An ENT Tradition

I'm not quite sure how we went from "come back in February and hopefully we won't have to see you again" to "he might need another set of tubes" at the ENT, but I am not amused. Not necessarily surprised, but still not happy. To recap Luke's Ear/Nose/Throat (ENT) history to date: In October 2006, we were told Luke needed speech therapy. They found fluid on his ears and told us to get it taken care of. by August 2007, we finally had tubes put in to help with fluid drainage and ear infections. In August 2008, his tubes had come out and were just sitting in the ear canal. They were removed and we were told to return in six months (Feb 2009) for our final check. If everything looked good, we were done. But of course not! Luke was just finishing an ear infection in February 2009, so there was still some fluid behind his ear, and she said that the eardrum was a little "sucked in." She did say that may just be normal for him coming off an infection, so she wanted to see us back in a month. That would be today.

So, he's been fine for a month. Off and on fever, but no cold or anything. He did come down with allergies when we got back from Disney. We all did. (How could you not when you live in the allergy capitol of the world? I saw a lot of yellow in the puddles today.) I had no idea what that would mean for his appointment today. I actually forgot about his 9 AM appointment until I was strapping him in his car seat to take him to school. Thank goodness it was 8:45, so all I had to do was drive to the doctor instead. We made it just in time. I felt like such a dork.

Anyway, we arrived, we waited 20 minutes (trying not to snort; we were the first appointment of the day, how can you be late already?!), and we were taken back for the tympanogram, which "takes a picture of your eardrum," as the tech explained. It is actually measuring the movement of the eardrum. One ear looked great, the other one looked really wonky. She took a look. I was surprised to learn that she saw a good bit of scarring on his left eardrum. No one had ever mentioned it before, and she did say it was common in children who have had tubes. It just took me by surprise. Then she took him in the soundproof booth for a hearing test. By himself. It was the first time he has ever done one alone. He was a little nervous at first, but he did great. The tech pronounced his hearing normal in both ears, and we were moved into the room to see the doctor, where we thankfully did not wait long at all.

She looked at the tympanogram, she looked at his hearing test, she looked in his ears and mouth. Then she looked at me. "Well, there's still fluid back there. It's not infected, but it's been there for a month at least. The good news is that it is not affecting his hearing. If it were causing hearing problems, or if we were heading into the winter months, I would not hesitate to recommend a second set of tubes. But since we are heading into the summer, and the fluid is not currently causing any problems, let's see if we can clear up the fluid instead." He is now on antihistamines and decongestants every day, and a nasal spray. We see her again in a month. If the fluid is still there, or if he gets an ear infection in the meantime, there will most likely be more tubes. If it goes away, she'll send us on our way for a few months. I suspect even if it is gone, she will check it again in the fall/winter, just to be sure, but we'll see. I shouldn't be surprised, though. Luke is only following in the family tradition. I had to have two sets of tubes, too! (Thanks for the reminder, Melissa! There was also some mention of tonsils and adenoids, but that falls under "we'll cross that bridge when we come to it" and was not discussed beyond a passing mention.)

My apologies for the departure from the Disney recap. I hope to get back to it tomorrow. (I have the pictures selected and shrunk, but no text accompaniment at present.) But, I wanted to get this down before I forgot.

Currently feeling: tired of ear trouble

Disney 2009, Day 5: Animal Kingdom, Part 2

Where we left off: We had just finished lunch at the Rainforest Cafe at Animal Kingdom, including dessert of cheesecake with whipped cream and "broccoli." Hee-hee!

