Animal Kingdom - Day 3! 10/11/2011
I started the day - after a lateral flow in the morning - with a Capture Your Moment photo shoot! If you have a special occasion or you would just like a photo shoot by yourselves, I highly recommend this. It is $50 for 20 minutes or $100 for 40 minutes (I got almost 60 pics from 20 minutes if that helps), you can choose from Animal Kingdom or Magic Kingdom, book any time but I recommend first thing so you all still look good and not dishevelled, and also because the park will still be relatively empty.
Amy checked me in and we had a lovely chat then she sent me off for my shoot. My photographer was Jaime (pronounced Hi-me) Jen assisted. He helped find great locations and really fab shots and I had a fun time!
I had purchased genie+ for today but I quickly realised I didn’t need it. There were Very Low wait times for everything and none of the LL had really gone.
I went and Had my planned breakfast at Tamu Tamu in Africa - the Colossal (not that big really!) 50th anniversary Cinnamon roll and a nice coffee. Then I Started the day with one of my favourites - Kilimanjaro Safari. A great attraction and gives me time to let my breakfast go down!
The safari was AMAZING. The wait time said 20 minutes but it was only about 10 and the safari lasts about 20 minutes. So many animals about and it was fabulous. Maddy was our guide and even she saw Some things she wasn’t expecting to see like a baby hippo jumping up out of the water and diving back in!
Next up some rides. Wait times were so low this morning so Expedition Everest was up first. I went through the full queue once because i have never and then after that I used single rider which was a literal walk on! I Rode it 5 times in a row!! Single rider is great! Even if you’re a group - if you’re all adults and don’t mind being split up for just a few minutes on a ride. You can really cut down your wait times
Got a LL for Dinosaur even though I didn’t really need to, but I didn’t want to waste this Genie+ tagged in then got another one for Tough To Be A Bug. (Not my favourite but I was determined to use those LL) and then got on Dinosaur. It’s such a fun little ride. It does throw you about a bit. Could maybe be a bit scary for little ones.
There haven’t been many people here today at all which is lovely! And it wasn’t too hot either so I decided to catch a couple of the outdoor shows starting with Feathered Friends in Flight. I cancelled my Bug LL and grabbed one for the bird show instead. It was so much fun! I loved it!
Then I made my way to Pandora for my lunch. (Aha! That’s where all the people were ) on my way in I found another photopass photographer in front of the floating mountains. She loved that I was solo and took a few extra pics of me!
Went to Satu’li Canteen for lunch. I’ve already shared this tip, but I’m sharing it again:
When you are mobile ordering lunch, be sure to to order it in the morning. If you are hungry at 12.30 and you roll up to your fave quick service, there’s no guarantee you’ll get a mobile order slot, but you CAN order lunch for 12.30 at 7am and then adjust it later according to your plans! I ordered my lunch this morning turned up to Satu’li Canteen, hit “I’m here” on the app and picked it up when it was ready a few minutes later.
Lunch was a beef and chicken combination bowl - really filling and delicious! - and a kids cheeseburger pod meal. Yum! (This is a bao bun filled with essentially a mushed up McDonald’s cheeseburger. Absolutely yummy! Kids get one or adults get two)
After lunch I did a bit of browsing in Windtraders which is the Avatar store - I spotted a bag I liked the look of , might be picking that up there later! Then when I came out of there, Flight of Passage had only a 45 minute stand by which is great so jumped straight in that line.
When I got out of Avatar it was raining for the first time so I used my Na’vi River Journey LL pass and then went on Avatar again with the paid for LL that I bought earlier on today. $11 not too bad. Managed to avoid most of the rain so yay! I grabbed that bag - it’s a banshee bag, I love it!
But then got a bit wet on the way to the buses as I was heading back to the resort for a mid-day rest. Luckily my dress is thin enough to dry quickly so I’m not too worried.
RAIN TIPS: bring ponchos (don’t buy them here they are SO expensive) or very light rain coats that you can pack away small, don’t bring umbrellas you won’t want to hold them. Bring spare socks in your park bags. You can probably manage with wet anything, but not wet feet. Wear clothing that dries fast! Linen, from experience, is a NIGHTMARE to dry! Lastly, never let rain spoil your day. There is ALWAYS something to do when it rains.
Gonna put my feet up and wait out the rain before I go back to Animal Kingdom later. Might hop to Epcot once AK shuts.
Back later! ....
Okay I really didn’t think I would have much to write about this evening but OH MY GOD.
I had a reservation at Sanaa in Animal Kingdom Lodge (Kidani Village.) I am now reliably informed that this place is best enjoyed in the day because it has incredible views of the Savannah while you sit, but I didn’t know that when I booked it. I will next time for sure and I’m passing that knowledge on to you!
I got a Lyft there and my poor driver got very lost trying to get to me in Coronado Springs. I watched him going round and round the car park for ages! Anyway, he was really lovely, moved to Florida 5 years ago from Venezuela. It cost $16 plus tip. <- the ride not his move to America
Just FYI - Animal Kingdom Lodge, at least the part of it I saw, is absolutely BEAUTIFUL.
I was texting my husband from the lobby telling him that it needed to be our next stay! So so gorgeous! Is anyone going to be staying there on their trip?
I checked in for my reservation and was told I could sit inside to wait for my table or head outside where I *might* see some animals roaming about but it was dark so no guarantees. I said, “uh… yeah I’m going outside!”
I was only there a few seconds and my eyes adjusted enough to see big white horns which meant there was an animal there. Well thank goodness for night mode on my phone because it lit up the whole area so I could see the Watusi and I panned around to see a GIRAFFE RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME. OMG I was so happy and then they said my table was ready and I was so sad to leave them. I think you can hear the disappointment on the video when the notification comes through .Got seated right by the window which the lovely host said would have been the best table in the house if it had been during the dayand got some more info: that Kidani Village and Jambo House both have their own Savannahs in addition to the one at Animal Kingdom, and at Kadani they have a new baby zebra!
My Server was Chelsea and she was honestly brilliant . She loved that I was here alone, helped me with my food confusion and chatted whenever she had a second to spare.
So here’s what I had to eat: the Indian bread service. this is what Sanaa is known for. It is 5 breads and 9 dips of varying spice levels, and very easily shareable but I ate it all I also had the samosas and the seasonal soup which was tomato with cubes of paneer cheese. These were all appetisers because there was no way I was managing any entrées with that bread service!
I had a Blood Orange Margarita to drink which was delicious as well as a large glass of water. Then Chelsea brought me a complimentary dessert of strawberry kolfi (I think everyone gets one but she said it was to celebrate coming back to Disney from the UK, so I ordered an Assam tea to go with it.
Then I looked out the window and saw a SPACE X ROCKET LAUNCHING omg. I saw it, thought I was going mad when I saw what looked like a fireball shooting into the sky then I remembered where I was. I looked it up and sure enough, there was a launch a couple of minutes before I saw it in the sky! So cool! If this interests you, do look up whether there are any launches during your trip. You might have to get up really early one day, but I’m sure it’s possible to go to Cape Kennedy and watch a launch. It definitely was before Covid.
I paid my bill and wandered outside to see some more animals before I left again. What a really lovely evening at Animal Kingdom Lodge.
However, I was so full of food and I’m doing Food & Wine on tomorrow. HELp! At least it’s a lie in!
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