Next stop was Babies R Us.  Once again, I couldn't find them, and asked an associate.  She can't be cream of the crop material, because the first thing she told me was that she had trouble finding items on the floor (yes, my confidence is waning).  Then she asked another associate, who said he didn't know where they were.  Not to be deterred, we asked the associate working at the baby register to help us locate the mittens.  She?  Went to the manager who said that if they weren't at a particular aisle, then they don't have any.  This is all after I told them that the website showed that they had 8 pairs IN STORE.  

I understand that there can be discrepancies between what the website says and what is in store.  Sometimes customers randomly drop items around because halfway through the jaunt they decide they don't want a particular item.  Or its in the return bin waiting to be re-shelved.  That's all ok.  But when your website shows that there are 8 pairs and you can't find any of them?  Dude, the internal warning bells would be blaring loud and hard.  Obviously there's an inventory management problem.  Missing one or two of an item is understandable, but when you can't find a single item? Panic? Of course not.  Not the fine employees at Toys R Us.  They politely told me they can't find them and, 'sorry!  Have a nice day!'

How about offering to help me order it online right then and there?  Negatory captain.

How about taking down my info and contacting me when a new shipment comes in?  Negatory again, captain.

As I was walking out the store, BAM! Saw them.  Yes, I did pick up a couple because, 1.5 hours later, I did not want to return home empty handed.  

Babies R Us?  You are dead to me. 

The BF asked if I wanted Indian food for lunch.  While I have nothing against the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Thrill area (I lie), it’s the least diverse place I’ve ever lived.  I was surprised there was even an Indian restaurant around.  Very surprised.  Since The BF and I have never eaten Indian food together, I jumped at the chance. 

OMG the food was good.  The chicken tiki marsala was yummy, but the best was some kind of chicken dish I couldn’t even pronounce.  It had to be laced with crack or something.  I couldn’t get enough.  I’m drooling just thinking about it.

After lunch, where was my next stop?  The airport (do you see where this is going?  If yes, then your neurons are firing at a much faster rate than mine).  It took me a few minutes to realize just how much I stank.  And it wasn’t just me; it was my jacket, my top, and my pants.  The only thing I could think of doing to curb the smell was chew gum and then blow onto myself.  Yes, it was a little weird.  More so for the people watching me than for myself. 

That didn’t work. 

I texted BFF J-Unit, and she suggested that I find a perfume/lotion shop.  This NOT being a big airport like LAX or JFK, there are no such shops.  So then she tells me to go to the chapel because they’d more than likely have something that smells nice.  I didn’t even know the airport had a chapel, but apparently they do.  J-Unit reasoned that a chapel has to have something that smells better than curry, and when I said that I doubt a chapel has anything that smells, she replied that people would want to smell good when they get married.  And here I was thinking that the airport had a chapel so that people could go there when a plane crashed or something…

My flight out of RDU got delayed by 1.5 hours, so I had to go on a later flight out of Chicago Midway.  Instead of getting into Houston at 7pm, I arrived at 10pm.

Still…smelling like Indian food.  And…I had the middle seat on the Chicago-Houston leg.  I’m not surprised that the woman to my left looked like she was kissing the window.

So, according to The BF, no.  I thought that the name was pretty descriptive, but he still asked me what I meant, so I said that its like the hurdles in track, but only on ice.  And then he's all like, "What are you trying to accomplish with this?" Duh.  My legacy.  This is something I could be known for!  So what does he then ask me?  "Who invented basketball?"  I said, "Oh.  Mr. Basketball."  Wrong.  Its James Naismith.  And yes, I had to Google his name just now because I had already forgotten.  Next question.  "Who invented football?"  "I dunno.  Who?"  And The BF doesn't know either, but then asks me who invented baseball.  I said, "Mr. Baseball."  I was all excited when The BF said he didn't know it either, but then, oh...that was his point.  Supposedly people who invent sports don't get famous.

