Part 5
December 5, 2001
I had to be “up and at em’!” extra early this morning, because I was going on the Backstage Safari tour at Animal Kingdom! I called bell services to pick up my bags as soon as I woke up, because I was also transferring to the Animal Kingdom Lodge today! I got dressed quickly, and had just finished getting ready to go when the bell man showed up. Much to my embarrassment, I discovered that I had no cash, and couldn’t tip him- I felt bad! I didn’t have time to feel too bad though, because I had a date with a Safari! ;) I arrived at Animal Kingdom right around 9:15 and met my group by the entrance at the designated area. There were about 15 people in our group, and we all got stick-on nametags. Our tour guide was Paul, who was a retired biology teacher. He talked to us about what we’d be doing for a while, and then we went out a CM door to some vans that would be driving us around the perimeter of the park to the rhino barn. They explained that AK doesn’t have Utilidors like MK, but they do have a road that runs the perimeter of the park for easy travel.
Before we could go into the rhino barn, we had to step in some disinfectant to make sure our shoes didn’t carry any bacteria into the barn. Inside the rhino barn, we met a white rhino named Sam. He came right over to the bars, and we all got a chance to pet him. He felt a lot like a potbellied big, if you’ve ever petted one of those ;) The keeper said they are related to horses, which I could definitely see in his behavior once she pointed it out- he did react to things a lot like my own horse does. The keeper told us that the species regulation people decided that Sammy had enough offspring, and wasn’t allowed to father any more babies (They need diversity so that they can avoid inbreeding). When Sammy was removed from the herd and a new male was brought in, Sam started sharpening his horn and went from having a pretty flat one to one that was short and sharp! We learned that white rhinos’ heads can weigh 250-300 pounds, and so they have a big lump of muscle on their neck- one way to tell white from black rhinos.
Next we walked to the elephant building where a trainer talked about how they trained the elephants and answered some questions- the elephants were all already out on the savannah for the day, so we were just surrounded by their massive living quarters. We learned that there are 7 female elephants, and 3 males. The females like to stand around and "talk", but they stop talking whenever a male shows up! Girl talk!
Next we went to the area where they ship and receive animals. They had a giraffe there because it was a different kind of giraffe than the ones they have on safari (The safari giraffes are reticulated giraffes, but I can’t remember what kind this one was). It was so beautiful to see up close! Unfortunately, we had a big fence between us and him and didn’t get to get very close to him. We’d gotten spoiled getting to pet the rhino first thing ;-)
Next we went to a classroom where Fred the herpetologist came in with a python. Of course, being the girliest looking girl in there with my two braids, I had to be the one to beg him to let me pet it ;-) Their scales are made of the same material as your fingernails, so if you rub your fingernails against your skin, that’s kind of what it feels like to feel one. Now, those of you who know me well know that I’m a big fan of the Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin ;-) While Fred was showing the snake, I was automatically thinking (with an Australian accent) “She’s gorgeous! What a little beauty!”, so it was the highlight of my day when Fred told us that he’d met Steve once, and broke out into a great Steve impression that made me laugh so hard I literally had tears in my eyes. Definitely one of the highlights of my day! (It’s the little things, ya know?)
Our last stop was the building where all of the food was prepared. The “chefs” there said they aren’t allowed to call what they feed snakes the “M-word”, because “The boss gets offended!” so they have to be called rodents ;-)
Finally, we returned to the classroom where we’d seen Fred, and they gave each of us 5 Disney dollars and an Animal Kingdom Christmas ornament to make up for the fact that the tour had been an hour later than planned. I would have gladly paid THEM for the extra hour of sleep, but here I was getting gifts!! They also had bottles of water and soda for us, brownies, cookies, and snacks. Then we got a backstage Safari pin, and a book that tells about all the animals at DAK, which I had almost bought in the gift shop the day before for $13! I added up everything that they’d given us, and it came up to a value of $38!! This tour is DEFINITELY worth the money! How often do you get to pet a rhino and a snake before lunch?
