Disney Trip Report Part 6: Fri 10/23 – Animal Kingdom

You can also see our report as a single page.

Morning

Since we had a late night, we weren’t in a rush to get going. We awoke quite late and headed to the pool for a swim. Kyle got to spend a good amount of time in the little kids’ play area, though it should open before 10:00.

Animal Kingdom

Festival of the Lion KingAfter swimming, we headed out to Animal Kingdom. After lunch at Yak & Yeti counter service (the best CS meal of the trip), we headed over to see the Festival of the Lion King. This show was excellent and a real highlight. Kyle wasn’t too sure about the fire “juggler”, but liked the rest of it. We were glad there wasn’t a fire extinguisher handy. He might have tried to put out the fire. After this, we headed up to grab FastPasses for the safari to use later in the day. While Suzanne and Kyle hung out at the drums, I went and rode Everest a couple of more times. (Unfortunately, the single-rider line actually was a line this time.) We then took the train to Rafiki’s Planet Watch. We had heard mixed reports about this area, but we thought it was well done for kids. It would have been even nicer except Kyle had one of his, admittedly few, meltdowns while there. We then hopped on the train for the return trip and did the Pangani Forest trail.

Kyle was a little impatient, so Suzanne was going to take him for french fries for a snack while I took some more time for photos. (It was worth it to me as I got one of my favorite shots of the trip.) As they headed out, they happened on the afternoon’s parade. Kyle wanted to see it, so they waited until I was done, at which point Kyle and I watched the parade and Suzanne went to get the french fries. After the parade, it was time for our late afternoon safari. (Our FastPass window had already passed, but in nearly all cases, they don’t care you when you come back as long as it’s after the earliest time and the same day.) The second safari was also very good, though the driving was quite a bit rougher. (It made it hard to get good photos.) We did see the lions much better this time. After our safari, we walked around some of the trails around the Tree of Life. I have to admit I wasn’t too sure what to expect of the tree, but was completely blown away by the artistry and creativity. We next headed up to Tusker House for our dinner reservation. I had considered making them even later than 7:00, but was glad I didn’t as we were all ready for dinner by then. Dinner was once again excellent. I would highly recommended TH as they had some more exotic items than normal Disney buffets. Suzanne even tried the chicken curry, but said it was spicy. (It wasn’t to me, but I’m incredibly insensitive to capsaicin. I like my curry of the extra-spicy Vinadaloo variety.) By the time we were done, the park was closing after Extra Magic Hours. It was incredible to walk out of the park after closing as it was very quiet and peaceful. I was actually very impressed with Animal Kingdom and would definitely dedicate a day to return on a future trip.

Links to photos

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

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