Title Chosen: World of Friendship! October 2017 Girls Getaway: Aloha to the Poly/ MCO Hyatt p33-4

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Aww... it sounds like you're doing all you can to make your father happy. :)

OK, here is my favorite "Thones" comic:


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My dad is so much happier knowing he will be moving in a couple of weeks. I really did not expect the reaction he would have to the place he is living now. He is the one who suggested looking at places. He is a fairly social guy, so the idea of being with others was something I thought would be good for him, but it hasn't been a good fit for him.

:sad2:
 
We did the Caring for Giants tour too, during our holiday vacation. Miss Stella was 1 year and 1 day old. I enjoyed the tour, and got my kids to hold a lump of elephant poop. Okay, it was sealed with a clear coating. A craptastic picture. It was around $35 dollars, and the tour guide and lady from Africa were great. The pins we got are in our scrap book. That, and only some of the tons of pictures we took. They had just been given food, so we got some very good shots and saw them much closer than I have in any other tour, other than when we had elephants in our local zoo.

Awesome trip report.

:wave2: Dee.
 


We did the Caring for Giants tour too, during our holiday vacation. Miss Stella was 1 year and 1 day old. I enjoyed the tour, and got my kids to hold a lump of elephant poop. Okay, it was sealed with a clear coating. A craptastic picture. It was around $35 dollars, and the tour guide and lady from Africa were great. The pins we got are in our scrap book. That, and only some of the tons of pictures we took. They had just been given food, so we got some very good shots and saw them much closer than I have in any other tour, other than when we had elephants in our local zoo.

Awesome trip report.

:wave2: Dee.


Hi Lynne!

:wave:

Long time, no see, but I see we are still doing a lot of the same things on our trips.

I'm so glad you had a great elephant tour!

::yes::
 
To Market, To Market


Our Caring For Giants tour ended a little after noon.

Sue & her husband parted ways with us at this point, but we had plans to meet up with them for dinner at Via Napoli later that afternoon, with other mutual friends.

We were ready for lunch, so I suggested a place I had not tried before that was nearby.


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Lunch / Dinner (Updated: 11/17)

Entree/Main Course


Beef and Lamb Gyro Flatbread - thin sliced Gyro Meats inside a Grecian Flatbread filled with Lettuce, Tomatoes, Cucumbers and Tzatziki Sauce, served with Green Papaya Slaw and Black-eyed Pea Salad - $10.99
Beef and Pork Sausage [Famous Sausages] - Fried in Curried Corn Batter served with Green Papaya Slaw and Black-eyed Pea Salad - $9.99
Grilled Chicken Skewer - Wood-Grilled Chicken Thighs marinated and rubbed with African Spices, served with Green Papaya Slaw and Black-Eyed Pea Salad - $9.99
Grilled Vegetable Stack - Grilled Portabella Mushroom, Tofu, Zucchini, and Yellow Squash topped with Arugula and a Pesto Balsamic Dressing, served with Green Papaya Slaw and Black- Eyed Pea Salad - $9.99
Ribs - African Spice-rubbed Ribs with a Barbecue Glaze, served with a Green Papaya Slaw and Black-Eyed Pea Salad - $13.49
Tikka Masala Chicken - Marinated Chicken in a spiced Curry Sauce, served with Basmati Rice, Black-Eyed Pea Salad and Grecian Flatbread - $10.99



I grabbed a table and watched all of our stuff while the others ordered our food.


As we did often during this trip, ~Ninja and I split a meal, the Beef & Lamb Gyro. There was plenty of food for us to share, especially since we would be having a big dinner soon.

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It was delicious!!!


Janet got the corndog and Nannette had the chicken skewer.


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After lunch we split up once again.

Nannette, Janet & Ninja returned to the our room at SSR. I think Ninja rested and the other two gals headed over to Disney Springs for some shopping.

I decided to spend a little more time at Animal Kingdom doing something that I haven’t done in almost a decade.


Continued in Next Post: I Just Can’t Wait…
 
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I Just Can’t Wait…


The Lion King holds a special place in my heart for a lot of reasons. It was one of the Disney movies my kids watched when they were young. Lions were my older son Nate’s favorite animal growing up. The songs from the movie are among my favorite from Disney movies- Just Can’t Wait to Be King, Hakuna Matata and call me warped, my favorite Disney song of all time: Be Prepared!

When I’m on a trip with my family, or on a class trip with middle schoolers, shows are not the priority, so it had been way too many years since I have seen this show that features so many incredibly talented performers. I grabbed a seat in the Lion section and spent the next half hour watching the dazzling scenery, singing along and snapping photos.

The rest of this part of the update is going to be pictures only, no commentary.





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Next Up: Finding the Way Out
 
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Finding the Way Out


When the show ended, I decided to leave Animal Kingdom and make my way to EPCOT for some solo time before meeting up with everyone for dinner at 5.

Two paths diverged on the way to the exit. I took the one more traveled (through Pandora) and that made all the difference.


