Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Day Three

Another early morning at Animal Kingdom - getting anywhere by 8am is a tall order for my family, but it's so worth it at Disney World.  We headed straight to Dinosaur at rope drop and Colwyn and Doug got a whole car to themselves.  While they were riding, the other kids and I took some goofy pictures with the dinosaurs they have stationed all over the place.




Colwyn and Lachlann wanted to ride Primeval Whirl, so I took them on that while Doug took Fiona and Niall on Triceratop Spin.  Primeval Whirl was fun and I'm not quite sure why people call it Primeval Hurl.. it seemed relatively tame to me.  It was completely empty so when we got to the unloading area, the CMs told us we could just stay on again if we wanted.  Lachlann was all for it, but Colwyn wanted to move on, so I had Doug take Lachlann on again while the other kids and I wandered around Dinoland.




We headed to Everest again, trying to convince the boys to go on it.  They refused again, so Doug and I took turns riding by ourselves.  I got to ride in the very front row all by myself, which was so awesome.  There's nothing in the front of the cars, so in the front row it really feels like there's nothing there 'protecting' you, especially as you're hurtling through the dark.  After that we got ready to watch the Flights of Wonder bird show.  We caught the pre-show with Rosie, a bird who flew really low over everyone's heads.  The crowd gave the 'bird guy' on stage a wide berth, except for Niall who apparently doesn't follow social cues.  He stood fearlessly in the wide open space, right up in front of the CM.  It was pretty cool to see the bird swoop so low over his head.  The show itself was pretty entertaining, and was a much appreciated break for my feet, which were really starting to hurt.

After getting to rest for a bit, we decided to tackle the Maharajah Jungle Trek.  It definitely lived up to our expectations, with up close views of komodo dragons, tapirs, huge fruit bats (we learned that they pee on themselves to get clean), flying foxes, Bengal tigers, blackbucks, Eld's deer, bantengs, and all manner of beautiful birds.  The theming was just lovely.  You almost felt like you really were in India.




On the way to get snacks in Harambe, we saw Devine.  She was pretty cool, but the kids were begging for food so we just snapped a quick picture.  Isn't she beautiful, though?  She would have totally blended into the foliage, if it weren't for the huge crowd surrounding her.  Full of popcorn and a ginormous Rice Krispie treat, we wandered down some animal trails on Discovery Island, then went to Camp Minnie-Mickey.




We met Chip and Dale first, and they LOVEDLOVEDLOVED the autograph book.  They took the time to read their pages, and Chip brought the book to his handler to make him read it.  When he signed his page, he also wrote, 'Luv the book!"  Dale liked the acorns on his page and said those were his favorites.  We teased him about Chip always having to rescue Dale when he gets in trouble.  Then we met Donald, Baloo, King Louie, and Minnie.  Everyone got big hugs from Niall, but Baloo got the biggest.  He probably would have stayed cuddled up to that bear all day if we'd let him.  My feet were unbearably painful by that point, so I made us stop in Pizzafari for lunch while Doug took Lachlann on Primeval Whirl yet again (and also to look for his Goomba hat, which he'd left on the ride earlier).  I don't know if it's because Colwyn, Fiona, and Niall were so well behaved and cooperative in line, or if the CM pitied me for having three kids and a giant double stroller all by myself, but she gave the kids free cupcakes.  After eating, we headed back to the resort to rest.  I was seriously considering renting an ECV by that point.

I guess the idea of dinner at Narcoossee's was enough to get me up onto my feet again, though, because after a nice break, we headed to the Magic Kingdom.  We picked up more Sorcerers cards and completed our first mission on Main Street, which was fighting Cruella.  We only had a little while until our reservation, so we spent a little while trying on practically every hat in Le Chapeau, then headed to the monorail.




Narcoossee's was amazing.  The view from the 'porch' that wraps around the restaurant was beautiful - the Contemporary and Magic Kingdom all lit up, the reflections in the water.. lovely.  Our table was excellent as well, with another great view of Cinderella's Castle.  Doug got the strip steak and lobster tail ($72 but still allowed on the dining plan!) and I got shrimp scamp with lobster.  My meal was delicious, and Doug said that the lobster was the best he's ever had - like it was butter poached in butter.  We all got desserts, of course - most notable were Lachlann's smores and Fiona's gigantic Nemo cupcake.




After dinner, we were just in time to watch Wishes from the Grand Floridian dock.  It was completely wonderful - the lack of crowds and general ambiance making up for the slight off-centeredness and un-castle-centric view of the fireworks.  We took the boat around the lagoon and back to the Magic Kingdom, then took the bus back to our resort.  The bus was completely packed; Fiona and I had to split up with an older couple in between us.  They kept an eye on her and we chatted - they were their by themselves because their grandson, who they normally take with them, was in Italy playing soccer.

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