You’re welcome!
And thank you!!
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2/22 - Animal Kingdom with Caring For Giants Tour
It was another morning of my Protein Stix and then heading off to Animal Kingdom. My FP+ for Flight of Passage was not until the afternoon, and I had the Caring for Giants tour booked for 9:30. So I decided to go on the sane side of the line area and not this one
I headed to Dinosaur and there was only one person in front of me…
Rode it, rode Primeval Whirl, rode Everest…and then walked over to check in for Caring for Giants.
The Caring For Giants Tour is a 60-minute experience that takes you through backstage areas to a viewing area just behind the elephants’ section of the Kilimanjaro Safari ride - about 80-100 feet away. You ride back to the platform in a van. It is a 100% wheelchair accessible experience, but the spaces for wheelchairs in the van are limited, so you definitely need to make advance reservations if you can’t walk small distances. You are met by an animal specialist who talks a little about the care of the elephants as well as a cultural representative from one of the countries elephants are native to in Africa. We learned about efforts to protect elephants not just from poachers but from farmers who were threatening elephants who came onto their property to get food from the fields.
You know what they are teaching the farmers to do?
Make a honeybee fence!
Elephants are scared of honeybees, and they have discovered that if they make a fence of honeybees by placing hives and prescribed intervals around the perimeter of the fields, they not only keep elephants out but they are also helping with cross pollination and also gaining an additional revenue source in selling honey and beeswax products.
The tour is $30/person. You must be at least 4, and anyone under 18 must be accompanied by an adult. Every cent of the money goes to elephant conservation efforts. So it’s one tour I’m proud and glad I did. And I’ll likely do it again.
I’ll just put some photos here to let them speak for themselves…
It was an absolutely amazing tour!!
Right after we got back, I went on the safari again and saw the elephants from the other viewpoint!
I watched Festival of the Lion King, and then headed back to Pandora!!
Lunch in Satu’li again. Went with the beef as my protein and the pinot noir to drink.
Then it was time for my Flight of Passage FP+. Still speechless after the ride, but I am definitely glad I went through the queue twice before - you miss so much of the exquisite detail with the FP+.
I had debated what to do for the evening, but the more I thought about it, the more it was clear there was only one choice.
Remember a the report from a couple of days ago and I said there was a spoiler?
Yep! Back to The BOATHOUSE!! This time I was paying out of pocket, so I limited myself a little more (plus I did not want to end up going to bed stuffed.)
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I had the Wedge Salad again, this time with a protein side of chicken. Still amazing!
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And of course this bit of deliciousness!! Tonight Chef added blueberries, so it was healthier! Right!?!?! 
I walked around a bit more and then it was time to head back to Sports for the sad part of the trip - packing to go home. Of course, I also made time for my nightly hot bath and bed.
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2/23 - Magic Kingdom…and Departure
I woke up and finished packing, then took my luggage to store with Luggage Assistance and then got on the bus to Magic Kingdom for most of the day.
It was Early Magic Hour, so I figured I’d ride Space Mountain since I hadn’t done it this trip yet.
BUT not even 15 minutes into EMH, the ride broke down. You know it’s going to be a while when the lights in the queue come on and you hear them announcing for people to remain in their vehicles until someone comes for them. So I bailed and went to the Speedway. My car was so hard to control - I definitely got my arm workout in!!
I headed to Starbucks - um, Main Street Bakery - for some coffee and got a picture that sums things up…
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Coffee, Castle… Perfection!
I headed towards the front of the park to wait for Chip & Dale
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Those boys always make me laugh!
And then Pluto!
I followed Mary Poppins to Liberty Square and caught a little of the Muppets telling of the ride of Paul Revere before heading to my FP+ at Haunted Mansion.
I rode Pirates again - one last salute to the Red-Head - and then went to the Enchanted Tiki Room (it reminds me of my Grandaddy who took us there on the trip he made with us) and explored the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse before taking another Jungle Cruise. My skipper for that cruise was hysterical - and clearly over the ducks. We did survive the most dangerous animal in the jungle though.
The hippo-surfing ducks!!
