ANIMAL KINGDOM
Hi everyone, sorry I have been so busy with work haven't had much time to continue this trip report. I can honestly say that time really flies by with two kids and a full time job. Anyway, here goes the rest of my TR.
We started the day by moving our stuff into my Mom's room. Since she left extremely early we decided that her corner room was much nicer than ours. Since corner rooms have two windows instead of one, the room just seemed much bigger and brighter. We had connecting doors so it was a breeze to do the switch. I had gone to the reception really early to advise them.
Once that done, we headed to the park for our early dining reservation for
Tusker House at 9:00 AM. As you probably noticed my family is really big on breakfast and
Tusker House has one of the best breakfast buffets in all of Disney in my opinion and its a character meal too.
We like early reservation because we get to enter the park while its virtually empty. Plus the morning light make the park so pretty and it makes for great picture taking. I highly recommend it if you are a morning person.
As you walk into the park, you are lead to a path with lush greenery. Right away, you feel like you've been transported to another land far away. It is quite magical!
As you follow this tropical path it is hard not to stop and gaze at all the interesting wild animals hiding at every corner. Then as you turn the corner into the clearing, you see it! The majestic
Tree of Life right in the centre of the park standing there in all its glory. It is one of the most beautiful creation ever made by the Disney Imagineers. Not only is it stunning from far but as you approach the tree you notice all the intricate animal carvings that make up the tree's trunk. It is so well done, honestly, it is worth visiting the park for this sight alone.
 |
| The beautiful Tree of Life |
 |
| A stranger was nice enough to offer to take our picture. |
We then headed to the "Africa" section of the park whereTusker House is located. There are so many beautiful details along the way, it was hard to get to our destination. There are hidden paths with wild animals and beautiful sculptures". Even as you reach the African part of the park, you are greeted by two giant wooden doors with beautiful animal carvings.
 |
| One of the doors at the entrance of the African section of the park |
As you walk you cross the bridge at the entrance of "Africa" you can spot the Harambe Market on the left and the famous Mount Everest located in the Asian part of the park on the right.
 |
| Harambe Market |
 |
| Mount Everest in the distance. |
 |
| Finally arrived in Africa |
We arrived at Tusker House and checked in at the front Desk. We were told to wait in the outdoor waiting area while they prepared our table. The restaurant is made to look like an African market and the decor and attention to detail is quite impressive.
 |
| The interior of restaurant |
Our names were quickly called and we were seated promptly. Our waitress was immediately there to fill our cups with coffee and
Jungle Juice.
Jungle Juice, by the way, is this amazing concoction made with guava juice, orange juice and passionfruit juice. It is delicious, and one of the reasons we love
Tusker House breakfasts. The waitress also informed us that the chef would be out shortly to speak to us about our allergies.
After a few minutes the chef arrived and went over the items on the buffet to stay away from. He also offered to make dairy free/nut free Mickey waffles for the kids which they gladly accepted. What's so great about Tusker House is that you can find some pretty interesting African dishes as well as the regular breakfast fair usually served in other buffets.
 |
My husband's first serving:
breakfast potatoes, frittata, beef bobotie quiche, yam casserole and honey ham with a African spiced gravy. |
 |
African flavours, wow!
(notice the jungle juice in the forefront) |
Not only is the food really good, but the Disney Character interaction is great. Mickey and the gang are all dressed in cute safari outfits and really take the time to go to each table for pictures and autographs. The only downside is that it can be a little cramped in the restaurant which can make picture taking a little hard.
After breakfast, we hung around that area waiting for our first Fastpass of the day: Kilimanjaro Safari.There is a nice store located right next to the ride with tons of cool merchandise. My boys had fun playing with some african instruments and then trying on some hats and animal Mickey ears.
It was now time for Kilimanjaro Safari. We scanned our bracelets and bypassed the long line of guests. Fastpasses are especially useful at times like these and Kilimanjaro Safari is definitely one of the rides you want to use it on. Unless you arrive at park opening, the wait times here can get ridiculously long.
We soon boarded our open sided all terrain vehicle and we were off! I took out my camera, ready to shoot the first sign of wildlife. Thank goodness I had tied the camera around my wrist or I might have lost it. The roads are quite bumpy and we were kind of thrown around a little bit. I got some really great shots though so it was worth it. I have a pretty good zoom lens on my camera and I made sure I had it on a fast shutter speed so that I could get quick shots of the animals as the vehicle moved along.
 |
| Now that's the life! |
 |
| Feels like we're right in the heart of the Savana |
 |
| One of my favourite shots |
 |
| The king of the jungle watching over his kingdom |
After the safari we decided to go check out the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail which is right at the exit of Kilimanjaro Safari. If you go to Animal kingdom make sure you check out all the hidden trails throughout the park. This nature preserve is just stunning and is a great opportunity to see and learn about tons of different animals species. The kids really enjoyed exploring the trail. We saw monkeys, hippos under water, tons of fish, birds, meerkats and the best part, gorillas.
 |
| fish tank with the endangered fish "lake victoria cichlid" |
 |
| exploring |
 |
| Caught this little guy hiding amongst the foliage in the Aviary |
 |
| One of the Gorillas snobbing us! |
 |
| My 9 y.o. hand compared to a grown gorilla hand |
 |
| The kids especially loved the lizards. |
 |
| The meerkats |
After spending quite a long time exploring the trail, we exited and went to grab a pineapple soft serve. We decided to enjoy our treat near the Tree of Life viewing spot. It is such a beautiful spot and it was fun to see the Tree from the backside as we could make out a whole new set of animals in its tree trunks.
