02/18 - AK / Epcot / MK
 

Home Up

 

Tuesday, February 18th, 2025              

Aunt Erica was dropped off at our house this morning, and Grandma Terry and Uncle Steven met us there before we all loaded up, along with Samantha, to head to Disney's Animal Kingdom. Jayden stayed behind to go to school, as she is saving up her "sick days" for when her friend comes down to visit us for her spring break from Michigan.

Our first stop of the day came at the rest area in Polk County, where I snapped a photo of the "Cyber-urinal" that I contend inspired the design for the Tesla Cybertruck!
 

Polk County Rest Area
 

The "Cyber-urinal" in the men's restroom at the Polk Country rest area along I-4.

  

Our plan for today was to visit Disney's Animal Kingdom, to enjoy the animals on Kilimanjaro Safaris and a walk on the Maharajah Jungle Trek, and hopefully a ride on Avatar Flight of Passage. Alas, as we later learned, today was not exactly a great day to be visiting Walt Disney World - the day after Presidents Day is apparently a very busy day! As the wait times for the safari and Avatar ride showed us, that was likely true. Because of these wait times, we only got to experience the Maharajah Jungle Trek, where we got to see the trails latest addition - the Sumatran Tiger cub Bakso, who was out with his mom Sohni. Bakso was born late last year, and has only recently been making his appearance for the public. Although we had to wait in a short line to see him, it was worth it!

We decided to go see the It's Tough to be a Bug! show for what will probably be our last time today, so we headed out of Asia and made our way towards Discovery Island, taking the scenic route through Africa and doing some shopping on our way. We did finally get to see the Bug's Life based show, and though it is enjoyable, it certainly could have used some updated were it to stick around. The animatronic characters didn't seem to be fully functional (mouth and eye movements were noticeably lacking), and the seat features (acid spray, wasp stings, bugs crawling) were lacking in our seats today. While I am excited to see what the new Zootopia show has to offer, I will indeed miss It's Tough to be a Bug!

After exiting the Tree of Life Theater, we headed over to Pandora - The World of Avatar to have lunch at the Satu'li Canteen. Uncle Steve, Aunt Erica, and I all had the "Teylu", an all-beef hot dog wrapped in Parker House dough with vegetable chips. Samantha decided to brave the Chili-Garlic Shrimp Bowl (shrimp tossed in a chili-garlic sauce topped with crunchy vegetable slaw and boba balls) despite choking on the shrimp the last time she tried it. Grandma Terry opted for the Chopped Wood-Grilled Chicken Bowl kids meal, which is a wood-grilled chicken topped with crunch vegetable slaw, which she found to be on the dry side.

Once we finished lunch we did some more shopping on our way out of the park, before heading out of the park with the intent to visit both Epcot (for the Passholder magnets for Aunt Erica and Samantha) and Magic Kingdom (for the latest popcorn bucket for me!).

 

Disney's Animal Kingdom
 

A look at the Tree of Life while crossing the bridge from the Oasis to Discovery Island.

  
 

A look at the boats on Discovery River while crossing the bridge from Discovery Island into Asia...

  
     
 

A look at the walls inside the Maharajah Jungle Trek.

  
 

A couple of views of the water buffalo that we saw while on the Maharajah Jungle Trek...

  
     
 

A couple of murals on the walls inside the Maharajah Jungle Trek...

  
     
 

Our first look at Bakso, the Sumatran Tiger cub and his mother, Sohni.

  
 

Fortunately for us, we got to see Bakso up and moving before he laid down for a nap next to his mother, Sohni...

  
     
 

A sign that we spotted on the Maharajah Jungle Trek trail.

  
 

We got another vantage point of Sohni...

  
 

...and her napping son, Bakso.

  
 

We spotted this gibbon a little further along on the Maharajah Jungle Trek trail.

  
 

There was also a Komodo dragon out sunning itself...

  
 

...on the Maharajah Jungle Trek trail.

  
 

I spotted this anhinga swimming with something in its mouth in the Discovery River.

  
 

Another view of the Tree of Life on Discovery Island.

  
 

We got to see the rear end of these Galapagos tortoises while in the It's Tough to be a Bug! queue.

 
 

A few shots of the It's Tough to be a Bug! show...

  
 

...including Flik in the ceiling...

  
     
 

...and Hopper beside the stage...

  
     
     
     
 

One more shot of the Tree of Life on Discovery Island.

  
 

Some of the scenery in Pandora - The World of Avatar...

  
     
     
 

A Southern Great Anteater resting in her favorite spot in the Oasis.

  

Our next stop was the Transportation and Ticket Center, where we boarded the monorail to Epcot. Aunt Erica and Samantha headed off to the Creations Shop to pick up their magnets, while Grandma Terry, Uncle Steven, and I stopped at the restrooms. Unfortunately for the girls, they were out of the Ray passholder magnets, so they were given Minnie Mouse magnets from 2021 instead. Grandma Terry, Uncle Steven, and I decided to get in line to get the Minnie Mouse magnets as well, in case we didn't have them. We did find out that because they scanned in for the new magnets that they should receive them in the mail.

Grandma Terry headed off to the restroom again while the rest of us wandered around the park a bit. We stopped at the CommuniCore Hall for a bit, though we didn't stay long as we weren't overly interested in the "30 Years of Disney on Broadway" exhibit that they had on display. We did stick around outside for the ˇCelebración Encanto! show that is held in the CommuniCore Plaza, which I had been wanting to see for quite some time. I do have to say, this was not at all what I expected, and was disappointed in it overall. Perhaps if the kids would still have been young, it would have been more enjoyable.

After leaving the CommuniCore Hall and Plaza area, we made the trek over to the France Pavilion, where we stopped at the Les Halles Boulangerie-Patisserie. Samantha opted for a Croque Monsieur (a toasted ham and cheese sandwich) and a Biscuit Chocolat (a chocolate chip cookie, though this time the cookie was a chocolate cookie too). Aunt Erica joined Grandma Terry and I in our love for the Framboise (raspberry mousse, chocolate cake, and raspberry jam). I also picked up a Macaron Framboise et Citron vert (a macaron with raspberry and lime cream) to take home to Jayden. We picked up a full baguette for Grandma Terry as well. We met Grandma Terry in the large seating area behind Spaceship Earth and between the Creations Shop and CommuniCore Hall to enjoy our foods.

After eating we headed to the monorail station to head back to the Transportation and Ticket Center.
 

Epcot
 

A look at Spaceship Earth from near Gateway Gifts.

  

We took this special PhotoPass picture on our way into the park today...
 

 

Uncle Steven, Grandma Terry, Aunt Erica, Samantha, and Rodney in the Tiny World Magic Shot at the entrance to Epcot.

  

Once we returned to the Transportation and Ticket Center, we boarded the monorail to the Magic Kingdom. Well, some of us did. Since we were only going to pick up the newest popcorn bucket, Grandma Terry decided to stay behind with Uncle Steven, rather than having to take him and his wheelchair along, slowing down the process. Aunt Erica, Samantha, and I all headed to the park. Once inside, we were greeted with a parade, so we ducked through the Emporium to make our way in to look for the popcorn bucket. We ended up finding it at the popcorn stand to the right of Cinderella Castle, near the second entrance to Tomorrowland. We waited in a short line, picked up two buckets (one for my cousin Heather), and then made our way out of the park. We decided to take the ferry boat back to the Transportation and Ticket Center, where we reconnected with Grandma Terry and Uncle Steve, before loading up the car and making the trek back home.
 

Disney's Magic Kingdom
 

The Prince Charming Regal Carousel popcorn bucket that I picked up today.

  
 

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