I was hoping we’d all sleep a bit later today but I woke up at 4am with a throat coated in a solid layer of mucus (too much information?!) and everyone else was close behind so. we decided we may as well try an Animal Kingdom rope drop as we were heading there anyway. We were planning on leaving at 7-ish as it was an 8am Extra Magic Hours day, but when I checked the bus time at 6.25am we saw one was due at 6.31am so we decided to try and catch it despite not yet being fully ready. Cue a scene reminiscent of Benny Hill followed by a mad dash for the bus. Now if you’ve ever stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge you’ll know most of the rooms, ours included, are a bit of a trek from the buses. About halfway through the labyrinth of corridors Polly declared that she had one of Winnie’s sandals on and her toes were hanging over the edge! Being the caring mum that I am I told her she’d have to cope until we got on the bus (Disney waits for no man whether he/ she is wearing ill fitting sandals or not!!) We got to the bus stop and the bus was already there. The girls asked the driver to wait for daddy (I have absolutely zero voice today!) and all was good. Apparently no one else was crazy enough to head to AK so early as we were the only ones on the bus, so plenty of room for sandal switching and suncream application (although I’m not sure why suncream was necessary when it was still dark! Steve said we’d be better off with mooncream. How my sides don’t split frtom laughter being married to him is nothing short of a miracle).
We arrived at Animal Kingdom at 6.45am and were one of the first groups there. Security wasn’t open until 7 but we got in line until it opened up. After security we were held at the turnstiles until 7.30-ish. We had our usual issues getting through as despite entering the parks about 1000 Disney turnstile and having both us and the CM telling them how to do it, the girls undoubtedly still always use the wrong hand/ finger! Bet the people behind love us!!! Amazingly we were through in the second attempt and followed the crowd to the rope at the top of the entrance path. The rope only held us up for a few minutes before it was let down and we were allowed to follow a CM to the ride. We got to the start of the Flight of Passage queue at 7.40am and were off the ride by 8.10am to enjoy the rest of the EMH. The ride really is amazing, although it gives me ridiculous motion sickness (I usually take travel sickness tablets but forgot!) so I spent the whole time gulping for air! It was well worth suffering the sickness and the early get up though (I actually think we could have got the next bus from the resort and still been on and off in a similar time) so if you don’t have a Fastpass or are up early, it’s definitely a good way to do things.
We then went to the safari which had no queue. I love the early safaris as there always seem to be lots of animals out and about. We saw loads of things but most were on the other side of the jeep to me so I couldn’t get many photos as the girls’ gigantic ears were in the way (their Mickey ears that is…their actual ears are a fairly normal size!) We then went to meet Safari Mickey & Minnie with a fast pass before a quick coffee break for Steve. The girls wanted to go to The Boneyard (big dinosaur themed play area) and as it was quite cloudy we decided it was a good call and a way to build up an appetite for our Tusker House breakfast. Plus, there are huge fans there and seating areas meaning I could sit and write the start of this blog in a place other than the toilet!! Winning at life today!
Next was a Tusker House breakfast (well, actually it was lunch time by their timings but still lots of breakfast things out). I booked the Rivers of Light package as even though I wasn’t sure we’d make it to that time of night, it was still only 1 credit each so definitely worth it if you’re on the dining plan as you get reserved seating for the show. I know Tusker gets mixed reviews, and I’m neither a big breakfast or buffet lover, but I always find enough food that I enjoy to make this a worthwhile meal for us (I love the sweet mustard sauce and essentially smother everything on my plate in it!) We used to alternate it with Flame-tree Barbecue, but whilst we love the food there, the sound of Winnie screaming that the giant birds are not only going to eat her food but her as well doesn’t make for true most relaxing meal.
After the meal we were going to watch The Lion King show but the girls had a last minute change of mind and decided they wanted to try Kali River rapids which we had a fast pass for but weren’t sure they’d be brave enough to use. I know it’s pretty tame but these are the girls that refuse to do Pirates of the Carribbean (vaguely understandable due to the darkness) and Frozen (!!!) due to the big drops! We decided to head straight over and get on the ride before they had time to change their minds. Whilst we were waiting for Steve to put the bag in a locker, a lovely couple came up to us as they recognised us from the blog! It made the girls’ day and Polly said it made her feel proud and tingly! Bless her! Winnie had a bit of a wobble in the queue as I think she was expectin the worst, but both girls loved the ride and have asked to go on it again on our next AK day.
We then walked through the Jungle trail and saw the tigers etc. as it was right next to the rapids exit and every time we’ve visited before the tigers have been missing. The plan was then to go to see The Lion King, but it was around 2pm and after a 4.30am wake up we were all shattered, so we decided to head back to the hotel for a swim break before potentially heading back to AK for the evening.
The girls had so much fun in the pool. They’ve invented a game where one of them is called Captain Campfire who has the power to solve crime with toasted marshmallows, and the other is Captain Disco who renders enemies immobile with her snazzy moves! Wonder if they could solve Brexit for us? They also enjoyed taking part in some of the organised pool games including a game where they had ice cold water balloons burst over their heads and a paid activity tie-dying pillowcases (although the computer wouldn’t accept my magic band so we didn’t end up having to pay!)
We then made the decision not to go back to AK even though the Flight of Passage fast pass was calling us! We are all in need of some sleep so decided a quick tea and an early night were just what we needed. We spent some time looking at the amazing view form the balcony and the girls are currently eating their tea on the bed accompanied by their toy haul.
Another early start at HS tomorrow although we have enough fast-passes to not worry too much about extra early rope drop, unless we are awake of course which is highly likely as we are human equivalent of NYC (the family that never sleeps!)
Thanks for reading. Hopefully it all made sense as cold meds and antihistamines make me even more dopey than usual! Hoping to be back to feeling more human tomorrow so be prepared for excessive ramblings once more!
Doodle & Peg Do Disney 