Day 3: Animal Kingdom

We were ready for a day of monkeying around on day three of our vacation. No one from our clan had ever been to Animal Kingdom, so we were all wide eyed and giddy for this new adventure. For everyone that thinks Animal Kingdom is just Disney's version of a petting zoo...it's not!! ;) There's just too many attractions to be an ordinary zoo.Those of you that thought we only brought one kid on the trip are mistaken. Landon is always goofing off with Miller as you can see in the picture above. That's his best impersonation of an ape.
One minor mishap of this morning though was that I thought we had magic hours at this park on Friday. Turns out, the planner in me had it all wrong and we waited at the gate for an hour until the turn styles opened. This gave us time to eavesdrop on others scoping out the hot rides to ride first. And, we managed to devour of all the granola bars in our backpack waiting for our breakfast snack. 

 

Once the park opened, we ran made our way through the Oasis to the centerpiece of the park: The Tree of Life. Each one of Disney's parks has a large icon in the center to behold once you enter. This tree surely made a statement. It's 14 stories high and 50 feet wide with man made leaves that are a foot in length to put it all in perspective. Once you get closer on any of the trails around it, you can observe carvings of animals in the bark. The attention to detail in the carvings was amazing.

Then we trekked to the back of the park to walk right onto the Kilimanjaro Express. We boarded a jeep that took us on a safari. It was an up close and personal experience with the animals with a cute interactive story while we rode along inside an African savanna setting. Since it was first thing in the morning, the animals were up and at em'. It was feeding time for most so they were active and eating. And, it wouldn't be an animal experience without the stinky ness of a zoo wafting through the jeep from time to time. I enjoyed the running giraffe sightings. I've never seen such an awkward looking gallop from an animal. We kept passing Miller from lap to lap to get the best view. There was so much to see all around. It was one of those rides you could ride several times with different experiences and animal sightings.

 

The giraffes came right up to the jeep as we were making our way on the tour. One things for sure, the animals have the right of way and own the land. Miller loved seeing the baby elephant & lion with his wild mane. This ride was a great one to kick off the day. It was the one attraction that did feel like a zoo tour, but observing the animals in what resembled their natural habitats was beautiful. The jeep ride sold Miller from the beginning. He was along for the ride-that's for sure!

Next attraction was the Wildlife Express. 

All Aboard!

              We waited in the station for a few minutes and anticipated the train whistle. Sure enough it was our turn to load up on the open sided train. It really was nice to relax our feet for a bit and take a break from walking. We got our exercise on this trip.

 

The ride led us on a tour on the backlot scenes of Animal Kingdom. We got to see where the animals are housed overnight and learn about how they are taken care of and summoned in each night to go to sleep safely. 

Once we were dropped off, we toured Rafiki’s Planet Watch.  Miller sat down criss cross to observe  the park ranger docent showing off her blue tongued skink pet. 

To our surprise, the little boy down front with "the binocular shirt" was chosen to handle the skink and show it off to the crowd. He had to describe to the crowd how this reptile friend felt.

 

Miller commented that she felt bumpy. We ducked out a little early from her presentation. We grew restless knowing all the awaited us still in the park. It's hard to absorb a 30 minute presentation  on a skink when there are rides left to be conquered. Another cool exhibit inside the Conservation Station was the vet surgery center where you can witness minor surgeries on the animals and their routine check -ups. These animals are given the first class treatment.

 

Miller did enjoy the petting zoo in the Affection Section. We let him brush the animals. It is therapeutic...really. The train dropped us off where we started and it was off to....

Dinosaur.

I really should have researched this ride and figured out beforehand that it probably wasn't an easy going, enjoyable ride for an almost five year old. As we approached boarding time, I did get a hint by all the screams exiting the blackness around us that Miller man may be a little freaked out by the prehistoric variety.  I just figured that if he was tall enough, he would enjoy it. He's into Dinosaurs after all:) Maybe if I had previewed the picture below, I would have made him sit this one out.

He survived. And, I couldn't even see his petrified face during the ride because it was pitch black until the end. He commented as we were quickly exiting, "That was scary.I don't want to do that again." No tears though. As a" will you forgive me for torturing you peace offering" Miller did pick out his Animal Kingdom mascot in the gift shop after this ride. The big rides at Disney all have gift shops with themed souvenirs as you exit. He had his eyes set on the cutest positionable green dino. We whipped out his wallet, and he made his first purchase to commemorate such chivalry in being a little man and surviving that thriller.

 

After lunch...more on that later... Miller finally got to participate in his number one adventure of the day. The Boneyard. It's a kiddos playground with slides, tunnels, and a climbing playscape. It was hard to pull him away from the imaginitive play inside the jeep.

He's still talking about pretending to be the driver in that muddy jeep. It was pretty cool to stand on the hood and get a different view of the playground.

After a half hour of play, Our palentolist finally discovered the big Dino dig sight. This is what really got him excited. He was actually uncovering a big Wooly Mammouth. It really was a great time to let our lunch digest and sit underneath the fans. Miller was really low maintenance to watch in this confined area. Minus a few "Be careful where you toss the gravel warnings", he was self sufficient to play.

We explored a few other rides in Dinoland USA. The Triceratops Spin was a must do. It resembled Dumbo and was enjoyable and easy going. I love how "cruncher" our mascot for Animal Kingdom made his way unto the remaining rides.

 

I did my best to snap a few pictures in motion. Miller was having a blast flying the skies in a much friendlier Triceratop.

 

We journeyed under the Tree of Life once more to check out the 3D show It's Tough to Be a Bug. This was a perfect escape in the afternoon heat to be entertained in air conditioning. The glasses were a hit with our boy. There were lots of hidden surprises during the show. We almost had to abort the mission when large spiders were dropping from the ceiling. Landon talked Miller out of leaving, but he was a little freaked out by the end. The adults enjoyed the pinching surprise from our seats at the end.  It's hard at this age to distinguish between fantasy and reality. No nightmares that night, so I guess we didn't scare him too badly.
Landon and I had a blast cashing in our fast passes to ride Everest. A fun little date just the two of us for a few. It was a true thrill ride and viewing our screaming faces on the picture at the end was hilarious. We have to leave with at least one adult ride under our belts each day to call it a successful day:)


We managed to squeeze in Mickey's Jammin Jungle Parade at the end of our stay while we redeemed our snack credits of popsicles to cool off.  You have to reserve your spot early behind the taped off line marked on the streets.This parade was our first Disney experience,  but we later found out that it is a little different from the traditional Magic Kingdom street parades. It was so cute, colorful, and eye catching. It was one of Grandmama's highlights of the day. We loved the stilted characters dressed as animals. Miller was excited spotting familiar characters from the Lion King. I love how Disney coordinates their parades to lively music and you can feel the happiness and energy from the cast members. It really is a happy place!

 

Pluto was dressed for a day at the park..camp attire in its finest. Another magical day checked off our list. It was a great change of pace. With all the winding features and lush greenery, we never felt too crowded or bored. There was always something fun to look forward to. That's what I loved about Disney.