Tuesday, the third day out of our four day trip, we got started a little bit later because of our long day the day before. When we arrived at the Pop Century food court, it was so incredibly busy, we decided to try our luck across the bridge at our home resort of Art of Animation. It wasn't a lot better there, but Tom snagged us the last two ready-to-go breakfast sandwiches and we got in line for Animal Kingdom.
It was so extraordinary to see flowers and green growing things after the dead winter of Ohio February. I took photos to remind me when I got home.
DiVine was out when we arrived, and we were, as much so as ever, enchanted by her.
We did have to endure people walking by and saying things like "look at the tree man," and "look it's a girl on stilts." (sigh)
When we arrived at the park, Expedition Everest was still a short wait since everyone goes to Pandora first, so we were able to ride it with a short queue. And we also got to see the incredible actual queue in this ride as well. Including this incredible sculpture:
And this second version of Tom's favorite sign in the whole ride. (there's another one in the fast pass queue)
We waited for the front seat again; always worth it on this ride. Expedition Everest never gets old.
From Expedition Everest, we thought it would be fun to go over to the Maharajah Jungle Trek area to visit the bats, but they didn't open for about ten more minutes when we arrived. So we sat and spent some time watching the monkeys and their antics, and naming them after our cats (since they acted exactly like them)
Once the trek opened, we had a lovely Cast Member walk with us to the komodo dragon and talk to us for a while about the animals. He told us that we timed our trip perfectly, since the bats we were seeing that day were going into retirement and leaving the next day, and the new bats wouldn't arrive for a week or two.
This window to the bat enclosure is SO beautiful.
And these bamboo canes are so beautiful.
We strolled over to the Nemo theater, the real reason why we came to Animal Kingdom this day, so that Tom could see his favorite thing in all of Disney World. Note how he wore his shirt I had bought him themed to the musical.
We got our favorite seats in the front row (and Tom sat in just the right spot to have Bruce "attack" him during his scene. Crush was the same singer, and his rendition of "Go With the Flow" was just as incredibly good.
We went over to Pandora (which was packed) and both had delicious Night Blossoms and sat and relaxed for a while. We strolled out of the park, hoping to see Kevin, but we had no luck.
We headed over to Magic Kingdom to pick up the dated 2019 magnet frame we had only seen there on the trip, and to check to see if the Mickey birthday sippers had been restocked (no luck). We thought about riding the Peoplemover, but the line was too long (booooooo), so we decided to watch the Carousel of Progress. Even though it was a packed showing, we still got "our seats" in the front.
We headed back to the resort for a mid-afternoon rest, stopping by the gift shop. I love this little Haunted Mansion diorama. Didn't buy it, but maybe next time.
I ended up laying down for a nap for about an hour or so, then got changed into my Snow White Disneybound and headed to Hollywood Studios for our Slinky Dog Fast Pass.
We didn't want to bring the backpack, and the weather had been so gorgeous. So of course, inevitably, as we stood in line for Slinky Dog, the skies absolutely RIPPED OPEN with torrential rain. The CMs kept announcing over the loudspeaker that they might have to shut down the ride at any moment, but next thing we knew, we were next in line and the CM was asking how many in our party. Wide-eyed, I explained there was no way I could ride the ride in the absolute downpour rain in my outfit (which you'll see below). So we were moved off the ride, lost our fast pass, and had to stand in the exit area while the rain poured down. A Cast Member eventually came and told us all we had to move on....into the rain. Thankfully it had mostly stopped by then.
I suppose we could have talked to someone and gotten another fast pass. But we weren't devastated, only disappointed and damp. We walked out of Toy Story Land (which has literally no shelter anywhere...something previously observed by others in summer months of no shade and a real oversight when the land was planned) and explored the new Incredibles area.
Jack Jack:
Such fun theming!
Tom and I both got a Num Num cookie, which I asked for while using the shouting tone Mr. Incredible uses when you hear him on the Incredicoaster in Disneyland. Tom had dared me to ask for the cookie that way, and I do love a good dare.
The cookie was delicious, although I do wish we had gotten some milk.
We strolled around Hollywood Studios and did some shopping. I do love the small shops at this park.
Cogsworth looks quite cute in his bell jar dome.
I love this movie ticket booth for outfit shots.
