March 6 – 13, 2021 – Kathy birthday trip – day 2

Sunday 3/7/21

I was up one minute before the alarm. Showered and we had muffins in the room and went to the bus stops. We saw probably the best window decoration on the way, a Mandalorian display with a purple LED type light lighting it up! We were so in awe everytime we past it, especially when it was dark out! Once we got our spot I went and got a birthday button for Kathy and an I’m Celebrating Kathy button for me. We were on the AK bus by 6:50 for an 8:00 official open. It was super cold and breezy start to the day! We actually had to break out our gloves at the bus stop! We were to the drop off at AK by 7:02 and in the park and to the FoP queue by 7:15. Temp checks and bag check very efficient, even with a small wait at the temp check because they hadn’t started quite yet. I do like being able to keep the backpack on and just hold the electronics out! Twelve minutes of non-stop walking through the FoP queue later, man that is a LONG queue!, and we were to the loading ramps for the ride. We were on and off the ride just before park open and even though they were queuing FoP along the back trail to Africa the CM said they should let us through. So we went that way and enjoyed the walk by the river to get to Safaris a little quicker and easier than exiting out of Pandora by Pizzafari. We basically walked through the queue and onto a waiting safari truck. Emma was our driver and she was great! We had a Bongo cross right in front of us and saw two of the elephants running to something they wanted! Very unusual to see elephants move that fast for us! The lions were watching the rhinos very intently! It was almost like when our cats see a bird or squirrel out our window! After our safari I walked with purpose over to EE where I was able to get two rides in with absolutely no wait! Literally walked to the boarding platform and onto the next train! I met back up with Kathy and we went over to Dinosaur for our longest wait of the day, and even that was only at about 25 minutes. We then completed the rides with Triceratops Spin with only one cycle wait. All the rides we wanted done by 10:05! Never underestimate the power of pre-rope drop!

One of our objectives of this trip was to see as many cavalcades as possible. So from there we took Aimee and Kevin’s advice from yesterday and went to the amphitheater where Rivers of Light used to be, the side by Dinoland. There was no one there! We just sat enjoying the sun and the boats and character interaction with us for close to an hour! The sun felt so good too since it was still a little chilly with a breeze. After enjoying that time we mobile ordered lunch from Flame Tree and shopped the shop across the street from Flame Tree while that prepared our order. I had a baby Yoda use the Force on me while in there! The CM with him said he was checking to make sure I was a good guy, I checked out ok. Haha! I was also able to see the last bit of the macaw flyover at the Tree of Life just before lunch. We enjoyed our pulled pork with mac and cheese and chicken by the water. After lunch we browsed the other shop and took some time to see the otters and the Tree of Life Trail. Kathy really enjoyed me showing her that. We walked back to Tamu Tamu for our Dole Whip with rum, toured the Africa shop and got some Photopass stops on the way out. We just missed a bus so had a little bit of a wait for another. We got home and Kathy rested her foot and we both got a little down time.

We left the room about 3:30 for a mug refill and a bus to Downtown Disney Springs was there in short order. We got to DTD about 4:00 and got to see the Ambielli’s beginning their dinner. We got to spend some good time with them for a nice visit after they finished their dinner at Deluxe Burger. We all got to go to World of Disney before they had to get the kids home, it being a school night. Kathy found a Haunted Mansion ornament of the three hitchhiking ghosts in a doom buggy. We finished up our shops and an AoA bus was waiting for us to take us home. We stopped at AoA for some delicious pasta and meatballs. The meatballs were really seasoned well and some of the best we’ve had there! We browsed Ink and Paint, walked across the bridge to Everything Pop, filled our mug and back to the room a little after 8:00 after what was a very full and very fun day! Not a cloud was seen all day! The sun was absolutely glorious! I was amazed at what all we got done, with a mid-day break, when we never rushed except right at rope drop! I’m constantly surprised at how much we accomplish.

Steps: 26,106
Miles: 11.76
Calories burned: 3641
Spin: 5 on the bus