Cast:
Me, Michelle, 36, looking forward to first park day
DH, Chris, 38, not sure what all the planning is about
DS1, Kenton, 8, wants to go on EE
DS2, Lincoln, 5, wants to see the animals
Our first full day in Florida Fri 2 Feb
I wake up at 2am and cannot get back to sleep, can hear noises from the boys room too. We finally give in and get up at 5am! We have a refreshing shower, but no coffee as we haven't bought any yet. It is still dark as we get in the car and head off in search of a supermarket and breakfast. We find a Publix close by but it doesn't open until 8am, so we drive along the 192 towards Disney. We decide upon Shoneys for our first American breakfast. Pancakes and fruit prove popular and we enjoy trying new things from the buffet. DH can't believe how cheap it is.
Every time we pass Shoneys for the next two weeks, the boys shout "Show Knees!" and proceed to do so. Mad!
Our first park is Animal Kingdom, we use Sherberth Road and drive round lots of empty car park, arriving around 8.45am. We are close enough to walk in and make our way to the entrance. It is very warm and humid today, around 75, with a few showers. It starts to rain as we go into the park, but we have our waterproof jackets on. We see a talking Palm Tree entertaining visitors and spot its operator. There is a short opening ceremony but we can't really see what is going on.
As it is raining we decide to see It's Tough to Be a Bug first as it's inside in the dry! Our first 3D film! There are a few scary moments but we enjoy most of it, the boys reach out to try to catch the characters.
We then head for Africa, taking in the theming as we walk. Kilamanjaro Safaris is our destination, we walk straight on and are entertained by the driver, he is really into his role! We see elephants, lions, zebra, impala, antelope, rhinos and hippos, so I think we timed it right! We then explore the Pangani Forest Trail and see more animals including molerats, snakes, birds and fish. We get a surprise as some CMs hand us Dream Fastpasses in the trail.
We quickly make our way to the Flights of Wonder Show which is about to start, the boys enjoy the birds flying over their heads!
We then go to Asia and explore the Maharajah Jungle Trek. The bats here are quite spooky but fascinating, and we see a magnificent tiger;
We then head for Kali River Rapids, but DS2 cannot be persuaded to go on, so I wait with him while DH and DS1 ride. They arrive back fairly damp but not soaked. A lot of building work in this area. We decide to have some lunch at Flame Tree BBQ, boys have hotdogs, we share some chicken.
Revitalised, we walk through Asia to the large theatre where the new Finding Nemo Musical is held. There is a fairly long queue but we are in within 15 minutes. This is a spectacular show, we all really enjoy it. The costumes and singing are very good, and the theatre is full.
We then head to Dinoland and it starts to rain again. DH and DS1 go on Primeval Whirl but DS2 cannot be persuaded to try any of the rides here, even the Triceratop Spin is deemed too scary! DS1 goes on Primeval Whirl again, then we go and let the boys loose in the Boneyard Playground. They have fun discovering all the little effects such as dinosaur roars and hidden tunnels.
We then walk back to Asia where DH and DS1 go on Exoedition Everest twice. I really want to try this ride but my tummy is feeling dodgy so I give it a miss. DS2 and I sit and he devours an ice cream. It is nice to watch everyone go by and there is a troupe of entertainers nearby. Everest is declared awesome.
We then go and have a look round the shops where DS2 buys a cuddly Stitch, and has his photo taken with the real Stitch. We wait outside a shop for the parade, it is really colourful and a very catchy tune! We decide to leave after the parade and have our photo taken on the way out.
We really enjoyed the theming of Animal Kingdom but felt it was rather lacking in rides for younger children.
We visit a large Publix for food shopping and decide to buy something to cook for dinner as we are all tired. We make pasta for dinner back at the villa, accompanied by a bottle of wine and go to bed around 9pm. Tomorrow we have an 8.05 am ADR at Magic Kingdom!
Me, Michelle, 36, looking forward to first park day
DH, Chris, 38, not sure what all the planning is about
DS1, Kenton, 8, wants to go on EE
DS2, Lincoln, 5, wants to see the animals
Our first full day in Florida Fri 2 Feb
I wake up at 2am and cannot get back to sleep, can hear noises from the boys room too. We finally give in and get up at 5am! We have a refreshing shower, but no coffee as we haven't bought any yet. It is still dark as we get in the car and head off in search of a supermarket and breakfast. We find a Publix close by but it doesn't open until 8am, so we drive along the 192 towards Disney. We decide upon Shoneys for our first American breakfast. Pancakes and fruit prove popular and we enjoy trying new things from the buffet. DH can't believe how cheap it is.
Every time we pass Shoneys for the next two weeks, the boys shout "Show Knees!" and proceed to do so. Mad!
Our first park is Animal Kingdom, we use Sherberth Road and drive round lots of empty car park, arriving around 8.45am. We are close enough to walk in and make our way to the entrance. It is very warm and humid today, around 75, with a few showers. It starts to rain as we go into the park, but we have our waterproof jackets on. We see a talking Palm Tree entertaining visitors and spot its operator. There is a short opening ceremony but we can't really see what is going on.
As it is raining we decide to see It's Tough to Be a Bug first as it's inside in the dry! Our first 3D film! There are a few scary moments but we enjoy most of it, the boys reach out to try to catch the characters.
We then head for Africa, taking in the theming as we walk. Kilamanjaro Safaris is our destination, we walk straight on and are entertained by the driver, he is really into his role! We see elephants, lions, zebra, impala, antelope, rhinos and hippos, so I think we timed it right! We then explore the Pangani Forest Trail and see more animals including molerats, snakes, birds and fish. We get a surprise as some CMs hand us Dream Fastpasses in the trail.
We quickly make our way to the Flights of Wonder Show which is about to start, the boys enjoy the birds flying over their heads!
We then go to Asia and explore the Maharajah Jungle Trek. The bats here are quite spooky but fascinating, and we see a magnificent tiger;
We then head for Kali River Rapids, but DS2 cannot be persuaded to go on, so I wait with him while DH and DS1 ride. They arrive back fairly damp but not soaked. A lot of building work in this area. We decide to have some lunch at Flame Tree BBQ, boys have hotdogs, we share some chicken.
Revitalised, we walk through Asia to the large theatre where the new Finding Nemo Musical is held. There is a fairly long queue but we are in within 15 minutes. This is a spectacular show, we all really enjoy it. The costumes and singing are very good, and the theatre is full.
We then head to Dinoland and it starts to rain again. DH and DS1 go on Primeval Whirl but DS2 cannot be persuaded to try any of the rides here, even the Triceratop Spin is deemed too scary! DS1 goes on Primeval Whirl again, then we go and let the boys loose in the Boneyard Playground. They have fun discovering all the little effects such as dinosaur roars and hidden tunnels.
We then walk back to Asia where DH and DS1 go on Exoedition Everest twice. I really want to try this ride but my tummy is feeling dodgy so I give it a miss. DS2 and I sit and he devours an ice cream. It is nice to watch everyone go by and there is a troupe of entertainers nearby. Everest is declared awesome.
We then go and have a look round the shops where DS2 buys a cuddly Stitch, and has his photo taken with the real Stitch. We wait outside a shop for the parade, it is really colourful and a very catchy tune! We decide to leave after the parade and have our photo taken on the way out.
We really enjoyed the theming of Animal Kingdom but felt it was rather lacking in rides for younger children.
We visit a large Publix for food shopping and decide to buy something to cook for dinner as we are all tired. We make pasta for dinner back at the villa, accompanied by a bottle of wine and go to bed around 9pm. Tomorrow we have an 8.05 am ADR at Magic Kingdom!