Now, normally at this stage of the game, we would head back to the hotel for a nap, but not this day. Because of the animals, the park is only open limited hours, especially in the evenings. It is rarely open later than 5 or 6 PM, except for Extra Magic Hours (EMH). Extra Magic Hours, if you don't know, are additional park hours granted only to Disney resort guests (i.e. people staying at Disney owned hotels). There are Morning EMH hours (one hour before opening for general admission) and Evening EMH (3 hours after park close for general admission). Again, since we usually stay off properly, this is not a perk that we routinely get to participate in. And, each will always be busier on its designated EMH day than it is on a non-EMH day, so I usually try to avoid EMH parks whether staying on property or not. But for Animal Kingdom, I had made an exception. I knew we only had one day (most likely), and I knew there was plenty we wanted to do.

We had also made the executive parenting decision to skip a nap on our AK day. Why? Because even though the park was open until 8 PM for resort guests, all of the *shows* stopped running before 5, as did the Safari and the Conservation Station train. Other than rides, most of which Luke could not ride, what did that leave for us to do? So why bother with the EMH? Because I didn't want to go all day until 5 and then be forced to leave and *then* try and find dinner. By choosing to go on an EMH day, we could do any of the things that closed right up until 5, then as the other guests were leaving, we could eat dinner, then ride some of the open rides or leave. At least with Evening EMH, we would have the option. (Are DH and I the only ones geeky enough to think "emergency medical hologram" every time they see the abbreviation EMH?)

So instead of heading for a nap, we headed right back into the park, straight for Everest. Used our fast passes that we had picked up before lunch and got on. It was still just as fun! We picked up one more set of fast passes for Everest (3:40-4:40 return time, I think), I stuck them in my wallet, and we headed across the park from Asia to Africa. Primary targets 1 and 2 had been achieved. Time to knock off #3, Kilimanjaro Safaris. (I know, I know, you want me to stop yapping and show you come pictures!)



Once upon a time, Kilimanjaro Safaris was *the* Animal Kingdom ride, the one that you went straight for the minute you walked into the park. I think they finally have enough things to spread out that crush of people more now, but it is still very very popular, and we didn't have fast passes. I think the posted wait time 45 minutes, but the do give you things to do in queue, like see some animals. I couldn't believe it when this bird turned and looked right into the camera. So striking!



The queue moved quite well, and we boarded the vehicle in about 35 minutes. Mom was responsible for the wide angle views and photos of closer things (like Luke in the vehicle). She had a 4x wide angle zoom on her point and shoot that Dad bought her just for the trip.



I had the anti-shake big zoom lens on the DSLR. It *starts* at a 3x zoom, so there was no way for me to get a picture of Luke. I did get some good close ups of the animals, though.



I loved that this nest was so close to the vehicle path. The zoom lens is barely out, if any at all. No idea what kind of birds these were, but they were just doing their thing, not 10 feet from the vehicle. BTW, that blurry thing on the bottom left is *not* my finger. (The lens was too big for that to even be possible.) It is actually the bill of DH's hat. The vehicles "shake, rattle, and roll" so much that it is hard not to get in someone's way. I really dislike the fact that they feel the need to have a "story" for this ride. You are tracking some poachers as you go through the reserve. The radio interrupts periodically, and at some point you "have to" chase after them. I'd really rather spend a little more time looking at the animals; they are simply amazing all on their own. I don't know anyone who does the Safari to chase poachers; we just want to see the animals. Like these!



And Mom and I were both fascinated by these trees. I forget what they are called (can't look for animals, take pictures, listen to the guide, *and* take notes all at the same time), but there are several of them along the path. They are huge! Easily 8-10 feet in diameter.



It was really hard to whittle down the pictures for this one. I'm leaving lots of things out, going for the impressive shots. Like these. When I rounded the corner, I could not believe our luck!



But we were luckier than I knew. Look closer at the elephant on the left. She seems to have some extra legs there. As we drove slowly past, we could see what she was protecting on her other side.



And I just like this shot of all the flamingos.



There was more big game to come.



If that's not the laziest good-for-nothing lion I've ever seen, I don't know what is! It was in the mid-80s, it was around 2 PM. I think I was just jealous since, on most days, we would also have been napping right then.

