Disney Day 3 - Animal Kingdom Revisited

I think Vacation Mode finally kicked in today. Instead of setting the alarm and hustling out of the room, we let the kids sleep in (until 7:30 ET). They slept much better last night, and were well rested this morning.

Today, we conquered a few things in



I really only had two things I wanted to do while I was there – the Kilamajaro Safari & the Nemo musical. We headed to the Safari first, and even though we were in a mob of people, we basically walked right on the ride. We were in the front row of the “bus” and Tanner & Morgan enjoyed it. But, they always love all of the animals.

We spent some time hanging out in the “Africa” portion of the Animal Kingdom, which included some lively music demonstration.



Tanner is our music lover, and I think he really enjoyed this.

We then ate lunch at the Tusker House in Animal Kingdom. I have to say, for anyone heading out to Disney soon & on the dining plan, this was one of the best meals that we had as a “counter service” the entire time we’ve been here. We purchased the kids Mac & Cheese, Randy had Salmon, and I had a ½ Roasted Chicken. What I had of the chicken was good – Morgan polished off more of it than I did, and Tanner had a crack at it, too. The vegetables were great (fresh green beans and carrots). We felt this was one of the best bang for our bucks.

Then we headed out to the Nemo Musical. As we headed in that direction, we noticed that Pooh, Eeyore, and Tigger were available for meet-n-greet, so we decided to stop by and say hello. Based on the kids normal personalities, we were expecting Morgan to be very shy during this whole thing. Boy, did we get it wrong.

Morgan LOVED the characters this time…



Tanner did not.



After that, we headed to the Nemo musical. To find that we’d missed the showing by about 20 minutes. The next showing wasn’t until 1 p.m., and with our scheduled outing tonight, we didn’t think that would work (of all of the “rules” we have here, naps are the most set in stone).

So, I took a deep breath and reminded myself that we can’t do it all while we are here and still have an enjoyable time. So, we skipped the Nemo musical and hit a few of the shops on our way out of the Animal Kingdom.


Now, I’m going to take a few minutes to comment on why people return over & over & over again to Disney. We have had exceptional service & accommodation so far during our stay. We have never encountered a place that did not take Tanner’s egg allergy seriously – or without concern for what he could eat (and to make sure that he did have something to eat). We’ve worked with the head chef at every sit-down meal that we have had. This has just been a huge burden lifted from our shoulders.

It’s also the people that help you every single day. Yesterday, I decided to change our Friday night reservations. Instead of Downtown Disney for Wolfgang Puck’s, we decided to stay closer to one of the parks. The lady who helped us was so patient checking the different restaurants until she found us reservations at Liberty Tree Tavern. The lady in the store today talked to Morgan – one on one. Yesterday at Downtown Disney, the checker let Tanner help scan our purchases.



The maid made a “crown” to put all of our toothbrushes in. It’s really been top-notch exceptional service. The wait staff has been knowledgeable, helpful, and friendly. I haven’t had a single even slightly negative encounter yet. It is truly amazing to me.

Oh, and the view doesn’t hurt either…(this was taken on our walk to our hotel room from the lobby).



And, lastly, gratuitous picture of my favorite little boy enjoying his “Mickey” ice cream sandwich: