The Unexpected Trip - Day 7 – Karma

[Jezzerinos]

The day began with Jake stirring in his cot at midnight but going back to sleep until around 5am which for Jake was a good night sleep! Today, we had booked Donald’s Safari Breakfast at Tusker House in the Animal Kingdom and we were all looking forward to it. We had eaten lunch here before and the food was brilliant.

So, all of us were up and ready at the bus stop for 6:45am. The bus came and got us to a very quiet park for 7:30.

Last visit to this amazing place.

The reservation guests were allowed in at 7:45am I believe and being so quiet with no other park guests around, we took a nice slow walk to Tusker House, soaking up the sights around us.

Where are the people?

We got a couple of photo’s taken on the bridge to Discovery Island and continued the slow walk on the paths. We made a Skype call to my younger sister to make her jealous which I’m sure she appreciated!

How can anyone not like this place?

Over the bridge to Africa and at Tusker House for our 8:15am reservation. Checked in and 5 minutes later, we were called through. We had our photo taken outside and were then ushered in to our table and seated.

Our server today was Jose who was really nice and got us everything we asked for. Jungle Juice (yum) was poured, it was now on to load the plates up before 4 of the Fab 5 arrived and wow, the selection was brilliant. Everything was hot and tasted soooooooo gooooooooood. The Danishes were delicious and the hot meats were also very tasty. Around 20 minutes later, Mickey, Daisy, Goofy and Donald started to make their way around the tables and interacted brilliantly with the children. Joseph of course was loving it and got in for the big hugs when they got to us. Unfortunately for Jake, he fell asleep 5 minutes before they came! It wasn’t too bad though as he woke up just as Donald led everyone around for a dance round the tables and joined in!

Round 2 of food was eaten and enjoyed. 9:05 came and tummies full to the brim, it was time for us to head on out into the park to enjoy the day. First up was a trip on the Kilimanjaro Safaris. The early safari was brilliant so we decided it would be good to go on early again. The boys loved it, seeing all the animals out to play but all the elephants must have been having their breakfast as none could be seen.

After we arrived back in Harambe, we decided to go and have a look around the shops. We did see some nice things but opted not to get anything. On around to the African drums for Joseph and Jake to hit them as hard as they could.

Moving on around in the glorious sunshine, we arrived at the Kali River Rapids with the wait time only at 10 minutes. We already had FP+’s for this so Maria, Joseph and I headed on through after Joseph getting measured, and given a wristband to be the ‘Captain’ of the raft. We also got a Child Swap pass so we could ride with mum next time.

Through the really well detailed line and at the dock, we boarded our raft and Joseph had the kiddie bar lowered, we headed through the rough waters. Joseph loved it and really liked all the water splashing over us. He also liked the big drop which we somehow managed to avoid getting soaked. The same could not be said for Maria though who got quite wet!

After arriving back at the loading area, we headed back and swapped Maria for mum and headed back through. Mum didn’t want to get wet and luckily for her, someone was offering a poncho to anyone walking passed as they had already used it. I kept saying that she shouldn’t use it as it isn’t part of the experience and that you are meant to get wet but she wouldn’t listen. Well……………. karma played it’s part massively in mine and Joseph’s favour as at the big drop, mum got drenched! The poncho did not help in the slightest and she was soaked! Ha ha ha ha, in your face! Should she have listened to me, it may not have happened as me and Joseph again only got slightly splashed!

Mum got reasonably soaked!

Exiting the justice serving attraction, we got to the fountains where Joseph had a play and got wet. Jake got in on the action too, getting his feet wet and watching Joseph run around hitting the water as it shot up from the ground. Joseph declared ‘I LOVE THIS’ and that Nemo and the characters were his best friends!

Splish Splash!

After they had got reasonably soaked, we changed their clothes and continued around on the beaten path to the fantastic sight of the Forbidden Mountain. Maria and I would be riding as mum was not that fussed about going on. Joseph began to get upset that he could not go on and started to cry. Mum took him into the shop and ended up getting him an Explorer’s kit (which contained items like binoculars, Swiss army knife etc in plastic form) while we queued up in the FP+ line. He has watched the ride video on YouTube many a time and wanted to ride but unfortunately, he didn’t meet the height requirement. Once again, we loved the ride and exited to not find mum, Joseph and Jake waiting at the exit or outside where people can watch the trains coming down the mountain.