Luke really seemed to enjoy the safari, but he was clearly crashing as we got off. It had been a good 2 hours since we had finished lunch (not started, but finished). One of the things I dislike most about Animal Kingdom is the lack of covered places to sit. Up until recently, there were few indoor restaurants at the park, and no "sit down" places. That has changed just in the last 3-4 years, but most places are still counter service with only outdoor seating, some covered, some not. I'm all for authenticity, but I need my air conditioning, thank you. At least it was only in the low to mid 80s. Can you imagine what it would be like in August in Orlando? I'm melting just thinking about it. We did find some covered seating with ceiling fans, and that was good enough. We all consumed some calories, then headed back to Asia. We passed this drum area on the way out of Africa.



Now keep in mind that we are about the white-est people I know. No rhythm or soul whatsoever. I saw a t-shirt years and years ago that read, "Certified Caucasian: Do not place on dance floor." That pretty much sums up my entire family and should probably be extended to "do not allow on drums," LOL! Luke still can't clap on beat, though he is getting better. So all things considered, I think he did pretty well!


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

And we stopped for our group shot of the day in front of the Tree of Life, the symbol of Animal Kingdom, much like the castle for MK, Spaceship Earth for Epcot, and the hat for Studios. It is really something else to see!



I know it is really hard to tell in that picture, but you may have noticed it in the shot of Mickey from the previous Animal Kingdom post. Can you see the trunk of the tree? Here, try this one:



See the carvings? Let's put that zoom lens to work, shall we? How about now:



Those are slightly different angles (note the owl change sides). What does the zoom lens full out get us?



And why have all those megapixels if you aren't going to use them? This is cropped from the same photo above, top right.



As you have probably guessed, I am rather amazed by the tree. I have been ever since the first time I saw it. During that trip to the Animal Kingdom, we actually got to walk around it up close. The Tree of Life and the Lights Motor Action stunt show are the two things that convinced me to borrow my father's DSLR in the first place (and to be willing to haul it around at the parks; that thing is heavy!). All of these photos were taken from across the river. I had hoped to walk the trails around the base of the tree this visit, but we just never made it. I was sad, but it will be at the top of the list (okay, behind Everest and probably Nemo) for our next trip.

Our next stop was my #1 secondary target, the Flights of Wonder bird show. (I am kicking myself for not remembering to photograph the sign out front!) DH and I accidentally stumbled onto this show during our previous visit, and I absolutely loved it. I have been looking forward to taking Luke to see it for years now. I hoped he would love it, too. They bring out all different birds that are trained to perform tricks (based on natural behaviors). They do not capture these birds in order to train them. Most are not able to live in the wild for various reasons. Many of the birds fly out and over the audience at their introduction. This is the "total luck, no skill involved" shot of the trip:



Parrots are well known for their ability to mimic, both animals and humans. They said this one has the most amazing mimicry skills they have ever seen. Supposedly, he can sing 7 different songs! Not perfectly in tune, but definitely recognizable. He sang Yankee Doodle Dandy and something else I am forgetting right now.



This one flew over to a woman and took a dollar (actually a $20 bill) from her hand. This shot is of it flying back to return it to her.



And this one took it's little toy lizard there and slammed it to the ground. This is how it kills its prey and eats in the wild, but it was still pretty funny to see it attacking this toy.



I needn't have worried. Luke was having a ball!



Now take a look at this one:



It's pretty big, at least 2 feet tall (0.5 m) to the head with a wingspan of at least 6 feet (2 m). They had let several birds fly out over various sections of the audience, but this is the one that flew directly over our section. The advice from the lady on stage: "Don't duck. It will only fly lower!" I think it nearly touched Luke's head as it flew over (seriously):



Some birds in the show don't even do tricks, they're just brought out for you to see. They serve instead as ambassadors for their species. And boy, is it worth it!



This bald eagle has a permanent wing injury and cannot be returned to the wild. She was just stunning. As the show ended, they brought out a couple more birds, including this owl, who was similarly amazing.



