Team Tizzel: Let the Adventures Begin

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Let the Adventures Begin

Dave has one comment about this day: "My ribs still hurt (three weeks later)".

Our first full day touring this trip was spent at Animal Kingdom. For the record: we like Animal Kingdom and spent a full day there (and didn't see everything). It's pretty, well-themed, and fun to walk around.

After Mickey and friends did their little show we followed a pretty standard touring plan. Expedition Everest, Kilaminjaro Safaris, Kali River Rapids, and Dinoland attractions.

This was the first time we've been on Kali in years. Since we are old and don't tolerate wetness, we wore ponchos. It may have taken longer to put those things on than the actual ride time itself. We forgot how short the ride actually was. Having folks throw buckets of water on us from a rooftop may have been more interesting.

After riding Triceratops Spin Dave wanted to go on Primeval Whirl, which is a small mouse coaster that spins. Holly did not want to go on it because the ride usually throws you around and causes some minor injury. Not this time. This time it was a major injury. As the ride ended and we headed to the station they threw the brakes on. Hard. Dave's lower-right ribs were thrown into the restraining rail. He let out a noise that was unearthly. We exited the ride and pulled over to inspect the wounds. No external signs of injury. We briefly discussed reporting it, but figured it would mean a ride to the hospital from the Reedy Creek Fire Department. We didn't take that chance. It's been 3 weeks now and the rib area is still tender.

The rest of the morning was spent on Dinosaur, watching Flights of Wonder (bird show), and touring The Boneyard. Lunch was at Yak & Yeti. We had a great meal there. Pot stickers, tempura green beans, honey chicken, and pineapple cream cheese wontons.

After lunch we spent time on the Maharaja Trail looking for Hidden Mickeys. Then we hit Everest and Dinosaur again and visited Pooh and Tigger. We took a trip to The Dawa Bar and watched the parade. Later, we visited Camp Minnie-Mickey for character pictures and ended our day with shopping and It's Tough to Be a Bug. Dave really likes watching the children scream in terror during this movie.

What didn't we do? Nemo musical, Festival of the Lion King, Pangani and Discovery Trails, and Conservation Station.

From there we took a bus to The Contemporary. We were in search of the Dulce de Leche cupcake at Contempo Cafe. It was pretty good. We did some shopping and found those cocktail glasses we mentioned in a very early post.

We hit The Wave for a few drinks then went up to California Grill for dinner and scored a window table for Wishes. Dinner included a zucchini blossom appy, filet mignon for Dave and halibut for Holly. We split the kid's sushi dessert which was candy and rice crispy treats made to look like sushi. Lots of fun.