I still tried to push my idea, and asked him why it wasn't good.  How will people not watch ice hurdles? The BF says that its too dangerous so no one would participate, and I said, "Dude-people do the slalom and the super G, how is that any less dangerous?"  See? Its not. I didn't mention it could be further de-sissified by having the athletes use speed skating skates rather than figure skates.

IOC?  Contact me. I'm sure I've got a winner here.

How many times will you see Magic Kingdom this dead?  The tour started 30 minutes before the park officially opened, so we got to wander around for a bit without screaming, nagging, and all around annoying kids.

Magic Kingdom was the first park built at the resort, and first opened its doors October 1, 1971.  When the idea was generated and initial developments were beginning, the Disney brothers, Walt and Roy started buying up land in Florida.  At first, they bought the land for $180/acre.  Many "new companies" were started by the Disneys to hide land purchases.  However, one of the reporters for the Orlando Sentinel uncovered what was really going on, and broke the story.  Shortly after that, land prices shot up to $1800/acre. 

Along the shops on Main Street, some of the windows have names.  This is a tribute to all the people who helped make Disney World possible.  Its sort of like opening credits.

Frank Wells was a pivotal player in the success of Disney World.  Previously the vice chairman of Warner Bros., he was asked to run Walt Disney Company because of hostile takeover attempts.  An avid mountain climber, one of his goals was to climb the highest mountain on each of the 7 continents, hence the name Seven Summits.  The only that eluded him was Mt. Everest. 

The first store on Main Street is the Confectionery.  Right above the door are vents that pipe in wonderful smelling aromas to get people to come inside.  Sneaky sneaky!

Disney employees who work on a ride have the opportunity to put in personal touches.  Mark Davis worked on both The Pirates of the Caribbean ride, as well as Haunted Mansion.  An avid chess player, he has the pirates working on a chess game.  And with the Haunted Mansion, instead of gargoyles, chess pieces line the top of the mansion.

I've never been a fan of Pirates of the Caribbean ride.  Although, like all things Disney, there's a fanatical attention to detail, I think the ride is fairly boring.  But, during this ride, our guide notified us that the hair on the pirates is real.  Freaking real!!!  Disney can do this because inside the ride, they have the ability to control the humidity.

Character stop: Are you surprised?

The best part of the tour was when we got to see the Utilidor.  This is the tunnel system (Utility/Corridor) where employees and characters can travel.  It was built because Walt Disney did not want characters from one world to be walking through another.  This is why you'll never see, for example, a Frontierland cowboy walking through Tomorrowland.  Its not only characters, though.  Necessities such as trash and supplies for the restaurants and stores also travels via the Utilidor. 

The Utilidor layout is opposite of the Magic Kingdom layout; the visitor and main entrance to Magic Kingdom is actually the end of the Utilidor.  Although it looks like an underground tunnel system, the Utilidor is actually on ground level, and Magic Kingdom sits above it.  

Again, characters.

After leaving Toon Town, we Fast Passed the Winnie-the-Pooh ride and along with that ticket, we also got a Fast Pass to Mickey's PhilharMagic.  Although we didn't originally plan on watching it, I'm glad we did.  Once again, Disney's 3D shows are spectacular.  

Almost 50 years ago, Disney had the idea of making a movie that would be experienced in a totally different way.  It was supposed to incorporate all the senses.  So, for example, if you saw flowers on the screen, you'd smell flowers.  And if there was a water scene, the audience would feel mist.  The problem was was theaters back in the days were not keen on this.  Theater owners were unwilling to invest money to revamp a theater for one movie.  

This movie was Fantasia.  What the movie is is not what Disney had envisioned, and it is considered his biggest commercial failure.  44 years later, though, Mickey's PhilharMagic is what Disney had envisioned. Talk about forward thinking!

There seemed to be tons of parades that we somehow always missed.  On our last day, we finally caught one of them-the Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! Street Party.  In front of Cinderella's Castle, we watched color floats pass us by with characters such as The Genie, Ariel and Eric, Cinderella, King Louie, and many more.  

