Animal Kingdom and Hollywood & Vine

Today we were up early again so we could get to Animal Kingdom in plenty of time for the early hours which started at 7.30am this week. We decided to drive to all parks except Magic Kingdom, so set off at 6.20am and were at the park gates by 6.30am. Lines were already pretty long, and they didn’t move for what seemed like ages (I felt as if they were waiting until 7am so that everyone could book their Genie+/ Lightning Lanes before they started moving as we’ve always been let in earlier in the past, especially when queues were now stretching past security). It did give us time to take a few photos in front of the tree, which is outside the park entrance here, which was nice. Once we did get moving, we discovered as usual that we had the slowest lane as Animal Kingdom had apparently employed Flash from Zootopia to work our turnstile, but we were still in the park and heading towards Flight of Passage by just after 7.10am.

Early morning onsite time is great and there are definitely smaller crowds, but not all of the rides are open, so you have to be careful to check out which are before making your plan for the day. We knew we wanted Flight of Passage and Safari (Everest makes Polly & I feel too travel sick on the backwards part that it ruins the whole day for us, and it was a bit too chilly for the rapids sans poncho) The safari didn’t open until official opening so we, along with the rest of the world, headed towards Flight of Passage. The queue always looks intimidating at rope drop but never takes too long so if you can do it that way it’s a good choice. The other option is later at night, but that would not have worked for us as we rarely make it anywhere near park close.

Despite taking travel sickness tablets Polly was really worried today. Last time we went on the ride she felt really dizzy afterwards, and even though the 10 times prior to that she felt fine, it was still playing on her mind. She almost backed out when we got to the actual ride room but stuck with it after I promised to keep my eyes open with her (it isn’t my favourite for the motion sickness aspect) and she absolutely loved it and watching the screen whilst smelling the smells I think I finally relaxed and realised that we were actually there at Disney, and for the first time I felt all the emotions. Ok, so I had to wobble my way off whilst we headed to Starbucks, but it was worth it. 

We usually travel in summer when, even first thing, the temperature is hotter than the sun, and although we love the safari the animals are always a little lethargic. Today though, in the cooler morning, they were out in force. It was brilliant. We saw everything in action. Winnie was in awe, particularly of the hippos who were out of the water.  It made me realise how little she was last trip and how she’d forgotten so many things which was sad, but also wonderful as it was like she was seeing things for the first time again. 

After the safari it was time for Tusker House. Now I am not a big breakfast fan at all. I’m just not keen on the standard egg/ bacon/ waffle combo which is what is now served to you here (I did love the buffet breakfast as I could happily live off the plantain!) but the girls really wanted to do it. We were a little hesitant about dining indoors, but as soon as we entered the room and we saw how much space they’d created between tables we felt completely at ease. You get given POG juice and pastries to start with before your food is bought on a big family platter, and you can ask for more of anything. There were breakfast potatoes, bacon, sausage, scrambled egg (if you can call it egg) and waffles, plus a separate plate of curry and rice. Whilst I don’t love breakfast, I do love food, so decided to go for the standard potato/ rice/ curry option (because who wouldn’t choose that at 9am?) and it was delicious! What wasn’t quite so delicious was being to smell my own curry breath for the rest of the morning every time I had my mask on! 

Characters came around frequently and spent a good amount of time at each table. They also danced around the middle of the room at certain points during the meal. It was lovely and a lot better than I expected, which is a good job as those Disney meals aren’t cheap. (God rest the free Dining plan!) We had actually loaded up two gift cards to use for food which kind of made it feel free, but it still wasn’t the same! Even so, it was nice not to feel you had to force a meal just so you didn’t waste credits, and we definitely spent less than we would have if there had been a paid dining plan option as Polly would have been classed as an adult, so I would do that again for another trip for sure.

We planned to go and hang about on the bridge to Dinoland to watch some of the character rafts and the Kite Tails show, but on the way there a cast member at the bird show came up to the girls and asked if they’d like VIP seats at the front. Now, Winnie is terrified of birds. Last time we went to London we had to leave the park where we were eating lunch because pigeons were within 10 feet of her, and she was in full panic mode. I hate birds (in fairness I hate anything unpredictable that I can’t control), so any normal person would have explained this and politely declined. Except we are British, and way too polite, so of course we said thank you and followed the lady to the front. Now I absolutely hate any sort of attention, so walking through the full crowd and perching down in front of people who’d been sat waiting for ages made me want to disappear into the ground. That, accompanied by the fact that Winnie was now starting to panic meant we almost upped and left before the show even began. But we didn’t. We watched the pre-show which was really interesting, and Winnie started to actually relax. She decided she’s like to stay longer so we ended up watching the whole show, and do you know what? It was really good. It’s not something I’d have ever chosen to go and see but it was worth it, and Winnie immediately asked if we could go again next trip. Complete win all round.

We were now later than we’d planned to be in the park as the girls really wanted to go for a swim before our Hollywood Studios evening, so we grabbed a Frozen Coca Cola and headed to watch Kite Tails, the place where kites go to die, from the Dinoland bridge. We didn’t go to the stadium itself as it’s a bit of a trek and was the wrong side of the park for getting to the exit, but the view was plenty good enough to see the giant puppet balloons crashing dramatically. I mean, who doesn’t love seeing a giant Balloo dive headfirst into a concrete step?

It was now time to head out. On the way to the exit, we saw the Merry Menagerie of winter puppets which were absolutely amazing. They honestly seemed to have their own personalities. So clever.

Back at the hotel the girls were straight out and in the pool. Although I absolutely adore Animal Kingdom Lodge, I do think there is a massive design flaw with the pool area. The fence around the actual pool is way too close, meaning the beds are very limited. There are other beds outside of the fence, but they are no use when you have small people to keep an eye on. Also, the bed hogging was real with so many people leaving things on them and not appearing for hours on end. 

After an hour or so we headed back to the room to get ready for Hollywood Studios. We had a Hollywood and Vine tea booked (world’s most expensive day for meals!) and were hoping we’d stay up late enough to see the Hollywood Tower become the beacon of light.

As we got to the park a lot of people seemed to be leaving, but it was still very crowded. I think out of all the parks, this is the one we found hardest to manage in terms of crowd avoidance. It was as busy as firework turning out time whenever you were there, with so many people all going in different directions. We were a bit early so decided to watch Muppet 3-d Vision before tea as there is never too long a wait for that. Well, when I say ‘we’ I actually mean me and the girls as it is tradition for Steve to spend some time alone with his beer flight at the Tap House whenever we go to the Muppets!

After the show (the girls couldn’t believe Waldo pointed to them again! Every time!!) we headed to the restaurant and checked in easily enough. Hollywood and Vine isn’t my favourite but after 2 years of missed trips for the girls we decided that we’d do it. To be fair, the food was good (no longer a buffet so you order from a menu), and our server was really nice and attentive. The characters seemed pretty rushed but still interacted with each table, and the girls really enjoyed it.

It was edging towards dusk as we left so we decided to try and tick off the ‘Slinky Dog in the Dark’ request from Polly from our list. Timing actually worked perfectly as it was dark just as we got on the ride which made for a great ride, a great photo pass picture? Not so much! 

By this time, we were all tired, and when the girls asked if we could head back to the hotel and see the beacon a different day, we were more than happy to go along with them. As the last 3 nights of our trip would be at Yacht Club, we knew we could just walk over to see it one evening then, so wouldn’t miss out.

Topolinos breakfast tomorrow because you can never have too many character meals on a trip (apparently!)