Anyhoo. Day 5 started with a trip to Animal Kingdom.
Now. Hate me if you must, but I'm just not that huge of a fan of Animal Kingdom. We only spent the better part of a half a day there. I just felt like I was at the zoo....and I can go to the zoo at home. Avery is in a stage where "aminals" are the bees knees so she had a blast- which is all that mattered. We had fast passes for the safari, Finding Nemo on-stage, and Expedition Everest. All were great choices. The safari was a lot shorter than I remembered from 10 years ago, but still really entertaining. My brother did make a name for himself on the bus, however. We were driving by the pride of Lions and he busts out with the introduction song for the Lion King...you know the one... "NAAAAAAAAAASEEEEBEEEEENNNNYEEEAAAAHHHH". The bus driver stopped the bus and said, "There's one on every bus." I was in tears laughing so hard.
A somewhat artsy shot...elephant, reflecting pool, you get it.
The Finding Nemo show was something straight off of Broadway. It was awesome. About 5 minutes in you forget you are watching people act with puppets on stage and all you see is the character. It was awesome. Avery even got into it and started saying, "Nemo! Nemo!".
After the show, mom and dad took Avery back to the room for her nap while the big kids rode Expedition Everest. It was awesome. I somewhat expected the backwards part to last longer (they didn't consult me for ride design, obviously) but other than that it was worth the 2 minute wait via Fast Pass. After we rode this, I started feeling a little off. Like exhausted met motion sick met hungry met off. Everyone was kinda over Animal Kingdom at this point and we elected to meet mom and dad back at the hotel to regroup for the afternoon.
On Expedition Everest
The original 4.
After hanging out with more lights than we've ever seen ever, we decided to head back to the hotel and get ready for Day 6- return to the Magic Kingdom. EEEK! :)
Day 6: Magic Kingdom (MK)
We somewhat slept in....as much as Avery would let us. I wish I had an internal clock as spot on as hers. We got back to MK and had Fast Passes to meet Ariel, ride Journey to the Little Mermaid, and Enchanted Tales with Belle.
Another one of the Warren favorite attractions is the Enchated Tiki Room. Believe me, if you want to get a song stuck in your head other than It's A Small World, the Tiki tiki tiki tiki room song is the song for you. We got in line to get seated and waited about 5 minutes for the door to open into the theatre. We got our seats, started pointing out the different birds to Avery, and then were promptly told that the lead bird had "lost his voice"....AKA- it was somehow broken. So, as soon as we sat down, we were up and leaving. I seriously thought it was a joke- as did everyone else. Just outside of the Tiki Room are the Flying Magic Carpets from Aladin. It's the same thing as Dumbo...but just with Magic Carpets. Originally these were supposed to be closed for refurbishment during our 7 day visit but they finished it a couple of days early. Jackpot.
"I can show you the world...."
After flying around in a circle, we tried to back to the Tiki Room but the birds still had laryngitis. Boo. Hiss.
Off to meet Ariel in her grotto. Again, if I've said it once, I'll say it 5 more times. Use your Fast Passes to meet characters if at all possible. Avery FREAKED OUT (in the best way possible) from excitement when we got into the room where she could see Ariel. She literally screamed, "ARIEL!". Precious. The poor kid didn't know what to do with herself when I sat her down next to Ariel. Her eyes were as big as saucers. Ariel grabbed Avery's hands to hold them and all Avery could do was stare at her hands being held by Ariel. I could almost hear the internal dialogue of, "Oh my gosh she's real. Oh my gosh she's real" going on in Avery's little mind. It was precious. Jacob and I finally sat down with her and Ariel and we got a smiling picture.
Here's an insider tip for you- if you want to meet Belle in her yellow ball gown, this is the best place to do it. When you are with her at Epcot, she's typically in her blue dress from the beginning of the movie, and, on the day we saw her at Epcot, she had on a massive cape that covered the dress because it was cold. I know that she will have on the yellow dress at Character dinners, but this is the cheapest way to see her the way that most people know her. The key is to get a part in the "play". My brother and I both lucked out and got parts in the play. He was a knight and I was the singing wardrobe. Appropriate. 2 things I love...singing....and a wardrobe. If you get a part in the play, you get to have your picture taken with her at the end of the show. I had Avery run up to me right before it was my turn so she could see Belle too. It worked like a charm.
Nap time came quickly after we met Belle. While Avery was resting, the big kids went and got a Dole Whip. Yum. Yes. Yum.
....and then got suckered into walking up about 5849q54030826 (yes, q, it's a new numerical notation) steps to walk around the Swiss Family Robinson tree house.
I had a few things on my list that I needed, yes needed, to get while we were at MK. One of them was Avery's first pair of Mickey ears. Jeremy and Valerie also got ears for their wedding in February. Aren't they cute?!
Avery's first Mickey ears!
Jacob and I got some alone time in the park after we picked up Avery's Mickey ears. We went to go ride It's A Small World and The Haunted Mansion again.
Avery, Gigi, and Granddad met us back at the park at this point. We had changed out some of our Fast Passes to ride the race cars in Tomorrowland. While waiting on them to return, Jacob and I got a chance to just sit for a few minutes in one of the restaurants in Tomorrowland. One of the ladies was washing the windows right next to where we were sitting. Let me tell you, I'll be washing my windows this way from now on.
That would be Cinderella's Castle- complete with fireworks- out of window cleaner. Yes and amen.
Avery and her Granddad on Main Street after nap time.
Trying on sparkling Minnie Mouse ears
Avery got to ride with Granddad on the Tomorrowland Speedway!
We all survived! It's a wonder I passed a driving test!
Our day at MK came to a close and we headed back to the hotel...dreading what the last day meant. It would be our last full day at Disney World...but we would be spending it at Magic Kingdom. :)
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