This is how the kids passed the time in line for the safari!
BTW, Megan could care less about the animals on the safari. She thought bumping up and down on a jeep was the funniest thing ever!
We crossed the bridge and found a spot in the shade at the end of a path. Megan slept, mom took pictures of the birds on the path and Dave went to get us refreshments. Man, it was pretty hot! As we waited, a CM in a light blue shirt escorted a family to a reserved spot. She paid a lot of attention to the little girl. I thought she might be a member of the Dream Team. As the parade passed by every character stopped at this family and gave them lots of attention. Who knows. Dave brought Hunter a Mickey head bar so I killed time by taking pictures. When the parade started to come I did what all crazy Disney moms do and made Megan wake up to watch the parade! I didnt want her to miss another one and she had gotten a pretty good nap in. We hadnt seen this parade before. It was OK. Its definitely different from the other parades. My mom liked it. The shadow from the bridge made my pictures turn out kind of dark. As the parade ended, my cameras battery died. My mom had hers though.
Killing time waiting for the parade
The Parade. See the CM in the light blue shirt on the left?
After the parade we turned around and headed down the path which ended up taking us to Its Tough to be a Bug. I think it may be the exit or a temporary entrance during the parade. I asked the CM and she said No wait. Mom, Dave and Hunter went in. You couldnt pay me to do this attraction! I hate 3D, I hate the extra stuff in these shows, and Im not too fond of bugs! No thanks, Ill say with Megan. Who, by the way, went right back to sleep after the parade! I stood in the crowd waiting for the parade to pass then I went to the gift shop, then I sat on a bench to wait. I think I sat for 1 minute when they came out of the show. They said there was only 20 or so people in the show with them! Hunter didnt like the show at the time, but now he says he likes it. Hes just not scared of stuff! He likes it, he just doesnt like the stink bug part.
The Tree of Life really is amazing. I think its one of those overlooked things at Disney.
Next, we decided to go to Dinoland. We rode Triceratop Spin, then Dave and I took Hunter on Primeval Whirl and Mom took Meg on TS again. I love Primeval Whirl. Its rough and crazy and I just laugh through the whole thing. Hunter liked it too. Dave doesnt like spinning so he tolerates this ride. Then we went to Dinosaur! We walked right on. Dave and I rode this on our Honeymoon, so it had been awhile. Once is enough! Too rough and not enough dinosaurs in my opinion. Hunter didnt love it either. This is the only redneck ride photo I took.
It was getting close to our time to leave to make our 6:10 ADR at Boma, but we decided we had time to try EE one more time. It seemed as if everyone had cleared out after the parade. More Photopass pics on the way. Minimal wait. It was Dave, Hunter and me. Its even better the 2nd time! By now Hunter wanted to just ride over and over again. He wasnt too happy that we had to leave. We decided that we would come back on Saturday to see the Nemo show and Flights of Wonder. We hurried out of the park and hopped on a bus to Animal Kingdom Lodge.
I have wanted to stay here since they opened, and had us booked here before the voice of reason stepped in. Dave had never been the voice of reason before, I dont why he decided to start now! So I was very excited to come here. Unfortunately, I didnt take into consideration that it would be dark when we got here! I also was very worn out and my feet were really hurting. I just wanted to get a table and eat! It was pretty crowded in the waiting area, and its very loud because its a big open area with Boma on one side and Jiko on the other. We all took a restroom break, and checked in. We waited about 15 minutes then they called us. When Dave checked in they asked whos bday it was and they made Megan a pin. The atmosphere is very nice, and so was our waiter. We ordered the kids some Pirates Punch so they could get the glow clips of Tinkerbell and Captain Hook. Then I got food for the kids, then me. When I got back the kids were almost done eating! This is the only reason I dont like buffets. They are nice however because I can make a plate up for Megan. So, the big question: How was the food? Very good! Dave LOVED it here, and declared it his favorite Disney restaurant. The prime rib was OK, the chicken very good, and the pork was super good! I enjoyed the sides that I tried, and Dave loved them. I cant remember the names! There were not weird things on buffet like exotic animals or anything. The chicken porridge was wonderful. They had a lot of fruit for the kids. I didnt care for the zebra domes that everyone loves, Hunter loved them. The mousse inside just wasn't my taste. My favorite was the upside down pineapple cheesecake. AWESOME!!! The chocolate chip cookies were fresh and yummy. We would absolutely eat here again. Dave wouldnt let me skip it! My only complaint is the people who let their kids get their own food. They need to learn buffet etiquette! As we were leaving we overheard that there was a 1 hour wait without ADRs. The couple thought that was awful, the DISer in me knew that wasnt bad at all! After we ate we headed to the lobby and gift shop.
So do you want to see some pictures of the place Ive been dying to visit? Too bad! There arent any! We were just too tired! The lobby is beautiful though and the fire pit very cool. There was a kids activity going on and the leader was singing and the kids were playing instruments and they were marching around the lobby. Very cute for the first couple of minutes, then it just got annoying! We briefly walked through the gift shop, but I just wanted to go back to the room and crash. We rode the bus to DTD, then transferred to our resort. A very smooth transition. Originally we were going to drive, but we thought that we would shop at DTD, then take the boat back. What was I thinking? Were not enigizer bunnies! Back to the resort, and crash! Another wonderful day!
Next up: A birthday celebration and my favorite picture