This is the baobab tree, called the Tree of Life, greets entering visitors and has dozens of animal figures carved into it. It's enormous. This photo doesn't do it justice.
Sorry, buddy. Back into the stroller you go. Lots of walking again today!
The tag-team sunblock team. We got all three kids covered in the eight minutes we were in line for the Kilimanjaro Safari - our first ride of the day.
For this, groups of 10 to 15 or so climb into this JEEP and are taken through a guided tour of the roaming African animals. Although they are 'wild' they are quite accustomed to being near humans and the sound of the vehicles, and we were able to get some pretty close encounters. Much closer than my acutal safari in Kenya last year. It made me excited and happy to see them, but also a little sad that this was truely NOT the wild habitat they were meant to live in. The kids were elated to see such grand and exotic animals up close. And Elliott L-O-V-E-D the JEEP. Future Disney families: rush to this exhibit at the park opening in the morning. The animals are most active before noon, and the waiting lines grow LONG.
black rhinosaraus
Nile crocodile
One very happy Elliott
antelope
Seeing a giraffe has always and will always make me smile, but seeing one walk down a sidewalk also makes me confused.
wildebeest
another giraffe
(a different breed than the first one pictured; look at their different brown color patterns)
another giraffe
giraffe butt
Noticing a pattern yet? I LOVE GIRAFFES!
African elephant family
flamingoes!
white rhinosaraus
After the safari expedition, we went to the walking animal tour. There was a tank with an above/below view of the hippos, meerkats, monkeys, a tank full of Afrian ciclids (really colorful fish), gators, and an aviary full of rare and colorful birds. Here is Madline studying the bird guide with me, and we identified nearly half of the birds listed. That was really quite fun!
Charlotte really connected well with this activity as well. She and I have a bird feeder at home we watch daily and check our bird guides to identify new species. She loved the whole new world of birds here.
Meerkat sitting on a termite hill
Male silverback gorilla
The Beresford African drumline
The Mom taxi deluxe
Next we went to the Birds of Flight show, where birds or all shapes and sizes put on a performance with actors, and some even swoop low over the crowd. This is an African gray hornbill,with a wingspan over six feet. Quite beautiful!
By now it was 10:30 and Madeline was itching to get on a rollercoaster. So we started our day with the biggest, scariest one: Expedition Mt. Everest!
This is seriously the coolest rollercoaster ever created. It's unlike anything else any of us have ever experienced and it is by far my favorite ride of all time. I was worried how Madeline would handle it, but she was braver than I was! And we just about had to peel her out of the coaster and promise to take her on again. We went three times today. I would have loved another ride.
Silly goose!
Abracadabra????
Woof!
Mmmmmm..... mousey!
My rollercoaster girl!
"Mom, I want to ride THAAAT one!"
A Daddy & his Charlotte
We had to work to keep Elliott engaged while his sisters were riding the 'big kid' rides, but there was a lot there for him to see. He loved this ride (similar to the flying Dumbos at the Magic Kingdom) and the Dino-dig, a play area with dinosaur-themed play equipment including a bone excavation site. And he seemed quite engaged with looking at the animals.
This pretty birdie was begging for food at lunchtime. Not your average Michigan park sparrow!
Then these two came in to see what was left. These curved-bill birds are everywhere in Orlando.
Wheeeeeeeeeeee!
Elliott sees the JEEP and wants to drive it. Charlotte sees the JEEP's rollbar and wants to do flips.
At this point, we had eaten lunch and were all feeling very hot. Elliott was tired and starting to get cranky. So we switched gears and headed inside to watch the FINDING NEMO and the LION KING performances. I was expecting a chance to sit down in an air-conditioned venue. What I experienced knocked my socks off!
First was NEMO. Not only was the singing and the actual performance of the highest quality, but the special effects were astounding. Like only Disney could do. I was so sad when it was all over, after about half an hour. I could have sit and watched it two or three more times and loved it.
After NEMO we took a quick ride on the Primeval Whirl (roller coaster) on our way over to the LION KING. Wow, that messed me up pretty thoroughly. Part "Mad Mouse" (from Michigan's Adventure) and part "Spinning Teacups" (Magic Kingdom), its a tight-spin rollercoaster that is also on ball bearings and spins at will. so sometimes you're going forward, and other times you're riding backwards or sideways. I almost tossed my cookies at the end, and even now at 10:30pm I can still feel the wishy-washy feeling in my head. I'm past my expiration date for rides that spin. No more.
The LION KING performance blew my expectations out of the water. I was expecting themed actors and puppets, and what we saw were trained athletes and acrobats, world-class dancers and performers, and singing that was so pure and beautiful and so filled with emotion my hair was literally standing on end. The anima-tronics (animal/robots) were so realistic that I was staring at them for half of the performance in awe that they weren't real animals. I would have loved to stay seated and enjoyed another performance. Charlotte was so impressed she was smiling from ear to ear, and her jaw was literally hanging open the other half of the time. Madeline likes performaing arts, but Charlotte LOVES them. Elliott, poor dude, finally fell asleep after the first ten minutes. Bummer. Future Disney guests, do NOT miss these performances!
We then headed back to the Tree of Life in the center of the Animal Kingdom and sat down for a 3D showing of "Its Hard to be a Bug". It's only eight minutes long, but quite intense. At one point, Charlotte lost it and was screaming and crying, and balled up in my lap, terrified. Elliott and Madeline liked it, as did most of the adults, but it took Charlotte about 20 minutes to settle herself down.
After that unnerving experience, Matt and I took Madeline to the Dinosaur! thrill ride. Also very intense and at times quite scary, it was also VERY well done. Definitely not a ride for timid passengers, it frightened even the brave Miss Madeline, and at one point me, too. She was able to shake it off, though, and asked to go again with Grandma and Grandpa. And they did.
To settle things down a notch, we bought the kids ice cream and finished off the snacks we had brought, and took the train out to Rafiki's Conservation trail, a train ride out to the animal care center behind the wild animal park. The kids loved the brass statues of baby elephants. As you can see, by this point it had been a fun but a long day, and we were all hot, sweaty (translate: stinky) and tired. But we were still having a blast.
Charlotte had a sweet spot for the elephants
We were in for a big surprise!
There were three princesses we did not see by the end of our day Monday, at the Magic Kingdom: Rapunzel, Pocahontas, and Mulan.
Pocahontas was at the Conservation Station for some visiting time with her fans from 4 to 5pm, and we arrived just in time!
Charlotte's smile says it all!
We even got to visit with Rafiki the wise babboon.
What a great day!
We headed home at park closing time (7:00pm) and we were all dehydrated and exhausted. Dinner, baths, and bed!
Next on the agenda - kayaking adventure with manatees and dolphins in Coco Beach! Stay tuned!
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