Day Three: Animal Kingdom (Porkchop)

Without really intending to, it just so happened that we ended up at the Animal Kingdom even earlier than before. We got to the AK bus stop and just seconds later a bus pulled up. The guy waited about thirty seconds, then went ahead and whisked us away. There was only one other family on the bus. The driver was talkative and we learned that his all-time favorite TV show was "Dallas" and that his hero was J.R. from "Dallas". He admitted to watching the show every single day after he gets done driving buses.

I've been enjoying getting to the parks before they open, but I hate all the rushing that is involved in getting to your desired ride after the rope drops. People get all crazy and start running with strollers and dragging their kids behind on leashes. Traveling in a party of just two adults certainly makes things easier, but I wish there was a way we could avoid the mess altogether. But then I guess I wouldn't get to see the early-morning park opening shows.



We got over to Asia as quickly as our non-running speed-walking legs would take us and got a fastpass for Expedition Everest. The mountain was still under construction when I was last there and it was exciting to finally see it on the AK skyline. It made for some really beautiful pictures and the blood-curdling screams emanating from the mountain got you excited for the ride.

I was a little nervous at first, but ended up having a blast on Expedition Everest. We went on it twice and thought about going a third time before we left but were worried about making our dinner at Boma.

I think that Animal Kingdom was my favorite park of this trip (so far). Maybe it's just because it's still so new to me or maybe it's just the relaxed pace of the park, but I really like it a lot.





Finding Nemo wasn't as super-great as I'd hoped. It was still great, just not super-great. I still think that Festival of the Lion King is more entertaining, but I mostly just like the little guys dancing around dressed like animals. Those guys really seem to enjoy their job.

Earlier on in our day at Animal Kingdom, we rode Kali River Rapids. When I went with my brother last time, we wore ponchos but barely got wet. This time, I skipped the poncho but was wishing that I'd had it. Within the first thirty seconds of the ride I was completely soaked, and I continued to get splashed throughout the rest of the ride. I think I was in the worst spot on the raft! Here's a picture of me afterward:



Animal Kingdom closed at 6pm and we went straight over to the Animal Kingdom Lodge for our 6:30pm ADR at Boma. We explored the hotel a bit before going down to eat. It was neat to see giraffes milling about outside the rooms, but it really seemed wrong somehow. I just think that giraffes in a safari ride are one thing...



But having them penned in near a hotel is just strange.



In order to get back to our hotel after dinner, we had to hop a bus to one of the other parks and then switch to a bus to POP. The Epcot bus came first and when we got on we made a last minute decision to stay at Epcot for the Illuminations show.



We positioned ourselves strategically near Mexico and the bridge that goes back over by Test Track. We had a good view of the fireworks and right before the grand finale, we slowly backed out onto the bridge and got ready to scramble back out to the buses ahead of the crowd. I'm glad that we stayed for the show, since we missed it the other night, but I was also very glad to get back to the hotel.

Today was great, but tonight turned out to be pretty "crappy"... and I say that quite literally. I won't go into the details but let's just say that the Disney Dining Plan has messed up my fragile digestive system a little bit. My body isn't used to three meals a day, let alone three giant bad-for-you meals a day. *sigh*

Now that I'm all cleaned out and ready to go, I can ride Tower of Terror in the morning without having to worry about soiling myself. I hear that one really scares the crap out of you! Har Har Har...

[Thunderous laughter]

No, Thank you.... Thank you, really! You're too kind.
I'll see you tomorrow at Disney-MGM Studios!