BethC1952
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 29, 2001
- Messages
- 3,949
We were up early to get a head start on our day. We headed to the food court once again for breakfast (remember-no pressure, no plans, no ressies, no PS, just do what you want when you want!). It wasn't crowded, and we enjoyed breakfast burritos and tea before we headed all the way back to the room (OK, I forgot to bring my cameras so we had to go all the way back instead of taking the bus from the main depot!). We arrived at the bus stop as the Animal Kingdom bus pulled in. This was the first stop for the bus, we were the first people on, the was looking really good!
I won't give you a blow-by-blow description of our Animal Kingdom day, I'll just hit the highlights. First of all, we loved it! In fact, we spent the whole day, and never did get to a water park! Don't miss the Kilimanjaro Safari. We picked up a Fast Pass for about 20 minutes later, and wandered through Africa, taking it all in. We had planned a trip to the real Africa about two years ago, but I couldn't get a visa to get into the country of our choice because I'm female and couldn't prove that I could support myself for a year independently of my husband, so this was the closest I was going to get.
Disney's version of Africa is beautiful. We stopped and listened to music, we shopped, I even bought a few things! I collect elephants, so this was a really good stop! I took advantage of the package delivery service back to PO Riverside, and it worked very well.
The Safari was amazing. Even though it was mid-day, and very hot, we saw loads of animals, and took tons of pictures. I have a digital camera, so my picture-taking is relatively unlimited. I'll be posting pictures on my website in a few days, and I'll post a link here so that you can see WDW through my eyes!
After a water stop where we refilled our mugs with icy cold water from one of the fountains we headed off to India and the Maharajah Jungle Trek. The place is beautiful. The animals are beautiful, the setting is beautiful and the Cast Members are very knowledgeable and willing to answer all kinds of questions about the animals. I've never been as close to a Bengal Tiger (or any other kind of tiger, come to think of it) as I was there!
When we were satisfied that we had seen all that we wanted to, and that it was too hot to breathe, we were surprised to find that it was after 3 PM already! So we decided to head back to the hotel. But lunch was becoming a real necessity. We stopped and Pizzafari, and had great Grilled Chicken Caesar Salads. I don't think we missed anything but not having lunch at a fancy restaurant.
Back to the hotel, then, with a decision to go for a swim at the quiet pool rather than head to the water park since it was really getting late. The quiet pool was wonderful. There was hardly any one there, and it was a pleasure to relax.
Our evening activity? We decided to take the boat ride to Downtown Disney. This is another on my "must recommend" list. It was dusk, the birds were active, the boat driver pointed out the various types of plants and birds on the bank, and it was a wonderful half-hour or so (and a great preparation for our upcoming cruise!).
Downtown Disney was super-crowded. Once again, we were hungry, so our first stop was Wolfgang Puck Express. We waited less than 10 minutes for food that was really quite good and very plentiful. DH had decided ahead of time that he wasn't going to like it, but he had a chicken dish, and he loved it. I had pasta, and it was really good too.
We shopped, we checked out all the stores, but we're not drinkers or club hoppers, so we decided to skip Pleasure Island and head back. OK, we're not as young as we used to be, and by 10:30 we were exhausted! We took the boat back to Riverside, stopped to fill our mugs with tea, and headed back to the peace and quiet of Alligator Bayou .
I won't give you a blow-by-blow description of our Animal Kingdom day, I'll just hit the highlights. First of all, we loved it! In fact, we spent the whole day, and never did get to a water park! Don't miss the Kilimanjaro Safari. We picked up a Fast Pass for about 20 minutes later, and wandered through Africa, taking it all in. We had planned a trip to the real Africa about two years ago, but I couldn't get a visa to get into the country of our choice because I'm female and couldn't prove that I could support myself for a year independently of my husband, so this was the closest I was going to get.
Disney's version of Africa is beautiful. We stopped and listened to music, we shopped, I even bought a few things! I collect elephants, so this was a really good stop! I took advantage of the package delivery service back to PO Riverside, and it worked very well.
The Safari was amazing. Even though it was mid-day, and very hot, we saw loads of animals, and took tons of pictures. I have a digital camera, so my picture-taking is relatively unlimited. I'll be posting pictures on my website in a few days, and I'll post a link here so that you can see WDW through my eyes!
After a water stop where we refilled our mugs with icy cold water from one of the fountains we headed off to India and the Maharajah Jungle Trek. The place is beautiful. The animals are beautiful, the setting is beautiful and the Cast Members are very knowledgeable and willing to answer all kinds of questions about the animals. I've never been as close to a Bengal Tiger (or any other kind of tiger, come to think of it) as I was there!
When we were satisfied that we had seen all that we wanted to, and that it was too hot to breathe, we were surprised to find that it was after 3 PM already! So we decided to head back to the hotel. But lunch was becoming a real necessity. We stopped and Pizzafari, and had great Grilled Chicken Caesar Salads. I don't think we missed anything but not having lunch at a fancy restaurant.
Back to the hotel, then, with a decision to go for a swim at the quiet pool rather than head to the water park since it was really getting late. The quiet pool was wonderful. There was hardly any one there, and it was a pleasure to relax.
Our evening activity? We decided to take the boat ride to Downtown Disney. This is another on my "must recommend" list. It was dusk, the birds were active, the boat driver pointed out the various types of plants and birds on the bank, and it was a wonderful half-hour or so (and a great preparation for our upcoming cruise!).
Downtown Disney was super-crowded. Once again, we were hungry, so our first stop was Wolfgang Puck Express. We waited less than 10 minutes for food that was really quite good and very plentiful. DH had decided ahead of time that he wasn't going to like it, but he had a chicken dish, and he loved it. I had pasta, and it was really good too.
We shopped, we checked out all the stores, but we're not drinkers or club hoppers, so we decided to skip Pleasure Island and head back. OK, we're not as young as we used to be, and by 10:30 we were exhausted! We took the boat back to Riverside, stopped to fill our mugs with tea, and headed back to the peace and quiet of Alligator Bayou .
