It's going to be an "Incredible Summer" About This Page:

[Cam22]

You all amaze me at how much you can pack into a day! I, too, cannot understand seating the folks in wheelchairs so far away from the buffet. As always I love every photo of Abby with the princesses and other characters. She is also so happy with the biggest smile. Nice to have Ginger and Marci along for part of the day.

[SuperDave]

Great you got some PP meets in as they're always the best! You all had the quite active day and is an understatement for sure! I had one being the first time in quite some time last October in many years and it was the best time ever! Of course an amazing dinner in Queen Victoria's Room at V & A with Dot and Drew here helps! First PP meet for me since 2010. But had a bunch before this.


Sorry, no emoticons as option isn't working tonight on the sight. Always something here as much as I love it! But improvement are always being made.

[clio]

You guys manage to do so much in a day. It was nice that you could meet up with Ginger and Marci. Passporters are all such nice people.
I can't understand why the seat wheelchairs so far from the buffet. It's not very good for the one's that have to use them to get around and might want to pick out their own food.
It's nice that Abby's so independent but she still has to tell her dad where she's going. I can understand why Lenny was upset.
I like all your pictures and it's easy to see them in the format you're using.
Liz

[purplegal]

You guys had another long and busy day. It was nice that you were able to meet and spend time with two passporters.

[MayraLR]

Another great day in the books! It's amazing how much you guys do in the parks. I cannot go an entire day at a park anymore, I need my afternoon breaks at the resort.

[Colexis Mom]

Another long day, but a good one! I’m amazed at your stamina!

[CinderAbby]

Originally Posted by Cam22

You all amaze me at how much you can pack into a day! I, too, cannot understand seating the folks in wheelchairs so far away from the buffet. As always I love every photo of Abby with the princesses and other characters. She is also so happy with the biggest smile. Nice to have Ginger and Marci along for part of the day.

Thanks Cam. I can't understand why Disney does it either - and it's not just at Akershus, it's pretty much everywhere. Abby really does love the characters - I think even more so now that she talks to the face characters more. Yes, t was nice to have them along for a bit.

Originally Posted by SuperDave

Great you got some PP meets in as they're always the best! You all had the quite active day and is an understatement for sure! I had one being the first time in quite some time last October in many years and it was the best time ever! Of course an amazing dinner in Queen Victoria's Room at V & A with Dot and Drew here helps! First PP meet for me since 2010. But had a bunch before this.


Sorry, no emoticons as option isn't working tonight on the sight. Always something here as much as I love it! But improvement are always being made.

No worries on the emoticons. The boards have been funny for me too. Meets are fun. Only in Disney do I agree to meet people. Outside of there? No. I agree -it was an active day. Not so much when compared to our DHS day but it was still pretty busy.

Originally Posted by clio

You guys manage to do so much in a day. It was nice that you could meet up with Ginger and Marci. Passporters are all such nice people.
I can't understand why the seat wheelchairs so far from the buffet. It's not very good for the one's that have to use them to get around and might want to pick out their own food.
It's nice that Abby's so independent but she still has to tell her dad where she's going. I can understand why Lenny was upset.
I like all your pictures and it's easy to see them in the format you're using.
Liz

It was nice - and you're right, PPers are nice people. It's always good to put a face with a name (even if I have to write the name down to remember it ). No, it's not good that wheelchairs are seated so far away. Maybe Disney assumes (which they should never do) that people in wheelchairs don't want to go up to the buffet. I get the whole "treated the same as everyone else" policy that Disney has but there should be some common sense included in that. Yes, we want to be seated in a restaurant the same as everyone else but if you're put in an area that's difficult to navigate, then we don't get the same experience. People can walk through small areas and weave in and out of tables. Wheelchairs users can't do that, they need wide, empty areas and the tables are so close together that there is no such thing as a wide, empty area once people are sitting at the tables. Chairs block the way and at almost every table when we leave, we have to stop and say "excuse me, excuse me" so it can take a few minutes just to even leave the restaurant.

I was not happy either when Abby just kept going and didn't let him know. Being independent is a good thing but you have to be responsible too and let people know where you're going. We went as a family so the rest of us needed to know what was going on and where.

