DAY 9 - THURS 24th SEPT
Up at 8:00 and we
have breakfast in the room.
I drive to the Animal Kingdom and we arrive around 9:30.
The first stop today is the Festival of the Lion King. I
had heard so much about this show that I was preparing
myself to be disappointed.
I am very glad to say that I was definitely not
disappointed.
This show is superb. The lighting, the voices, the
dancing, the floats, the acrobats are all wonderful. This
makes it 4 must-see attractions at the Animal Kingdom.
We exit the show into one of the character greeting areas
where the girls get the autographs of Pooh, Eeyore and
Tigger.
Tigger is being particularly bouncy and I think that the
CM that is with him is having a little trouble keeping
him under control, but that's what Tiggers are for, isn't
it? All four of us get our picture taken with Tigger ,
which is one of the very few times it happens on this
trip. Funny, I'm never in any of the video either. I put
it down to the fact that my good looks would outshine
everyone else. Hey, I heard that sniggering!
Over to Africa again for a ride to Conservation Station.
Now, I know the ride itself is nothing special, (it is
nice to see behind the scenes, though) but the train is
fantastic, as are the stations.
I can appreciate that the lines must get long in peak
season but we have no trouble getting into anything this
trip. The longest wait has been 30 mins for Kilimanjaro
Safari, nearly everything else in all the parks is either
a walk-on or a very short queue.
Again, I have read complaints about the walk from the
station to the Conservation Station. Come on! It's not
THAT far and I would imagine that it's done to split up
the crowd of people leaving the train. I'm probably wrong
of course, I usually am.
Conservation Station itself is very informative and
indoors, which is very important as it has just started
to rain hard. If you are looking for thrills, you will
find none here but if you are interested in the way they
care for animals and are prepared to be educated a
little, then you will find it fascinating. My favourite
thing here was the Rainforest Sound Booths, very
relaxing.
We wait for the rain to ease off, then return to Africa.
On to the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail. There are
many great things to see here including the mole rats,
hippos and aviary, but, of course, the main draw is the
gorillas. For the first time we are actually grateful for
the rain. Apparently the gorillas like to come out after
the rain and it has just eased off.
We see at least 3 from the bachelor group and a mother
and youngster from the other side. The area that they
have to roam in is big and wonderfully landscaped, with
waterfalls and trees all around.
We spend about 30 mins watching these magnificent
creatures and talking to the very knowledgeable CM.
Georgia and India take loads of photos, none of which
will come out very well due to the distance involved (no
zoom) but we don't discourage them too much as they are
so excited.
This is the 5th not-to-be-missed attraction, but is
obviously dependant on being lucky enough to see the
gorillas.
We could stay here for hours but eventually have to move
on.
I spoil all my good work getting into Tammy's good books
by suggesting that the mother gorilla looks a bit like
Tam before the make-up is applied in the morning. Me and
my big mouth.
You may be just getting the faintest suspicion that we
like this park
We try to see Flights of Wonder but the show is replaced
by a scaled down training demonstration due to the rain.
It is now 3:00 and we decide on a late lunch/early dinner
at the Rainforest Cafe.
We are told that there will be a 30 min wait but it is
actually more like 15. This place is fun, I have been to
the one in London but it is the first time for everyone
else. The girls love it and India is convinced that the
cheetah above us is winking at her.
Tammy and I share the Mojo Bones (ribs) with onions and
waffle fries and the Awesome Sampler both of which are
really nice, especially the coconut chicken from the
sampler.
We share the coconut bread pudding for dessert, which is
excellent. the bill is about $60 dollars including
drinks, tax and tip.
I can see that too many repeat trips might lessen the
novelty factor but we all rate this very highly indeed,
good food at a reasonable price and interesting
surroundings.
Back for a shower before we head for the Poly to sit on
the beach at the RADP meet and watch Rock n Rockets. Or
so we think.
We get the bus to the Magic Kingdom and the monorail to
the TTC. As we go to walk into the Poly there are 2
security men at the entrance and a voice says 'RADP?'
It is Randy from Illinois. He tells us that the Poly has
been closed off to everyone except those people that are
staying there.
This is very annoying as we have just that morning
received from Disney details of Rock n Rockets which tell
us all about restrictions at the Contemporary at the road
around it but make no mention of any of the other hotels
being closed. Not very Disney-like.
We hang around for a while to see if anyone else turns up
and Randy says he is going to stay and watch the
fireworks from a small mound by the car park. There is no
way Georgia and India are going to sit around for 90 mins
in a car park with nothing to do so, reluctantly, we say
goodbye to Randy and walk over to the TTC.
I am so disappointed. I have never been to a RADP meet
and I was really looking forward to meeting everyone. Oh
well, at least we will see the fireworks tomorrow. (See
details of tomorrow's trip report for that particular
disappointment.)
By the way, the rain has stopped and it is a perfect
night for it.
We get on a bus to the Disney Marketplace instead. I hate
shopping. OK, shopping in a Disney environment is not so
bad as normal but Tammy has that glint in her eye. Help!
Georgia buys one of those fibre optic wands that she has
wanted since she saw them at Epcot so she is happy.
Back to the hotel and in bed at 11:30 so I get away
fairly lightly.
Look out, Hurricane Georges is supposed to affect us
tomorrow.
