The Birthday Trip

Good morning.

It is our final morning here at the Most Magical Place on Earth. It is wet and gloomy, and the rest of the day promises to have poor weather. Unfortunately, we might be flying into a thunderstorm heading to Chicago as well. So this will be an interesting day of flying.

We plan on spending the rest of our day at Epcot before heading out to the airport in early afternoon. So unless something comes up, this will be my last transmission here till after I get back.

Zz.

Greetings from Orlando airport. We made it here in good time, and getting thru security wasn't a big hassle this time around.

We started the day by parking at Epcot and then taking the monorail to MK to get the Sorcerers cards for today. We then left MK and got back to Epcot. First thing we did at Epcot was buy the pins that were released today, including the new DVC pin and the Memorial Day ducks pin. Both were on out request list from our friends back home.

We then did Soarin and TT. Had lunch at Sunshine Seasons, did Maelstorm, and did some shopping at the Norway pavilion store. I bought a sweatshirt there to wear when I get into cold Chicago this evening. I'll take a photo of it later because it is rather cute.

This was a wonderful trip, and I am sure my friend had a terrific time. He has already talked about coming back with his niece and her family and planning on what to do based on what he learned from this trip. I many turn him into a big Disney fan just yet!

It is drizzling and wet here in Orlando, and the weather doesn't look promising in Chicago either. Hope we have an uneventful flight.

Zz.

Good morning.

We are back home. Arrived almost on time (15 minutes late) yesterday. Luckily, the bad weather hasn't come in yet into the Chicago area, although the high winds made the landing rather "adventurous".

Our friend profusely thanked us for inviting him to come along. I told him that I hope he would consider coming along with us again, and he replied "at a drop of a hat". I wouldn't hesitate to say that we all had a wonderful time, even with all the rain coming down during the last couple of days in Orlando.

I will need to recover a bit and then upload a few more reports and photos from the trip. I consider the Wanyama Safari and the birthday dinner as being the 2 big highlights of the trip. So there's plenty more to write about.

Zz.

Good for you. They don't call me the enabler for nothing!

You'll enjoy it, both the safari and the dinner at Jiko.

Zz.

On the final day of out trip, I bought several things, including new pins that were released that day. However, I also bought these two items.

The first was something I've mentioned elsewhere. I bought a Kringla from the Norway bakery for the plane ride home. Yum!

Secondly, since I knew that I would be flying into cold Chicago weather, I decided to use that as an excuse (as if I need one) to buy a sweatshirt. I decided to buy this charming hoodie from the Norway pavilion gift store (The Puffin Roost, I think).

I wore that at the airport terminal and got a few chuckles from people.

Zz.

This was the panoramic view from our balcony. I miss it already.

Zz.

Actually, none!

The 3 seats in a row on the plane were all taken by our gang. And I was sharing the Kringla (we bought 2) with all 5 of us (the other two were sitting behind us). I did not notice anyone having any envious look at us.

Maybe next time I'll pass it around by raising it way up high above the seats so that everyone can have a good look at it!

Zz.

This trip reinforces my notion that visiting Disney theme parks is way more enjoyable when you either know what you are doing or you do it with someone who does!

My first trip to WDW was in 1995. I didn't grow up visiting Disney theme parks. So I came into it rather late as an adult. That first trip was pleasant, but it was almost a non-event. We had fun, but that was it. We didn't have any plan on coming back. It was more of a "been there, done that, let's move on to the next one".

Then came 2000. We went with a friends who are avid Disney fans, and certainly know the park inside out. It was a totally different experience. I learned a lot more about Disney theme parks, got to see the details that I missed the first time around, and did a lot of fun, cool, neat stuff! I had one of the best times of my life that very first trip. We then did it again the next year, and with a bigger group of people. It was even better that time! The rest, as they say, is history.

Fast forward to April/May 2013. The friend that we took had visited WDW a few times. However, on this trip, he had the same revelation as I had back in 2000. The park looks and feels very, very different when one visits it with someone who knows the park inside-out, and who also has such enthusiasm for it. He stated a few times that our enthusiasm for Disney and the theme park is very "contagious", and that it added a different dimension to the visit. Of course, he learned about pin trading, about the various stories and theming at various parks and attractions, etc. And he also learned a few secrets here and there that can often make a difference.

So I definitely was a bit amused that I see history repeating itself. And it does not change my strong opinion that a Disney theme park is better enjoyed with someone who knows it very well, especially if you are a newbie or don't know much about it. This past trip is clearly one clear example of that.

Zz.

I used to get that reaction from people who didn't understand (i) why I collect all these Disney pins and (ii) why I keep going back to the same place. It is only after I explain to them why for each of these do they finally get it. They still shake their heads, but they understand, because anyone who has traveled to different places can tell you that you will always find something new that you've missed when you go back to the same place. Certainly, this is true for Disney theme parks since there are so many things they do there that there is simply way too much to discover on a single visit.

