Day 4 Animal Kingdom

Today was a great day!

We were at Animal Kingdom at rope drop and the park was nothing short of deserted.

We headed over to the Dinosaur ride, that the kids rode last year. (they were a little scared last year, but did okay). This year, Heidi covered her face the whole time and RJ hated it, HATED it.

I forgot how incredibly dark, bumpy, and kinda scary it is. I can't believe Heidi rode it last year!

Rick and Kaitlin rode Primeval Whirl while RJ and Heidi and I killed time in Dinoland USA and got to see Goofy and Pluto.

We headed over and rode Expedition Everest. RJ was tall enough this year to ride it, and reluctantly agreed. He did pretty good. It was by far the scariest rollercoaster he has ever been on. RJ, Kaitlin and I rode together, and then when we were done, Rick and Kaitlin went. He did whisper to me while they were gone that he didn't want to ride it again. I think he was done with the scary stuff for the day. I was too.

After EE we headed over to Kali River Rapids. Maybe we should have taken a hint as we saw people exiting this ride with ponchos on, but we went ahead and boarded.

Rick and RJ got soaked. Like Rick was head coach and they just won the superbowl gatorade soaked. It was hilarious. RJ and Heidi were so wet too. Heidi announced to the stanger sitting beside her that ever her favorite Princess Jasmine panties were soaked.

We figured while we were already wet, we may as well ride it 2 more times. Rick got soaked everytime! After the 3rd time, I think he had had enough and we headed to a sunny spot to dry off a little bit.

Once we got going again, we were heading toward the Kilamanjaro Safari and spotted King Louie and Baloo. After stopping to see them, we grabbed fast passes to the Safari.

RJ and Heidi both had their faces painted. RJ was a pirate and Heidi was a butterfly. They really did look amazing! I couldn't believe how quickly the painters were able to get kids in and out of their chairs......We hopped on the Wildlife Express Train and headed back to Rafiki's Planet Watch. The kids spent some time in the petting zoo, and watched a show about parrots. We got to meet Jimminy Cricket and Pocahontas before grabbing ice cream bars and heading back to ride the safaris.

We loved the safari ride. It was one of my favorites from last year. Heidi loved seeing all the baby animals and announced to the whole jeep full of people when she saw antelope poop. The Safari had all kinds of animals, crocodiles, antelope, cheetahs, ostriches, lions, elephants, etc.

After the safari, we headed to camp Minnie/Mickey and stopped at some kid stations along the way as well for the kids to do some activities.

After seeing the bears from Brother Bear and Safari Donald, we headed over to It's Tough to be a Bug. I was worried that the kids would be scared of this 3-D movie because the bugs spid acid (water) on you and spiders drop down from the ceilings and all kinds of other cool things.....But of course the kids loved it.

Heidi had been asking to see Pooh and Tigger so we headed to see them next. Eyeore was there too. Sadly, Piglet was not.

Everyone posed for some pictures by the Tree of Life and we headed home before the parade. It was nice to have an early day.

After leaving Animal Kingdom, we stopped and let the kids play mini golf at a course next to the hotel. RJ got a Hole in One on hole number 9. He was so excited. After 18 holes, it was time for dinner.

We had reservations at the Whispering Canyon Cafe at the Wilderness Lodge. We got there a little bit early, so we just explored the Lodge. It's so beautiful. We will need to stay there in the future.

When we got seated, we enjoyed a fantastic meal and lots of fun. RJ and Heidi rode ponies in the Pony Express and RJ did the Hokey Pokey with the wait staff. Everyone ate till we were stuffed and headed back to the hotel. The kids were asleep as soon as we started driving and for the 3rd night in a row, we had to carry them in and put them in bed.

Everyone had a fantastic day today and we are all looking forward to rope drop at Disney's Hollywood Studios tomorrow.

No complaints today......Heidi and RJ were tired during the afternoon, but there were no fits or tears. I was very proud of them both.

:)
-a