Walt Disney World - Day 3

Yay!! I do have some faithful readers! You guys are who I "talk" to in my head when I write my posts, so it makes me so happy to know that you are actually reading this. Now, if only Mom would read it, then I would really know that I'm doing my job. :o)

So, on our 3rd day we went to the Animal Kingdom. I should tell you that the Animal Kingdom is my least favorite of the parks. It kind of just feels like a big zoo, and I've been to a lot of great zoos, so it's not different enough to get real excited about. The Animal Kingdom just seems less "Disney" somehow, at least compared to the other parks. It was raining for most of the day, which also made it less fun all around. Plus, I think I had a case of the "Wednesday's". You know, the middle day of your vacation when the adrenaline and newness has worn off, and the lack of sleep is catching up to you, and everything just kind of ticks you off?

Anyway, I just felt that I should put some sort of a disclaimer out there, because parts of this day were great, but it was definitely my least favorite. As a matter of fact, I kind of wish that we had gone to the Hollywood Studios (no longer MGM Studios - wierd) instead. But that is neither here nor there; the point is that this day is going to be more of a mixed review.

We got to the Animal Kingdom about 5 minutes to 9:00, before it even opened. Some kind of miracle, huh? But the Animal Kingdom is a lot closer to our resort than the Magic Kingdom was, so the bus ride wasn't as long. Plus, we caught a bus right when we walked out to the bus stops, so we didn't have to wait.

SIDENOTE - On the bus ride there, Jarom sat next to a couple of boys his age, and they asked him if he liked princesses. He didn't really reply, and so they then informed him that they hated princesses, and that as a boy, he was obligated to hate all princesses too. I didn't say anything at the time, because what are you going to do? But their timing couldn't have been worse, because we had reservations to go to a dinner buffet that night at the Grand Floridian (really nice resort) where you get to meet Cinderella. I did it mostly for Taran, but I figured that all the kids would think it was cool. Jarom had never expressed any issues with the idea while we were planning the trip, but now, all of a sudden, he "hated" princesses, and didn't want to go to the dinner, and didn't want to meet Cinderella, etc. I could have strangled those dumb boys, forcing their dumb sexist stereotypes on my child. Sigh. . .

Annnyyyyway, the first thing we did was the Kilimanjaro Safari, where they have the real animals scattered around, and you ride a jeep to see them, and pretend you're in Africa. It's really pretty cool, when you get to see animals up close and personal. The kids really liked it, especially when we got to see a baby giraffe running down the field. I took a video of it, which I will try to post later when Blogger is feeling more accomodating.



After the "safari" we went on a walking trail where we got to see gorillas, and some fish, and other stuff. It was ok, but again, just like a zoo. After that we went to a bird show "Flights of Wonder" where they have a guy talking about bird's behaviors, and then bringing out birds to show examples. It was fun, and it was out of the rain. Jarom was disappointed that he didn't get picked to be a volunteer, but they asked for kids that were at least 8. Tough luck on our favorite 6 year-old. :o)

We had a lunch reservation at a restaurant called the "Yak and Yeti" that had pan-asian food. I had a really good miso glazed salmon, Jeff had honey-curry chicken (he's trying new things - Yay Jeff!!), and the kids had a whole bunch of whining. Even though they actually got chicken nuggets and fries, there was a lot of anxiety about eating any "weird" food. Although we told them several times that they didn't have to eat anything they didn't want to. Then, once we ordered, they whined about getting their food fast, complaining that they were STARVING. We had to threaten them with going outside for a time-out if they didn't buck up, but we finally got our food, and the kids did much better after that. I think we all had a case of the Wednesday's actually.

After lunch we took a train out to this area called Conservation Station, where the kids learned about animal habitats, then pet some goats and a some sheep, and Jarom got to touch a snake.
When we got back it was just after 2 pm, so we decided to make our way over to the Festival of the Lion King, which had a perfomance at 3:00 pm. Kelcey fell asleep in the stroller on the way, so she and I took another one of our daily breaks, me sitting, and her sleeping. Jeff took the two older kids to Dinoland USA, one of the sections of the park that had a ride kind of like the Dumbo ride, called the Triceratop Spin. They enjoyed that a lot, and even went twice, if I'm not mistaken.

