Taryn's Mad Hatter Adventures

Tales from my (mostly Disney) travels!
Taryn's Mad Hatter Adventures
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  • Category: Animal Kingdom

    • Yak & Yeti Restaurant Lunch Review

      Posted at 12:29 pm by taryngirl, on August 29, 2021

      5/16/21

      We had lunch reservations at Yak & Yeti Restaurant (the table service) and were SO EXCITED for it! We have eaten here several times before, and it remains a family favorite. This restaurant features pan-Asian cuisine and the theming inside is perfect!

      For starters:

      Pork Egg Rolls with Chili Plum Dipping Sauce $11.99

      These must have been good, because they disappeared quickly!

      Entrees:

      I chose the Korean Beef–Wok fried beef, peppers, onions, pineapple, and Korean BBQ sauce served with jasmine rice. I ordered without the pineapple. $21.99

      This was excellent! The beef was slightly crispy on the outside, but super tender on the inside. I love the flavor of the sauce!

      My daughter LOVES Garlic Noodles, and these were offered as a side dish. Since she couldn’t decide between this and something else, she got both!

      Garlic Noodles $12.99

      Of course she loved these! She couldn’t eat them all, so we took them back to the room and she ate them for breakfast the next day.

      For her “regular” entree, she ordered Honey Chicken–tempura chicken, fresh vegetables tossed in honey sauce, served with jasmine rice. $20.99 This also comes with pineapple, but she ordered without.

      This was delicious!

      Another entree (I’m not sure which adult ordered this!).

      Lo Mein Shrimp–lo mein noodles, carrots, cabbage, green onion, bean sprouts $21.99

      I *think* someone ordered this as their entree with a side of fried rice…

      Firecracker Shrimp–crispy fried shrimp tossed in a creamy, spicy sauce, Asian slaw $13.99

      And finally, my youngest daughter’s choices:

      Steamed Rice–Jasmine $5.99, Fries

      Of course she loved these! She’s my super picky eater, so this was perfect for her.

      Overall, everyone loved their food! My only complaint is it seems prices are rising and portions are not. It did help that I have an Annual Pass discount though! We definitely will be back!

      Posted in Animal Kingdom, Dining Review, Uncategorized, Yak & Yeti | 0 Comments | Tagged Animal Kingdom, Dining Review, Disney, Foodie, Walt Disney World, Yak & Yeti
    • A Day at Animal Kingdom

      Posted at 4:18 pm by taryngirl, on August 4, 2021

      5/16/2021

      Our plan on this day was to get to the bus stop earlyyyy. Mission accomplished, and we were off the bus at 7:15 a.m. for an 8:00 a.m. opening. Here you can see the crowd level at this point.

      Tree of Life

      Since I don’t ride Avatar: Flight of Passage, I went directly to Na’vi River Journey by myself. I was maybe 10-15 people deep in line at 7:30 a.m. They didn’t open the ride until 7:48 a.m.

      Everyone else in our party went to Flight of Passage and were on and off the ride before 8:00 a.m.

      While I was waiting for them to get off of the ride, I headed to Pongu Pongu Lounge to get a refreshing Night Blossom beverage.

      This drink gets a 10/10 in our family! The flavors are wonderful, and it’s so refreshing on a hot day. I don’t love boba balls, by my daughter does! Also, this stand has some quick options for breakfast, but we did not try any of them.

      Next we headed for the Kiliminjaro Safari. We were in line at 8:30 a.m. with a 30 minute posted wait time. Actual wait time was 23 minutes.

      After exiting the Safari, we checked out Zuri Sweets Shop, which has some amazing desserts at the counter. Here are just the cupcakes!

      We took a bathroom and snack break here, sitting in Harambe Market area. My daughters also took this time to take some photos with amazing back drops.

      Next we went to Kali River Rapids. It was 9:50 a.m. with a 15 minute wait posted. After that, we headed to Expedition Everest which also had a 15 minute wait posted. We also watched It’s Tough to be a Bug and the Winged Encounters bird show.

