You can also see our report as a single page.

Animal Kingdom

It was our goal to make rope drop (opening) at Animal Kingdom this morning. We managed to do so. (Opening at 9:00 instead of 8:00 helped.) They did a really cure little show with Minnie, Goofy, and Mickey. At opening, we headed with a good chunk of the crowd to Kilimanjaro Safari. We go quite lucky and saw lots of animals, including a Rhino, Hippos, and a Cheetah. We also caught glimpses of a couple of lions. Next, I headed off to ride Expedition Everest (twice via the empty single-rider line) while Suzanne and Kyle headed off to the boneyard. Everest was a great coaster. The backwards part was especially cool. Kyle was disappointed in the Boneyard as there wasn’t any place to dig, but he didn’t want to check out the part on the far side of the bridge. We finally convinced him to do so and, lo and behold, there was a giant “sandbox”. (The sand was actually very coarse so as to stick too much.) After some time spent digging for bones, Suzanne and Kyle headed to the Triceratop Spin (akin to Dumbo). I headed to the Primeval Whirl (a “Spinning Mouse” type coaster). The wait was listed as 5 mins but was more like 20, and the ride was pretty lame (to the point that I suggested Suzanne might want to try it as she’s not big on coasters). Definitely not worth the wait. We then had an excellent lunch at Flame Tree BBQ, heading back to the hotel for a nap afterward.

Epcot

Yet another Epcot trip. (We ended up here four times.) Our first stop was Spaceship Earth, followed by Journey Into Imagination (the original was better, though you can’t dismiss anything with Eric Idle), and then some time in Innoventions at the Waste Management recycling exhibit (a real highlight for Kyle). We then headed to Italy for dinner, just missing some rain. (Kyle’s stroller got a bit wet as it was left outside.) We then did most of what we had missed in World Showcase, including more in China (I never did do the store as I took pictures while Kyle and Suzanne went in), Norway (including the ride), Mexico (including the ride), and Canada. We ended up with a good spot for Illuminations in front of the Canadian store just as it started. Kyle enjoyed it quite a bit (sitting on my shoulders). We then took a quick trip to the UK to get the item for Kyle’s mask we has missed before. We then headed back to Future World and I did Mission Space while Suzanne and Kyle played in the playground at the exit. (It seemed that Mission Space had been toned down a bit since I was there in 2004, however, upon riding again on Sunday, I’m not so sure. And yes, both times I did the orange “more intense” training.) We then headed back to the hotel after a quick stop in the Mousegears shop.

Links to photos

Animal Kingdom
Epcot
Hollywood Studios
Magic Kingdom
Caribbean Beach Resort & few other places