Saturday, March 24, 2012

Dreams Do Come True in New Orleans WDW 2.2012 Relocation Prep Day 3: Animal Kingdom & Realtor Meeting

The first stop of the day was Sassagoula for breakfast. I had a balanced meal of sausage and fruit. Jason had pancakes, bacon, and fruit.

breakfast
breakfast

After a yummy breakfast, we drove over to Animal Kingdom. Parking is a bit more confusing there because we didn't see any numbers on the specific rows. At the other parks, the rows are clearly marked. Oh well. I still prefer to driving and parking vs. taking the bus!

We explored the Tree of Life garden first. I love this area, it's so quiet and peaceful!

animals
tree of life
flamingos
kangaroos
tree of life

And here it is, the (other) backside of water!!

backside of water

We headed over to Asia and did some shopping along the way. I started taking pictures of things I wanted for our new house!

princesses

I love the ABC show Once Upon a Time, I have to get this pillow!

once upon a time pillow

I'm happy to see Jessica Rabbit merch! I love Who Framed Roger Rabbit, I think many of you know that is where my online name comes from - WaltSentMe007. It's a combination of 2 things I love: Roger Rabbit and James Bond :)

jessica rabbit

We stopped at our favorite Animal Kingdom watering hole - Drinkwallah! We really like the slushies :)

drinkwallah

As we walked through Asia, I noticed that the Kodak picture spots were still there. I found this confusing since Kodak pulled out of Journey Into Imagination over at EPCOT and we figured the picture spots would soon be gone as well.

kodak picture spot

We caught the monkeys in Asia during a very active period. Jason shot a pretty sweet video! I think these guys could be hopefuls for the London 2012 Olympic Games!!

Then we took a leisurely walk through the Maharajah Jungle Trek!

komodo dragon
maharajah jungle trek
tigers

While I was taking pictures, a family with small children came around. Usually when this happens, I move out of the way because I have had so many bad experiences with people getting in my way while I'm taking pictures, especially at Animal Kingdom. I was pleasantly surprised when the whole family, including the kids, recognized I was taking pictures and they got out of my way! Thank you, polite family, you made it possible to take this awesome photo of a tiger yawning!! +1 for good manners :)

tiger yawning

I really like this mural and I've always wanted to get a picture! Luckily the crowds were down so I was finally able to!

archer
decorations

We finished our trek and made our way over to Expedition Everest! I noticed this cool fountain on the way.

fountain

We rode Expedition Everest and I screamed my head off! A funny little girl behind us kept saying "I dont like this!" and then at the end of the ride she said "Is it over? Can we ride again?" TOO FUNNY!!

We decided our next stop would be Finding Nemo the Musical which Jason had never seen before. He loved it! I cried of course because the message is that you need to let your children find their own way. You have to let go. Some people are having a hard time letting Jason and I go since we decided to move to Florida. I hope they can understand this is our adventure and has nothing to do with them.

Finding Nemo the Musical

We started to make our way back to the entrance since we were going to meet with our Realtor soon! On the way I found more merch that I want after we move. I am so excited that I will be able to wear my Disney clothes anytime! I have a pile of clothes that I don't wear often at home. I remember once I was in a grocery store wearing my Nerds Rock shirt, Mickey crocs, Mickey shorts, and Nerds Rock tote bag. I noticed people staring at me and I now think twice about what I wear when I'm at home! But now home will be Florida so I'll blend right in :D

nerd mickey
nerd mickey shirt

These next 2 are for Jason!

turkey leg shirt
ice cream shirt

We ate lunch at Flame Tree BBQ and split the ribs/chicken combo. Neither of us have much of an appetite on this trip! It was delicious as usual!

ribs chicken combo

On our way out, I found more awesome Nerds Rock merch!! I LOVE that they are expanding this line and I must have it all!

nerds rock merch
nerds rock bag
nerds rock bags
nerds rock backpack

One day when I have saved up enough, I'll be able to buy the smallest Disney Dooney :)

disney dooney

I really love this subtle Expedition Everest shirt!

expedition everest shirt

We drove back to our hotel and rested up for the reason we came here in the first place, to meet with our realtor!

We drove to the first house and met our Realtor, Amy Reed. She was really great, the house was not. It was small and had no carpet which Jason informed me is not ideal for children. The pool was a mess! That one was a no for sure. I didn't even take pictures, we knew pretty quickly that wasn't the one.

The second house was our first pick from our drive around the previous day. It was absolutely perfect, we both agreed. The only problem was the Realtor info said no pets! We have 2 kittens, Merlin and Mim. Amy said she would check on it for us. We were feeling so upset because we really wanted this house!

favorite house

I positively LOVED the kitchen! I cook a lot and the other houses we saw had very small kitchens. Every house we saw was marketed as a "vacation home" so I think they expect people will eat out more which is why the kitchens are small. I expect to cook 3 - 5 times a week so I need a good kitchen! Plus, at Christmas I like to make yummy baked goods so I need a lot of counter space.

kitchen

We were also specifically looking for a house with a pool and spa. I wanted the spa because when we move I am going to become involved in Run Disney so I think my muscles will need it!! We were very impressed to see that the house had been kept up very well and everything was immaculate. I'm a huge clean freak so seeing the sparkling clean pool was enough for me!

pool and spa

The house is in a golf course community and the views are spectacular!

golf course view

We weren't going to go to the last house at all but then we thought we might want to have a backup just in case our favorite house wouldn't allow pets. So, we went to the third house and it was god awful. There was graffiti on the lanai and there was water damage. That one was definitely a no. I would be really embarrassed if I owned that house!

We made a plan to meet with Amy in the lobby of Port Orleans French Quarter the next morning. If we found out that the house we liked didnt allow pets, we would select 3 alternates to view. Sigh. After dinner with Mom, we spent the evening in the hotel room pouring over other listings just in case we needed to be prepared. Nothing was as perfect as the house we wanted but we selected alternates anyway. It was a very tense evening, we just weren't sure what was going to happen.

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