Animal Kingdom Part II

Our last day in Walt Disney World was Thanksgiving Day. Crowds at the Magic Kingdom were expected to reach capacity so we decided to try our luck at Animal Kingdom. Eight buses to the MK left our hotel before our bus to Animal Kingdom arrived. We arrived at AK before the 8 am rope drop. Our strategy was for Nick to run & get Expedition Everest Fast Passes while the kids & I walked to the Safari.

It worked beautifully. Nick grabbed 5 FP & we walked onto the Safari without a wait. It was recommended to do the safari twice since you see different animals (and we did). To entice this twins back on this experience, I invested in some disposable cameras (more on that later).

After the Safari, we enjoyed coffee, hot chocolate & pastries while listening to live African music. Then, we started wandering toward Expedition Everest (the park is not well laid out in my opinion - lots of backtracking). Even though we didn't know Terk, the kids were very glad to meet her. We watched people get SOAKED on Kilimanjaro Rapids (and so we decided to wait for a warmer day to try that ride) and generally took in the lovely park. By the time we made it to the ride, Nick was able to grab 5 more FP. I took Ella on the coaster with 4 FP & Nick took the twins to the Boneyard.

Ella & I rode the coaster twice with fast passes & then one as single riders. We couldn't sit together, but we had no wait. The kids played at the boneyard & then we headed over to catch Flights of Wonder. The kids thought it was a funny show.

Greta's head popped up right when I was taking the photo. But, you get the idea. Lots of very talented birds showing off. Another favorite experience of Ella's.

We were ready to split up again so that Ella & Nick could ride Everest with the 6 remaining FP. The twins were a bit peeved that they kept getting the short end of rides. So, we decided to do some face painting.

It was a great call. The shorties of the family needed to feel special too. Ella & Nick met up with us & the kids went back into the boneyard for a last visit. I think the kids could have spent hours at that playground!

To entice the kids to leave the Boneyard, we let them use the last of their spending money on caricatures they had been drooling over all week. It was cute & a great way to end our day at the park. By this time, it was starting to get crowded.  You really feel the presence of people at both Hollywood Studios & Animal Kingdom. We felt good about everything we saw at the park so we decided to bid adieu to Animal Kingdom and catch a bus to Epcot for lunch (visions of Germany's biergarten were dancing in his head).