After Magic Kingdom, we decided to make one last stop at EPCOT.  Thank goodness for our park hopper passes!  I've always wondered what was in the famous EPCOT golf ball looking structure.  Its a ride called Spaceship Earth.  When we first hopped into the car, we had no idea what to expect.  And then there was a steep incline, and I thought, "oh holy cow! Its going to be a fast ride like the Aerosmith ride or Space Mountain!"

Umm...not quite.  I should have figured that out by the fact that there was no safety bar or lap bar.  So its 16 minutes of traveling through time.  I give the ride credit, its pretty educational.  But J-Unit and I did not go to Disney World to learn anything.  And all through the ride I'm thinking, "Man-the ball is freakin iconic and inside is a boring ride?!?!  That's just not right."

Oh man...and then at the end it became "interactive" with questions.  Questions? What questions?  I can't remember, but all of a sudden it got interesting when we saw our pics.

Sadly, we had to go through the ride again once we figured out the picture we took in the beginning was going to be used later on. 

Vroom Vroom

Faces of the future

We watched IllumiNations, the 12 minute laser and fireworks show above the World Showcase Lagoon. 

I was with The BF way back when watching the Opening Ceremonies of the Winter Olympics.  Although not the production that China had, it was quite nice and amazing.  I especially liked the area where all the dignitaries sat.  Well, what I did see was quite nice and amazing.  I have to admit, I fell asleep before it began. I did, however, have the good fortune to wake up right when the countries walked (fell asleep after about the fourth one), then woke up right before Team USA came out, and then fell back asleep after Nelly Furtado sang. By the way? I was thoroughly impressed with the height of her heels.  And then I realized they were platforms, so she doesn't get as much credit as originally dished out.  Its kind of like in high school, when I used to get points deducted because my math answers weren't labeled feet, degrees, square centimeters. Whatever.  Anyway, point is, I probably have heels that rival hers.  She totally does one on me though in terms of rockin' bod.

So before the lighting of the torch, the announcers were talking about who would actually light it.  I looked over at The BF and yelled, "Dude-Shania Twain's gonna light it." And he's all like, "Umm...what about Wayne Gretzky?"  and I say, "Oh-really?"  to which The BF responds, "Its most likely going to be a Canadian ATHLETE."  

Dude-minor details.  And then I was thinking, Man-I got it all wrong with Shania.  You know who's bigger than Shania?  Celine Dion!! I didn't share that revelation with The BF though, because I'd already done enough to prove that I know less than a lick about sports.  One time I thought I was really smart about sports (especially football), and he asked me what a tight end does, and I proceeded to babble about how he blocks people and helps the defense.

How the heck was I supposed to know he's actually on offense?  

Celine Dion?  Hitting one her of high notes and the flame igniting?  Totally cool.  Think about it. 

The barrel exploded on command!

So although the pic is fuzzy, it was a portion of all the lamps used in various movies.  I just thought it was amazing to see how much detail is put into scenes.

This is the area where all the costumes are made.  Underground is the massive laundry system.  Up to 5 outfits can be checked out at a time per employee, and Disney has a pretty cool system where employees throw the entire outfit in a bag, scan in the barcode, and drop it in a bin.  There's over 3.5 million pieces of costumes, and character suits are dry cleaned daily.  The employees that work in laundry facilities?  Every one of them has over 10 years experience at Disney (me and all my snazzy degrees aint gonna get me jack in there!) 

Our tour continued, and we saw a reenactment of a special effects scene.  It was pretty cool to see the massive 18-wheeler tilt when all the water came rushing down.  What is not so cool?  The fact that there was narration going on, but none of us could hear it because the water was so close to us for a second I thought I was at Niagara Falls.  

Yay!! Sully and Mike Wazowski!!  The other day at Magic Kingdom we watched the Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor. Its a comedy show on a digital stage that's interactive, and surprisingly funny.  Guests can text in jokes ahead of time, and if they're deemed funny (or I guess non-perverted), it would be incorporated into the show. Pretty cool.  