I still have a list of things that I want to do at WDW. I don't think I'll get to all of them, but I'm going to try. That's one reason I keep going back!

Zz.

I posted earlier a few photos from the Wanyama Safari while I was still on the trip. Here is a more detailed coverage of the Safari, which was very enjoyable.

The safari started at 4:00, but we were told to register starting at 3:30 at Jiko. Turns out, it was nice showing up early because they set up a table where we were served tea (Rooibos tea) and finger food while we sat and got acquainted with other participants of the safari.

This is a photo for all of us who went on that safari. It was a fun group of people and we enjoyed chatting with each other, both during the safari and throughout dinner later that evening.

At 4:00 pm, we were given a briefing about the safari and escorted to our safari vehicle, show here.

Of course, we had one of the animal keepers on board with us, giving us very detailed description of the safari, the animals, and the running and taking care of them at the AKL safari areas.

Here we are about to get to the backstage area of the safari. There are several gates one has to go through. Since these animals are not native to the area, there had to be double fences (at least) to make sure there's no possibility that they will escape the area. So there were times throughout the safari where we had to go through 2 different gates.

Here we got to see some of the animals that are being cared for in the backstage area of animal care.

Still traveling to the entrance to the first safari area. Here you can see the double fence where on the right side of the right fence is the actual safari area. If one looks to the right, one will see (as shown in the photo), the villas at Kidani Village.

Here we are finally, about to enter the first safari area by Kidani Village.

As soon as that gate was opened, there is another gate we have to go through. But notice that we also have to get pass this feathery guard watching over us.

Once we were in, we immediately saw several giraffes hanging around by the fence.

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The next few photos are all the of the safari areas at several locations all over Kidani Village.

There were lots and lots of animals to see. And yes, this was the same ostrich that greeted us earlier. It was shadowing our vehicle ever since we got in.

You'll see some photos where we got real close to a few of the animals. This was quite a treat to everyone on the vehicle. We stopped for several minutes at various places, and near the animals, so that we got a good look at them and get to ask questions.

This is the set of gates to get us to the Jambo House side of the safari. If you look carefully just above the fence, you'll see a head sticking up, checking on us. It was very cute!

Yup! There he is! This was our welcoming party of one!

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The next set of photos are the safari at Jambo House.

Hello Mr. Giraffe!

This is actually the wing where our room as located. We are right up on the top floor, facing this part of the safari. The animals you see below were what we often see when we look out from our room.

The view from the open truck.

Soon it was time to leave the safari. The 90 minutes went by so fast!

We were escorted back to Jiko for our 4-course dinner. Donald was very excited when he looked at the menu.

Jiko, of course, is one of my most favorite places to eat in all of WDW. The decor is just amazing, especially this depiction of migrating birds in the restaurant.

This was our menu. Each course was accompanied by a wine or cocktail service.

Our first course was the flat bread service, accompanied by several dipping sauces. All delicious!

Our second course were various rolls and appetizers. Donald thoroughly approved of it.

The third course was the main entree. As you can see, there were plenty of food. We had beef (filet mignon), chicken, and fish.

The beef was excellent, served with asparagus and au jus.

The chef preparing the meal came at the beginning of every course served.

Donald had a great time nibbling on my plate while I ate. He didn't touch the chicken, though.

But he did sampled all the dessert!

At the end of the meal, we were each given a goodie bag.

And this is the content of the bag.

It was a very enjoyable safari. There were a lot to see, a lot of fabulous food to eat, and the company was excellent. I would definitely consider doing it again next time we stay at AKL.

Zz.

Glad to be the enabler!

Have you had dinner at Jiko before? If you haven't, then this is a very good intro to that wonderful restaurant. If you have, then this gives you a different perspective on dinner there since it will be family style. If you do book this safari, make sure you arrive at Jiko at least 15 minutes early to enjoy the afternoon tea that they serve before the safari. I was told by my friends who took the Wanyama Safari tour a year ago that the tea service and also the gift bags are all new. They didn't have that when my friends took the tour earlier. So they are insanely jealous and now want to do the Wanyama tour again!

Zz.

I took this picture at dawn one morning from the balcony of our room. I like this shot not just because of the colors, but because in this light, you can clearly see the top of Everest at DAK in the background.

Zz.

I've been having a battle between the new video camcorder and my video editing software. So videos for this trip will take a little bit longer to come out. But here's the first one, albeit a bit of a lower resolution than I would like. It is a compilation of the Wanyana Safari.

Enjoy!

Zz.

Still battling with my Sony Vegas video editing software. I may just give up and move everything to iMovie.

In any case, here's the 2nd video from this trip.

Zz.

Thank you, thank you! Nice to make people smile. I'll even take "happy tears".

More to come, I hope.

Zz.