By the time they came back it was time to line up for the Lion King show. It was kind of a "theatre in the round" experience, and was really a lot of fun. I think it was my favorite thing that we did in the park, as a matter of fact. There was great music, dancing, singing, guys on stilts, and "monkey" gymnasts --Jeff and I think that that is where olympic gymnasts end up :o) --plus a guy with a fire baton. Very cool. It was definitely up to Jarom's standard for entertainment.

The show was only about a 1/2 hour, so afterwards we wandered over to the "Tree of Life", and did "It's Tough to be a Bug," a 3-D show, kind of like "Honey I Shrunk the Audience" at Epcot. I actually hate most of it, because I don't like bugs, and there's several times when you get attacked by bugs: wasps sting you in your back, Black Widows come down from the ceiling, etc. A nightmare for anyone who is at all bug-phobic, like I am.

When Jeff and I were there in 2001 we went to that first, and I had such an awful experience that I wanted to leave right then and go back to the hotel. Jeff talked me out of it, but you could definitely say that I could have missed it with nary a tear. This time, however, I knew what to expect, so I put my purse behind my back so the "wasp" stinger couldn't get me, plugged my ears, closed my eyes, and hunkered down until it was over.

Jarom thought it was cool, but the girls thought it was scary. Kelcey "assumed the position" --arms wrapped in a death grip around my neck, head buried, legs around my waist-- which happened during every ride that was too dark or too loud, or at all scary, but I really couldn't blame her.

We emerged unscathed, however, and made our way back over to Dinoland USA, to play at a cool play area called, the Boneyard. On the way we stopped and got "Mickey" ice-cream bars, the chocolate covered ice-cream bars in the shape of Mickey, that I have always wanted to get, and never had, at least that I remember. So we fulfilled a dream of mine. :o) They were good, too.
The kids had a lot of fun playing in the Boneyard, running around and getting all the stress out. I wish I was 9 again, sometimes. Not very often, but occasionally. The kids could have played longer, but we wanted to get going to our special Cinderella Dinner. So, Jarom's protests notwithstanding, we got on the bus to the Grand Floridian. Our reservation was at 5:45, and we made it just a few minutes early, so it's a good thing we left at 4:30.

It was a beautiful hotel, very "turn of the century," and I felt very awkward being in this wonderful place after being in the rain all day. Not feeling up to stuff, you could say. The buffet was really good, with lots of choices. But, of course, the best part was meeting the characters. Cinderella was a highlight, but Taran actually enjoyed meeting Prince Charming the best. She actually blushed, when he gave her a hug. Before he left he gave her a kiss on the cheek, and after he walked away, she said, "Prince Charming kissed me!!!" Her first crush. So sweet. We also met Anastasia, Drusilla, and the stepmother. I think that the two step-sisters actually have the best gig, because they have the most fun being bossy and throwing fits, while Cinderella was just sweet and elegant all the time. The step-sisters have more personality, somehow.

It was really funny, when we met the Stepmother, because Jeff asked her if she felt bad for what she did to Cinderella. She said that it was all just bad publicity, and that she took the girl in, and taught her valuable skills, and people just didn't give her any credit. With a straight face, no less. Kelcey was excited to meet Cinderella, until she actually came to our table, and Jarom skulked in a corner, in case Cinderella should want to say "Hi" to him or something, but in general we all had a good time. We all had a good time eating, that's for sure. The desserts were these beyond yummy tiny little key lime pies, and cheesecakes, and chocolate mousses. Seriously, soooooo good.
We done around 7:00, and took the Monorail from the Grand Floridian (they have their own Monorail station - very cool!) to Epcot, and then caught a bus from Epcot to our hotel. The ride was pretty long, but fun, especially on the Monorail, because it stopped at the Magic Kingdom too, and so we got to see the castle again, lit up at night, as well as the inside of the Contemporary Resort, and the giant "golfball," as the kids called it, at Epcot.

By the time we caught the bus from Epcot and got back to our hotel it was around 8:00, so we should have gone to bed, but we were so grungy and icky-feeling, that we decided to go swimming. It had rained for the first part of the day, but it was never really cold, so the rain was just warm and humid - inclined to make one sweaty. When it finally cleared up it was fairly warm; at least warm enough for us to get in the pool for a little bit. Kelcey and I got cold the soonest, so we went up and took a nice hot shower. Jeff and the older kids were much more brave, so they stayed out quite awhile. Just the thing we needed after the day that we had just had. And one more day to go! :o)