This is so fun to read. And as a mother of two youngins, it is fun to read about great family vacations to Disney as they get older. Thank you for posting!
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What a great report, @LoveBug53, from a fellow Canuck ! Sounds like you had a fun trip with your family ! Looking forward to more installments. 
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Love! Pictures are gorgeous!
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Thank you @Quattro! 
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Yay! I found your Trip Report! Love it, great writing! 
My boys are 15 years younger than yours, Iâm excited that they may grow into young men who enjoy Disney with their mom, too. Iâm out in the Maritimes, cold and miserable here too. Stay warm!
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Only just found your report @LoveBug53!! And Iâm still giggling at hugging the palm tree⌠Bwahahahaha!!!
Ok, sorryâŚ
So⌠Day 3???
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Hugging a palm tree⌠Jajajajaja
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AKL was so incredibly nice. Iâd first been there when I took my mom to breakfast at BOMA on our trip on 2004. I really wanted to stay there this trip and Iâm so glad we were able to do a split stay with the orbitz and room promoâs. I wish weâd split earlier and stayed more nights there. People complain that itâs too dark but I thought the rooms were great. We booked a standard view but still saw tons of animals from our balcony. The next time you decide to go plan to stay there at least for part of your trip, you will not regret it!
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I have totally enjoyed following your report! Canât wait for more!!!
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Thanks @mossmacl! I love the Maritimes!
You will have many years of Disney fun ahead of you - thatâs the magic; itâs great for all ages!
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Itâs so hard to resist a palm tree! Ha ha! Day 3 was our Epcot Day - Iâm working on our Day 4 now - Animal Kingdom - but I donât have it posted yet. Thanks for following along!
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I remember you booking a split stay with AKL - Iâm so glad you and Ray got to stay there! I wasnât in the rooms but the lobby and grounds were so impressive - nothing âdarkâ about them! Hopefully there will be some sort of deal the next time we go - Iâd love to stay there! If not, weâll definitely make another visit for lunch at least!
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Thanks for your kind words @sarasue8! Glad youâve liked it so far! Iâll hopefully have another day up soon!
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I have resigned myself to the fact that tidy houses and clean laundry are over-rated. 
Hope you enjoy this installment!
Part 4 - Animal Kingdom
Saturday December 20, 2014
How did it happen so fast?
The dreaded check out day has arrived. Drat.
Oh well, Hakuna Matata! Letâs look on the bright side; we still get to spend this beautiful day at Animal Kingdom park!
After rising at 6 a.m. for one last round of showers and granola bars, we packed up our stuff and loaded it in the truck. We all went on the âcoffee runâ (more of a stroll, actually!) to Everything Pop, pausing along the way to appreciate the fun theme and tidy landscaping.
After a short wait for the bus we were on our way to the park! We arrived minutes after the 8 a.m. opening.
First on the list was an early morning jaunt on âExpedition Everestâ. Well, for the DSs. DH and I opted to wait for our FPP later in the day. I had never been on this ride yet, but knowing DH considered it a âone and doneâ, I thought Iâd best not start my day in swirling backward blackness!
After the boys successfully returned from the depths of Tibet, with only a minimal wait, we all headed over to âItâs Tough to Be a Bug!â. We all really enjoyed this attraction and it was another walk-on. On exit, the sun shining through the leaves was simply gorgeous. We paused for a minute to take it all in.
Next was a walking tour of the âPangani Forest Exploration Trailâ. We walked through the longer section first, then took the shorter route. We saw lots of animals - including gorillas, zebras and hippos - in the tropical forest setting. It wasnât busy at all.
We finished just in time to line up for the âFestival of the Lion Kingâ (10 a.m. show). I was really looking forward to this as we didnât get to see it last time. We lined up about 9:40 a.m. and after a short wait were directed into the theatre. We were in the âGiraffeâ section - in great seats!
What an awesome performance! The music was fantastic and the performers so talented! A definite must-see!
It was time for our first FPP of the day - 10:25 a.m. - 11:25 a.m. for âKilimanjaro Safarisâ. We walked straight up to the loading area and were seated at the very front of the truck! It was a great view for a very active safari. We saw so many different kinds of animals up close - elephants, giraffe, zebra, hippos, lions etc. This was the perfect timing to go as the food truck was out ahead of us and the animals were moving about in anticipation of their lunch! A big two thumbs up - best safari weâve ever been on!
Seeing all the animals bellying up to the food truck made us hungry for our own lunch! We headed across to âFlame Tree BBQâ. Itâs wise to pay attention to the lines at this restaurant - they go up both sides of each cash register. We joined a very short line and ordered up 3 Chicken and Rib combos and a 1/2 Slab of St. Louis Ribs for DS17. We all ordered large pops (when they say âlarge popâ, they mean âLARGE!â) and key lime mousse for dessert. Another 97.45 saved by the free Quick Service plan!