Now the owl plays an important part in the next segment of our story. It was sort of the catalyst, so to speak. The show was over, and they had invited everyone up to the front to get a closer look at the birds if we wanted to. Luke and DH went to one side and Mom stayed sitting on the bench. I took both cameras and went to see the owl. Snapped some shots, got back to our seat, packed up everything (or so I thought), and left for our last ride on Everest.

We arrived on the far side of Asia and began divesting ourselves of unnecessary hats and backpacks, handed them all over to DH, and were ready to join the fast pass line. I had the fast passes in my wallet, remember? So I reach into my pocket. No wallet. "Honey, do you have my wallet?" No, you never gave it to me today. "Mom, did I put it in your backpack at any point?" No, not there either. We tear apart all camera bags and backpacks and pockets. Nothing. I *know* I had it at the bird show, because my point and shoot camera was sitting on top of it at some point. Apparently, I had left it on the bench at the show. I took the DSLR and the point and shoot with me to go see the owl. I had probably left just the wallet sitting there. Mom was sitting a good 10-15 feet away from it, and she was probably watching Luke and DH, so someone easily could have thought that it was abandoned or lost. There was no reason to connect it to Mom. Please please please please please let someone have turned it it! Mom offered to run back and get it while I waited at the ride with Luke. She was already gone by the time I realized that it was *my* wallet and not hers, so it was entirely possible they would refuse to give it to her, even if they had it. Duh!! I figured she would call or text if she needed me to come. I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket, held it in my hand, and waited. I'll let Mom tell the next part of the story in her own words, since she's the one who was actually there.

I ran back to the Flights of Wonder venue. As I approached I saw a Disney security guard standing in front sort of looking out at the crowd gathered for the parade. I realized I couldn't just walk into the closed tent, so I approached him to explain my dilemma. "We were at the last show here, and my daughter left her wallet. May I please go inside and look for it?"

Where is your daughter now? "She has gone up to the Everest ride." What's her name? "Erin Warren. I can text her and have her come back here," I said, afraid you might already be on the ride! Then realizing my mistake, I jumped in quickly with "Erin Gaston. Erin Warren Gaston." Boy he will never believe a word I say now, I don’t even know my own daughter's name! [Erin's note: I found it funny she still answers that question with my maiden name, 11 years after I got married, LOL! And my license actually does say "Erin Warren Gaston" on it.]

"Do you have a picture of your daughter?" I thought it an odd question until I spotted said wallet tucked between his chest and the clipboard he was carrying. I didn't let on that I knew he had it. Usually I have [Erin's] photo in my purse, but I had pared down to the bare essentials for the trip and, no, [the] photo didn't make it into that category! "No.... Oh! Maybe on my camera!" and I start scrolling through the photos. Yes, there are several with [Erin] about 1/8th of an inch tall in the far back of some of the pictures of Luke playing the drums. "That's her in the back," I say lamely.

"Do you have a close up of her?" Well, no, "but I have pictures of my grandson," I say laughing in that proud grandmotherly way. "You want to see him?" I ask, as if he was a friend from high school I just ran into!

"Yeah, I'd like to see him!" So we scrolled through pictures of Luke playing, walking, smiling. "I recognize him" the grinning man said, "I saw him in this wallet." And he pulls the wallet out from its hiding place.

Thank you, Lord! "Yes ma'am, you said the right words right there. I was just about to leave to take it to Lost & Found when you came up and asked me. A few more seconds and I'd have been gone." I thanked him profusely, tucked the wallet in my backpack and took off for Everest, never before so happy to have been interrogated by security!

