Too scary, too hot & too splashy - Orlando May-June 2022 - Day 2 (Animal Kingdom)

[sheluk]

Day 2 - Wednesday 18 May - Animal Kingdom

The Index can be found here
Day 1 can be found here

Woke at 2am again. Cry. Actually, it was 1:58am. I stayed in bed until 5am willing sleep, and then I heard the kids. They had done much, much better and it therefore felt like a rush to get out of the room for 6am, as early entry was 7am and it was best to get there 30 minutes before.

We left the room at 6.05am and jumped into the car. It was super humid out.

It was a 12 minutes’ drive to Animal Kingdom, and they just asked to see the MDE app to show we were on site guests- still no magic bands. We were parking by 6.35am, parking in Unicorn N.

We walked to the entrance and security took an age (we still hadn’t learnt the carry bags through the scanner trick) as they wanted a good delve into every bag. I stood with that, and Richard went with the pram and kids into the main queue. It didn’t seem too bad today.

At 6.55 they let us through and we scanned to get into the parks and they held us just outside the main walkway into the park. At 7am on the dot they let us through to Pandora. It would pay to stand on the right of this queue as they take you right and then make you stand on a random pathway and then they take you into the main queue to Flight of Passage. It was already moving as we joined the back.

Richard had done the uphill quick march to Pandora weaving in and out of the slower walkers. I was on Genie+ trying to get a Lightning Lane and was successful getting Navi for 7.50am.

We got to the ride entrance and had a rider switch added to my ticket whilst Richard went into the ride queue. It was just 7am as he headed in and he was off 40 minutes later. He was happy though as he used the time to check his emails.

I took the kids for a wander round Pandora and we explored the drums and other areas. They also wanted a snack so I gave them one from the bag. I even rang my dad and showed him around the area.

We even stopped for a photo pass.

Once Richard got off at 7.50 and we headed to Navi and got straight on with our Lightning Lane. The standby was 30 minutes. We were on and off within 10 minutes. It was a cute ride; the kids enjoyed the colours and it certainly felt like a calm experience. I wouldn’t rush to it though.

Richard then took the kids to look in the gift shops and get magic bands and autograph books, whilst I joined the Lightning Lane queue for Flight of Passage at 8.10am. The standby was 80 minutes. The LL was really fast and I was boarding my avatar. It was brilliant and I see why people love it. The smells were incredible. I was back off by 8.35am.
I had decided not to take Charlie on despite him being tall enough and I think that was the right decision as there were a few “drops”.

I met up with the other by Tiffins and we went to Starbucks. They hadn’t been successful in the shop. A lot of standard memorabilia wasn’t readily available on this trip. But they did start a pressed penny collection!

I had a salted caramel cold brew, Richard a sweet iced tea and a large mickey cinnamon roll. It was all very nice (yesterdays was probably nicer) at $16.

Next up was the tiger trial which we reached at 9.15. It was reasonably busy already but we got to see the Mummy and Baby Sony both being quite active which was good to see. Lots of bats and birds too. We enjoyed wandering through there and didn’t come out the other side until 9.55.

As we were close we decided to get on the train to the Planet Watch area, it was really quiet and we were on board by 10.10am. When we got off we noticed there was a Wilderness Explorer sign and we signed the kids up and they completed a few of the badges there and then by completing a little scavenger hunt and a couple of other exercises.

We went into the first entrance you come into and the air con was so welcome. There was an artists class on but we knew our two wouldn’t sit still, or listen to the instructions, at this point so just had a walk round. We were lucky enough to be able to see an animal in the theatre and it seemed they were just getting ready to get to work.

Next up was the petting zoo and the kids got to stroke and brush a goat and a pig. The pig looked utterly exhausted in the hear – don’t blame it! There’s an area to wash hands as you’re leaving too.

We used the rest room and then got the train back at 11am, a short but productive trip up there. The train ride itself is fun to see several of the back areas for the animals too.

Our second lightning lane selection opened then for the safari so we knew we’d head straight to that when we got back. We did stop off for a snack as we were all rather peckish! Lovely and salty!

We parked the pram up and was on our safari vehicle by 11.30. Skipping a 70 minute standby queue in the process.

Once we scanned into the safari, I then grabbed another Lightning Lane for Kali River Rapids at 12.05. There was wasn’t much selection left at this point, which seems to be a bit of an issue for Genie+ in Animal Kingdom.

We had asked for the back row so the kids could get a good view of everything and they both really, really enjoyed it. Charlie particularly liked the rhinos and Penny the flamingos. It was a successful safari and we saw so many animals! The male Lion was also walking around which is the first time I’ve seen that in all my visits.

