Tuesday, May 25th, 2010

The Animal Kingdom

Early in the morning, we get a phone call. Who can it be? It's Mickey Mouse, giving us a call to remind us that we've got to get up!

I had arranged an early morning wake-up for us, so we wouldn't miss our breakfast reservations, because these would be very special! We were somewhat groggy, but we climbed aboard the bus and headed over to the Animal Kingdom, where there were a lot of lines of people waiting to get in - but we walked right past them because we had reservations for a restaurant within the park! That's how I got this picture of Mommy and Madison in front of the Animal Kingdom's big tree - with no one else around! We had a nice cool walk through the park with hardly anyone else there, something pretty rare for May.

We made it to our destination, the Tusker House, where we enjoyed the most wonderful breakfast thus far. The layout was delicious, and there were even Mickey-shaped waffles for Madison and Daddy to munch on. What made the restaurant even better were the characters:

Madison met Daisy for the first time, and before that we met with her boyfriend Donald. He was most kind, despite the bad reputation and temper he's reported to have. There's something about Madison that probably melted his heart. Meanwhile, Daisy was touring inside, posing for photos and signing autographs. What's up with these two? I'm not sure if they're married or what. It seems like there's been enough time - I mean, are they even still seeing each other? Are they just friends, or is there something more going on?

Anyway, another legend was moving from table to table: Goofy! Here is one of Daddy's other favorites. It's a toss-up between Goofy and Donald. Goofy was quite playful, and Madison enjoyed giving him a high-five. Daddy did too! But that wasn't all the characters: can you believe Mickey Mouse was there too? That's right, the one we just met two days ago in Epcot was here at the Animal Kingdom too! He even changed his outfit, apparently ready to lead everyone on an awesome safari. Take a look:

Madison got just as excited to see Mickey as she did the other day. It was a big deal to have him come to her table. It was a perfect start to a very full day!

After breakfast, we picked up a fastpass to the Kilimanjaro Safaris, and spent our time waiting for that walking along the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail. Madison saw hippos, gorillas, fish, snakes, lizards, an okapi, and all kinds of birds. Soon though, it was time to board the jeep and head out into the wild for a safari adventure. Madison climbed aboard and sat between us, ready to spot the wildlife out there: we saw lions, rhinos, ostriches, zebras, giraffes, flamingos, and all sorts of gazelles - Madison kept looking above her at the animal chart to match them all up. Anyone who rides on this ride knows about the adventure chasing poachers, so you know that things got a little bumpy! All of us were airborne at times!

After our safari, we went for a nice walk around the tree, when Daddy noticed a vine. It wasn't just any vine though - it was DiVine! Just imagine a vine wrapped around a tree or a post. Suddenly the vine begins to move - and walk! Madison was fascinated by this unusual sight - but so was everyone else around. I was hoping to run into her: DiVine is a really cool little extra at the Animal Kingdom!

Our next stop was the Festival of the Lion King, which was a little bit of a walk to get to, but Madison enjoyed it. Daddy was hoping to get a little bit of inspiration for an upcoming series at KidPak called "Pridelands." We wanted to base it somewhat on "The Lion King," so we were watching to take notes and get ideas. It's a great show with wonderful performances, costumes and music. Really, a must-see!

After the show, Madison was zonked! We were going to go see the Finding Nemo show, but it was just too much. She was already falling asleep from having to get up so early. That's why we headed over to a restaurant in Asia to grab a bite to eat, and then visited a few gift shops, where Madison fell asleep in her stroller.

Alas, Daddy did not make it on the Everest Expedition again. Once more, the top of this mountain eludes me, as does its mysterious yeti! Three trips to this park, and three times I have been denied! Oh well: I guess that leaves something to look forward to next time.

Anyway, we hopped on a bus shortly after that and headed back to the resort. We rested somewhat in our pirate room, and after short time, Daddy decided to take Madison out to the nearest beach. Fortunately, we were at the Caribbean Beach Resort, and there were several to choose from!

Daddy and Madison took our shoes off to walk in the water a bit, but Madison had further plans. You see, the little architect just can't resist building things in the sand. To help out further, some complete strangers came up to us and blessed us with a bucket and a shovel. Ah, the true tools we needed! Madison built her castle in the sand, and soon after we decided it needed a proper irrigation system. Therefore, Daddy began a massive project that Teddy Roosevelt would be proud of. It was a huge canal that dug deep into the shoreline, all the way up to the sand castle. Each time a boat went by, the water from the lake would gently lap up against the castle walls. All its residents could cast fishing poles out their windows, and go fishing now! It was a wonderful hour, where the two of us were quite content to work on a huge project in the sand - but soon we had to get back to Mommy in the room!

When we arrived, it was shortly decided that we should go eat - and eat we did! We used our diner plan to have a meal at the Port Royale area right there in the resort. It was actually a really good meal! The three of us had nearly too much food, listening to the calypso music, enjoying the scenery of the location and enjoying the food as well.

But what to do with the rest of the evening? Mommy had a great idea: why not head over to the Disney Village?

Here's a picture of Madison in front of the Irish restaurant they have there, Raglan Road Irish Pub and Restaurant. We were too full to be eating anything else this night, but we enjoyed walking around Disney Village as always. We started out by Cirque du Soleil and were disappointed their store was closed up temporarily for renovations. Oh well, there's still a lot more to see, plus we'll be seeing Cirque in a few months anyway.

We ventured through the usual places, and made our way over to the Disney Marketplace, where we spent a lot of time in that huge Disney Store there. We found ourselves some ornaments for Christmas to remember our trip by: these are four pirate ornaments (just like our room), and each one is also a Disney character!

Mommy also found some great teacups and a pot for a future unbirthday party with Alice in Wonderland, as well as a Mickey gnome that will look great in the garden. The big fun was our Mr. Potato Head station visit, something we do nearly every time we go to Disney. Here you can find a whole bunch of items to go on your Mr. Potato Head. You get a box for $18, and you fill it with as much that you can, while still being able to shut the lid. Mommy is a legend at packing things in, and this night was no different. Madison and Daddy found items to put in, and Mommy made sure they all got crammed into that little box! Now, our Mr. Potato Head Empire will be even greater! Moo-ah-ah-ah!

We got so much stuff that Madison's stroller was top heavy. She had to stay in it so that it wouldn't tip over! We did quite a bit of shopping and had fun looking around, but saw the time and decided to hop on the boat that took us over to the West Side, where we parked to begin with (it would have been a long walk back!).

It was another full day, but tomorrow we could sleep in. Lunch reservations were late, and it would be our return to the Magic Kingdom.