🚀 go-pugleaf

On Feb 5, 11:21 am, Rudeney <rude...@mickeypics.com> wrote:
> Steve Russo wrote:
>

> > We walked to Kilimanjaro Safaris and rode with a short wait. It was an
> > excellent safari with some very up close looks at some rhinos and
> > giraffes. One giraffe crossed in front of our truck and stayed by the
> > road until we passed. I did notice a change - we still corral the
> > poachers for Wilson but the Little Red storyline is gone.
>
> I wish they would get rid of the whole poacher storyline anyhow.  It's a
> terribly hokey and contrived ending to an otherwise great attraction.

It's only an educated guess but... the last part of the safari ride is
devoid of any animals. Other than vegetation, it's devoid of anything.
The story line let's the truck race through it with some semblance of
'entertainment' until you're at the unloading station. That's my take,
anyway.


> > When the show ended, Barb headed to a restroom and I visited First Aid.
> > The place was empty and the nice lady listened to me say "blister". She
> > asked "Heel, bottom or toe?" I said "Heel" and she pulled out a
> > laminated card with 5 or 6 life-size pictures of differently-shaped
> > bandages. She pointed to one that was H-shaped and said she recommend it
> > if I thought it would cover the blister. She gave me 5 of them. I put
> > one on there and it worked like a charm.
>
> Five?!  Good grief!  I'll bet ticket prices go up again just because of
> that!

Bwahahahaha!

> > Things I Think I Think - I think we didn't spend enough time at Animal
> > Kingdom this trip. I didn't see either of the walking trails, DeVine,
> > etc.
>
> Actually, that's one of the "pifalls" of staying at the Crescent Lake
> area - it's just too convenient to go to Epcot, so the other parks
> suffer your absence.

Epcot is also our favorite park. But, you're right.

>
> > I think it will be fun to stay, on DVC points, at the new
> > Contemporary building. I've never stayed on the monorail line.
>
> I wonder why all the secrecy about this resort?  In other DVC
> properties, they have always announced it even before breaking ground.
> It makes me wonder if maybe it's not a DVC resort, but something else.
> Maybe just more deluxe rooms.

They've always been hush, hush about the next DVC resort while they're
still selling memberships at the current one (Animal Kingdom Villas).
I'd bet that, as soon as AKV nears 100% sold out, they'll announce the
Contemporary Villas.

Steve Russo wrote:
>
> Today is actually the first real day of vacation because. OK, I've got
> nothing here but I'm keeping the theme going. I'm psyched.

Sorry, yesterday was about perfect, so I think this is not working any
more!  Barb, a smacking please...

> It's our last full day and we haven't yet visited Animal Kingdom so
> that's where we're headed. We rise at 7:10. 7:10! I haven't slept past
> 7:00 in years. Yesterday must have been special.

With a belly full of booze, Chateaubriand, and French pastries, I'm
surprised you woke so early!

> We get to the bus stop at 8:20 and I notice I'm getting some pain from
> my heel. What's up with that? It was fine all day yesterday. I take a
> bench, remove my shoe and peel back the sock and see that the Band-Aid
> has come unstuck - probably when I put the sock or shoe on, it pulled
> loose. Now it's a rolled up mess that was putting pressure on the
> blister. I took it off completely and was going to head up to the room
> for another when I remembered the park First Aid stations. I could get
> one there.

Yeah, why use your own bandages when you can bilk them from Disney!

> The bus was along in just a couple of minutes and we made it to the
> Animal Kingdom at 8:40. There were very long lines, 30-40 deep, at each
> of the turnstiles. So we did what I would never advocate. We entered the
> RainForest Café, walked through the gift shop, and entered the park at
> the turnstile there - behind only 2 other people. There was a
> half-filled soda cup on the turnstile. The CM asked if it was mine. I
> said it wasn't but I'd be happy to dispose of it for him. He thanked me
> and I carried it to the nearest receptacle and dumped it.

A small gesture in restitution for breaking in line.

> We walked up to the rope and commented it was the closest to the opening
> ceremony we'd ever been. At rope drop, we walked with 80% of the crowd
> toward Expedition Everest (ExE). We breezed through the queue and were
> in the 4th row of the 2nd train of the day. It's really a great ride and
> there's a lot to recommend it but. I really don't enjoy the backward
> ride in the dark. Maybe I'll get used to it if I ride it more frequently.

Hmm, I enjoyed ExE because it was so smooth.  I hope it stays that way.

> We walked to Kilimanjaro Safaris and rode with a short wait. It was an
> excellent safari with some very up close looks at some rhinos and
> giraffes. One giraffe crossed in front of our truck and stayed by the
> road until we passed. I did notice a change - we still corral the
> poachers for Wilson but the Little Red storyline is gone.

