... and Then There Were 3, Orlando Feb 2019 - Day 6 - Animal Kingdom & Rainforest Cafe

[ally1966]

Today started with a visit to Walgreens to restock on DDs 3 essential food groups -Cookies, Pringles & M&Ms- 😂😂. We did throw in a few bananas just as a nod to healthy eating.

The beautiful weather had returned and the forecast thunder storms were now not expected to hit us till late afternoon so we decided to go ahead with our planned AK day but to get there early in case rain stopped play.

We ordered an Uber ($19.76) and by 9.15 we were standing here.

The park was already fairly busy but most people were heading for Pandora which we were avoiding till this afternoon so we hoped to avoid the crowds.

We made our way across Discovery Island and as our 1st FP today wasn't till 11.40 decided to stop off at Tough to be a Bug.

DD couldn't remember this at all and found it hilarious. She kept trying to catch the little 3D bug as it popped out of the screen.

We wandered through Asia. This is my favourite of all the Disney parks. I just love the attention to detail and all the scenic views.

We stopped to watch these playful gibbons who were VERY loud! We strolled through the Maharajah Jungle Trek; most of the animals were sheltering from the heat in the undergrowth but we did eventually manage to spot a tiger.

We ventured into Dinoland USA for a quick go on Primeval Whirl and Triceratops Spin, before heading back to Asia for our FP on Expedition Everest.

DD and I enjoyed this ride but DH said that he wouldn't have done it if I'd warned him that it went backwards - in all honesty I'd forgotten, I've only ridden it once before and that was 6 years ago.

Next we made our way to Africa and gorilla falls where we spent a while just admiring these huge, impressive animals.

Our next stop was Festival of the Lion King. This is my favourite show in any of the Disney parks and it was excellent as always.

We checked the wait time for Kilimanjaro Safaris but at 115 mins it was way beyond what we were prepared to endure.

Our next fast pass window was now open so we headed back to Dinoland USA for Dinosaur.

I love this ride but DD and DH reckon that neither of them could remember it. They were suitably impressed ... and at least it doesn't go backwards!

Our final FP was for Na'vi River Journey. We headed into Pandora and just admired the spectacular scenery for a bit. None of us have even seen the film Avatar so I did wonder if the theming would be a bit lost on us but it's so unusual and pretty that we were captivated by it.

If I'm honest I'd been refreshing the MDE app all morning in the hope of swapping this last FP to FoP without success. So I was a little disappointed to be riding it! However it is beautiful and we enjoyed the gentle raft ride through the caves.

When we came off the ride there were still no FPs available for FoP and the standby time was over 2hrs. I tried to convince DH that this was actually quite good for this ride but he was having none of it so I had to accept that it just wasn't meant to be.

We had a look in the gift shop where we talked DD out of buying a banshee which would be consigned to the back of the cupboard as soon as we got home - she rarely plays with toys these days other than Lego.

We were all beginning to get hungry now so headed back to the main entrance and Rainforest Cafe. I'd given DD and DH the choice of Rainforest or Yak & Yeti for today's dinner so that we could use the Landry's cards, they chose to eat here.

As we waited at the podium we heard one guest being told that there was a 45 minute wait for tables but the Landry's Card worked its magic and we were seated within a couple of minutes.

Our table was between the gorillas and the fish tank. We had a really good view of everything that was going on. DD was blown away by the theming particularly when we experienced a thunderstorm!

I had perused the menu in great detail before leaving home so knew already that I would order the Ribs Steak and Shrimp Trio. I really enjoyed this, the meat was tender and flavoursome and the ribs just fell apart.

DH had the Beastly Burger. His only complaint was that it was too big! He didn't actually manage to finish it.

DD had the kids cheese pizza with fries which she loved.

We saw several Volcano desserts being brought out and they looked amazing but the mains were so huge that we had no room for dessert.

The cost of this meal should have been just over $62 but we used our Landry's club Welcome Bonus towards it. In order to use the bonuses from both cards on the same meal we'd had to have separate bills. DH's which also included DD's meal came to $5.58, mine was $7.98.

Our server was lovely so we had no objection to leaving her a 20% tip based on the full value of the meals.

After dinner I had one last check to see if we could secure the elusive FoP FP or even one for Kilimanjaro Safaris but sadly there was still nothing doing. I would've liked to have stayed for Rivers of Light but it was only 3pm and with little left that we wanted to do in the park and storm clouds rapidly approaching we decided to leave it at that and head back to the hotel.

Almost as soon as we reached the hotel (by Uber $19.39) the thunder started so I think that we made the right decision!

By the time that the storm had passed it was still relatively early so we decided to go for a walk. DD wanted to get some new sunglasses as she'd broken hers earlier.

We'd recovered from our massive dinner by now so stopped at Coldstone Creamery, where I had a BOGOF voucher for joining the loyalty club..

DH and I shared a Founder's Favourite, which was sweet cream ice cream with pecans, brownie, fudge and caramel.

DD chose her own mix and had chocolate ice cream with choc chips and gummy bears. These are huge tubs and she barely made a dent in it so DH had to finish hers off too.

This is amazing ice cream and I would highly recommend trying it. They should have cost $7.49 each but with my discount we paid just $7.49 for both.

We took a slow wander back to the hotel and were in bed for 9.30. Tomorrow, a later start and back to the Magic Kingdom for the fireworks.

Day 7 is here:- https://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/sho... php?t=1118293

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New Photo Added by ally1966 - 28 Feb 19 10:37 AM.

[Mexy02]

I like rainforest but it often gets slated on here. I hope you get to ride fop but it was a long time to queue for. Great day .

[Floridaagogo]

Love my Landry card ! Always enjoy the rainforest cafe x

[Excitedx4]

Ah what a shame you didn’t get to ride FOP! Great day at AK though some mich detail gone into the park!