Monday, July 1, 2013

We Went To Disney World Part Four: Animal Kingdom and Epcot

So we decided to head to Animal Kingdom when it opened.


So did most of the people vacationing with us.

When the gates opened, it seemed everyone was headed to the same exact spot we were: the safari ride. I was beginning to get nervous that maybe we’d have to wait awhile but no, the line moved quickly thanks to the many numbers of safari vehicles headed out.

Why do the safari first thing?

BECAUSE IT’S HOT AS SIN!

It’s best to do it in the morning because the heat isn’t as bad and the animals are generally more active.

These hippos didn’t get the memo:

(And again, I apologize for the size of the photos. Does anyone know what is up with the uploader thing? I clicked on medium photos in the past and it made the pictures smaller. I tried clicking on small and they still come out this huge. So I'm guessing the Blogger uploader is broken. Sorry. On the plus, the photos are so large, you can see our pores!)



Still, we saw a lot of other alert animals.


Then we headed into the Dinoland area.


Natalie got to ride the tiny dinosaurs. The ride is basically like the Dumbo one. Only in a triceratops form. Natalie gave her ride a kiss on the head. She becomes attached to many inanimate objects.

Then we went on the Dinosaur ride, which takes you into the dark, jostles you around, and tries to freak you out by having dinosaurs pop out. I think I was more afraid than Natalie was. I’m sorry, but when it’s pitch black and something jumps at you, I dare you not to flinch. (My kids didn’t. Maybe something is wrong with them. Maybe something is wrong with ME. I mean, I knew it was a pretend ride. Clearly the giant t-rex isn’t real.)



Anyway, it was a fun ride. I recommend going on it. It was before 11 when we went and we only had to wait like 20 minutes to get on.



Natalie made a friend afterwards, meaning the dinosaur ride did not traumatize her in the least. (She also kissed this dinosaur. Thank goodness I’m not a germophobe.)


And then Tommy got to ride Expedition Everest, which he loved. Natalie could have gone on it but was wary about the Yeti. So she’ll do it the next time we go. I did not even debate going on it because I’m a wuss. No, thank you. I’ll stick to the rides where pretend dinosaurs pop out at me, thanks.


Then it was off to Epcot!



Yes, I brought a stroller even though Natalie is 6. Why? Because she whines that her “feet hurt” and she can’t “possibly move anymore.” So this made things easier. She rode in her stroller and waved to people as we passed. I would not be surprised if she became a Disney princess when she was older. She has the wave down.


We went to the Nemo area:



We did that Talking With Crush show. It was hilarious. It’s also nice because they let the kids sit up front. It meant I got a break from Natalie. Win! Tommy stayed back with me. He’s shy. He was mainly obsessed with finding out how Crush knew the answers to the questions when he was a cartoon. He kept glancing behind him, which freaked out the people behind us. They kept checking their faces, thinking they had a booger or food stuck to them. Nope. My kid was just curious on how the whole thing worked.


Then we did this. Well, Natalie did. And yes, she kissed it. “Bye bye, nice shark. Love you!”




After that it was off to ride Soarin’.



And yes, Natalie had to get a stuffed Bruce, after sitting in his mouth and kissing it. (And seriously, how many photos will Natalie's eyes be shut in? Geez, kid.)

Soarin’ is a blast. Natalie’s favorite part was when they showed the Golden Gate Bridge. She shouted, “It’s the Full House home! Full House! Hello! It’s Natalie!”


Then we headed off to England where Natalie was affronted that Tommy marched into the phone booth first. “I thought it was LADIES FIRST!”




After that it was off to Paris, because Mommy needed a croissant.



This place housed delicious French fare:



All these items counted as snacks on our meal plan. A baguette, a jambon thingy, and a chocolate croissant was in the bag. I wanted more, but I ran out of hands. I also wanted the 12 dollar glass of champagne but was worried people would think I was some drunk. Would it have looked weird had I sat there sipping a champagne with carbs surrounding me? Hmmm.

The kids weren’t pleased with the French food.

“This cheese tastes weird,” Tommy grumbled when I gave him a bite.

“This bread is too hard,” Natalie whined when I gave her a piece of the baguette.

“This chocolate does not taste like Hershey’s chocolate kisses,” Tommy complained when he tried the chocolate croissant.

