It was a very early start this morning as were heading off for a character breakfast (where you dine whilst Disney characters wander around the tables to have photos with you) called Donald's Dining Safari Breakfast at Tusker House Restaurant. We headed for the bus stop and really noticed the drop in temperature that had occurred overnight. It was really cold! We got on the 7:15am bus and were soon signing in with our restaurant reservation and walking with other diners through a deserted Animal Kingdom. It was very tranquil and we stopped and looked in at several of the animal enclosures as well as having our photo taken right next to the Tree Of Life which dominates the centre of the park.
Breakfast was great and we all enjoyed it. We were greeted by Donald and had our photo taken and then headed inside for a fabulous buffet. There was something for all tastes in there. I had sausage, egg and Mickey waffles followed by a cinnamon bun and apple muffin. Mrs B had similar and Master B had the sausage with some baked good too. This was washed down with a fruit juice blend called Jungle Juice which was delicious. Mickey, Daisy and Goofy wandered around the tables and we took photos of Master B with them. He was wearing his Donald hat, which Donald had enjoyed, Daisy had kissed and Mickey - well - he wasn't too impressed!
It was bang on 9am when we finished and dashed straight to the front of the queue for Kilimanjaro Safaris. This is a tour of the wildlife park in a ranger vehicle where your guide takes you round the different areas and you get to try and spot the animals. Early in the morning is best when the animals are most awake, and because it was a cooler day, they were much more active too. We saw all sorts and were very lucky with pretty much seeing everything the reserve had to offer. Our guide was very good too.
After exiting this ride, we saw the gorillas at the start of the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail. But we didn't go any further, choosing instead to head to Asia for one of the two big thrill rides in Animal Kingdom: Expedition Everest. This is a roller coaster, and so a bit too thrilling for yours truly, but Mrs B and Master B went on and enjoyed themselves, although Master B was a little unsure afterwards as to whether he did like it or not. He must have liked it, though, as he spent some holiday money on an Expedition Everest T-Shirt! Minimal queuing again. We were definitely in front of the main wave of the crowds.
We then went to bag the other big ride: DINOSAUR. I was told I would be OK on this ride, and I quite enjoyed it. We headed back in time to explore the world of the dinosaurs, but there is a twist which I won't give away, which makes it more thrilling than that. This was well done and we all liked it. Again, minimal queuing which was great!
As we exited this ride, Master B saw the Primeval Whirl ride which was a small roller coaster that also spun the carriages like a waltzer. I don't do spinning, so was on bag-holding and photograph duties but the other two quite enjoyed it.
We all fancied a slower pace after that, , so Mrs B suggested a bird show called Flights of Wonder. It sounded a bit lame to me, but I was up for sitting down for a bit. Master B was feeling the pace too. I sat on one of the benches, prepared to be a bit bored, but actually - to my surprise - it was fantastic. It was done really well, with a comedy character on stage the kids liked, as well as the serious straight-man who explained about the birds. The birds fly all around you too - swooping so close overhead you can feel their wings beating the air. Great stuff - definitely do that one again...
We didn't want to do the river rapids ride, as it was too chilly to get dry properly, so we headed for a walking tour of more animal enclosures called Maharajah Jungle Trek. We saw quite a few tigers and other animals, and it was a relaxing look at some of the other residents of this theme park. I liked the giant fruit bats best I think!
By now it was 12:30, and as we were hiring a car at 2:30, decided to leave the park and head back to the hotel for a long lunch. Best laid plans and all that... We must have just missed the bus because we had to wait ages. Then it hit just about every red light known to man and we eventually rolled into the hotel about an hour later. Nightmare! We had some lunch and were just in time to get the bus to pick up the car. We just ate a couple if pizzas in the Artists Palette quick service restaurant.
Master B positively refused to do anything else today. He was tired and fed up of walking. That's the trouble with these holidays - they are tiring - but you want to make the most of your time here - so it's a balance in trying to get that right. Clearly, there's no point dragging a miserable child around something, so I let him have the afternoon to himself and he played with his newly purchased Lego and on his iPod and watched some TV. Mrs B went for a walk to explore our hotel area more and enjoyed some time to herself.
We got some sandwiches from the Artists Palette as dinner, which I washed down with some beer, and after Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune on the telly we were pretty much done!
A good morning at Animal Kingdom, but circumstances went against us a bit after that. We have a slow day planned tomorrow too, using the car, so hopefully we will all recover some energy for more fuller days to come.
Beer consumed: Sam Adams - just regular old Sam Adams - but it's a lovely drop!
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