Day 2 Animal Kingdom
The Cast
Me Obsessive in Travel Planning, but nothing else
DH, Mr. Obsessive Obsessive in everything else
DS5, Birthday Boy Going to Disney for his fourth 5th birthday party
DS3, Willie Will Just three, thats enough
Grandma Doesnt think her body will hold up for the whole trip but will die trying
Granddaddy Retired two days before and is ready to take on the world with his crazy family
DSIL Looking for a little relaxation from her day job as a home daycare provider
DBIL The Cop, upset that he had to fly naked to Orlando and leave all of his end of the world, bioterrorist, emergency supplies at home
Dnephew 12 Mr. Too Cool for Disney/
Scooter Boy
DNiece12 Miss Inquisitive, likes to make informed decisions
DNephew9 Soccer Star, has to leave two days early for national championships
DNiece8 Sweet Syd, definitely afraid of dinosaurs and Harry Potter
Everybody got a good night sleep. I was up and intent on getting to AK at opening. Everyone else appeared to be moving towards that goal as well, although a little slower than I liked. I told them they didnt have to leave with us, we could meet up later. My SIL told me later that there was no way they were hitting the parks on their first day without their trusty travel planner. She said she was too nervous to venture out on her own the first day, she told me this on Saturday after she had returned from visiting three parks in one day.
The forecast showed this to be our worst weather day of the trip. Showers, windy and chilly until noon and then the sun would come out for the rest of the week. We were just about ready to get going when the sky opened up and it poured! Not a passing shower, all out rain, monsoon maybe. Any way I think it was actually my SIL doing a rain dance upstairs because she was afraid we would leave without them. The quick shower lasted just long enough for them to finish getting ready and we were off. We didnt make it at park opening but we were early enough to get a spot close enough that we didnt need to take the tram. We learned last year that most of the time it was quicker and easier to walk then to fold up the strollers to take the tram. We ended up losing at parking roulette however, because we just missed the end of the row and ended up being the first car all the way down at the far end of a new row. I hate it when that happens, it adds an extra half mile to your walk. Oh well, it was our first full day and we were full of energy. It was windy and quite cold, the wind was blowing in our face the whole way to the entrance and Willie was hollering about it the whole way too.
I had already prepped everyone before we left the house. Unzip you bags to get them checked by security, get through the gate, youll have to have your fingers scanned, but not the kids, grab a park map and show time schedule, find Africa, and high tale it to Kilimanjaro Safari. Once we got in, Grandma and Granddaddy were trying to figure out why they didnt have to have their fingers scan. Granddaddy said it was because they were too old. Grandma didnt think so. I got everyone maps, DH reminded everyone to make sure they got English. Then everyone needed a potty break, but have been the rain. At this point it was a little chilly and misting.
We headed through the oasis and towards the tree of life. I told everyone we should get a group picture, they were all reluctant, but once I explained how photo pass worked, they decided it was ok. One of the photographers was a bit of a trickster and kept moving us all over the place to pose. Ha, Ha, very funny sir, but we are on a mission. This is the part of the trip that, like last year, everyone thinks Im being a little too rigid and crazy in my planning and worries that it will be like this for the entire trip. But its not. I just need to get Kilimanjaro out of the way and then they can do whatever they want. So we get our pictures and then start walking towards Africa. Then we spot Stitch. Everyone wants to stop and get Stitchs autograph. We can come back and see Stitch, come on people lets keep moving, well the line is pretty short, ok, just one picture and autograph.
Stitch was pretty funny. He was pretending to lick everyone and gave The Cop a hard time.
DSIL swore it was because there was a girl in the costume and she liked him. DSIL may be a little on the jealous side. Ok, moving on to Africa, ooh look its Flick! Before I can protest they are all in line. Dang it people we have to get to Africa, ok, hes pretty cute, but this is it!
Sign, Sign, Smile, Smile, and we are off again. A little closer to Africa I say, Hey look everyone theres King Louie and Baloo, might as well see them too. And we did. We finally made it to Kilimanjaro Safari and walked right on. Now everyone surely thinks Im a lunatic.
Everyone loved Kilimanjaro, Sweet Syd got a little worried when the bridge started to collapse. My guys remembered it from last year and told Grandma all about it. Soccer Star liked it and even Mr. Too Cool seemed to enjoy it. Once we finished and got the strollers, everyone needed to potty again. We found our way to the potty but somehow missed the Pangani Forest Trail, well have to try to catch it again next time. Next we walked through Asia, which we never even set foot in last year because we spent almost the entire time in the boneyard.