I'm glad you like my new format for the photos. It was more enjoyable to do them this year than it has been in the past with Photobucket. I guess they did me a favor when they decided to take my photos hostage. They've since released them - and I didn't have to pay for them either - but by the time they did, I'd made up my mind what I was going to do for photos this year.

Originally Posted by purplegal

You guys had another long and busy day. It was nice that you were able to meet and spend time with two passporters.

It was - but it was fun. We did enjoy it

Originally Posted by MayraLR

Another great day in the books! It's amazing how much you guys do in the parks. I cannot go an entire day at a park anymore, I need my afternoon breaks at the resort.

Thanks. I'm sure Lenny and Abby would like afternoon breaks but IMO it takes too long to take that break (for example, for us from the MK, it would be 2 hours away from the park just getting to and from the hotel, not including time at the hotel). I'd rather just stay and leave on the early side (although we don't really do that even do we?)

Originally Posted by Colexis Mom

Another long day, but a good one! I’m amazed at your stamina!

Thanks Marnie. I come home, write the TR and wonder where I get the stamina from because I certainly don't have it here. Getting up at 5:30? Yeah, no way does that happen here unless I have to for some reason - which I don't. 6:00 is too early for me here at home.

[CinderAbby]

Thursday morning, I woke up about 5:10 to use the bathroom. I had the alarm set for 5:30 so it wasn't worth it to go back to bed so I just stayed up and started getting things ready for the day. Abby was up at 6 and Lenny 10 minutes later. We were ready and out of the room at 7:15 and we were soon at Animal Kingdom. It wasn't an EMH day but there were a lot of people there already. Anyone there for breakfast reservations were allowed to line up at the far left touch points. Everyone else was made to wait in front of the ticket sales buildings. Somewhere around 7:45 or 7:50, we were let into the park and when I went to get the wheelchair, I ended up with a cranky cast member. When I approached her with my receipt, instead of a good morning or any other pleasant greeting, I got "we're not even open yet". The cast member made a few other comments but stamped my receipt and gave me a wheelchair so we went on our way commenting that if they weren't open for wheelchair and stroller rentals then why was she even there?

We headed to Tusker House, we were taken inside and saw Mickey, Goofy and Donald fairly quickly. We actually ate all of our breakfast and still hadn't seen Daisy yet. It was taking so long to see her that Abby finally said that if we didn't see Daisy by 9, we could leave the restaurant. We all know how much Abby loves her characters so for her to say that, you know we waited a bit. I would understand if she was taking a lot of time with the other tables in the restaurant but she wasn't at any of the tables - she wasn't anywhere in the room . Even our server didn't know where she was. So other than waiting for Daisy for so long the rest of breakfast was good.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/6fmttv8HeM14NgRNA

We left the restaurant a few minutes after 9. Lenny went to Pandora to get a return time for the Navi River Journey while Abby and I headed to the Pocahontas meet and greet. We were able to walk the whole path right down to the end. It took a few minutes before it was our turn and as we waited, I watched the character handler. She look really familiar and I was fairly certain I saw her doing the same thing 2 years ago. Turns out I was right - she said she actually recognized us too from before. How she could remember us two years later after the thousands of people she has probably seen, I don't know but it was cool. After visiting with Pocahontas, we went back up the long path to find the Lenny. I told him to meet us at the bathrooms near the start of that path. He told me the return time and instead of staying with us, I sent him to Dinoland to get in line for the Chip and Dale Chipmunk-Osaurus meet and greet. Abby and I meanwhile used our Fastpass for the Mickey and Minnie meet and greet. We didn't spend much time with them so it wasn't long before we were looking for Lenny again.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/DgL4WstMDrxnqPQr5


