Kevin from “Up” has flown into Disney's Animal Kingdom

Photo Courtesy of Disney

Kevin from "UP" was spotted on Discovery Island in Disney's Animal Kingdom!

Tusker House- Animal Kingdom

Here is my review of breakfast at Tusker House in a nut shell:

Donald Rocks!

Restaurant Review: Sanaa at Animal Kingdom's Kidani Village

Very Happy Resident of the Kidani Village

One of the most unique dining experiences in Disney is Sanaa.  

Boma at Animal Kingdom Lodge

 I thought I would start out by reviewing our favorite place to eat, Boma in the Animal Kingdom Lodge. We make sure we eat here every time we go to Disney. As a matter of fact, the year we took my daughter for her high school graduation trip, we ate at Boma twice. We also stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, so it was very convenient. At least that was our excuse. It is a treat in every since of the word.
     The experience starts as soon as you arrive at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. It is on of my favorite resorts on Disney property. The lobby will take your breath away. It is darker than some but I would call it cozy and warm. Take a moment to walk around and enjoy the wonderful decor. You will be amazed! Arrive early so you can walk out and see the animals on the savannah. There is nothing like seeing some giraffes, zebras and other wildlife before you go in for dinner. When we went in December last year, they were making s'mores over a fire pit. But don't be tempted by those, save your appetite for dinner.
    Boma is downstairs to the right off the main lobby. Again, take time to enjoy the beautiful decor of this restaurant. It has warm colors and wood accents. We have enjoyed several different table locations on our many visits. They are all convenient and comfortable. I would recommend Advance Dining Reservations (ADR) as soon as you can make them. We did get in during the graduation trip at the last minute. It never hurts to check on a restaurant once you arrive for your trip, they have cancellations all the time. We also managed to get into Le Cellier at the last minute on the graduation trip. Disney magic at work!
     Now, about the food. I love this place because they have things I might not ever get to try otherwise. I am an adventurous eater who loves to try things at least once.  My husband is a pretty picky eater and my daughter is not usually a huge eater but both of them love Boma. When a restaurant can draw all three of us back every time it gets a five star rating. Boma is a buffet style restaurant which is not usually my choice, unless it is in Disney. They do buffet  like no one else. Each section is separate so you can go back without breaking in line. From the soups to the carving station to the desserts everything is fresh, plentiful and clean. They have labels on everything and the staff are happy to tell you what is in a certain dish.
     Start with some bread and soups. I love the butternut squash and carrot ginger soups. Move on to main dishes and salads. I tried the avocado, grapefruit and papaya salad last time and loved it. And don't miss the watermelon rind salad, yummy.  Be crazy and try new things, it might end up as your new favorite. The carving station features several different sauces to try. If you have children or adults who aren't ready for some of these things, they have mac and cheese and several other things to  please anyone. Our favorite thing is the dessert section! It never disappoints and yes, we are the people taking pictures of our desserts. Zebra domes have a following and it is well deserved. They are bite size, creamy chocolate delights. They are so popular they now sell them in the Mara, the quick service restaurant at the Animal Kingdom Lodge.
    I guess you can tell that the food at Disney is a highlight for me and my family. We love the whole experience, the food, rides, shows, resorts and the people. It is exciting to get to share my little bit of experience with everyone. I hope to do more research soon. The worst thing is not having a Disney trip planned. Maybe next fall my husband and I can sneak away for an adults only trip. Sounds like a potential post to me.
     I would like to end each post with a tip that we have found to be helpful or fun. Maybe someone else does it also or maybe it is something only we do. My first tip is to take a picture at the same place each trip. It is so much fun to see your children grow or just how people change. I did not start this until our third trip so I encourage you to do this from the beginning, especially if you plan on going multiple times. This our daughter on the prop outside of Star Tours. In order from the top, 2006, 2008, 2011, 2013. Look how her hairstyle changed!


Forever Disney,
Carol

   

Pangani: Africa or Animal Kingdom?

Have you ever wondered where Disney gets the names for the places?

Animal Kingdom - Anandapur Food Cafe

You can find Anandapur Food Cafe as you near Expedition Everest in Animal Kingdom.

Don't Feed The Birds

All over Walt Disney World, they are beautiful sights of natural life within the parks. Picture this: squirrels scurrying from tree to tree. Ducklings follow after their mother causing guests to stop in order to allow their little family by. It’s not uncommon for guests to pause, grab their camera, and capture the moment.

However, there is one thing that guests are guilty of doing. They feed the birds.

Julie Andrews, in her role as Mary Poppins, sings about the joy of feeding the birds for just a “tuppence a bag”. But, I don't think she meant to feed the birds pieces of a ginormous, two pound turkey leg. In this same vein of thought by feeding the birds, guests are making these harmless creatures into territorial, carnivorous beasts.

It's now a common sight to see a bunch of birds flocking and standing around the various turkey leg carts found around the parks. Not only have they grown to be fearless of guests, but what most do not realize is that they may take matters in their own talons. This has become a problem especially when you have children around.  Although they are various signs around the park asking guess not to do as the famous song says, guests continue to feed the birds.