We stopped to get some pictures of the kids peddling each other around on the bicycle. They turned out really cute. Scooter Boy did it too, he liked pedaling a bike that couldnt fall over.
We walked through the Maharajah Jungle Trek, mainly because we missed it last time and my dad has not stopped talking about how great the tigers were and that we really had to see them! Apparently when my dad was there they came right up to the glass, but on this day they didnt come anywhere near us. We were a little disappointed and knew that my dad would be too. He just cant stop talking about those tigers. The boys found their first Kids Discovery Club. They had to smell things and guess what they were and then got a stamp in a little booklet. I dont know about everyone else but my kids love the Discovery Clubs in AK and the Kidcots at EPCOT. We think Disney just has an amazing way with details and offering something for every guest. I think that in all the larger than life stuff going on around them, my guys feel security in these little stops and are able to relax and enjoy.
We came out to find Grandma and Granddaddy taking a rest. The rest of the group wanted to head over to check out Expedition Everest. We had heard it was open today, but that since it was a soft opening it could close at anytime.
The sun had started to come out and it was warming up. We decided to go grab Fast Passes for EE and then see Its tough to be a Bug because our Birthday Boy had not stopped talking about it since we had mentioned it to him before the jungle trek. I was prepping him that it would be kind of dark and a little scary but he could just take off his glasses if he wanted. DH said I was prepping him too much and to just let it be. He was ready and we went in to have a seat. I told him we should sit in the back in case we had to leave. He said to just stop worrying. I said, But the unofficial guide and the DIS both say its pretty bad, anyway we took our seat right smack in the middle of the middle row. There was clearly no easy escape from here. Birthday Boy did ok, he freaked during the scenes with Hopper and when the spiders came down and said he had to leave. Granddaddy decided it was too scary for Willie and took his glasses off, but Willie insisted on putting them right back on. Willie said he didnt think it was a little scary, he thought it was very, very scary! Although he didnt show it one bit. We split with the Grands and headed to the Boneyard and prepared to spend the rest of the day there. It was in the Boneyard that I realized just how much my guys had grown and changed in a year. Birthday Boy wasnt very interested in the digging at all. Willie could have stayed all day, but was happy to follow his big brother wherever he wanted to go. They both had a ball on the slides this time. The Grands found us again and DH and Grandma took the boys on Triceratops Spin while Granddaddy watched and I went to get the boys food from Restaurantosaurus. I waited forever and was very glad that I decided to do it without the boys. I think this is one of the most reasonably priced places to eat in the World. The Happy Meals are not that much more than outside of the World.
We left the Grands again and headed over to Flame Tree BBQ for DH and I to get some food. I could not bring myself to eat McDonalds in WDW. I got the Smoked Turkey Breast Sandwich and DH got the Pork BBQ. DH was upset with me because Willie ate his beans and Birthday Boy ate his corn and I probably should have known this was going to happen. But I gave him what I couldnt eat of my sandwich so he didnt starve.
Then we headed over to meet up with the rest of the gang to ride EE. We left the boys with the Grands and jumped in the Fast Pass line. I love Fast Pass. We were on in no time. EE was AWESOME!!!!! I dont want to spoil it for anyone, but Ill share a little
the scenery was wonderful, once on the ride you couldnt tell you were in Florida anymore. Then the twists and turns and surprises were just great! I have to admit I did have my eyes closed for a good portion of the backwards and dark parts so I cant really comment on that. We got off and waited a few minutes to see what everyone else thought of the ride. They agreed that it was AWESOME! DNiece12 said she had to have a shirt that said she rode it. I said, no problem, Ill make you one or find someone on the DIS to design you one. The girls were pretty syked that they rode the big bad EE. The boys sat this one out and I think they were a little bummed about it.
I asked DNiece12 if she wanted to try Dinosaur with me, since she seemed to be the thrill seeker of the group. This is when she started to earn her nickname for the duration of the report. Miss Inquisitive started a game of 20 questions, make that 200. Is it scary? Yes. Have you ridden it yet? No. Do things jump out at you? Yes. Should I do it? I dont know. I told her I hadnt ridden it, but that I heard it was very scary and things definitely jump out at you. Is it a roller coaster? Is it a movie? I dont know, do you want to ride it or not? OOOhhh I dont know. Ok, lets get fast passes and decide later. So that is what we did. Then we split up again to go do some other things and wait for our fast pass time. I think we went back to the Boneyard, I cant remember.
