Tuesday, April
5, we were in Animal Kingdom and that also happened to be… MY 40TH
BIRTHDAY!!!! Can I just tell y’all how
cool it was to be able to experience my 40th birthday at actual Disney
World?! So much fun, y’all!
Anyway, Animal
Kingdom opened to the public at 7:30 AM on Tuesday, and since we were staying
on a Disney property, we were allowed to enter the park at 7 AM. We had originally planned to get there right
at 7, but we were all so exhausted from our long day in Hollywood Studios that
we ended up sleeping until 5:55 AM and therefore, we didn’t arrive at the park
until 7:30… it was worth it to get a few minutes of extra sleep, though. We all needed it!
To mark the
occasion of my big birthday at Disney World, I’d gone all out and purchased a
special birthday tee as well as birthday ears, and I also had my birthday pin
that they’d given me at the hotel. I was
decked out, y’all. Haha. And if you aren’t aware of the whole “birthday
pin” thing, Disney will give a pin to you that you can wear on your birthday
and all of the cast members will make your day extra special. I received tons of birthday wishes in the
park all day long and it was so fun!
All week
leading up to this day, the weather was showing rain, but yet again, we lucked
out with none. It was, however, cloudy
the majority of the day, and therefore, not ideal for pictures, but we were
actually grateful for the cloud coverage because the high was 91 degrees which
would have been miserable in the sun. Even
with the clouds it was still hot, y’all.
So humid, too. It was definitely
the least comfortable weather day of our whole trip.
On the bus drive
to Animal Kingdom, B and I were able to get lightning lane reservations for our
top two rides – Kilimanjaro Safaris and Avatar Flight of Passage – so we were
all set. That meant that we didn’t have
to rush too much entering the park, and we were able to stop and take pictures
at the Tree of Life before it got too crowded.
First, we had a
Disney cast member snap a few of us for our PhotoPass experience...
And then we
took some ourselves before hurrying to Na’vi River Journey.
When we arrived
at Na’vi River Journey, the wait was 20 minutes, which wasn’t bad at all, and the
kids passed the time by eating their breakfast bars. We were on the ride in no time!
Once we left
that ride, we snapped a few pictures in Pandora because it’s just so cool...
Then we stopped at a PhotoPass spot, too...
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And
then we decided to head to Dinosaur next because the wait was only five
minutes. Sure enough, we only waited a
couple of minutes before getting on that ride and we all enjoyed it. Olivia and I had opted out of that one when
we went back in 2018 because we were worried it would be too scary for her
since she was only four, so we were pumped to ride something new. With our PhotoPass, we were able to get the
picture that was snapped of us while we were on the ride, and I cannot stop
cracking up over Olivia’s face. Despite
that look on her face, she loved the ride.
I promise she did! Lol.
By the time we
were done with Dinosaur, it was time for our LL for Kilimanjaro Safaris, so we
headed that way. On the way there, we
found the best spot on the backside of the Tree of Life where you can
get pictures with the tree with absolutely nobody else around. The place was totally deserted!
By the time we
arrived at Kilimanjaro Safaris, the line was insane, so we were grateful for
our LL. However, when we arrived, we
heard the announcement that some of the animals were blocking the path of the
vehicles, so they were waiting for them to move before anyone else could
proceed. I got worried it might be a
while, but thankfully, we only had to wait about 15 minutes and we were
trekking through the African Safari.
We got to see
giant gators, giraffes (my favorite!), elephants, flamingos, lions, and a baby
rhino among lots of other animals. We
all LOVED it… it’s one of our favorite rides.
Back in 2018 when we were there, the kids got to see a rhinoceros peeing
in the wild and they have talked about it nonstop since then. They were both verrrry disappointed that they
didn’t get to see it happen again on this trip.
Hahahaha.
Once the safari
was over, it was already time for our LL for Avatar Flight of Passage, so we
headed that way next. Avatar always has
a wait of at least 120 minutes, so we were incredibly grateful that we were
able to get the LL for it. Even with the
LL, we still had to wait about 15-20 minutes, but it wasn’t a bad wait.
