We had the 7:15am bus to Animal Kingdom. Topsider's opened at 5:45am for the early departure guests (there were alot of people up & about!). The buses were delayed a little but due to an accident but we were on our way pretty quickly. Much more efficient than the Blue Lagoon line ups! Tip: Be sure to bring your bus tickets (given out the first day). They do look for them. Your key to the world cards are your park passes but you cannot charge on them. We lovingly referred to them as our "keys to bankruptcy" by the end of the cruise.
The drive was pleasant, no time at all and we were at the gates to AK...just in time for the rope drop!
We went directly to the safari while my DH went to Expedition Everest & got fastpasses.
The safari was very good. As it was early, we saw a lot of animals.
[/IMG]
There is a lioness bathing in the sun...
[/IMG]
The Tree of Life.
[/IMG]
We saw the Flights of Wonder and then went to my favourite Disney show- The Festival of the Lion King!
[/IMG]
It amazes me every time I see it! The music, the costuming, the acrobats! My kids were chosen to "celebrate".
[/IMG]
My DS was thrilled...
We ate lunch at The Rainforest...just in time too, as the sky opened and there was a downpour! It didn't last long and we didn't see another drop for the rest of our vacation.
We took the bus to Magic Kingdom with plans to do Splash Mountain, Space Mtn, Mickey's Philharmagic, and see the fireworks.
It was very crowded and VERY hot
[/IMG]
Unbearably hot!
We waited in line a while for Splash Mtn and then it was closed! There had been people waiting for 2 hrs. I felt bad for them.
We had a Dole Whip....soooooo yummy! We then made the executive decision to return to the ship. It was 3 pm and we couldn't imagine waiting around for another 6 hours for the fireworks....everything was so busy and sooooo hot! We all had sunburns from our day at Castaway, despite the many applications of SPF 60. We are a fair bunch! The allure of the Magic was just too sweet!
[/IMG]
So we jumped on the bus back! The bus was waiting and there were cast members handing out cold water and welcoming us back. We felt very VIP! The cool bus was relieving!
Back to Port Canaveral! We were excited to see the model of the Magic and the big ears!
[/IMG]
[/IMG]
Once back to the ship, we had dinner at Parrot Cay- buffet style. The boys went to see the movie Avengers 3D, DD went to the club. I was all alone and enjoyed a latte and a good book at Cove Cafe (until a man came in & proceeded to carry on a long, loud conversation on his cell phone!). Thank goodness there is limited cell reception at sea.
I know many stayed for the fireworks and had no difficulty making the buses back to the ship.
I was very content and happy despite missing the fireworks. The feeling of a
Disney cruise is difficult to capture but it is a feeling of walking in the halls, hearing the soft Disney songs from my childhood. It's the smiles and friendliness from the crew. It's seeing the characters interacting with young & old, it's the attention to detail- from the cleanliness to the towel animals. It even smells magical! I may or may not have shed a tear in one of these quiet moments.
It is our first Disney cruise too.
