Animal Kingdom

On Thursday, we headed to the Animal Kindgom. We got an early start but the park seemed a little more busy on this day. We hopped on the little tram and made it to the park in record time. We were truly amazed at how efficient Disney hauls people in and out of the park. They have it down to a science! I guess you have to be that way with as many visitors they get each day! 

When we got to the park we headed to the back of the park and got a fast past to the jungle cruise and then headed to do some of the other rides while we waited.  

 One of the first things we did was check out the Bugs Life 3D movie. It is one of my favorites and I was so excited for the kids to see it. Both of the kids got a little "creeped" out by all the bugs. They especially didn't like the part where it feels like there are bugs climbing around under you or behind you. Here are my cute little bugs wearing their 3D bug glasses.

 One new feature at the Animal Kingdom is their Everest Ride. In the picture below you can see the kids standing in front of "Everest." There is a huge Roller coaster that goes in and out of the mountain. Mark decided to brave the ride and go on it. I have learned that I can't tolerate roller coasters anymore. To be honest, after Mark got off the ride he looked a little pale. He said it was a fun ride minus the part where you go backwards in the dark and do an upside down loop! YIKES! I was so glad I didn't go on it.

Kaleb and I also braved another ride called the River Rapids. It was cold because it had rained the night before so it was super chilly. Kaleb ended up not getting wet but I got drenched. It was fun to go on a ride with just the two of us and have some bonding time. 

The kids seemed to like Animal Kingdom but begged us continually to head back to Magic Kingdom. That was by far their favorite park. I think the most memorable part of going to Animal Kingdom was riding the Jungle Cruise ride. It is like going on an African Safari in the Savanna. Like I mentioned before it had rained the night before and so the animals were out and were very active. We had been told to go on this ride either early in the morning or late afternoon because that is when the animals were most active. We must have timed it right because we saw Giraffe's, crocs, elephants, rhinos, ostriches, Boars, Muskrats, and Flamingos. 

We were able to see most of these up close. We also got to see a lion which was sleeping among some rock formations. We really enjoyed taking this ride and having a Safari Adventure as a family. I can only imagine what a real Safari would be like. Maybe one day we will get to experience one but for now this was an amazing opportunity to experience. My favorite part along with the animals was seeing the scenery. All of the plants, trees and grasses that they have their are the kinds you would see in Africa. It was really, really beautiful.

Another Favorite of our family was seeing the large tree that is located at the beginning of the park. It is really quite neat to see all of the animals carved into the trunk of the tree.

The kids enjoyed the Animal Kingdom but I think the Magic Kingdom was by far their favorite park that we visited!!

The Magic Kingdom

On Tuesday and Wednesday of our trip, we took the kids to the Magic Kingdom. This by far was the kids favorite thing that we did/saw while in Florida. We really could've spent all 5 days here because the kids loved it sooo much- we wish that we would've known this before we bought park hopper passes-you live and learn!

Going to Florida in January proved to be a wonderful time to visit WDW. The crowds were relatively non-existent and the lines were short. Surprisingly we were able to see almost everything the first day! After doing some research for our trip, I learned that when you arrive you get on the train and ride it to the lands at the back of the park and visit them and then move forward to the front of the park. The kids loved riding the train!

 This ended up being Good Advice and The kids LOVED riding the train each morning!Also, during those two days at the Magic Kingdom the kids were able to go on all the rides that they wanted and we even went back to their favorites.

We were also able to see 16 characters in those two days!!

The Princesses!

Classic Characters!

Our Sparkly and Winged Friends!

Pixar Characters!

I don't know if this is a record but we were thinking it might of been because the lines were so short!! The kids absolutely adored meeting the characters and it was really so magical for them. Karmindy was really funny to watch because she would approach the character we were seeing and give them hugs and kisses. Karmindy isn't usually this friendly with other people, including strangers!! It was really cute to watch her meet Tinkerbell, Jessie, Buzz, and Woody- all her favorites. She also was really into meeting Aurora and Belle. When she went up to meet Belle, she must have loved her dress because she kept patting and touching the chest portion of Belle's dress- it had sparkles all over it. Poor Belle truly got  more than she bargained for!! Kaleb also loved meeting the characters but was a little more shy-which surprised me. He was always hesitant to go up and talk to the princesses. I think he might of had a crush on them, especially Tink whom he wouldn't even go say Hello to! :)

The kids loved going on all the rides. Kaleb's favorite ride was Splash Mountain and Karmindy's was It's a Small World- we think she liked all the dolls. Mark and I went on some rides we never had gone on. Having been to Disneyland and Disney World several times, you would think that we would've gone on everything. We liked seeing the Country Bear Jamboree, flying on the magic carpets, and going on the Peter Pan ride for the first time. Our favorite rides are still Pirates of Caribbean,  The Haunted Mansion, and Splash Mountain-classics.

The kids tried their hand at trying to pull the sword from the stone. They couldn't budge it! :(

The kids were troopers and both days we stayed until around 8pm. We walked everywhere and really wore the kids out. On the second day we got smart and rented a stroller so the kids could switch off resting. The second day they faired much better!! We would stop several hours after lunch and get treats. The kids loved their mickey ice cream bars.

One night we stayed to see the Electric Parade which we all loved, we also timed it right and got front row seats!

We had such a Magical time at the Magic Kingdom and can't wait to take the kids back again soon! What wonderful memories we made!