My husband was one of those guests. That was until the bird nearly
snatched the snack away from him while he was trying to eat it.

Please by all means, do not let me deter you from enjoying a turkey leg. Just take this tip along with you the next time you decide to indulge. Make sure to walk AWAY from the dining cart area you purchased your snack from. Failure to do so may result in forfeiture of your coveted snack.

My favorite Animal Kingdom Quick Service: Flame Tree BBQ!

Flame Tree BBQ is our favorite Animal Kingdom quick service spot!

Big White Yeti Animal Kingdom Inspired Giveaway & Review!

As most of you know I have been working my tail off trying to get a Disney World Guide up and ready for you here on Picturing Disney.  If you toggle to the guide tab above you can read up on Planning your trip, Resort Hotels, and find index pages for each park! The Magic Kingdom page went live 2 weeks ago with links to help you explore and plan your visit to each land.  I am pleased to announce that the Animal Kingdom section is also now complete! And to kick off I have an awesome giveaway and coupon code from an adorable etsy shop!

Big White Yeti is an etsy shop dedicated to hand poured soy candles (as you can guess I love everything about this since I love making candles myself)! They have scented candles and citronella and their name and adorable mascot remind me of everyone's favorite yeti adventure: Expedition Everest!

When I was talking to owner Katie about EE she has this to say:

"The last time I was at Disney was the summer of 2007 when Expedition Everest was still pretty new. I remember waiting in a HUGE line for that ride and I distinctly remember the terrifying yeti at the top of the ride! This was years before we started our candle company, but I can say with pretty good certainly, that ride probably had some bearing on the naming of Big White Yeti."

From their signature fragrance Yeti Breath to the summer scent I got Sugar Magnolia.  There is something for every Yeti-lover to help enhance their home and relax them. You can find Big White Yeti online via their website, etsy shop, and Facebook page. 

And whatsmore, I have TWO awesome Yeti treats for you from Big White Yet!!!

First- ALL Picturing Disney followers can use coupon code PICTURINGDISNEY and get 10% off all orders through August 31st! 

Second- You can win your own candle tin of Big White Yeti's Sugar Magnolia and an Animal Kingdom Conservation Hero pin by entering using the rafflecopter form below!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Enjoy & Beware of Yetis!

Asia

In my opinion Asia is both one of the most unique and beautiful areas of theming in this park (and often overlooked in the rush) and the area with the best attractions (which often makes it the busiest).

Highlights:

• Both Expedition Everest which is the only single rider line attraction in this park (and a fan and personal favorite) as well as Kali River Rapids which is a water raft ride are in this area as well as the animal trail Maharajah Jungle Trek. 
• The Flights of Wonder bird show can also be found here (check times guide for daily times)
• Dine at Yak and Yeti which both has a quick service window and sit down location

Rafiki's Planet Watch

Although there are rumors that this area will be lost or shrunk down a bit if the Avatarland plan ever comes to fruition, this is a fun and educational area of the park that I think can often get forgotten!

Highlights:

• You get to take the Wildlife Express Train out to reach Rafiki's Planet Watch
• Petting area in the Afection Section and Habitat Habitat 
• Learn about conservation at the Conservation Station
• Meet and Greets with Rafiki (check daily times guide)

Camp Minnie-Mickey

Camp Minnie-Mickey is a great stop if you are looking for some character meet and greets because there are some awesome character trails featuring fan favorites here (check the daily times guide for more info)! It has a lot more to offer than just photo ops tho!

Highlights:

• Character Trails
• Live Entertainment from Gi-Tar Dan
• Festival of the Lion King-- my FAVORITE stage show! This is amazing and worth going to see each trip!

Are you WILD About Animal Kingdom?

Have you done the Wild Africa Trek at Animal Kingdom?

Magical Moment Monday: One Family's Magical Musical Vacation

When Andrea (the Disney mom in the video) posted me a link to this adorable video over on our Facebook page I knew I wanted to share with all of my readers.  What a fun way to fill in all the gaps while Disney vacationing! First thing I did was message her for her blessing to share it here-- well actually that was the second thing I did because the first thing I did after I finished watching was restart the video and show it to my husband! ;)  I love the song choice and the shots in this video.  Over and over I thought to myself "Wow what a great way to pass the time between fastpasses or when waiting on rides!" I could not get over how creative and just how FUN this is!

After talking a little more with the family I have a nice bit of background on how this video came to be:
The lovely Fischer Family visits Walt Disney World once or twice a year and the kids have been going to the parks since before they were born! The idea for the video came when Andrea was watching vacation videos on YouTube and after discussing with her Hubby they decided they would try it themselves.  As soon as they heard "Good Time" they knew it would be perfect for their video! Although her son was hesitant (and clearly her daughter was not! lol!) the whole family got on board with being silly in front of complete strangers. And as Andrea said herself "It actually enhanced the fun. We shot footage wherever we went and sang the song or mouthed the words."

And for the specifics: It was shot in late November/early December 2012 using a Canon Rebel T3i camera.

I don't know about you but I adore this video and it inspires me to get creative with my own videos in the parks! :)

Monkeying Around

The best thing about Animal Kingdom is how you stumble upon awesome animals everywhere you go!    It is so important to leave time to just be while at Animal Kingdom so you can enjoy the fun habitats!

