WDW Day Two; Animal Kingdom

We were up and ready to go around 10 AM to visit Animal Kingdom. It was hard to explain the four different parks to them so we said Animal Kingdom was Disney's big zoo and we would see lots of animals. They were excited and so were we as it was another park we had not been to yet.

The clouds were looming in the sky and Brian's (stupid) iPhone gave the gloomy forecast of low temperatures(50's) and rain. We were optimistic because we were in Florida(!) with SUNshine and WARM weather always-right? I put on my sandals and cropped pants for me and shorts for the boys and off we went.

The rest of the photos seen in the WDW chronicles are taken with Brian's iPhone. Not the best quality, but our options were limited.




We set out to do the Safari Ride first. Entering Africa was really cool to Cooper as it was his favorite continent to study during history this year. Pretending we were in Africa we made out way up in line. We only had a certain amount of time before our lunch reservation at the Rainforest Cafe. I ask the man how long the ride was because I didn't want to wait too long. His reply? "Two weeks, but it will feel like twenty minutes!" Now HE was in the moment;) It was a neat ride through the jungle and we were able to see some neat animals along the way. About this time the rain began to fall.

Tip #2 from friends? ALWAYS bring a rain poncho. No matter if it says it will be sunny all week, it WILL rain. Good thing about Florida? It is only for a small time and will pass quickly.

We pulled out our ponchos and paraded around looking like the blue smurf family.

The Rainforest Cafe lunch did not disappoint as the atmosphere is awesome and the food was good. Happy to get out of the rain we took our time looking around and not taking one picture.

Unfortunately the rain had not stopped and we continued on with our day with POURING down rain. It was beyond miserable and cold. I wish I had more pleasant things to write about this day, but it was a blur.

We did see an awesome Nemo musical where the boys were able to take off their tennis shoes and socks to WRING out the WATER and hang to dry on the seats. I was grateful I had on my flip flops because at least I wasn't walking in wet socks. Although a terrible blister was forming on my toe. Not good.

Surprise, Surprise as we were leaving Nemo it was still raining and we walked around like lost souls trying to find the joy in the day. The best part was the Safari Ride and lunch and that was three hours ago. . .

There was much walking going on and I must admit I was amazed with their walking skills. The six days we were there we did not rent a stroller one time. They were troopers I tell 'ya! Plus they slept like angels at night time too;)

Back to the rain . . .we were exhausted and not enjoying our time with the monsoon that had hit the Animal Kingdom. I wanted to catch the Lion King show so we made our way across the huge park and found our seats inside. We again took the boy's shoes and socks off to try and dry them. The show was fantastic and was very loud with many different actions going on. We were right at the front of the entire show. We saw hilarious acrobats, dancers, stilt walkers with huge hair and flame throwers. Cooper and I were enthralled with the whole show. Wyatt? He feel ASLEEP! I was shocked.

Pay no attention to my hair. Have I mentioned the RAIN? It didn't stop. Sheets of rain. Lots and Lots and Lots of rain. There is Wyatt sleeping. Does he realize the money we spent on him. Why was it raining so much?

After this show we put on our wet socks and blue smurf ponchos and headed for the bus, across on the other side of the park. At this point we were all in great moods and wanted to exit the park as quickly as possible. Other people must have gotten the memo of the rain and had made their way to Walmart for the ugly blue ponchos. It was a sea of blue and you couldn't tell who was who. This was the first of two times we lost Wyatt. We were walking quickly when I looked back at Brian who had no child with him. Cooper was holding my hand, but no Wyatt. The look of horror crossed my face and we frantically looked around at all the blue people. In the pouring rain Brian is yelling his name and time freezes and I am looking in every direction. It is then I see his little black tennis shoes ahead of me. He is following another blue woman who is moving quickly to the front of the park. I yell at Brian and we take off in a full sprint trying to catch up with him. Finally he hears us yelling and turns around. A moment I do not want to repeat.

I am now barefooted. The blister is killing me, the rain won't stop and I have no reason to care who sees me. We are making our way to the bus when we realize a group of about 500(that may be a slight exaggeration)teenagers are also heading for our bus. I do not want to be stuck out here waiting any longer than is possible so we take off running.

Barefoot, running like it is my last moment, with two children and our HUGE blue ponchos. It was a shining moment in the day. I am glad we have no pictures.

The point is we made it and didn't have to wait.

Arriving back early to our hotel we are beyond tired. Guess what? It is still raining. We decide we want to go no where for dinner and order from our hotel restaurant. Brian and Wyatt try to swim in the heated pool, but only last about ten minutes.

We are asleep by 9:30 PM. We are not seeing the magic yet. Brian was my hero this night. I had not packed properly for this trip as we each had only one pair of pants and one zipped hoodie. Our clothes were soaked so he stayed up late to wait on our laundry to finish so we could wear the exact same clothes tomorrow. Another chilly day was waiting.

Quote of the day: by Wyatt age 4; "This isn't Disney World, this is RAIN World!!!"

Favorite Parts

Cooper: "I had fun running in the rain. Oh! I know! The spaghetti at that Animal Restaurant was awesome! Can we eat there tomorrow?"

Wyatt: "Swimming in the pool!"

Do they realize we could do these things in Oklahoma?

Next Up: WDW Day Three; Hollywood Studios