My cell phone dings with a text. She has my wallet, and a good story to go along with it. Clearly, someone up there likes me! Thank goodness I had put the fast passes in it, or who knows how long it would have been before I noticed it was missing. It also means that I need to remember when I travel to put a card or something in there with my cell number on it that says to call that number if found. Lost and Found could have called my home number on my license, but we would not have gotten that message for several more days. Good grief! I never ever do things like that, especially at Disney. It was just a sign of how tired we were all getting. We had done 5 hard days at Disney. Even Luke had complained after the Safari that his feet hurt, and I've never heard him say that before. He walks everywhere, just as much as the adults. More, really, since he has to take more strides to keep up. He does not use a stroller at all. He has refused to sit in them pretty much since he could walk. He gets the occasional shoulder ride from DH, but that's it. Even with naps, we were clearly weary.


By popular request, a picture of Mom's Everest hat, taken after our return.

We did our last ride on Everest, then decided to call it a day. It was about 3:45, but there were no other shows that we had time to catch from where we were. We just headed out of the park. And we ran right into, you guessed it, the parade! Why do these things feel the need to follow and torture me?! Every other park has their afternoon parade at 3. I thought we had missed this one, but no. AK's parade starts at 3:30, and ends near the front gate. Argh!! We ended up cutting around Dino Land (where I picked up a "Tigger, is that you?" tote bag), and then through a store that seemed to put us out downstream from the end of the parade. We very slowly trudged out to the car in the hot brilliant sun, drove back to the hotel, and collapsed on the beds.

Since the original plan had been to eat at the park, I had no idea what we were going to do now for dinner. Maybe room service? Then I remembered one of the vouchers included with our travel package: a $15 food voucher for Planet Hollywood. Two packages (us and Mom), so two vouchers. Seems a shame to waste $30 in free food, right? We rested up for a bit, had some refreshments, and then left for Downtown Disney.



I don't recall if I had ever eaten at a Planet Hollywood before or not. If so, it wasn't the one at Downtown. (We did eat at the Orlando Hard Rock Cafe, though, long before the Planet Hollywood was ever built.) We arrived around 5:30. I was afraid that they would be busy, but we walked right in and were seated immediately.



I don't know if you can tell from the picturs, but we were seated in this sort of stone tower thing. It had a ceiling, one door opening, and 5-6 sides, some with windows. It was weird. Cool, but weird. People kept walking by and looking in at us, obviously trying to figure out if we were anyone special for being seated there. Nope, it just happens to be where they put us! I forgot to take pictures of our food. We had the zucchini chips as an appetizer (I thought they were okay; fried pickles are better, IMO). Luke got pizza that was topped with provalone instead of mozarella (yum!), and he ate 2 of the 3 breadsticks I ordered (which I expected). DH got the fajitas, I got the shrimp alfredo with linguini, and Mom got the crab cakes with mashed potatoes and veggies. No dessert this time. Luke was about to fall over by the time we left (no nap, remember), and the rest of us were dragging, too. It wasn't even 7 PM, but there would also be no nap the next day, so we turned in for an early night.

Next up, Disney 2009, Day 6: Sports Day.

Currently feeling: done with exotic animals for now

Disney 2009, Day 5: Animal Kingdom, Part 1

My sincerest apologies to my readers, especially any who have slower connections. Animal Kingdom is just too photogenic! As you have probably guessed from the title, I have had to split the Animal Kingdom summary into 2 parts, mainly to accommodate all the photos. I just couldn't bring myself to cut any more pictures, which is funny since I was never a huge fan of Animal Kingdom before now. Still not my favorite, but it is sincerely growing on me!



I don't know why this is the only park it occurred to me to photograph the entrance. Since we did all 4 parks, it would have been really nice! Duh. Chalk it up to habit. I am so accustomed to seeing the other gates that it just didn't cross my mind. But I think we had only been to Animal Kingdom once prior to this, not long after it first opened, and Mom and Luke had never been, so it was a little exciting for everyone. (Also why there is more to tell for this park than the others. I don't feel like I am repeating myself from my previous trip summaries.) The animal experiences start almost as soon as you enter the gates.