      We had dining reservations for lunch at Yak & Yeti and went there next. See my next post for a full review of one of our favorite places to eat!

      The last thing we did was watch the Festival of the Lion King, which had just started showing!

      It was so good to finally welcome this show back. You could tell the cast was so happy to perform again! Although it is altered slightly, it was still amazing!

      After this show, we shopped and headed back to the resort to swim and rest.

      Up next…Lunch Dining Review at Yak& Yeti!

      Posted in Animal Kingdom, Touring Plan, Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged Animal Kingdom, Disney, Touring Plan, Walt Disney World
    • A Morning at Animal Kingdom

      Posted at 4:33 pm by taryngirl, on August 31, 2020

      January 29, 2020

      We arrived to Animal Kingdom in the morning, but not right at rope drop. The first thing I noticed once we exited the bus area, was the construction going on near the tram stop.

      The ticket counters

      The Tree of Life

      Our plan was to go directly to Navi River and ride that. We went from there over to Kiliminjaro Safari. There are so many amazing photo opportunities! Here are a few I took on the way over.

      Our Safari experience was entertaining. We were riding this standby since our FP+ were in the afternoon for Magic Kingdom. I can’t tell you the last time I stood in this line! It was probably 45 minutes. All I will say is there was a family in front of us with children that were running all over the place…climbing over barriers that they weren’t supposed to, and at one point even sitting in the window ledge over one of the bridges. It was crazy! Anyway, here are some pictures from our ride:

      I was really hoping to see the baby!

      I always hit Zuri’s Sweets Shop for a snack. This time was no exception!

      We made our way over to Dinosaur, which is one of my personal favorites! Again, more beautiful scenery along the way.

      After Dinosaur, we took a little break near the stage. While sitting there, Kevin appeared!

      We had lunch reservations at Disney Springs, so we decided to take a bus so we could get a transfer since there were no direct buses to Disney Springs. We did wait a longgggg time for a bus here, but once he showed up, we were happy and he was fun!

      Overall, a great morning at Animal Kingdom! Up next, Disney Springs Enzo’s Hideaway!

      Posted in Animal Kingdom, Disney, Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged Animal Kingdom
    • Animal Kingdom Morning Touring

      Posted at 10:32 am by taryngirl, on February 23, 2019

      8/17/18

      Our plan was to be up and out of the room early today, but we got a late start!  We got to the bus stop at 9:20 a.m. and ended up not getting to Animal Kingdom until 10:20.  There were 4 scooters waiting to get on!  So we missed our Safari FastPass+.

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      We did make it to our second FastPass+, Dinosaur!  This is my favorite ride in AK.

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      I think Kaylee is screaming in Alex’s ear here…hahahahaha.

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      Donald’s Dino-Bash was happening while we were there.  The whole land is transformed into a celebration.  There are special character spots with Launchpad McQuack and others!

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      Kinsey had her very first meet and greet ever with Pocahontas!  She spent several minutes with her.  It was very special!  These are all PhotoPass pictures.

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      We stopped to enjoy It’s Tough to be a Bug on the way over to Pandora.  This can be scary for little kids believe it or not.  At one point it gets pitch black while spiders descend from the ceiling and smoke blows into the room!

      From there we headed over to Pandora for our Flights of Passage FastPass+.  Sadly I don’t ride this because of my motion sick issues.

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      I spent some time watching this man in the utility suit while I waited.

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      This is one of my favorite backdrops for pictures!  It’s become a tradition now so I take pictures of my daughters here each time.

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      Lunch was of course at my favorite Satul’i Canteen.

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      Cheeseburger Steamed Pod (Kid’s Meal)–Steamed Cheeseburger Pod stuffed with Ground Beef, Ketchup, Mustard, Pickle and Cheddar Cheese served with Vegetable Chips and Grapes.  It also comes with a drink (not pictured).

      We cut this and shared it amongst everyone.  It’s very good!  It’s a nice little appetizer.

