Okay, this post was originally going to be The Trip Report but as soon as I started writing that, it turned out to deserve a whole blog of it's own. So look forward to that next week (Edit: Sorry, make that NEXT next week. Probably. I hope.)
Meanwhile, more sketches and thoughts from Animal Kingdom park, the Coral Reef restaurant, and around the Beach Club pools.
So. The Pandemic. It did not end up adversely affecting much that I could see. (Indeed, we mostly had a great time and any bad times were almost always due to things neither we nor Disney could've controlled. Almost.) One of the big changes was how character encounters work. You can't go up to meet them, so they'll show up in the little patios at EPCOT, or riding a boat along the river in Animal Kingdom. It is almost like how it was in the 70's-90's where random characters would just show up whenever, and I have to say, hearing music and looking around to see Mickey
riding in a boat is a heck of a lot more fun than waiting in line to
meet him in a room.
Above, you see my very brief impression of Disney's Kite Tails. This is a new live show at Animal Kingdom, replacing Rivers of Light. Rivers of Light was very nice when all of the effects worked, which, more often than not, they did not. Kite Tails, as I'm sure you know if you've already seen the videos, is Very Special. Part of me wants it to stick around for a while so everyone can experience it for themselves. BUT! Another much louder part of me wants it to end up a short-lived Bizarrerie like Superstar Limo or Barbie's Birthday Bash. Only better because I was there this time! I got to see the show! And years later, I'll try to describe it to younger WDW fans -- and they will probably just assume I am recalling a weird dream. Which is fair.
The parks were way more crowded than I ever would have guessed, given the reservation system. I have heard since that there are no more "slow days" or less-crowded weeks at Disney. What a bummer, especially if you're trying to eat dinner at EPCOT with no reservation. There was no getting into Space 220, nor the Garden Grill. But where the sky and land failed us, the Sea welcomed us. Er, we got into Coral Reef I mean. What a nice, underrated restaurant. The sharks and rays were very active that evening and the food and drinks were excellent.
We'll round things out today with a trip to Animal Kingdom Lodge. Kidani Village had a special tour of one of their savannas and I got to see their elusive Okapis up close! This was another of my favorite experiences this trip; right up there with Harmonious.
