While my first day had been fairly long, that didn't mean I could sleep in any on my second. With such a short trip, I needed all the time I could get. I was up before six in the morning, getting ready for my day at the Animal Kingdom. After some breakfast at the Riverside Mill, it was off to the bus stop and on to the Animal Kingdom.
The park was just opening when I got there and while crowds were fairly good-sized, especially for that time in the morning, it didn't take long to get through the turnstiles. My first stop would be Kilimanjaro Safaris, so I took a little time to meander through the Oasis and Discovery Island. While I was looking around, I happened across Flik and Princess Atta from "A Bug's Life" near the Tree of Life. I had never seen Flik in the parks before so I got their picture before heading on to Africa.
The line wasn't too bad for Kilimanjaro, so I hopped into the Stand-by queue. The line was longer than usual it seemed, but still not too bad. At least it gave me more time to see all the details in the queue. The ride was wonderful, as usual. The guide did a good job, and the animals were out in good numbers. After the ride, I proceeded to the Pangani Forest Exploration trail. Not too much action out of the animals (with the exception of the meerkats, which always seem to be busy), but still pleasant.
Asia was next. It was getting pretty hot, but I decided to give the Maharajah Jungle Trek a try. The Komodo dragon was more active than I had ever seen him, walking around and checking out everything in his habitat. A nice change rather than just seeing him just sitting there. Besides him and the birds in the aviary, though, there wasn't a whole lot of activity on the trails that day.
After seeing Asia, it was off to Dinoland to see Tarzan Rocks. When I arrived at the theater, they were just opening the seating area up so I was able to get a great seat. The show was great. I know a lot of people don't think it's as good as the Festival of the Lion King Show, but I think I actually like this one better. I like the music from Tarzan much more than the music from the Lion King though, so perhaps that has something to do with it. After the show, I walked through Dinoland and headed over to Restaurantasaurus for lunch. I had never eaten here before and I must say I was impressed. The food was good, the atmosphere was great, and best of all, air conditioning!
After lunch, I didn't really want to do much else in Dinoland. DINOSAUR and Primeval Whirl and rides which I don't think I would try right after eating. I thought aI would at least take a quick peek into the Chester and Hester's shop before leaving. When I got there, I was surprised to see Donald just standing outside the shop- no line or anything. I went up and got his picture and then the CM with him volunteered to take a photo of me with him. I was very appreciative and took her up on the offer. After that, I went into the shop and looked around for a second. It seemed to be mostly toys. The cutest of which was Make-Your-Own-Mr. Potato Head, complete with Disney props like Mickey ears, Mickey ice cream bars, and autograph books. I heard that they sold these at the Once Upon A Toy at Downtown Disney, so it kind of gave me a taste of things to come since I would be going there this evening.
After Lunch, I really hadn't had anything planned for the day until the parade. I noticed that the line for "It's Tough To Be A Bug" didn't look that bad so I thought I'd do that. After all, it's air conditioned, which would be nice in the heat of the afternoon. The show was fun. Most f the time I usually seem to sit close to the screen, but this time, I ended up sitting farther back, which was enjoyable. Since I had always sat up front, I had never seen the Spiders that come down from the ceiling so it was kind of a surprise. That's one of the best thing about Disney. You always seem to see something new every time.
Next, it was back to Dinoland. It was a little more than an hour before the parade and I figured I would be able to get Primeval Whirl done before I needed to be at Discovery Island to get a seat. The wait wasn't that long, but while I was in line, some dark clouds began to appear in the distance. Announcements began to come over the intercom that a storm was approaching and that the attraction could close at any time. It didn't take long until, at the sight of lighting in the distance, they decided to close the ride. Just a tad disappointed, I went over to DINOSAUR to see how the wait was. With a more than an hour wait, if I got in line, I might not make it out in time to see the parade- if they were even doing it. It seemed like the only option left was to go to Discovery Island and wait out the rain in the shops. Just as I got into one the closest shop to the Dinoland Bridge, it began to rain. Not too hard, but rain. Whether or not the parade would even happen looked very uncertain, but I stayed at Discovery Island just in case the rain would stop.
