This morning was Animal Kingdom. We enjoyed the extra sleep (the whole ½ hour we got! LOL) and were up at 7:30am. Again, it was breakfast in the room. We were out the door by 8:05 and waited only about 5 minutes before a bus for Animal Kingdom came. The ride to Animal Kingdom was much quicker than expected and we were there by 8:25am. We stopped to grab photos in front of their big tree, which was favorite of all the parks.
We were the first ones in our line and we chatted with the pleasant cast member while we waited. It was a bit chilly but we knew it would get warmer later in the day. It would get warmer, right?!?
The gates opened at 8:45am and we went straight to the rope that would get us closest to our first ride of the day: Expedition Everest! We watched Minnie, Goofy and Pluto, who arrived in their holiday attire to open the park.
When the rope dropped we got right up front at the next rope, the one leading us to Expedition Everest. We got on the first train of the day and were on our way to see the Yeti! I totally love this ride and I LOVED the great view from the top. I reminded myself to have one of the cameras out for our next ride so I could get some photos of Animal Kingdom from way up there. Let’s just say that didn’t work out. But I loved Expedition Everest, as did the boys. Brian maybe not so much. The backward coaster just isn’t his thing. The ride was over too quickly but we loved it so much that, of course, we got Fastpasses for it!
Next up was Kilamanjaro Safaris. The wait time said 20 minutes but in all actuality it was a walk-on. We loaded right up and got to see tons of animals on our adventure. This giraffe in particular was so neat! Not browns and tans like we've seen at the zoo, but black and grey spots! Totally cool!
Brian and I both sat on the ends so we could get good pictures with our cameras. Tristan was next to me with his video camera and Chase had his camera out too. Poor Carissa was stuck in the middle and had no hope of getting any pictures with her camera. She was so frustrated! She tried and she tried but it’s hard when there are people moving in front, behind and to the sides of you.
After the safari we took the Pangini Forest Trail where we saw gorillas and all sorts of other creatures.
Next up was Kilamanjaro Safaris. The wait time said 20 minutes but in all actuality it was a walk-on. We loaded right up and got to see tons of animals on our adventure. This giraffe in particular was so neat! Not browns and tans like we've seen at the zoo, but black and grey spots! Totally cool!
Brian and I both sat on the ends so we could get good pictures with our cameras. Tristan was next to me with his video camera and Chase had his camera out too. Poor Carissa was stuck in the middle and had no hope of getting any pictures with her camera. She was so frustrated! She tried and she tried but it’s hard when there are people moving in front, behind and to the sides of you.After the safari we took the Pangini Forest Trail where we saw gorillas and all sorts of other creatures.
Next up was the chance to get pictures with some of the characters in their Christmas garb. We had to decide between Mickey and Minnie or Goofy, Donald and Pluto. We went for the latter mainly because Goofy was in a Santa costume and looked so adorable! The line wasn’t too long but we had to wait a bit for the characters to take a break. While waiting in the line it started to sprinkle. So we all just pulled our hats up and waited. The kids traded pins with some nice cast members, as they had been doing along the whole trip. This is always so much fun!
The trio of characters returned and it didn’t take long before it was our turn. This was the first time the kids had gotten up close to a character this trip and they jumped right in, smiling, waving and hugging them.
By the time we left the character greeting line the rain had started steadily falling. We decided to duck into the nearby Festival of the Lion King show and hope that the rain would pass. We sat in the warthog section this time, having been in the elephant section the last trip.
The kids traded pins with nearly every cast member in the building while waiting for the show… and there were a lot of them! The show finally started and it was fabulous! I got goosebumps a couple of times. I just love the costumes, the characters, the performances – everything about this show! The singing is just spectacular too! What a talented cast of performers!
The kids were chosen to take part in the finale, following characters around playing instruments and singing. So much fun for them! They got picked to do a lot of things this trip and it just makes those moments even more special.
When the show was over we were ushered outside and into the rain. Ugh! We stopped at the kids station on the way out of Camp Minnie-Mickey and then at some shops on the way, hoping that the rain would pass. No such luck.
Everyone was hungry so we ran over to Restaurantosaurus in Dinoland. The food here was pretty decent. Brian and I had the bacon double cheeseburgers and fries, Chase had the hot dog and fries and both Tristan and Carissa had chicken nuggets and fries. Now, I know both Tristan and Carissa must have been pretty hungry because they ate all their chicken. That’s pretty good for them. Oh, and I’m sure the incentive of chocolate mousse for dessert didn’t hurt. It was all pretty tasty and the dessert was a nice end to the meal.
