Ooops! Should have been SplM! Our 41" 5 year old rode that a couple of times and loved it, but couldn't ride either SPACE mountain or EE. That's what I get when I try to type up my report too late at night.
Okay, onto our 3rd day of the parks. I think that was Wednesday...
Last trip to WDW, we went to AK, but only ended up there for a few hours. The park is really big, and IMHO, a lot convoluted and hard to find ones way around in. Like most visitors most of the time, we hadn't taken any time to do any planning, and didn't even know there WAS an "Animal Kingdom" until we were there. We just had 4 day tickets, and sort of winged it. I REALLY wanted this trip to be different, so I camped out here on DIS planning since January.
We showed up at 8:00 alone. No one in my family wanted to go because "It's only zoo" Okay, whatever... We also showed up at 8:00 because I swear the calendar said they had AM EMH that day. There were a few people waiting, and I thought, uh-oh!! Sure enough, the park didn't open until 9:00!! I really think they changed the calendar at the last minute, because the people in front of me said that his wife who "is on the boards all the time, did the planning, and she said 8:00 too". Hmmm.....The kids did okay though, waiting for 2 reasons; 1) They knew EE was just around the corner and 2) The talking palm tree came out and kept them quite entertained for the last 20 minutes.
We got up to the point of the little show with Goofy and Minnie? (we really couldn't see very well) and waited some more. Finally, at 9:00 we ran as fast as someone can "run" with a stroller, and without being rude and bowling people over, to EE. We quickly got on with a child swap, then grabbed FPs for another ride. I just love the theming in this area. I don't know about you, but that's one of the primary things that keeps me coming back for more.
After that we headed over to Dinoland where we took in Dinosaur. Then the big kids did Primeval Whirl, while I took DD 5 on Triceratop Spin. She loved it, and I felt like this a MUCH better choice over Dumbo, as there was NO line at all. (That's just me though, I know there are a ton of Dumbo fans out there)
After we got the ride bug out of our system, we had time to take in the Nemo show before our FPs for EE were up. Ladies and Gentlemen, I cannot say enough good things about this show. I know a lot of you have older teens, and I can tell you unequivocally, that my 17 year son, who skipped parks altogether twice this trip, LOVED this show. The singing, danding, puppetry, stage, everything is broadway quality! We would go back again in a heartbeat- and I'd have to say, if you've never done this, give it a chance.
Now, we are starved!! Time to head over to Flame Tree for our long-anticipated lunch. Okay, we're pretty easy to please. As I've mentioned before, we really aren't foodies so much. So we ordered 3 BBQ Pork Sandwiches, a fruit plate, 2 orders of onion rings, and waters to put our drink powder in. It was more than enough food for us! In fact, we didn't even touch one order of onion rings, and ended up giving them to some really nice Brits at the next table over. (Trust me, we REALLY didn't touch them!) The food was surprisingly good. The beans that come with the sandwich are a little on the sweet side for us, but the sandwiches were huge, the fruit was very fresh, and the onion rings were great dipped in the BBQ sauce off of the condiment bar.
Satiated, we still have time to hit the Tough to be a Bug show before we end our day with one more EE. It was cute, all the kids liked, but not loved it, and we might or might now go back next time. Honestly, I think they enjoyed seeing the tree of life carvings more.
By now, it's pretty hot, we're pretty tired, and we're feeling like it's time to jet outta there. One more ride on our favorite... with a child swap. Since you get 3 people on one swap, and we used the 5 year old's ticket for an extra FP, all the kids got to go on at least 3 times, 2 of them 4 times. They loved it.
These aren't the best photos I've ever taken, but hey, hope you enjoy them anyway.
Since we were leaving quite early, (I think it was around 3:00) we slowly strolled towards the gates. Everyone wanted a snack, so we stopped and got a lemon slushie. Mmmm, so cold and refreshing! We also stumbled upon Pocahontas near the entrance, and I snapped her photo.
My dad was particulary impressed with the photo. I'm not so sure it was really the photo he was looking at...
Well, that's about it for a short day at AK. Next time at AK, we'll make sure we get onto the Safaris and out to Conservation Station, but too much to do for this time around.
In my next post I'll say a few words about the rest of the day at the Fort.
Here are a few things that I learned about AK and how to tackle it: (caution, small spoiler for EE ahead)
1) EE is probably the best ride at the parks right now, especially if you like theming. The line is non-stop stuff to see! LOVE it! The track is smooth, the backwards part is fun, and there are some really fun special effects inside.
2) The Nemo show is the BEST!!, but line up at least 45mins.- 1 hour ahead of time. They were crammin' in there like sardines by 30 minutes before the show!
3) Dinoland is pretty cheezy, I would have gone over to Rafiki's instead if I would do it again.
One more picture, that cracked us up. We go all the way to AK to see:
You have to look carefully for it....
Enjoy, everyone!