After we got through the gate (at around 7:45am) we went straight to Tusker House for breakfast hosted by Donald Duck. We had an early reservation (8:05am) so we were in fairly quickly and eating. I opted for the sausage patties, scrambled eggs and 'tater tots' (bascially a smaller version of potato croquettes which were more breadcrumbs and batter than potato!). Clare had scrambled eggs, bacon and tater tots and Matthew went for his usual sausage (patty), bagel and cinnamon swirl pastry. These were all washed down with 'jungle juice' (a delicious blend of fruit juices) and tea. We were soon joined by Donald, Mickey, Daisy Duck and Goofy and plenty of pictures were taken.
Meanwhile, Clare and I went back to the buffet for seconds - I went for a warm cinnamon bun and a cherry pastry and Clare had a couple of pieces of blueberry sponge cake.
We finished around 8:50am and left the restaurant to head for the Kilimanjaro Safari ride - a trip in a large 4x4 where you get to see lots of African animals. Well - hopefully see them! We had beaten the park opening, so were actually the first in the queue and we got chatting to the Cast Members looking after the ride. One asked us how many were in our party, then beckoned us over to where she was standing. She asked if we'd like a private tour of the reserve before any other guests! Wow! Of course we said 'yes' and headed off to a special boarding area. This is what is called a Disney Magical Moment. You can't buy them, they just happen - at random - for some guests. It seemed ours was because we were the first family in the line. Stacey was our guide and we had a drive, Matty. Usually the drivers do the commentary, but we had Stacey sitting with us which allowed us to ask questions. She also promised some inside information (I can exclusively reveal the termite mounds are fake and are actually watering 'holes' for the animals). She was great, giving us loads of information about the animals we were seeing. I think we pretty much saw everything, except the elephants, and got really close to the giraffes and the white rhinos.
Some animals have very few numbers in the wild, and so rely on reserves like the one at Disney to survive. It was an awesome experience - made us feel really special - and we were really pleased to have it. Thanks Disney!
After that we went on the Pangani Exploration Trail and saw the gorillas. Clare and Matthew were also carrying on their Wilderness Explorers badges collection. You get a booklet with questions and challenges in and each time you get one right you earn a sticker. They are located in different areas of the park, and some were on the trail, so they were able to complete a few there.
We then boarded the train to Rafiki's Planet Watch which was a fun train ride past some of the animal sleeping quarters to an area of the park dedicated to conservation. We got to see an operation on a sick animal in the veterinary surgery. It was a sea turtle from EPCOT who had a wound on his leg that wasn't healing properly.
We also collected some more badges.
We got the train back and then strolled to one of my favourite shows: Flights of Wonder. This is a bird show where you see some fabulous birds from all parts of the world doing some amazing flying sequences. They swoop so close to the audience you can feel their wings beating - if you are lucky enough to be underneath one that is! It's a great show, and some of the things that birds can do are incredible. You learn a lot about how they live, and what they eat too...
After the show, we went to some of the shops. Matthew had been moved by some of the stories of endangered animals and wanted to donate some of his pocket money to the cause. So he bought a pin badge and donated some money to the Disney conservation charity. We then headed to the Festival of the Lion King show, where we had Fast Passes. It was a good show, but not really our cup of tea. I think if you like musicals and circuses, you'd love it, but we don't really like either - so whilst it was impressive we won't be going back. Been there, done that...
It was now 1:30pm, and we had only eaten a bag of crisps between us since breakfast so we headed to Pizzafari for some sustanance. We ordered a Pepperoni and a Vegetable pizza to share, and were quite surprised at how good it was. They came with Cesear Salads on the side and drinks that we could have shared between three of us, let alone have one each! They were buckets! we then stopped by the Royal Anandapur Tea Company for a nice, refreshing cup of Massala Chai tea. As Americans don't seem to understand the concept of using boiling water for tea making, this was a nice surprise - as it was hot and also very tasty!
After lunch we went to the Maharjah's Jungle Trek to look for Matthew's favourite animal - the tiger. We spotted one eating his lunch, but others were probably avoiding the hot Florida afternoon sun. So Matthew did some more Wilderness Explorer badges.
We were pretty tired by this point. We hadn't really ridden any rides this visit - but we are tempted to go back on our spare day to do some more stuff. On the way to the exit, Matthew went to another shop to buy a tiger toy that also helped the Disney conservation charity.
We got back to the hotel and went to the Grandstand pool for a couple of hours before going to Downtown Disney to do a bit of shopping. Then it was some TV and watching the second World Series game before bed...
Not many people get a Disney Magical Moment. We did - and I'm sure we'll remember it for a long time...
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