We got up early this day because of AK's limited hours, and we arrived just before the park opened. Here is Mickey announcing the opening. Because we arrived just 2-3 minutes before opening, we were way in the back. WAY in the back. As in, this photo is not cropped, but I do think the 200mm zoom is full out on the DSLR. Yeah.



But that's okay. We had a plan! As I'm sure you have gathered by now, I like to have a plan before we go anywhere, especially to Disney parks. We can change the plan at any time; I'm not that uptight. But I get panicked if we just try to "wing it" without any sort of advanced plan at all. What can I say, it keeps me off the streets. Standard procedure for Disney trips is to plan a primary target for each half of the day. This ensures that we get in all of our "must do" rides and shows, but with only two primary targets (and usually 3-4 secondary targets), there is plenty of opportunity to do things as the mood strikes. But with only one day at AK, we had three primaries: the Finding Nemo show, Kilimanjaro Safaris, and Expedition Everest!



This is the view of Everest from the Nemo waiting area. Now, I suspected that Luke was tall enough to ride Everest, but since he is only 4 years old, I was not willing to put him on a roller coaster that I had never ridden. I wanted to ride it first to make sure it was okay. But I had also heard that you need to be at the Finding Nemo musical show 30-45 minutes early to get a seat because it is so popular. Even the show schedule says arrive 45 minutes early. Nemo has long been one of Luke's favorite movies, ever since he was an infant (seriously), and I had heard tons of good things about it (like it is second only to Hunchback in awesomeness). I wanted to see it, and I wanted Luke to see it. So target #1 was actually Nemo, not Everest. We would walk into the park, take the first right, go straight to Nemo, catch the 10 AM show, then send Luke and DH (who does not do roller coasters at all) to Dino Land while Mom and I checked out Everest.



So the three Gastons wait at Nemo. Mom takes our tickets and runs off to check the fast pass times for Everest. If they cover 10:30 or later, she'll get 4. Either she and I will ride twice in quick succession, or I will have the option of changing my mind and letting him ride it sight unseen. We sit. We wait for her return. I take the two above photos. I listen to the roaring trains and the terrified screams from the mountain. I sigh wistfully. I whip out the zoom lens and try to get a closer look. See the train in the bottom right of the photo below?



There is no one else around with us. I feel like we are wasting time, but we are *not* going to miss the show, and there was nothing else close enough that we could do in time to be back before 10. Mom gets back to us less than 15 minutes later with fast passes in hand (Nemo and Everest are just across a bridge from each other, just FYI). She also had some surprising news: there was only a 20 minute wait for Everest. Do we want to try and get it in before Nemo starts, so that if it is okay, we can let Luke ride right after the show is over? I really really really don't want to miss the show. But I really really *REALLY* want to ride that roller coaster! I hadn't ridden a new coaster in years, maybe since we got married (that was nearly 11 years ago). Long ago enough that I can't remember! And probably even longer ago than that for Mom, the person responsible for turning me into a roller coaster junkie in the first place. I'm dithering and indecisive, very unlike me, glancing back and forth between the Nemo sign and the mountain. Finally DH looks at us and all but shouts "GO!!" It took all I had not to run.




Everything I had heard about the theming on this ride was true. It was amazing! The first part is covered but open, like you are walking through a Tibetan village. The second part is enclosed and is meant to be a museum. That sign up there reads: "Namaste. Tashi Delek. Welcome to the Yeti Museum - Dedicated to the serious study of the scientific and cultural aspects of the mysterious creature known and revered throughout the Himalayas as the Yeti. Prof. Pema Dorje, PHD. Curator, The Yeti Museum" (I personally think it probably should have said "Joe Rhode" as curator, but that's just me.) I even took a picture that reminded me of all my knitty friends! LOL



OMG, it was awesome! I'll tell you more about it a little bit later, I promise. We walked off the ride and were back at Nemo just as they started to let people in. We could not have timed it better if we had tried.



