Animal Kingdom

We had an open day on our schedule for Friday and we weren't sure how we wanted to spend it.  We had thought about going to Sea World but ultimately decided on Animal Kingdom.  We had some concerns that it would be too much like going to the zoo (which we can do at home) but ultimately decided it would be different than anything zoo they've ever been too.  In a moment of ironic foreshadowing, I looked at the Animal Kingdom map and declared that it looked a lot smaller than Magic Kingdom and would be easier to walk around it, which was important because we were wiped out.

We woke up early and hopped on a free Disney bus to Animal Kingdom.  We went right for the safari ride because we heard it can get crowded.  Luckily the wait was short and soon we were on our safari adventure.  We rode on a safari jeep that drove along dirt roads, crossed creeks, and passed all sorts of amazing animals.  We saw pelicans, alligators, elephants, giraffes, lions, antelopes, zebras, hippos, rhinos, and lots of other great stuff including huge termite towers.

Then we walked around a zoo-like part that had animals in enclosed areas for gorillas and hippos.  We hopped on a train to go to a petting zoo.  Peter had fun petting and brushing pigs and goats.  Katie was inside watching some veterinarians examine a bird.  She seemed really interested in it.  Then we watched a guy whittle decorative figures into a cane.

At this point it was lunchtime and we were starting to drag.  Katie seemed tired and asked if she could ride in the stroller.  This was the first time she had asked that during our trip.  We urged her onwards instead and decided to stop for lunch at an asian restaurant.  Then we saw a neat bird show with a big eagle, owl, a well-trained parrot, and other neat birds.

We trudged through another zoo-like exhibit of tigers, kimono dragons, and giant fruit bats.  By this point Katie was really dragging and the park felt a lot bigger than it looked on the map.  Going back to the hotel for a break would have been nice but the park closed in a few hours so we decided to stay.  We went to Dinoland and rode the Triceratop Spin (basically Dumbo with dinosaurs).  The breeze felt nice but was short-lived.  Then we went to a fossil playground where Katie and Peter got to dig in a giant sandbox for fossils.  The best part was that it was in the shade.

After that we went to the Finding Nemo musical (indoors!).  It was really well done and a lot of fun.  Most of the fish were controlled by puppeteers who stood behind them on the stage.  But instead of trying to be invisible, the puppeteers acted along with the fish, including making facial expressions.  It felt good to sit for a while.  It helped recharge us.

After the show, Katie and I rode the river rapids ride.  It's a big round boat that goes down rapids and ends with a big splash.  Katie was nervous getting on the boat and I was worried that it was going to be another Haunted House fiasco.  But she was very brave and really enjoyed it.  We got wet enough to cool us off but not drenched -- unlike some people on the boat.  The guy who got the wettest was the loudest one on the boat.  Karma.

After the ride, Katie and I hustled to the Lion King show where Nancy and Peter were waiting.  That was another really well-done show with all the great Lion King songs.  Katie and Peter both enjoyed it.  Afterwards, Katie got inducted into the secret Animal Kingdom club.  She was very excited.  There were 4-5 wildlife stations around the park that kids could go to and learn about various aspects of wildlife.  If they visited all of them, you got membership into the secret club.  It was pretty neat and she was very happy.

We left Animal Kingdom and went to our new hotel -- the Animal Kingdom Kidani Villas.  It was really cool because there was a wildlife preserve right outside our room.  Our travel agent, Hilda, was the parent of one of Katie's classmates and she was awesome. She definitely helped to make our trip a great success.

We sat on our balcony and watched zebras, giraffes, and antelopes play.  After a while though, I was sort of hoping they'd release an old, toothless lion into the preserve to stir things up a bit.  Not to hurt the animals, but just chase them around a bit.  I can only watch them eat grass for so long.

Unfortunately, we were so tired and hungry that our biggest priority was eating dinner and not watching the animals.  So we hiked over to the nearest casual restaurant (which was further than we had hoped) for a yummy dinner.  When we got back to our room, it was fun sitting on our balcony and stare out into the darkness to try to find animals.  It's amazing how hard zebras can be to see at dusk.

The next morning we slept in and then Nancy took the kids to the awesome pool while I got the rental car.  Then we said goodbye to Disney and drove to St Augustine to see my family.


Pelicans on the safari


Hippos


Crocodiles


Some sort of safari animal


The safari adventurers


Giraffes and crazy horned cows or something


More safari adventurers


Nancy offers to feed Peter to the lions


Elephants!


Ostrich!


Crazy horns!


The kids in disguise


Gorilla wearing a towel like a toga


Guy whittling stick


Watching the vets take care of a bird


Peter pets a pig


Katie gives it a brushing


The eagle at the bird show


A huge fruit bat (there were dozens in there)


A lion lies in the lagoon


Goofy and Pluto wander by


Peter meets some sort of creature


Katie gets inducted into the secret Animal Kingdom Club


The view from our room of the wildlife preserve.  There was more stuff to the right too.


Katie watches some antelope.


A zebra wanders by.  There were giraffes too but we somehow didn't get any pictures of them.


The kids playing in the splash park at the hotel.




I would hope that someone wouldn't try to dive into a pool that's zero feet deep.


The great pool at the hotel.  It was a zero-entry pool (the ground sloped in like the ocean) and had a small water slide that Katie loved.


Bye Disney!

