Walkabout The World - A Disney Podcast - A Walkabout in Animal Kingdom - Thunderstorms, Dinosaur, and Harambe Market [ep 022]

Episode Date: July 18, 2021

Hello Travelers! Join us this week in Disney's Animal Kingdom as we do a summer walkabout. Hear the rumbling thunder as we begin our journey near the Tree of Life shortly after a central Florida summer thunderstorm rolled through. We make our way toward DinoLand USA and ride Dinosaur together, and then walk to Asia where I snag a table at the bar at Yak and Yeti for a quick dinner, and then rejoin you for a stroll over toward Harambe.  Together we explore some of the signage of Harambe Market, because of course we do. Lastly, we end the episode near the floating mountains of Pandora.    NOTE: if the audio for Dinosaur at points sounds a little off, it is because that attraction is INCREDIBLY loud. I had no idea. It pegged the mic volume in many places. When we do a future checkin, we'll ride again and tinker with the mic gain.    Connect with us at @WalkaboutWDW on Instagram, and find our producer Josh at @TheSteele.

Well hello traveler welcome back to walk about the world on a blustery day. Oh who are we? We are your weekly audio expedition through one of the parks or resorts of Walt Disney World here in Orlando Florida And today we are back in Disney's Animal Kingdom. And as soon as we... Can you travelers hear that? As soon as we arrived, one of the Florida thunderstorms erupted out of nowhere. I was trapped at the Garden Gate Gift Shop, which I think it's called Garden Gate Gifts, but it's the camera center now.

The lightning is still a-flashing, the thunder is still a-booming, but the ambience is still good, and it's cool. It was very hot. Oh, you hear that? How do you like that for genuine Florida summer ambience? Yeah, check this one out. I just saw that bolt. Watch this. one out i just saw that bolt watch this and you may think to yourself you may think to yourself jeremy isn't central florida the lightning

strike capital of the united states yes and are you safe outside to be determined i am trying to be careful i'm not trying to be crazy here but we are standing by the tree of life there are some birds of an unknown sort in front of me wondering wondering the same thing. What am I doing outside right now? But we are back in Animal Kingdom for a general walkabout, check-in. I have a couple of things in mind

for this afternoon. Right now we are going to set off and see where the trail leads us. You ready? Let's do it. More thunder. Passing the Discovery Trading Post. Discovery Trading Company to the right.

And also passing a mass exodus of people everybody going the opposite direction of yours truly we shall see if they are correct or I am correct because we may have the park to ourselves very soon on the bridge to Dinoland USA we We're going to see if one of our objectives is attainable. Can you hear all the swishing of the, I was going to say tarps. They look like tarps. Ponchos. Swishing of the ponchos. As I walk through this area, I notice, just like the last time I did it, that the ambience is gone. Whatever speakers that they used to have back behind me over the bridge to Dinoland, music is absent. Now you can start to hear it. We're entering dino land with the big dino skeleton above us. taking a right here

near dino bite snacks passing restaurant asaurus and the really cool little Airstream trailer that you can eat in to the right. I'm going to take a look at it real quick because it is number 15244 and it says IR Smart. And the label says International Asaurus. So maybe it's international. Is that a thing? Not an Airstream? You guys can tell me. Chester and Hester's Dino-rama to your left.

Not a creature is stirring over there. We're going to take a right and go out towards Dinosaurama to your left. Not a creature is stirring over there. We're going to take a right and go out towards Dinosaur. I am betting Dinosaur is a walk-on, but we will see. Haven't been to Dinosaur in a while, and I wanted to check it out. I'm going to catch up with you guys once we get there. Time travel commencing in T-minus 10 seconds and counting. This is Seeker. Listen up. We've got to get in, grab the Iguanodon, and get out before the asteroid hits.

Let's roll! Okay, now let's go get that dino. Computer, what are you tracking? Skyracosaurus. Not our dino. Warning, meteor shower in range. Just little one. Oliaramus. Hadrosaur. Raptor. Time to get serious. Locking autopilot on homing signal now! Hang on! I'm tracking a big dino on the scope. Could be ours. Computer, full stop.

Identify! Carnotaurus. Definitely not our dino. Go, go, go! Another big guy coming up. Computer. Slow and identify. Sarapod. Still not our dino, but at least this one's a vegetarian asteroid impact in 90 seconds we better move it

pterodactyl incoming asteroid give that in 60 seconds We can't stop now Keep going, keep going Comps on basis Computer, what's happening? Loss of traction Four wheel drive, move it

Warning, meteor start. Evasive maneuver. Left, right. Left, right. That was close. Computer, now what? Carnotaurus. That's it. Abort mission! Abort! Abort!

Iguanodon. Forget it! Get them out now! Asteroid impact. Break the shell! This is it! They're not gonna make it! They're not gonna make it! Mission accomplished. You made it! I knew you would, and guess who made it back with you?