We had to take the Conservation Station train back to the park at the end of the tour, and I started chatting with a lady who had been on the tour alone as well, and we found out we were both going to DAK Lodge. (Its funny, I always used to just abbreviate Animal Kingdom as AK, but all the CMs seem to call it “DAK”, and apparently its not DAKL, but DAK Lodge ;-) Gotta be all technically correct, you know) On the train, walk, and bus ride there, she told me about the lodge, and I was really excited to get there! We parted ways in the lobby, and I went to check in. I was on the Zebra trail, 4th floor, in room 4508. I took some time to look around the lobby before I went up to my room. You can definitely tell it was designed by the same person who designed the WL, but I actually like WL better!
Once I made it to my room, I called bell services for my bags, and the lady who brought them up was one of the nicest CM’s I came across on the whole trip! Most bell people seem to just bring the bags, drop them off, and go, but she stayed to tell me about the resort, asked if I wanted her to get me ice, etc. etc! I wish I’d gotten her name! Silly me!
One of the first things I obviously had to do was check out my view! I could see the water hole, and there were all sorts of animals out there including giraffes, Thompson's gazelles, and lots of birds. (Despite being on the zebra trail, I had no zebra!) I called mom to tell her about it, and was laying on my bed with the curtain and balcony door open when something that looked like a huge cow with massive horns passed by. All I could say was “Mom, I gotta go! There’s a...a...a THING outside my window!!” There’s a list in the room of the animals so that you can identify the ones you don’t know, and that one turned out to be a Greater Kudu.
I took the elevator down to Mara for foooood! On the way, a little girl about 7 was holding the door leading outside for the 4 or 5 people that had been on the elevator. Her mom yelled at her saying “You don’t have to hold the door for the whole hotel! Lets go!” If MY daughter (Um, not that I have one, but you know..) had been holding a door open for people, I would have been ecstatic that she had such good manners, not yelled at her!! Sounds like mommy needs a vacation! ;-)
Once I reached the Mara, the food court area for the Lodge, I decided to get some breadsticks and an AKL mug. The breadsticks here were SO good! They had some sort of seasoning, and you got 3 instead of the 2 you get for the same price at POR.
I spent a few hours up in my room just watching the animals from my balcony, watching TV, calling a few people, and catching up on trip report notes. I really wish I had a laptop so that I could just type up the day’s report while I’m there! I end up with just a few pages of notes in my little notebook, and I can never remember as much as I wish I did!
I checked out the room service menu, hoping I could get something to eat on my balcony in the morning. Everything was pretty expensive, so I decided I’d go off in search of some juice and some sort of pastry I could keep in my room and have waiting for me when I woke up the next morning. Down at Mara, I got a cheese Danish, slice of cheesecake to eat the next morning. Later in the gift shop, I picked up some postcards, and some juice (Juice was WAY cheaper in the gift shop than food court!) to put in my room to have as breakfast the next morning. I was all set! ;-)
I explored the gift shop a while, which is one of the best gift shops in any of the resorts. I was really, really tired, so I decided to go on up to my room and watch TV, finish up my notes and post cards, and just call it an early night. I felt like a loser getting ready for bed when I knew Nate was getting ready to go out to Downtown Disney!
One thing about being at WDW in the winter- With the parks closing a lot earlier, the only thing to do from around 8 or 9pm on is Downtown Disney, or your resort. Because of this, I spent a lot less hours in the parks than I’m used to, and a lot more just hanging out in my room, which was a nice change in some ways, but frustrating in others. Some nights I’d be full of energy, and really wish that a park was open those extra few hours. I guess the perks of visiting in the off season have to be balanced by something though!
Calls to Nate that day had ended up with plans to hit Future World with the Cru Crew the next morning! I couldn’t believe I still hadn’t been to Epcot this trip, so I was really excited!