Animal Kingdom and a little Magic ...

Today was another packed day. We managed to get on the road around 8:30 this morning. Since the plan was to end the day at Magic Kingdom, that's where we parked. We figured it would take a little more time to actually start the day, but save us time at the end of the day. So after picking up our tickets at "Will Call" we boarded a shuttle bus to Animal Kingdom. You know I had to shoot everything in site so it may have taken a wee bit longer to get where we were going ... but that's just the way it is. Our first stop was the Kilimanjaro Safari ride. Thankfully the wait wasn't long and our driver was quite entertaining. He told us all kinds of little tidbits that made the ride even more interesting - of course I don't remember most of it now but I really enjoyed it at the time! I know every time you do the safari ride you can see different animals, but I didn't think it was as good this time as when we were there before. I enjoyed it so much when we were there in 1999 that we did it twice. Don't get me wrong, it was good, just not fantabulous. Between riding on a rickety jeep, over bumpy roads and bridges, getting good pictures was definitely a challenge. Our driver slowed down at times but rarely stopped. I was lucky and got a few good ones.

Our next stop was the Tree of Life. Bob, Cari and I were so excited about seeing it again. It's just so fascinating to us! The carvings are just magnificent! And the 3D movie, "It's Tough Being a Bug," is awesome! We couldn't wait to see Mom's reaction to it. It was so worth it. She was amazed. We even knew what was coming and we were still surprised when the different 3D parts happened - the spraying of acid, stinging of bees, etc. I swear it really does look like the characters are right in front of your face and you can just reach out and touch them! So cool!! As we walked around the park you can see the tree from lots of different angles and it sure doesn't appear to be big enough to have a theater inside of it.

By the time we explored a bit, it was time to get a bite to eat. Mom says we're always eating - she isn't used to eating three meals a day. Huh, well she is while she's with us! Not that what we eat is always that good, but it's something. Today's lunch was pretty lame but we really didn't have a whole lot to choose from at the time. Anyway, after lunch we decided to catch the "Flights of Wonder" bird show. We got there right as it was starting so didn't get great seats, at least for taking pictures. It was pretty good - again, it just blows my mind what they can teach these critters to do.

Check out this random scene we passed on the way to our next stop - this is "Stroller Parking."

Now I know Disney is a place for kids, chronological and at heart. But fro? OK I have to take a moment to explain "fro." It's just a word Cari made up and it's caught on. One day when she was trying to say, "for real?" it all ran together and sort of came out, "fro?" We ended up using this "word" a lot during the week. Now back to the stroller thing ... why do people think taking babies and little kids to Disney is a wise and fun thing? Yeah, yeah, yeah, there are moments when they are having fun but for the most part they're miserable - which means their parents are miserable as well! And the biggest mistake I see is that the parents want to do the things they want to do as well, and when you're taking little ones to a park like this it has to be all about what the kids want - and when they are tired and ready to go home to bed, you need to take them home and put them to bed! Cari was ten years old when we took her - old enough to do everything we wanted to do and she didn't need naps or to go home at 7pm and go to bed. (Stepping down from my soap box ...)

We did a couple of walk throughs and a bit of shopping before going to another one of our "must do's" on the list - "Festival of the Lion King." This repeat attraction/show did not disappoint us. It was fabulous back in 1999 and it was fabulous today. Mom was once again amazed at the talent, costumes, everything. I managed to get some decent flash shots - enough to preserve the memories. And that was all we managed to cram into Animal Kingdom.

 We wanted to see the 7pm Electrical Parade at Magic Kingdom so we headed to the bus stop. You know, at this point I have to just say that people never cease to amaze and disappoint me. I don't think I have ever seen so many just plain out rude people in one place before. It's not just kids and young people either - there was a couple that had to be in their 70's cut right in front of us to get seats on the monorail. They know better!! It seems that common courtesy has completely disappeared in those who visit this part of the country. I'm telling you, it will blow your mind! People just stop in front of you, back up, run into you, knock into you, run you over, cut in front of you, etc. And with the amount of people here, it happens constantly! Sure does take some of the joy out of the day. OK, enough of that ...

... moving on to Magic Kingdom. We were delighted to see it still decorated for Christmas - although I will have to say at this point we're all pretty tired of hearing Christmas music still playing. Guess you gotta have one with the other, though right? Magic Kingdom is always magical but it's so beautiful for the holidays. Mom was happy just walking around looking at everything. Then the castle came into view. It just does something to your heart - makes you happy! It really is magical. We needed to kill some time before the parade so guess what? It was time to eat again! LOL We ended up at the "Starlight Cafe" eating barbecue. It was another so so meal but kept our stomachs quite for a while so it worked. (We pigged out on blueberries and apple slices when we got back to the condo.) Anyway, while we were sitting there killing time it started getting dark. We watched as the sky slowly darkened and the magic began on the castle. It turned from baby blue to pink to purple to orange. You know I had to play with my camera getting all kinds of different shots. And as the sky darkened it changed the whole scene. It was just gorgeous ... oh, and that was the side/back of the castle! Imagine how stoked I'd be if I could actually get to the front of it! Tomorrow night I'll try again.

 We made our way through the streets and crowds to try and find a decent spot to view the parade. To say it was challenging would be an understatement - but we did. This was another repeat that didn't disappoint us. And I hate to use this word yet again, but I can't find another one to do it justice ... it was magical. After all, this is Magic Kingdom. Cari and I played with different settings, flash, no flash, to try and get the best pictures. I think between us we managed to get enough to do the parade justice.

Our plan was to stay for the "Wishes Spectacular" show (fireworks) at 8pm and then head on out. Bob was desperate to sit down so and we couldn't find anywhere except pretty close to the entrance/exit. We "rested" there for the remaining half hour or so and ended up watching the fireworks from there. As we sat we people watched. A particular family walked by us with two small children, one in a stroller. The kids were crying and the parents were obviously not happy. Mom made the comment, "Are we having fun yet?" and we all completely lost it. The fireworks were beautiful but I think we were all so tired by that point it really didn't matter. We still had to stand in line to catch the monorail back to the ticket center and then stand in line to catch the tram back to the parking lot. We were just done.

On the way back to the condo I asked everyone to list their top three favorites from the day, so here they are:

Cari - "Tough to be a Bug," Electrical Parade, Safari
Mom - "Festival of the Lion King," Electrical Parade, Safari
Bob - "Tough to be a Bug," Safari, finding a seat after the parade
Me - "Tough to be a Bug," "Festival of the Lion King," and taking pics of the castle at dusk

Loot List:
Cari - flip flops
Mom - pin for Cameron, hat
Wanda - trading pins

And here it is 12:30am and I'm just finishing up my journaling and uploading pics to facebook. Tomorrow morning's gonna come early ... more Magic Kingdom tomorrow. :)