We found him at the front of what little line there was for the chipmunks. It was almost 10 - the time for all the Dino Bash meet and greets to start - so we didn't have long to wait. We got some cute pictures with them and as we were leaving, we walked by the Daisy meet and greet. We had just seen her at breakfast but her line was so short - only one family waiting - Abby wanted to see her again. Abby, being Abby, decided she wanted to get in line for the other meet and greets too. They were more out in the open and had longer lines (Daisy and the Chipmunks were along the Cretaceous Trail and kind of "hidden") so we sent Lenny ahead to get in line for LaunchPad. It took less than 5 minutes I'm guessing to join him and since we were at the end of the line, Lenny backed up on his scooter to get out of the line and get in the one for Scrooge McDuck instead. We got Abby's picture taken with Launchpad and then joined Lenny again. Once he was able to get out of this line, Abby wanted him to get in line for Russell and Dug so he did. By this time, the lines were getting longer for the meet and greets so we had a few minutes to wait but when we saw Scrooge McDuck, it was fun interaction. He noticed Abby's celebration pin - which we wrote H.S. Graduation on - and then he let the handler know he wanted a piece of paper. Once he was give it, he then proceeded to roll it up and hand it to Abby like it was a diploma.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/s53CcZDpKjakiDhs6

We headed back to Discovery Island to find Lenny and we did - at the end of the very long Dug and Russell meet and greet line. He was hot and the scooter took up a lot of room in the line so he said he would wait for us in the gift shop that is close by. It took a while to get through the line - the characters were gone when we got there and they left at least once while we waited, maybe twice but once Abby got to see the Wilderness Explorers, she wasn't done yet with characters. Up next we set off to find Lenny. Oops, I meant Timon. He was over by Creature Comforts and as soon as we saw the line, we got in it hoping we wouldn't be told the line was already closed. It wasn't and it only took a few minutes to see our 11th character of the day not including those we saw at breakfast. By this time, we were in our Fastpass window for Kali River Rapids. We were supposed to meet Ginger again and ride together but she had gotten a late start and she thought the window started an hour later than it actually did. With all the meet and greets we had done, we were behind ourselves and were quickly becoming "in danger" of missing Finding Nemo if we got in line for Kali. Since Ginger was nowhere close by. I texted her to let her know we were going to skip the ride and that I hoped we would get to see her later in the day when we had fastpasses in Pandora close together.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/eptfrwKgKBugX8z9A

[CinderAbby]

As soon as we got to the theater for Nemo, we were let inside so we were all glad we decided to go here instead. The show was good as always but I think I might have napped during some of it. From Nemo, we headed back to Dinoland where Abby and I rode Triceratop Spin since there was next to no line. Seeing Goofy and Donald there, Abby wanted to see them in their Dino Bash outfits but in order to still see the new UP show, she could only get in line for one of them. Abby chose Goofy as he had the shorter line. She did want Lenny to get in line for Donald but then changed her mind because his line was still too long even if Lenny waited for us.

Goofy is goofy so his interaction with Abby was funny. She was all smiles as she walked away from him. When we got back to Asia, the theater for UP was already open so we went right in. A few minutes later, I noticed Abby doing something. She was picking at the corner of her iron on and tearing it off. I don't know why she was ruining it and I don't know why it was peeling in the first place but she was making it worse. Had she left it alone, it would have been fine but each time she touched it, she only succeeded in upsetting herself over it as it was starting to look horrible. I got her to stop touching it and somewhat got her past it. Then she did something she probably should have done in the first place. She moved her celebration pin closer to it so no one could see the corner of the iron-on was gone. For Abby, a lot of things in life are out of sight, out of mind and this was no exception. Once she couldn't see the corner peeling, she was good to go about the rest of the day. As for the new UP show, it was okay. I really prefer the old show. They kept some of the old jokes but in my opinion, they just didn't fit so the show just didn't flow nicely. I'm glad we saw it but it needs help.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ndtBmqu2qE5fpsyF6

By now, it was getting close to our Flight of Passage Fastpass time. I had received a text at some point in time from Ginger that she was going to make it a short day and head home. We had plans to meet later in our trip at Disney Hollywood Studios too but those plans fell through also. That meant we wouldn't get to see her again. I was bummed out as we didn't really get to spend much time with her. Oh well. Things happen for a reason I guess. Since we weren't going to meet Ginger in Pandora, we took our time getting there and we stopped to get another new treat - some marshmallow wands made to look like a hippo.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/bZ7jBafidQCo4TbC6