I checked the park scheduled shows and saw that the
Festival of the Lion King was showing in 20 min. We walked over to the new theatre and go some pretty good seats. The show hasn't changed that much from the original with many of the same performers and acrobats.
 |
| Amazing singers and dancers |
 |
| Simba |
 |
| Money acrobats |
We greatly enjoyed the show but it was now time for our next FPs. Both kids had wanted to ride Mount Everest but I knew that my youngest son would not have met the height requirement, thank goodness;). So I had reserved two FP for Mount Everest for my husband and oldest son, while I gladly offered to bring my younger son to
Finding Neemo: the Musical. Phew! I have to say that Finding Neemo was really much better than I had expected. The sets, costumes and performers are really amazing and my 5 y.o. absolutely loved it.
 |
| Amazing costumes! |
 |
| Amazing sets! |
 |
| Great performers! |
Meanwhile, while we enjoyed the show, my husband and 9 y.o. had a close encounter with a Yeti. My husband said the ride was great except for the part when they went backwards and he almost was sick, LOL. We met up with them at the exit of the ride and my husband asked to walk around for a bit until the nausea passed. So I'm glad I got out of that one! We actually were all hungry, except for my husband so we made our way to Flame Tree BBQ for some BBQ chicken and ribs. Yum!
 |
| The boys coming down from the mountain! |
After lunch we headed to Dinoland. We usually like to hangout at the
Dinosaur Graveyard play yard but it was closed for refurbishment. We also had chosen
Kali River Rapids for our last FP of the day but at a few days before Disney had sent me a notice saying that it too was unexpectedly closing and to choose another FP selection. So we had decided to use our FP for the
Dinosaur ride.
Ok now you'll think I am a real wimp but, I'll let you in on a little secret. This ride, for some reason, scares the heck out of me. I guess its like a watching a scary movie, alone, at night.You know the bad guy's coming but when he finally does pop out of nowhere to attack the screaming girl, you jump sky high and cover your face. Ya, this ride has that effect on me. I know, pathetic! The suspense in the ride kills me every time.
Anyway, my boys don't have to know that, so I put on my bravest face and went ahead with it. I think my 9 y.o. had the same sentiment because he was gripping my arm pretty tightly throughout the whole ride, however he would never admit doing so.
 |
As you can see I am the girl on the right in the front row, crouched down
with my eyes closed with my son hanging on to my arm for dear life. |
After that crazy ride we walked around a little checking out some shops and the surrounding Dinoland. The kids had a blast climbing on all the fake dinosaurs around the area.
We decided to do one more attraction before heading back to the resort. The kids chose to do a
Bug's Life. This is a really cute 3D show where a bunch of bugs give humans a taste of what it feels like to be a bug. The kids think its a real hoot. What I love about this attraction is that it's located just below the Tree of Life and you get to walk up real close to the tree trunk and see all the intricate sculptures found there.
 |
| Beautiful sculptures in the Tree trunk |
 |
| Posters found in the theatre waiting for A Bugs' Life |
 |
| Our honorary bug eyes! |
We headed back to the hotel with the promise that the boys could take a quick dip into the pool before dinner. We changed them into their suits and let them have their fun in the pool while my husband and I kept a good watch on a lounge chair nearby. POFQ was supposed to have the new kids splash zone ready but they still had not finished during our stay which really was too bad because they had the whole thing running while we watched formed the other side of the fence. I guess they had to run the water in the pipes for a few days before they could let people in but my boys just kept asking why they could not go in. They still had a blast playing in the pool and my oldest especially liked the dragon slide.
 |
| Having fun swimming in the pool |
 |
| My 9 y.o. on the dragon slide |
After building an appetite in the pool, we showered, got changed and headed to the food court for a quick bite. Afterwards, we decided to treat the boys to the arcade. We bough them each a $15 gift card and they played to their hearts content.
 |
| My boys playing air hockey! |
After the arcade it was time for bed. We had a really wonderful day and I think everyone went to bed happy and satisfied. That is what a Disney vacation is supposed to be, happy memories for the whole family.
Up next, Day 6: Hollywood Studios again! (This time with a Star Wars themed day!)
Read about the rest of my trip here:
Comments
Post a Comment