End of Summer Horrah! Day 3
Cast:
Me –Denise- 35
DS- Collin- 12
DS- Landon- 10
DMom- Sheila- 60
Monday, July 30 –Day 3
Today we were supposed to get to AK early, but instead we slept in. When the alarm went off I asked if anyone wanted to get up, and the answers I got were a few different grumbles! LOL. So we slept in today.
Once we were up and well rested we decided it might be a better idea to wait till after lunch to go to AK and close the park. With the heat we experienced midday at MK yesterday we really didn’t want to be in AK during that time. Landon had been begging to go take a look at the new Art of Animation resort so that’s what we decided on.
On our way out Collin asked if we could please also go WL for a bit. He loves WL, would live there if he were allowed! WL was our first stop. No matter where we stay, or how much we love new resorts, WL will always be our “home” in WDW. It’s the place we feel the most comfortable in the minute we step through those doors. We spent about an hour just hanging around WL. Of course we had to check on “our living room” on the 4th floor. It was just as we left it in December. LOL. We browsed the gift shop, I gave the boys some money to play in the arcade for a bit, and my mom and I relaxed in the lobby of the villas next door. It’s so quiet and peaceful in the villas lobby. It feels like you’re in someone’s home rather than in a hotel lobby. We took a quick walk around the pool area, took in the beauty of the main lobby and headed back out.
At AoA we checked out the check in area and the gift shop before heading out. Collin was more interested in the arcade so he stayed in there while we toured the outside. We just looked over the Nemo area quickly. It’s really cute, but nothing stood out to us all that much. The Cars area was amazing. We LOVED it. There was so much to see, so many cool details. We took tons of pictures. Landon wanted to pose with everything! This is an amazing place to stay with any little boy who is a Cars fan! Disney really did this one right. And I loved the pool! The cone cabanas were too cute! Landon really wanted to see the Lion King section. He is a huge Lion King fan! The fences were still up so we only got a peak. We were only able to see things we’d already seen on the internet. That was kind of a bummer for Landon, but I’m sure we’ll see it soon enough.
We decided to grab lunch in the food court. My mom and I ended up getting the same thing. We got the Mongolian Grill Beef Stir Fry, with multigrain rice, Naan bread, and acorn squash. This was good enough, but let’s just say it looked way better than it tasted. It wasn’t bad, just not as good as I was expecting. I’d definitely order something different next time. The boys each got a pepperoni pizza, and we got a little cheesecake sampler to share for dessert.
I think the AoA resort looks amazing. I can see us staying there in the future. When it was first announced I said we’d never stay there because we don’t need a family suite for just the 4 of us and my boys wouldn’t want to stay in a Little Mermaid room. I’ve changed my mind. We’ll definitely stay there in one of the family suites at least once. Perhaps for a shorter trip, or for a few nights of a longer trip.
Once again it was that time of day when the heat was at its worst so we headed back to CBR to swim. This time the boys asked that we just go to the pool “by our room”. I was shocked. The main reason for us staying at CBR again was for the main pool. So we spent an hour or two at the quiet pool by our room. The boys went between playing on the beach and the pool. They went back and forth the whole time and were having a ball. It’s amazing that for kids who love pool slides, they had just as much fun entertaining each other without the fancy slides. When we first got to the pool they went straight to the beach. My mom and I were enjoying the quietness of the pool along with several other guests when here comes Collin and Landon running at full speed and both screaming “cannon ball” as they jumped into the pool. I looked at my mom and said “sorry folks, quiet time is now over”. LOL. I did ask the boys to please be quieter and not splash around too much as this was the “quiet pool”, and the guest here were enjoying some quiet time. They looked around like “what the heck’s wrong with these people, it’s too quiet here”. But they obeyed and were very quiet and mindful of those around us.
We decided if we were going to have any chance of doing anything at AK we better get going. We arrived at AK around 4pm. The park closed at 7 so we had just 3 hours there. We headed straight for EE. There was just a 25 minute posted wait so we got in line. The wait was actually just about 20 minutes and it felt like it went very quickly. While in line had our one and only experience with the tour groups that were in WDW at the time. Just as we got in line the line behind us filled with blue shirts as far as the eye could see. It was an all girl group of what looked like well over 100 girls. At one point they did a little chant. I think they chanted two short lines and they were done. There wasn’t even enough time for eye’s to start rolling. LOL. I looked back and they were all laughing, smiling and having fun. That was the only time we heard anything from any of these groups. We did see a few more groups throughout the week, but they weren’t doing anything any other park guest wasn’t doing. We had no issues at all as far as tour groups go.
After Everest we headed for Dinosaur. We walked right onto Dinosaur, and when we got out the rain was starting. We ducked into a shop for a minute, but the shop filled quickly. We decided to put on our ponchos and keep going! We splashed our way to the safari. When we passed by EE the line was now down to 5 minutes and the ride was still operating in the rain. I asked the boys if they wanted another quick ride. First they said yes, but before we were in line they decided they really wanted to go on the safari.
We walked right on to the safari ride. This was the best safari we’ve ever done. The rain had just stopped and the animals were all out and about. We had several giraffe walking across the road. We had to stop and wait for them to pass. That gave us such an up close look at them once we were able to move on. The lion was also up and walking around on his “perch”. In the past we’ve only been able to see his mane from the vehicle, as he is usually lying down. This time he was up walking around, and there was a lioness with him. They were playfully nudging and biting at each other. It was very cool to see. I was really hoping he’d roar for us! LOL. Then there were two smaller elephants (not babies, just smaller) that were splashing each other in a little pool of water. Definitely the best safari we’ve ever been on at AK. After the storm passed through the temps were very, very pleasant. Maybe that had something to do with how playful the animals were.
After our safari we hurried over to the last FOTLK show of the day. We were among the last few guests let in! Again, I don’t know if it was because it was the last show of the day and the CMs put everything they had into it, but this was the best showing of FOTLK we’ve seen. We’ve watched this show probably a dozen times, but this was just so full of life. Don’t know how else to explain it. I’ve loved it in the past, but this was just something else!
When the show was over the parks was closing. On our way out we stopped in a few shops picking up a few things here and there, and also still looking for my Dooney. Still no luck on that front.
We got off the bus at Old Port Royal and decided to have dinner in the food court. After dinner we stopped for a bit at the tables and umbrellas just outside Old Port Royal. They were setting up the outdoor movie so we stayed for a while. I asked the boys if they wanted to go for one more swim since we were leaving for YC in the morning. This would be their last chance to swim here, but they didn’t want. They said the air was “too cold” to swim in. Imagine that! July 30 in WDW and its too cool to swim. The air was very cool and the wind blowing made it feel even cooler. I checked my weather app on my phone and it was just 77! We watched the movie for a bit, even got to see the fireworks from Epcot in the distance before we decided to head back to the room and get some things packed up for our move tomorrow.
I took a lot of time when packing to ensure easy moves. I only had a few things to throw in a bag and we were ready to move in the morning. Collin and I even walked to the car to put a few things in that night. We had made quite a few purchases and I wanted to make sure we could fit everything and easily be able to grab what we needed, without breaking anything, once we got to YC. Everything fit perfectly and we called it a night!
Up next: Chef Mickey’s and YC!!
