hedgehogcs
Always listening to Jiminy Cricket...
- Joined
- Aug 17, 1999
Cast: Chris (Overemotional Trip Report Author & Happy Mom)
Jack (Overgrown Kid & Happy Dad)
Katie (14yo Wonderful Daughter)
Jenny (12yo Wonderful Daughter)
Dan (12 yo Wonderful Son)
Happy Thanksgiving! We have another day with a lot to be thankful for! After yesterdayâÂÂs long & busy day, we decided to sleep in a bit â and we still managed to get to Animal Kingdom at 8:10. Fearful that large holiday crowds would prevent us from doing everything we wanted in only one day, we headed straight for ItâÂÂs Tough to Be a Bug â but it wasnâÂÂt open yet so we went off to Kilimanjaro Safaris, and were surprised to see only a 15 minute wait!! We immediately got in line and found the wait to actually only be 5 minutes. It was a cold morning, but there were lots of animals out and about. We saw two white rhinos engaged in a fight & saw the male lion leap from the highest rock onto the ground, landing right on his face. (I expected an Olympic gymnast announcer âÂÂOoohâ¦that landing is going to cost him at least a half point!âÂÂ) But he was fine.
Then back to the Tree of Life, where we saw Tough to Be a Bug. I love this show. But the real attraction is walking through the roots of the Tree. Katie put it best by saying that she wished she could just ride slowly through the roots â so she could fully look around without having to keep walking forward or watch where she was going. ItâÂÂs so incredible. Then we were off to Dinoland, USA â where we rode Dinosaur & saw Tarzan Rocks. I didnâÂÂt think the Tarzan show was as good as the Lion King show, but it was enjoyable. By then it was 11:00 and we wanted to get an early lunch so we headed over to Pizzafari.
After lunch, we headed to Asia, where we were foolhardy enough to go on Kali River Rapids, in spite of the chilly weather. Well, we all got wet but Katie & Dan got soaked. On the way out, there were big heater/blow dryers to warm us all up. Why was I surprised? Disney thinks of everything! Then we walked through Maharajah Jungle Trek, where we got to see a couple of those huge flying foxes having a fightâ¦plus some gorgeous views of the tigers. When we walked out of there, it was perfect time to catch Flights of Wonder, which was thoroughly fun. I would buy a CD of Groucho the Parrot singing! His version of âÂÂHow Much is that Doggie in the Window?â was too adorable.
Then there was the realization that we were almost done with the park and it was only 1:20!! So we went back to Harambe to walk through Pangani Forest Trail & take another safari ride. We had gotten a Safaris Fastpass before we started the Pangani walkthrough & when we came out, it was time to ride. Not as many animals out this afternoon â even with a very mild weather. But it was still a great ride and Little Red was okay! Whew! Then we walked back over to Dinoland to do Dinosaur again, shopping along the way. After Dinosaur, it was 4:00 and we were done with everything we wanted to seeâ¦so we went early to Rainforest Café and had our Thanksgiving dinner (for free â paid for with Gift Certificates) and came back to the hotel.
We chilled out for a while & rested our oh-so-tired feetâ¦then we hopped a bus to Magic Kingdom just to catch the monorail to see the Christmas decorations at the Grand Floridian (gorgeous), Polynesian (didnâÂÂt look like it was decorated much, if at all!) and Contemporary (pretty trees!). At the Contemporary, we all went downstairs to the big game room & threw away some quarters. I always remember that Jack & I came to this game room on our honeymoon & there was a little theater in the back that showed Disney movies. We went in & watched Alice in Wonderland. Now the theater is used for Cast Members only. Then we came back here & are ready to hit the hay.
TomorrowâÂÂs plan: Epcot early morning, then going to Disney Studios for the rest of the day. IâÂÂve seen Fantasmic twice & both times I cried that my kids werenâÂÂt with me. Tomorrow I finally get to share it with them!
Jack (Overgrown Kid & Happy Dad)
Katie (14yo Wonderful Daughter)
Jenny (12yo Wonderful Daughter)
Dan (12 yo Wonderful Son)
Happy Thanksgiving! We have another day with a lot to be thankful for! After yesterdayâÂÂs long & busy day, we decided to sleep in a bit â and we still managed to get to Animal Kingdom at 8:10. Fearful that large holiday crowds would prevent us from doing everything we wanted in only one day, we headed straight for ItâÂÂs Tough to Be a Bug â but it wasnâÂÂt open yet so we went off to Kilimanjaro Safaris, and were surprised to see only a 15 minute wait!! We immediately got in line and found the wait to actually only be 5 minutes. It was a cold morning, but there were lots of animals out and about. We saw two white rhinos engaged in a fight & saw the male lion leap from the highest rock onto the ground, landing right on his face. (I expected an Olympic gymnast announcer âÂÂOoohâ¦that landing is going to cost him at least a half point!âÂÂ) But he was fine.
Then back to the Tree of Life, where we saw Tough to Be a Bug. I love this show. But the real attraction is walking through the roots of the Tree. Katie put it best by saying that she wished she could just ride slowly through the roots â so she could fully look around without having to keep walking forward or watch where she was going. ItâÂÂs so incredible. Then we were off to Dinoland, USA â where we rode Dinosaur & saw Tarzan Rocks. I didnâÂÂt think the Tarzan show was as good as the Lion King show, but it was enjoyable. By then it was 11:00 and we wanted to get an early lunch so we headed over to Pizzafari.
After lunch, we headed to Asia, where we were foolhardy enough to go on Kali River Rapids, in spite of the chilly weather. Well, we all got wet but Katie & Dan got soaked. On the way out, there were big heater/blow dryers to warm us all up. Why was I surprised? Disney thinks of everything! Then we walked through Maharajah Jungle Trek, where we got to see a couple of those huge flying foxes having a fightâ¦plus some gorgeous views of the tigers. When we walked out of there, it was perfect time to catch Flights of Wonder, which was thoroughly fun. I would buy a CD of Groucho the Parrot singing! His version of âÂÂHow Much is that Doggie in the Window?â was too adorable.
Then there was the realization that we were almost done with the park and it was only 1:20!! So we went back to Harambe to walk through Pangani Forest Trail & take another safari ride. We had gotten a Safaris Fastpass before we started the Pangani walkthrough & when we came out, it was time to ride. Not as many animals out this afternoon â even with a very mild weather. But it was still a great ride and Little Red was okay! Whew! Then we walked back over to Dinoland to do Dinosaur again, shopping along the way. After Dinosaur, it was 4:00 and we were done with everything we wanted to seeâ¦so we went early to Rainforest Café and had our Thanksgiving dinner (for free â paid for with Gift Certificates) and came back to the hotel.
We chilled out for a while & rested our oh-so-tired feetâ¦then we hopped a bus to Magic Kingdom just to catch the monorail to see the Christmas decorations at the Grand Floridian (gorgeous), Polynesian (didnâÂÂt look like it was decorated much, if at all!) and Contemporary (pretty trees!). At the Contemporary, we all went downstairs to the big game room & threw away some quarters. I always remember that Jack & I came to this game room on our honeymoon & there was a little theater in the back that showed Disney movies. We went in & watched Alice in Wonderland. Now the theater is used for Cast Members only. Then we came back here & are ready to hit the hay.
TomorrowâÂÂs plan: Epcot early morning, then going to Disney Studios for the rest of the day. IâÂÂve seen Fantasmic twice & both times I cried that my kids werenâÂÂt with me. Tomorrow I finally get to share it with them!