My kids don’t have a proper palette.

I basically had to eat it all. But it was okay, because I was doing a lot of walking and pushing a princess wannabe around. Surely that had to burn a lot of calories.

Natalie was more interested in playing in the fountain than eating. While I stuffed my face, she played near the water.



With my stomach full, we headed to Germany:


We left after that, because Natalie was beginning to get upset.


“All I want!” she had shouted at me, “Is to be near the water! I am tired of SITTING!” (And waving, I guess, though she didn’t mention that part.)


Oh well, excuse me. I’d have LOVED to be pushed around.


(A few days later we returned and finished the countries, plus we did Test Track. We designed the following car, which Natalie named Starry. She wanted to take it home with us. She was annoyed that they didn’t offer a way to make a stuffed car out of it. “I designed that with all my heart,” she pouted.)



Next Post: My Birthday, where we did Enchanted Tales with Belle and ate at Be Our Guest!

(If you are getting Disney-ed out, I promise, I’m nearly done.)

14 comments:

  1. I could never be 'disneyed out' I LOVE Disney and I love reading your Disney posts :). I hadto chucle at the English phone box though, living in England I see them quite often, although a lot of the red ones are gone and have been 'modified' which are just not the same lol.

    everything looks so cool (including that yummy food, mmm) and I seriously don't blame you buying a stroller, my daughter is 5 and she whines when walk for five mins LOL.

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  2. Looks like the perfect day! I think combining Animal Kingdom and Epcot is genius...my daughter still talks about Expedition Everest...we loved it! :)-Ashley

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  3. Well you might know that I prefer large photos! And I LOVE that Tommy is wearing a PPA shirt. I wouldn't have known what that meant until this past weekend. We got rid of a lot of our cable (so sad) but we still get Disney Channel and Princess Protection Agency was on the other day. I watched it. Alone. No daughter. Wow.

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  4. I love your Disney posts! I can't wait to go again.

    I think the bonus of a stroller is you can walk at your pace instead of slowing down...unless that is just my kid who has to walk as slow as possible.

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  5. I always love Turtle Talk with Crush. On The Disney Dream and The Disney Fantasy, he stops by dinner in Animator's Palate, as well, and it's very cute :) Even if you were drunk at Epcot, you wouldn't be the only one, locals like to go "drinking around the world" and get a beverage in every country!

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  6. I totally missed that cool looking fountain in france!

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  7. We ended up getting a stroller for our nine-year old. She was exhausted!! She didn't complain at all, but I could see it in her face. Best money I ever spent!! BTW, I *love* Tommy's shirt!!

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  8. I am so jealous. Looks like you had so much fun. I hope to visit there one day! I am most jealous of all the dinosaur things. I am a dinosaur nerd and I love everything about them. Thanks for sharing!

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  9. Soarin' was so wonderful -- I could have stayed in there for an hour or so. Also, can I eat out with your kids so I'd have to finish the baguette, cheesy croissant and chocolate one? You had to. Would have risked an international incident otherwise. On behalf of our country, thank you for your diplomatic efforts.

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  10. Oh yes, it's not Disney until one of the children has a meltdown. I LOVE Disney. You've made me want to go... again... except both my children count as adults now and I think Lawn Boy's children would be affronted if we went without them... he has three. I think we'd need to sell the house to afford it!

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  11. Looks like an awesome time! I'm so jealous. :) I've only been to DisneyWorld once when I was in town for a wedding so I didn't get a full-on experience. But I've certainly been to Disneyland a bunch of times and can't wait to go again!

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  12. Princess did Expedition Everest when she went on her 5th grade trip - she loved it. I, on the other hand, would have been on the ground thank you very much. I love the French food!! I would have pigged out with you on that. And you can't Disney me out - I need a dose :-)

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  13. This looks like the way to do it. My guys would love the animals and I would love Epcot.

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  14. “I designed that with all my heart,” she pouted.

    I seriously loved that part. I was cracking up.

    My husband and I love going to watch Turtle Talk with Crush. We don't have children yet, but it's still so cute to watch and the kids are always so funny.

    And Dinosaur is definitely my favorite ride at Animal Kingdom. Yes, you may get whiplash, but it's totally fun!

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