With happy bellies we went outside and into the rain, which was falling much harder than before. Thankfully Dinosaur wasn’t too far off. It was a walk-on and we quickly made our way onto a ride vehicle and into the Cretaceous period. I don’t know why, but this ride always scares me. That part where they pop the scary dinosaur at you always gets me, even though I know it’s fake and I know he’s coming. The ride photo this year is almost exactly the same as our previous trip. I’ve got my eyes closed and am cowered down with my head in my hands. LOL Chase looks nearly as scared as myself, so at least I’m not the only coward in the bunch. ;)
When we get outside things are really wet. The rain hasn’t let up since about 10:30 this morning and the ground is puddles of water. The kids have been wanting to ride Primevel Whirl so we head over there and they ride alone, as neither Brian nor myself is fond of the tiny, twisty rollercoaster, especially when it’s in conjunction with a spinning ride vehicle and pouring rain. It’s like the teacups on steroids. No thank you! Brian and I stake out a semi-dry spot undercover while we wait for the kids. They walked right onto the ride but it still seems like forever until they come back out. And when they do they are soaked! Tristan, whose coat doesn’t have a hood, has a hat nearly soaked all the way through. Chase’s shorts are wet everywhere except in the crotch area and it looks sort of funny. Carissa, the poor girl, doesn’t have an ounce of fat on her and is freezing cold. We seriously consider leaving right then and decide to walk and talk about it.
We do decide to put ponchos on, but I quickly learn that sticky plastic poncho over soaking wet jacket doesn’t help keep you warm. So I later duck into a shop to take off my wet jacket and do better with no jacket and just the poncho.
We really want to see Nemo before we leave, as this is our only day at Animal Kingdom. We walk that way and hope that we can wait for the show in an undercover area. No luck - the queue is totally outside and it’s still 45min before the show.
We keep walking and bypass Expedition Everest. We learned our lesson at Disneyland in 06 – you don’t ride rollercoasters in the rain. When the rain smacks you in the face while you’ll hurling along the track IT HURTS. No one wants that so we sadly opt not to use our fastpasses.
Brian decides that since he’s soaked already he may as well ride Kali River Rapids before we leave, mainly in honor of his father, who loves all the water rides and who wasn’t able to come with us on this trip. Well I’m not interested, as I’m cold and soaked too. Chase and Carissa decide to pass also, though Tristan is excited and braves it with his Dad.
Chase, Carissa and I find a semi-dry area nearby in a store that is more like a lean-to. No heat, no warmth, but dry. We look around for a bit, then huddle together to share our body heat. Sounds miserable and it was to some extent. But it was also wonderful to share that with the kids, to remember us standing in a lean-to shop, huddled together in our wet ponchos and hugging to stay warm, giggling about how silly it all is.
It seems like forever before Tristan and Brian come back, soaked even more than before. No one in their right mind is riding Kali right now so they got to ride twice in a row. In exchange, Tristan has agreed to see It’s Tough To Be A Bug, which he really doesn’t want to see. I think maybe it scares him? I don’t know but he’s been adamant that he’s not watching but decided to do so when Dad rode on Kali a second time with him. Just as a side note, riding Kali in the rain with Tristan ends up being one of Brian’s best memories of the trip.
We decide to make the most of the rest of our day here so we rush to make it to the Finding Nemo show. We hustled our way to the theater and got some seats off to one side in the lower section. We were all pretty soaked but it felt good to sit down, take off the ponchos and try to warm ourselves. We did get somewhat drier while sitting down for the show, though there was no help for our soaked shoes.
As always, I loved Finding Nemo! The puppets are just my favorites and the music is fabulous. It’s such a great show. I wish I had searched for a CD of the show. One song in particular Nemo sings about how proud he is of his Dad and it makes me think of Brian every time.
By now it is about 3pm and we had a showing of It’s Tough to be a Bug to see. We just missed the show but were among the first to be let into the waiting area. We ended up in the first row which, in my opinion, didn’t give a great view at all. The screen and 3D effects were blurry. But Tristan valiantly sat through the whole show while his little sister anticipated when the termite was going to spray and hunkered down out of the way to miss it.
We had had it with the rain and decided it was time to head back to the resort to dry off and warm up, even though we hadn’t been able to take our final ride on Expedition Everest or walked the Maharaja Jungle Trek. We made one last stop to grab pins from Animal Kingdom for the kids pin canvas’ at home then made our way to the bus stop and waited for our bus to come. It was a bit of a wait but it finally arrived and we happily boarded. It wasn’t too long before we arrived at our stop and came up to the room.
