Day 5: Animal Kingdom
Up again, early, for us to RD Animal Kingdom. I had a FOP fastpass, so I wasn’t worried about getting there TOO early. I’d pushed everyone to get out the door just before 8am, because I could see that a bus was scheduled to come about 7:55. Unfortunately, we just missed it. So, we sat in the cold for at least 25 minutes, waiting for the next bus. Again, it was forecast to be a very cold day – high in the 50s. Since my foot was so bad, I wore my sandals, but also my winter jacket, sweater, hat, and gloves.
Getting into the park was easy enough – we were late enough that the FOP crowd was in front of us. We went to Navi, which had a posted wait of 20 minutes. I was surprised by that, because it was still before 9, and a little nervous that the whole day’s plan would be thrown off. However, we waited maybe 5. It was a very relaxing ride. I could see it being a good midday break from the heat and the crowds, if the line ever gets to be more manageable.
Next, out of Pandora and over to the Kilimanjaro Safari, which was a walk-on. I guess everyone was still fighting the crowds in Pandora! CL was predicted 3 and actual 6. It was cool (cold?) so lots of the animals were moving. Nothing exciting (we’ve seen the giraffes running around before), but still enjoyable. Afterword, we did the Gorilla Falls trail, where the gorillas were very entertaining. Two of the younger ones were playing quite a lot with each other, which gathered a big crowd. Last stop for the morning was a pretzel and the Lion King show. As usual, it was very good. DS says he wishes there was more of the monkeys in the show, and I tend to agree. They’re the best part.
It was about 11:30 at that point, so we headed out of the park and over to AKL for lunch at Sanaa. I asked to be seated closer to the windows, and while we didn’t have a great view, we did get to see zebras and kudu. DH and I ordered the bread service, and I argued with DS for a while about trying things. He ended up ordering a burger (sigh) and a big bowl of pudding (double sigh). I did convince him to try the spicy red sauce on the bread service by promising him $1. He didn’t like it, of course, and wouldn’t try any of the other ones. DD got a pizza, which sucked, and a paint-your-own cookie. She tried a couple of the bread dips, but really just liked the bread on its own. Her dessert was the cutest, and the brownie it came with was really good. DH and I shared the bread service, lamb kebabs, and some caramel dessert thing. Our food was all good. I especially liked the couscous salad that came with the kebabs. However, if we went back, I might skip the bread service (it was good, but I’d want some more real food) in favor of a full meal.
I’d wanted to go over to Jambo house to see the Christmas decorations, but by the time lunch was finished and we’d gone to the bathroom, it was time for us to get back to the park for FOP. We just missed the bus. We were actually standing in front of it, but DH ran back to the restaurant because I thought I’d left my hat there. No way I would’ve managed without a hat for the rest of the day. The second bus came within 5 minutes, though, and the driver was great! Did you know they have buttons for all sorts of announcements – and a special happy birthday light display?!
Back in the park, we headed off to Pandora again. As we walked in, the drummers were playing so we stopped to watch that for a little while before heading to FOP. It was pretty pleasant standing there in the sun (with my hat and jacket on). FOP was up next, and I guess DH was extremely nervous about it. He didn’t say anything at the time, but later he mentioned that he was getting all hot and queasy, worried about all the “scared of heights” warnings. In reality, though, he (we all) LOVED the ride. Technically, it’s just so astounding. I couldn’t decide if I wanted to stay “in the moment” and really feel like flying, or if I wanted to look around and see how they were doing everything, and see all the other people flying, too. We’ll definitely want to go back to that one many, many times. Only once this trip, though. I still think I like SDD better for pure fun, but it’s close.
As we came out, the guy in the big suit was doing his thing, but we didn’t stop since DD had to use the bathroom SO BAD. After we all met up again (DS and DH lost us as we were running off to the restroom), we crossed the park to Asia. We used the discovery trails, which I’d never walked before, and ended up spending a good 20 minutes there. It was so quiet and beautiful. We all enjoyed looking at the animals on the tree and it was so relaxing! I did NOT expect that to be one of the highlights of the day, but it was.
Our next fastpass was Everest, which everyone (but me) thinks is the best ride in all of the parks. It triggers my motion sickness, just a little. DD wanted to get right back on, but it was a 45 minute wait, and I wasn’t willing to spend that long in line. I promised her we’d go again, but she was mad.
We walked the Jungle Trek and the Komodo dragons weren’t out since it was so cold. The tigers, however, were very active. They spent some time prowling and playing with each other. The lighting in the room just after the tigers was great, so I tried to snag a few kid pictures, too. I annoy them.
Once we were done there, we had about an hour before needing to get in line for RoL. The kids wanted to do Everest, but I made them go to the bird show instead. We picked up a few snacks, and we all ended up enjoying the show more than expected. After a bathroom stop, I sat for a few minutes to check in for our flight. Somehow, they’d assigned all of us middle seats randomly throughout the plane. Ugh. Not OK! I was super stressed about DD sitting on her own for the flight home but couldn’t figure out a way to change seats. Plus, it was time to get moving to RoL, so I had to leave it for the time being.
While waiting for RoL, we mobile ordered for Satu’li Canteen, which turned out to be a good plan. The show was beautiful, and relaxing, but cold sitting there in the dark. DD is learning Spanish in school, so she and DH were trying to figure out how to say River of Light in Spanish. A nice woman sitting behind us jumped in to help. After the show her companion said -something- to DD in Spanish. DH thinks it was something encouraging her to do well in school. Pretty nice of them.
We were lucky enough to be near the exit at the end of RoL, so once it was done, we got right into the standby line for Everest. It was a 10 minute wait by that time. I tried not to say “I told you so” to my family. I think I liked it better in the dark! It was so neat to look out over the park, all lit up. Also, it didn’t seem so bad for my motion sickness. Not sure why that would happen.
Finally, back across the park for a late dinner at Satu’li Canteen. The Tree of Life projections were happening as we walked through, but no one was inclined to stay and watch. Dinner was excellent. I had to “help” DS pick out something I thought he’d like (noodles and chicken, no sauce). I also had to force him to try it. Why was this a fight the whole trip? He’s usually so good about eating! DD got a quesadilla again, and again she was disappointed. She ended up eating some of my chicken and some of DH’s noodles and sauce. Next time, I think I’ll try the salad with beef – that looked really good when I saw someone walk out with it.
After exploring Pandora, just a little bit, it was time to leave the park and catch the bus back to BLT. On the way, I “bumped and dumped” our reservation for the Edison. We were just tired of so many sit-down meals, and I figured Disney Springs would have plenty of good QS for us. It ended up being a good decision.
I didn’t sleep much that night, worrying about our seating for the flight the next day. I ended up getting up in the middle of the night to download the Delta app, in hopes of adjusting seat assignments. I found a way to do it, but there wasn’t anything available. That was stressful, but it turned out OK in the end.
Notes for next time:
- Just share meals with DD. She always likes the adult meals better than what she can get as a kid’s meal.
- Make sure we have flight seat assignments before checking in – even if it costs something to pick.
- Need more time at AKL to look around
- Both meals were good and worth returning to.
- If we’re willing, get up early and RD FOP, along with a later-day FP.
But my kids still do things like that and they are “technically” adults.