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Animal Kingdom Secrets!

Secrets, Cool Stuff, and other Tips
1. "Miss Devine" - When walking between Africa and Asia, look along the path into the woods to find "Miss Devine" a costumed entertainer.

2. Goofy and Friends Fishing - Location: Camp Minnie-Mickey
As you walk toward Camp Minnie-Mickey you may not notice the old watering hole where you will see fisherman Goofy and some of his closest friends enjoying a lazy fishing trip. Look for this watering hole just after crossing the large bridge that brings you to Camp Minnie-Mickey. It's one of those places where you just may find yourself relaxing along with Goofy.

3. Shortcut, Secret Path - that may be less crowded. More easily found when exiting Its Tough to Be a Bug (See also post #57) Courtesy of Robo
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c2...le-Paths_1.jpg

4. Safari Amber - AK own beer. Can be found at Dawa Bar.

5. Whiz Quiz At AK at Raffiki Planet Watch in the men's room where all the animal faces are, you can take a Whiz Quiz. While standing at the urinal there's a few questions about other animals' bathroom habits. You have to wash your hands to get the answers. It's not that big a deal, but it's different.

6. Recycling Game - after getting off KRR and having a ice cream before going into Maharajah Jungle Trek we saw some CMs off to the (left)side. They approached my DD8 and asked if she wanted to play a recycling game. She did. They tried to get other guests to play but no one else would. So my DSis and I played too. Basically we threw empty plastic bottle into a basket. The one with the most in won. But then we were all given special Disney recycling pins and a certificate. They called it Recycle Basketbottle and the certificate was presented by the DAK Custodial Team.

7. No standing for Lion King and Nemo - Get a seat outside of either the Lion King or Nemo and wait until the doors open to just walk in without having to stand in line for a lengthy period. Works with any attraction where they unload one group and load another one. When you see the group exiting, you join the group going in
8. Lost Land - If you look at the signs for Animal Kingdom, there is a dragon among the animals on the bottom. This was supposed to represent "Beastly Kingdom," a land of the park with mythical creatures that was planned but never developed. (Maybe we got Dinoland USA instead.)
[B]9. Dawa Bar [/B]-Across from the Dawa Bar is what appears to be an old fort. Don't assume, as I did, that the area's off limits--there are actually tables and chairs in there!

10. RT 498 - The highway sign in Dinoland is route 498 (park opened in April 1998)

11. Water Fall - On the path, as you walk to get to the FOLK, there is a bridge that you walk over. On the right side of the bridge, if you look over the side to the left, you will see what appears to be a waterfall. If you look closely, it is actually a dinosaur with the water coming out of his mouth.

12. Coke innovation - In Harambe, you might spy a genuine Coke bottle perched atop a utility pole as an insulator for a power line.

13. Pizzafari Rooms - The bright colors are eye-catching of course, but stop in *before* the lunch crowds gather so that you can study the different rooms with their ornate murals, walls, and ceilings. Can you identify which room is which? The Home Room, Nocturnal Room, Upside-Down Room, Camouflage Room, Four Seasons Room, and Bug Room.

14. Greybeard - Michael Eisner told Jane Goodall to pick a place on the Tree of Life for a Chimpanzee and one would be sculpted. She chose the entrance outside of ITTBAB so everyone would be able to see David Greybeard; the first chimp she ever observed. You will notice he is more detailed than the other animals--multicolored (grey beard), and there is a plaque next to his image describing him.

15. Tusker House--At the Tusker House Restaurant in AK, you can hear kitchen noises if you sit in the outside dining area. It sounds like dishes clanging together, sweeping up broken glass, etc.. This is a recording, but it's funny to see how people react when they first hear the sounds.

16. Animal Rocks - the rocks in the water on the way to Kilimanjaro Safari ride in AK as you go over the bridge, look like animals. Saw one shaped like an elephant and one like an alligator.

17. Prayer Scarves - The mythical land of Anandapur in Asia - note the authentic prayer trees, draped with both faded and new scarves that commemorate dead loved ones.

18. Temple Mountain - Look at the little temple in front of Expedition Everest. Find a vantage point where these tiny temples form the exact shape of the mountain behind them.

19. Bug holes - While on the Discovery Island Trails, look for a hidden, shaded rock. In the rock are several small holes that appear to have been bored by bugs. Peep through these holes and each homes in on one or more specific animal carvings on the Tree of Life.

Make your own candles!!

When I first got into the DIY Lip Balm thing I ordered 5lbs of wax pellets. I figured with that many I could use some to make candles with as well. I finally got around to doing it, it only took forever... But the results were well worth it, now I have some lovely beeswax candles to use!

it was a dark and stormy night...mua ha ha ha

To do this, you'll need:
1) stove
2) pan to boil water in (with water!)
3) pyrex measuring cup (mine is 2cups)
4) beeswax
5) wicks and tabs, and needle nose pliers
6) jars (i used 8oz widemouth mason jars (they come in 4 packs at walmart).
7) pencil with an eraser
8) popsicle sticks/toothpicks/skewers (anything that will span the mouth of the jar)

Step 1: melt the wax.
To do this, i put my measuring cup full of wax (over the 16oz line on the cup) into the EMPTY pan, and then filled the pan around it with water so it didn't splash out.

