Sunday we went to Animal Kingdom. None of us had ever been to this Disney park, but we were told by several people that we would never spend all day there because there wasn't enough to do. The park was only open from 9am-5pm, so we figured we would leave around 3 and change for our evening at Downtown Disney. We ended up staying until the park closed and as it turned out, we could have spent way more time at AK!!
On the bus, there is no smoking, no eating, and no cassette tapes?
We took the Disney bus (about 15-20 minute ride) and we arrived right as the park opened, which made me super happy because we are never on time for anything! We headed straight for Africa the board the Kiliminjaro Safari, since it is one of the most popular rides and we didn't want to have to wait forever. I had signed us up for fast passes for the day (3 per day, per person, per park), but I did it poorly because I had never done it before, so we just headed straight for our #1 pick. I had read on one travel blog that sometimes one can hear the lions roar in the morning, but unfortunately we didn't. There was so much to see and so much information that was passed on to us on this attraction! We saw elephants, giraffes, lions, rhinos, zebras (a herd of which is called a 'dazzle'!), and hippos to name just a small portion of the wide variety of animals that live there. Some of the more docile animals (giraffes, antelopes, ostriches) even ventured up close to the safari vehicles. Definitely a must if you or your kiddos are into animals at all.
They are just so cute!
My girls love elephants!
Little A and I spent some time in Dinoland USA while hubs and K went on Dinosaur which is a more intense ride. Dinoland is really kitschy, and made to look kind of like a carnival that was dropped in a parking lot. A is pretty much terrified of everything, so we only went on the TriceraTop Spin (like Dumbo, but dinosaurs) while waiting on the others. We missed out on the Primeval Whirl coaster and the Boneyard playground for A (she was asleep).
We traveled via the train to Rafiki's Planet Watch where the kids got their Wilderness Explorer activity books and spent some time at the petting zoo. A was WAY into the petting zoo (and the train, she loves trains!). They completed a WE badge and got a sticker in their books, then we went back to the main park. There was a lot more to see in this area that had to do with conservation and whatnot, but it was approaching lunch time and A was starting to get a little testy. That was too much information, and not enough activity (I thought at the time), but I would like to go back and check it out next time.
We ate lunch at Flame Tree Barbecue. K got the 1/2 slab of ribs and hubs and I each got the chicken and rib combo. All were served with beans and coleslaw and we got fruit and key lime mousse. I loved the chicken and I thought the ribs were pretty tasty too. Hubs liked the sweet and spicy bbq sauce, and K LOVED her ribs. The slaw was great, but I never got to try the beans because I was too full. A just ate some of our chicken and my grapes.
After lunch we headed to Asia. We walked along the Maharajah Jungle Trek to check out the tigers and the bats with 6-foot wingspans (ick), among others. The way that this area was decorated and set up was amazing. Tibetan prayer flags, Indian prayer shrines. It's really top notch!
Tibetan prayer flags
Bats...Ick...
K loves water rides so of course we hit up the Kali River Rapids. She was a little disappointed about the lack of soaking that we received. I was secretly super relieved! I hate wet clothes. Exploration Everest was SO exciting! It was the first thrill ride I've been on in almost 3 years, so I was really psyched! There are big drops, crazy turns, some of it is inside the mountain so it's in total darkness, and you also go BACKWARDS. It was fabulous! I was really sick so my voice was super scratchy, but it sounded way worse after all the screaming I did on that coaster!
K and Hubs with Exploration Everest in the background
A closer shot of EE!
We checked out Discovery Island to see It's Tough to be a Bug. It's a 3-D show with added affects like water spraying on you and smelling stink bug smells. We all loved it except for A, who was terrified (are you sensing a pattern here?). It was funny and really unexpected, and I would recommend it to anyone!
At some point in the day, we hit up Camp Minnie Mickey to meet some Disney Characters. The girls had made their own autograph books and we bought special markers. A's favorite cartoons are Donald Duck, so we thought she would be thrilled. She was actually terrified. So much so that after Donald, she didn't want to meet any other characters except Pocahontas, which we did. K and I hit up Chip and Dale and then I headed over to meet Baloo and King Louie because I love Jungle Book. No one wanted to come with me, but I only felt silly for a minute. :)
One of the many terrified faces of A.
Pocahontas was more her speed...
We love these silly guys!
I <3 Jungle Book!
The very last thing we did was catch The Festival of The Lion King. Amazing! The guy who designed the Lion King Broadway show designed this one as well (from what I gathered from the cast members). It was kind of like a Cirque de Soleil show with acrobatics and dancing. The costumes were amazing, though I wasn't super impressed with the singing. However, we caught the last show of the day, so I'm sure that had something to do with it. It was totally fabulous, and even though A was scared in the beginning because Timon was walking around as part of the show, she ended up loving it (as long as Timon stayed far away).
A learning the Hakuna Matata Hand Jive
We missed so many things that I wanted us to do...Flights of Wonder, Finding Nemo the Musical, Primeval Whirl, various animal exhibits, the Jammin Jungle Parade (hubs and A saw the parade while K and I were on a ride), the Discovery Island Trails...I definitely want to go back and visit again. I also would have liked for the kids to do more with the WE badges, but there just wasn't time.
It's always a good time for a Mickey ice cream bar!
Since we stayed at AK until the park closed, we didn't have time to go back to our resort before dinner at Rainforest Café at Downtown Disney. We took the bus to DD (20 minutes approx.) and then took the water taxi over to the other end of DD, which was a great decision after walking all day! It's a tradition for us to eat at the Rainforest Café in DD. The girls love it, it's casual, and we get to hang out at DD, which we love! Since the Café is on Disney property, it counted as part of our Dining Plan, so the only thing we had to pay for was A's meal, and really she could have eaten some of our food. Hubs got the Big Easy Chops, I got the Taste of the Islands and K got the Fried Shrimp. K ate all of hers, plus some of my Coconut Shrimp (thumbs up from her!), Hubs wasn't a huge fan of the chops. he said they were kind of dry (he's just used to the awesome chops I make, you know!), I loved my Dynamite Shrimp and Coconut Shrimp (even though I don't think I was supposed to get that with my meal), and the blackened tilapia was good, but by the time I got to that, I couldn't eat any more. We got cheesecake and chocolate cake to go and then went to the shops, and checked out the live entertainment. This is always one of our favorite parts of the trip. Just going at our own pace, checking things out and being together!
For those of you who haven't seen Hubs' silly side...
As with the last post, I hope this was helpful for someone!
Until next time!
KDizzle
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