Day 9 – August 29th/00
Today, we wanted to go to AK to do the Kilimanjaro Safaris in the morning, hoping the animals would be more active. Unfortunately, it was a very overcast morning. We got to AK at 8:00 am, and headed straight for Harambe. Unfortunately, so did everyone else. So by the time we made it there (at Gary’s pace) there was a 30 minute wait already! So we got fastpasses instead, which weren’t till 9:00.
So, we headed to Asia to get 2 FP’s for Kali Rapids (yes, we did cheat here a little), which was 9:50 or something like that (going from memory here). We then headed back to Africa for our FP time. It had started to drizzle by now. It was a very dark day. The safari was a bit better this time around. There seemed to be more animals moving around, definitely closer to our vehicle. And we saw 4 rhinos this time (we didn’t see any last time).
When the ride ended, we headed back to Asia. We were done with Africa. (This would be the last time we would be at the AK this vacation). Krystal & Gary went on the Kali River Rapids, while Jess & I waited. When they were done, we decided to find shelter, because it really looked like it was going to pour. Jessica bought us each a Mickey bar, and we found an empty gazebo for shelter. It was our own quiet, private moment at the AK, as we each enjoyed our Mickey bars. It was very tranquil.
The rain didn’t come, so we decided to risk it and go do the Maharajah Jungle Trek and the Asian ruins. 2 tigers were right up against the window, but were just sleeping.
The rain still held off, although it did drizzle a bit here and there. Boy it was dark though. This was the darkest morning of our whole vacation. So, for our last AK attraction, we headed to see Flights of Wonder. What a great show that was! Jessica got picked as a volunteer. She had to throw a grape up to one of the birds. (I think it was a hawk, but not sure. I’ll know better once we get our videos working!)
That was it. We said goodbye to AK, and headed over to MGM. We did Star Tours again (with Krystal this time), and got to buy our mugs (19.61 including taxes) at the bookstore. We took advantage of the delivery service to our room.
Krystal agreed that she preferred the pen I got her when she saw the bookmark. I asked one of the hostesses of the Sci-Fi if they would mind if Krystal took a peek inside the restaurant. I explained that she missed dinner there last night due to a tummy ache. I wanted her to at least see it! So, she got to have a look, and she was happy that she was able to actually see it with her own eyes.
We did the Indiana Jones show, but none of us really liked it much. We also saw Muppet Vision 3D which was cute.
We were getting hungry, and Jess REALLY wanted to eat at Pizza Planet badly, so Gary consented, and off we went. We got 3 pizzas, 1 pizza meal, & 2 milks (27.58 including tax). I expected humdrum tasting pizzas, but we all agreed that these were actually delicious pizzas! We really enjoyed them and were glad we stopped here to eat.
We wrapped up at MGM with the last show of HoND. It was an awesome show. On the way out, we were browsing at Keystone Clothiers, where Gary bought me a beautiful leather coat (408.10 including tax)! It has the Disney 2000 emblem on the back, and 2 patches on each arm representing the 4 theme parks. Talk about a souvenir!!! It’s absolutely gorgeous. We asked for it to be delivered to our room. I still, 1 week after being home, am stunned that Gary did that for me. I guess he really does love me! :o)
We then headed to Epcot for our PS at Le Cellier at 7:30 (and then finish off with Illuminations 2000). We had a bit of a wait for Le Cellier. They gave us a pager though, and told us we could wander Canada & U.K. However, it looked like it was going to pour again, so we opted to stay close to the restaurant so we could duck in if need be, which we did end up having to do.
We were seated in the Saskatchewan area, and our hostess happened to live very close to where we live. We live in Brampton, and she was from Etobicoke. She got a bit choked up and homesick I think. Her first words when she heard where we were from were “Ohhh, the Bramalea City Centre”, which is a mall just around the corner from us. I told her it was still there. She kept coming over to our table to chitchat.
I was determined I was going to try the famous cheese soup, until I got there that is. I just wasn’t very hungry, and wanted to make sure I would be able to finish my filet mignon. So, I opted to order just my steak. Which was delicious!!! Gary got the New York Strip Steak, and the kids ordered a hotdog, and a cheeseburger from the kid’s menu. I also got a virgin strawberry daiquiri (since they didn’t offer the “real” kind), but it was good. Dinner came to 75.70 including tip and tax.
After dinner, we staked out a spot for Illuminations 2000, which was truly breathtaking.
Then we said goodbye to Epcot (probably for good).
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