I was suuuuper
nervous for that ride because it’s suuuuper intense and so realistic. Olivia and I had skipped it on the 2018 trip
because we were worried she wouldn’t do well, and we were so glad we did,
because the ride completely traumatized Jacob and he is 2.5 years older than she
is. Haha.
I was soooo
close to wanting to bail again, but B calmed my nerves by telling me that it’s
easy to “escape” the ride by closing your eyes or looking away from the
screen. I told Olivia the same thing
before we entered the chamber, and I was so glad I did because she ended up
looking at me for almost the entire ride.
Haha.
Y’all.
That ride is,
perhaps, the coolest ride of all rides in the history of forever. I’m not an Avatar fan at all, but I could not
get enough of that ride. It was incredible. You truly, feel like you’re flying through
Pandora (the Avatar World) and it is just amazing and immersive and beautiful
and all the things. It is INTENSE and it
scared the crap out of me and made my stomach flop on several occasions, so I
spent a good chunk of the ride looking at Olivia or watching out of the corner
of my eye, but y’all, if you ever go to Disney World it is a MUST DO. I would have loved to see my expressions
while riding it because I bet it was hilarious.
I had all the emotions on that ride – I laughed. I was delighted. I was terrified. And I even teared up a little because of the
sheer experience of it. And because we
were finally at Disney World. Lol.
Poor Olivia
kept her eyes on me almost the entire time and I could see her wincing through
parts of it, but she did great, and she ended up being just fine after it was
all over. Brian loved it, of course, and
Jacob loved it this time, too.
By the time we
were done with that ride, the kiddos were hungry, so we stopped at a spot in
Pandora and pulled snacks out of Brian’s backpack. B had secretly purchased some Baby Yoda rice
krispy treats in Hollywood Studios the day before, so the kids split one of
those while we rested a bit.
Everyone was
refreshed after our little break, so we headed to TriceraTop Spin next as it
had the shortest wait in the park at the time.
I honestly don’t even remember how long we waited, but I don’t think it
was more than 20 minutes or so.
Once that was
over, the kids wanted to play some of the carnival games in that area, so we
did that next. When we were there in
2018, we were able to play a lot of the games and they didn’t cost very much,
but this time the price was outrageous, so we limited the kids to just a couple
of games apiece. They were both
determined to win stuffed animals like they did the last time, but neither of
them had any luck this time and they both left empty-handed and a little
dejected.
We decided at
that point that it was time to get some lunch because we could tell the kids’
moods were going downhill, so after a quick stop to take PhotoPass pictures by
the big dinosaur, we headed to Satu’li Canteen to pick up the food we’d ordered
in the app.
We had eaten at
Satu’li Canteen back in 2018, and my meal was so delicious that I’ve thought of
it on several occasions since then, so I was excited to finally be back! This time, I opted for the Chopped
Wood-Grilled Chicken Bowl, and it did not disappoint. They put those little Boba Balls all over
everything at Disney World, and my gosh, are those things good! They add little bursting pops of flavor to
each bite and I just love them so much.
After lunch, we
walked over to the Tree of Life for the show It’s Tough to Be a Bug. We had never been, and Brian said that he’d
seen several people mention that it’s actually pretty good and very
underrated. It never has a long wait,
and they said that it’s definitely worth checking out, so since the lines for
everything else were really long by then, we made our way there.
The show is
inside the Tree of Life, so you get a really cool look at the underside of the
tree while you wait. Sure enough, we
only waited about 5-10 minutes, and we were in!
The show is short – about 10 minutes – but it was SO cute and totally
worth seeing at least once! It’s a 4D
experience, so all of your senses are stimulated (except for taste), and it was
really unique. I wouldn’t say that it’s
scary, but it could be a little overwhelming for a little one… even Olivia
didn’t like a couple of the parts. I
don’t want to spoil it for anyone, though, so I won’t go into major detail.