Magic Kingdom, Day 2

The second day arrived very early.  We all had a little trouble getting started but managed to arrive at the Magic Kingdom at 8am.  The park opened an hour early for people staying at the Disney resorts and we wanted to make sure we took advantage of it, which worked out very well.

The park wasn't crowded and the lines were very short.  We decided to first go to the rides that usually had long lines.  In the first 90 minutes were able to ride a lot of things: Peter Pan, It's a Small World, Winnie the Pooh, the Tomorrowland race cars, and the Astro Orbiter (basically like Dumbo but faster).

Peter Pan's Flight was really well done.  It makes you feel like you are flying through the air with Peter Pan and Wendy.  It's one of the original rides at Disney World.  Winnie the Pooh was also great.  You rode through different parts of the hundred-acre wood and in parts of it you hopped along with Tigger.  One nice touch was that they had things for the kids to play with while standing in line, but fortunately we didn't have to stand in line too long (maybe 5 minutes).

Katie loved driving her race car.  It took a little while for her to get the hang of steering but she eventually did.  She was nervous going on to the Astro Orbiter but ended up really enjoying it.

Then we rode the carousel and Peter Pan again.  Then Katie and I went into the Haunted Mansion.  She said she was scared to go in but I thought she would be fine once it started.  Big mistake.  It got off to a bad start and never got better.  The waiting room goes dark and the portraits turn to zombies.  It was scarier than I remembered and to a 5 year old, it must have been horrifying.  I kept trying to calm her down by telling her it was all fake and we'd be fine.  After the dark room, we hopped on little cars that take us on a tour of the scary house.  There's an exit for scaredy cats that I came close to taking because she was crying but decided that she'd probably be ok.  She hung in there and was very brave but she was definitely scared and didn't enjoy it at all.  At that point I realized talking her into riding the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad rollercoaster would be a bad idea.

Katie and Nancy waited for Jasmine while Peter and I went to the Bear Country Jamboree, which Peter loved.  Each time an animatronic bear would appear, he would point and say hi.  Then he clapped along with the music.  Katie got to meet Jasmine and Alladin.

Then we met up for lunch at the Crystal Palace and got to meet the characters from Winnie the Pooh including Tigger, Piglet, Eeyore, and, of course, Winnie the Pooh.  Katie and Peter both loved meeting all the characters and me and Nancy loved sitting down for so long in the air conditioning.

We decided to take a break and head back to the hotel.  But on the way out, we stopped in and met Mickey and Minnie.  The kids were exhausted by this point but held it together long enough to avoid any meltdowns.

Peter fell asleep on the walk back to the hotel and I volunteered to stay with him while Katie and Nancy went swimming and played games at the pool.

Back at the Magic Kingdom, we headed for Adventureland and rode Alladin's Magic Carpets (again).  Then Katie and I went on the Pirates of the Caribbean.  She was scared at first and I was worried it would end up badly like the Haunted Mansion.  But she was very brave and even ended up enjoying the ride.  It helped that some nice southern ladies saw that she was nervous and kept telling her how much fun the ride is.  Katie's favorite parts were the lady chasing a pirate around with a broom and the dogs and chickens.

Then we went on the Jungle Boat which was a lot of fun.  We got to see animatronic elephants (which Peter loved), alligators, cannibals, hippos, and lots of other stuff.  The boat tour guide was very cheesy but kept it entertaining.  What his jokes lacked in quality they made up for in quantity.

Afterwards we went to the Country Bear Jamboree again (this time with all of us), ate dinner, and then watched the Electric Light Parade again.  After the parade, most of the crowd either left or went to the castle for the fireworks.  Instead, we decided to spend our last hour at the Magic Kingdom re-riding our favorite rides.  We left it up to Katie to decided and much to our delight, she picked the old classics -- It's a Small World, Winnie the Pooh, and the Spinning Teacups.

Then we caught the tail end of the fireworks and finally, around 11pm, said goodbye to the Magic Kingdom and trudged back to the hotel.  It was very sad to leave but we were happy that everything went so well.  We rode everything we wanted to, the kids (and us) had a great time, and we managed to avoid any big meltdowns.

We were sad to leave but looking forward to our next adventure...  the Animal Kingdom!


The kids playing in Pooh's house, one of the fun things to play in while waiting in line.


Another thing to play with while waiting in line.  The kids were a little disappointed that the line moved so fast and they didn't get more time to play.


At the noisy raceway.


Katie behind the wheel.




Peter shows off his new mouse ears.  Of course, a few hours later Katie had to have her own mouse ears.


Jasmine may be a little high-maintenance




Katie hugs Winnie the Pooh during lunch.


Our expressive kids with Piglet.


Tigger


Eeyore














Peter waiting in line to meet Mickey and Minnie.  He was either trying to rest or get a better view of Mickey, or both.


Peter hugs Mickey...


...and then runs back to Mommy.




Peter with his new Mickey doll.  They were basically inseparable the rest of the trip.


Katie playing a game at the hotel pool with a new friend.


Enjoying a snack before heading back out.


Tinkerbell at the Electric Light Parade.


Goofy, Minnie, and Mickey.


The clock strikes midnight for Cinderella.


Pete's dragon


About to board the boat at It's a Small World.  At this point at night, there was no line at all and we had the boat to ourselves.


It's a Small World.  The kids loved all the singing figures and would enthusiatically point them out.


It's a Small World


Peter points something out at It's a Small World.




Goodnight Princess!