The Jarvii 
After a very very long day at Magic Kingdom the previous day, we thought it would be best to have a leisurely day at Animal Kingdom. And by leisurely, we were still at the park at 9am. Surprisingly, Animal Kingdom was packed and it was a warm, sunny day, which was a far cry from the previous day.
Anyhoo, we were at the park a bit earlier than any of us wanted to be, but we secured a Lightning Lane for Kilimanjaro Safaris. This was top on our list since the standby line for this is typically 2 hours! And it was a great start to our day at Animal Kingdom as it was a hit for our entire group. We saw many different animals like giraffes, zebras, and lions. The ride was a bit bumpy, but it’s suppose to be like a true African safari. Our driver/guide was also quite entertaining, which added to the overall experience of the journey. It was definitely worth going to first thing in the morning.
Afterwards, we went to Kali River Rapids since the standby line for that was short. As we were waiting in line we noticed people ahead of us putting on ponchos, which was odd since there was no call for rain and it was quite sunny outside. That’s when my son mentioned that there was a sign as you enter that said you’ll get wet. We shrugged that off as maybe getting wet like Splash Mountain wet. Boy were we wrong. My oldest daughter got drenched; like absolutely soaked from head to toe right down to her underwear. And she was not a happy camper at all.
We tried to find her clothes to change into, but we were unable to find something that suited her close by. Luckily my son wanted to bring along some sweatpants just in case it got cold at night and he took off his hoodie to give to her since the weather was getting warmer. After she changed we decided to regroup and have lunch at the Yak & Yeti quick service place. Highly recommend that place as it had a lot of pleasing options for our large group.
After our lunch we worked our way to Africa to try to get to the Lion King show. By the time we reached the end of the line the cast member told us that we would probably not be able to get in. Note to self: Get to Lion King really early!
So then we decided to go back to Asia to catch the Nemo show. It was a cute show that all the kids enjoyed. It was basically what the Broadway version of Finding Nemo would be, compacted to be like 30 minutes. So if you’re not into musicals, it’s probably best to avoid this show.
We had some time before our Lightning Lane for Na’vi River. So my oldest daughter spent her birthday gift cards buying herself a Loungefly backpack, Minnie ears, and new Native shoes since her shoes were still water logged. That brightened her spirits since she was still really upset about Kali River Rapids.
We still had time to kill, and I knew that she would love to do the Animation Experience. What we didn’t realize is that you have to catch a train in Africa to Rafiki’s Planet Watch. We were totally cutting it really tight for the next talk, but we made it. A Disney animator showed you step by step how to animate a Disney character–we learned how to draw Officer Hops from Zootopia. From there we rushed back to the train cause we were in our Na’vi River window.
We all road Na’vi River, which was just a slow, indoor water ride. We aren’t huge Avatar people, so the entire experience was lost on us cause there were some weird creatures in there and had no idea what they were.
After that disappointing ride, we booked it to our next Lightning Lane–Everest! We left the toddler with my parents to meet us at Lion King and the rest of us made our way across the park to Asia. Everest was awesome! It definitely was not what I was expecting, but it was the best coaster so far on our trip. If the standby line wasn’t so long, my daughter would have rode it at least 3 times she loved it so much.
Afterwards we met the toddler and my parents at Lion King and waited in that line to go see that show. It was very cute with singing and acrobatics and fire. If you or anyone you know are Lion King fans, I highly recommend you go see. We understood why there was such a long wait for this show.
Luckily for us the show ended 20 minutes before our reservation at Tusker House, right next door. So we moseyed over and they let us in early, which was good since our pack was beginning to get hangry. This by far had the best food of the three character dinings we had on this trip. There was something for my vegetarian-leaning husband, something for my more carnivorous brother, and pleasing kid items, served buffet style. The characters were Safari Mickey, Goofy, Donald, and Daisy. Periodically they would dance through the whole restaurant, which drove my toddler nuts with joy. If you have to do one character meal, I would definitely choose Tusker House cause the food was interesting.
After dinner, my brother and parents took the toddler back to the resort leaving my husband and I with the two oldest kids. We squeezed in TriceraTop Spin and Dinosaur. TriceraTop Spin was like the Magic Carpet ride in Magic Kingdom. Dinosaur was an ok ride. Nothing really to write home about.
Afterwards my husband insisted that we go see It’s Tough to be a Bug to close out the night. I told him that our travel agent said that this show was scary, but he thought that our children would be fine. Nope, this show was unpleasant and not cool according to our kids. It also didn’t help that my daughter got wet again! Not drenched, but she was sprinkled with water and has been scarred for life by Kali River. Never again! And probably a poor way to close out Animal Kingdom because at that point the park was closed. I don’t want to spoil the show in case you want to gamble on the enjoyment of the show, but it was not fun.
Overall, Animal Kingdom was fun, but at the same time I don’t think we would make an effort to go there again. We did enjoy the safari, which was well worth going. Everest was really awesome, and if we could ride that multiple times without wasting hours waiting in line we would. Again, we aren’t Avatar people, so we didn’t waste money to do Flight of Passage, even though we hear that’s a good ride. Still a fun day!
