Disney 2011 Day 5 – “Our Safari to the Animal Kingdom”

Do you notice anything missing in the picture above? Specifically something that Sam needs to wear every day...Yep...Sam forgot his glasses for the day at the Animal Kingdom. We began our day at the Animal Kingdom different than any other visit to the parks...(altho it became quite common this trip)...by waiting to see the characters for an hour. It was a nice area back in Camp Minnie Mickey, where we were able to just sit back and take a break for awhile. Sam entertained us with his constant cement crack jumping skills. This was a good area as there were not so many people around. He forgot many times during his jumping tricks that other people were also in the park and he was jumping right thru them. Overall I think he did well at trying to maintain his momma's back by jumping over all of the cracks.

Belle had a ball with the chance to meet all of the characters. She was not scared a bit and wanted to hug each one. Here at Camp Minnie Mickey, she got to see Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Chip and Dale, and Thumper and Mrs. Bunny. She definately loved the chipmunks and the bunnies....so soft.

This was also Sam's first chance to trade pins with someone else. He traded for a Chip...later able to trade another to make a match with Chip and Dale.

Magan then took Davis and Belle to see Pooh and Tigger once more. Belle loves "Po" as she calls him. And I think bouncing with Tigger was one of Davis' highlights of the trip.

We then met up with the family to enjoy DinoLand, The Nemo Musical, and A Bugs Life 3D show. Notice anyone missing below? Yep, Colby and Melissa had apparently made it inside the parking gates of the Animal Kingdom when Ben starting puking. We were hoping they would be able to come in, but in the end they didn't make it this day. Problem gave them a good day to relax and Ben a good day to recoup.

DinoLand is always a blast and the play area there is huge...or as Davis would say "Kuge". Kind of crazy just letting them roam free in there, but Davis and Sam just have a blast. And I had to try and convince everyone to go to the Nemo Musical show, and Granny and Granddaddy joined us. This is the best show in DisneyWorld. The movie is great, but this show with all of the big songs "He's my Dad"..."Go with the Flow"...are so good for a dad and his boys. I was almost (nobody saw me, so I will stick with almost) in tears as this show is so good. I look down to see Davis wiggling and ready to go play, then I look down at Sam who is struggling to even find Nemo without his glasses, and then look over at my father...sound asleep. :) Great show.

The Bugs Life is like every other 3D show at Disney...they lure the kids in with the sweet bug funny characters...then scare them to death with loud noises, blasts of air, and seats that move...

And Lunch...I did not get a picture of this masterpiece of Disney made from the creativity of the Earl of Sandwich and some Italian Disney dude, but this is definately the place the get one of the best sandwiches made on the face of this planet. It is the Italian sandwich sold at the Pizzafari. Ham, Cheese, Salami, then some Caesar Salad all on a Schlotsky's-like bread....so good. It was so good that I ate it again for supper.

We ended the day on the Kilimanjaro Safari ride. We got the back seat, which is the best for this ride, and Belle had so much fun. She was bouncing on the seat yelling at every animal we saw..."Woa Woa Woa"...."Grrarrrr"....She loves growling at the animals. And Davis was talking 90 miles an hour about the animals and all of the ones he saw. Sam was quiet, but he was still excited about his ride on the Mt. Everest Ride. That boy would ride anything.

Disney 2011 Day 4 – “The Whole Family in the Magic Kingdom”

All together at the Magic Kingdom. Aren't we cute with the matching shirts and everything. It also began a day of random cast members calling me Scott like they knew me...At least Mom and Dad did not get us berets in Griswaldian tradition.

The people mover is definately intense for Davis, but he held his hands up the whole time.

Sheye captured this moment on Main Street as I was trying out a new hairstyle.

This day began rather early for an 8 oclock opening of the Magic Kingdom. That is pretty rough after the EPCOT episode the night before. But as Colby and I learned on that first day here...If you are going to come to Disney on Spring Break, you better get in early.

As we stood looking into Tommowland, Magan captured this picture to help us remember that is is just a Great Big Wonderful Tomorrow. Granddaddy got on the Astro Orbiters below with Sam and Davis and we had a blast going round and round and round. Then Sam and Davis got to ride on the Indy Speedway with Granny and Granddaddy...Magan rode on the People Mover to relax while we waited, but I got over to the speedway just as the boys were speeding off in their vehicles.

We next went to AdventureLand...Have I mentioned how great the DoleWhip Pineapple Float is? We again tried a couple out, and found out you never...never...take a dole whip float away from a cute little baby girl. While they battle for the last remaining sips of the DoleWhip, Grandaddy went with us up into the Swiss Family Treehouse.

It was then time to go for our lunch reservation at the Crystal Palace. This is by far the best Character Dinner with the best buffet. We did get to rest on the porch for a bit till they called our name. We also found one of the best playtoys for Belle, which we kept with her for the remainder of the trip...water bottles. She held on to them like they were baby dolls, and scolded anyone that tried to take them away.

The kids were excited to look into the restuarant to see Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, and Piglet. Then we got to see all of them, and it was a blast. Inside the restuarant, I ate way to much...as did Sam and Davis, who both had to go "poop". So after 30 minutes of combined restroom time, I was ready to get out of here.

After our lunch, we traveled back into Frontierland, where Magan and I took kid duty and rode on the train with Davis, Belle, and Ben, while everyone else rode splash mountain and thundermountain. We went around the park once, and ben and belle finally fell asleep. This left Davis wiggling around but he was having fun on the trainride. When we got back to the Frontierland train stop, I looked down to see the family just getting off of splashmountain, but they had not yet ridden thundermountain...so with our butts numb and our backs soaked with sweat, Magan and I pushed on for yet one more 22 minute ride around the magic kingdom. At least the kids got some sleep.

Then Magan and I got our turn, and since Davis was a little afraid of these rides, Sam got to ride double time because of the extra fastpass.

We ended the day back in tomorrowland...You can see Sam was excited to ride Space Mountain below. The picture directly below would end up being pretty common for both Dave and Sam...as their knees hurt soooooo bad. I love those boys sooooo much, I guess you just keep trucking even when the shoulders hurt soooooo bad.

Sam starting Disney Pin collecting, and he has a great aunt and uncle that bought him some of his coolest pins. Katie got him a TestTrack Pin, and John got him the SplashMountain Pin...both his favorites. Back to the house to do it all over again tomorrow.