Just boil the water on high until all the wax is melted. I will say this step took a long time, eventually i got a wooden skewer and started stirring the blob of unmelted wax to hurry it along.

Step 2: prime the wick & assemble the tabs 

you can buy both "primed" and "unprimed" wicks online, as well as the tabs (those little metal discs you seen in the bottom of the candle) for pretty cheap. I got the unprimed kind, because they are a lot cheaper and you can cut whatever length you want (and they will be primed with the same wax as your candles). All you'll need to do is while the wax is melted dip the wick and hold it as long as you can so it can suck up some of the wax, and then take it out and hold it straight so it dries. This is so when the candle burns there is already wax there, it's not just burning straight cotton wick. 

To assemble the wick and tab, insert the wick through the hole in the tab, pull it all the way through to the end, and crimp the end of the tab closed using the needle nosed pliers. these are to hold the wicks in the candle - i guess you don't *have* to use them, but when your candles burn down and are all liquid it's good to have them there to stabilize the wicks.

Step 3: Put wicks in jar

I dipped the tab of each wick (after it was assembled) into the hot wax and used that to stick it to the bottom of the jar. it worked pretty well. These jars do really well with three wicks, narrower jars should just have one. I wish a had a pencil at this point, as it was i had to use my fingers to press the tabs to the bottom of the jar, and that wax was hot! and my fingers kept getting in the way - narrower jars will HAVE to have something like a pencil, you'll never get your hands in it.

 Step 4: stabilize the wicks

Now, i didn't think to do this ahead of time, and i wish i had. I was kind of winging this whole process, and it never occurred to me that my nice stiff primed wicks would melt when the hot wax was poured in, and they all tipped over. Save yourself some trouble; do this ahead of time. I used some more wooden skewers to hold the wicks up, but you could use toothpicks or popsicle sticks. I know they sell "wick stabilizers" on amazon if you wanted to get really technical, but 4 toothpicks in a H formation over the mouth with the wick in the center will be just fine. 

Step 5: pour the wax!

very very VERY carefully pour the wax into your jars. i like mason jars because...well...they're just awesome. Also they can handle the super hot wax you're putting in without batting an eyelash, so (unless they just came from the freezer...) no risk of them shattering and showering wax on the counter.

Step 6: trim the wicks, and LIGHT EM UP!

Beeswax does tend to change color a little bit as it cools - it started out this buttery yellow but when it was done cooling it had returned to a nice golden honey color. You can use the same procedure with Soy or Paraffin wax. Beeswax can be expensive (i got mine for $10/lb, and that was a good price)...soy would by my second choice (and better for the wallet at about $1/lb). Paraffin works, but it's less hippy-friendly. I would suggest if you want to make colored or scented candles, use Soy - beeswax has it's own honey color and scent that would overpower others. Just make sure you're using candle-safe colors (food coloring is flammable!!). 

The other nice thing about using mason jars for this, is that with a little bit of twine or pretty fabric and the lid reattached these would make EXCELLENT christmas presents! I'm thinking of getting a bunch of soy flakes and replacing all of my scented (i.e. yucky) pillar candles we use when we lose power with unscented soy candles. I would use beeswax, but it's really expensive for the amount of candles i'd want to make. 

Pinterest Test #4: mason jar match storage

Another thing I saw on pinterest that I thought was brilliant was match storage using a mason jar. I also learned a lot about matches in the process. I always knew 'regular' matches would only light if you struck them on the box, but I never knew that it was because part of the combustion chemicals were located there rather than the match head. 'Strike anywhere' matches have all of that material in the tip of the match, which is why you can strike them on any rough surface.

All of the tutorials I found for this were designed for the 'strike anywhere' matches. It made me wonder though, because 'regular' matches are designed for safety - 'strike anywhere' matches can be lit accidentally if they rub a rough surface, and I'd rather not set my house on fire accidentally.

Now the basic recipe is 1 8oz Jelly jar, a piece of sandpaper, and strike anywhere matches. But what would you do if you ALREADY HAD safety matches like me?

All the tutorials said "you can't do this with regular matches"...to which i said "challenge accepted!"

(I know they probably meant the sandpaper part, but I was looking for excuses to tinker....)

I took my good old box of strike anywhere matches and dumped them into my jelly jar.

Then I carefully disassembled the box - I didn't want to rip the strike pads.

Next was pretty easy. Cut the strike pads out, trace the jar lid, and cut out the circle on the strike pads.

I think next time, I may use a dab of glue to attach the two pieces of strike pad, but that's totally optional, this method works perfectly fine. Then just put the strike pads over the lid and screw on the band. done!