We headed back to Epcot and decided to FastPass the GM Test Drive.  However, the Universe of Energy ride had no wait time, so we decided to try it out.

Let me tell you, I think they deliberately made the seats uncomfortable so that "riders" don't fall asleep.  They weren't kidding when they said the ride was "slow moving."  Ellen DeGeneres and Bill Nye narrate it, and Ellen does the intro (which of course was funny).  But the ride wasn't interactive, it was slow, and it was dark, so I moved to the side and slept. 

This is inside the Test Track, sponsored by GM.  So...my conclusion is that rides sponsored by a company are not so fun.  The beginning of the ride I didn't find all that enjoyable (although the girl next to J-Unit thought it was funny that at one part I started freaking out.  Guys? It was an 18-wheeler I wasn't ready for...) and the latter part was the car going fast.  60 mph.  But there weren't really turns or loops or anything, so basically its a ride for people who don't own a convertible.

That was the last ride of the day.  We decided it was time for some good grub.  Which would make now a great time to describe the Disney transportation system.  In many ways, its very convenient, but the compromise is that its not efficient and not very 'green' although I'm not sure if Disney is even trying to go green.

The monorail system is awesome, but it doesn't go everywhere.  It mainly runs between Magic Kingdom, the transportation hub, EPCOT, and some of the resorts around Magic Kingdom.  Translation?  It doesn't go to Carribbean Beach, where we were staying, and Downtown Disney.  In general, getting from Point A to Point B usually results in taking the monorail to the transportation hub, and hopping on a bus.  From Carribbean Resort, there's a different bus for each of the amusement parks, and then one to Downtown Disney.  I think its costly because at any given time, multiple buses are operating, and in the morning and early afternoon, the chances of any bus being even half full are slim. 

Going back to each resort is a different story.  Because the resorts are so far apart, and there's so many of them, there's a lot of buses running.  Some bus lines are routed to multiple resorts, but since Carribbean Beach is so spread out, the buses that go there only go there and don't stop at any other resort. 

So J-Unit and I left EPCOT and took the bus to Downtown Disney.  The bus driver announced the 3 sections of Downtown Disney, which is Downtown Disney, Pleasure Island, and West Side.  Dinner was at Bongos Cuban Cafe at Downtown Disney's West Side.  J-Unit thought that the bus would make a stop at each of the three sections, so when it stopped at Downtown Disney, we didn't get off.  I actually looked out the window and said, "Why are we at the stop that says Carribbean Beach?" And J-Unit was all like, "I dunno, but we get off at West Side."  Oh that was the plan, but then after everyone else got on, we left all of Downtown Disney. It was definitely one of those moments where we looked at each other and thought, "Well holy shit.  This just isn't right." 

30 minutes later we were back at our hotel room.  Lucky for us we miracously boarded the bus that ended up going to our resort.  It's around 9:30 now, and not only are we tired, but also hungry.  What's that saying about life, lemons, and lemonade?  Does it still hold true if we give ourselves lemons?  Why, yes it does!!

Since we were back at our room, we decided to change.  I know most people would be all for getting glammed up, or at least wearing something cute since this is dinner at a Cuban restaurant.  J-Unit and I?  Are not most people.  We went out of jeans and into black stretchy pants. Where's the buffet when we're actually prepared for one?

I think like 1.5 hrs after we left EPCOT, we finally arrived at dinner.

Was it not pictured here? Dessert.  We each got tres leches.  At $6 each, that should have been a signal that it was shareable.  J-Unit and I don't really share all that well though.  We each could only eat half of it.  The consistency of tres leches is one where I'd eat the whole thing or leave what I couldn't eat.  In other words?  I wouldn't take the leftovers.  I must be some sort of food snob.  Or really? Super soggy tres leches doesn't appeal to me.  J-Unit took hers back to the resort and ate it the next night.  NASTY!!!

