[gcbdad]

Here is our 1 day trip report to Animal Kingdom for my 40th Birthday.

Cast of characters

Myself - 40
DW - 7 Months pregnant
DD7 - 7 Yr old Daughter
DD5 - 5 Yr old Daugthter
DS5 - 5 Yr old Son

DF - Friend
DFW - Friend's wife
DFDD9 - Friend's 9 Yr old Daughter
DFDS5 - Friend's 5 Yr old Son.

After weighing our options and the fact that we had visited MK and EPCOT recently, we decided that we were going to go to AK to celebrate my 40th birthday. We had only been to AK for a 1/2 day last February so we didn't really get to see much of the park. We live nearby so we left our house at 8:30 to meet our friends in AK at 10:00. Just as we got to the Kissimmee area we said our usual hello's to the Mickey shaped power pole. My kids always say "Hi Mickey. We love you. We will see you soon." We arrived at 9:40 and after going through security and the long lines we waited inside by Guest Services for our friends. I know the parks are all different sizes but it seems to me that they need to increase the size of the entrance. It wasn't that crowded but we had to wait in line for 15 minutes to get through the entrance. We met our friends and got our usual Double Stroller then headed out towards the Anteater. DFW is an avid Anteater fan, so this was a must before we did anything else. We headed towards the Tree of Life, took a couple of pictures then decided that we would go towards the Safari first. Now DW is 7 months pregnant so we were not on a fast pace at all on this day. On the way there was a CM calling our the show times for the Pocahantas SHOW so we decided to see it first. Now DS5 is going through a "I am afraid of everything phase", so he would not go anywhere near this show. I think this had allot to do with the last time we were at AK and we decided to go see "It's Tough to be a Bug" SHOW. He was terrified of ITTBAB and we think that since it was a SHOW he wanted no part of any more SHOWS. He and I sat on a bench and waited for everyone else to see the SHOW. Everyone came out and commented on how great it was. Did I mention that it was a Hot, Clear day. We took a few minutes to apply Sunscreen then headed out to the Safari. We got to the safari and the wait time said 10 minutes but the CM said it was more like 20 so we got Fast Passes and went on the jungle trek. I forgot the actual name. After we finished the trek, we got a couple of waters had to wait for 5 minutes until our Fast Pass time. This was our first time on the safari so we were exited to see the animals. We were even lucky enough to have a Giraffe and a Rhino right next to our jeep during hte tour. Now this did not phase DS5 at all. I think I was a little more concerned about the Rhino than he was. Oh well, go figure. Now we checked our watches and it was around noon. We had PS's at the Rainforest Cafe for 12:30. Our friends were telling us that DS5 might be a little scared due to the darkeness and the animals. On the way to luch we stopped again to see the Anteaters. This became a trend. We made it to the Rainforest cafe and were seated right away. We were seated right beside the Gorillas, and the first time they went off, DD5 jumped 5 feet in the air and wanted to leave. I moved him next to me and although a little leary he did calm down. As a matter of fact, by the time we left, he was laughing at the silly gorillas. Lunch was really good.

Myself - Pulled beef wrap
DW - Ship Pizza
DD7 - Child's cheese pizza
DD5 - Child's hotdogs
DS5 - Childs Mac & Cheese
DF - Pulled Beef wrap
DFW - Chicken Wrap
DFDD9 - Child's Mac & Cheese
DFDS5 - Child's Mac & Cheese

The service was really not too good and slow, and we were not exactly happy about the 17% gratuity that was added because of the bad service but all in all it was a good experience.

We then headed out towards DinoLand, after stopping to see the Anteaters. The kids were really excited about the play area but first we headed towards Primevil Whirl where Myself, DD7, DF & DFDD9 decided to give it a try. There was no line and we sat right down. DD7 was a little unsure at first but we loved this ride. While we rode this the rest of the crew went on the Dumbo like Dinosaur ride next to the Prime Evil Whirl. We got off and headed towards Dinosaur. Myself, DD7, DF, DFW & DFDD9 decided to go on. I tried to talk DD7 out of it but she said she wanted to try. At least she did until we got inside when she broke down and cried. We decided that we would do the child swap, with my friends riding the ride and when they got off, myself and DF went on the ride. This was very dark and intense. DD7 would not have enjoyed it so she made the right choice. We then took a break and got water for the adults and Ice Cream for the kids. Then it was time for the play area. DW and DFW took a break while myself and DF chased the kids throughout the play area. After about 30 minutes of trying to help all of my kids do everything I decided that we had had enough and needed to head on. As I said it was not going to be a fast pace so looking at my watch I noticed it was 3:20. Did I mention that it was 92 degrees and clear. It was also humid, so this took it's toll of poor DW. Our friends wanted to hop to another park but DW was wiped out. We headed towards the exit, took a moment to see the Anteaters (what a surprise), said goodbye to our friends. There were several characters standing inside and outside of the gate so we took some pictues and got a few autographs. We then hit the tram to our van. Of course the kids were not really happy about leaving, but they never are. I told them that we would do another day trip to WDW in October, or at least I would take them, so that eased some of the hurt. Once we got on the road and said goodbye to the Mickey ear shaped power pole, we headed home. It took all of 10 minnutes before I was the only one awake. I had my reservations about this trip to AK, especially since I live so close to Busch Gardens, but I ended up really liking it. I had posted a thread last week asking for opinions on the Rainforest cafe. Some of the responses were not favorable so I was also a little concerned about this, but we ended up really liking it and will definitely go again. Next time we might hit the bigger restaurant in DTD.

[roncss]

gcbdad: :D :D Great Day! Great Day TR. Sounds like your B'day was great, as well. We may have to try RFC again for a lunch, based on your experience.
Ron

[sandanv1]

What a great way to spend your birthday!! Did you get your birthday button ?

[gcbdad]

Originally posted by sandanv1
What a great way to spend your birthday!! Did you get your birthday button ?

They were out. I read on another thread that they experienced the same thing with the buttons being out at one of the parks.

[LRTJS]

How awful about the button. That should never happen at DW.
Sounds like a wonderful birthday for you. I know it was hard on DW but sounds like she handled it well. The heat I am sure was hard. Where are the anteaters? I think I must have missed them, but I am quite sure you can tell me where to find them.:D