2012: Day 3 Magic Kindom and DTD

     We were supposed to get up early and make it to an 8 AM rope drop at the Magic Kingdom today, but that did not happen.  We've never actually made it to rope drop at Magic Kingdom...next time!  We did make it there by lunch time and went straight to Pecos Bills.  After lunch, we rode Pirates of the Carribean and Haunted Mansion with fairly short waits.  It was crowded! 
     After Haunted Mansion, we got a call from home letting us know that my birth certificate had not arrived.  This was very bad news, indeed!  I immediately got on the phone with Disney Cruise Line, and a nice lady there politely and reassuringly convinced me that the birth certificate my mom had sent to me via  Fed Ex overnight would most assuredly not be sufficient.  I was distraught to say the least.  We spent the next few hours worrying about that before finally throwing our hands up in the air and deciding there was nothing more we could do at the moment.
     It was now about 5 pm and we decided to take a dip in the AKL pool.  I know they say the pools are heated, and the outside temperate was a balmy 90 degrees or so, but that pool was COLD!  We didn't last more than 20 minutes.  Back up to the room for a short nap and showers for all.  This was the one night we had no actual dinner plans.  Big mistake!  None of us could agree and, with tensions already high over the birth certificate issue, there was a lot of grumbling.  In the end we decided to go to Wolfgang Puck's Cafe at Downtown Disney.  Dinner was good, but not necessarily memorable. 
    After dinner, there was more discussion of what to do with the rest of the evening.  Eventually, I convinced Brent and Shelby to check out Yeehaa Bob at Port Orleans Riverside.   I was really impressed with the beauty of that resort and will likely book there next time.  Yeehaa Bob was as great as promised, but Shelby just was not having it.  She was really in a teenager mood and it just ruined the whole thing.  C'est la vie! 
     I didn't take many pictures on this day, but here are a few...

2012: Day 2 Wanyama Safari

     Without question, the Wanyama Safari was one of the highlights of our trip.  It is only available to guests of the Animal Kingdom Lodge and the tour is also limited to 12 guests.  You start the tour with hors d'oeuvres at Jiko.  There were two other groups on our tour.  Two older (than us) couples from New Jersey and a Mom and her two kids (17 and 11) from Vancouver.  After a short wait, an African drummer paraded us through the lobby and out to the safari vehicle. 
     The safari begins on the far side of Kidani Village and winds it way through the four savanas.  Jeff, our tour guide for the first part of the tour, was a hoot!  He was also quite knowledgeable and gladly answered all of our questions.  You truly get within feet, even inches, of these animals. 
     Christopher took over as tour guide once we entered the Jambo House savana areas.  He was more reserved, but just as knowledgeable.  Shelby's loved the zebras, while Brent's favorite were the giraffes. 
     We spent about 2 hours out on the savana before returning to Jiko for our dinner at the chef's table.  Hands down, this was the best meal of our trip.  I had always heard Jiko was good, but I had no idea.  Oh, my word!  I was afraid Shelby would not have anything to eat as many of the selections were a bit more exotic than her typical diet.  However, she surprised me and not only tried everything, but enjoyed it. 
     Our server was excellent, but the only negative (and it isn't even that big of a deal) was the "chef."  I was under the impression that the head chef would be the one introducing each of our courses.  I could be wrong, but I do not think the young man who came to our table was anything more than a sous chef.  He spoke very quickly and introduced two courses at a time.  Given that a cocktail and a wine pairing with each course was included, it would have been nice if he could have come out and introduced each course individually...slowly.  Truly, though, the food was fabulous !