Sigh...we were such rookies.  We thought the most popular rides would be the Rock 'n' Roll Coaster Starring Aerosmith and The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.  That?  Was so not the case. 

Our first ride was the Rock 'n' Roll Coaster Starring Aerosmith.  We're both Aerosmith fans and thought the intro to the ride was super cool.  We've basically met Aerosmith in the recording studio, and they've invited us to watch their show, so their manager has arranged rides for us.

J-Unit were strapped in, and waiting for the green light for the ride to begin.  We're sitting there, and she asks me, "What city do you think this is supposed to be?" and I'm like, "Oh-probably not any city at all-I think its supposed to be generic so it'll be like it could be any city."  Who gets the awards for being blonde?  As we're whizzing by on the ride, we're reading (really, screaming) out the names of the signs: Beverly Hills, 101, I-5!!! Because it never occurred to us that since this was Hollywood Studios, most likely the ride would resemble Los Angeles.  This? Was a sample of the deep and profound conversations we had.

Its either, "ROCK ON!" or the lollipop is just out of reach...

Air guitars have never been so cool

Right next to the Aerosmith ride was the Tower of Terror.

I know you can't see people clearly, but the back left row is J-Unit and I.  Just by looking at this pic, it's hard to imagine that we're all on the same ride.  I mean, what's up with the right hand side?  Why are there no hands up?  its like...no one's hands are up except, oh-right...the freaking guy in front of me that's blocking my face! Way to go...guy...

Really? It was scary!

The Muppet Vision 3-D was an attraction that I'd never heard about, but was fun nonetheless.  Its a 13 minute show journeying through the Muppets lab, with a few surprises along the way.  Disney 3-D shows are only about 12-15 minutes long, but I'm totally in awe which how much thought goes into the production and user experience.  Bravo Disney!  

Upon leaving the show, we got lost, but stumbled upon Lightning McQueen and Mater.  

We stopped by Pixar Studios to pick up a FastPass for the Toy Story Mania ride.  This, we find out, is the most popular ride in all of Walt Disney World.  Usually with a FastPass, its an hour wait, but with Toy Story Mania, the wait to return was a couple of hours! (Trust me, it is a fantabulous ride!!)

We saw Voyage of The Little Mermaid, which was a live show (under the sea), just about summing up The Little Mermaid movie in 15 minutes.  All the fun, popular Little Mermaid songs were sung, and the puppetry would have been excellent had we not been able to see the people behind the puppets.  The one thing I couldn't stop thinking about though was the fact that Prince Eric had to have the easiest job alive.  He appeared once, at the end, for about 15 seconds.  That's it.  How do I get a job like that?!?!

Of course, our day wouldn't be complete without character photos!

I finally understand how awesome it is that the characters don't talk.  I have yet to see 'Up' and if the dog did say something to me, I'd have to respond with a, 'who the hell are you?  oh but you're cute so I'd like to take a pic together.'  I will have to rent it now since it seems wrong to wait in line for 20 minutes to take a pic of people I don't even know.  

J-Unit is also a superhero!!  And once again, as I was walking away, I got asked if I wanted a pic with The Incredibles.  Incredibly, no.  

One of the coolest non-ride attractions was The Magic of Disney Animation class.  We learned how to draw Bolt.

I think J-Unit could be an animator!!  Freaking looks like Bolt! Good job J-unit!!

Plan C: in case energy AND being Rafiki doesn't work out

And then here's mine; something terribly wrong happened the moment pencil touched paper.  I know...his eyes make him looked kind of loopy, but I couldn't figure out how to fix it, and each attempt only made things worse.  I thought my rendition of Bolt looked like the spawn of Bolt and Snitch.  But then the other day I was showing The BF, and he's all like, 'Dude-is that Rudolf?'  I don't even have a day job to keep...sigh...

