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Trip Log:
This morning we headed to Disney’s Animal Kingdom taking an 8am bus and arriving at the park around 8:15am. Hiked out to Kilimanjaro Safari which was posted at 40 minutes. Due to several animal pauses it took just over 30 minutes, it should have been less. We stopped several times for several minutes on our trip too. By the time we exited it was up to 85 minutes. Took a walk through Gorilla Falls to see what was going on then caught the 10am showing of Festival of the Lion King. After the show boarded a train to Conservation Station and walked around there. Once back to Harambe strolled over to Asia and the Jungle Trek to see the Tiger Cub. Not much happening so decided to grab lunch at Yak & Yeti around noon. After lunch took a walk through Dinoland USA to see the Tropical Americas work then catch the new band. Decided to take a second pass through the Jungle Trek and saw a little movement with the tiger cub. Kilimanjaro was posted at 15 minutes so walked that way and it turned out to be a walk on. After my safari took the Tree of Life trail back toward DinoLand and walked onto Dinosaur (it was posted at 15 min). It was just after 3pm and I decided to exit the park and take a bus to the Contemporary Resort to check out the chocolate eggs creations. Spent some time in the Grand Canyon Concourse catching up on emails and taking a look at the Lakeshore Resort Construction. Boarded the Monorail to the TTC then transferred to the EPCOT line. Walked out to the International Gateway to wait for the rest of my group. Then we caught a performance on the Old Mill Stage in Canada. Next up a visit with Figment on Imagination with was a walk on. Waited about 5 minutes for Spaceship Earth then spent some time in World Celebration Gardens. Decided to visit the Land and go on Living with the Land which was a walk on this evening. Once back on shore returned to the front of the park to see the topiaries after dark and watch Spaceship Earth for a few sequences. About 8:30 started to make my way to World Showcase and walk around starting at Mexico. Reached Italy with under 10 minutes until showtime and most of the plaza was open so found a spot in the 2nd row standing for Luminous the Symphony of Us. After the show finished my loop existing at the International Gateway and walking back to the Boardwalk to call it a night.
Thoughts & Observations:
- Started my day heading to Disney’s Animal Kingdom. We encountered only a few minute wait for the bus and no delays at the park.
- First up a visit to Kilimanjaro Safari. The queue moved very slowly as there were a lot of animals blocking the trucks. We could hear very long gaps between trucks. This caused the lightning lane return to back up and the stand by to move even slower.
- Once onboard our safari included a good assortment of animals out and moving around this morning.
- By the time we exited it was 85 minutes and LL returned filled its overflow queue space. The standby looked to be barely moving.
- Gorilla falls had a few gorillas out but not much happening.
- Looked at the clock and had a few minutes until the first Festival of the Lion King of the day at 10am so decided to give it a try. This turned out to be great. We walked in and were seated right away and the show started a few minutes later.
- Time for another complaint that I make every visit… we trekked out to Conservation Station and were able to catch the last few minutes of a checkup. It would be great to have this information in the app or even at the train station on a board so you know ahead of going out there.
- Stopped by the Maharajah Jungle Trek in Asia to see Basko the tiger cub. The cub was out with its mother but neither was moving much when I was there. Of course the people around said how active they were earlier!
- For lunch choose to eat at the Yak & Yeti. The Landry’s Select paid off again with only a few minute wait during the noon hour for a table. The meal and service were good as usual. It has always been expensive but was pricey coming in at just over $100 for basic meals and soft drinks with an annual pass discount.
- Stopped by Dinoland USA to take a look at the Tropical Americas Project. They are continuing to remove the former DinoRama area and the backstage berm in preparation for the Encanto attraction. The rest of Dinoland remains open at this time.
- Eco-Rhythmics are a new trio that are currently performing near the entrance of Dinoland. I thought their sound was unique and fun to listen to.
- I made a second visit to the Maharajah Jungle Trek to try and get some better pictures of Basko the tiger cub. He was in a better position but not that active overall.
- Decided to pay a visit to Dinosaur. I have never been a fan of the attraction. Getting tossed around in the dark is not my idea of fun. I am looking forward to seeing how they change the attraction to be an Indiana Jones theme. I think it will be a huge improvement. I am still not sold on how the attraction fits into the overall theme of Animal Kingdom though.
- I had a block of free time in the afternoon so decided to visit the Contemporary to see the eggs. The Bus ride to the resort took about 25 minutes total but it sure felt longer. The egg creations are on display in the lobby on the ground floor near Steakhouse 71. I really enjoyed them and found it to be a fun display. From the fourth floor I took a look across Bay Lake at the Lakshore Lodge project. I really do not understand the need for a 10 story story building out at Fort Wilderness. It is really going to change the skyline and feel of the area and I do not think for the better. I know it is more economical but why could they not have capped it at three or four stories or so to preserve the tree line and blend in better.
- Returned to EPCOT for the evening. The Moana topiary display at the entrance for the Flower and Garden Festival looks good during the day and at night has some lighting effects. The effects work ok but the general bright spot light lighting of the display is less than ideal after sunset.
- Stopped by the Old Mill Stage in Canada to see a performance by Les Raftsmen. I did not care for their song selection of style unfortunately.
- Paid a visit to Journey into Imagination with Figment. After all these years I am still disappointed to ride. The attraction is in need of some TLC too. It is looking a little run down.
- My timing for the butterfly house at sunset was less than ideal and there were almost no butterflies visible and moving around.
- Speaking of needing some renovation and TLC… visited Spaceship Earth. Compared to the last few visits we made it through with only a few minor slowdowns and stops, nothing major. The attraction seems to continue to limp along and is in need of an update.
- Living with the Land has received a number of displays for the Flower and Garden festival. They were interesting to see and added a little but were not overly impressive and were not a draw like the holiday lights.
- The Beacon of Magic lights on Spaceship Earth appeared to be having a problem this evening. The sequences were not running and it seemed stuck on a short loop/sequence. This continued on through Luminous too.
- As I was walking around World Showcase I noticed they had one section of Italy open for day guests so I found a spot there in the second row just before showtime. Unfortunately my view of the Magic Kingdom fireworks was obstructed by the Imagination building.
Pedometer Information for the day:
| Steps |
25,938 |
| Miles |
11.87 |
| Walking Time |
248 |
| Total Time |
13:24 |
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Part 1 - Disney's Animal Kingdom
Spent the morning at Disney's Animal Kingdom where I visited Kilimanjaro Safari, Dinosaur and the Maharajah Jungle Trek.
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Part 2 - Disney's Contemporary Resort
Stopped by the Contemporary Resort to see the chocolate eggs on display then took the Monorail to EPCOT.
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Part 3 - EPCOT
Spent the evening at EPCOT where I visited Living with the Land and saw more of the Flower & Garden Festival.
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Addition Blog Picture Posts from today:
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