Disneyworld - Day 4 - Animal Kingdom

Looking back on the trip, I think this was one of my favorite parks. We missed quite a bit so I could have gone for another day to finish up. 

We got there before rope drop and mosied our way in past some of the exhibits. Didn't dilly dally because I wasn't sure where everyone was rushing off to...they were going to get their fast passes apparently. I sent Don off to go ride Expedition Everest. H didn't want to and N was not tall enough. We all got stuck anyway as we waited to get in for the rope to drop. Minnie and crew came out and entertained us with a little show in their safari bus. Mickey was up by the Tree of Life. I can't remember the whole story now. I was focused on getting to Kilimanjaro for fast passes. 

On our way to Africa we got delayed because Hr saw Terk and needed to get an autograph. 

Next we were back on our way to to Kilimanjaro to get our fast passes for the safari ride. After getting the passes, we had some time to kill before Don would return so I decided to let the kids get their faces painted. H wanted a bird of some type. My son...oh my beautiful boy...wanted a rainbow bird or butterfly. I told him I didn't think daddy would go for it too well. Don is already sensitive on the whole rainbow issue (N is obsessed with rainbows) so we had to negotiate on something a little more "boyish" but still in the rainbow theme. We decided on a rainbow light saber. Cool, huh?

Don paged me to say he was at Camp Minnie and Mickey waiting for us and that he was hanging out with Pocahontas and no one was there at all. We hurried on over because we wanted to see the characters there anyway. When we got there, sure enough...not a single person waiting to see Pocahontas. We got lots of time to chat with her.

Now here is the part you will all want to pay attention to. Her character assistant guy told us that if we were first in line at the lines for the characters...the line closest to the bathrooms...there are four line ups so be sure you go to the one closest to the bathrooms... He said if we got in that line and were first, they often will take your family up and you can meet all 4 characters at once. No standing in each individual line. So...we got in line and waited. Here's what you get for doing that:

We also got a certificate signed by all the characters. This was the BEST thing ever. The line was getting quite long behind us when the character assistants came to open the ropes and asked me how many in my party...I told them three ... Don had gone off to get more fast passes so he missed the whole thing. They opened it just for our three and then closed off the rope again. I'm sure the jealousy must have been oozing from everyone. We walked up to the little character greeting area and here comes Mickey Mouse to greet our family. He was followed by Minnie and Donald. Goofy joined a few minutes later. Kids got to get autographs, play with the characters a bit, and then we did a big group shot with all four characters. WAY COOL!!! I would so recommend that you do this. Get there around 9:30 or 9:40 to be first in line. Worth the wait. 

When we left, the characters went to each of their individual greeting areas so people had to queue up for each character they wanted to see. Not us. Tee hee. Felt like royaltly.

As we came out, there was Koda and Kenai. Had to get in some bear hugs.

A little further over were Chip and Dale. This was a great spot to get in characters. 

After the characters we headed back up to Kilimanjaro for our safari. This was my favorite ride. I loved this. I'd definitely ride it more than once if my family would tolerate it. Ha ha!

We saw so many animals. Fantastic!

After the safari we had to dash back over to Camp Minnie and Mickey for the interpreted show of The Festival of the Lion King. Another fantastic show. Definitely would recommend it. My camera takes lousy photos in dark areas so I didn't get great shots. This is one of my favorites though of the monkey acrobats. 

When we were done with the show we stopped to see Lilo and Stitch who have a queue near one of the shops across from the tree of life...just outside the entrance to go into Camp Minnie and Mickey (along the path heading up to Africa).

Lunch was at the bbq place. We had ribs and the kids had hot dogs. Good food...not fabulous...but good. We got a table all the way down the path near the water. Could see Expedition Everest as we ate. Very nice view. Ducks walking around the tables stalking us for food though. 

Then we headed to Dinoland. Don went on Primeval Whirl (H didn't want to and N was too short) and I took the kids on the Triceratops Spin. It's just Dumbo with horns. No biggie. The kids LOVED the Boneyard -- a play area. I sent Don in there with them while I found a nice shady bench...awwww....Did I mention how hot it was while we were in Florida??? Holy moly!

Our next stop was Dinosaur. I've heard mixed things about the ride but my kids aren't scaredy cats so I didn't think it would be a big deal. Wow....the photo they snapped during the ride of us was priceless (well...$18 anyway). I'll try to scan it later and add it in here. N was ducked down and you can only see his eye. H is cowering against me. I look surprised as does Don. Pretty funny. My son informed me very loudly when the ride was done, "I HATED THAT!!!" So, keep in mind...not all kids are gonna like having dinos jumping out at them. Here's H's rating of the ride:

Next we headed to our spot for the interpreted section for the parade. Great parade. Wow! So colorful. People on stilts. Really fantastic parade. 

When this was all done I think we were all pretty tired. We decided to leave a bit early and head to Downtown Disney. We had dinner reservations at Planet Hollywood. N was begging to go to the Lego store. 

Before we left, we stopped off as close as we could get to the Tree of Life and took some photos. The carvings are just amazing. I wish we had been able to get closer. Apparently you have to do the Bug's Life show and then when you come out the Tree is right there. My kids did not want to do the show - we have done it before at CA Adventure and they hated all the stinky stuff and effects. I thought it was great. Oh well. 

Lego store was a big hit, as usual. I loved the sea monster in the lake. 

Then dinner at Planet Hollywood. Holy cow. I think I am too old for that restaurant. TOOOOOOOOO loud in there. Had to climb stairs to get in. Then we had to climb two more flights to get to the level our table was on. Ugh. After all day at the park...my feet were not happy. Then we were subjected to some horrible singer wannabe that someone at Planet Hollywood had taken pity on and tried to help her start her career. She announced she had just turned 14. Her name was Little Italy. Horrible horrible horrible. Ugh! Clearly someone who's mom had never told her she was not perfect. Ugh. 

Food was alright but hurried through it to escape Little Italy. Grrrrrr....

Back to the hotel. zzzzzzzz