We came back and met up with them for Dinosaur. All the big kids decided to go, Miss Inquisitive, Scooter Boy, Soccer Star, and Sweet Syd. The girls were feeling pumped since they rode Everest and the boys, who never ride rides, didnt want to miss out again. I asked them over and over if they were sure, they assured me, yes they were. While we were in the preloading show, Sweet Syd asked me, Is this really scary? I said, Yes, are you sure you want to do it? We can leave now. She said she wanted to do it. Miss Inquisitive said, Are the dinosaurs real, no, wait, there arent any dinosaurs anymore, right? What are the schools teaching these kids? We got in our little vehicle and took off. It was dark and loud. I was on the end with Miss Inquisitive beside me, then Soccer Star, then Sweet Syd on the other end and Scooter Boy behind me. Sweet Syd had her head down the entire time, so I couldnt tell how she was doing. Soccer Star yelled something, but I couldnt hear it and it kept getting dark and loud so I couldnt talk to them. Finally I could hear Soccer Star say, Shes ok, Shes ok. Then a few seconds later, No shes not! And then the ride ended. DSIL and The Cop were waiting at the end of the ride. Good move on their part. Sweet Syd was hysterical and Soccer Star was crying because she was crying. Miss Inquisitive and Scooter Boy were fine. I felt horrible for encouraging them to ride it. I told her we could ride Dumbo together next time. She tried to smile, but was still pretty upset.
While we were riding Dinosaur my boys did another Kids Discovery Club, where they looked for Dinosaur fossils. The lady explained that Dinosaurs were extinct and asked if they had ever seen a Dinosaur. Willie put his hand up and said, I have! She said, You have? Where? He said, At the zoo! Grandma said that he said it with such conviction that the lady seemed to wonder if he actually had.
Next we went to stake out a spot for the parade. Grandma said that the others were heading back to the house. I was upset they werent staying for the parade. She said they had seen lots of parades and the kids didnt really like parades. Well, they have never seen a Disney parade and I think Animal Kingdoms is one of the best. There loss, once again, You can lead a horse to water,
.
We got a front row spot and parked the strollers. Grandma, Birthday Boy and I went to check out the gift shop while Granddaddy and Dh waited with Willie who had fallen asleep. We got lots of pictures of Birthday Boy trying on hats, it was pretty cute.
I bought him a pressed penny book, which was becoming his new obsession. Beside the check out there was a log pole that looked like it was chewed by a gopher. Birthday Boy said, Hey mom, get a picture of this! and pretended to be a gopher.
I think we have taken too many pictures of him. On the plane ride down he told me he had some ideas for pictures at the
Lego store, he said it would be a surprise.
We went back to watch the parade. It was great! Last year we were in the back with the boys on our shoulders. This year in the front row we could see everything and relax. It is definitely worth waiting for a good seat. Lots of characters came up and shook hands. Willie woke up half way through it and had no idea where he was for a while, but eventually started dancing and having fun.
After the parade we drug Grandma and Granddaddy over to see the Lion King show. Everyone enjoyed it. Willie danced his butt off. The Grands were glad they came but were very done for the day. It was closing time anyway so we told them they could go ahead home. We stayed a little while, cleaned out the strollers, took a potty break and then headed for the car.
We ended up getting to the car about the same time as the Grands. It was pretty easy to find because it was parked next to the bright orange one. I accidentally ran Birthday Boy into the license plate of their car and he cried most of the way back to the house, mainly because he was exhausted.
Back at the house, The Cop was fixing burgers for dinner. Thats what I love about having the house, burgers for less then $7 a piece. Sweet Syd said she forgave me, but Im not sure. Her daddy was preparing for the worst as far as nightmares. DSIL said she only had nightmares after watching Harry Potter, was it worse than that? I said, I think so, did Harry Potter have Dinosaurs roaring and attacking you? I havent seen Harry Potter, but I think Dinosaur was probably worse.
After dinner the kids played air hockey and pool in the game room, and then we all went for a swim. This is by far my favorite part of having the house. After a full day at the park we could relax in the pool and hot tub. And it was HOT. The night was pretty cool, in the upper 40s I think, but the pool and hot tub were steaming hot. We finally talked Grandma into getting in and she was happy she did. But still not sure if she would make it the whole week.
Time to go to bed, tomorrow is the big one, Magic Kingdom! We have ADRs for Crystal Palace and Cinderellas Royal Table for 8:10 AM, followed by the Family Magic Tour. Mr. Cool/Scooter Boy decided that he would go to CRT once he found out Crystal Palace had Pooh and friends. He would rather try his luck with the hot princess, rather than the chubby bear. We had this conversation while he was drinking a milkshake out of a wine glass. I had to get a picture of him with the wine glass and milk mustache.
Good Night!