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      Chopped Wood Grilled Chicken Bowl–Choice of base (I did rice!), wood grilled chicken, vegetable slaw, with your choice of sauce.

      This is my go to and one of my favorite quick service meals in all of Disney!  I say this in every trip report, but it’s a nice change from the regular offerings.

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      I always get all 3 sauces and mix them together in my bowl!

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      Chili Garlic Shrimp Bowl–Shrimp tossed in chili garlic sauce with noodles and vegetable slaw

      This is a little bit spicy!  Spicier than anyone was anticipating.  But still good!

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      Slow Roasted Sliced Grilled Beef Bowl–Slow roasted marinated beef with choice of base and vegetable slaw with bobos.

      The inside of the restaurant:

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      This was my first time watching UP!  A Great Bird Adventure Show since it changed from Flights of Wonder.  I reallllly loved the Flights of Wonder show.  I think it was an often forgot about experience in Animal Kingdom.

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      The new show was okay.  It wasn’t my favorite though!  Some of the elements were the same as the old show.  And some were new.  I encourage you to check it out at least once!

      Posted in Animal Kingdom, Dining Review, Quick Service, Satu'li Canteen, Touring Plan, Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged Animal Kingdom, Dining Review, Pocahontas, Quick Service, Satu'li Canteen
    • March Disney World AEP Trip {Day 5}! Part 2–Satu’li Canteen and Mobile Ordering

      Posted at 7:57 pm by taryngirl, on August 1, 2018

      DID YOU KNOW…that for some Quick Service restaurants throughout Walt Disney World, you can order ahead?  This fantastic service is called MOBILE FOOD AND BEVERAGE ORDERING!  (You can read all about it directly through that link that takes you to Disney’s official page.)

      Basically, instead of waiting in line, you can go onto your My Disney Experience App,

      This is the menu shown outside of the restaurant:

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      The restaurant itself does have both indoor and outdoor seating.  One note, there are signs on the tables stating you must be a patron of the restaurant in order to use the tables.  So don’t plan on getting a table and sitting there while you wait for the rest of your party who is riding Flight of Passage.

      We stood outside the restaurant and used the My Disney Experience App to order our food. We walked in immediately.  When entering, just look for the separate Mobile Order Pick Up window.  YOU DO NOT HAVE TO WAIT IN THE REGULAR LINE!  There was only one person in front of us in this line.

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      If you didn’t order ahead, this is what the line looked like:

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      What you can’t see is that the line snaked and then went out into the foyer area of the restaurant.  SO WORTH ORDERING AHEAD!  You can save so much time.

      Confession time…I was skeptical.  I always have modifications, no this, extra this, etc. etc.  You can still modify with the app! 

      Now to the good stuff…the delicious food!  I ordered the Chopped Wood-Grilled Chicken Bowl with Rice and Creamy Herb Dressing and NO Boba Balls!  This is also served with Crunchy Vegetable Slaw.  I also asked for all three sauces on the side when I got up to the window.  The other two sauces are the Black Bean Vinaigrette, and the Charred Onion Chimichurri.  I mixed all three together in the bowl and it was SO GOOD.  I will definitely eat here again and I will definitely order this exact same thing!

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      My friend ordered the Kid’s Meal–Cheeseburger Steamed Pod which is served with Chips and a drink.IMG_0595

      My other friend ordered the Combination Bowl:  Grilled Beef and Chicken with Rice base and the Chimichurri Sauce.

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      They each also ordered a dessert.  This is the Chocolate Cake (chocolate cake with a crunchy cookie layer and banana cream topping).  We all tasted it.  It was really good and super rich!

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      The other dessert was the Blueberry Cream Cheese Mousse.  (blueberry cream cheese mousse with passion fruit curd)  I didn’t try this one, but they said it was good!

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      I have eaten here on a past trip as well.  These are some pictures of food my group ordered during that trip. 

      Chopped Wood-Grilled Chicken with Romaine and Kale Salad Base.