We kicked off our wet, soggy shoes and sent the kids into hot showers. Brian and I took showers too and we all kicked back a little and munched our brownies from yesterday. I tried drying out our soaked shoes by placing the hairdryer inside them for short amounts of time. Unfortunately, I let them sit in Brian’s shoes a bit too long and melted his insoles! LOL Thankfully we had 2 pairs of good walking shoes per person so we had dry shoes for tomorrow. I will never go on a trip without that extra pair of walking shoes. A lifesaver!
We were hungry so discussed our options, which included going to Downtown Disney for Rainforest Café or The Earl of Sandwich, eat at our resort (not really an option given the first nights food and service) or stay in the room nice and dry and order in Giordano’s pizza, which is supposed to be fabulous. We opted to stay in and out of the rain. The pizza took FOREVER to come and it wasn’t exactly piping hot when it did, but it was nice to have a low key evening.
We watched the news heard that we ended up with ONE AND ONE HALF inches of rain today. No wonder we were soaked! The good news is that it looks like the rain should be passing through by 9:30am tomorrow so our day at Hollywood Studios will hopefully be a bit dryer than today.
The trio of characters returned and it didn’t take long before it was our turn. This was the first time the kids had gotten up close to a character this trip and they jumped right in, smiling, waving and hugging them.
Carissa in particular was very fond of the characters this trip. 2 days after this photo was taken she came up to me and said:
"I don't know why and I can't believe it but I think I'm Donald's favorite." Yes Rissa, I'm pretty sure you are!
The Photopass photographer got some pictures, as did I. Then Brian and I joined in and the photographer took some more. Hopefully these will turn out well. I’m excited to see them.
Edited to add: Here’s my fave!
Edited to add: Here’s my fave!
By the time we left the character greeting line the rain had started steadily falling. We decided to duck into the nearby Festival of the Lion King show and hope that the rain would pass. We sat in the warthog section this time, having been in the elephant section the last trip.The kids traded pins with nearly every cast member in the building while waiting for the show… and there were a lot of them! The show finally started and it was fabulous! I got goosebumps a couple of times. I just love the costumes, the characters, the performances – everything about this show! The singing is just spectacular too! What a talented cast of performers!
The kids were chosen to take part in the finale, following characters around playing instruments and singing. So much fun for them! They got picked to do a lot of things this trip and it just makes those moments even more special.
When the show was over we were ushered outside and into the rain. Ugh! We stopped at the kids station on the way out of Camp Minnie-Mickey and then at some shops on the way, hoping that the rain would pass. No such luck.Everyone was hungry so we ran over to Restaurantosaurus in Dinoland. The food here was pretty decent. Brian and I had the bacon double cheeseburgers and fries, Chase had the hot dog and fries and both Tristan and Carissa had chicken nuggets and fries. Now, I know both Tristan and Carissa must have been pretty hungry because they ate all their chicken. That’s pretty good for them. Oh, and I’m sure the incentive of chocolate mousse for dessert didn’t hurt. It was all pretty tasty and the dessert was a nice end to the meal.
With happy bellies we went outside and into the rain, which was falling much harder than before. Thankfully Dinosaur wasn’t too far off. It was a walk-on and we quickly made our way onto a ride vehicle and into the Cretaceous period. I don’t know why, but this ride always scares me. That part where they pop the scary dinosaur at you always gets me, even though I know it’s fake and I know he’s coming. The ride photo this year is almost exactly the same as our previous trip. I’ve got my eyes closed and am cowered down with my head in my hands. LOL Chase looks nearly as scared as myself, so at least I’m not the only coward in the bunch. ;)
When we get outside things are really wet. The rain hasn’t let up since about 10:30 this morning and the ground is puddles of water. The kids have been wanting to ride Primevel Whirl so we head over there and they ride alone, as neither Brian nor myself is fond of the tiny, twisty rollercoaster, especially when it’s in conjunction with a spinning ride vehicle and pouring rain. It’s like the teacups on steroids. No thank you! Brian and I stake out a semi-dry spot undercover while we wait for the kids. They walked right onto the ride but it still seems like forever until they come back out. And when they do they are soaked! Tristan, whose coat doesn’t have a hood, has a hat nearly soaked all the way through. Chase’s shorts are wet everywhere except in the crotch area and it looks sort of funny. Carissa, the poor girl, doesn’t have an ounce of fat on her and is freezing cold. We seriously consider leaving right then and decide to walk and talk about it.
