Day 4 – Animal Kingdom, Garden View Tea Room, Restaurant Marrakesh in
Morocco, Disney Studios
Today we had a full schedule and went to three parks! Daughter dressed in her pretty green peacock dress, tiara, sash and black knee high chucks. We headed out to the bus stop and took a bus to Animal Kingdom!
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| Animal Kingdom sign with a Beastly Kingdom dragon in the middle |
Before we left home, I told them both about the Beastly Kingdom and
how there were still nods to it at various places in Animal Kingdom. Because of this we were more interested in
getting our photo by the Animal Kingdom sign because of the dragon in the
middle. There were not many people in
line for this Memory Maker photographer because everyone wants to get their
photo in front of the Tree of Life, which is also super cool and we got that
photo later.
We had fast passes scheduled for Expedition Everest at 9:40am,
Kilimanjaro Safaris at 10:55am and Dinosaur at 1:00pm. After entering the park we decided to head
through the DinoLand U.S.A. on our way toward Everest. As we were walking through a cast member told
us that Daisy and Donald were doing meet and greets so we decided to meet
them. Their meet and greet area was
super cute and I was particularly taken with the elephant bees that were
hanging from the ceiling. I think I may
have to Paper Mache’ elephant bees for home now. Seriously cute!
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| Elephant Bee |
Next it was our turn to meet Daisy!
She was wonderful! So fun and
engaging! She was very taken with daughter’s dress and her handler said she should get Donald to buy her one. Daisy rubbed her fingers together and pointed
to Donald insinuating he is too cheap to buy her a new dress! All of the women laughed, the men rolled
their eyes. Dudes! We girls need new dresses sometimes!
Daisy took off her bracelet and put it on daughter for the photos and she started her new tradition of taking character selfies with Daisy. The photographers were again amazing and took
the best photos!
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| Meeting Daisy |
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| Daisy put her bracelet on daughter and posed |
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| Daughter and Daisy selfi |
Next we went on to meet Donald. He wanted to know if she got her drivers license yet and she told him
she is a cyclist. He wished her a Happy
Birthday anyway. He was really funny.
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| Posing with Donald |
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| Donald selfie |
As we were heading back up the path daughter had a dress
malfunction. She had detachable straps
on this dress and the hook on one of the straps fell off. I had brought a sewing kit just in case but
left it in our room. It did a lot of
good sitting in the room instead of in our backpack. Daisy was walking up the path with her handler
to take a break, she waved at us, and the lovely handler asked if we needed
help. I explained the issue and she said
she would look for a safety pin. She
came back out shortly with two safety pins and she saved the day!! Dress malfunction fixed thanks to a kind
Disney cast member.
Next we headed over to Expedition Everest, still in our fast pass
window. As we walked, we passed Devine
doing her thing. Daughter didn’t remember
ever seeing her so we stopped for a few moments and watched while daughter snapped some photos.
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| DeVine |
We arrived near the
entrance to Expedition Everest and hubby found a place to park and watch as the
trains come down the mountain while daughter and I proceeded to the line. When we got there the lines were closed and
cast members said it would be open in a few minutes. So we waited and sure enough in a few minutes
the lines opened up and we scanned our magic bands and went through the fast
pass line. Daughter and I love the queue
but we really didn’t get time to look since the line was moving at a quick
pace. Although, that is not a complaint,
boarding quickly is always awesome. We
boarded our train and we were off to face the Yeti! We had so much fun! Hubby said he saw us since I was wearing
bright red and daughter was wearing bright green.
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| Expedition Everest ride photo |
After the ride we headed over to Anandapur Local Foods Café, also
known as the Yak and Yeti counter service, for an early lunch. We got there just before they opened at
10:30am so we had a few minutes to look over the menu. We were on the dinning plan so we each got an
entre’, drink and dessert. Hubby and daughter both got the sweet and sour
chicken and I went for the beef lo mien.
We all got a soda or tea and banana pudding for dessert. It was good!
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| Sweet and sour chicken |
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| Beef Lo Mein |
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| Banana Pudding |
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| Chicken good |
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Very happy!
