After a cereal breakfast we were on the road by 7:45. We took the bus to AK and arrived about 8:30. Immediately upon entering the park we saw a CM holding a box containing what looked like a tarantula. I don't know what it was, but Nat later told me that she said it wasn't a tarantula. Unfortunately, Nat couldn't remember what it was.
Can I take it home with me?
Breakfast at the Tusker House
By the time we got to KS there was already a bit of a line, so we got FP for KS and decided to kill the time waiting for our FP time by touring the "Pagani Forest Adventure Trail" (PFAT.) Nat and I were the only ones in our party who'd been to AK, having come while on our trip in October 1998. We did not, however, do the PFAT. I can now say that it is definitely worth the time. In fact, if I now had to choose between KS and PFAT, I would choose PFAT. There are lots of animals to see - granted, not as many as KS, but you take it at your own pace and have more time to seek the animals out. And, in true Disney fashion, the architecture and landscaping of the trail itself is quite stunning.
We saw quite a few animals on PFAT. One of the best sightings was the Okapi, a relative of the giraffe that looks like a cross between a zebra and a camel. We also got a very good look at a group of "bachelor" gorillas. This was quite thrilling, as gorillas are quite shy creatures, and seeing a large group out in the open was a real treat. We also saw some very exotic birds. They have cards you can use to identify the birds, and it would be very easy to spend an hour in the aviary looking for the different species.
An Okapi
This little deer is about the size of a house cat
Looks like the savannah, doesn't it?
Very hip hippos
A croc
Some animals the names of which I don't recall...
And some others
Where are the babies?
Dumbo's friends
Hiding out
A relative of the Okapi
Hey! Come back here!
You talkin' to me?
Tree of Life
Look at the person at the right to get a sense of scale
This sort of detail can be seen throughout
See the eagle?
I love a good pun
Ditto
I returned to discover that Nat, in my absence, had become fast friends with an AK CM. Poor kid, it takes her at least 2 or 3 minutes to make new friends. We continued on to RFC, and were seated not long after we got there. I was immediately disappointed to learn that they had changed their menu, and they no longer had chicken wings. RFC had about the best chicken wings I've ever had. Oh well, I drowned my sorrows in a "Margarilla" (orange flavored margarita - truly nectar of the gods.) Instead I ordered chicken fried chicken, as did my dad. Andie had a pasta dish, and the kids had children's pasta. My mom ordered beef brisket. Andie and I also ordered a Caesar salad (the Caesar at RFC is real good), but the waiter never brought it. Actually, the service was not too good overall. I don't know if it was a bad (or inexperienced) server, just a bad day, or if they were short-handed. Usually we've found the service at RFC to be quite prompt.
After we were finished eating it was getting near the end of our FP time at CtX, so I suggested that Nat and I dash out to ride CtX and return to meet up back at RFC.
dem bones
Isn't this place stunning?
Nat enjoyed the ride, though it did scare her. We looked at our picture as we left, and it was really cute, with Nat clinging on to me. I decided against buying a copy, however. We did spend a few minutes in the gift shop, and Nat was fascinated by the fact that we "brought a dinosaur back with us" and it was loose in the lab.
We headed back to RFC and hooked up with the rest of our group. Nat wanted to shop in the RFC gift shop, but I pointed out that we go to RFC by our house occasionally and she can shop there, so she passed.
It was about the time in the day that, normally, we would have headed back to the hotel. We decided to stay, however, because we all wanted to see the new "Asia" section - which even Nat and I hadn't seen. Once we get there I immediately got FP for "Kali River Rapids" (KRR), even though we weren't sure if anyone would go on it.
After getting FP for KRR we headed over to "Maharajah Jungle Trek" (MJT) in hopes of seeing some tigers. I must say that FP works particularly well in AK. While waiting for FP times at KS you can walk through PFAT, while waiting at CtX you can take the kids to "The Boneyard" (which we didn't do), and while waiting for KRR you can go through MJK. It works out really well.
MJT was absolutely fantastic. Even better than PFAT. To begin with, the architecture and landscaping is even more stunning than PFAT, and the animals even more exotic. We saw lots of exotic birds and animals, including some really impressive fruit bats and "flying foxes". And we really lucked out with the tigers! They were out and even moving around. At one point one walked across a wall right in front of us! At another part of a trail there was a tiger resting regally on a rock. These are absolutely stunning animals.
When we were finished with MJT it was our FP time for KRR. Try as I may, after our experience with "Bluto's Bilge Rat Barges", I couldn't convince anyone to give KRR a whirl. Except, of course, Natalie. Having learned from our previous experience, we took our shoes off and stored them in the compartment in the middle of the raft. If you are riding this, or the barges at IOA, I highly recommend doing this. The ride itself was similar to BBRB, except it seemed a bit shorter and it didn't have as much in the way of stuff to look at (BBRB has several scenes with audio-animatronics.) That said, I think KRR was a more thrilling ride and had better overall themeing. We also didn't get nearly as wet, but that could have been the luck of the draw.
Tiger, tiger
Burning bright,
In the forest of the night
One of the many beautiful birds
Another nameless (to me) animal, and some I know the names of
Gone batty
A wild dog
A wild Goof
A wild chipmunk
A big chair in the Boardwalk lobby
So many days end this way...
It didn't really matter as we found a nice spot on a bench with a wall that I could sit on nearby, across from the Morocco pavilion. I realized I was hungry, so I picked up a little tomato and cucumber salad. It was pretty good.
After we had been there for a while ToN started. If I have one regret from this trip, it's that the kids didn't get a chance to see this parade. It was absolutely charming. The puppets were fantastic - I especially loved the puppet that was holding a puppet - and the music very uplifting. I love African inspired rhythms. I would have to say that ToN is the best parade I've seen Disney put on - even better than "The Main Street Electrical Parade", which I had seen countless times at Disneyland.
Once the parade was over we moved closer to the water to view RoE. The previous version of "IllumiNations" I had seen was "Illuminations 25". I'd say both shows compared favorably, but I think I preferred the older show a little. My main complaint against RoE was that the show relied too much on the projection globe in the center of the lake. It's a neat effect, but it's also too small and far away to carry the bulk of the show. Still, it was a thrilling show and we all enjoyed it.
When the show was over the large number of people that were exiting through IG surprised me. After thinking about it, I realized that most folks who were planning on using that exit would be congregating around England and France, and I'm sure most of the people in other parts of the park were exiting through the main gate. We were able to get on the next boat, so it was no big deal either way. After getting home Andie and I did our usual thing of going to the main porch to sit and chat, and we weren't in bed until about midnight.