Wish I Were Here! Fall 2011 Trip Report: Day 2

After our lovely first day chock full of food, fun, and fantasy we started off day 2 with a character breakfast at Cape May Cafe.  This was the 2nd time all of us had stayed at Boardwalk Inn, me and Mickey were there in 2008 and Daisy & Donald in 2009.  We had done this breakfast back during our first trip but Donald was not one of the featured characters and the rest of our crew hadn't tried it so we headed over to the Beach Club around 9am.

As always, this character meal did not disappoint and we headed straight over to Animal Kingdom for a wild afternoon when we were done. 

We headed out to ride Dinosaur first and then headed back through Asia to ride Everest. We stopped for a meet and greet with Meeko from Pocahontas! I have never met him and love that movie so I was glad we stumbled upon it! I also bought my most awesome Disney purchase to date at Chester and Hester's as we walked through the park actually (picture coming up).  

Then we headed off to see Festival of the Lion King.  This was the first time for all of us and we looooooooooooooooooooove love LOVED it!!!! I have always meant to see this show but for some reason had never gone and we were so pleasantly surprised.  It was a great way to end our Animal Kingdom morning/afternoon.

Hungry for some more food and wine festival we headed back to Epcot with a quick stop at our hotel first since it was getting overcast and starting to look like it may rain! 

We were ready for more fun in Epcot! We had lunch at Teppan Edo which was great fun since Mickey and I had not been there since it was refurbed and just as we stepped outside we ran into two of my friends grabbing some beer!! It was an amazing coincidence!

We looped around World Showcase 2 or 3 times, stopped to grab some awesome souvenirs. (I got a really great shirt in the American pavillion, a Gran Fiesta tour tee & a cute little owl for Daisy in the Mexico pavillion and some great UK merch for my sister!)  Then we hit up our fave rides once again and all the while we were tallying points on a points card Donald & Daisy had downloaded as part of a Drink (& Eat) Around the World game.  

Once dinner time rolled around we stopped at La Cantina de San Angel and somehow we ended up having consumed more Shrimp Tacos, sushi, Chicken Souvlaki, Fisherman's Pie,  Chocolate Lava Cake, and Green Tea Slushies... and thats just what I remember off the top of my head (we WERE all trying to win a game afterall)!  

By sunset Donald, Daisy, and Mickey were downing all the Club Cool sodas as bonus points to decide the winner! I can't remember who won but I do remember that Donald bought me and Daisy some super awesome chapstick!!! (If Ive never mentioned this before I LOVE lip smackers Dr. Pepper and they have Cherry Coke and Fanta and lots of awesome crazy flavors at Club Cool!)

We decided to head back to Boardwalk for some 1920s Atlantic fun! We ended up having a blast! We had dried off from the earlier drizzle and decided to rent a surrey bike.  It was a workout! Man even with 4 people some of those hills were steep... although we were a little "full".  We surreyed around passed Beach Club and Yacht Club and made it back just over the time limit so we meandered around the Boardwalk itself for some of the performers and some shopping.  Then we headed back to our room and made the poor decision to order Florida pizza since we were hungry and the restaurants were closed. Florida pizza is just not good. lol. I have no other words for this than that.  But it was fun and funny and we ended our 2nd day just as it started- with fun and laughter!

Best Photo Spots: Animal Kingdom

The great thing about Animal Kingdom is how different things look from close up and far away! 

Be sure to take A LOT Of pics of that Tree of Life.  The view you get from when you first stumble upon to the etchings and carvings that you can see come to life as you walk up to the It’s Tough to be a Bug area are an incredible photo opportunity!

Also, be on the lookout for tons of different amazing photo ops while you are having a day filled with animal-sized fun in the sprawling Animal Kingdom Park!

Here are some tips for some great photo spots and opportunities in the park:

• Don’t forget to have a big memory card! You may think at first there is an image that looks clear that turns out blurry or that looks blurry and it turns out clear.  The best place to decide is back at home so have lots of space for Discovery Island and Kilimanjaro Safari shots!

• See the signs! These are great not just for albums but for when you want to flip through your pictures and remember every part of the parks!

• Bring your camera on tours unless you are explicitly told not to! The Wild Africa Trek even had a photopass photographer in our group, but I still loved taking pictures of my own along the way!

• Keep an eye out for easy hop-in scenes! You can find them along your route and they make great memories!

• Don’t underestimate the fun of a queue shot! There are so many pieces beforehand that you may otherwise overlook. Never underestimate the power of a good landscape shot either!

Do you have any photo tips for the Animal Kingdom? Favorite spots your family always stops for a picture? I would love to hear them in the comment box below!

Flamingos!!

:)

Which way would you choose?

What is your first stop in Animal Kingdom?  I head right for Africa or Asia depending whether I am feeling like a relaxing safari ride or a thrilling coaster! ;)

2 Line Review: Wild Africa Trek Boma

The colors and the tastes complimented our time up close and personal on safari with more bold and exotic experiences... and they incredible, just like the tour!