Day 3: Animal Kingdom and Disney’s Hollywood Studios
Date: Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Breakfast of Champions 
A late night made it difficult to get up at the crack of dawn to greet the animals. But we managed! This is our first day at Disney in three years so we were ready to go! The morning started off with Pillsbury Orange Rolls (a delicacy we can’t get in NJ), scrambled eggs & cheese and coffee.
The Tree of Life... 
My niece works at Epcot so we scored once more in getting into the parks. (Thank you Cynch, we could not have done this vacation so well without you!!) Here she is doing her best “Vanna White” impression…
One of the things you learn from going to Disney World repeatedly is to always look up…and down…you never know what you’ll see.
(Just in case you didn’t know which direction the park is in…)
White faced Tree Ducks 
First stop: Whistling White Faced Tree Ducks. These guys sound like a rubber ducky when they speak! Unfortunately, we got there too late to hear the morning chatter but I did get a nice photo of them sleeping… click the link below if you want to hear them:
http://www.wikiaves.com/som.php?m=106276&tm=s
Flamingos
The Flamingo’s gave us a show. One of them was feeding what seemed to be their almost grown baby! If you are really fortunate, you can catch the male flamingos doing their mating march. The older males gather the group by squawking and turning their heads left to right. The rest of the males in the flock fall in and imitate them. When the group is finally in unison, they spread their wings and then march around. It’s amazing to watch! I love my “mingos”!
Expedition Everest
Animal Kingdom never disappoints. It’s not the type of place to go to if you are looking for thrill rides and fantasy. But for any animal lover it’s paradise! But speaking of thrill rides, there is one really good one there. It’s called Expedition Everest and it’s located in Asia. Waaaaay fun! My tip to get on quick is go get into the “single rider” line. You may not be able to sit with your friends, but you get on within 10 minutes when the line is over an hour long! Rich doesn’t “do” roller coasters, so I’m always a single rider when it is just the two of us. On this day, my niece Cynthia was with us so we rode together…on the same train anyway!
Africa
(That’s Rich and Cynthia standing under the street signs!)
No trip to Animal Kingdom is complete without a ride on the Kilimanjaro Safari! Its great fun. Unfortunately, it’s almost impossible to get great photos during the ride due to the bumpy nature of the roads. However, we did our best…
Look at the BABY HEFFALUMP!!!! Too cute!
I love how this giraffe is camuflaging in the trees!
After the Safari, there is a walking trail which gives you closer views of some of the animals. One of my favorites is the Okapi. It looks like a zebra mixed with a giraffe. It is the cousin of the giraffe. They are very shy animals...perhaps that’s why I love them so much!
Yak and Yeti
OK, so let’s talk food! It’s hard to believe that it’s been almost 12 years since Animal Kingdom opened. One of the things that it seriously lacked when it opened is a good restaurant. Well, the wait was worth it! In 2007, the “Yak and Yeti” Restaurant opened it’s doors in the Asian section of the park. I’m a huge fan of Asian food, I love all aspects of each region. Wonton Soup was, what I thought for many years, a Chinese dish. Well, my horizons have been broadened in recent years. The Wonton Soup at the Yak and Yeti is by far, one of the best I’ve ever had. The noodles melt in your mouth and the crunchy noodles are the best I’ve ever had! This is just a small sampling of what you have in store should you dine there one day. Everything on the menu is great! BTW – my niece scored a job there due to our lunch that day. It turned out to be a great place to work as well!
Asia
Asia in Animal Kingdom has one of the most beautiful Tiger enclosures I’ve ever seen! And as you can see, it’s easy to get a great photo of these majestic creatures! It’s probably not a secret that cats (big and small) are my favorite animal. We stood and watched these guys for a while and the thing that always strikes me is how much these big cats act like my small kitties at home. I just want to rub their ears! We stayed long enough to see one hack up a hairball! Poor kitty!Glad I don’t have to clean up after them!
Next stop: Disney’s Hollywood Studios
I was there on opening day:
May 1, 1989
Mom and I used to sneak into the parking lot when they were building the park. Of course back then it was called “Disney’s MGM Studios” and we had high hopes for Orlando being the next “Hollywood”.
“The Studios” hold a very special place in my heart. I’m a frustrated performer, but my better judgment prevented me from getting into show business. So when the studios opened, I WAS STAR STRUCK!!!
This is also the place where Richard proposed to me. That’s a story for another time (with pictures).
There have been many changes since then, some good, some bad… but I’m hoping for good things. We didn’t have a lot of time to get to all of our favorite places, but here are a few of the highlights:
The great movie ride
Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke in “Mary Poppins”
John Wayne in “The Searchers”
Harrison Ford & John Rhys-Davies in “Raiders of the Lost Ark”
Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman in “Casablanca”
“The Wizard of Oz”
“…follow the yellow brick road!”
“I’ll get you my pretty, and your little dog too!”
“We’re off to see the Wizard…“
(Great shot eh? I LOVE my new camera!)
Campy but classic! It wouldn’t be Disney without Audio Animatronics!
Pixar studios
They did a beautiful job converting part of the backlot to Pixar Studios. I hope there is more excitement in the works! But in the meantime, we have…
Toy Story Midway Mania! The line for this ride is incredibly long but worth it just for nostalgia sake.