We do decide to put ponchos on, but I quickly learn that sticky plastic poncho over soaking wet jacket doesn’t help keep you warm. So I later duck into a shop to take off my wet jacket and do better with no jacket and just the poncho.
We really want to see Nemo before we leave, as this is our only day at Animal Kingdom. We walk that way and hope that we can wait for the show in an undercover area. No luck - the queue is totally outside and it’s still 45min before the show.
We keep walking and bypass Expedition Everest. We learned our lesson at Disneyland in 06 – you don’t ride rollercoasters in the rain. When the rain smacks you in the face while you’ll hurling along the track IT HURTS. No one wants that so we sadly opt not to use our fastpasses.
Brian decides that since he’s soaked already he may as well ride Kali River Rapids before we leave, mainly in honor of his father, who loves all the water rides and who wasn’t able to come with us on this trip. Well I’m not interested, as I’m cold and soaked too. Chase and Carissa decide to pass also, though Tristan is excited and braves it with his Dad.
Chase, Carissa and I find a semi-dry area nearby in a store that is more like a lean-to. No heat, no warmth, but dry. We look around for a bit, then huddle together to share our body heat. Sounds miserable and it was to some extent. But it was also wonderful to share that with the kids, to remember us standing in a lean-to shop, huddled together in our wet ponchos and hugging to stay warm, giggling about how silly it all is.
It seems like forever before Tristan and Brian come back, soaked even more than before. No one in their right mind is riding Kali right now so they got to ride twice in a row. In exchange, Tristan has agreed to see It’s Tough To Be A Bug, which he really doesn’t want to see. I think maybe it scares him? I don’t know but he’s been adamant that he’s not watching but decided to do so when Dad rode on Kali a second time with him. Just as a side note, riding Kali in the rain with Tristan ends up being one of Brian’s best memories of the trip.
We decide to make the most of the rest of our day here so we rush to make it to the Finding Nemo show. We hustled our way to the theater and got some seats off to one side in the lower section. We were all pretty soaked but it felt good to sit down, take off the ponchos and try to warm ourselves. We did get somewhat drier while sitting down for the show, though there was no help for our soaked shoes.
As always, I loved Finding Nemo! The puppets are just my favorites and the music is fabulous. It’s such a great show. I wish I had searched for a CD of the show. One song in particular Nemo sings about how proud he is of his Dad and it makes me think of Brian every time.
By now it is about 3pm and we had a showing of It’s Tough to be a Bug to see. We just missed the show but were among the first to be let into the waiting area. We ended up in the first row which, in my opinion, didn’t give a great view at all. The screen and 3D effects were blurry. But Tristan valiantly sat through the whole show while his little sister anticipated when the termite was going to spray and hunkered down out of the way to miss it.We had had it with the rain and decided it was time to head back to the resort to dry off and warm up, even though we hadn’t been able to take our final ride on Expedition Everest or walked the Maharaja Jungle Trek. We made one last stop to grab pins from Animal Kingdom for the kids pin canvas’ at home then made our way to the bus stop and waited for our bus to come. It was a bit of a wait but it finally arrived and we happily boarded. It wasn’t too long before we arrived at our stop and came up to the room.
We kicked off our wet, soggy shoes and sent the kids into hot showers. Brian and I took showers too and we all kicked back a little and munched our brownies from yesterday. I tried drying out our soaked shoes by placing the hairdryer inside them for short amounts of time. Unfortunately, I let them sit in Brian’s shoes a bit too long and melted his insoles! LOL Thankfully we had 2 pairs of good walking shoes per person so we had dry shoes for tomorrow. I will never go on a trip without that extra pair of walking shoes. A lifesaver!
We were hungry so discussed our options, which included going to Downtown Disney for Rainforest Café or The Earl of Sandwich, eat at our resort (not really an option given the first nights food and service) or stay in the room nice and dry and order in Giordano’s pizza, which is supposed to be fabulous. We opted to stay in and out of the rain. The pizza took FOREVER to come and it wasn’t exactly piping hot when it did, but it was nice to have a low key evening.
We watched the news heard that we ended up with ONE AND ONE HALF inches of rain today. No wonder we were soaked! The good news is that it looks like the rain should be passing through by 9:30am tomorrow so our day at Hollywood Studios will hopefully be a bit dryer than today.
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