16 May 2001: Third Disney Day and it was Animal Kingdom
Trip information: Me?Sandy (38); My Husband?Tim (50), My nephew?Michael (8). This is my second trip (1991 and 1996), Tim?s second trip (1982 and 1991) and Michael?s first trip.
Again, the alarm rang at 6:30 a.m. and we were up and ready to go?except for my husband Tim. He was so queasy and tired and really didn?t feel like getting up. Truth be told, my stomach wasn?t feeling too good either. I think all the heat and lack of sleep was catching up.
I took Michael to the concierge lounge for breakfast and he played with his new friends, Matthew and Daniel, and we tried to let Tim rest. I brought him back tea and toast, but even by 8:30, he wasn?t feeling better. I suggested that he go back to sleep for a while and if he wasn?t feeling better in an hour, that Michael and I would go without him.
Even though he still wasn?t feeling well, my Tim is a trooper, got up and we left about 10:00 a.m. We took a cab (wasn?t going to do the Disney transportation loop when he wasn?t feeling good). We got to the Animal Kingdom about 10:20 a.m.
Boy, this park was crowded and it was hot. By Wednesday, the fire surrounding Disney was in full force and the smoke filled the air. Animal Kingdom is a nice park, but much to congested and somewhat poorly designed for those conditions.
We headed directly to the Safari and after a 30 minute wait took a magical ride through the African Savanna. It was fun to see the animals (and even though it was mid-day and hot, we saw a lot). Michael even enjoyed the poacher story, while I found it a bit distracting.
After the Safari, we had lunch at the Tusker house. We had a wonderful chicken skewer and rice platter and Michael has a spicy chicken sandwich. This picky eater was eating just about everything at Disney. I guess the magic and adventure made him more adventurous.
We then headed to Asia. I wanted to see the Tigers, but before that we got a Fast Pass for the Kali River Rapids. We took the jungle trek and didn?t see too many animals (too hot) and then headed for the Rapids. This is what we needed on such a hot day. After that ride, Tim felt back to his old self. We got another Fast Pass and then headed to the Boneyard. While Michael climbed and played, Tim rested and I went to get the Fast Pass for Dinosaur. I was finally learning to work the system, learning how to hold two Fast Passes and timing things so that our longest wait in line at Disney was 45 minutes (that was for Dumbo), other than that we walked right on.
We rushed back to the Rapids and then went for the Dinosaur ride. This scared my nephew, although he showed a brave face, but didn?t want to go on this again. On to a Bugs Life (Tim?s favorite 3D movie, even though he got stung by a bug) and then to the Lion King.
I had to drag those two to the show. While I waited in line for the last show of the day, they were off in search of character autographs. They came back just in time and for the next 30 minutes we were enchanted and entertained by one of the cleverest shows. A little Cirque de Soliel and lot of Disney theatrics. Michael even got to play in the band.
We left the Animal Kingdom at 6:00 and headed back to our hotel for a casual dinner at Beaches and Cream. This was supposed to be our Hoop de do Revue night, but when Tim was so ill that morning, I cancelled and rebooked for our last night. Once again the concierges saved the day (and about $120) by working things out with the Hoop de do Revue folks.
We had an early evening, a little TV, a little homework (poor Michael), and a wonderful dessert in the concierge lounge. The next day was early entry at Magic Kingdom.
Trip information: Me?Sandy (38); My Husband?Tim (50), My nephew?Michael (8). This is my second trip (1991 and 1996), Tim?s second trip (1982 and 1991) and Michael?s first trip.
Again, the alarm rang at 6:30 a.m. and we were up and ready to go?except for my husband Tim. He was so queasy and tired and really didn?t feel like getting up. Truth be told, my stomach wasn?t feeling too good either. I think all the heat and lack of sleep was catching up.
I took Michael to the concierge lounge for breakfast and he played with his new friends, Matthew and Daniel, and we tried to let Tim rest. I brought him back tea and toast, but even by 8:30, he wasn?t feeling better. I suggested that he go back to sleep for a while and if he wasn?t feeling better in an hour, that Michael and I would go without him.
Even though he still wasn?t feeling well, my Tim is a trooper, got up and we left about 10:00 a.m. We took a cab (wasn?t going to do the Disney transportation loop when he wasn?t feeling good). We got to the Animal Kingdom about 10:20 a.m.
Boy, this park was crowded and it was hot. By Wednesday, the fire surrounding Disney was in full force and the smoke filled the air. Animal Kingdom is a nice park, but much to congested and somewhat poorly designed for those conditions.
We headed directly to the Safari and after a 30 minute wait took a magical ride through the African Savanna. It was fun to see the animals (and even though it was mid-day and hot, we saw a lot). Michael even enjoyed the poacher story, while I found it a bit distracting.
After the Safari, we had lunch at the Tusker house. We had a wonderful chicken skewer and rice platter and Michael has a spicy chicken sandwich. This picky eater was eating just about everything at Disney. I guess the magic and adventure made him more adventurous.
We then headed to Asia. I wanted to see the Tigers, but before that we got a Fast Pass for the Kali River Rapids. We took the jungle trek and didn?t see too many animals (too hot) and then headed for the Rapids. This is what we needed on such a hot day. After that ride, Tim felt back to his old self. We got another Fast Pass and then headed to the Boneyard. While Michael climbed and played, Tim rested and I went to get the Fast Pass for Dinosaur. I was finally learning to work the system, learning how to hold two Fast Passes and timing things so that our longest wait in line at Disney was 45 minutes (that was for Dumbo), other than that we walked right on.
We rushed back to the Rapids and then went for the Dinosaur ride. This scared my nephew, although he showed a brave face, but didn?t want to go on this again. On to a Bugs Life (Tim?s favorite 3D movie, even though he got stung by a bug) and then to the Lion King.
I had to drag those two to the show. While I waited in line for the last show of the day, they were off in search of character autographs. They came back just in time and for the next 30 minutes we were enchanted and entertained by one of the cleverest shows. A little Cirque de Soliel and lot of Disney theatrics. Michael even got to play in the band.
We left the Animal Kingdom at 6:00 and headed back to our hotel for a casual dinner at Beaches and Cream. This was supposed to be our Hoop de do Revue night, but when Tim was so ill that morning, I cancelled and rebooked for our last night. Once again the concierges saved the day (and about $120) by working things out with the Hoop de do Revue folks.
We had an early evening, a little TV, a little homework (poor Michael), and a wonderful dessert in the concierge lounge. The next day was early entry at Magic Kingdom.