Mr.. Potato Head is located in the queue. He interacts with the people queuing up for the ride and insults and teases them. Pretty cool!
The rest of the queue contains giant renditions of all the games we grew up with and a few our parents did. The time does go by fast and most of the time people interact with each other reminiscing about their childhood. Great fun!
As for the ride itself. Well, I was too busy “playing the game” to take photos, but if you want to see it along with the queue line, play this link from YouTube. Did I mention that the ride is in 3-D?????
I think I see a new wii game in my future…(Hint! Hint!) OK, we’ll wait till the price comes down!
The Backlot Tour
There are rumors that the Backlot Tour may be going away. Although it will be no great loss to lose the “current” tour, I have to admit that I miss the original tour. Remember 
the “Golden Girls” house, seeing “Herbie the Love Bug” rev his engine and seeing tons of huge props including some from the Star Wars and Indiana Jones movies? They even had cool costumes and you could see the costume department in full use. They’ve really destroyed the Backlot and used the land for dumb things but one can only hope for better things to come.
Originally the Studios were a working studio where they filmed things like “From the Earth to the Moon” and “The Mickey Mouse Club” (the show that gave us performers like Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. OK so those are not shining examples of good talent but you get my point…) Orlando just didn’t work out for Disney or Universal for that matter, but we do have parks like this one as a result.
I really miss the days of the super fireworks show at the end of the night. Vincent Price announcing the next spectacular display of fireworks supported by an emotional movie themes. A golden time period for this park. But for now, the only light spectacle to enjoy is the neon lights of Sunset Blvd. at night. At least we still have emotional Movie Soundtracks with it!
It’s times like this that I really miss living in Florida. Rich and I used to visit Disney a few times a month. Sometimes just to eat, other times to take pictures like these. Then there were the times we had company and we played tour guide. We would have made great tour guides for Disney. Perhaps if we get to retire someday… I just wish it wasn’t so darn hot in Florida! This was another great day!
Day 4: Epcot
Date: Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Waiting for the perfect shot...
We found the perfect place to get the perfect photo and like a professional photographer who waits days and hours for a lion to walk by... we waited for the Monorail... we shoot, we SCORE!
The PERFECT SHOT!
So, like I mentioned before, my niece works at Epcot. She had some great coupons she had to redeem for food so we thought we’d help her out a little. Today, we dined at “The Coral Reef” Restaurant located within “The Living Seas” attraction.
Since Pixar joined the Disney family, they’ve been beefing up the existing attractions. “The Living Seas” is now with “Nemo and Friends”. Our favorite scavenging sea birds greet you as you approach…
Mine! Mine! Mine!
Great photo of the entrance, the restaurant is to the right. But I couldn’t resist trying to get a recording of our one “mine”ded friends…
The video below was shot with my new camera, not a video camera…
Lunch... OK, we did not have a “liquid” lunch but liquids were involved. I can never resist a “glowing” drink. Great table eh? That’s me and Cynthia enjoying our libations…
Here’s the video of my “Blinking Drink”...
Cynthia left us after lunch but we stayed around to see what we could “sea”…
Marlon, Nemo and friends...
Question: How many fish do you see in the photo below?
Answer: Four! (Rock Fish… they camouflage well!)
Next Stop: Spaceship Earth!
It’s been completely updated. The ending is kind of cool with new computer graphics that include...YOU!
That’s our heads on those cartoon bodies. They take your picture at the beginning of the ride. As you “descend” down the middle of the “globe” we call “Spaceship Earth”, you are treated to a cartoon “The Beginning of Your Future” starring… YOU!
I wish I looked that good in a space suit in real life! Come to think of it, I would be nice if they actually MADE spacesuits that made you look that good! LOL!
The whole thing is very “Jetson” like. 
When you walk out of the ride, you can see yourself on a huge screen and go to a kiosk and email your photo to your friends and family...and yourself. Great fun!
Hang Ten Dude!
Epcot was the place that Rich was originally going to propose to me. 
The plans didn’t work out that way, but we have a great story to tell our friends. It was going to be at sunset just when the torches were lit around the “World Showcase Lagoon”.
Next: A walk around the world to watch the sunset.
Rich gave me a quick lesson on photography “perspective”. The temple here in Mexico looks much taller thanks to the lesson he gave me. I took it from the side and low. It was hard to get a good shot because this spot is very popular at sunset. the photos below makes you see why… SUNSET!!!
I love this shot with Richard to the right taking a photo. I have to brag that my “sunset” photos came out better than Richards. This new camera has goof proof settings that make the professionals envious.
That’s the “Swan and Dolphin” Hotels in the distance. Boy do I miss those “Florida Sunset” skies! 
Below: A close up of the hotels in the distance. A Golden Sunset!
China at night…
Another great day full of food, fun and beauty. Tomorrow is our last day, I was getting sad because I wasn’t ready to go home yet, but this was a welcome break for both of us.
Tomorrow...swimming, packing and a visit from an old schoolmate.
Day 5: The voyage Home
Date: Thursday, October 29, 2009
So, we slept in. My Junior High School buddy Mike Murray came to have lunch and get caught up. We went for a dip in the pool and packed to go home. I wish this day were more exciting to talk about, but – not really.
It was a great trip, but it was good to get home to my cats. What’s the next adventure? Perhaps back to Colonial Williamsburg, VA...