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We sat outside under the covered area and
just enjoyed our food and talked about what was next on our itinerary. I also posted a few photos on instagram,
because I wanted to share the banana pudding.
I believe it was during this time that I realized I had gotten a text
from Disney saying that Expedition Everest was closed and our fast passes had
been canceled. Except that they worked
when we went through the line earlier, so I’m not sure what to say about that.
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| On the way to the Safari |
Next we headed over to the Kilimanjaro Safaris. This was the only time I ever saw a fast pass
line longer than the stand by line. It
was kind of an odd sight. The cast
members used ropes on poles to create a line that looped 3 times outside of the
fast pass entrance next to the fence. The corners were a little tight for the wheel chair but we made it
around with a little help from some of the other guests. Once we passed the fast pass magic band scan
the line moved pretty fast. When we got
to the covered jeep loading area we were motioned to a wheel chair entrance at
the end of the first loop. It turns out
that all of the guests in wheel chairs or ECV’s are loaded on a second dock
area past the main loading area. So
everyone on that jeep is using some type of mobility assistance. They have that loading area worked out to a
science. The person in the mobility device is rolled to their row and told to
go ahead and load in the waiting jeep.
Their family loads with them and the chair is taken and parked
nearby. When the jeep comes back to that
dock, their chair is there waiting for them.
It was kind of amazing. I should
have taken a photo of the area, but I didn’t.
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| The jeep in front of us |
We had a great time on the safari.
I love it because it is different every time you ride. We saw lots of animals, including an Ostrich
that ran along next to our jeep. We also
saw ostrich eggs. Pretty cool!
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| Waiting for our jeep to depart. You can kind of see the handicap dock behind us. |
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| White Rhino |
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| Hippos |
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| I think this is one of the tour bridges, but maybe not |
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| waterfall |
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| gator |
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| elephant |
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| Giraffe says Hi |
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| Upside down tree. I believe they are called Baobab. |
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| zebras |
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| Ostrich racer |
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| Ostrich eggs, I wish there was something next to them to give scale. |
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| coming into dock, the handicap dock is the 2nd building. |
On our way out of Harambe we watched a drum band play. I believe they are called afrikanische Band. They were really good and many people shook
their booties as they watched.
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| Band in Harambe |
We went
into some of the stores and looked and then headed back toward Asia and went on
some of the paths. It was at this point
I realized how tired I was. Animal
Kingdom is the hardest park to navigate with the wheel chair. It is hilly and some of the paths are
narrow. This is the one park hubby is
not comfortable wheeling his self through because of the terrain. We found a table near the restrooms and took
a little break. We decided to go ahead
and head to DinoLand U.S.A. to our Dinosaur fast pass and then go to the Pocahontas
meet and greet and then leave the park for our afternoon tea at the grand Floridian.
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| Expedition Everest |
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| The Tree of Life |
We had ridden Dinosaur in the past and enjoyed it. It does jerk hubby around but since he had
ridden it recently he felt okay with ridding it now. It was different than it had been in October. The ride seemed much darker, as in not very
well lit, and much jerkier than remembered. Every time I see the ride photo I crack up because we all look dazed and
confused.
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| We are in the back row, looking confused. |
After this we headed over to Discovery Island to find the Pocahontas
meet and greet. We had to ask directions
on a few occasions but we did eventually find the correct spot. Pocahontas was wonderful! She and daughter chatted a little and got
photos and a selfie and daughter was very happy.
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| Pocahontas meet and greet |
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| Pocahontas selfie |
We decided to get a family photo with the Tree of Life in the back
ground on our way out. One of these days
we are going to spend a whole day at Animal Kingdom on the trails. It’s on our bucket list.
