Disney World…Day 3: Animal Kingdom

For those of you that thought Disney’s Animal Kingdom was a glorified zoo, you’re CRAZY! Our day at Magic Kingdom would be hard to beat…but, our amazing day at Animal Kingdom came close.

We arrived at the park a little after 9:00. Five out of the six of us were bright eyed and bushytailed…Nash was already ready for his morning nap. Sweet love.

After walking through the beautiful Oasis…and stopping to admire the ginormous Tree of Life…we took lots of pictures using our Photo Pass. (more on that to come) Getting all of us to look at the camera is QUITE a chore…but, we got a few worth keeping!

 

 


As soon as we had reached our “cheese face” limit, we headed straight to Camp Minnie-Mickey. Getting there right away was SUCH a good idea…because our wait was minimal. And, my boys FINALLY got to meet Goofy and Mickey!

Watching Quinn with these guys is about the most precious thing I’ve ever seen. His smiles are so genuine and you can tell how happy he is to give them lots of love…hugs, high fives, knuckles, hand holding, and more. DARLING! The sweetest thing is that he always wanted to give them something…a cool leaf or a stick! AND, he couldn’t leave without showing the “I Love You” in sign language. I hope that guys (or girls) inside that costume know how magical they make it for these little ones! I wonder if they’re smiling behind that mask! If they aren’t…they should be! :)
 




 
 
When Nash finally got to meet his FAVORITE guy in the world, he wasn’t all smiles…but there were no tears either! We like to think he was STAR STRUCK! I was definitely excited enough for both of us! ha.
 


We had absolutely NO problem holding up the line to get EVERY picture that we wanted with this guy! You only meet Mickey for the first time once, right?






  






After our celebrity sightings, we walked down the street to watch the Festival of the Lion King. Amazing is SUCH an understatement. It was like a Broadway show!!! I could have watched it a dozen times. Quinn was mesmerized…and, crazy enough, Nash was lulled to sleep!
Then, we were off to Africa. We searched for birds and saw all kinds of cool African animals. The Pangani Forest Exploration was cool! It was the part of Animal Kingdom that reminded me the most of a zoo…but it was still fabulous!




  



 



Next, we hopped aboard the Wildlife Express. Such a cool open sided train. We didn’t stay at the destination (Rafiki’s Planet Watch), but just stayed on and rode it back…it was a nice break that showed us the “back yard” of the park.








And, with much anticipation, we went to the Tusker House for our lunch reservation. We made the reservation in order to get free reserved seats at the afternoon Nemo show…but, the food was YUM as well! It was a buffet full of top-notch and different foods. I would recommend it, for sure! (And Quinn would recommend the chocolate/strawberry mouse dessert…I think he ate 5!)



 
{Photo courtesy of Quinn…cute, huh?}
After stuffing ourselves full (and, let’s say that the Tusker House TOTALLY lost money on the fact that Nash ate for free…he INHALED everything)…we took our Fast Passes to the Kilimanjaro Safari. While we waited for about 10 minutes, Matt decided he wanted to be like the gross couples at Six Flags…but, thankfully, our safari jeep came quick! :)

And, it was so super cool! We saw lots of amazing animals and our tour guide made it extra fun. The giraffes and baby elephant were my favorite…and I loved the “upside down trees!” This is a ride that would be cool to do again and again…I’m sure you’d see new and different things each time.
 
After the safari, we made our way to the main street to see “Mickey’s Jammin’ Jungle Parade.” It was so colorful and cool. {not literally, though! I actually thought I might pass out from the heat during this parade…the hottest I got the WHOLE time!} Matt and Quinn were actually across the street from us (so we could all have a front row seat) and I LOVED watching him react to things. My favorite was this amazing giraffe that was “eating” the leaves right above his head…and came right down to him. I also loved the cool costumes on the stilt walkers. An impressive parade…and one to be sure to attend! 
After the parade…and some COLD water, it was time to find our “reserved” seats for Finding Nemo- The Musical. Trust me when I say that words could NEVER describe how much I LOVED this show. Amazing, AMAZING, Ah-MAY-ZING!!!! It was at least 30 minutes and, between this and the Lion King show, our tickets were worth EVERY penny. I would paid our admission JUST to see those two things! …Needless to say, DO NOT MISS THIS SHOW!  (P.S. The pelican might have been my favorite!)



 
Cooling off to such a great show gave us the perfect re-charge for the rest of our day. While Mammer & Slickpaw took Q to The Boneyard to dig for dinosaur bones, Matt, Nash and I grabbed a Fast Pass for Dinosaur.

Then, before our Fast Pass time came, Q and I had a “date” to ride Triceratop Spin. Q was a tad nervous as we went up but ended up having a good time. Mommy was ONCE AGAIN excited enough for the both of us…and I loved seeing our little crew watch us…





Then, Matt and I went on our own little “date” to ride Dinosaur! Q could have ridden it, but I’m SO glad we didn’t take him. He wouldn’t have slept for weeks! It was very dark and pretty scary! It was fun for us “grown-ups” though.

While we were there, Mammer and Slickpaw took the boys to meet Goofy and Pluto! Cute…cute!

As Mammer and Slickpaw took there turn to ride Dinosaur, we took Q to get his daily sussy! He picked and extra cool Mickey Pirate Mater. Oh, how the marketing works for my little character obsessed guy! And, I found a darling “Mickey ears” Christmas ornament.

After that, we were tired and we knew it was time to call it a day. But, on our way out, we caught the end of the “Block Party!” So cute…and Q was hilarious dancing with all of the guys! I love the unexpected fun that seems to find you everywhere when you’re at Disney World!!!

It truly was ANOTHER perfect day! I absolutely LOVED Animal Kingdom…it was such a beautiful park and, due to the twists, turns and natural decor, it never seemed that crowded. We had a blast!… Another day full of magical moments and memories!

Recap of Day 2: Animal Kingdom	My Notes:	Rating:
Camp Minnie-Mickey	Perfect spot to meet the main characters without too much wait! And, very shaded waiting…go first thing in the morning!	10
Festival of the Lion King	AMAZING show! Must see!!	10
Pangani Forest Exploration	Where it gets the “zoo” comparison. Cool, though!	6
Wildlife Express	A train ride that takes you to Rafiki’s Planet Watch…the train ride was nothing special but it was a nice break. We didn’t do the Planet Watch, so no comment there!	5
Tusker House Restaurant	Yummy! Reservations required. And, if you go at the right time, you get reserved seats at the Nemo Musical	9
Kilimanjaro Safari	Fabulous! So cool to ride through a “zoo” with a fun story! Quinn LOVED it!	9
Mickey’s Jammin’ Jungle Parade	Darling…colorful and fun! Very different from the Magic Kingdom parades.	9
Finding Nemo-The Musical	Amazing!!!! Seriously could not say enough great things about this show!!! MUST SEE!	10
The Boneyard	A little “dinosaur dig” playground. Cute.	6
Triceratops Spin	Just like Dumbo…without the wait.	6
Dinosaur	WAY too scary for little ones…but fun for us!	7
Block Party	Cute, interactive dance party.	7

{Q chillin’ out watching a show that evening! He has already loved EVERY second and couldn’t be a more perfect little guy!!!}