I wish they would get rid of the whole poacher storyline anyhow.  It's a
terribly hokey and contrived ending to an otherwise great attraction.

> We hustled down to try to make the 10:30 showing of the Festival of the
> Lion King (FotLK). On the way, we passed the First Aid station but, we
> were short on time to make the show and my foot felt OK so I thought I'd
> go there later. The show, as always, was great. However, on entry, we
> encountered yet another seat saver. When we entered, the place was
> probably 80% full. A woman in front of us was trying to save 5 spots on
> the bench. The CM said, "I'm sorry, but they have to be present. There
> are a lot of people that want to sit." The woman responded rudely "*I'm*
> sorry but I'm not giving these up." The CM just continued helping others
> find seats. After the show started, several people came in and climbed
> over others to reach these seats.

Good grief I hate that!  I know that the CM's try to be helpful and
friendly, but I really wish they would be a bit more assertive with rude
people like that.

> When the show ended, Barb headed to a restroom and I visited First Aid.
> The place was empty and the nice lady listened to me say "blister". She
> asked "Heel, bottom or toe?" I said "Heel" and she pulled out a
> laminated card with 5 or 6 life-size pictures of differently-shaped
> bandages. She pointed to one that was H-shaped and said she recommend it
> if I thought it would cover the blister. She gave me 5 of them. I put
> one on there and it worked like a charm.

Five?!  Good grief!  I'll bet ticket prices go up again just because of
that!

> Now it was a forced march back to the Beach Club. I needed to get up to
> the room and pick up my Southwest confirmation number, then get down to
> Lobby Concierge to ask them to check us in and print out our boarding
> passes. And this needs to be done precisely at 2:30. We made it with
> minutes to spare and the nice CM at Concierge was understanding and got
> in right at 2:30 to get us 'A' boarding passes, numbers 29 and 30.

Oh the joys of flying the cattle cars of the skies!

> The delay notwithstanding, we enjoyed it a lot. I'll rank the burger
> above Big River's but, it's made on one of those metal grills - and I've
> always been partial to burgers cooked on them. The bill was $19.59 and
> included $3.42 gratuity and a $3.80 DDE discount.

That's a pretty decent price, in Disney terms.

> Back to the room for a little rest. We were out again at 6:00 and walked
> to Epcot for our last ride on Soarin'. It was drizzling the entire way
> down. For some reason, it took us almost 30 minutes for this ride. When
> we exited the Land, that drizzle had become rain - it was pouring. We
> u-turned and went down to the Seasons food court and shared a soda and a
> table for 15-20 minutes. When we saw fewer ponchos entering upstairs, we
> figured it was safe to leave.

Smart observation there, Steve!

> Back in the room, we shared the ice cream, finished the merlot (now
> there's a combination)

Yuck!

> Things I Think I Think - I think we didn't spend enough time at Animal
> Kingdom this trip. I didn't see either of the walking trails, DeVine,
> etc.

Actually, that's one of the "pifalls" of staying at the Crescent Lake
area - it's just too convenient to go to Epcot, so the other parks
suffer your absence.

> I think it will be fun to stay, on DVC points, at the new
> Contemporary building. I've never stayed on the monorail line.

I wonder why all the secrecy about this resort?  In other DVC
properties, they have always announced it even before breaking ground.
It makes me wonder if maybe it's not a DVC resort, but something else.
Maybe just more deluxe rooms.

> I think
> Beaches and Cream has a very good hamburger, maybe the best on property
> - but their service today was not good.

You should have complained.  You might have gotten another Magical FP!

> I think I hate to pack for the
> trip home.

Amen!

--

- RODNEY

Next WDW Vacation?
Who knows...

Steve Russo wrote:
> On Feb 5, 11:21 am, Rudeney <rude...@mickeypics.com> wrote:
>> Steve Russo wrote:
>>
>
>>> We walked to Kilimanjaro Safaris and rode with a short wait. It was an
>>> excellent safari with some very up close looks at some rhinos and
>>> giraffes. One giraffe crossed in front of our truck and stayed by the
>>> road until we passed. I did notice a change - we still corral the
>>> poachers for Wilson but the Little Red storyline is gone.
>> I wish they would get rid of the whole poacher storyline anyhow.  It's a
>> terribly hokey and contrived ending to an otherwise great attraction.
>
> It's only an educated guess but... the last part of the safari ride is
> devoid of any animals. Other than vegetation, it's devoid of anything.
> The story line let's the truck race through it with some semblance of
> 'entertainment' until you're at the unloading station. That's my take,
> anyway.

Yeah, I think you're probably right.  But I *wish* that it could be
different!