Its strange as it was so hot I expected not to see too many animals in the middle of the day, but there were lots!

It was lunchtime by this point and we had Satuli Canteen earmarked for the salad bowls. We headed past the Lion King on the (back entrance) path which leads you out exactly at Satuli. It was a lovely walk over the boardwalk type area by the river but extremely hot.

Penny fell asleep on the walk too.

I mobile ordered whilst we were on our way and then pressed that we were there. When we got there we still had to wait outside for 5 minutes so all three of us rest roomed again. They only let you in once it says its ready for collection. There was lots of seating though which was great and the air con was wonderful.

We had ordered the kids cheese pods to share along with a beef mixed bowl. I had got Charlie a kids meal as well of cheese quesadilla. With all the food between us there was plenty and I had packed grapes and a couple of other healthier bits. I packed a couple of pieces of the quesadilla for Penny for when she woke up in a little lunch box.

I had also ordered the blueberry moose which was nice, but I’d take it or leave it.

Richard and I also enjoyed the lemonade I’d ordered, it was a nice refreshing tart drink.

It was 1pm now and Penny was still sleeping. We stopped at another Wilderness Explorer point on the way out of Pandora and got them both a stamp.

We were headed for Kali River Rapids to use the LL and I said the boys could go on and I’d wait with Penny. I really regretted this waiting for them as it was boiling waiting around. We had the pram fan on Penny going but she seemed roasting as well. The boys had also swapped their trainers for flip flops/water shoes.

They headed in and it only took 10 minutes before they were on. I saw them right at the end and they didn’t look too wet – they’d escaped pretty well!

Penny woke up just as they were getting off so I sat her on a shaded rock and she had her “cheese on toast” – no way she would have eaten it if I’d have given it its true name 😉 with a load of strawberries I’d also saved. She was happy enough with this after her 90 minutes. A lot different to yesterday!
We watched the nearby monkey’s whilst she finished off.

Richard had taken my ticket to scan in so once he’d done that I’d booked our last Lightning Lane for Tough to Be a Bug for 1.30. It was gone that time when they got off and we headed that way via another Wilderness Explorers badge stop looking at dinosaur fossils.

Touch to Be a Bug had been down and opened literally as we got there so that was good timing and we went straight in. I did think Penny would find this a bit daunting, and Charlie isn’t a lover of insects so that could have gone either way!
Luckily Charlie really enjoyed it but Penny sat on my knee and repeated it was “TOO SCARY” on repeat. I think this scared her for several other shows too – oops.

We left the park then after a really successful morning. It felt the hottest it had been yet and the car park walk fell like a looooong way.

It was 2.50pm when we were pulling away and only 11 minutes drive back to Wilderness Lodge.

Our plan was to have a quick change and head for the pool! On the way to the lifts Penny was running and fell and split her lip, there was a fair bit of blood but she was ok. It had happened right by reception so they had brought a wipe out to hold against it, but it wasn’t doing much so we went up to the room and held some ice in a towel for a while. She was extremely accident prone this holiday!

After faffing for a while and sorting waters and snacks, it was 4pm before we were heading for the pool. The kids were straight in and Charlie was delighted that the main slide was now open. He must have gone down it at least 15 times.

Around 5.15 I put in a mobile order for Roaring Fork. Richard wanted a tuna sandwich but hates onions (which they tend to put in a lot of tuna sandwiches over there) so I’d stopped by on the way to the pool and they’ve confirmed there was no onions – you see where that is going don’t you… So I ordered him his sandwich, the kids split a burger and fries and I had a kids chicken salad that cake with a drink, fries and a cookie – bargain and more than enough.

Of course when it was time to pick it up I collected and brought back to the outdoor seating and Richard’s did indeed have onion in. Back I went, swapped it for a chicken cesear salad. Back out, the lettuce inside looked old and horrid so back in he went and just got a refund for his food. He was majorly miffed by this point and decided he wouldn’t eat anything from there.

I had also mentioned to them about the amount of salt on the chips. Now I quite like salty chips (but don’t particularly like the kids eating tons) but oh my gosh this was salty.
Everyone elses was just ok, I left some feedback too.
We were contemplating heading back into the pool but they then starting closing it down for a thunderstorm was meant to be on its way. Charlie’s eyes also looked so red. He hadn’t napped and had done so much walking, it was clearly catching him up.

Back to the room we went after a nice hour at the pool. Richard put a washing load on and I put the kids to bed around 6.40pm, they were both shattered.