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| That's the Tree of Life sprouting up between hubby and myself. |
So we headed out of the park and caught a bus going to the Grand Floridian
for our afternoon tea ADR at 3:40pm. As
we got closer to the resort, daughter started talking about how fancy the resort
looked. When we walked past the
carriages and the door man welcome us her eyes lit up. When we walked in and were greeted with “Welcome
Home”, she was absolutely glowing. We
were a little bit early but went back to the Garden View Tea Room and let them
know we were there but we were all going to go to the bathroom to freshen
up. The cast member told us take our
time and that our table would be ready when we returned. As I walked into the women’s restroom I looked
back at daughter and saw her twirling like a little girl.
When I came back out she was talking to a
lovely cast member named Cheyla. They
were talking about hair, clothing and birthdays. We all chatted with her for a little while
and took photos with our new found friend.
She was really lovely and we enjoyed meeting her.
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| Daughter and Cheyla |
We headed back to the Tea Room for afternoon tea. We were seated to the right of the door near
the windows that look out at the wraparound porch and over gardens and the
lake. It was a really lovely view. Daughter sat on a bench seat and Daddy-o and I
sat in chairs across from her. Daughter was sitting up with her back straight and her legs crossed at the ankles, just
like Queen Clarisse taught Princess Mia in the Princess Diaries. My girl had her Princess on in a big way.
Our waiter, Patrick, was wonderful!
Shout out to Patrick for being awesome!
You are given a menu to decide which tea service you want. We all chose the Buckingham Tea which
includes your choice of a pot of tea and 3 courses which include tea
sandwiches, scones, tarts and dessert.
It was actually much more filling than we had anticipated.
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| The super awesome Patrick! |
The tea menu is quite extensive and Patrick explained a bit about each
of the menu sections. In the end daughter chose the Mad Hatter Tea, Daddy-o chose the Vanilla Earl Grey and I chose the
Strawberry infused Green Tea. We tasted
our own teas and we tasted each others. All of them were very good but everyone’s favorite hands down was the
Mad Hatter blend. I need to get my hands
on this for enjoyment at home if at all possible.
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| Looking at the menu and feeling happy. |
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| Cozy Teapots |
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| Pouring tea |
Our 1st course arrived and was a sandwich plate that
included cucumber
and watercress, egg salad, salmon, curry chicken salad, roasted pear and
gorgonzola, and an onion tart. I was intrigued by the onion tart. I thought it would be savory but it was
actually fairly sweet. My favorite of
the sandwiches was the egg salad. I’m
not sure what herbs were in it but it was delish. Daughter surprised me by declaring the salmon
her favorite. Hubby really liked the
curried chicken salad.
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| 1st course and tea |
The second course was the scone plate and included a strawberry jam
tart and a raisin scone with strawberry jam, Devonshire cream and lemon
curd. Each of the spreadable items were
tasty by themselves, but put them all on a bite of scone at the same time and
it was heavenly.
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| 2nd course |
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| Daddy-o enjoying a scone |
The last course was the dessert, to which my husband commented that he
thought we had just had dessert. There
are a few options but we all decided to pick two of the pastries off of the pastries
tray. We all picked a swan cream puff
with orange cream. Daddy-o also picked a
pistachio cream filled donut and I picked the guava fruit cupcake. Daughter couldn’t decide between the huge chocolate
covered strawberry and a guava fruit cupcake so Patrick gave her both as a
birthday celebration. Everything was so
tasty!
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| Swan cream puff and guava fruit cupcake |
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| Chocolate covered strawberry, guava fruit cupcake, swan cream puff and tea. |
The Garden view Tea room does not participate in the Disney Dinning
plan so we paid via credit card. The
Buckingham Tea was $25 per person plus tax and gratuity and was worth every penny.
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| She is really enjoying that chocolate covered strawberry |
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| Eating my sugar flower, still a kid. |
When Patrick came back with hubby’s card, he brought a pink rose for daughter. Her eyes lit up and she was so
high on cloud 9 that I think she floated everywhere the rest of the night. Thanks to Rikki of the Be Our Guest Podcast
and LissaLuvsWDW from the Be Our Guest Forum for the suggestion. This was by far, hands down, unparalleled to
everything else, daughter's favorite experience during this trip.