About 5 minutes of searching, we found them inside the shop in a corner waiting for us to get off the ride! Confusion cleared, we moved on round and over the bridge to Dinoland USA where mum, Joseph and I would take a trip back in time in Dinosaur! He had never been on this before and I thought it would be worth trying. Maria and Joseph located on a bench, we headed round to the Dino Institute.

Through the line and at the loading area, I explained to mum why the certain 3 pipes were yellow, red and white (mustard, ketchup and mayonnaise) and that it was a nod to its former sponsor McDonalds. Again, I think she was thinking ‘nerd’ but I don’t care! So, onto our Time Rover and back to the cretaceous period, we saw many a Dinosaur and Joseph was taking it all in. It didn’t really bother him at all. Once we arrived back in our time, I did discover that the final showdown with the Carnitor was the only bit that scared him a bit.

Out and through the gift shop, we met back up with Maria and Jake and decided to grab some lunch at Restaurantosaurus. On the menu today was burgers all round dur to the awesome burger bar which was there. Very good food as usual and enjoyed by all.

Exiting the restaurant with all the great little puns and hidden jokes, we made our way to the Maharajah Jungle Trek to see tigers and all the other animals out and about. I managed to get some great pictures while walking around whilst in the bird enclosure, a peacock had obstructed half of the pathway making it a bit difficult to get past. Luckily we snuck past it with no problems though. The boys really liked seeing all of the animals that were roaming the areas and whilst we were looking at the tigers, we met a very funny CM. His name was Andrew and he started to pull funny faces at Jake and make funny noises. Jake thought this was hysterical and couldn’t stop laughing. He was great and ended up staying there for a good 15 minutes interacting with him.

Great interaction!

Once all the animals had been seen, we walked back out and round to the Tree of Life for another showing of It’s Tough to be a Bug. This time I had Joseph sat on my lap when we watched the show and whilst in the queue, more selfies were taken! Maria joined us this time too so mum took Jake for a stroll whilst he was asleep around the shops (on the Chamilia scavenger hunt). We enjoyed the show again and went to try and find mum which turned out to be a bit of a task! Re-grouped, we went back into Dinoland and managed to get into the showing of Finding Nemo: The Musical. This is a great show and must be seen if you haven’t already! We got seats near the back as it was just closing and just after us, it was just standing room only. Both boys really enjoyed it and all the music with the performers. Jake enjoyed standing up on me while watching it too!

Once we beat the scramble to get the strollers, Joseph and I played one of the carnival games which we won and got a turtle plush. Result! Joseph then wanted to have a go on the Triceratops Spin, so we did, twice in a row as the line was only 5 minutes long!

Time was getting on so we joined the line for the meet and greet with Goofy and Pluto. Around 15 minutes waiting, it was our turn and Joseph made a beeline for Pluto while Goofy interacted with Jake which again was great. I really think it’s good how they interact with the little ones as well as the older children to make them a part of the whole experience rather than ignore them and just play with the children running around. Pluto let Jake hold his nose but I had to stop the little man eating it! Joseph gave Goofy a huge hug and we got a nice photo and autographs and made our way towards the exit of the park.

Ignore my ‘Goofy’ face!

En route, Maria noticed a really funny t-shirt that looked really good (for me). I thought I had to have it, so I went and got it! After the little purchase, we went and had a meet up with Winnie the Pooh and Tigger.

We walked down and there was no-one there (guests waiting) and Pooh and just gone to get some more hunny! He came back and to say Joseph rugby tackled him was an understatement. Luckily, he didn’t have too much force to knock Pooh bear over but it no doubt winded him slightly! Jake decided to have a little kip just as we headed down after all of the excitement with Pluto and Goofy! Photo and autograph taken, on to bouncy Tigger which was great as Joseph was bouncing away with him.

Shhhhhhhh

Photo’s and autograph taken, we headed out and to the exit again. We said a sad goodbye as this was our last day at the Animal Kingdom !

See ya real soon to an amazing park. Remember, it’s Nahtazu!

Heading out of the park and to the bus stop, we heard this funny noise coming from behind us while I was carrying Jake. It turned out to be Andrew again from the Trek! He remembered the little man and again was playing with him. He was great and I thanked him for making Jake’s day and I got a photo with him.

