theDIBB - A Whole New World, July 2016! ~2. Animal Kingdom & Narccoossee's

Magic Kingdom & Trex

Animal Kingdom 4th of July

I woke at a very reasonable 6am and sorted through some photographs, I loved that the Memory Maker photos were on the App almost instantly, I also caught up on my report notes for yesterday.

Nigel woke at 7am and I really wanted to wake the boys and get going, Animal Kingdom was EMH this morning and I thought the parks would be heaving as it was 4th of July! The boys looked so peaceful so we decided to let them wake naturally as it would be another long day and it was so hot!

Thankfully at 7:20am the boys began to stir so I set off to Artists Palette to get some breakfast, we had an ADR at Tusker House booked for 10:30am so I got the following to keep us going till then. 2 X choc chip Muffins (these were the size of a babies head!)
A coissant.
A Cherry Danish

We set off for the bus stop at 8:25am and the bus was only 2mins wait. I kept telling the boys to expect huge crowds and to make sure to stay close by and not wonder off.

We arrived at the park at 8:50am and got some photos on the way in and the boys also joined the Wilderness Explorers club, which they enjoyed.

Nigel had wore a pair of shorts that needed a belt as they kept slipping down hahaha! However we hadn't thought to pack a belt, so he popped into the shop at the entrance of AK and bought a plain black leather belt... $35! :omg:
Once I'd scrapped myself off the floor we headed over to our 1st FP, Kilimanjaro Safaris, it was now 10am and the FP was a waste as the standby line was showing a 10min wait! I tried to change it to something else but the WIFI was a bit patchy so we just used the FP and walked straight on.

We enjoyed the ride but there wasn't that many animals out and it was blistering hot already. Just before the end of the safari the jeep came to a stand still right beside the Elephants and the driver informed us that an animal had went walk abouts and was standing in the middle of the road and we had to wait until they could get it to safety. Well we waited about 10mins and it was so hot and I was starting to worry we'd be late for Tusker House. We finally made it back and hot footed it to Tusker for breakfast.

We were given a pager and waited outside for 5mins before it went off and we were in. We were shown to a cute little table by the window and straight away we could see Mickey and Donald at the other side of the room EEEEK!

We all got some Jungle Juice and I got a coffee, Liam wasn't fussed on the JJ so asked for a coke after a few sips which wasn't a problem. We were told now was a good time to go to the buffet before the characters made the rounds so myself and Liam went 1st.
The food all looked so tasty and I got a full hot breakfast with bacon, sausage, potatoes, cheesy eggs and Mickey waffles. Yum.
Daisy came round 1st and she was so sweet, she kissed the boys and signed their autograph books then she went over to the window and started banging and waving to people outside! It was so funny haha.
Next we saw the main man himself and he spent some time getting pictures.

The boys all got what they wanted and we all cleaned our plates and I even left room for some sweet treats, doughnut holes, cinnamon rolls... drool.
Whilst we were happily munching on these Donald came over and Liam asked him if he remembered him from yesterday! Bless him, Joseph thought this was hilarious he said to Liam, it's not the some person every time you know, he doesn't go home and eat his dinner in that costume, sleep in it then come into work again the next day!... poor Liam haha!
Anyway Donald played along and just gave Liam a thumbs up and signed their books with #1.

Donalds missus came over, she was so funny kissing the boys! then she went over to the window and started banging on the glass at people outside, it was so funny!
yewwwhooo!

We only had Goofy to see now and I asked the server for the bill while we waited, it wasn't long before he arrived at our table and he was the best of all.
When he stopped for a photo he kept covering Liams face with his hand haha! He held out his hand to Joseph for a high five then pulled it away at the last minute.

We had the best time at Tusker and it's definitely one we'd all love to do again, the food and the characters we brill.
We were now ready for our next FP which was Festival of The Lion King but the boys really wanted to see the Silver back gorilla so we went down to the trail and I changed the FP to Expedition Everest for later.

Oh man was that trail hot, Sweaty Betty! :confused2
We used the Disney water fan spray and the muck off towels were also a God send.