We did our usual faffing and packing of bags for the next day before having showers ourselves. We were undecided what to do the next day, we were thinking a water park but also had a park reservation for Hollywood Studios. We had been up so early we decided if we could make it work, we’d do early entry at HS then head to Typhoon Lagoon for its 10am opening.
Richard picked from a few things in the fridge and we shared a big bar of chocolate we’d brought with us on the balcony with a drink. The rain was really coming down by this point and an hour later it was literally gushing off the roof and sides – their drainage must be seriously impressive to withstand those kind of storms.

They are nice to watch when you’re not stuck in them.
We were fast asleep ourselves by 8.15!

[Rescuer]

What a lovely day at Animal Kingdom. Well done in the walking and weaving for Flight of Passage.

The trails, the train and the safari all looked great. I love the trail you can see so much and it just feels so chilled.

Thanks for posting.

[mick]

That was a nice day poor Penny hope her lip was ok?

As someone who is allergic to onions it is so annoying when they put them in everything


Joan

[ClaireNJ]

What an early start to the day for you 2am 😳
Great you got lots done at AK, love the Mickey cinnamon bun 🤤🤤
Poor penny in the wars, little girls always seem to be don’t they 😭
Shame about the onions & lettuce not good
Both your kids are little superstars doing so much 😊

[Lisa_Lollipop]

I feel like I can feel the heat looking at these photos... AK really is hotter than the surface of the sun isn't it?! I think this is why we never seem to manage much time there, but it does mean there is so much we have never seen (including the train over to Planet Watch!)

The Explorer badges looked fab, my Charlie would absolutely love that! Also glad to see pressed pennies are being collected!

Poor Penny and her lip, hope that healed quickly! Brave little thing

Another fantastic and productive day, the kids are holding up amazingly given you are only just finding your feet with the heat and time difference (let alone how overwhelming it all is!).

[Loobylou_82]

Another fab day. Hope Penny's lip is okay. That cake looked lovely.

[Lisa29]

What a great day. The kids seemed to cope very well and you got lots done.

Very annoying about Richard’s food.

Looking forward to the next day x

[EJSakaAnna]

I’m hot reading this! Poor Penny . Glad she managed a longer nap though and enjoyed her cheese on toast haha!

[sheluk]

Originally Posted by Rescuer

What a lovely day at Animal Kingdom. Well done in the walking and weaving for Flight of Passage.

The trails, the train and the safari all looked great. I love the trail you can see so much and it just feels so chilled.

Thanks for posting.

See more...

We love AK - it has so much to offer, especially for the kids!

Originally Posted by mick

That was a nice day poor Penny hope her lip was ok?

As someone who is allergic to onions it is so annoying when they put them in everything


Joan

See more...

Between her lip and knees there was an injury nearly every day of that holiday but she was fine thank you in the end!

Originally Posted by ClaireNJ

What an early start to the day for you 2am 😳
Great you got lots done at AK, love the Mickey cinnamon bun 🤤🤤
Poor penny in the wars, little girls always seem to be don’t they 😭
Shame about the onions & lettuce not good
Both your kids are little superstars doing so much 😊

See more...

They did brilliantly. It’s only in retrospect so I realise how much they managed! Thank goodness Penny had that nap!

Originally Posted by Lisa_Lollipop

I feel like I can feel the heat looking at these photos... AK really is hotter than the surface of the sun isn't it?! I think this is why we never seem to manage much time there, but it does mean there is so much we have never seen (including the train over to Planet Watch!)

The Explorer badges looked fab, my Charlie would absolutely love that! Also glad to see pressed pennies are being collected!

Poor Penny and her lip, hope that healed quickly! Brave little thing

Another fantastic and productive day, the kids are holding up amazingly given you are only just finding your feet with the heat and time difference (let alone how overwhelming it all is!).

See more...

Oh man, why oh why did I put penny in longer cycling shorts this day - she could have been in a bikini and still have been sweating in that pram.

The badges are great but became a bit of a mission to get them all done

Originally Posted by Loobylou_82

Another fab day. Hope Penny's lip is okay. That cake looked lovely.

See more...

Thank you! It was after a couple of days. Another injury replaced it by then 😆

Originally Posted by Lisa29

What a great day. The kids seemed to cope very well and you got lots done.

Very annoying about Richard’s food.

Looking forward to the next day x

See more...

Thanks Lisa! They did amazingly well now I look back on it! It was so hot this day too!

Originally Posted by EJSakaAnna

I’m hot reading this! Poor Penny . Glad she managed a longer nap though and enjoyed her cheese on toast haha!

See more...

Me too haha! It just radiates from
Those flushed sweaty faces doesn’t it