I am honestly quite delighted with this outfit. I would never have thought I would end up wearing a Snow White Disneybound, but it sure was fun, especially since it was so recognizable.
We finished in the shops and still had some time left before we had to leave for our dinner, so we hopped over to Star Tours. Strangely, C3PO was missing from the queue, which meant that R2 was whistling and clicking in response to nothing.
A picture near the exit on our way out.
And gorgeous fairy-lit rose bushes at dusk on our way out as well.
We headed over to Wilderness Lodge, where we had dinner reservations for the hot new dining experience at Disney, the Storybook Dining at Artist Point, with Snow White, Grumpy, Dopey, and the Evil Queen.
The CM who checked us in had the most lovely name badge ever. She said they were a gift from the Queen, who couldn't be all that bad. I asked if I could take a photo.
The sign for the restaurant was quite lovely.
We had a little bit of time still before our dinner reservation, so we sat in some rocking chairs in front of the fire until it was time. I snapped a couple of photos trying to show the detail of the embroidered collar on my shirt.
The restaurant itself was just gorgeous. We were seated at a little two seater table behind one of the pillars/trees, but I didn't mind the privacy.
The lazy susan looked like a tree, and was lovely.
The napkins were tied with little souvenir cards, with the autographs of the people we were to meet.
More photos. It was so lovely!
The dinner menu was inside a leather portfolio, and presented like a storybook. So charming.
Since I have a garlic allergy, the chef prepared a special group of the appetizer for me. Very kind.
And here were Tom's appetizers.
Tom and I both got the Stroll Through Nature, which was quite good, but...if this makes sense...it was a lot of the same taste. I wish they had had less of this main stuff and a few sides too.
Dessert came to us dramatically: the Hunter's Gift to the Queen, arriving in a smoking treasure chest. (Chocolate hearts with caramel popcorn)
We also both got gooseberry pie (my favorite of the desserts)
White chocolate apple mousse "poison apples"
And the miner's treasure....just sponge cake and frosting.
I really want to start trying to schedule these meals a little earlier at night. These character meals that start at 8:00 or later just leave me too hungry. If this makes sense, I end up starving hungry by 5:00pm, then by 8:00 I've gone around the corner from hungry to nauseous, and can't enjoy the food that much.
Grumpy was first. We commiserated with him about his name, saying that if we were made to come walk around a restaurant after a long exhausting day in the mines, and have to pose with all these people, we'd be less than cheerful too. He should be called Exhausted, and not Grumpy. He really appreciated that one.
Snow was next, and she was very gracious, but not that memorable. Probably our least enjoyable meeting of the characters. Ah well. She was perfectly fine, just brief.
Dopey was adorable. He ran right over to us with enthusiasm, and gave great hugs. We told him that his name was a misnomer. After all, he was the first one to be charmed by Snow White and realize what a lovely person she was. He should be called Smarty instead!
Tom got out his phone to take photos, and Dopey saw his phone wallpaper of Spider-Man. He started gesturing like Spidey, and Tom said with surprise "yeah, Spidey! You know him?" Dopey nodded enthusiastically, and this bizarre yet amazing photo ensued.
We ended our meal and got in line to meet the Queen (don't use the first part of the name she's known by). I was honestly a bit nervous to meet her, because I've watched videos of her meeting people at this dinner and she is genuinely intimidating, for real. I was wearing a Snow White ensemble. Oh dear.
Thankfully, I curtsied as low and as formally as I could when it was our turn, and she told me she forgave the outfit because I knew how to react to a queen. And I did point out to her that my collar did have a poison apple on it.
We were really looking forward to this dinner, so about a month ago we were at the Disney store and saw the Hag Christmas ornament on clearance for $8 or so. We picked it up as a gift for the queen.
"Ahh, one of my lesser known disguises."
In this photo, it looks like I need to watch out...she's making eyes at my man.
Then it was time for photos. We so greatly enjoyed this meet and greet. Perhaps in our top ten we've had.
Hahahahahahahahahahahaha
From there, we took a long and roundabout trip back to our resort (there are no buses between resorts), via Disney Springs. I'd like to say we collapsed in our bed as soon as we got back to the resort, but it was our last night, which meant we had to pack up all our stuff. But we DID collapse into bed after then.
Day four, our last day, was next. Stay tuned!
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