Part 6
Participants:
Chris, 29 years old
Michelle, 27 years old
Ben, 22 months old
Day 6, Wednesday December 5, 2001
We thought we had set the alarm plenty early so that I could meet the DVC driver at 8:20, but apparently we missed a step in the alarm setting process, because Chris shook me awake at 7:45, having just woken up himself. I took a quick shower, got dressed and was out the door before Ben even woke up.
It's official
At the Boardwalk, I had a quick glass of orange juice while waiting for my DVC lady. The paperwork process was fairly painless. I asked the few questions I had, signed a few papers and was finished. On the way out, the DVC guide gave me a DVC video, which I still haven't watched. I'm saving it for a day when I really need a WDW fix.
When I got back to the Lodge, Chris was still getting Ben dressed, so I helped him finish with that task. Then Chris and Ben went to the playground while I went to the Mara to get our breakfast of a croissant, a bagel and a banana.
Shop 'til you …dance in a fountain
Since we had a later start to the day, we decided to go to the Marketplace and do our shopping for the trip. We parked near the World of Disney, and went in there first. I forgot how huge this store is! I was hoping to find a t-shirt for Ben with the Seven Dwarves on it, but they didn't have one. I got him a monorail t-shirt instead, which he loves. In fact, when I'm getting him dressed in the morning, if I have a specific outfit in mind for him to wear, I have to make sure he doesn't see the monorail tee. If he catches even a fleeting glimpse of that shirt, he insists on wearing it. I found a plush Dopey for Ben, a Christmas train with the characters on board, some magnets, and a few other things. Ben was growing impatient, so it was time to go somewhere that he could get a little bit of exercise.
We decided the Lego store would give Ben the perfect opportunity to play. He had so much fun! I took the last few pictures on our roll of film, and was kicking myself for not having more. Eventually, Ben wanted to go into the store, so we did. I resisted the urge to buy the big farm Duplo set, and instead bought the tubes and balls set. I must have made the right choice, because Ben still plays with the tubes almost every day. He loves rearranging the tubes and seeing where the balls end up when he drops them through the tubes. Ben and I went back out to play while Chris paid.
Next up was the Christmas store. I had several things in mind from my browsing at the smaller store at the Magic Kingdom. We got a couple of ornaments and some cards and a cookie plate on which rascally Mickey Mouse is portrayed stealing a cookie from Minnie.
While Chris paid here, Ben and I went to the fountain near the exit. Oh, to have had film in the camera here! Ben absolutely had a ball, at first trying to run away from where the water was, and later trying to run into the water. He was laughing so hard, I think he entertained many people who passed by. Chris joined us and we let Ben play until he had his fill. Around noon we were ready to leave the Marketplace.
A second chance for yummy ice cream
We felt ready for lunch, so we decided to go to the Beach Club and give Beaches and Cream another try. Ben's mood was a bit marginal when we arrived, but the hostess and waitress were wonderful, giving Ben crayons and a balloon--his favorite things. We ended up having a huge meal. We had one Quick and Casual Lunch coupon left from our DVC tour, so we used it here. This was a great place in terms of value to redeem that coupon. We got the following for free, using just one coupon: onion rings, a double burger with cheese and fries, a mango smoothie and a milky way sundae. All we had to pay for was my veggie burger and Ben's grilled cheese. Our waitress went out of her way to give us as much as possible free, and we tipped her very well for that, and for helping entertain Ben. The food at Beaches and Cream was good, and the atmosphere was fun. I think we'll be back. I'd love to go sometime with a big group and eat The Kitchen Sink.
After lunch, we went back to the room for a short rest. We left our room for the Animal Kingdom just before 3:00. There was a bus waiting at the bus stop, so we arrived at the park just a few minutes after 3:00.
A new experience
Our first stop today was Asia, as we had never seen this part of the park. Ben dozed off on the way. I thought this area was themed very well. We did the Maharajah Jungle Trek. The bat room was neat, although I stayed outside because I have a fear of the sound of wings flapping (strange but true).
We stopped for a while and watched the tigers. What beautiful majestic animals! Too bad Ben was asleep, I think he would have loved to have seen the tigers. It's hard to imagine that their numbers in the wild are so low. The tigers on one side of the display seemed very happy in their environment. On the other side, I'm afraid, the tigers did not seem happy at all. They were both just pacing back and forth in one little area. This area had no grass growing, so it looked like they pace there a lot. I wanted to ask a cast member about this, but there was no one nearby. I only hope I am misinterpreting the situation, and the tigers are actually happy.
In spite of my flapping phobia, I have always been a bird watcher, so I decided to spend some time in the bird area. We grabbed a guide, and really looked for all of the birds on it. We didn't find all of them, but we did find one that was not on the guide. A CM explained to us that those birds were new residents, so they weren't on the guide. Most of the birds we found, we found first by hearing them, then slowly zeroing in on their location by carefully listening. A lot of people were really rushing through this area, I can't imagine that they saw many birds.
