Day two: Dec 13
I dont believe in wake up calls on vacation and even at Disney I only make exceptions for early character breakfasts, so we got going on our own time this morning. Traveling with Katie and staying in a single room, that really meant her time, which got us out the door about 8:30 most mornings.
Since I didn't get pictures of our fabulous room view with as tired as I was on day 1, I snapped a few this morning. The mist in the trees was really pretty, and every morning looked like this until the last couple days of the trip when the weather cooled off a bit.
We made it to Animal Kingdom just as they were finishing up the opening ceremony and starting to let people in the gates. We usually go pretty commando once we get going but seldom make rope drop, so this was the earliest Ive ever gotten to one of the parks! This was my anti-commando trip, something I had to keep reminding myself as the day went on.
The kids wanted to see the <ick> giant spiders that several CMs had in cages just inside the gate, so we lingered there for a little while before heading to Everest. On the way, we got sidetracked by Tough To Be A Bug, which Id planned on doing later but the kids wanted to see now. So I bit my commando tongue and followed them along the path and into the Tree of Life.
The big kids loved the show. Katie liked the butterfly curtain but lost interest shortly after the show started, and would have fallen asleep if not for the water-spray acid effect. She HATED that, but just buried her little face in my shoulder and ignored the rest of the show.
After TTBAB, we wandered over to Asia where the kids decided it was warm enough to ride Kali right away. This was nice on our last trip it was so cool that they only braved it once but at the same time the heat was a bit taxing. Wed come from sub-freezing weather at home to humid mid-80s at Disney, and Sebastian in particular (who doesnt care for warm weather even for the short time we have it here at home) was having a bit of a tough time adjusting; his appetite and energy level were a little subdued all day.
The line for Kali was only 5min, so we baby swapped so the kids could ride twice and then resumed our trek to Everest.
My daughter is the one in the pink top, looking to see what's to come.
Sebastian is the one left of center with his eyes closed.
The line for Everest wasnt bad, showing 30min at about 10:15, but we just grabbed FastPasses and continued on to Dinoland. Our FPs were for right around the same time as our lunch at Yak & Yeti, so we knew wed be coming back through Asia anyway.
In Dinoland, we rode Primeval Whirl with a 15min wait; it was posted at 30min and we debated skipping it, but DS really wanted to ride so we got in line and found it to be much shorter than posted. That was the first time the kids got me to go on PW, and I liked it a lot more than I thought I would. I normally cant stand spinning rides so I had avoided it, but it was a fun little coaster and didnt spin enough to get to me. We didnt bother with the baby swap on this one, because DH isnt a big fan of it either. He took Katie on Triceratops Spin while we rode Primeval Whirl, then we all headed off to Dinosaur.
Dinosaur is a favorite of both Ken & I, so we picked up a baby swap pass here too. He took Sebastian and Shanna first, while Katie and I went to meet dog-dog (Pluto) and Foofy. Her eyes about popped out of her head when she saw them, and we only waited about 10 minutes for our turn (including a short fire hydrant break for the characters).
We got back to the exit of Dinosaur just a few minutes ahead of Ken & the kids, and Sebastian decided he didnt want to ride Dinosaur again so he ran around those benches outside the gift shop with Katie while I took Shanna back on the ride. By the time we were all done with Dinosaur, it was time to head back to Asia for lunch.
I love Animal Kingdom for all the details of decor, so I went a little photo-happy while DH stopped for a cigarette.
Wed never tried Yak & Yeti before, and I had no idea how LOUD this place would be. It really bothered Katie, and was the start of a pattern that would continue all week she was well behaved and cooperative at most meals, but the louder the restaurant, the more difficult it was to keep her settled. I worried it would be just the opposite and Id have a hard time with keeping her sitting quietly at Jiko or Narcoosees, but Yak & Yeti was the worst all week the volume was enough to keep her somewhat agitated, particularly while waiting for the first course and after we finished dessert. I dont think well be back there until shes quite a bit older. The food was hit or miss, with some things excellent and others just okay, and the noise was really bad even by Disney standards.
After lunch, we headed off to use our Everest FastPasses. Sebastian didnt want to ride, so I sat with him and Katie while Ken & Shanna used two of our FastPasses. And of course, I took more pictures.
Shanna LOVED the ride, and I just couldnt believe it. On our trip for her birthday in 2007, she was so excited about Space Mountain, had me measuring her everyday to see if she was big enough for Space Mountain, couldnt wait to try Space Mountain. Then she went on it, and cried for a half hour afterwards because it was so scary! Shes grown up so much and gotten so much braver in two short years! So we used our baby swap pass and then used the two leftover FastPasses when she wanted to ride just once more.
I was really impressed with Everest, and I cant believe it took me so long to try it. On our last two trips, we skipped it just because neither of the kids wanted to ride. It is a really great coaster, much more thrilling than I expected.
Since we were still in Asia, the kids asked to hit Kali again before heading over to the safari, so we picked up another baby swap and Ken took the big kids through the standby line. It was posting a 5min wait at that point, so we figured we might as well.
Katie was getting a little fussy, so I took her for a walk through the Maharajah Jungle Trek trails where she fell asleep in her stroller.
I havnt been on in a while we are closing on a house today! Huray so every ounce of energy has gone into this house thing. I know you can relate. You will have a great trip despite all the changes. Just relax and enjoy being in DISNEY! It was 81 and sunny yesterday- what was it here 30 and snow! I think youll enjoy the disney snow better. Have fun and Im looking forward to your TR!
So for the last hour of the flight, I kept her entertained with snacks and her Mickey coloring pages with a reasonable degree of success. 
