H-moon con't
Hmmkay, let's see...Our second day was Animal Kingdom. Now, a few months ago, the Discovery Channel had run a few specials about the new roller coaster here, Expedition Everest; this caused Danny and I to be caught up in fits of hype. However, this was the day that started our trend of saving the best for last. We started off with the Kilamanjaro Safari (which is good to get out of the way sooner than later, due to aminals getting schleepy). Lots of baby elephants! And Kudu (my favorite animal name ever, it's fun to say!) I can't really remember the exact order of what we did next, but suffice it to say that if you ever go to Animal Kingdom, know where the AC is, and go on the Kali River rapids when there's still daylight to dry off in. I consistantly told Danny that we would get maybe a little tiny bit wet on that ride, based on my previous experience. Whelp, we got a little tiny bit wet - and then we got pwn3d! This was made even better by the fact that after we got done with the rapids, we moved directly over to Everest and our fastpass, and a front row seat on the coaster! Nothing more romantic than sitting in the front of a two-seater rollercoaster with your hubby! Other things we did in the park that day included the Festival of the Lion King, which included not only blessed, blessed AC, but some kewl monkey guys that were almost as good as Cirque du Can't-spell-stupid-french-word-for-sun, and more imporantly, free! The Dinosaur ride was really fun, and more hardcore than I would have expected. (Again, AC.) And Pizzafari...mmm, pizza. Food isn't one of the things that you go to AK for, but luckily, we had reservations at the Animal Kingdom Lodge's "Boma", which was just a short bus ride away.
I really needed to show off this beautiful hotel to Danny - obviously, now the Polynesian is my favorite, but it's just barely before the AK Lodge - looking at the Giraffes, Kudu, birds and other awesome wildlife the whole day was quite a treat when I went with my family the year before. So, we spent some time hanging out outside watching the animals, and we spent some time inside looking at the beautiful hotel. Now, my shorts were still soaked to the bone from the stupid river ride, and the AC in there was set to Arctic, so I made a wise decision and invested in some stylish, and dry, capris from the gift shop. (We had a lot of time to kill, as our dinner reservations weren't until 9ish). But finally, dinner time did come. Boma is a really unique restaurant, as it's a buffet, but of african-inspired dishes. Some of my favorites included the Coconut Curry Salmon, the Seafood Gumbo, and this neato mashed potato dish that was mixed with tomatos and spices. Really, a great idea to have a whole bunch of exotic foods on a buffet - one can try everything with no penalty. The real highlight of the buffet is the dessert spread, however - many many awesome things, including an incredible banana bread custard thingie, and their specialty, 'Zebra Cakes' - a kind of mildly coffee flavored chocolate mini-cake. And as if that wasn't good enough, our server brought us out a card signed by the entire staff, and an absolutely gorgeous dessert spread on a board, which had 'Congratulations' piped in chocloate on it. I could cry for not having brought a camera! There were desserts on there that weren't featured on the buffet, which was extra spiffy. Needless to say, we were well fed, especially after a nice cup of coffee, fresh-pressed!
By the time we got out of there, it was past 10, and we had two options - the Magic Kingdom was open until 4 (yes, 4) AM that night to guests staying on the resort, to combat the massive crowds they would recieve on the next day, the 4th of July. So, we could either go back out, or go home and crash. I was so tired, I ended up taking the loser option, but we did go out to the pool that evening. It was nice and uncrowded by chilluns at that point - we walked out there in our bathing suits with our little wedding hats on - I don't think I described them in the last post, but the groom's hat is a tophat with mickey ears, and the bride's hat is a headband with white minnie ears and a veil, so cute! Now, the pool at the Poly features a giant volcano complete with slide, but unfortunately the slide was closed - we would have to return another night for that. After our nice swim, though, we took a moonlit walk along the beach, and hung out in a hammock for a while - amazing that such a crowded resort can have so many secluded places! Another day finished - to be continued!
Honeymoon pictures are up (in reverse order) at www.flickr.com/photos/rebecca_rupp
I really needed to show off this beautiful hotel to Danny - obviously, now the Polynesian is my favorite, but it's just barely before the AK Lodge - looking at the Giraffes, Kudu, birds and other awesome wildlife the whole day was quite a treat when I went with my family the year before. So, we spent some time hanging out outside watching the animals, and we spent some time inside looking at the beautiful hotel. Now, my shorts were still soaked to the bone from the stupid river ride, and the AC in there was set to Arctic, so I made a wise decision and invested in some stylish, and dry, capris from the gift shop. (We had a lot of time to kill, as our dinner reservations weren't until 9ish). But finally, dinner time did come. Boma is a really unique restaurant, as it's a buffet, but of african-inspired dishes. Some of my favorites included the Coconut Curry Salmon, the Seafood Gumbo, and this neato mashed potato dish that was mixed with tomatos and spices. Really, a great idea to have a whole bunch of exotic foods on a buffet - one can try everything with no penalty. The real highlight of the buffet is the dessert spread, however - many many awesome things, including an incredible banana bread custard thingie, and their specialty, 'Zebra Cakes' - a kind of mildly coffee flavored chocolate mini-cake. And as if that wasn't good enough, our server brought us out a card signed by the entire staff, and an absolutely gorgeous dessert spread on a board, which had 'Congratulations' piped in chocloate on it. I could cry for not having brought a camera! There were desserts on there that weren't featured on the buffet, which was extra spiffy. Needless to say, we were well fed, especially after a nice cup of coffee, fresh-pressed!
By the time we got out of there, it was past 10, and we had two options - the Magic Kingdom was open until 4 (yes, 4) AM that night to guests staying on the resort, to combat the massive crowds they would recieve on the next day, the 4th of July. So, we could either go back out, or go home and crash. I was so tired, I ended up taking the loser option, but we did go out to the pool that evening. It was nice and uncrowded by chilluns at that point - we walked out there in our bathing suits with our little wedding hats on - I don't think I described them in the last post, but the groom's hat is a tophat with mickey ears, and the bride's hat is a headband with white minnie ears and a veil, so cute! Now, the pool at the Poly features a giant volcano complete with slide, but unfortunately the slide was closed - we would have to return another night for that. After our nice swim, though, we took a moonlit walk along the beach, and hung out in a hammock for a while - amazing that such a crowded resort can have so many secluded places! Another day finished - to be continued!
Honeymoon pictures are up (in reverse order) at www.flickr.com/photos/rebecca_rupp