Katie and Peter's Blog: 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.