Once in the trail the boys stopped for a sticker to put in their Wilderness Explorers book. The CM had said to us to be careful as there was a bird nesting in the trees above us and there might be some falling debris.
Nigel had a twig fall on him, then Liam said he felt something fall on his head, we all turned round to look at Liam hahahaha :d:

Poor Liam, we couldn't stop laughing and he wasn't impressed which made us laugh more! The CM took him off to the toilets to get cleaned up. I told him that bird ≈≈≈≈ was supposed to be good luck, he just rolled his eyes at me lol!

After we'd saw the Gorilla and finished the trail and probably lost a few lbs in sweat we got drinks and ice-cream and walked over to Kali River Rapid for our FP. We loved this ride and Nigel and Joseph got the worst of it, but we felt it was over way too quickly.

Said Hi to these two :wavey:

We were now ready to go on our last ride which was EE, we really need a rest at this point as the heat was immense!
The ride was a lot faster than we thought it would be and it was really dark in places too. Poor Liam was really scared, he hated not being able to see and he kept telling me he felt sick! The rest of us loved it but I had promised the boys they wouldn't have to go back on anything they didn't like as long as they tried it first. Liam was adamant that he would never go on EE again.

Not happy!

Relieved to be on solid ground again haha!

It was now time for a break from the park and we arrived back in SSR at 3pm and quickly got changed and hit the pool. We messed about for a few hours and just chilled, it was bliss. We felt a bit hungry after a while and because our Narcoossee's ADR wasn't till 7:30pm we decided to get a snack at the Backstretch Pool, the menu is pretty limited! We got a pepperoni pizza and a hotdog to share with some crisps, I paid for these instead of wasting any credits, they weren't anything special but they did the job.

We all went back to the room and the boys played on they're tablets while I got ready (I take a lot longer than they do!).
Once we were all spruced up we left for the bus at about 6:15pm.
By the time we got to Magic Kingdom and got the boat over to Grand Floridian we were late for our 7:30pm ADR!

Anyway when the buzzer went off we were shown to our table, it had a lovely view.

Our server was called Janet and she was just amazing, she wasn't pushy, she laughed with the kids and nothing was a problem!
We ordered drinks, Nigel got a lager, I got the wine flight , Liam a coke and Joseph asked for an orange fanta. I could see Janet looking shocked at this, she thought he had asked for an orange vodka! Ha.
The boys wanted to eat off the kids menu so Janet advised us to pay for these instead of wasting our credits (I had planned to do this). Joseph got chicken tenders and fries and Liam got a cheeseburger with tater tots.
Me and Nigel both ordered the Fillet Mignon, which was AMAZING!
Janet brought down a chicken fillet and rice with green beans by mistake for Joseph, she apoligised for the mistake and told us to keep it anyway! The chicken tenders arrived quickly after.

We had just finished our main course when the fireworks began and we went out to the decking to watch them.
This was one of my favourite nights in Orlando, just so special, celebrating with my boys.

After the stunning firework display we went back in to have dessert.
I choose the coconut and chocolate brulee, it was yummy.
Nigel got the Almond cheesecake which he thought was just okay!
Janet had promised the boys a special pudding so she asked them if they wanted a cupcake or sundae, Joseph opted for the sundae and Liam asked for the cupcake.
We really didn't do the desserts much justice as the jetlag was now kicking in, I WISH I HAD THEM IN FRONT OF ME NOW!

When we'd finished up our meal we paid and thanked Janet, then went to explore the Grand Floridian.
It was just a few weeks after the little boy was killed by the crocodile and Nigel really wanted to go and see where it happened. I didn't as I think it's a bit morbid so me and Liam had a nosy in the hotel lobby instead.

Wow the Grand Floridian is so beautiful.

After taking a few photos, we went to look for the other two.
They were down at the beach, which is now cordoned off, there was another couple there who said they'd just seen a crocodile float past.
That was enough for me, time to go!

We got the boat back to Magic Kingdom and hopped on a bus to SSR, we were tucked up in bed shortly after. x

Disney Springs & Ohana