After It’s
Tough to Be a Bug was over, we decided to go look at some of the animals. The last time we were there, Jacob wanted to
see the Komodo dragons, but we weren’t aware that their exhibit closes earlier
than the rest of the park, so we missed them.
We wanted to make sure that we saw them on this trip, so we headed that
way first.
Unfortunately,
it was nearing the hottest part of the day when we got there, so the Komodo
dragon was fast asleep. Therefore, it
was kind of boring, but at least we got to see it.
That same area
also houses bats and tigers, so we continued the walk to the bat house. Y’all!!
The bats we saw were HUUUUGE. I
had no clue that giant bats were a real thing – I thought that all bats were
pretty small – but no… bats can be gigantic!!
The ones we saw had FIVE-FOOT wing spans. Can you even imagine?!?! That is the thing of nightmares. Haha.
Unfortunately,
they sleep during the day, so they were all wrapped up and hanging upside down,
but even seeing them all wrapped up was impressive. I could not get over how huge they were. I would have loved (and been terrified) to
see them with their wings open.
After we left
the bat house, we continued to the tigers, and we were able to see one sleeping and one pacing.
The walk
through was hot, so we sought out refreshments after we were done there. We made a stop by a snack cart and grabbed
Mickey ice creams, and then we found an empty bench and watched the monkeys
play.
We were nearing
our LL for Kali River Rapids at that point, so once everyone was done with
their snacks, we pulled out our ponchos to get them ready for the ride. We’d read that you can get wet on Kali River
Rapids but that it’s not highly likely or anything, but we all decided to wear
ponchos just in case.
Well, I’m so
glad we did, because y’all, even with the ponchos on we all got SOAKED. It was so fun, but man, we all got
soaked. The only dry part of me was my
torso. Haha.
After that ride
was over, we headed over to see Expedition Everest. It had been closed for months for
renovations, so we weren’t able to ride it, but the kids wanted to see what it
looked like in person.
When we
arrived, we saw that there was a Disney cast member taking PhotoPass pictures
with that as the backdrop, so of course, we had to get some pictures. In that first picture that he took, he asked
us all to point to the troublemaker in the family and we all pointed at
Olivia. She pointed at Brian. Lol.
B had snagged
an LL for Festival of the Lion King earlier in the day, and by the time we were
done taking our PhotoPass pictures, it was time to head that way. At that point, we were all exhausted, our
feet hurt, and we were sweaty and tired of being in the heat, so we were all
relieved and excited to be going indoors to an air-conditioned building where
we could sit for 40 minutes. Yes
please!!
The show was
fantastic just like it was in 2018, and yes, yes, I did tear up yet again
during the performance. That music
transports me straight back to such a happy time in my childhood, and I just
couldn’t help it.
By the time
that was over, it was pretty late in the afternoon, but our dinner reservation
wasn’t until 6 PM, so we still had some time to kill. We hadn’t yet visited the hippo and gorilla habitat,
so we headed there next.
Unfortunately,
the hippos weren’t very active, but we did get to see one of them briefly and
it opened its mouth above the water. It
was quite a sight to see! We also got to see some baby ducks and zebras.
We moved along
to the gorillas next, and y’all, I could watch gorillas all day. They are so interesting!! And so much like humans! We watched some of them through the glass on
the underside of the habitat and we got to see one of the babies nursing with
its Momma. The baby would leave and goof
off for a second and then come back for more.
It was so neat to watch!
After watching
them for a while, we walked up to the main part of the habitat where you can
see them outside (instead of through glass), and there was another baby gorilla
up there and she was ABSOLUTELY DARLING.
She was so so tiny – only eight months old we were told – and all
of the other family members were just sitting around watching her play. She kept running off and all of the others
would follow her around to make sure she wasn’t getting into trouble, and then
some of the older “kid” gorillas kept trying to wrestle with her. Lol. I
could have seriously watched them all day, but after a few minutes we moved
along so someone else could see.