>>> I think it will be fun to stay, on DVC points, at the new
>>> Contemporary building. I've never stayed on the monorail line.
>> I wonder why all the secrecy about this resort?  In other DVC
>> properties, they have always announced it even before breaking ground.
>> It makes me wonder if maybe it's not a DVC resort, but something else.
>> Maybe just more deluxe rooms.
>
> They've always been hush, hush about the next DVC resort while they're
> still selling memberships at the current one (Animal Kingdom Villas).
> I'd bet that, as soon as AKV nears 100% sold out, they'll announce the
> Contemporary Villas.

Really?  I thought they had announced AKV far before they even began any
construction, and before SSR sold out.  I know they announced SSR before
they started construction.  I wonder if DVC sales are waning, and they
are afraid that announcing a new resort will "dilute" the supply?

--

- RODNEY

Next WDW Vacation?
Who knows...

"Rudeney" <rudeney@mickeypics.com> wrote in message
news:foajvi$49n$1@registered.motzarella.org...
> Steve Russo wrote:
>> On Feb 5, 11:21 am, Rudeney <rude...@mickeypics.com> wrote:
>>> Steve Russo wrote:
>>>
>>
>>>> We walked to Kilimanjaro Safaris and rode with a short wait. It was an
>>>> excellent safari with some very up close looks at some rhinos and
>>>> giraffes. One giraffe crossed in front of our truck and stayed by the
>>>> road until we passed. I did notice a change - we still corral the
>>>> poachers for Wilson but the Little Red storyline is gone.
>>> I wish they would get rid of the whole poacher storyline anyhow.  It's a
>>> terribly hokey and contrived ending to an otherwise great attraction.
>>
>> It's only an educated guess but... the last part of the safari ride is
>> devoid of any animals. Other than vegetation, it's devoid of anything.
>> The story line let's the truck race through it with some semblance of
>> 'entertainment' until you're at the unloading station. That's my take,
>> anyway.
>
> Yeah, I think you're probably right.  But I *wish* that it could be
> different!
>
>>>> I think it will be fun to stay, on DVC points, at the new
>>>> Contemporary building. I've never stayed on the monorail line.
>>> I wonder why all the secrecy about this resort?  In other DVC
>>> properties, they have always announced it even before breaking ground.
>>> It makes me wonder if maybe it's not a DVC resort, but something else.
>>> Maybe just more deluxe rooms.
>>
>> They've always been hush, hush about the next DVC resort while they're
>> still selling memberships at the current one (Animal Kingdom Villas).
>> I'd bet that, as soon as AKV nears 100% sold out, they'll announce the
>> Contemporary Villas.
>
> Really?  I thought they had announced AKV far before they even began any
> construction, and before SSR sold out.  I know they announced SSR before
> they started construction.  I wonder if DVC sales are waning, and they are
> afraid that announcing a new resort will "dilute" the supply?
>
IIRC, they didn't announce AKV until SSR was well along (80% sold?). I could
be wrong, but...

They did start selling AKV pretty early (probably after construction
had begun), but at that time the only other thing they had to sell was
Saratoga Springs and that was pretty far along.  They don't like to
have too many resorts that aren't sold out - so I'm assuming they'd
like SSR to be "done" selling before they start selling both AKV and
Contemporary, even though both AKV and Contemp will be finished
construction near the same time (roughly).   They'll also have the
Grand California expansion in CA as well as the new resort in Hawaii
to sell, but since those locations are nowhere near WDW it's no big
deal - they won't be competing with the WDW DVC resorts in terms of
sales (much).

Sue/WDW1972

In article <47a3aa80$0$24114$4c368faf@roadrunner.com>,
 "Steve Russo" <srusso@nycap.rr.com> wrote:

> At rope drop, we walked with 80% of the crowd
> toward Expedition Everest (ExE). We breezed through the queue and were in
> the 4th row of the 2nd train of the day. It's really a great ride and there's
> a lot to recommend it but. I really don't enjoy the backward ride in the
> dark. Maybe I'll get used to it if I ride it more frequently.

I think you might.
I found that part the scariest/most disconcerting part of the ride on my
first trip, but still enjoyed it. After riding it multiple  times in a
row (6 or 8x.  I WAS with a 21 year old!) with DD in September I think
it has become either my favorite ride in all WDW, or certainly in the
top 3.

--


Sandi

In article <foa2ed$2sk$1@registered.motzarella.org>,
 Rudeney <rudeney@mickeypics.com> wrote:

> I wonder why all the secrecy about this resort?  In other DVC
> properties, they have always announced it even before breaking ground.
> It makes me wonder if maybe it's not a DVC resort, but something else.
> Maybe just more deluxe rooms.

There's an interesting thought.  Maybe some deluxe family suites?
They way they did them at the value resorts?

--


Sandi