Our last full day of vacation had finally come. We had a super long day/night at Magic Kingdom the day before and we were looking at another full day in front of us. My parents were joining us and we had breakfast reservations at 8:15, before the park even opened! I know a lot of people who have taken advantage of early morning reservations at Magic Kingdom so you can get inside before the crowd and basically have Main Street to yourself. I hope to do that on our next trip there! But, I have to say, it was really neat being inside Animal Kingdom before it opened up, too. Everything was just so still and quiet! It was really peaceful actually and we were able to have the best view of the tree of life without a thousand people surrounding us.
Since we got back to our room the night before at midnight, waking up on this particular morning hurt a little bit. Since breakfast was at 8:15, (which was 7:15 to us) we had to get up and get going. The kids struggled waking up on this morning and they were super sleepy until we got to the front gates and then they perked right up!
Once we gave them our drink order, we helped ourselves to the buffet.
Oh the food! Anything you can imagine- they have. It was delicious!
That girl and her hair!
Landon got a hold of my camera :)
We beat my parents by just a few minutes so we sat and waited on them before they let us through for our reservation.
We stopped for a quick photo in front of the tree of life. There was literally no one there! It was really neat to experience the early morning entrance like that.
Waiting to go inside the Tusker House.
Oh the food! Anything you can imagine- they have. It was delicious!
Not long after we sat down with our food, Mickey stopped by! I took a ton of pictures but just grabbed a few to post on here. The kids were beside themselves! I really loved watching their excitement. It did my momma heart good!
#ohthathair #loveit
They followed the characters around the restaurant in a parade
Caught her in mid conversation with my dad!
Once breakfast was over, we were ready for tackle our first Fastpass of the day- Kilimanjaro Safaris! On our way, we came across a band playing in the street. They were SO entertaining! People would just stop and start clapping or dancing along with them. They ended up getting the kids involved and then pulled me out of the crowd to dance as well. It was a lot of fun and the kids were so tickled and their mom was out there dancing! haha. Adam recorded me, but I'll just share the pics ;)
How cute are they?!
We had tried to explain to the kids before our trip what we would do on this safari ride but I don't think it clicked until we sat down in the jeep to take our ride. We were all excited! I took lots of pictures but I'll just share a few. You get the idea lol
Also, we were a party of 6 and we were able to all sit together on the safari ride. If you want to be sure to get great pictures, try to sit at either end! I was in the middle so I was leaning over my dad and Adam every time I wanted to take a picture haha
After the ride, we ventured down a trail and everywhere you looked there was something to see and learn. The kids loved it!
We watched the gorilla's for the longest time. They were so entertaining! There was a baby gorilla, too. So stinking cute!
Our next fast pass was for the Festival of the Lion King and oh my goodness!! What an AMAZING show!! Seriously. This show is a must. Don't miss it!!
As soon as the show was over and we walked out, it started to rain. Funny thing about it is that I threw away all of our ponchos the night before! ha! Before going back to Magic Kingdom the night before, it sprinkled for about 10 minutes as we were waiting to get on the bus. We put them on and then by the time we arrived at the park, the rain was gone. I stuffed them under the stroller and went on our way. Well, I guess I just assumed we were safe from the rain and tossed them. So, we spent about 20 minutes under an awning and I spent $20.00 on a poncho. hahaha #memories
But, 20 minutes later, the sun came back out in full force and was hot hot hot!
We stopped and met Flik :)
Then we met Dug and Russell! We love the movie UP so they were a must see!
Next up, Mt. Everest!
We had a fastpass for this one but my mom chose to sit it out. So Adam, my dad, myself and the kids went while she stayed back. We weren't in the line 5 minutes before we found ourselves ready to get on. Adalyn is our brave one and ready to tackle whatever is in front of her whereas Landon is more reserved and asks lots of questions :) I do love that about him! I couldn't really answer his questions since I had never ridden it before but after the ride, he immediately said, "Momma, I don't think I want to ride that again." hahaha! I will say the ride took me for a loop, too. It was awesome, but man it was intense. Since my mom sat out of her fastpass, we got the rider swap ticket and went back on for a second time! This time, my dad and Landon stayed out and Adam and I took Adalyn. Well, after that second ride, I was done. I mean I felt like I could have puked all over Animal Kingdom. Blah. Adam actually rode with a guy on that ride and he told him this was his 16th time that morning to ride Mt. Everest. When he told me that, I was amazed. 2 times back to back on that ride wasn't ideal for me. lol. So I don't recommend that!
Cute snack truck!
We (slowly-ha) made our way into DinoLand and the kids rode a few carnival type rides while my mom, dad and I went inside a souvenir shop to get out of the heat and to help myself recover. I do have to say, I didn't care for DinoLand. There was nothing "Disney" about it and it looked like an area straight from your local fair or carnival. We didn't spend much time there before we bolted out of that area. I noticed the Finding Nemo musical was getting ready to begin so we got in line for that show. This is how I felt before it started haha
I was moving in slow gear for sure!
Once the show started, I was gaining my senses again. The show was very entertaining and the kids loved it! It was perfect timing to watch a Nemo show since Finding Dory was released in theater on that same day as well! We grabbed some lunch afterwards which made me feel a lot better. We met a few more characters and had a few more Mickey bars before we left for the day.
Landon was so chatty with all the characters!
These rags were lifesavers during our week!
I can't remember if I already mentioned this but the stroller company provides you with a little cooler you can hook on your stroller. We filled it with ice before we left our resort and threw our rags in there and pulled them out to cool us off.
Lifesavers!!
I am so thankful for my fun, loving parents!!
Look at that big ol' hug!
Meeting Baloo and Louie was the last thing we did at Animal Kingdom that day. If I remember correctly, we left the park around 4:00 ish and made our way back to enjoy our very last night at the resort. We started a load of laundry (no dirty clothes to wash once we got home- yes!!) and put on our bathing suits and went to the pool for the rest of the evening. We grabbed our supper and ate pool side. It was glorious!
Those would be Adalyn's legs-haha!
There's Dory!
Check out his Disney World tan ;)
It got her!
Quick picture of our bathroom. Once the curtain is pulled back, it looks like you're in Ariel's grotto. So neat!
And that wraps up our last day!!
I'll throw in a few more pictures of Saturday, the day we flew back home.
Adalyn chose this princess coloring set as her last souvenir at Animal Kingdom the day before.
Landon chose this Finding Dory set as his last souvenir. These little guys stay on his nightstand day in and day out! He loves playing with him and of course, Hank is his favorite!
Their names are printed inside their wristbands.
And just like that, after a year of saving and planning for this big vacation, it was over! Oh the memories we made! I seriously cannot wait to go again. If it were up to me, we would be going back next summer ;) BUT, it's our 10 year wedding anniversary and we are thinking about going somewhere big with the kids and my parents so the planning for that begins now!
Disney World, we will see you in 2018!
Here is the recap of our entire vacation!
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