I better find it before security does. Thanks for everything! Well, we just did Dinosaur. That was fun. That ride is rough. Chester and Hester's Dinosaur Treasures is the cool, like, little by-conceit store that was opened here by Chester and Hester.

We were erupting with gifts, it says. Nothing better illustrates this area than that song. Ah, sigh. Ah, sigh. Going out of existence sale everything must go prehistoric prices mammoth deals i love this stuff also do i get dinged for like copyright stuff for recording crappy songs from years ago that are playing in the background at disney i hope not bronto score to the right fossil fueler in front of us the dino diner over to the right all this stuff shuttered for now because it just absolutely went crazy with the rain.

I'm going to check out the Dino Diner. Midway snacks and cold beverages. Here you have your corn chip pie. What is that? I think you would call that nachos. Corn chip pie. Corn chips, chili, sour cream, green onion, shredded cheddar, and jalapeno. I think that's called nachos. But it looks like it's got Doritos underneath of it. And it's got your Dino-Rama all-beef hot dog, your churro with chocolate sauce, and your various beverage options. Tampa Bay Old Elephant Foot IPA Draft.

These are the details you come for, I know. Catch up with you guys here in a moment all right so we exited dino land and we were over at the amphitheater that previously was used for rivers of light but now is just a really really lovely view of the discovery river and asia beyond but the bad news is is that right now almost everything here is closed or or shuttered uh everest which is right next to me to my right which by the way i just took a picture of because it is framed the the mountain there the forbidden mountain is framed by gorgeous dark skies behind it's just wonderful to see and there's still some thunder booming but it's no longer

raining it is very cool i would guess it cooled all the way down to like mid 70s still humid of course but almost everything in the park currently right now is down that you can ride other than the completely indoor stuff like uh flight of passage but the the wait time for that is too much. However, I am going to make my way. I have a couple of things I want to do. I'm going to make my way back towards Harambee and Pandora. And I'm going to catch up with you guys when we're a little closer. So what just happened was that I got a lucky break i was famished and i was thinking of what route to take towards where i want to go and i had checked reservations at the yak and yeti which is a um a top-notch eatery for me here in Animal Kingdom. There were none, no reservations whatsoever.

So I popped in and, so the last time I was here, the bar had, so the bar has like six seats. It's a small bar. You go right into the entrance of Yak and Yeti, the bar is to your right. And there was one seat open. All the rest had been blocked out due to COVID restrictions. Well, tonight, I just said, hey, any change I can set at the bar?

And they said, sure. And I walked around the corner to find out that all six seats are now open, which is really cool. After a while, another family took three of them next to me, which was great. And I had egg rolls and a wonderful drink. And now I feel full and in need of a nap. We're going to trudge on, but I'm pausing as I am often wont to do

over by the billboard next to the Upbird Adventure, which has some signs over here. One of them says, Anandapur Theater, Marvelous Productions, Famous Visiting Artists, Admission Open to Public. We have an advertisement

for the Furba General Store. It's behind a couple of other faded ads, so I'm not really sure what else is going on. Let's trudge on. I'm going to head in the general direction of Harambe. So I will tell you that because of all of the storms,

the park is absolutely empty. As I had previously mentioned, almost nothing is running. So, you know, that contributes to the emptiness. But the guests flooded out. And it's just you and me. Okay, a few other people, but mostly just you and me. Protected monument. Entry prohibited, it says over here. Also, there's a tree here with prayer flags draped on it, and the sign says Big Banyan Tree. You know,

in case you didn't know, that's what it was. The drink I had at the Yak and Yeti was called the Snap Decision. Bourbon, gin, a few other various things. It was delicioso. Currently off to the side of the main thoroughfare, trail, etc. through Asia, looking at the Tree of Life directly across the Discovery River. I'm over here

where we previously were in another episode by what was previously the docks for the Discovery River boats. Now it's just a lovely place on an evening with an empty park to set in view the Tree of life. It is so darn relaxing that were I to procure a comfy seat,

I'd probably be out cold. Okay, I'm going to march on towards Harambe area. I have a goal in mind. We'll see what happens. I'll catch up with you in just a moment. I know where it is. Where is Harambee? I don't know. It's the only... You know where we are. Harambee. Passing Harambe Market. And there's no one in Harambe Market. You know what that means?

That means we need to explore it. Rehabilitation of market and rail yard underway. Endowed by purveyors therein. Clean hands means clean food. John Nagao's Beers, Shields Authentic African Artifacts Karabuni, it says. There is a poster here inside

that says Mr. Mouse underneath it. And it is a depiction of our pal Mickey in a chair with a cup of coffee. Advertisement for the best baskets. And there are some of the baskets on display. Swahili proverb, it says, a person who is in too much of a hurry stubs his toe.