They were okay - they were on the sweet side and I think they were made with white chocolate and I don't really care for it. Lenny didn't want one so I got him a blue raspberry slush instead. We made it to Pandora and Abby wanted some Photopass pictures taken so we stopped and did that first. I have to say I had no interest in Pandora / Avatar before going to that section of the park. After going, I still have zero interest in it. I wasn't impressed with it at all and had no desire to explore it. I was just glad when I found the lines for the rides which wasn't easy. Lenny wasn't feeling up to riding Flight of Passage so Abby and I left him sitting in the shade and went to find the line. We did and I couldn't believe how long it was - and I mean the length of it, not the amount of people in it. It was pretty much all uphill too. We finally made it into the building and in the line for the link chambers. Since I had no intention of riding and Abby would be fine on her own, she was sent into the pre-show area and I was shown the way to get out. The cast member was nice though - he said it was okay for me to wait at the exit for Abby where it was nice and cool. I did wait but called Lenny so he knew I wasn't coming right back. I told him we would meet him in the gift shop instead.

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Unlike a lot of other rides that dump you immediately into a gift shop, Flight of Passage has you leave the show building, walk down a very long path (and yes this one is all downhill) and then you go into the gift shop. After Abby got off the ride and while we walked down this path, I asked her how it was. She said it was good, she liked it, but I would have gotten sick on it. Hearing that made me glad I skipped it. I was also glad Lenny decided to skip it too. The all uphill path before and the all downhill path after would have been tough on the scooter. When we finally made it to the gift shop, I let Abby get a plush banshee. She seemed interested before vacation in the shoulder Banshee but there was no way at all I was going to pay for one. Besides, Abby likes to sleep with and hug her friends - the shoulder Banshee isn't one to sleep with or hug. The store had three different colors and since Abby had a hard time choosing between the two she liked, I let her get both. She also wanted the six legged horse. With her new friends safely in the bag, we went off in search of Lenny. Instead of coming to the gift store, he stayed outside. After we found him, we made our way to the Navi River Journey to use our return time. It seemed to take no time at all to get on the ride and the thing that surprised me the most out of the whole ride experience was how large the exit platform was. Most of them are very small areas but not this one. It just seemed odd to me how large it was. As for the ride it was a boat ride. I could sit for a few minutes inside where it was nice and cool. Other than that, I still wasn't impressed and it's not a ride I'm going to rush to get back on. In all honesty, it's a ride I would be fine with skipping completely on future trips.

[CinderAbby]

Once we made it back to the main area of Pandora, I told Abby to lead us to the path that would put us near Festival of The Lion King. I had no sense of direction here and didn't know which way to go. Lack of signs didn't help either. It was Abby's first time too in the section of the park but I knew she would know where to go. Somehow she did and we finally made it to the bridge that would take us to Africa. We used the bathrooms first and then we went to get in line for the show. The wheelchair corral was already full but the cast member said we definitely would be able to get in and see the 4 p.m. show. He just wasn't sure if Lenny would be able to stay on the scooter or not. That wasn't a problem as sometimes Lenny sits on the bench anyway. When we got inside, we were able to keep the scooter but they took the wheelchair and parked it somewhere. We enjoyed the show and after the floats were moved and the doors were opened, I saw the wheelchair. It seems no matter what time of day we see this show, it's always raining when we leave and today was no different. People were actually leaving the theater for change but very slowly so after I got the wheelchair and returned to Lenny, we used the time to get out all the rain gear.

We were hungry by now and wanted to go to dinner but we stopped to get a return time for the Safari first. The cast member devices didn't like the rain so it took a few minutes but when we were done, we went to Pizzafari. It was only 4:50 and our ADR for the family style dinner wasn't until 5:15 but I was hoping they would let us in early. When we got to the restaurant, they weren't even set up yet so we just waited. As soon as the podium was wheeled out, a family walked right by us and up to it to check-in. The podium is set up between two doorways and I guess because we chose to not be rude and block either one, that meant we weren't in line to check in. Whatever. We got checked in and I went to the register to order our drinks and get the salads. This meal was covered by our quick service credits and since Lenny could get a beer with them this year, that's what I ordered for him. Abby and I just had orange soda. After I had the drinks and the salads, I was shown to our table by a cast member where we already had everything we needed (forks, napkins, plates). There was a cart with condiments (salt, pepper, etc) that Abby had gone to while I was at the register so we had those things as well.