The theater did fill up to about 2/3 capacity. And in true Disney fashion, they even had something to entertain the kids. See those bubbles behind Luke? There was a set of bubbles like that on each side of the stage. The large bubbles actually had screens behind them, and every couple of minutes, a clown fish would swim through one of them. Once it started happening, each sighting was accompanied by children shrieking, "There he is!" Or, "Look, Nemo!" It was so funny. And then the show started.



Wow. Just wow. It only took me about 3 minutes to be blown away. Is it Hunchback? No, I still think that one is better. But this one comes awfully close!



Mom and I were both afraid that being able to see the puppeteers would be very distracting, but it wasn't at all. Despite being clearly visible, you were so focused on the music and the performance that the performers just melded seamlessly with what was going on. It was amazing. I was also afraid that it would be distracting for it to be a musical when there was absolutely no music (in terms of songs) in the movie, but it was so well done!



Luke was mesmerized. I wasn't always sure if he was absorbing what he was seeing, but he was spontaneously and genuinely clapping (not just clapping because other people were doing it), and he could not take his eyes off the action. I once again used the spot exposure function on my little point and shoot (since you couldn't use a flash), and I got some great shots. Lots of not so great ones, too, but the ones that did turn out were great. Most of these are not retouched in any way other than cropping (and some are not cropped at all).



And ending with a photo of the cast and their curtain call, because they totally deserve it. WOW! If you are a fan at all of the movie or of puppetry, you have to see this show next time you go to Animal Kingdom. The Finding Nemo show alone is reason enough to go visit the Animal Kingdom park. Seriously.

But of course, there is another reason! Being that it was just across the bridge, we exited the theater and ran walked expediently over to Everest. With shoes, Luke cleared the 44-inch (1.1 m) height requirement by about half an inch (1 cm). Without shoes, it might have been close, but if they were good with it, I was willing to let him ride. And with fast passes in hand, we were good to go. Note the shadow of my hands and camera in Mom's picture. I really liked the individual lap bar set-up, and I found the seats very comfortable even for someone both as short and as large as me.



***SPOILER ALERT!! THERE ARE NO SPOILER PHOTOS, BUT THE NEXT PARAGRAPHS TALK SPECIFICS OF THE EXPEDITION EVEREST RIDE. IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THE RIDE, SKIP TO THE TEXT AFTER THE PHOTO OF THE THREE OF US IN FRONT OF THE EXPEDITION EVEREST SIGN.***

The ride starts off tame enough. In fact, I was afraid it was going to be a bit of a bust on my first ride. There is a small gentle hill and a couple of smooth curves. It definitely tries to lull you into a false sense of security. Fun, but not especially thrilling. Then you start going up the hill. You see the temple way above you, and it is just lovely. And you go up... and up... and up! Until all of the Animal Kingdom looks like this!



YIKES!! That is the Tree of Life in the center of the park sticking up near the middle there. The track is narrow at this point, and the angle of ascent is pretty steep (thus why the view picture is slanted; it was hard to compensate in a hurry), so as you look side to side, you see nothing but air and the ground far below. It is a fantastic view, really, but if you are afraid of heights at all, I suggest you not look down. It made even my breath catch slightly and my eyes bug out a bit, and heights don't generally bother me. The temple at the top is beautifully detailed, both inside and out. From there, the ride takes off. The track is broken and you slide backwards through darkness. Thankfully, I remembered a comment DH had made about Luke on Pirates of the Caribbean. When going through the tunnel that is pitch black after the drop on Pirates, Luke had reached over and touched DH's arm, just to reassure himself that DH was still there, so I reached over and gently touched Luke's arm. He gently returned the touch, so that was a good move on my part.

