The official first meeting of the Marsupial Welcoming Committee!

We approach the part of the queue where it turns and descends to the loading zones. There’s a cast member here, and I’m not sure who I’m supposed to say the magic phrase to, but I figure it won’t hurt to start early. I tell her, “We were told to ask for Safari 2 at Departure 3.”

The CM points us to another cast member, who is standing behind a section of fence ahead of us, where the queue turns to go down to the load area. We step up to the fence and I repeat the magic phrase.

Her face brightens a bit – “Oh, you know a driver?” She opens section of the fence, which I just now realize is a gate! Ahead of us is a pathway that leads to another covered area. There’s a safari truck already there loading a family with a wheelchair, and several other wheelchairs and electric scooters are parked there.

Ah, so that’s it! “Departure 3” is separate load zone designed for people with special access needs, who can’t descend to the two lower-level load zones in their chairs or scooters. At this platform, they can either transfer to the safari truck or ride on it in their chair if they are unable to transfer. And it clears up why Wallaby would only come to a specific load area – he’s driving a wheelchair-accessible truck! It all makes sense now.

Figuring that we’re at Departure 3 now, I just tell the cast member there that we want truck 2. “Oh, you know the driver?” she says. “Good timing – Truck 2 is the next one in.” Awesome!

So here we stand, off by ourselves in a separate load area, having avoided the lower-level queue-winding of the normal loading zone, waiting on our personal driver.

Life is good.

I’ve never seen a picture of Big Wallaby, but when the next truck approaches, somehow there’s no mistaking him. Maybe it’s just with me being “Wombat” and him being “Wallaby,” we just have some mystic marsupial connection -- I think I would have recognized him even without knowing his truck was the next in to load here. Wallaby spots me, too, flashes a big grin and points right at me in recognition!

The SGT marsupials, famed in song and story (okay, maybe not), are together at last!

Big Wallaby’s a pro, and never stops spieling to the guests currently aboard his truck as he pulls up to the loading platform (“Departure 3” to us insiders!). We wait eagerly for our signal to climb aboard!