Despite what all the pictures online showed for the salads, we got bigger ones more appropriately sized for three people. The first - a caesar salad - I let Lenny and Abby eat as I didn't like it. The second - a Caprese salad - we all liked but Lenny and Abby let me have it. After a few minutes, the rest of the meal was brought to the table: a cheese pizza ( pepperoni is the standard unless you request just cheese), baked ziti, fettuccine alfredo with chicken and cannoli. The pizza was good and filling. The baked ziti, for me, had zero eye appeal but tasted good. There was a lot of cheese so it was also very heavy. I was careful with how much of it I ate. The fettuccine was really good. Some online reviews said it was bland and was lacking sauce but we did not find that to be the case. It had good flavor and enough sauce. It could have had a little bit more chicken - there were only 3 strips of it and Lenny and Abby wanted a little more of the protein. I didn't miss the chicken myself. The cannoli were good too. Lenny had a little bit of trouble eating it because the shell was crunchy but Abby and I enjoyed them. Overall, it was a good, filling dinner. We would certainly book it again if it sticks around. It was funny though, about halfway through the meal, Lenny commented that for three people there should have been more food. By the end of the meal however, we all agreed it was just the right amount of food. We all got some of everything and we ate everything that came with the meal. None of us were left hungry or feeling bloated and over full when it was done. It's something we would pay cash for if we didn't have meal credits to pay for it.

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We were done with dinner about 6 p.m. so after a quick trip to the bathroom, we went to the safari. It was sprinkling here and there and since we didn't break out the rain gear again ( at least not that I remember) Abby said we could pretend we were on Kali River Rapids getting wet as we never did get back there to go on the ride. It worked for me. The Safari ride was enjoyable. It was cool out and we saw a lot of animals. Abby once again took all the photos. I enjoyed it so much that if there had been no line at the wheelchair loading dock when we returned, I was going to ask if we could go around a second time. There was quite a line when we got back though so we got off and went on our way.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/k7Gqcxww9uxmYEb49

It was now after 6:30 and Abby wanted to go to Dinoland to ride Primeval Whirl. I wasn't so sure it was the best thing to do after dinner but I figured what's the worst that could possibly happen? Luckily by the time Abby and I actually got on the ride (we did the regular standby line) nothing did happen. It was about 7:15 when we were done and Dinoland was closing early that night so Abby just wanted to go get in line for Rivers of Light. It was early but there was nothing else she wanted to do. I used the time to call home to mom and somewhere around 8 p.m., the theater was opened. We were so early that because Lenny said he didn't want to transfer, we were shown to the very front row down by the water.

Here's where my long story is going to be cut short. Someone, who shall remain nameless, turned into a complete and family-friendly termed donkey. Things were said, someone cried, two people pointed fingers and said "it's your fault," and someone threatened to leave and go home. Needless to say, the night ended on an extremely sour note. The really sad part about it is the show we stayed for wasn't even that good. I didn't like it online and didn't want to see it but I was outvoted. What Lenny and Abby liked online, they didn't like in real life. Had it been good, then maybe it would have been different, but it wasn't so that just added insult to injury at that point in time. We left the theater after most of the crowds and as we made our way to the entrance, if we found ourselves getting caught in them, we just moved over to the side until it thinned out again. By 10:30, we were in our room. Abby went right to bed and Lenny and I sometime thereafter.

[SuperDave]

A lot accomplished in AK with so much fun and attractions. It was a long one and well worth it! Sounds like a great meal at TH and a place I still need to try as just so many options now. Sorry the day ended the way it did! Besides this most of it was enjoyable!

[patclairesmom]

Another full packed day! It looked like a lot of fun but sorry it ended not so good

[pamcarey]

So many great pictures from all the character meets! I love the chipmunks in their dinosaur costumes! Those are adorable, and something that I haven't seen before! Yours is the first review that I've read of the new Up show. Sorry to hear that it isn't quite up to snuff.

[Colexis Mom]

Another long day! Glad you were able to fit in so many characters! Wow! Sorry the night ended on a sour note. I’m sure everyone was tired at that point!

[NanaTink]

I am always amazed at how much you get accomplished every day! You are a master planner! Sounds like a pretty ok couple of days (I was behind) but I'm so sorry for the finish of your AK day. Hope all smoothed out after everyone got a good night's sleep!