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      Regular order of the Cheeseburger Pods served with Chips.

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      Overall, this quick service restaurant is one of my favorites!  Be sure to give it a try at least once.

      Up next…Cruising on Royal Caribbean’s Grandeur of the Seas!

      Posted in AEP, Animal Kingdom, Dining Review, Quick Service, Satu'li Canteen, Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged Animal Kingdom, Avatar, Disney, Foodie, Mobile Ordering, Pandora, Quick Service, Satu'li Canteen, Walt Disney World
    • March Disney World AEP Trip {Day 5}! Part 1–Animal Kingdom

      Posted at 8:40 am by taryngirl, on July 18, 2018

      Sadly my departure day was here.  BUT!  I always get the latest direct flight home on Southwest.  So I had some time to hit the parks until the afternoon.  I started off with my usual breakfast at French Quarter, Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory:

       

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      Mickey Waffles with Sausage!  This is by far, my favorite Quick Service breakfast!

      After breakfast, I headed to Animal Kingdom.  I went straight to Pandora to meet up with my roommates.  I spent some time taking pics!

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      Pongu Pongu–a popular drink stand:

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      Satu’li Canteen entrance:

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      Inside Windtraders Shop:

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      This land is so amazing!

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      From there we headed over to Africa because we had a Fastpass+ for Kilimanjaro Safaris.  This was taken on the bridge heading into Africa.  It is just so amazing to me, how different each of the parks are!

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      I rarely have the opportunity to “check out” every kiosk, etc., so I made sure to do that this time!  This is Tamu Tamu Refreshments.  I never knew they had Dole Whips here!  AND you can get it with rum!

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      I also got to look around the Harambe Market.  It was just before opening time at 11 a.m., and there were a few people in line waiting already!  I personally have never eaten anything from here yet.  This area is really neat though!

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      This is one of the “famous” walls throughout Disney World.  See if you can find it next time you are there!

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      One of my favorite places for a quick snack is Zuri’s Sweets Shop!  I can always find a sweet treat here.

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      The Harambe Fruit Market is another great place to grab a snack.  You can see the Corn on the Cob counts as a Snack on the Disney Dining Plan (the purple and white logo DDP).  The corn is not listed on the official menu online, but it was there in March!

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      All of the items with the DDP symbol count as a snack credit on the Disney Dining Plan!

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      It was finally time for our Fastpass+!  So we headed over to the Safari entrance.  We were so lucky to see Augustus!  The cute baby hippo!

       

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      Lots of animals were out today!

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      Kusafiri Coffee Shop & Bakery menu (March 2018):

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      You can also see more snacks as noted with the DDP symbol.  From here we went to see the Festival of the Lion King.  This is a DO NOT MISS show!  It’s really fun to watch and action packed.  I unfortunately didn’t take any pictures.

      We wanted to eat lunch at Satu’li Canteen back in Pandora, so we started to make our way there.  Did you know there’s a path that can lead you there directly from the Festival of the Lion King?  If you pull up the map on My Disney Experience you will see it.  It was a really nice walk with not a lot of people!  This ice cream cart was on the way.  Note the DDP symbol for snacks!

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      Looking from a spot on the path over towards Harambe.

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      I had a Fastpass+ for Na’vi River Journey.  It’s a really neat boat ride.  It’s a little bit short, but the details are amazing!  It’s very slow, no drops, a little bit dark inside, but perfect for anyone no matter the age or size.  Here’s a short video I took!

       

      Up next….Satu’li Canteen and Mobile Ordering!

       

       

       

       

       

      Posted in AEP, Animal Kingdom, Uncategorized, Walt Disney World Resort | 0 Comments | Tagged AEP, Africa, Avatar, Disney Dining Plan, Harambe, Harambe Market, Kilimanjaro Safari, Kusafiri, Na'vi River Journey, Pandora, Pongu Pongu, Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory, Snacks, Tamu Tamu, The World of Avatar, Windtraders Shop, Zuri's Sweets Shop
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