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As I rounded the corner around a building, I saw this bird reflected in the water. I watched for a little while until it flew off


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I walked slowly through Pandora, taking in the detailed theming of the area.


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As I was leaving, I glanced back at the Tree of Life.


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Next Stop: EPCOT
 

:lmao:

My dad is so much happier knowing he will be moving in a couple of weeks. I really did not expect the reaction he would have to the place he is living now.

I know. You seemed pretty pleased with your selection.

He is the one who suggested looking at places. He is a fairly social guy, so the idea of being with others was something I thought would be good for him, but it hasn't been a good fit for him.

:hug: Hopefully this one will work out better.

I thought I had taken a picture that showed the water line from the Hurricane Irma flooding:

You did!
But that one is more clear.


Will read the update later. :)
 
Love Harambe Market especially the chicken skewer.

FOTLK is always great.

Loved that you looked at the details in Pandora. That is one of my favorite parts of the land.
 
AK is our least favorite park, so we have skipped it on many of our shorter trips. For me, FOTLK is worth the price of admission. I feel it's as good as many broadway shows.

Possibly because I wasn't a fan of Avatar, but I'm just not blown away by what I have seen of Pandora. Maybe I'll get the attraction more when I see it in person. I'm definitely looking forward to riding Flight of Passage, though. No offense to your photos, that are awesome as usual!

Solo time in Epcot? Sounds like heaven to me!
 
Sue & her husband parted ways with us at this point,

That's so sad. Maybe they can patch things up and get back together.

It was delicious!!!

Good to hear!
I had the corndog.... and was not impressed.
I wound up peeling the cornmeal off of it and just having the sausage.

call me warped

Okay. You're warped.

I grabbed a seat in the Lion section and spent the next half hour watching the dazzling scenery, singing along and snapping photos.

And from all the great photos, it looks like you had a great time. :)


Nice capture!

I walked slowly through Pandora, taking in the detailed theming of the area.

It's really something, isn't it?
 
Ooh I'm glad you got to go back to the Lion King show! It's so excellent!

The details in Pandora are really impressive! Sounds like the first part of your day in AK was pretty successful! Curious to see where you were headed for dinner that night...
 
Love the Lion King movie so much I was very pregnant with Kathy when it first came out in theaters
To her it’s her first Disney movie :goodvibes
We always have to see the show every trip
The music and the performers are just magical
Your lunch at Harambe looks really good
Looking forward to exploring Pandora more on our upcoming trip
I know we missed so much being focused on FOP
 
Sounds like a nice lunch stop!

Glad you could see FotLK after so long! And you're right, a great soundtrack! You got some great pics at the show, as well as on your way out of the park!
 
:hug: Hopefully this one will work out better.

We visited with my dad and took him to lunch today- his 85th birthday is tomorrow.

Dad's moving day is Friday.

It shouldn't be too bad- his current space is a studio and is pretty small, so the only big things are his bedframe/mattress/box spring and the work table for his computer and a rolling chair.

His house is only about a mile from the new place- there are a few things we will get from there for his new apartment.

::yes::
 
Love Harambe Market especially the chicken skewer.

FOTLK is always great.

Loved that you looked at the details in Pandora. That is one of my favorite parts of the land.

The skewer looked good! I love African and Middle Eastern food, so the menu was right up my alley.

I was so glad I went to the show!

There is so much to see in Pandora! I think it's going to take a while before it "gets old"

:goodvibes



AK is our least favorite park, so we have skipped it on many of our shorter trips. For me, FOTLK is worth the price of admission. I feel it's as good as many broadway shows.

Possibly because I wasn't a fan of Avatar, but I'm just not blown away by what I have seen of Pandora. Maybe I'll get the attraction more when I see it in person. I'm definitely looking forward to riding Flight of Passage, though. No offense to your photos, that are awesome as usual!

Solo time in Epcot? Sounds like heaven to me!

On previous family trips, and on class trips with the middle school, AK has been a half-day park. If you don't see the shows (and my boys and the students don't), then Everest, Safari, Dino- done!

Flights of Passage is darned amazing!

:thumbsup2
 
That's so sad. Maybe they can patch things up and get back together.

Good news! They were back together when we saw them for dinner!


Good to hear!
I had the corndog.... and was not impressed.
I wound up peeling the cornmeal off of it and just having the sausage.

I don't remember Janet raving about the corndog.


Okay. You're warped.

Thanks!

And from all the great photos, it looks like you had a great time. :)

I really did!

:simba:

Nice capture!

Thanks! I love photographing birds. My dad's a bird guy, has done a lot of volunteering with avian organizations. My son Nate worked at an Audubon center this past summer and is taking an ornithology class this semester. Lots of bird talk when we get together!


It's really something, isn't it?

It must have been so fun for the imagineers to design this land. My friend Rebecca's son was interning with Disney and he worked on some of the project.

:thumbsup2
 

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