Day 2

Today is supposed to be rainy, so we decide to go to Animal Kingdom, since it is usually so hot there. We had hoped the rain wouldn’t be heavy or constant, and it wasn’t, making for a rather comfortable visit. My plans were to spend time on each of the animal trails, something that I usually don’t get to do when Sandy is with me, but something that Iris enjoys as much as myself. We head back into Harambe and decide that the best bet is to get a fastpass for the safari. When it starts raining, we decide that rather than do the first trail at that point, we would head back to Rafiki’s Planet Watch, where Iris first worked when she came to WDW on the college program, almost 4 years ago.

The other night she had run into one of the keepers she was friends with when she worked there, and was surprised to find out that he was still there. She would see and chat with a number of others still there from her days in Conservation Station. We spend some time there, watching a keeper present a talk on the African Pygmy Hedgehog, and checking out the animals in Affection Section. Iris was even surprised how many of the goats there she still remembered. Not much was different from here days there.

Iris as a Conservation Station CM in 2000

Visiting in 2004

We headed back to the train to take us to Harambe and then took our safari. Despite the rain, quite a few animals were out and about and we saw quite a few up close.

By now we were hungry and decided to eat in Pizzafari, one of the places we had not eaten in before. The pizzas had too much sauce for our taste (remember we are NYers where there is a Pizzeria on almost every corner), but the desert pizza, cinnamon apples on a pizza crust, was wonderful.

From here we went to see The Festival of the Lion King in its newly enclosed theater. It seemed shorter to me, and I was disappointed when the bird did a dance upon the vehicle floor, rather than flying overhead as in the past. Also, there must have been a problem with the Simba float as it came in very late, and was pulled off as soon as the show was over while all the other floats were left in place. But all in all, we both still enjoyed the show and would have liked to have seen it longer.

By this time I noticed that Iris appeared tired, and I knew that I was myself — not to mention the chronic pain I occasionally have in my foot had returned a few days earlier — so rather than go back and walk the trails, we decided to call it a day at the park. We got back to Iris’s car, and after a stop for a few things at Walgreen’s, we headed back to the room until it was time to head over to The Beach Club for our dinner at Cape May Café. As good as the place always is, we had a wonderful family at the next table with whom we had pleasant dinner conversation, as well as our server, Karen, who was simply in the silliest of moods and made for a wonderful evening.

When we were through eating, it was back to the room to relax — I was insistent that this would not be an exhausting visit, I needed my relaxation!

Street Entertainers in Italy directing guests in Taming of the Shrew

We get to Japan just at our P.S. time and soon settle in for a wonderful meal. When the meal is over we visit the Tin Toy exhibit at the Japanese exhibit. Too many people aren’t even aware that there is an exhibit back there that always has an interesting theme of one kind or another.

According to the schedule, Voices of Liberty and American Vybe have performances in the American pavilion within the next 20 minutes or so. However, when we get there, we find the posted times quite different from those on the hand-out schedule, and we cannot hang out waiting. We head to Test Track where we use our fastpasses to ride.

After Test Track, we decide that we will leave Epcot and head for Downtown Disney, as I still have to buy a nightshirt for Sandy — the only thing she asked of me if I came down. (I would also buy a tee shirt for my son who always has something for me when he comes home after a WDW visit. Last trip it was the polo shirt he won — his second — at Who Wants to be a Millionaire, Play It!) We do two more Epcot attractions (Universe of Energy and Spaceship Earth) and then head off to Downtown Disney.

We purchase the presents and then decided to check out the new Earl of Sandwich shop which recently opened. That was one of the best decisions we made. The sandwiches were delicious, the fresh baked bread was light and wonderful, and the price was unbelievably low considering you are on Disney property. If you have a chance, definitely give it a try.

We returned early to the room since Iris had to be in work at 7 AM the next morning. Of course, since Caribbean Beach Resort is adjacent to Pop Century, it was a fast commute! I had to get up early as well, since I would be leaving my carry-on in her car, and having Mears pick me up at CBR, since Iris would be getting out of work to late for me to make my 4:00 PM flight.