Us:
Me- 29
My dad - 58
Austin - 5
We hadn't planned on going to Animal Kingdom this trip...I'm not sure why, but it just wasn't our favorite park. Austin wanted to go though, so off we went - and we had a GREAT time. The park was more crowded than the others and we were worried that we wouldn't be able to see much, but it ended up to be terrific.
We walked slowly through the Oasis and Safari Village - actually enjoying the sights and animals this time. What a difference it makes to not have a "we gotta do this, this and this by this time" attitude. I never realized just how beautiful this park really is. We got fastpasses to the Safari and then checked the map...just enought time for the bird show in Asia. Never could we do this with a toddler...but it was great. The birds get so close to the audience - we were all amazed.
Walked onto the Safari and saw giraffes and lions - and lots of other things. Austin really enjoyed this this time and asked lots of questions about poachers and what we can do to stop them. Pretty thought-provoking for my 5-year-old. We then stopped for a potato volcano...mashed potatoes layered with chili and cheese and salsa and sour cream...yummy!!
Kali River Rapids was next. My dad decided not to go on..mostly because he didn't want the cameras to get wet. I told him that I had read that there was an area in the middle to put that stuff but he didn't want to risk it. As we got close to the loading area we noticed that most of the men were shirtless - so we took off Austin's shirt. He suggested I do the same until he remembered that "girls have privates on top too" - I agreed with him that boys are luckier!!
We also noticed people getting off barefoot holding shoes and socks...so we did that too - and boy am I glad we did. Starting off the people in the other side of the raft were getting splashed and when we went down the big hill we were situated to the side. I figured the people going down backwards were going to get soaked, but apparently it's the sides that do. A huge wave came up behind Austin and I - soaking us! The water was freezing and I was screaming - and then I realized that Austin was laughing so hard he almost wet his pants. He LOVED this! When we got to the loading dock again he's yelling "I wanna do that AGAIN!!" - and I'm saying "ummmm - NO" over and over - I was a drowned rat - all captured on video thanks to my dad.
We then stopped to buy me a new DRY shirt and tried the Flame Tree Barbeque for lunch. This was good...and the eating areas are so secluded and quiet. Then back to DL to change clothes (bring an extra pair of underwear - I was stuck in wet ones all evening!!)
This last night the MK was open until 10pm so Austin and I went to blitz the park. My dad had had it by then...too much walking for him, so he stayed behind. We arrived at MK a little before 7pm and it was a madhouse. The parade was at 8pm and there were already people 6 feet deep along Main Street and getting through there was a mess with a stroller. We did the Swiss Family Treehouse, Pirates again (one more sword added to the stroller) and then the Tiki birds. It's the first time I've been to that show - and I think it's just weird. I can see how it'd be scary to many kids - it's very loud and the thunder is pretty overwhelming. Weird.
Then we decided to go towards Fantasyland. What a zoo that place was...it was so hard to just get from one place to another. The parade route was so choked with people and though I said "Excuse me" at least a thousand times I know I ran into some people's ankles. We made it after 40 minutes!
The lines here were really long too...so we tried Pooh - but the wait was an hour and the fastpasses were all gone. No Pooh on this trip! Made our way to Tomorrowland where Buzz was a 45 min wait...and the fastpasses were gone for this too. We decided to wait..and by this time we were both cranky...we had had a busy few days and it was so crowded and we were so tired! Austin was really frustrated watching all of the (smart) fastpass people walking right by us...and I knew we needed to get out of there. After Buzz we made our way to the exit - but by this time people had lined up for the fireworks so it was a mess. I've never been to Disney in the summer, but the lady at the shop I stopped in that night said it was very much like that then, except the crowds are like that all day and it's really hot. I cannot even imagine being able to enjoy Disney when it's like that...I know lots of people do it, but I won't ever be one of them!!
Me- 29
My dad - 58
Austin - 5
We hadn't planned on going to Animal Kingdom this trip...I'm not sure why, but it just wasn't our favorite park. Austin wanted to go though, so off we went - and we had a GREAT time. The park was more crowded than the others and we were worried that we wouldn't be able to see much, but it ended up to be terrific.
We walked slowly through the Oasis and Safari Village - actually enjoying the sights and animals this time. What a difference it makes to not have a "we gotta do this, this and this by this time" attitude. I never realized just how beautiful this park really is. We got fastpasses to the Safari and then checked the map...just enought time for the bird show in Asia. Never could we do this with a toddler...but it was great. The birds get so close to the audience - we were all amazed.
Walked onto the Safari and saw giraffes and lions - and lots of other things. Austin really enjoyed this this time and asked lots of questions about poachers and what we can do to stop them. Pretty thought-provoking for my 5-year-old. We then stopped for a potato volcano...mashed potatoes layered with chili and cheese and salsa and sour cream...yummy!!
Kali River Rapids was next. My dad decided not to go on..mostly because he didn't want the cameras to get wet. I told him that I had read that there was an area in the middle to put that stuff but he didn't want to risk it. As we got close to the loading area we noticed that most of the men were shirtless - so we took off Austin's shirt. He suggested I do the same until he remembered that "girls have privates on top too" - I agreed with him that boys are luckier!!
We also noticed people getting off barefoot holding shoes and socks...so we did that too - and boy am I glad we did. Starting off the people in the other side of the raft were getting splashed and when we went down the big hill we were situated to the side. I figured the people going down backwards were going to get soaked, but apparently it's the sides that do. A huge wave came up behind Austin and I - soaking us! The water was freezing and I was screaming - and then I realized that Austin was laughing so hard he almost wet his pants. He LOVED this! When we got to the loading dock again he's yelling "I wanna do that AGAIN!!" - and I'm saying "ummmm - NO" over and over - I was a drowned rat - all captured on video thanks to my dad.
We then stopped to buy me a new DRY shirt and tried the Flame Tree Barbeque for lunch. This was good...and the eating areas are so secluded and quiet. Then back to DL to change clothes (bring an extra pair of underwear - I was stuck in wet ones all evening!!)
This last night the MK was open until 10pm so Austin and I went to blitz the park. My dad had had it by then...too much walking for him, so he stayed behind. We arrived at MK a little before 7pm and it was a madhouse. The parade was at 8pm and there were already people 6 feet deep along Main Street and getting through there was a mess with a stroller. We did the Swiss Family Treehouse, Pirates again (one more sword added to the stroller) and then the Tiki birds. It's the first time I've been to that show - and I think it's just weird. I can see how it'd be scary to many kids - it's very loud and the thunder is pretty overwhelming. Weird.
Then we decided to go towards Fantasyland. What a zoo that place was...it was so hard to just get from one place to another. The parade route was so choked with people and though I said "Excuse me" at least a thousand times I know I ran into some people's ankles. We made it after 40 minutes!
The lines here were really long too...so we tried Pooh - but the wait was an hour and the fastpasses were all gone. No Pooh on this trip! Made our way to Tomorrowland where Buzz was a 45 min wait...and the fastpasses were gone for this too. We decided to wait..and by this time we were both cranky...we had had a busy few days and it was so crowded and we were so tired! Austin was really frustrated watching all of the (smart) fastpass people walking right by us...and I knew we needed to get out of there. After Buzz we made our way to the exit - but by this time people had lined up for the fireworks so it was a mess. I've never been to Disney in the summer, but the lady at the shop I stopped in that night said it was very much like that then, except the crowds are like that all day and it's really hot. I cannot even imagine being able to enjoy Disney when it's like that...I know lots of people do it, but I won't ever be one of them!!