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| Rose |
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| My Princess |
After we left the Tea Room, I asked the cast member at the podium
about the décor in the Grand Floridian lobby.
There are tiles in the floor in front of The Tea Room of a rose, Mrs.
Potts and Chip. The very large
chandeliers reminded me of the chandeliers in Beasts Ballroom so I asked about
them. He said that the chandeliers were
supposed to represent pineapples, a symbol of hospitality and that those tiles
were there specifically for the Tea Room but that there were others in
different areas of the lobby. So we
decided to explore for the tiles.
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| Mrs. Potts |
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| Chip |
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| Grand Floridian Lobby |
There was a Peter Pan Scene behind the grand staircase, Cinderella and her Prince in front of the 1st floor elevators, Tinkerbelle in
front of the 2nd floor elevators, and a floral design with Pluto at the entrance. There was a band playing on the second floor
during our tile adventure and we enjoyed listening to them very much.
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| Peter Pan |
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| Cinderella and her Prince |
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| Tink |
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| Grand Floridian entrance |
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| Pluto detail |
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| The band |
We went to the 2nd floor to catch the monorail to EPCOT. We
had 7:05 dinner ADR for Restaurant Marrakesh in the Moroccan Pavilion. We stopped at a couple of Memory Maker
Photographers on way back to world showcase.
We really had fun with the young lady that took photographs at the soccer
topiary area.
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| EPCOT |
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| EPCOT - blocking the goal |
We decided to head back to
the Morocco and explore the pavilion some more.
We again got lost in the stores and architecture. We were greeted by several cast members who
recognized us and asked daughter about her dress.
We also saw the lovely man who organized the Jasmine and Aladdin meet
and greet line. He chatted with us and
we told him we had dinner reservation and he was very excited for us and told
us we would really enjoy it.
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| Moroccan Pavilion |
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| Moroccan Pavilion |
The restaurant is really beautiful.
There was a live band playing traditional instruments. We were seated to
the right of the main floor, about three steps up to a raised section and
seated by the wall. There was a bench
seat on the wall where daughter and I sat. Tables were in front of the bench seats with chairs and Daddy-o sat across
from us. Shortly after we were seated a belly dancer
came out and performed on the main floor.
She eventually asked several of the kids to join her and they all got to
shake and shimmy together.
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| Inside Restaurant Marrakesh |
The Restaurant Marrakesh is on the Disney Dinning plan and is 1 table
service credit which includes an entre, drink and desert. Daughter and I both ordered mint tea to drink
and I believe hubby ordered soda, plus we all had ice water. Hubby chose the vegetable couscous, Daughter chose
the lamb shank with savory couscous and I chose the chicken kabobs with sweet
couscous. The sweet couscous was
sweetened with raisins and dates and was very good. Daughter said her lamb shank was perfect. Next
was dessert, which none of us were really hungry for after tea. However, hubby ordered the Bastillia which was a vanilla cream on a cinnamon sugar chip. Daughter and I both ordered the Marrakesh
Delight which is a bowl of fruit topped with chocolate chip ice cream. Daughter and I ate most of our ice cream and a
little fruit. We all had a few tastes of hubby’s, which was super yummy; we were just too full to eat it all.
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| Vegetable coucous |
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| chicken kabobs and sweet couscous |
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| Lamb shank and savory couscous |
We went from here to the International Gateway and caught a boat to go
to Hollywood Studios. This was the late
night park staying open until midnight.
There were two shows of Fantasmic so we decided to take advantage of
this and ride the rides instead of attending the show. The boat was also super easy to board with
the wheel chair. There was a metal ramp
attached from the dock to the boat and we just rolled him right on. The boat is covered and just inside the door on both sides are areas
designated for those in wheel chairs and ECV’s with areas to lock down and
strap them all in plus bench seats for family members. The ride was smooth and comfortable. The boat passes through the EPCOT area
waterways and made stops at the Yacht Club Resort, The Swan and Dolphin and the
Boardwalk then went on to Hollywood Studios.