And then it was time for lunch at the Jungle Navigation Company Skipper Canteen. Tyler seated me, and he was hysterical and totally in character. I was seated in what I now know is the SEA room. When he showed me my table, he said it was the best in the place. Not lion.
Haha! I went with sangria for my DP beverage and paid for diet Coke out of pocket.
Did an appetizer out of pocket - the falafel! I’d debated a couple of things, but getting gluten-free falafel is pretty rare, so…
For my entree, I went with the steak…
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Which was yummy!!
And my non-sorbet option for dessert was Quicksand! and it was beautiful AND delicious!!
After lunch it was a visit with Mickey. I absolutely LOVE these shots they got…
i got a Pluto mug in the Emporium and then got my spot in front of my favorite lamppost for the parade.
My parade shots are all pretty similar, so I won’t post them again. LOL. Spare you scrolling through and thinking “Didn’t I see this before?”
After the parade I went to line up for the bus. It took a little while, but I had in mind that if one came for Music of Movies before Sports, I would just hop to it and walk. But Sports came first.
I got my bags from Luggage Assistance, then used my last snack credit for a Mickey Bar.
I was already in the waiting area when the Tragical Express pulled up for the 5:25 trip. Mine was 5:55, but since I was there, the guy offered to take me since he didn’t have a full bus. While I hate leaving Disney World, I would rather be at the airport early and not have to stress about running late (hey, being there early helped get me down quicker!!) even with PreCheck, so I took him up on it.
No flight delays for me this time - though the ones before were all delayed. I had an exit row to myself, which was cool. The only glitch came when I was back in Newark and SuperShuttle first said a van was on the way and then called to basically say “Whoops. My bad. It’s not coming for you.” They were “trying to find one for me” which was absurd since I had made a reservation so they knew I was coming. I ended up going way over budget and getting a Lyft, but at least that took me right to my door rather than to a hotel in Manhattan where I’d take the subway home because Super Shuttle charges a ridiculously high rate for residential pick ups or drop offs - and the rate to Brooklyn hotels isn’t much better.
My cat Mo was happy to see me. And I’m glad I scheduled things so that I have a couple of days to come back to reality. I have not managed to lock myself out of my apartment yet - but I’m making sure my keys are hanging on the coat pegs on the door so they are right in my face when I’m at the door and I don’t forget them. My Magic Band doesn’t open the apartment door! LOL.
Overall it was an amazing trip! This was my first time using a Travel Agent - I used Jacki York with MouseFan Travel, and she was incredible. No matter how many changes I wanted to make, she always did it happily and quickly. I’ve already got my cruise for next year booked with her! And she’s helping me with my upcoming Disneyland trip for my birthday this summer.
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading my report!! I’m happy to answer any questions you have!
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Again, thanks for taking us along…you looked like you were having ALL THE FUN!! 
Wonderful photos…So much fun to see all you were doing…since I have no trip on any horizon…
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Great report, I may think about the caring for Giants tour.
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I highly recommend it! Especially since the money goes for elephant conservation.
Thank you!
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You’re welcome! Thanks for following along!!
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Thank you for writing this! I enjoyed it!
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You’re welcome! Thank you for reading!!
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This was so much fun to read and your photos are wonderful! Thanks so much for posting.
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Thank you so much!! And thanks for reading!!
You’re welcome!
Thanks for doing this trip report, the pictures were lovely , I was wishing you were there longer and had more to write, I wasn’t ready to be done reading.
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Aww, thanks!! I wish I could have been there longer too!!
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Wow what a great trip! I really enjoyed reading it- first thing I did once the kids were in bed! I’m rethinking my next trip and wanting to add in the Caring for giants tour. I’m sure I will make some other changes along the way! Glad you had such a great time and thanks for sharing!
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Really great report… enjoyed reading it!
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I enjoyed your report and all the pictures. Thanks!
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Thank you!! I really enjoyed the tour! And kids seem to love it too - there were 4 or 5 on my tour and they had a blast.
Thank you!!
Thank you!
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Your report was wonderful! I enjoyed reading it very much. Thanks for sharing it.
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