Day 3: Animal Kingdom

Animal Kingdom is our second favorite park next to Magic Kingdom.  We got there right when the park opened and had a little bit of a rainy start to the morning. 

 Our first stop was the dreaded Dinosaur Ride that traumatized Alyssa 3 years ago.  She stayed and played in the Dino playground with Mackenzie and Kira this time around while Tori and Ben enjoyed the ride.  Tori didn't think it was that scary this time.  She's definitely getting older.  The younger 3 girls could have stayed here all day digging for bones in the pebble gravel.  After Ben and Tori came back, Tori rode it again with me.  I was still pretty scared, I have to admit. 

 Another favorite is The Bug's Life show.  Here we all are with our crazy 3D bug glasses.  Kira and Mackenzie were really scared in this part.  I forgot the part when it gets dark with the smoke and it looks like bugs are flying at you.  Whoops!  Both of them were crying and clinging to me.  At the end after the show is over, they have a part where it feels like bugs are crawling out of the seats, and it scares me every time. 

 One of the best shows at Disneyworld is the Finding Nemo show.  Here we are waiting for the show to start. 

 A little blurry, but you can see Marlin on the left, Mr. Ray, and Nemo in the background.  The singing is great and there are a few songs not from the movie.  The actors are dressed like their puppets and it's amazing how they make the whole thing really seem like you're under the sea. 

 The fish in the fish tank.

 Crush, the turtle. Crush is a huge puppet! 

At one point they have several dancers all out in the audience with their puppets and it's spectacular.  We'd never miss it when we go. 

 Here Kira is enjoying a yummy and messy ice cream treat courtesy of our free daily snack from the Disney Dining Plan.  We love doing the Dining Plan because the kids get to enjoy some of the fun treats at the carts without us paying a fortune. 

 

Here are Ben and the girls coming off the Kalahari River Rapids ride.  We all had our colored ponchos, Ben in red, Tori in green, Alyssa in blue.  Mackenzie is there somewhere.  Unfortunately Kira couldn't ride this one.  We love this ride, but for some reason we all felt like it was shorter this time.  Don't know if they changed it or if we just remember it differently. 

 Last time we were at Animal Kingdom we rode the Safari tour and thought it was pretty unimpressive.  We decided to give it another try and we were all so glad we did. 

You ride these safari vans as the tour guide points out all the animals you see.  This year the animals were all out and so close to our van it was really fun. 

 

 Crocodiles. .

 Giraffes walking by. 

 Elephants.

 Lions on the rocks. 

So many great pictures.  Love how Kira is posing yet again!

 This was right next to the van!  Don't reach your hand out.  Crazy!

Zebras. .

I love this tree that's at the heart of Animal Kingdom.  It's a little hard to see, but there are all kinds of animals carved into the trunk and interwoven together.  It's beautiful. 

 

I insisted on a picture in front of the tree before we left.  No one was very happy. 

We went to a restaurant called Ohana at the Polynesian Resort for dinner.  It was amazing!  They brought salad, coconut bread, and wontons.  Then skewers of beef, pork, shrimp and chicken that had been grilled at this huge fire grill in the middle of the restaurant.  It was amazing.  Ben was loving it even though it wasn't a big hit with the girls. 

 

Some of the food. . .  

 Ben after eating way way too much meat!

 During the dinner they invited the kids up to learn a hula dance and then gave them leis. 

 Here Kira is enjoying her ice cream. 

And me enjoying this amazing coconut bread pudding.  I'm not usually a fan of bread pudding, but this again was amazing!  We were all stuffed, but it was a great end to a fun day!