By the time we
were done there, it was time to wrap up our day and head to dinner. Jacob wanted to grab an Avatar souvenir that
he’d seen, so we headed back to Pandora.
My toe had started hurting (I’ve been having lots of trouble with my
right big toe for months), so I found a bench and sat down while Brian took
Jacob and Olivia.
When they got
back, we made the walk towards Rain Forest Café where our reservation was, and
we stopped at a bench just outside to Facetime with my parents for my
birthday. We chatted with them for about
ten minutes, catching them up on our trip, and then it was time to head inside
for my birthday dinner!
We only had to
wait for about ten minutes and then we were seated. B and I both got fancy cocktails – I had to
cheers to 40!! – and he and I split a bunch of appetizers for dinner…
chimi-cha-chas, spinach & artichoke dip, cheese sticks, and chicken
strips. Yes ma’am!!
Once we were
done with dinner, the servers came out and sang happy birthday to me, and then
we all had dessert. I opted for the key
lime pie, and it was delish!!
We were all
exhausted by the time dinner was over, so we headed straight to the bus terminal
when we finished up. By 7:45, we were
headed back to our hotel.
The kids had
run ahead of B and me and gotten into our room before B and I did (as they did the
whole time we were there… they thought it was so cool that their Magic Bands
unlocked the room), and when B and I walked in the door, the kids were standing
there holding a giant bunch of balloons and yelling, “HAPPY BIRTHDAAAAY!”
It turns out, B
had planned a little birthday surprise for me, and a Disney cast member had
delivered balloons and chocolates to our room while we were gone. The balloons were a 40 for my age, Baby Yoda (my fave!), and also Belle with a couple of other Disney princesses (since Belle is my favorite!). I was shocked as it was totally unexpected,
and it was such a fun way to end our day.
Once I had
opened my gifts and we were settled back in the room, the kids showered and got
ready for bed, and then we watched a little bit of the Epcot fireworks because
we discovered we could see them from our room.
We couldn’t see much – just the tops of the fireworks over the trees –
but it was still really neat!
We finally got
the kiddos in bed around 9:30 and then B and I went to bed shortly after that,
and I went to bed a happy girl. Between
being at Disney World, and receiving tons of messages all day from family and
friends, and being told “Happy birthday” by all of the Disney cast members all
day, and receiving my birthday surprise from B and the kids, I sure did feel
loved!! My mother-in-law even sent this adorable message from Maui since we couldn't be with her!
I couldn’t have asked for
anything more on my 40th birthday!
Here’s a summary
of our day...
Summary:
Hours spent in park – 12.25 (7:30 AM – 7:45
PM)
Rides/Attractions – 8
Characters met – 0
Disney Photo Pass pictures and videos
taken – 33
17,601 – Steps taken
7.8 – Miles walked
Schedule:
Arrive 7:30 AM
PhotoPass pictures in front of the Tree
of life (everyone)
Na’vi River Journey (everyone)
PhotoPass pictures in Pandora
Dinosaur (everyone)
LL – Kilimanjaro Safaris (everyone)
LL – Avatar Flight of Passage (everyone)
Snacks (everyone)
TriceraTop Spin (everyone)
Carnival Games (everyone)
PhotoPass pictures in front of the
dinosaur (everyone)
Quick Service Lunch – Satu’li Canteen
(everyone)
It’s Tough to Be a Bug (everyone)
Komodo dragons, bats, and tigers
habitats (everyone)
Snacks (Brian, Jacob, Olivia)
LL – Kali River Rapids (everyone)
PhotoPass pictures in front of
Expedition Everest (everyone)
LL – Festival of the Lion King
(everyone)
Hippos and gorillas habitats (everyone)
Shopping (Brian, Jacob, Olivia)
Facetime Momma and Daddy (everyone)
Reservation – Rainforest Café for dinner
(everyone)
Left park at 7:45 PM (everyone)
And here are
the other recaps in case you missed them!
Disney Springs
Hollywood Studios
Happy Wednesday,
y’all!
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