Day 6 – Animal Kingdom

After yesterday we think we need a new plan as we ended up frustrated and tired yesterday.

We decide that we will get up early and do Rope Drop for Pandora and then just hit the shows in Animal Kingdom.

I wake up just before the alarm at 6am and we are all up and in the car before 7. We arrive at Animal Kingdom and are parked in the first row. So we think we are doing ok

We don’t have to stop at security (we are finding the new security system so fast which is a bonus ) and then queue up to get in. A large group of Girl Scouts are in front of us and for some reason they all leave the queue so we are quickly to the front and in the park.

We hot foot it round to Pandora. Molly much quicker than me, and when we get there there is quite a long looking queue but we just get in line and start walking. We walked continuously all the way through the queuing path until we got to the final room where we did have to stop and wait for a short while. It wasn’t quite a walk on but it felt very quick and easy. While we were on the final wait they came down the line looking for a party of 1 and couldn’t find one so somehow that meant our party of 4 got called forward early. We weren’t complaining!

It has to be said I love this ride. It’s like Soarin on steroids. There are things I spotted this time that relates to the second film. Like the whale like creature and the underwater sections. It felt like they had put stuff in for the second movie when they created the ride even though that movie was years away.

We came off the ride feeling very pleased with ourselves and headed straight over to Navi River ride. This was showing a 30 minute wait but we thought it would just get longer so we went in. It probably was about 30 minutes and for the first time of the day they cut the queue off right behind us. This became a bit of a theme for the day.

This is a lovely ride. It’s not thrilling but it’s so pretty and peaceful. I really like it.

We had a photopass photo taken and then feeling quite pleased with ourselves we walked up to the Safari.

This was a 30 minute wait and it did feel every minute of that 30. I don’t know why this felt longer than Navi but I was quite happy when we boarded the truck for the Safari.

We had a great driver and we saw loads of animals including a lot of babies

There were Wildebeest and at one point they all raced across the Savannah. To meet the rangers with breakfast I think. But it looked impressive to see them all run off like that.

The Safari was excellent. We probably saw the most animals we’ve ever seen and it was quite long as they had to keep stopping for giraffes on the road.

After the Safari it was time for a break and a cinnamon roll. One of my favourite treats in Animal kingdom. We got coffee and rolls and sat down in the shade near Tusker House to eat them.

After a much needed break we walked over to the Lion King show for a much needed seat inside. We were once again the last party before getting cutoff and got the last seats in the Giraffe section. It feels like we are often Giraffes…

It’s a Low bleating sound sort of like a sheep….

When we came out of the show it was HOT. It felt like the temperature had jumped up. As we were walking over we passed Kevin from Up.

We walked over to the Nemo show. This was one of my favourite shows but I knew it had changed so I was curious to see what they had done.

Its shorter than before. They have kept all the main songs but cut all the dialog in between. I enjoyed it but I prefer the longer version.

After the show we had one final thing we wanted to do, the girls wanted to ride on Expedition Everest. They did single rider and Phil and I tried to find a shady spot to wait. There’s not a lot of shade or seats in this area which is a shame as there were a lot of people waiting. They could use a nearby inside quick service where you can grab a drink and wait.

After their ride we decided to call it a day. We had had a good morning but any longer and the heat and tiredness were going to kick in.

We found the car right at the front of the lot and headed offsite to Applebees. I had picked this out from the sat nav but I hadn’t selected the one we had been to before so we ended up at one just in Celebration.

It was very quiet so we were seated immediately and ordered from their special menu 2 meals plus starter for £24-28.

Molly & Katie had lime chicken, Phil had chicken tenders and I had an Asian salad with cold chicken tenders on top. Not quite what I was expecting but very tasty. I couldn’t finish it all though.

After lunch we pop into Publix for more supplies and then we head back to our room where everyone falls asleep! We are all a bit tired it seems!

After a nap we decide to go to Disney Springs. We take the car and get parked in Lime parking. We have to go through security to get into Disney Springs which seems odd as we got the bus previously with no security and I’m pretty sure you can just walk in at various places.

Anyway we are in. And we have a rummage in Uniqlo where I pick up a Airism T-shirt for $9. I like these in the heat. They are quite comfortable to wear.

Next up. I want some Crocs as I’ve been wearing Mollys but she wants them back! I’ve got a pair of the slider crocs but they don’t feel wise enough and my feet are tired.

We walk down to a shoe shop but it’s a specific brand I haven’t heard off. (Sanuk). They do look comfy though.

Instead we go to the big Disney store. They have quite a few patterned ones but I end up with a plain white pair. Hopefully they will be as comfy as Mollys are.

Shopping done we decide to eat in Polite Pig. I’ve had this as an option for a few trips but we’ve never made it there before.

It smelled amazing as we walked up. I realised I wasn’t actually all that hungry so I ended up ordering a kids meal. A pulled pork slider. Katie had a chicken wrap and Phil and Molly had the pulled pork sandwiches.

Unfortunately I wasn’t that keen on the pork. It was very very smoked and that was quite overpowering. It was a shame as it did smell good but it wasn’t what I was expecting.

After we had eaten we made our way back to the car. The escalators were off so we had to walk up them which was a tad disappointing!

Back in the villa we put on a film and Molly tried to do some crocheting. She’s bought a kit from Disney Springs and it has the most confusing instructions I’ve ever seen!!