Disney World Christmas Trip Report – Part 1

Staying out so late did have its consequences, specifically having to roll out of bed the next morning to go to Animal Kingdom. You don’t have to be much of a trooper to get out of bed and go to a Disney park (trust me, I rolled out of bed and went to work today–it was much worse), so it wasn’t really that bad.

I’ve said it in the past, I’m sure I’ll say it again: Animal Kingdom is the weakest of the Disney parks. I feel I should say this again now that I’ve spent some time at California Adventure. DAK has so much promise, and executes what it does execute so well, that this really is a disappointment. It does the details so well (except Dinorama!), it is incredibly well themed, but it is incredibly lacking on substantive comment. I recently read from some posts on another board regarding this from a highly regarded consultant to Imagineering, and his explanation was that DAK is not a theme park in the traditional sense. Its theme does not include rides to such a degree, its about the natural experience. That left me scratching my head. I don’t know how a theme park could not be about the attractions. If you remove those from the equation, you have a “park,” and at that point, DAK is merely a compromise between the zoo and a National Park. Granted, if it’s a zoo, it’s an exceptional zoo, but it’s not much of a National Park. It should have rides/attractions. The only difference between it and the other parks, is that its attractions should be themed around the Animal Kingdom, whereas the other parks’ attractions should fit their theme. You can certainly have a ride that pertains to animals or mythical creatures without using real animals. Boom, theme satisfied.

That said, this was our best day in the Animal Kingdom, ever. For the first time, it wasn’t ridiculously hot (it was cold, though!), it did not rain, and all of the attractions were operational (as opposed to during evening EMH when around ¼ are running). We hit the attractions efficiently, and only missed Finding Nemo: the Musical (of the things we wanted to do). We got plenty of character photos (we always seem to get the most character photos at DAK!), and enjoyed wonderful sandwiches at Pizzafari. We had such an enjoyable half day that we considered going back another morning later in the trip to do Flights of Wonder and Nemo.

As always, we got our best character photos of the trip at DAK. For as much as I complain about this park, it does constantly deliver good character photo opportunities for us. Perhaps this is because it is substantively lacking elsewhere, so this entertainment is necessary.

We actually only left DAK prior to it closing because we had early dinner ADRs at Jiko. Since we weren’t on the DDP, this was to be the big meal of the trip. We went with our friend Nick, who is a Cast Member at Jiko.

Wow, what an experience. We truly got the royal treatment. The hostess seated us in a large booth (my preference as it is more intimate and apart from other diners) in what I believe Nick called the “sun room” (the colors on the wall change). He informed us of some celebrities who had recently dined at Jiko, including everyone’s favorite, Samantha Brown!

Shortly after we ordered drinks, our server brought out soup compliments of the chef. I don’t remember its name, but it was delicious! As we ordered, I debated getting an appetizer. I was a little reluctant to do so, as my meal was already going to be expensive, and I didn’t think anyone else was ordering one. At the last minute, I decided to do it, realizing we probably wouldn’t be back to Jiko for a while.

I wanted to get something more adventurous, as we were at a unique dining location and I didn’t just want to opt for the “American tourist picks,” but I think I ended up doing just that. I got the barbeque flatbread as an appetizer and the filet with mac ‘n’ cheese (which apparently no longer comes with mac ‘n’ cheese, but the server said they could do it anyway) for my entree. Our server recommended both, so I didn’t feel so bad about not being adventurous.

Sarah didn’t make as good of picks, opting for some selections of bread as her appetizer (oh yeah, once I became the appetizer “trend setter,” everyone else also got one) and lamb for her entree. I thought her lamb was good, but once she tasted my filet, it paled in comparison. I was shocked that the filet was so good. No wonder Jiko is the highest rated signature restaurant on property.

Nick told us that the candy-cane cheesecake was pretty popular, but he failed to mention that it was candy-cane AND eggnog cheesecake. Sarah and I split an order of it anyway. It was okay, tasting exactly like I imagined a melding of candy-cane and eggnog would. Interesting combination.

When it came time to pay, we again got the royal treatment. Two different managers had paid for our appetizer and desserts! For the five of us, it was about as much to eat there as it ended up being for the four of us to eat at Via Napoli! Overall, an excellent, excellent meal. I would rate it higher than California Grill (although not in ambiance), but lower than Victoria & Albert’s, giving it a respectable second place out of all dining establishments!

After that, we waddled our way to the Studios. Nick had to stop at home first, so I asked him to bring me a jacket or sweatshirt. It turned out that jeans and a polo would not be warm enough to 40 degree weather. While we waited for him, we hit Voyage of the Little Mermaid with my parents.

They didn’t have much energy left (like typical 40/50-somethings, they get up at like 4 am and go to bed at 7 pm), so they went back to Shades of Green after this. Nick arrived with the savior–I mean sweater–and we headed to the Osborne Lights. There, we encountered a bunch of people I know from Flickr (Joe, Cory, etc.) who were participating in a WDWPhotography.com meet. I chatted with them for a bit while Sarah and Nick wandered around the Streets of America. This is really the only time I chatted with these guys, as we only attended one of the WDWPhotography events, and that was a lecture/presentation. I wish I could have spent more time with them, but it was a family trip, first and foremost.

I then found Nick and Sarah, and as we wandered some more, a sweatshirt at Youse Guys Moichendise caught my attention. Knowing that it would be cold for pretty much the duration of the trip, and not wanting to wear Nick’s sweatshirt everyday, I bought it. It will likely go down in history as the best $24 I ever spent.

We spent the rest of the night doing attraction and taking pictures before calling it a night. We again had to walk from the Poly (we would every night except the last night at Shades of Green, so assume this from here out), which was even less fun than the previous night, as no one was arrested this time.