Tuesday, December 16th, 2014
Predicted Crowd Level: 3/10
Actual Crowd Level: 4/10
Reservations: Tusker House 8:00 AM
Fastpass:
Kilimanjaro Safaris: 9:25AM-10:25AM
Festival of the Lion King: 12:30-12:50PM
Kali River Rapids: 1:40PM-2:40PM
This day was the only day that we actually drove our rental vehicle to a theme park. We took Disney shuttles every other day but we knew we had to get there early, it was close to our resort, and it was the one park that it is recommended you drive vs. take a shuttle because it would be faster so that is what we did. This day was also a split day-1/2 the day at Animal Kingdom, back to hotel for a nap and then spend the evening at Magic Kingdom for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party.
This particular morning we made reservations for Tusker House Breakfast which was another character meal. We made the reservation for 8:00 AM so that we would be in the park before it opened and didn't waste park time on eating. It was pretty chilly morning but ended up being the warmest day of the trip.
For some reason they were running behind and we didn't actually get into the park until after 8:00 AM so we were about 10 minutes late for our reservation-but really, everyone was late since no one was let into the park.
Outside Tusker House
The food here was REALLY good and had a bit of an African Flair to it. I really enjoyed it and like always, Elsie was more into the characters than eating.
After leaving Tusker House we made our way to the Asia portion of Animal Kingdom. We thought we would get John on Expedition Everest first thing in the morning so he could get as short of wait as possible. The plan was for him to go in the single rider line but he couldn't find it so he just went in the regular line which took forever! Elsie and I ended up just walking around and waiting for him to be done.
After Expedition Everest, we made our way back to Africa so Elsie and John could do a fastpass Kilimanjaro Safaris. I also had a fastpass to go on this but chose to sit this ride out. Disney says that is you are pregnant that you should not go on this ride. After much deliberation, and even after my doctor who has been on the ride many times assured me it would be okay I chose not to ride. I would feel so guilty if anything were to happen and to me that isn't worth it. Hopefully I will have another opportunity to do this on another trip.
John snapped a few pictures of the animals they saw on the safari.
Meanwhile, I had some time to walk around. The ride itself takes 20 minutes plus the time to stand in line-even with fastpass reservations.
I came across these guys who were pretty amazing and fun to watch.
The view of Mt. Everest in Asia where Expedition Everest takes place.
I took a stroll through Discovery Trail and ran into Tarzan and got a close up of the Tree of Life. My last stop before heading back to meet John and Elsie was to try out the ride "It's Tough to Be a Bug". This ride had a big statement that said it can be scary for young children and I had wanted to check it out before we took Elsie on it. It is a 4-D ride based on a bug's life. I am actually really glad I checked it out first because no joke there were kids screaming and crying and many parents were leaving with their little ones. I enjoyed it but decided maybe we wait a few years before we take Elsie. She had actually been showing a little fear on some other attractions so I thought we would play this one safe.
As I was walking back towards the Safari exit John called and said they were done. Perfect timing! We decided then to catch a train to Rafiki's Planet Watch. Elsie had been talking about wanting to meet Chip and Dale and this was where they were located.
After Chip and Dale we met up with Rafiki. I am not really sure Elsie knew who he was or what movie he was from. But she still had fun meeting him.
Then we headed out to Affection Section which is a fancy petting zoo. We were there at a bad time-feeding time so the animals were busy eating vs. interacting with people. It took me a while to realize that for the most part, the animals were free to roam around among us. All the goats were in these roped off gazebos and I quickly discovered it wasn't to keep them in those areas but to keep people out while they eat. Every once in a while a goat would run from gazebo to another.
After visiting the petting zoo we hopped back on the train and went to check out the Gorillas.
Then we used our fastpass reservations for Festival of the Lion King. It was REALLY good! One of the best shows at Disney World I would say. The performers were amazing! And Elsie was super into it as well.
After the show we knew we would have to get something to eat soon because Elsie was getting a bit fussy, the plan was to head to Flame Tree BBQ.
On the way there we saw these two Tamarins-which we learned that they are always born as twins and always a boy and a girl. And we saw these two parrots.
Flame Tree BBQ was really good! I finally ordered one of the smoke turkey legs that I had throughout the park but was too cheap to spend $10 on. Which the meal plan I got beans, cole slaw, and the turkey leg along with a drink. It was so much food! John and I could have shared it for sure! I don't even know if I ate half of it-it must have been one big turkey!
We then made our way over to DinoLand. There are a few rides to do here but none that Elsie could do-they all required a 40" height and were a no-no as well for women who were pregnant. So we did Triceratops Spin (pretty much the same ride as Dumbo and Magic Carpets of Alladin) and then made our way to go see Pocahontas. For some reason Elsie was a bit hung up on seeing Pocahontas. We had seen the movie once and I didn't even know if she would remember her. She had overheard me talking to John about it and then kept saying she wanted to meet her. We had to decided between Pocahontas or Finding Nemo: the Musical and we chose Pocahontas. Best decision ever!
Stop in front of Tree of Life for a picture
Meeting Pocahontas hands down was the best meet and greet on our whole vacation! It lasted over five minutes where I doubt the other ones even lasted a minute. Pocahontas kept asking Elsie questions and making conversation with her. It was really sweet. And there was a line of other people waiting too. I felt bad because they kept going but it seemed like they were both enjoying it. One of the things that surprised me the most was when Elsie asked Pocahontas about her necklace and how she though it broke-What??? How did Elsie remember that her necklace broke in the movie when we had watched it so many months before. Then Pocahontas reminded her that her forest friends helped put it back together. Pocahontas told Elsie that they could be best friends in her village and asked Elsie if she ever picked berries or had berries in her village. Elsie told her yes-her Grandpa had berries growing and they picked those together. I was just in awe at how this conversation was just flowing! Elsie left so happy!!
Pocahontas gave Elsie a little kiss on the cheek before we left and as we were walking away Elsie exclaimed "Me and Pocahontas are going to be best friends!!" It was really special.
After meeting Pocahontas it was time for us to head back to the resort for a nap before the Christmas Party at Magic Kingdom.
At the end of the day, I know there was a lot more to do at Animal Kingdom. Very easily we could have made this a full day but we wanted to leave around 2:30 so we could get a nap in before the late night we had ahead of us. We had to pick and choose and I think in the end we are pretty happy with the day. We did skip our final fastpass for John and Elsie-Kali River Rapids. It is a water ride and you get soaked and we really didn't feel like dealing with that, especially since it wasn't super hot. Maybe next time. :)