After a short backwards trip, you stop again in a darkened cave, and you watch a silhouette image of the Yeti destroying more track. Luke did get a little concerned at this point, but I leaned over and explained that the Yeti shadow he was seeing was just a movie, and he was okay. After that, you really don't have time to think. You just fly! There are curves and hills and a huge drop. It is so much fun! The actual animatronic Yeti, though, is pretty disappointing. Someone (I'm sorry I can't remember who it was now!) asked me if the Yeti was "on" or not. It apparently had two modes, one where it moves a lot ("on") and one where it doesn't. I hear that the movement has caused cracks in the steel frame holding it up. (Who designed that thing?! And what safety factor was used? Sheesh.) So it is rarely if ever on these days until they figure out how to fix it. I don't think it was on, but I don't know for sure. Since this was my first time on the ride, I have nothing to compare it to. I was very surprised that it was brown, though, as opposed to white or gray, and in the dark cave, it is very hard to see. I know Mom didn't see it at all the first couple of times she rode. I'm actually not sure if she ever really saw it or not. (Mom, care to chime in via comments?) It's a shame, really, considering how expensive and advanced (and impressive and scary) it is supposed to be.

Finally, you come screaming into the end gate, where you break hard (fun), but not too hard. The platform comes right up to the level of the floor of the seat, so there is no stepping up or down to get out (or in, for that matter, but I didn't notice until we got out). You just walk right out of the car. Excellent ergonomics, in my professional opinion. I don't think it will replace the Rockin' Roller Coaster as my favorite Disney thrill ride, but it's definitely right up there. Mom was so impressed, she even bought an Expedition Everest hat! (She forgot to bring any hat with her to the park, so she needed one, but it is telling that she bought one for the ride and not just a generic Disney or Animal Kingdom hat.) And Luke absolutely LOVED it! He was immediately begging to ride again. Here we are, having triumphantly conquered Everest!



We were off the ride by 11:10. That gave us just enough time to pick up some Everest fast passes for right after lunch and then book it to the Rainforest Cafe in time for our 11:30 reservations. Rainforest is technically outside the park, so you have to go through turnstiles and everything to get there. The entrance from inside the park makes you wind your way through the gift shop to find the purple elephant (where you check in). I thought we were going to have to send up a flair.



We were seated in the elephant room, just across the way from the aquariums at the entrance to the dining area. I've sat close to the animatronics before, but never this close!



That is zoomed all the way out. (Not in, out!) I actually couldn't get far enough away from it to get it all in frame. I was sitting in the chair closest to it (empty in the photo below). We asked Luke if he wanted to sit there, and he was not interested at all. I wanted to get a picture of him standing by it, and he wouldn't go near it. He had to sit Mom's lap (none of those photos turned out, shame). Here, you can see how close it was in this picture. If it had been real, it could have reached out with its trunk and touched my shoulder.



Part of the reason we always eat at Rainforest Cafe while at Disney (though usually at Downtown) is because we genuinely like the food. We even have our "usual" dishes: Rasta Pasta for Mom, Rumble in the Jungle caesar turkey wrap for DH and me (he gets fries, I get chips; only one wrap photo though), and Luke gets the kid's shrimp.



We also decided to get dessert again. At Tony's the previous day, I had originally wanted the cheesecake, but once I found out it was strawberry mousse cheesecake, I was no longer interested. Rainforest had traditional cheesecake, so Mom and I split a piece. It was very yummy, but something about the presentation baffled Luke. Check out the picture. First, he thought the large scoop of whipped cream was ice cream. An understandable mistake. But it was the mint sprig really confused him. First the picture:



When the waitress set it down, Luke says, "Eww. There's broccoli on the ice cream!" LOL

Okay, I'll leave it there for now. It is very *very* late (actually about 4:30 AM on 3/22, but I'm going to back date the post so there is only one per day), and I've put in too many photos already. There are still more to come (what can I say, just too much to photograph at this park!), but I'll save them for tomorrow.

Next up: Disney 2009, Day 5: Animal Kingdom, Part 2.

Currently feeling: too much camera clicky finger