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| Our ride to Hollywood Studios |
After exiting the boat and entering the park we stopped at a
photographer on Hollywood Blvd. There
was no one in line and we wanted to be sure to get a photo. Daughter posed with her rose. She loved that rose. She was still floating from the Tea Room
experience and was curtsying to every little girl we met in a princess
costume.
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| Hollywood Studios |
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| Hollywood Studios |
We needed to determine if we needed to get those rolling fast passes
so I checked my lines app and found there was only a 6 minute wait for The Great Movie Ride. Daughter did not
remember riding this as a kid and it was on her wish list for this trip. Most of the wait was in the room where they
show old movie clips while waiting to board a ride vehicle. Those in mobility assisted devices were taken
to a line in the front. It seems like
they would load one family per car in the front row, but don’t quote me on
that. I believe they had us fold up hubby’s chair and put it in the car with us.
I remember thinking, this is different, but the space was plenty big
enough to accommodate us and the folded chair. The ride was fun and we all enjoyed it. Daughter and I both jumped when the alien came
out of the ceiling.
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| The Great Movie ride |
When we came out of the ride, the first show of Fantasmic was nearing its end
and it had rained lightly. We checked
the lines app again and decided we would next go to Star Tours which had a 10 minute
wait, and then daughter and I would go to the Tower of Terror and Rockin’ Roller
coaster. The longest line of the rides
we wanted to ride at that point was Tower of Terror at 30 minutes so we decided
to forgo the fast passes. The only ride
we considered and did not ride was Toy Story Midway Mania.
Even at night, even in the rain, even during Fantasmic, it was a 50
minute wait.
We headed over to Star Tours, hubby’s favorite ride! Persons in a wheel chair or ECV that ride
Star Tours are always seated in the front row, along with their family. When the doors opened they had him transfer
to his seat and then when we exit the chair is waiting on the other side. It is really well organized. We rode the ride and C3PO was neurotic, and
the ride was moving all over, and we flew in space, and Darth Vader stopped us,
and daughter was the rebel spy! I can’t
say I am surprised by this. I ended up
putting my hands over my eyes and praying that my sweet couscous stayed where I
put it and finally it was over. After
the ride I had to sit down for a few minutes.
Seriously, just thinking about it now is making me feel nauseous. I can’t ride that ride in the front row any
more. I think in the future that will be
a father daughter ride and I will find something else to do while they ride. We stopped in the store and asked a cast
member about the new plush ton-tons and banthas that had been announced. They had not yet been released for sale. Bummer.
When we went back outside it was still raining lightly. Between this and the second showing of
Fantasmic it seemed like there were very few people in the park. Daughter and I decided to head over to the over
to the Tower of Terror and Rockin’ Roller coaster. They are conveniently located near each
other. Most of the guests that were in
the park, and not at Fantasmic, seemed to be in this area. Hubby went over with us and then decided he
wanted to go shopping while we did the coasters. He told us to text or call when we were
finished and that he would probably be back over on Hollywood Blvd. We waved good-by and he wheeled himself back
down the street.
Daughter and I started up the hill to the Tower of Terror and as we passed
the expected stand by time it changed from 30 minutes to 50 minutes. We prepared ourselves for the wait. We got in line and I hit the timer on my
phone to see just how long the wait really was.
We had so much fun talking in the line and looking at the décor that it
felt like no time at all. When I checked
my timer it had been 35 minutes. Not
that bad for standby. We were placed in
the front row on the left side. I have a
love hate relationship with this ride. The theme and detailing is incredible and I love looking at all of it. The ride cars are unique in that they move
forward on a track and also drop like an elevator. I really enjoy the show aspect of the ride,
the ghosts, the twilight zone features, all of it. Until we get to the point
where we are moving into a dark space and I can feel the car seat itself. It is in those few moments, just before the
drop, when I know it is going to happen, that I HATE it. I will be honest in that for me, the drop is
never as bad as the anticipation of the drop.