What do you think of when you hear the words, "Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular"?  How about an epic stunt that's spectacular by Indiana Jones?  Well, if you thought that, you'd be sorely disappointed.  They take audience members, and reenact an action scene.  The show was a bit heavy on the cheese and a bit light on the funny.  We left halfway through because it couldn't hold our attention.  Not like riding rides and meeting characters could anyway.

After riding the Rock 'n' Roll Coaster again, it was finally time for us to go on the Toy Story Mania ride!  Its a 4D ride where we sat in a car, had a spring action shooter, and shot at virtual targets.  We had to shoot rings at green aliens, darts to pop ballons, and baseballs to break plates.  When we entered the ride, the wait time for non FastPassers was 70 minutes.  When we left, the wait time was 90 minutes.  Yikes!!!

We also got to meet Woody and Buzz!  Much to J-Unit's chagrin, Rex was a cardboard cut out.  To add insult to injury, Buzz is covering him up. 

/

What do a donkey and tiger have to do with dinosaurs?  You have to go to Walt Disney World to find out! (Answer? I have no clue.)

We're both sad, but probably for different reasons...Tigger's got ma back!

A dinosaur and a ride in one-score!!

RAWR!!!!

The ride was fun, although it reminded me a lot of the Indiana Jones ride.  Speaking of the Indiana Jones ride, that's only at Disney Land. We found out the hard way (translation: J-Unit stared at the map for some time before we realized it wasn't on any map).  

There's a ride behind here.  Its mainly one that spins.  Think the Teacup ride on steroids and completely uncontrollable.  J-Unit and I were in a car with a mom and her elementary school daughter.  And who screamed throughout the ride?  J-Unit and I.

The last area we hit before it was time to call it a day at Animal Kingdom was Camp Mickey and Minnie.  J-Unit wanted a picture with Alvin and the Chipmunks, and asked me if I could see the third one and I was like, 'Dude-I don't think its Alvin and the Chipmunks.  I don't even know if they're Disney,' and after a few moments of thinking, I came up with Chip and Dale, and J-Unit didn't even know who they were, and I'm all like, 'Dude! Did you never watch Chip and Dale, Rescue Rangers?'  That was a resounding no.  

Chip and Dale-not to be confused with Chippendales.

We headed back to Magic Kingdom to hit up Fantasyland and basically cram as many rides in as we could.

We were all set to ride the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, but then we saw Woody and Jessie, and had to make a quick detour (quick meaning we were in line for at least 30 mins).

We were pretty close to Liberty Square, and J-Unit really wanted to see the Hall of Presidents because it was the closest she'd ever come to meeting Barack Obama.  It wasn't really what I had imagined, and no, we didn't get to meet him anyway.  The show uses Audio Animatronics (robots move and either sing, dance, or talk) and is narrated by Morgan Freeman.  Its incredibly impressive what Disney Imagineers did, but I found the narrative somewhat lacking.  America's history is rich and provocative, and yet I couldn't understand why certain events were chosen for the narration and others left out.  

In all the times that I've been on It's a Small World, I have never ever NOT seen a line.  Maybe the world collectively finally realized how uncool and annoying of a ride it is.  And I?  I absolutely love it.  

Carousel ride!!!  J-Unit snapped this after I got on my horse (duh). 

And then she wanted me to take a pic of her on her horse, and I distinctly remember saying, 'Dude-your horse isn't even facing the right way.'  But she didn't care.  And therefore, I present you with one of the funniest pictures from our trip:

Our last ride before we departed for dinner was Snow White.  This was the most difficult picture to get, because the lady who was operating the ride had to take it before she could let each car proceed.  We actually had to ride the ride twice to get this pic.  But hey, this is one of the few rides where we didn't scream!  No wait...I did scream when the wicked witch popped out of nowhere. Nevermind...

Dinner was at Downtown Disney's T-Rex Cafe.  Its owned by the same people as Rainforest Cafe, and has the same vibe, although much much cooler because its dinosaurs!