It was just after 4:00 when we finished the trail, and Ben was still asleep. Chris and I decided to use our remaining time before the park closed at 5:00 to each ride the safari one more time. I checked with a CM to be sure we wouldn't run into the parade as we made our way across the park, and we headed over to Africa.
A serendipitous bit of fun
Chris took the first safari as Ben and I waited on a bench. Just as the parade began making its way back through Harambe, Ben woke up. There was literally no one lined up to watch the parade, so we got front row viewing. What a fun parade! I was once again kicking myself for not having film in the camera, because Ben experienced some great character interaction. Br'er Bear actually took Popcorn from Ben's stroller, and gave him a hug. I was surprised to get a hug from King Louie, but I guess since Ben and I were almost the only ones left on the route, the characters had plenty of chance to give us attention.
Shortly after the parade, Chris returned from his safari. I felt a little bit bad that Chris had missed such a neat moment, but when Chris said that the male lion had been looking around during his safari, and he had gotten to see his whole head, I realized he had experienced a neat moment of his own. Until today, all either of us had seen of the lion was the little bit that was visible as he slept on the rock.
It was almost 5:00, park closing time, by now, and the safari was already closed, so my next safari would have to wait until our next trip. In fact, all of the shops were closing, too, and, unlike the experiences we had at the Magic Kingdom and MGM closing times on this trip, we felt a bit pressured to get out of the park. Perhaps they observe the closing time a bit more strictly at this park for the sake of the animals.
We walked to the entrance, and when we caught up with the rest of the people leaving the park, we slowed down and stopped to see all of the animals along our way. When we got to the bus stop, there was a bus waiting. We were back at the Lodge by 5:45.
When we reached our room, I called Boma to see if I could get a priority seating for tonight. 7:00 was available, and sounded perfect to us. All week we had been smelling wonderful aromas from that place, and we were eager to see if the food tasted as good as it smelled. While we were in the room, we relaxed and wrote a few postcards.
At 6:45 we went down to Boma and checked in. There was a beautiful African gingerbread village in the waiting area. I meant to go back later with my camera and get some pictures, but I failed to do so. The hostess told us that our tell-you-when-your-table's-ready would work as far away as any of the savannas, so we went to see what was happening on the Arusha Savanna. We had the pleasant surprise of a storyteller, relating a fable of a tortoise and a monkey, to people seated around the firepit. He was very entertaining, and the children in the group seemed to especially love him. Soon, we were alerted that our table was ready.
And the winner of the Best Meal of the Trip is…
How can I find the words to do Boma justice? I am not a fan of buffets. I do not like to know that my food has been sitting waiting for me. (However, even the character buffets we had on this trip were of surprisingly good quality.) But in spite of being a buffet, Boma was one of the best dining experiences I have ever had. Admittedly, my appraisal of a restaurant nowadays is impacted not only by food quality, as it was in my pre-kid days, but also by kid friendliness. Boma had it all.
There was such a diverse variety of food available, and chefs waiting at each station to tell you about their dishes. In fact, that helpful, conversing style seemed contagious to the guests, as I had more than one fellow diner tell me to try various items as I was filling my plate. I was glad we were dining on the later side, as I was hungry when I arrived, so I was able to sample many of the different dishes.
Adding to my enjoyment of the meal was the casual style of the restaurant. I felt perfectly comfortable with a toddler in Boma. There was enough activity with people walking around to keep Ben interested. The buffet had all of the standard WDW kid choices, but he enjoyed trying some of the African dishes as well.
The service, as well, was superb. When I commented to our waitress that I very much enjoyed the Coconut Curried Chicken Chowder, she produced a recipe request card for me. I filled it out, requesting that recipe as well as a few others. Within a few weeks of arriving back home, the recipes arrived in the mail.
A leisurely stroll around the Lodge
After dinner, we decided to visit each of the savannas before retiring to our room. We had been working all week to teach Ben to be quiet when we were on the savannas at night. Apparently he had finally gotten the message, because as we entered each savanna, he put his little finger up to his lips and said "Shhhh." In the room leading to the Sunset Savanna, I noticed there was a CM playing some kind of animal trivia game which involved collecting beads. The kids seemed to be having fun.
It was fun to just walk around and enjoy the Lodge. It really is a beautiful place, but now that we have joined the DVC, I doubt that we will stay there again. I know we will visit it each trip though, so we can enjoy a meal at Boma.
When we reached our room, a quick survey of our luggage and the items we had purchased at the Marketplace today showed me that I needed to ship a box home. So I went to the front desk and found out how to do that. It was a bit of a hassle, made worse by a cranky CM, but I got it done, and I'm awfully glad we didn't try to take all of our bags on the plane with us.
When I got back to the room, Chris went to the Mara for Ben's bedtime milk. I guess that the cumulative impact of several busy days in a row had taken effect, because, in spite of today being rather relaxing, we were all asleep by 10:00.