.

The real reason we were in the area was to use the rider swap pass the nice people in the CL lounge had given us this morning! Originally, I didn't think we'd ride Dinosaur - I was afraid my mom would think it was too rough or get motion sick. But after she survived Everest, she was getting no more easy outs! I knew she could handle it just fine.

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And yes, my mom exclaimed, "Claire Huxtable!" during the film part!

There is no way on earth anyone will ever, ever, ever see the photo from this ride. I was leaning over to tell my mom there was a photo and where to look...I look like an angry, crazed demon. We will pretend it does not exist!!!

This was not her favorite ride, but she liked it ok! I think she fared better than I did. I've said it before and I'll say it again (if I ever ride it again!), this ride is rough and beats me up! Maybe *I'm* the ride wimp!

It was late afternoon, and mom was about to toss me into the water if I didn't get her some food! We decided to try somewhere that gets consistently good reviews, but was new to me: Flame Tree Barbecue.

I wasn't super hungry, but it smelled so good! I was torn between the pulled pork fries and the pulled pork mac and cheese. Ultimately, the mac and cheese won out!!

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This was a little heavy, but still really good! I'm not a super fan of bbq sauce, but this was pretty mild. The pulled pork and the cole slaw actually worked ok on top of the macaroni. The onion ring on top was really crispy and the perfect textural difference the dish needed. When I saw other people getting the pulled pork fries, I did regret not getting those. They looked great.

Mom went the simple route with the pulled pork sandwich:

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She liked it, but I think she was a little jealous of my macaroni and cheese.

We had walked down to the waterside seating area behind the restaurant to eat, and just sat there for quite awhile after we finished, enjoying the view.

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This is when she kept asking me for more pictures to send to my step dad so he could see how big Everest was, and be proud of her for riding, LOL

We sent this one:

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I think it does the trick! The coaster car does look pretty small climbing that mountain!

While we were sitting there, the CM cleaning up the area was chatting with us. He had done the College Program, and was back working there again after being away for awhile. He was very nice, and fun to talk to. You could tell he really loved working in this park. I think it's the park I'd like to work in, too!

When we finally decided to move on from our beautiful view (the breeze across the water was actually getting kind of chilly!), I noticed that It's Tough to be a Bug was getting ready to start a new show, so that's where we went next!

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I love first timer's reactions to this show, and my mother did not disappoint!

After this, I was getting tired. So was mom. Her earlier declaration that we would be able to stick it out and make it until dark was beginning to fall by the wayside. I asked if there was anything else she wanted to do, and she said, "Only Flight of Passage!" Ha! Sorry, no! I did pull up the app to check wait times just to see, and it was well over two hours of waiting. However, I did notice that the safari was only posted at 15 minutes!! Since we were headed toward Africa anyway, we picked up the pace and got to the safari as quickly as we could. Sure enough, the wait time was really that low...but we weren't the only ones who had noticed b/c people were beginning to flood the line. But we made it up there before the biggest rush of people.

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I got to sit by the window this time, and actually got some animal pictures. The animals were really active, so it was a great safari. How can you go wrong with giraffes??

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The elephants were also out...and I had a first! I got to watch one drink water!

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He's there right in the middle in front of the tree. It isn't the best picture ever, but I can't even tell you how excited I was to watch this animal take a drink. It was like I was watching Kevin Bacon take a drink or something. You'd think I was clueless about animal hydration, there is no reason for me to be that excited, LOL!!

And it just kept getting better because my second favorite safari animal (giraffe is numero uno!), the rhino, was out and about

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And then...it came walking toward us!! Ahh!! Can you fangirl over animals?? Because I totally was!

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The cheetahs were out and moving around, and the lioness was having a stretch

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After completing a very successful safari, we were both ready to go back to the Polynesian for the evening. As soon as we got back, we went to the lounge to catch the end of the heavy appetizer afternoon service.

I actually managed pictures of this! On past nights I'd had my phone in the room charging, but this time I had it with me

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On the big plate, there is bread, babaganoush, and red pepper hummus. The small plate ON the larger plate is a little tidbit of fried fish. The top plate on the right is tuna poke salad, and the one on the bottom is a goat cheese tart and two cubes of pepper jack cheese.

The tuna poke salad was delicious, and the goat cheese tart was...a goat cheese tart. I don't really like goat cheese, but this had other stuff in it that made me think I could overlook it. I was wrong. Mom liked those, though.

We had scored what was becoming "our" table by the window, and enjoyed watching the sun go down

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On the way back to the room I popped outside to see the sunset a little better

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We headed back to the room for awhile to just hang out and relax. We noticed they were doing a little maintenance and saw this cute sign:

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I changed into different clothes and washed my face and we went back up to the lounge when it was closer to dessert service time. We wanted to get up there early and stake our claim at those window front tables again - we were planning to watch Happily Ever After from the lounge!

We got there before dessert came out, but we didn't have to wait long.

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Clockwise from the top: S'mores tart (delicious!!), mini cherry pie (my fave, I had a couple more of these!), chocolate mousse cake (not as good as the peanut butter one from a previous evening), and a cream puff (just your average ordinary cream puff you can get anywhere).