Good life advice from the Harambee market. There's an advertisement here for The Plumber. I don't know. It's The Plumber. Maybe there's only one here, Harambee. Telephone 50716. If Plumber not available, call her sister. That's right. You heard me.

There's a sign here for Cuvallini Terrace, Waterside Seating and Wait, sorry. Waterside Seating for diners. That's right. Katamu Grill, skewered best meats. All of Harambe. And behind it, now Josh told me on one of our prior excursions that I think this is called a ghost sign,

ghost art, ghost something. Josh, I'm sorry. Again, I'm so often sorry. But the point is that by conceit, it is something that was placed there, some art that was placed there many years ago. And it is now faded and other things have taken its place. But behind the Katamu Grill, it says fresh dairy, yogurt, butter, and milk. So presumably that used to be a dairy establishment.

Now it's meat. Same animal. We're currently way back in the corner of the Harambee Market. This is just a jewel, honestly. Rusty pipes. Metal roof. metal roof furaha f-u-r-a-h-a furaha metal fabricators it says on one of the

struts holding up the roof. The Hemingway Bookshop. Sell, rent, or trade. Come to for a good read. Sounds like a plan to me. And finally, all the way back by the railroad tracks, where the train runs out to Rafiki's Planet Watch. And so, that was one of my plans for today,

was to ride said train because A, I love trains and I haven't done it forever and I want to try to record it it is down, it is shut down and I missed my window to do that, no problem we will do that another time, something to look forward to I wanted to walk back in here

anyway okay let's head out of the Harambee market we are going to end the day with a brief stroll through the valley of Moara I'm going to spend a lot of time

we're just doing a general check in tonight walking around seeing what we can see oh I forgot to tell you. So, I told you that I ate at Yak and Yeti. And I told you about the seating at the bar. But I also asked the bartender, are they distancing any of the seats inside anymore?

And he says, yes, they are trying to allow three feet. So he says they've moved a lot of tables back in. And he said they may be missing a fourth to a fifth of all of their tables, full capacity. But still, this is really good news. We're getting there, guys. We're almost there. Okay, I'm going to head over, catch up with you in a second

on the way to Pandora. Pandora. Walking through the seating area of the Dawa Bar, the wall says, Guests of the hotel are advised not to wander far after dark because of dangerous animals. Keep that in mind, travelers. Now, even though the park closes at 7, and we're nearing that, they don't rush you out.

So we're going to exit via Pandora, but where we're going here, there's a back trail to Pandora. Did you know this? You probably did.

By the way, in case you wondered, we we are remember a couple of weeks ago i read a sign from the center of harambe that said mr matumbo's fishing tours well this is where mr matumbo lives if you go if you continue past the theater district with the Harambe House off to your right, and the Harambe House is the Club 33 installation here in Animal Kingdom. I shared a picture of that the other day on our stories in Swahili, written underneath the words Harambe House is Telatini Natatu, which literally means 33, because that's the Club 33 building. Directly across from that is an aged stone, whitewashed building that says, Mr. Matumbo's Wonderful Fishing Tours, with an arrow pointing up the stairs, and it says,

Office, make your bookings. So there you go. If you want to book a trip with Mr. Matumbo, this is where you go if you want to book a trip with mr matumbo this is where you go and so once you pass mr matumbo's office again with the river to your left there is a large stone bridge ahead and the path winding down heading off to your right underneath the stone bridge. And this is the boardwalk to Pandora. And that's where we're going to take. And if I am not mistaken, we'll be the only ones here. Do you hear the echo?

Do you hear the echo? Taking a path under some vines and Pandoran foliage Over here to the Floating mountains That wasn't a wild creature That was a child We're directly under the floating mountains now. These structures are incredible.

If you breeze in and breeze out of the parks just to do a ride, it's very easy to pass by a lot of these incredible details, but the engineering and art behind these things is mind-boggling. Incidentally, if you don't follow the account of Joe Rohde on Instagram, former Imagineer, now working for Virgin Galactic, but if you do not follow his account, you absolutely should. He did a series at the very beginning of 2020, during the lockdown, where he just kind of walked. And I say walked, but he did a series of posts going through Animal Kingdom

describing some of the thought behind the imaginary. Not only what they did but why they did it, some of the thought behind it. Totally worthy of checking out if you are a Disney Park fan. Travelers, thank you for tagging along

this evening at Animal Kingdom. it's been a pleasant walk and that's what we do we just walk about we put you in the park take you along with us and with that we're going to draw this expedition to a close thank you again for tagging along look us up on instagram at walkabout wdw it is our one and only place where we interact with you the listener, the traveler drop us a note, tell us what you like, what you don't just say hi, we really love hearing from you one way or the other

look up our producer Josh, artist behind the logo of the podcast also on Instagram at thesteel with an E and as always want to remind you that there is a great, big, beautiful tomorrow out there for all of us.

We will see you in one of those on another walk about the world. Bye, guys.