WDW14: Animal Kingdom

We spent Sunday at the Animal Kingdom. This was another day of crowds, but if you have to have a crowded day, the Animal Kingdom is a good place to spend it because there are lots of places to walk and see animals on display. We saw some shows, including "Finding Nemo," which I think is the best show at the park, if not all of Disney World. The kids participated in a Wilderness Explorers "badge" program, which I thought was great. All over the park, they had spaces set up with activities so the kids could learn and earn sticker badges to fill up a booklet (all for free). This made the day a bit more of a learning experience and definitely kept us busy in between meals and rides. The kids played for a little at the Boneyard, which is a huge play area for kids. Playing here definitely made me wish that they would upgrade the play area at Hollywood Studios. The highlight of the day was probably the safari ride! Most of the Animal Kingdom shuts down when the sun goes down, so this was also a nice mid-vacation choice that sent us back to the resort to rest. 

The kids digging for 'fossils.'

We snacked for lunch on this day. We had a lot of snack credits to use, so we enjoyed pretzels along with fresh fruit & vegetables.

On our way to one of the attractions we ran into the parade route... twice. Everyone kind of came to a standstill, so we found a few seats and watched the end of the parade. The picture of the crowd is simply that... just a TON of people in one spot. This was at the end of the parade when everyone started moving again. Yikes!

This was from the Dinosaur ride, taken at the moment a giant, carnivorous dino pops up. I think it is a funny photo because both Darren & Degen are nonchalant, Kyrie is covering her ears and I am being dramatic. Ha!

WDW14: Spirit of Aloha

Another new experience for this trip was attending the Spirit of Aloha dinner show at the Polynesian. The highlight of this show was the Polynesian dancing, especially the grand finale fire dance, which had us all entranced. We had a cold evening for this show (by Florida standards, and, especially for the scantily-clad dancers on stage), but cuddled together to watch the singers & dancers. I felt so lucky that we had the chance to see this show because as we were leaving we saw signs posted canceling the second show of the evening due to "inclement weather." Using the Disney Dining Plan, this experience cost 2 meal credits per person. 

WDW14: Disney Junior at Hollywood & Vine

Our day at Hollywood Studios started out with a Disney Junior character breakfast at Hollywood & Vine. The last time we went to Disney World, Darren, Kyrie & I all celebrated our birthdays while we were there. So, this visit we celebrated Degen's birthday (one month early). He got a birthday button and the chance to enjoy a little birthday celebration at Disney World! This was a fun start to his day! We ended up with great seats and the breakfast buffet was delicious (I recommend the puffed french toast with chocolate or strawberry sauce). The mini-shows were right next to our table, so the kids got up to dance & sing along. Degen was also surprised with a birthday card from the characters and a birthday cupcake!

Love this photo! 

WDW14: Hollywood Studios

I really enjoyed Hollywood Studios on our last visit, but not as much on this visit. We went there on a Saturday, so I am sure that had something to do with it. They also had the backlot tour shut down, which accommodates a lot of people at once. So without that attraction, it seemed like there were just a ton of people everywhere... mostly waiting around in lines for rides. Degen was also too little to do some of the 'big' rides and/or both kids were too timid. Still, we saw some fun shows and FastPassed the rides we thought were the best for us, which ended up being some of our favorites of the trip: Toy Story Arcade & Star Tours.

LOVE this photo of Darren & Kyrie!

The kids playing at Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, which was packed because it was something that families with kids could do without waiting. A nice filler activity.

The kids in our short line for Star Wars. Without a FastPass the line for this ride was over an hour. This ride had been improved since our last visit and was great fun for all of us!

We had lunch at one of my favorite spots: The Prime Time Cafe. It was crowded with people waiting for their tables/reservations. They did have a nice spot that looked like a living room from the 1950s. The kids watched the old TV, and I thought it was super-cute that I got these pics of them with a clip from the old Disney days. The fun thing about the Prime Time Cafe is that the waiters/waitresses all act like you are kids: they call you in to eat and have you set the table, they ask about homework and tell you to eat your vegetables. I had been there twice before and gotten fabulous waitresses who tell you to call them 'mom.' This time, though, they were just really busy and we had a waiter, which just wasn't as much fun. Still, we shared a chocolate malt and ate and enjoyed the atmosphere. 

Kyrie setting the table for lunch

In the FastPass line, on our way to the Toy Story Arcade ride. At one point, the standby wait for this ride was nearly 2 hours long. 

WDW14: Pooh & Friends at The Crystal Palace

The evening of our full-day at Magic Kingdom, we had dinner at The Crystal Palace. This is a buffet meal with the Winnie-the-Pooh characters. We missed Tigger because of the timing of our arrival, but we knew that we would seem him at another meal. This was probably my least favorite meal, though I really like the characters who are just plushy & sweet. The kids were great at participating in dancing and parading at all the meals, including this one. It was a nice start to our evening!

The kids in the parade!