I got a dish called the Wooly Mammoth something or another.  It was chicken breast and mashed potatoes (somewhat healthy).  J-Unit got something named something 'Buffet'.  Although I can't really remember, I don't think that's the important part anyway:

Get in my belly!!!

Animal Kingdom is 500 acres (Magic Kingdom comes in around 100 acres) and is home to over 1700 animals. Our first character sighting was Brer Rabbit and Brer Bear. Who?!?!  It took us a few seconds standing in line to figure it out.  

Who Dat?

Our first ride was Expedition Everest.  Unlike the Winnie the Pooh ride or the carousel, this was a real ride.  We screamed.  A lot.  

Our next stop was Maharajah Jungle Trek.  We saw a Komodo Dragon, bats, tigers, deer.  

I brought along one of my Moleskin notebooks to take notes because I know that as interesting as stuff is, I have an awful tendency to forget things 10 seconds later.  That, and knowing that between J-Unit and I, we'd have like 500 pics, I thought I'd start writing down what some of the pics were so later I'd remember.  J-Unit made fun of me because for the next pic, I labeled it in my notebook as 'deer.'  Because I wouldn't know a deer later when I looked back at the pics, right?  And just in case that wasn't bad enough, I was showing The BF my pics, and he points to the deer one and asks, 'what's that?'  So really, its not just me. 

A side note, deer randomly appear in The BF's backyard from time to time.  Don't ask.

I think it weirds people out when I take out my notebook and start writing in it when they're talking.  One of the guides even asked me if I was a teacher.  Me? Teach?  Gawd I'd feel sorry for whoever was in my class because there's nothing about me that screams quality education.  

This is a banteng.  What's that? Wild cattle.  I briefly thought about what it would taste like, but figured Disney World was not the place to be asking questions like that.

That was enough learning for the entire vacation.  We stopped by to hang out with Baloo Bear and King Louie.

Next up to bat was the wildlife reserve.  This is about the closest I'm going to get to Africa anytime soon, so I decided to video tape it.  Once again, I haven't gone back over it, but I'm sure its an insta-headache and also boring.  That, and its hard to zoom in and out quickly, so you'd probably think someone drunk shot the video.  

Although we had no food, the giraffe was still eager to greet us.  

Scary!!! Its real.

And then an ostrich blocked the road.  There was some cool facts about ostrich, but because I was too busy filming our fake African safari, I couldn't jot down notes.  

J-unit with Rafiki.  We learned that because of her height, she could actually be Rafiki (in the event that the energy industry goes down the tube and she wants to be hot and stuffy outside for hours on end.  Some people's Plan B is a bit more adventurous than others...)

We stopped at the Conservation Station.  According to Disney's guide map, the Conservation Station has 

"live animal encounters and interactive exhibits with interesting facts about animal habitats.  Plus, an in-depth look at the care our creatures receive through veterinary attention, nutrition and research programs."

It would have been helpful for us to have known this before we went in.  Judging by the pictures we took, the whole "live animal encounters part" was lost on us.*

I sure hope rhinos are carnivorous otherwise this just looks ridiculous

Pocahontas: That's a pretty necklace Princess!

J-Unit: Thank you!

Pocahontas: Did someone important give that to you?

J-Unit: Yes, my uncle did.

Pocahontas: My dad gave me mine and I wear mine everyday.  Do you wear yours everyday?

J-Unit: No, only on days when I meet Princesses.

Pocahontas: Okay, then can we take a picture together?

J-Unit: Yes.**

And that concludes our time inside the Conservation Station.  If you are wondering, "why the hell did they take pictures with a fake rhino and tiger when they saw real ones earlier?" well, now that I'm looking at the pics, I'm wondering the same thing too. 

*Obviously the "live animal encounters" took a backseat to cardboard cutouts.  

** Pocahontas' handler asked me if I wanted a picture with Pocahontas, and I politely declined.  Instead of that being that, she tried taunting me, saying, 'Oh come on Birthday Girl! You know you want to!' And I replied, 'No-I really don't' and walked away. Because duh-its just freaky.