Remembering a Liner tip, we walked past the upper seating pavilions and worked our way back to the one with the amazing view of Expedition Everest. There was a condiment stand here so we didnât have to go far to get our fixinsâ. Hardly anyone was sitting in this area. We had a great view of the work being done on the expansion of the park - we had seen the fences up but not what was beyond them.
One word to the wise is not to leave your food unattended. Donald, Daisy and their sneaky friends are cruising around, looking to score an easy dinner. Keep looking, my friends!
What a delicious meal! Filled to the brim, we next rode the âWildlife Express Trainâ from the âAfrica Stationâ up to âRafikiâs Planet Watchâ. This was another new adventure for us. We enjoyed looking through the âConservation Stationâ (no vets working on animals today) and out to the âAffection Sectionâ petting area. Here pigs, goats, sheep and donkeys wander around among the park guests. There are brushes set out if you want to give them a grooming. It is kind of cute as they even have an area that the animals can go into for âquiet timeâ if the crowds get to be too much for them. They can wander in and out at will, depending on how âsocialâ they are feeling. When you leave, there is a hand-washing station set up with soap, water and paper towels to clean up your hands. Well done, Disney!
We caught the train back to the âAfrica Stationâ - I like how this train faces out so everyone has a great view of the scenery.
I had originally planned to catch âFinding Nemo - The Musicalâ but the family was enjoying the slower pace of Rafikiâs Planet Watch so unfortunately it was cut from the list.
Lunch having settled, we were off to our 2nd FPP for âExpedition Everestâ from 1:20 p.m. - 2:20 p.m. Oh boy. Never. Doing. That. Again. I was fine until the backwards-in-the-dark part. Blah! But I did it. Once.
(I felt just like the lady in front of me looked! )
Trying to find my equilibrium again, we set off on the âMaharajah Jungle Trekâ. This was a pleasant stroll through Southwest Asia. We saw tigers, (BIG, HONKING BIG) bats and even a komodo dragon!
Our 3rd FPP of the day was at 2:25 p.m. for âKali River Rapidsâ. While entering the line, some friendly people asked if we would like their ponchos. They told us they were returning to Canada. âThatâs where weâre from, too!â They told us they were from Ontario. âYes, us too!â They said they were from Bruce County. âNo way! We are too!â Itâs a small world after all! We thanked them and headed off for our white water adventure.
Murphyâs Law kicked itself into high gear. We. Got. SOAKED! I mean, drenched! We had our feet up, ponchos on, but somehow still managed to be wringing wet. Good thing it was such a warm day!
Emerging from the ride with looks of pity and horror from those about to embark on their own adventure, we decided a snack was in order.
Hearing great things from Liners about the jalapeno cheese pretzel, we headed to the Beastly Kiosk to use up some more of our snack credits. There were 4 pretzels of jalapeno cheesy goodness remaining. Thank you, God!
Totally yummy! They warmed up our bellies, helping to dry us from the inside out!
We decided we had completed all we had planned and headed back to catch the bus to Pop Century.
Once again, barely a few minutes wait and we were on our way. We had excellent luck with the buses this entire vacation!
We had 2 quick service meals and 4 snacks to use up before midnight. We decided to get a family pizza (2 credits) to take with us to Daytona Beach, for the next phase of our family vacation. The boys each picked a Gatorade and 2 massive Oreo cupcakes packaged to go - total 37.90 for 2 credits.
Heading into Everything Pop, we picked up 4 bags of Mickeyâs Kettle Corn as snacks for our next week at the beach. In total, we used $675 worth of food for our 3 night/4 day stay! Hooray for free dining!
We walked through the grounds one last time - thank you, Pop Century, for hosting us! We enjoyed it so much!
Setting the GPS for Daytona Beach, we reflected on our amazing time at Disney World! It had been an awesome vacation!
It is⌠it IS an awesome vacation.
Because we arenât done yet.
Stay tuned for Christmas Eve at the Happiest Place On Earth - the Magic Kingdom!
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Iâm glad getting soaked on KRR didnât dampen your spirits!
A large group of my family went in May, and we did KRR first because we were arriving at the park around noon and it was HOT. But - even though she wore a poncho - my poor Mom just got drenched. And she tried to be upbeat about it the rest of the day, but squishing around in her wet tennis shoes really made her pretty miserable. Learned a lesson there - good idea to throw the flip flops on for a water ride, even if you generally tour in more supportive footwear⌠
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In hindsight, flip flops would have been a great idea!
I had brought newspapers from home and we stuffed our shoes that night. They were dry by morning so that was good.
But we did squish around in soggy shoes until then!
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