March 28 – Animal Kingdom

In our original plan this day was supposed to be our rest/resort day. We had planned to skip AK for this trip because we wanted two days at MK.  

However, once the discount dropped for our dates of travel we couldn’t resist getting a 5 park day ticket.  When looking over the attractions for AK neither Caleb nor Alaina were overly excited about this park. To us, it was basically an upscale zoo…which is fine if you’re extremely into animals and nature trails. We only had a handful of things we wanted to accomplish so the plan was still for us to have a longer mid-day break. We were up and going by 7:30 and at the bus stop by 8:15ish. Since we planned to ride Kali River Rapids, we all dressed in clothes that would dry quickly and we wore sandals.

Once we arrived at the park we went straight back to the safari. We waited about 10 minutes.  The safari was fun. Because we did it first thing, the animals were pretty active. We were able to see most all of the animals.  When we finished our next step was to ride Expedition Everest. Once we got to the ride we saw the wait time was almost an hour so we decided to skip it.  We backtracked to Kali River Rapids. Thankfully we were dressed with the expectation of getting wet. Caleb and Hattie got out with just a minor splash. Alaina and Lydia weren’t as fortunate.  Alaina got soaked. Thankfully, it was warm enough to dry everyone’s clothes quickly.  After a quick restroom break we headed over to Dinoland.  We had planned to let the girls play in the Boneyard for a few minutes but due to the time we decided to skip this step. We rode the Triceratops Spin before heading over to Flame Tree BBQ for lunch.

Caleb got the rib platter. Alaina got a salad and some loaded BBQ fries. The girls got hotdogs.  Flame Tree only has outdoor seating, so we picked a spot we thought would be free from birds. We were wrong.  At one point Lydia needed to use the restroom, so Alaina and Hattie stayed with the table while Caleb found a bathroom. While they were gone a friendly bird started making its rounds for food scraps.  Hattie thought it would be fun to feed it, so she tossed some of her hotdog bun. This was a true test of bravery for Alaina – who hates birds.  She managed to keep calm long enough for Caleb and Lydia to come back and shoo it away.  Our last step for the morning was the Festival of the Lion King.  We walked down to the theater and grabbed a couple of dole whips to enjoy while we waited. We were some of the first people in line for the stand by entrance.   This wait was probably the most frustrating wait of the whole trip. Although we were first in the standby line, FP riders were seated first…which is fair. However, this made our wait even longer. When we were finally allowed to enter, we got really good seats.  We were in the lion/Simba section about halfway up. This might be a bit controversial, but we were not wowed by this show.  It was enjoyable, but we felt it didn’t live up to the hype everyone gave it. 

After the show it was time to head back to POR.  We took a few photo pass pictures on the way out.  We had to wait 10 minutes or so for the bus.  The girls had taken a brief nap in the stroller, so they were not wanting to take another nap at the resort.  Since this break was a little longer than our other days, Caleb took the girls to the pool for a swim. Alaina napped. The plan for the evening was simply to eat supper at Tusker House and watch Rivers of Light.  We didn’t think it was necessary to bring the stroller back into the park on this night.  Getting on the bus without having to fold up a stroller is a very free feeling.  We had a little time to kill when we arrived back at the park.  We walked over to watch the sea lions for a few minutes while we waited to check in to Tusker House.  A cast member was nearby giving information about the animals. Caleb and the girls really enjoyed listening to her.

We walked over to the check in desk for Tusker House and it was still a little early, so we waited in the market area. This is a really neat area. Lots to see and there seemed to always be some kind of entertainment happening.  When our reservation window finally opened we were able to check-in and go to the waiting area of the restaurant. Hattie was excited to greet the hostess with “Jambo.”  We waited another 10 minutes before the next hostess called our name.  Now, Hattie had been apprehensive about this meal most of the day because she knew there would be “masked” characters. When we walked in she immediately fell apart…even going as far as hiding under the table once we were seated. Caleb talked her in to sitting in her seat, but she still wasn’t happy.  The sweet hostess who seated us noticed Hattie’s anxiety. She came back to our table with a “glowing” Tinkerbell figurine for both girls. They LOVED these things.  Our actual server for the meal wasn’t as friendly as the hostess, nor was she as attentive.  As each character walked by Lydia got excited and asked them for their autograph. Daisy is Lydia’s favorite, so she was super excited about seeing her again. Donald and Goofy made their rounds. Donald even teased Daisy a little while they were near our table. Hattie decided she was fine being behind the camera, so she filmed Lydia and Alaina as they greeted each character. She would wave at them from a far. Tusker House is a buffet meal and it was really good. Caleb got some of the more exotic offerings. Alaina branched out a little bit, but was happy to see some traditional options. The girls didn’t eat much at this meal but that’s probably because of the excitement/dread of seeing the characters.