I really enjoyed watching Happily Ever After from the lounge except for a couple of things: They did not turn off the lights, which made a glare on the windows, and the other people in the lounge were so loud you could barely hear the music.
For anyone who worries that there are not enough fireworks involved in HEA, I can assure you, there are still a LOT of fireworks in this show! It totally held its own as a firework show viewed across the water and not in the park where you could see the projections.

We had survived another long and busy day...and had another one on tap for the next day!

Our next park day will be spent at Hollywood Studios! I'll try to get more up tomorrow. Thanks for reading along!!

 

[missangelalexis]

You sure had a nice view while eating your food at Flame Tree!!

Good choice doing the safari before calling it a day!

Love the sunset photos!

So nice that you could watch HEA while eating some treats in the lounge- your own little dessert party!

 

[amalone1013]

Mac and cheese with pulled pork! That's a game changer for me. The fries sound delicious too!

In Sept we did ITTBAB... DH's aunt jumped out of her seat at the end

 

[MeghanEmily]

Which was obviously taken outside on the sidewalk, but I have no recollection of going outside?? I have no idea where the mystery snail came from, LOL!!

Maybe it's the same big guy we saw one evening at the Poly. I've got a picture of him somewhere, too.

Um, yes, thank you!!

No way! Awesome pixie dust!

I love the Magic Kingdom, and don't feel like I'm "home" until I see the castle, but Animal Kingdom is my favorite park. There's just nothing like it! I couldn't wait to show my mom this amazing work of art.

It's like you stole this thought right from out of my head.

Anyway, next to it I found my new favorite Disney wall. Bubblegum Wall and Purple Wall who?? Meet...Oddly Shaped Monkey Wall!!

WHAT? How is this wall a thing I didn't know about! New Insta trend!!

I think this one is my fave. lol

AMAZING! I love this!

I found my favorite poster:

Think ten times!! Are you done thinking?? THINK AGAIN!

I just can't get enough giraffes in my life!!

Amen to that.

I have not seen a single picture, even by a professional or Disney themselves, that comes any kind of close to showing how spectacular Pandora truly is.

I think this is a really true statement. You really have to experience it.

So what did we think?? Did my ride chicken/motion sick mom make it?

Yes she did! In fact, she declared it her favorite ride of the trip. She wanted to ride again until she saw the wait time.

No way! I was worried when you said you had this FP. Good for her for sticking it out!! My mom has issues with motion simulators, and she didn't have any problem with FoP. There's something about it.

Would we make it that long?? You know me, so what's your best guess?? LOL! I won't spoil anything but...it's our only other night to see Happily Ever After instead of Hallowishes.

Doesn't seem promising...

Sorry for that really unflattering photo, but it's all I have to show you just how soaked we got. It was like a never ending onslaught of water. It wasn't just us, everyone on that boat looked like they'd jumped directly into the water.

Oh. My. Gosh! You got soaked!!

I can't get over how wet you both were in these photos...

And yes, my mom exclaimed, "Claire Huxtable!" during the film part!

Bahaha yes!

That view though...

No way!! The rhinos are almost never up and moving...

I really enjoyed watching Happily Ever After from the lounge except for a couple of things: They did not turn off the lights, which made a glare on the windows, and the other people in the lounge were so loud you could barely hear the music.

Ew. Lame. But glad it was good otherwise.

 

[thumper*]

Glad you enjoyed your NY trip even if it was cold.
Looks like you and your mom had a great day.

For anyone who worries that there are not enough fireworks involved in HEA, I can assure you, there are still a LOT of fireworks in this show! It totally held its own as a firework show viewed across the water and not in the park where you could see the projections.

I thought the same watching it from the Grand Floridian.

 

[Raeven]

I was leaning over to tell my mom there was a photo and where to look...I look like an angry, crazed demon. We will pretend it does not exist!!!

But now I want to see it.

He's there right in the middle in front of the tree. It isn't the best picture ever, but I can't even tell you how excited I was to watch this animal take a drink. It was like I was watching Kevin Bacon take a drink or something.

What if you saw Kevin Bacon drinking water atop an elephant drinking water?

And then...it came walking toward us!! Ahh!! Can you fangirl over animals?? Because I totally was!

Sure you can!

They did not turn off the lights, which made a glare on the windows, and the other people in the lounge were so loud you could barely hear the music.

Boo!

 

[dnllmz]

Not today, Primeval Hurl. Not. Today.

Worst ride EVER! My first trip to Disney, I was pregnant with my daughter so I couldn't ride it. I was so upset because it looked like so much fun. Fast Forward to a year ago when I finally got to ride it with my son, hated that ride. Could it be any rougher? It hurts. I make dh ride it with my son while I do triceratops spin with my daughter.

I was torn between the pulled pork fries and the pulled pork mac and cheese. Ultimately, the mac and cheese won out!!

I think you made the right choice. We did the pulled pork fries this last trip and they were just okay. I think the mac n cheese would have been better. We'll try that next time.