...Except not. Anyone who's even opened a mason jar knows that the lid comes apart when you unscrew it, and getting the strike pads to line up pretty is kind of a pain. So out came the trusty power drill, and i made a hole in the tin lid with a cutout in the strike pad to match. Now i can just shake out a match without removing the cover every time. 

Pinterest Test #3: salt pour spout for a mason jar

One of the big things I've noticed is that mason jars are good for ANYTHING. Most of the projects I've tried so far revolve around mason jars, and they've kind of turned into my new addiction.

This one was an easy project - it took me about about a minute and I was done. All you do is cut the top of a salt container (those round tube ones with a pour spout) to be the same size as the mason jar lid, and replace the tin top with the salt spout top. The 16 oz wide mouth jars are the same diameter as the salt tubes so all I had to do was peel the sides off and stick it on top. 

I need more of those tops! There are so many spices I'd love a pour spout for (sugar, pepper, garlic, etc). I'll take donations if anyone wants to get rid of theirs :)

Pinterest Test #2: semi-liquid (whipped) soap!

**please read the update at the end!!!**

The next thing I decided to try on Pinterest was making my own liquid soap from bars of soap that i liked. I love liquid soap, but bar soap is cheaper and I thought this would be a fun project.

What you'd need for this:
1) bar of soap (i used ivory)
2) pan
3) 2 cups water
4) grater
5) wooden spoon
6) container for storage

Step 1: grate the soap
The first thing I did was went upstairs and grabbed a bar of Ivory Soap. I used my cheese grater to reduce it to shavings (not too hard, ivory is pretty soft soap).

smells like teen spirit?

I also located a clean 16 oz wide-mouth mason jar from my newly acquired stash (more on that later).

Step 2: melt the soap

I put 2 cups of water on the stove to heat, and then added the soap to melt it. Little note: when the recipes online say not to boil your soap, you should listen. soap makes suds...boiling soap makes LOTS. They go down pretty quickly but it's probably easier to avoid them altogether and heat it up VERY SLOWLY.....

Step 3: cool down

Pour your new soap into the jar and let it cool. I left it for a while (couple of hours?) - when it was hot it was mostly clear and you could see all the way through the jar, but as it cooled it got white and thick.

Step 4: mix it up

The only thing that went kind of weird was that all of the glycerin solidified in the soap as it cooled. It looked kind of like clear jello (go figure...). So i thought "I'll just mix it all up and break the glycerin back down" - so back it went into the pan and I basically whipped it with my spoon. 

Step 5: repackage into soap bottle

So with all that air added to it, my single jar of 'liquid' soap turned into two. And it's quite frothy (2 weeks later and all the froth is still in tact, it hasn't sank...). It's so nice to wash your hands with - it's already mostly-sudsy. 

Then I decided, since I had all this soap in mason jars I'd just make a pump top so I didn't have to put it from one jar into another. I've made one, so far, and I didn't have the right size drill bit so I had to use a small one and enlarge it with snippers. Unfortunately that makes the edge really rough and uneven, so it doesn't pump quite as well as I'd like (too much air gets in) - but it does work. Eventually I'll get a new drill bit and make a new one.

When I make the new one, with the right sized hole, I'll post those pics too. I've seen other people use empty condiment bottles (like the ketchup bottles you see at burger joints, you can get white ones at walmart too), or repurpose other things that work. All sorts of options!

*******UPDATE********
Just as a note, Ivory may not be the best soap for small quantities like this. I have experimented with two soaps - Ivory and Oil of Olay. From what i've read on line Ivory works fine if you super-dilute it (i.e. 2-3 gallons of water per bar). I haven't tried this yet...

IVORY: after a while the 'whipped' part of it gets all spongy and won't come out of the pump. Also, not good to use as a body-wash, since ivory REALLY REALLY dries out your skin.

OIL OF OLAY: I used the Shea moisturizing soap. This one grates much easier since it is a much softer soap, and when you dilute it has almost no glycerine solids. MUCH better for soap pumps. I used this in the shower, and loved it.

The moral of the story: Experiment with different soaps until you get the consistency and qualities you like.

Pinterest Test #1: DIY Whiteboard!

So I've finally jumped on the pinterest bandwagon, and I've found some really neat ideas that i wanted to test - because it's never fun to just take someones word for it!

Test #1: The DIY Whiteboard.

I found a Pin on the DIY/Craft section (where I spend 99% of my time there), for a whiteboard made of a picture frame. I thought I'd give it a try, and see how it worked.

et voila!

I had painted my front hallway this really bright yellow (Lemon Zest...maybe I'll post about that project too eventually). With some nice white floating shelves, and some decorations. I had this little white picture frame in the hallway just waiting for a photo, but I never found one that fit. I saw the idea on pinterest so I stuck a piece of paper in the frame and started using it as a note spot for when hubby comes  home. it's perfect! and it's not one of those ugly whiteboards you get at the store (that eventually stop wiping off and just suck up all the marker).

And thus....my crazy crafty addiction has begun!