This was one of the days Thing2 was most looking forward to, because we got to see Uncle R, Aunt C and K, our 12 year old cousin. We see them, at most, 3-4 times a year, so this was a big deal for all of us. Uncle R is my moms brother. Last year we traveled to Hawaii with them for their oldest daughters high school graduation trip and we had tons of fun together, so they decided to join us again. If anyone would like to see a few pictures or have any questions about that trip, feel free to ask! ANYWAY, back to Disney World! After our late-ish night, Mom and Dad thought it would be a good idea to let us sleep in. I did not agree. My plans called for us making it to Animal Kingdom for morning EMHs. As much as I love traveling with family, they dont get Disney like we do and arent up for as much walking as we normally do. I wanted to get there and knock some of the attractions we wanted to hit off our list before we met up with them, so once we did meet up we could tour at a more leisurely pace. That goal was ruined when Mom and Dad didnt wake us up until almost 8. I was instantly put into a sour mood because that was the whole reason Id picked Animal Kingdom for today, to get there early! Mom and Dad didnt quite understand why I was so upset. After rushing everyone through getting ready, we finally got to the bus depot and were soon on our way to Animal Kingdom! I just have to say, I love this park! Too often I forget about all of the fabulous theming that makes it so amazing! As soon as we arrived, Dad went and got Expedition Everest fastpasses for all of us (even though Thing3 isnt tall enough) and we met at Triceratop Spin (or as we call it, Dinosaur Dumbo). We took this picture somewhere along the way...
We had a short wait and soon we were flying high in our dinosaur. After exiting the ride, Thing3 spotted Goofy and Pluto, so Mom took her to wait in line to meet them while Dad took Thing2 and I on Dinosaur.
Though Thing3 is tall enough for this one, we were all in agreement that she would have hated it. Our ride picture was hilarious, because Thing2 is sooooo scared, Dad is trying to comfort her and I look utterly bored. It helps that I knew the dinosaur was going to pop out, but my face still made me laugh. After we got off, we met Mom and Thing3 at one of the dinosaurs you can climb on. We had been texting Aunt C for a while and found out they were on the safari. We made plans to meet up with them at the Yak and Yeti CS place for lunch. Before heading over there, we decided to go and get fastpasses for Kilimanjaro Safaris for us. We purposely dawdled in hopes of meeting up with them over there, but we didnt see them, so we just waited at the restaurant. It seemed like forever until they got there because it was so hot out. When they arrived, we had a little family reunion right there in the middle of
well
Asia. Eventually Thing2 and K managed to persuade the parents that they could chat while in line to order lunch. Im not sure what everyone else got, but I just had some fried rice (snack credit). The portion was very large (I couldnt finish it) and it was very tasty! I also shared some of Thing2s frozen lemonade! Yum! Next we decided to ride Everest together. This was Ks first rollercoaster ever, so we were excited to see how shed like it. Between our 5 fastpasses, their 3 and our baby-swap pass we had more than enough for all of us to ride. The first group to ride was Thing2, K, Aunt C and me. Throughout this trip report, youll probably notice that Thing2 and K are almost inseparable. They are fairly close in age get along great, which makes the distance between our families pretty hard because they miss each other. Anyway, I rode next to Aunt C and Thing2 and K were in front of us. Their reaction? They both loved it, though Aunt C got a little dizzy getting off. It took us a little while to find the rest of our group, but eventually we did. Aunt C and I said wed stay with Thing3, so Mom, Dad, Uncle R, Thing2 and K went on. We decided that we needed some air-conditioning, so we headed towards Finding Nemo- the Musical. Once we got over there, however, we saw the huge line waiting to get in. Instead we went over to see Its Tough to be a Bug. Im not sure Uncle R, Aunt C and K enjoyed it, but any time spent with family is a good time. Mom suggested going to see the Festival of the Lion King next, so we headed that way. We saw/heard some interesting things waiting in line for that show
There was a guy with one of those mini, disposable tooth brushes brushing his teeth in line. There was also a man talking about how he had pneumonia or some other illness. It was just kind of weird
I have to say, I love that show! As we were exiting the show my dad and I had this conversation:
Thing1: So Dad, I decided what I want to do when I grow up
Dad: Oh? Whats that?
Thing1: A TUMBLE MONKEY!!!!
Dad: Great! Can you get me front row seats? I love the Tumble Monkeys!
Needless to say, he was very supportive of my desire to become a Tumble Monkey! It was about time for the parade, so we decided to try and find a spot. Nobody really wanted to sit on the ground, but there were no benches available. Behind one of the tattoo stands there were about 5 tables with small stools. The tattoo artist guy said that we could move them up in front of the stand so wed have a front row spot AND somewhere to sit. We moved about 6 of the stools up there, lined them up and created our own bench. The music from that parade just makes me want to dance! But, for my familys sake, I stayed in my seat and didnt dance. After the parade, we made our way to the Nemo show for the second time that day. Would we actually enter the theater this time? Yes we would! We didnt even have to wait in line! Yet another musical I love! For days after this, Thing2 and I would random start singing, Together
.we swim together...! Sometime earlier we had all picked up fastpasses for Kali River Rapids. Mom didnt want to get wet since we were having dinner at Boma and Thing3 was scared, so they played on that dinosaur again. Before we rode the rapids, Mom took a before picture of us...
Thing3 and K ended up in the lucky seats! As you can see from the picture, some of us got very wet!
We parted ways with Aunt C, Uncle R and K for a little while. They had a date with Dinosaur and we had fastpasses for the safari we needed to use. We made plans to meet on a bench outside the park when we were done.
Coming up next- Are these things real? and Why do we keep stopping? Thanks for reading!