On to the bus that had just arrived, we were back at the hotel for some dinner which I can’t remember what we had but no doubt was either pizza or pasta!

Food consumed, we bathed the boys and sorted ourselves out for the next day and were all in bed relatively early which was good. Duffy channel on with the boys nodding off, we weren’t too far behind them.

It was a whopping 27 degrees and the boys coped really well with the heat. We all had a great day checking out the animals and enjoying everything Animal Kingdom had to offer. It was a shame we had to say and early goodbye but we had so much other stuff planned, we couldn’t fit in one more trip there. Tomorrow though would be a swashbuckling one!

[smedley]

Fab day. You fitted plenty in

[Loulabelle18]

Love the character photos! and thumbs up to Andrew

[berniegroves]

Great day. I know AK isn't everyone's taste but I think it's a lovely park to wander around with kids.
I agree that it's awesome the characters and CMs interact so well with little ones. DD was 6 months old last time we went and the characters were amazing with her! I know she'll be too young to remember any if it but me and DH have amazing memories and DD loves looking at the photos of her as a baby with all the characters :-)

Looking forward to the rest of your trippie. :-)

[Jezzerinos]

Originally Posted by smedley

Fab day. You fitted plenty in

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We did manage to get a lot done and it was a fantastic day.

Originally Posted by Loulabelle18

Love the character photos! and thumbs up to Andrew

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Andrew was brilliant and Jake had made a new friend. He really made Jake's day (apart from meet and greets of course!

Originally Posted by berniegroves

Great day. I know AK isn't everyone's taste but I think it's a lovely park to wander around with kids.
I agree that it's awesome the characters and CMs interact so well with little ones. DD was 6 months old last time we went and the characters were amazing with her! I know she'll be too young to remember any if it but me and DH have amazing memories and DD loves looking at the photos of her as a baby with all the characters :-)

Looking forward to the rest of your trippie. :-)

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Agree with you. Animal Kingdom is definitely a 2 day park as there is too much to do in one day. We love it, the theming there and the boys enjoyed every second. We know Jake won't remember any of it but to see his face light up at every single meet and greet (especially Mickey) is something we will never forget. To see it through their eyes too is something everyone should experience. Also, we know we will be going back and Jake will be a little bit older so he will have a different experience to this one.

The CM experience we had was fantastic and Andrew wasn't the only one as the next day would see even more great interactions!

Thank you all for the kind feedback and for reading along.

[Melanie R]

Totally agree about AK being a 2 day park if you want to explore properly - I always look forward to our days here
Great to see good interaction from staff

[Jezzerinos]

Originally Posted by Melanie R

Totally agree about AK being a 2 day park if you want to explore properly - I always look forward to our days here
Great to see good interaction from staff

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Definitely. Animal Kingdom is a place to explore, to 'get lost' in with all of it's trails and various pathways. With the addition of Pandora in 2016-2017, it will add yet more lush vegetation and even more interactive environments to this already beautiful park.

Andrew was brilliant with Jake, kept him giggling the whole time! Thanks for reading along.

[GezzasGem]

Nahtazu...wow, forgot about that! :-) I do remember the good ol' petrifries though - my hubbie was most upset to see they had gone (and me actually..! ). Really glad to see they have the lap bars on rapids; won't worry so much about our 4 year old getting to go on them! Was Joseph far off being able to ride Everest?

[Jezzerinos]

Originally Posted by GezzasGem

Nahtazu...wow, forgot about that! :-) I do remember the good ol' petrifries though - my hubbie was most upset to see they had gone (and me actually..! ). Really glad to see they have the lap bars on rapids; won't worry so much about our 4 year old getting to go on them! Was Joseph far off being able to ride Everest?

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Ha ha, love that you got the reference to the first slogan! They did have lap bars and they seat belts as well so he was perfectly safe. Expedition Everest though, Jospeh was about 6-8cm too short for it so couldn't ride . The restriction is 112cm I believe. He was upset but soon got over it .

[Jedi Princess]

We all enjoyed our early ADR at Tusker House. Like yourself, we loved strolling through an empty park taking pictures with no one else in them. I always struggle here though, with the heat and humidity. Lovely pictures again, and great interaction with Andrew. Thanks for posting. 😃