i should have a positive attitude but...

i don't.

christmas is about family.
if i've learned anything at Walt Disney World, it's where my priorities lie.
that much is clear.

parade crash bang die.

tuesday was a memorable day.

here's the thing: the internationals know parade. no one else does. but the big wigs on high decided that internationals can no longer do parade. cold turkey. in the middle of the holiday season. which means a very, very high volume of people.  with cast members who don't have a clue what they're doing.
we would have ignored the bigwigs but they were actually physically coming to see the internationals dance with the banghra DJ at the yak'n'yeti. go figure.
so we finally got the stanchions up at probably 3:20, after putting one in, realizing the rope didn't fit, and taking it back out again, repeatedly. (parade starts at 3:45, stanchions should be up no later than 2:45.) the coordinator who was supposed to be coordinating at this time had done parade maybe once or twice, and (through no fault of her own) was completely lost. katie & i ended up "taking over", assigning positions, and telling people what to do.

it was all going seemingly well (as well as could be expected from our point...a bit stressful but not too overwhelming) until the fight broke out, just minutes before parade was at our door. thankfully the manager on hand spoke spanish, because the offending family was only spanish speaking and that was fun. its always fun when guests fight. the coordinator was running back and forth between helping the manager deal with them and trying to see how far away parade was.  of course it was hot on our heels, and she was close to panicking but kept her cool.  the spot that the guests had chosen to cause this big ordeal was also idyllic-the tightest spot on my walkway (only barely two ECV's worth), meaning i had a backup going all the way behind tiger tree and unhappy guests in front of me. finally it cleared up (after parade had already hit us) and i assumed the situation was alleviated.

well then we tried to follow right behind parade (like we normally do with internationals) but sans internationals no one knew how to roll ropes that fast or that well. the manager (victor) tried and failed, katie tried and failed, i tried and failed. finally victor just yelled to take off every other rope and don't even worry about stanchions, so as i'm doing that, i start rolling rope in front of the fight family. the family next to them stops me (when i'm supposed to be keeping up with the cart & other parade breakers, but we were so screwed over anyway it didn't matter) and starts asking about the procedure and if there will be a report filed and they'd testify if there was a lawsuit because they were totally in the wrong and they saw the whole thing and they want something to be done and victor said this and victor said that ...all the while i say "yes of course" "right" "victor will take care of everything" while thinking "these people are idiots. what do they think I can do? the parade isn't even good enough to fight over, you morons. get over yourselves and get on with your life. oh good, here comes guests relations." it might have been a "sit down before you pass out from the stress" moment if my favorite manager ray hadn't stopped and helped, then made me laugh at myself in spite of the situation. he's good at that. but oh, the disaster. thankfully, its so not my problem anymore. 

The Manatees

Nov. 30th-Dec 3rd my parents came down to florida for a visit--seeing as i could get them into disneyworld for free, they graciously accepted my invitation.

the one thing my father wanted though, was not disneyworld. not even close.
he wanted to see the manatees.
we must be related or something.

i was more than happy to oblige.

the experience was incredible.  manatees are an incredible animal.  big, swimming labradors.  they're adorable. they don't like much loud noises (they'll swim away) so the quieter you are they longer they'll stay. they're endangered so you have to wait until they come to you (which they do, because they're basically giant swimming dogs.)

can i just tell you its the neatest experience to rub a manatee's belly when he obviously asks you to?  they even have sweet spots. this guy's was right above his flipper in the shoulder area. he would arc his back like that was the best feeling in the world. when we finally had to go, he followed me like a puppy just wanting to be scratched again. best part is we have it on DVD.

we also saw a baby manatee. we didn't get to touch, but the baby was the cutest thing in the world. it was also communicating with its mother--did you know manatees squeak like mice? it's true. they do.

anyway, to make a long story short, manatees are now my favorite animal. for a long time i've struggled with that question: i've always needed an explanation for why an animal is my favorite (and thereby could never answer said question with honesty). over the years i might have said elephant, cuttlefish, dolphin, orca. but lets be honest, i was mainstreaming. (elephants are legit though.) i don't like to go with the crowd and like the big popular things, thats just too easy. plus i wanted a personal reason. manatees take the cake. they're not popular, they're endangered, and i have a special connection and memory associated with them. they are beautiful.

Wild Africa Trek

Mom, Dad, and I all went on what is called the Wild Africa Trek at Animal Kingdom. (introduced to Animal Kingdom Jan of 2011!)
It was a blast and a half. I think some pictures speak thousands of words though or something like that, so here it is:

Dad's cool.

Yes, we wore harnesses.

How close to a hippo have you been?

The duck isn't part of the exhibit. 

Beggar.  

My shadow on a rickety bridge over Nile Crocodiles.

Mom & Dad crossing said rickety bridge.

Shoe, bridge, crocodiles.

Thermoregulation.

Dad hugging the crocs. I think.

Thumbs up for being on leashes over a cliff above Nile Crocodiles!

Mom standing away from the edge with the crocs. (She's not a fan.)

The leashes. And the leader. 

Reticulated giraffe. 

That hut back there is where we had lunch.

Masai Giraffe.

Baby elephants. Jabali (the smallest) was born while I was here at the end of August 2011. Jabali means "Strong as a Rock" in Swahili. 

 

Jabali

Masai Giraffe (seen from the hut structure)

Lunch on Safari!

I should have gotten the vegetarian option. But everything else was still good!

The flower that came with lunch.

Meant to be a palate cleanser.

mmmm

"I'm eating a flower."

"And its not half bad."

Dad just kept taking pictures....

Watching KSR (Kilimanjaro Safari Ride) trucks go by. 

I believe this is a black rhino. 

Me with the savanna behind. A giraffe is laying down in the background. 

Lets go to Africa. 

Ostrich.

Lion.

Yawn.

The Tree of Life. (Multiple meanings?)

All in all, it was the coolest experience. I loved sharing it with my parents (especially because they paid they're awesome) mostly because they're animal people too! And surprisingly enough its hard to find people who are animal people. And who don't mind if I talk their ear off concerning facts about DAK and all the animals in it. I suppose that's where it gets really tough to find people.......