Wednesday, August 1

Nice late start! We needed the rest. We headed for breakfast at 9:15. I had the made to order omelet, excellent; Kelli had cereal and danish but paid cash for that.

We walked around the Alligator Bayou part of the resort and we fed some bread to some White Ibis and Common Moorhens with their chicks.

Common Moorhen

We played mini golf on the summer course at Winterland Summerland next to Blizzard Beach. Scores; Mike 46, Kelli 51; but I only had one hole-in-one while Kelli had three! I also just missed another one.

We did lunch back at the food court and split a Double cheeseburger and chocolate cake.

We headed for Animal Kingdom and found a bench to watch Mickey's Jammin' Jungle Parade which neither of us has seen. It was very hot and we bought a fan/water sprayer. Then it was off to Its Tough to be a Bug. It was fun to watch people who were experiencing it for the first time.

Afterward we headed to Animal Kingdom Lodge by bus. I had my picture taken with the lodge greeter, Willi from Namibia, dressed in traditional robes. He asked me to e-mail the picture back to him along with a note on how our trip was. We walked around and relaxed in rocking chairs looking at the zebras, giraffes and other animals outside the rooms.

Then it was time for Jiko-The Cooking Place- a very fancy restaurant, costing us two dining credits each. It was well worth it.

Kelli enjoyed
        An African wine
        Maize & Sweet Potato "Tamales" - Herbed maize pudding and truffled sweet potato mash with shredded goat cheese in corn husk boat.
        Cucumber, Red Onion, and Tomato Salad - Made with organic arugula, cottage cheese, and watermelon vinaigrette.
        Tamarind-Braised Beef Short Ribs - Served with Idaho and sweet potato gratin and onion-garlic sauce.
        Flourless Chocolate-Mocha Cake Stack - Served with lavender-vanilla bean ice cream, and chocolate caramel sauce.

Mike enjoyed
        Taste of Africa - Kalamata olive hummus, Durban Tikka Masala, and Malay spinach-lentil dip, with Lentil papadam, whole wheal lavosh, and Flax seed Naan bread. 
        Corn Soup
        Pan-roasted Jumbo Scallops - Served with golden brown mealie "Pap", and spicy tomato-onion "Chaka-Laka." 
        Inspired by "The Year of a Million Dreams" - White chocolate mousse pyramid with roasted banana and pineapple, banana-pineapple salad, and tropical fruit salad.

The wait and kitchen staff gave us a card with wishes written in African languages. (One day we’ll get them translated.)

    After diner we took the bus to Downtown Disney. The rain prevented us from taking the boat back so after looking around Goofy's Candy Co and Disney's Days Of Christmas we took the bus back to Port Orleans.

 
Moorhen and chicks

White Ibis

Carving at the entrance to
"It's Tough to be a Bug"

Willi from Namibia

Outside the rooms at the Animal Kingdom Lodge