Day 3 and bonus day Magic Kingdom
Meet those same nice people on the bus again-learn that the Seven Dwarfs Mountain Train is the ride to go to during the Magic Hour. Sure enough, we go straight there and have a 45 min wait-every other time we check it is over 90 min!
Glad we did it but it turns out to be just a little too much for our group.
Proof we were in the Magic Kingdom at 7 am. We were on the first bus out of our hotel!
We have to ride the Winnie the Pooh ride, which is adorable and later on also has crazy long wait times. Much nicer play area for the waiting kids-they must have checked out Legoland which has great play areas for the kids while they are in line.
We also got in Dumbo and the Barnstormer roller coaster before it got busy. On our bonus day trip to the Magic Kingdom we get in three Dumbos and 3 Barn Stormers-woo hoo!
We cleverly got our fast passes for Aladdin's Magic Carpets, Peter Pan and It's a Small World, which all have long lines. We are those people who love Small World and sing the entire way through :)
I am more of a 'buy the one you like and hoard it' but I learned it can be fun to just swap a bunch of them in and out through out the day. I did buy the set of some of my favorites and then traded a few.
A couple rides are special because they are different from Disneyland in California. The tree house is still the Swiss Family Robinson's and the Orange (not pineapple) Whip stand is nearby. The Carousel of Progress, the People Mover and the Hall of of Presidents still exist and are great for hot days. Don't miss the Muppets explaining Great Moments in History (just the American Ones, says Sam Eagle-he cracks me up!)
We did our first swap with other guests-the two little girls checked out each others pins and made a successful trade.
Had a great time running around Tom Sawyer Island.
The Jungle Cruise is still one of the best, an added bonus is the Jungle Canteen across the way. I didn't even know it existed, but I got a reservation on our bonus day and am so glad we went! The dishes are different from all the other restaurants and the servers have the same light, pun-y atmosphere as the Jungle Boat captains. Had a fantastic trip on the Jungle Cruise-lot so new material.
Inside the castle we found a free trading pin on the ground!!
The single best thing we did was the Fireworks dessert party. All you care to eat dessert, in super reasonable tiny portions so you can try everything followed by a special viewing area for the fireworks. The most special of our park food treats!
Day off!
Walt Disney World is so huge and overwhelming that there should be at least one day in the middle where you don't go to a park. We spent the day at our hotel but we were still busy.
Lunch with an animal specialist-you literally have a small group lunch with folks who work with the animals. We learned so much and had a great time.
After lunch we met the tortoises and did a training session-so cute!!
The park has a flock of ostriches and the eggs are collected. After removing the insides most of the eggs go to an artist who paints them with safari type pictures and they are for sale in the gift shop. But they have a few left over and they save them up for Easter. For a donation to the conservation fund you get to paint one! So amazing-we carefully took turns painting then drying the shiny silver layer to make a Star Wars themed egg.
We spent more time checking out the animals.
Every room has a balcony that looks onto the savanna where the animals are roaming freely.
We did a lot of pin trading on this trip. We are no where near expert level, in fact we learned a lot of tips. Like cast members can keep pins upside down and you have to answer a trivia question correctly to look at them-otherwise you pick blindly-big fun!!
A couple rides are special because they are different from Disneyland in California. The tree house is still the Swiss Family Robinson's and the Orange (not pineapple) Whip stand is nearby. The Carousel of Progress, the People Mover and the Hall of of Presidents still exist and are great for hot days. Don't miss the Muppets explaining Great Moments in History (just the American Ones, says Sam Eagle-he cracks me up!)
We did our first swap with other guests-the two little girls checked out each others pins and made a successful trade.
Had a great time running around Tom Sawyer Island.
The Jungle Cruise is still one of the best, an added bonus is the Jungle Canteen across the way. I didn't even know it existed, but I got a reservation on our bonus day and am so glad we went! The dishes are different from all the other restaurants and the servers have the same light, pun-y atmosphere as the Jungle Boat captains. Had a fantastic trip on the Jungle Cruise-lot so new material.
Inside the castle we found a free trading pin on the ground!!
The single best thing we did was the Fireworks dessert party. All you care to eat dessert, in super reasonable tiny portions so you can try everything followed by a special viewing area for the fireworks. The most special of our park food treats!
They've really improved the experience by adding a 'layer' on top of the castle. Super cool effect!
Day off!
Walt Disney World is so huge and overwhelming that there should be at least one day in the middle where you don't go to a park. We spent the day at our hotel but we were still busy.
Lunch with an animal specialist-you literally have a small group lunch with folks who work with the animals. We learned so much and had a great time.
We spent more time checking out the animals.
There was always some animal out and about. In the room you get a checklist of animals so we tried to learn them all. The similar looking birds are hard, but not the ostrich.
It is worth it to spend time in the lobby area. The installations are interesting and informative.
There are a number of hosts from Africa to tell you about the animals and culture. We actually talked to the same young man a couple times during our trip-a nice way to almost get to know someone and I'm convinced that if I make a trip to Africa, it should be to Botswana.
Spent the afternoon at the pool
and on to a big buffet dinner and s'mores at the fire pit.
We were too tired to stay up for movie night and instead used some night vision goggles to view the animals.
Best pin of the trip is on the left. We spotted it very early on and asked the cast member what it meant. They weren't sure but said someone told them it was a shower curtain?!? Well! Turns out that it is the design on the shower curtains in the Animal Kingdom hotel where we were staying! We were so pleased with ourselves to trade one into our collection-sweet!
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