However in those moments I can never figure out what in the world
possessed me to get on this ride. It is
in that thought that we drop. I remember
the ride narration saying something about being trapped in the twilight zone
and me saying out loud, “Oh darn!” and I remember the laughter, the hating my
choice to be on this ride and then bam, we are falling to our doom! I also love the pause on the floors with
video screens in them. It helps break up
the terror.
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| Tower of Terror Ride Photo - just yikes |
Next we headed over to Rockin' Roller Coaster. As we walked over everything had a sort of anime convention feeling to
it. There was a guy who was singing
lines from “Do You Wanna Build a Snowman” song from the movie Frozen. He would sing a line and then people around
would sing the next line, he would sing the next line and folks around him
would sing back the following line. My
daughter participated in this call and answer version of the song. It was really quite fun to see and hear happen.
We got to the Rockin’ Roller Coaster queue and the posted stand by
time was 20 minutes. WOW! The majority
of the wait was in the room where you see Aerosmith in the recording booth and
then the queue that follows to board the "limo".
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| Outside of Rockin' Roller Coaster |
We boarded the limo, put my Minnie ears and her glasses in the
provided pouch, pulled down the seat restraint and sat back for the ride as
Aerosmith blared in our ears. The countdown started and we were off and upside down, and this way, and that way,
and through a giant Day-Glo donut, and I don’t know what else. I actually really enjoy this coaster. You can’t tell that by my face in the photo
though.
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| Ride Photo |
As we exited I checked the stand by time and it was still only 20
minutes. I told daughter we had time to
ride it one last time if she was up for it and she said it gave her a headache
and she was ready to find dad and head back to our room. I was surprised but okay with the
choice. So I called him, he told us what
store he was in over on Hollywood Blvd and we headed over to meet him. We met up, looked at a few things and then
headed for out resort bus stop.
He had no problems rolling himself around at Hollywood Studios. Many people asked him if he needed help but he always said no. He did have trouble getting around a display in one of the stores and some one moved it back for him. It makes me happy to know that people were good to him while we were in different places.
Earlier, while we were in line for Star Tours, I received a phone
call. I didn’t recognize the number but
knew it was the Florida area code so I answered. It turned out it was the Food
and Beverage Concept artists at Art of Animation. Before we left I ordered a surprise cake to
be left in our room for daughter for her birthday. The idea was that by the time we got back to
our room it would be her actual birthday so we thought it would be fun to have
a small cake waiting as a surprise to end our night. I ordered a 2 tier mini wedding cake with a
chocolate Mickey ears topper. It was
vanilla cake with strawberry mousse cream filling, covered in green butter
cream frosting and piped with purple Mickey silhouettes. I was quoted $50 for the cake and room
delivery. I ordered the cake through Art
of Animation but it was baked at Yacht and beach Club bakery. During the transport process, the cake
collapsed. Our concept artist was very
upset because he knew it was a sweet 16 surprise and didn’t want it
ruined. He let me know that they were
going to go ahead and deliver the collapsed cake but were going to refund the
cost. He said they would also leave a replacement cake. It wouldn’t be as fancy because it would be
one of the podium cakes that are available in the Landscape of Flavors ready
case but he wanted to be sure she had a cake that was not collapsed when we got
back to our room. I feel like he went
above and beyond to make this right for her and I was very happy with the way
Disney handled it.
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| Birthday cake surprise! |
When we got to our room, there on the table, was a boxed cake that had
a balloon tied around it, plates, forks, candles and matches along with a
lovely letter. He had placed the
collapsed cake in the refrigerator to eat also. The podium cake was a 6 inch, all vanilla cake, but they had gone out of
their way to personalize it by adding her name and an inscription on some white
chocolate that they place on the cake, along with some chocolate Mickey
faces. It was a lovely gesture.
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| Replacement cake |
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| Letter |
We got out the collapsed cake and it was a big mess but we all tasted
it and it was the yummiest cake we have ever had. It was seriously good. We went ahead and put the candles on the whole
cake, sang Happy Birthday and had her make a wish and blow out the
candles. Then we ate the mini cake!
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| The collapsed cake |
We had a great day and next was her actually Birthday! We were ready to celebrate, after a good
night sleep.
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