Our Disney Trip (Day Five): Animal Kingdom

Tuesday morning I woke up with renewed enthusiasm for our trip. While I loved Magic Kingdom and Epcot, they were very long days, and likely, the busiest and most tiring of our trip. I was looking forward to the second half of our trip, beginning with our Animal Kingdom excursion. Some local friends may be surprised at my enthusiasm for Animal Kingdom because we have a top-notch zoo at home. I didn't have to travel half way across the US for a great animal experience. But lest you forget, this is Disney, a whole different experience. And Animal Kingdom is really less about the animal exhibits and more about the rides and attractions.  Elise, my animal loving girl, was looking most forward to this day as well. I mentioned in my first blog that Elise didn't know what amusement park rides actually meant so leading up to our trip, I talked up this park since I could relate it to the zoo. As her mom, I knew this would be a favorite day for her. Who isn't jazzed about a park that she knows her child will particularly enjoy?!

Some of my favorite memories of our trip almost a dozen years earlier were of this park, Disney's newest addition. Their Lion King Show is unparalleled -- and we all loved the It's a Bugs Life 3-D show. Their safari ride was pretty cool too. Of course, years earlier the park was not even quite finished yet so I was also looking forward to seeing their additions--like the Expedition Everest ride. And then there was the ride I really liked the first time around, Dinosaur, that I was looking forward to riding again with my kids.

For those of you who don't know the premise of Expedition Everest, it is a roller coaster that for a short period, travels backwards at 60 miles an hour around a curve. Easily, it was my favorite ride of all the parks. It was fabulous!! I wish we could have had multiple fast passes to ride that one at least twice or three times. We did use the rider switch policy, so Adam, the lucky-duck, got to ride it twice. Another one of my favorite Disney moments was when the coaster stopped at the top of the hill and Adam said: 

"Mom, I think we're going to go backwards now."  Glancing behind me at the approaching curve and bend in the track, I said "Oh, surely not. It's going to be a straight shoot....they aren't going to make us go backwards around a curve, are they?" Just then, the car started descending. I do believe my words were "Oh no!! Shit!!"  Truly, it was genius roller coaster creation. A do-not-miss ride for those who like roller coasters.

The ride that surprised me the most was the Dinosaur ride. Like I just said, I had ridden it before. What I didn't remember was how scary it was. It was a pretty frightening journey through the dinosaur age. Adam was indifferent about the 'thrill' factor and Elise thought it was just pretty entertaining. Call me and Tony wimps, but it scared us.

One of my least favorite rides of any of the parks was the Kali River Rapids, which is similar to Thunder River at Six Flags. Only, I think Thunder River is a better ride. There were really only two opportunities to get wet on this ride; of course, one time is all it takes and out of all the people in the raft, Elise and I were the only ones who got soaked . And, of course, my jeans got the wettest and I spent several hours trying to dry off when temperatures never topped 66 degrees. In my estimation, walking around in wet clothes was so not worth it for the enjoyment I received.  Live and learn.

Our dinner reservation was for 6 p.m. at Rainforest Cafe. By 5:30 we had actually seen everything there was to do at the park, with the exception of missing the Finding Nemo musical. Maybe it speaks to my age--or just my sleep disorder-- but I sank into our seats at the restaurant with a happy grin that we could eat and go back to our condo for an early night. We had taken Tony's boys to Rainforest the first time, too, and I was looking forward to my kid's expressions. Not to say they didn't like the restaurant, but it didn't have the awe effect I had thought it would. Adam would tell you, though, that it was one of his favorite restaurants.

Our condo had an outdoor, heated pool, which we hadn't used yet. Our intentions were to use the pool daily, but the reality was that we were trying to cram everything into our park days that it really wasn't feasible to swim. We knew that this night would be that perfect opportunity. Coupled with the cooler temperatures, the thought really didn't intrigue me so my husband graciously agreed to take them while I hung back and relaxed. I took the time to straighten up the place and take pictures--and to go over what rides and attractions we were going to enjoy the next day.

It was a pretty great day. This trip was shaping up to be a blast. Next up, Hollywood Studios!