The final character to stop by our table was Mickey. Of all of the character interactions we had on this trip, this one far surpassed them all.  He not only got Hattie to talk to him but before he left the table she hugged him!!  He told her in sign language that he loved her before he walked away.  Caleb and Alaina were blown away.  We were amazed at how much time he spent trying to make her comfortable. Seeing her become comfortable with him was worth every cent of that meal.  At this point of the meal our server had been by our table less than 3 times. Her inattentiveness was disappointing and the only time we would experience it on the trip.  It was expected for this meal to take a little longer because of the characters, but they had all been to our table…rather quickly too, so we were ready to go. However, we still had to wait for our check. During this wait, one of the managers stopped by our table to make sure Hattie was doing ok. He gave us a voucher for the girls to get a Mickey Ice Cream Bar at some point during the remainder of our trip.  No doubt that sweet hostess mentioned us to him.  I wish we could have given our gratuity to her instead of our server.  We waited a total of 15 or 20 minutes before getting our check. 

We had FP scheduled for Rivers of Light and because of our slower than normal meal, our check-in window was winding down. After exiting the restaurant we asked a cast member the quickest way to get to the ROL entrance. With no stroller to put the girls in, we were at the mercy of their walking speed.  The directions we got weren’t good directions. Alaina had a feeling about this, but trusted the advice anyway. We walked literally to the other side of the park. At the first ROL entrance we were told to keep walking for the FP entrance, so we walked some more.  We stopped a second time and were told the same thing. Finally, after making almost a complete circle we were at the FP entrance…after our check-in time. Thankfully, the cast member at the door allowed us in anyway. Again, we got excellent seats.  We all loved ROL.  Next to Wishes, it was our favorite night time show. 

 The FP entrance is directly in front of the entrance of Expedition Everest.  Alaina had made peace with the fact that we probably wouldn’t get to ride it on this trip due to the long wait time earlier in the day. We decided to walk over to see what the current wait time was.  It was only 10 minutes!  We all made our way to the line…but we were stopped so Lydia could be measured.  She was literally less than an inch too short.  She and Caleb hung out in the gift shop while Hattie and Alaina did the ride.  The ride was really a walk-on. Hattie and Alaina both loved it. We probably could have rode it again, but everyone was tired.  The girls begged to buy stuffed animals in the EE gift shop.  Hattie picked out a snow leopard. Lydia picked out a yeti. They finished off their gift cards, but they were very pleased with their purchases.  We posed for another picture before heading out of the park. We didn’t have to wait long for a bus and were back to the resort by 10:30. At this point we were averaging about 6 miles a day, so again it didn’t take long to fall asleep. 

Notes for the day:

It was confirmed AK isn’t our favorite park. The crowd level was predicted and actually was an 8.  The park didn’t feel overly crowded. We accomplished everything we wanted to do. We just are not in love with the theme. The things we wanted to do were very spread out, so it felt like a lot of walking for little return…we didn’t back track very much. We are still glad we were able to experience this park though. ROL was definitely worth seeing.

 The Festival of the Lion King was disappointing.  Everyone we spoke to about this park said this was a must see…and their favorite show in all of Disney World. We are big Lion King fans, so our expectation was probably set too high. It was enjoyable, but dated. Until it’s revamped, we probably won’t consider this a must see.  If we had a FP and our wait was cut in half, we might have enjoyed it a little more. 

Tusker House is one of the best character meals on property.  The food is good, but the character interaction is superb.  We were very impressed with our hostess and her genuine concern for Hattie’s happiness. This “magical moment” only fed our Disney addiction more.   Our only critique for the entire experience was our server. She wasn’t rude or anything, just not interested in checking on us.  She’s a great example of why I’m glad gratuity is not included on the dining plan. We were able to give the tip we felt she actually earned (we didn’t stiff her, we just didn’t go overboard).  She was the only server we had on the whole trip who didn’t look as though she was enjoying her job and wanting to give service to us.  

Wearing flip flops on this day was very smart for Alaina.  They actually gave her feet a “break.” 

Going without a stroller for the evening was a much needed break for us. However, both of the girls were tired of walking at the end of the night. Caleb ended up carrying Lydia part of the way to the bus stop.  If we hadn’t gone on the wild goose chase to find the FP entrance for ROL, the girls would have made it fine. We did a lot of extra walking that wasn’t planned thanks to those bad directions.