Forever Magical
Page 5 of 7

Day Eight
We left the World and headed over to Islands of Adventure. While I was very impressed with the décor of this park it was missing the Disney sparkle. Maybe it was because we there during the off season but there was very little, almost no atmosphere entertainment. It was a great time even though I don’t ride the monster coasters. I enjoyed their water rides the most of any I’d ever been on and cannot remember ever getting so completely soaked on a ride. I had several disappointing exchanges with their castmembers due mostly to a lack of awareness for someone in an ECV. When the Park closed we decided to head back to the World but weren’t sure what to do. I had read several years ago that Disney offered singalongs and movies under the stars and it sounded like a lot of fun so while we still a little damp from Islands of Adventure we set out for Fort Wilderness. We boarded a bus, which took us from the lobby to the campfire site. We missed the singalong, which is hosted, by Chip and Dale but the movie had just started. It was the remake of the Parent Trap so we sat on the bleachers and watched the movie. Every once in awhile we’d look up at the stars I even think I saw a shooting star. For $2 we purchased a bag of marshmallows and two sticks and roasted them over a large campfire off to the side of the movie screen. Surrounded by the trees it was easy to forget you were in the middle of the hustle and bustle of four theme parks. It is a great change of pace and a unique experience - one of the highlights of our trip.

Day Nine

The Tree of Life at Animal Kingdom

We tackled the remaining attractions at Animal Kingdom. For dinner we ventured over to a resort we had never visited before Old Key West. Their restaurant is named Olivia’s. It is family style and the walls of the restaurant are lined with pictures of Disney Vacation Club members. Our server Tara was very friendly. We began our meal with very tasty baguettes that had cheese, tomatoes and spinach and a wonderful eggplant garlic spread. Doobie had penne pasta with asiago cheese and I had the chicken pot pie. Wow! It was so yummy. Often pot pie can be too salty but not here. The chicken was also very moist and flavorful. You could taste each vegetable individually. We found ourselves a new favorite restaurant at the World.

Olivia's

Day Ten
We took a break from Disney dining and grabbed some Subway sandwiches and boarded a pontoon boat with a group of friends. We drove around the Seven Seas Lagoon for 90 minutes from the Grand Floridian over to Bay Lake and River Country. The various resorts and the Magic Kingdom provided beautiful landscapes and the water mice zooming around the lagoon added to the fun and energy.

The view from the pontoon boat

After our cruise, Doobie, my little brother Jonathan and I headed over to DisneyQuest. Jonathan had never been before and loved all the adventures. Our first stop was the Jungle Cruise. In this adventure you are transported to the age of dinosaurs and must paddle your raft after the gizmo, which will get you, home safely before the comet arrives that destroyed all life. There is a large video screen in front and you are in a raft that responds to the images onscreen and your paddling. You even get a bit wet when you go through the rapids. Once again we were unable to retrieve the gizmo but we got closer than I had ever been before.

Jonathan and Rebekah search for the gizmo at DisneyQuest

Next we became Pirates of the Caribbean. Jonathan and I manned the cannons while Doobie captained the ship steering us closer to the ships we had to attack to gather treasure. This adventure is a 3-D virtual reality and requires the participants to wear special glasses. We didn’t reach the top level but we didn’t sink either as the people in the next room did. We played Mighty Ducks Pinball Slam, too. The object of this game is to score goals by moving your puck using the joystick. However these joystick are life size and require your entire body. You must lean right to move the puck right and lean forward to make it move closer to the goal. As the puck hits other objects such as other pucks and targets the joystick reacts kind of throwing your body around. It is very, very tiring. I always have the bottom score but this time I was number 1. I still am not sure how I did it but we all broke a sweat playing that game.

We’d enjoyed Olivia’s so much the day before that we came back again for dinner. The server suggested the evening special which I selected. I savored each mouth-watering bite of their Filet Mignon with Potatoes Au Gratin. It was delicious. Doobie loved the potatoes, too, I had to keep an eye on them lest they all disappear.