March 17, 2021

 What a magical day! We began our morning early by getting up and going to Magic Kingdom. We knew we wanted to get there early and left the condo at 7:00 to head to the parking lot. With Magic Kingdom you need to be transported to the park. We opted for the ferryboat ride from the transportation hub to Magic Kingdom.  We counted that as our first ride of the day! We arrived and entered with ease! They had many characters standing greeting people as they entered from up above on the train station. Rocky got so excited when he saw them! 

We knew we wanted to take a different approach to today so instead of heading for the ride we thought would have the longest wait later (Seven Dwarf Mine Train) we decided to go to some less popular rides in hopes of getting on quite a few before the lines got long.  We were able to get on the Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Caribbean and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad with ease. The line picked up then because Splash Mountain was closed. Thom rode BTMR with Teddy first. Teddy LOVED the ride! We then head to Haunted Mansion, Peter Pan, the Little Mermaid and Philhar Magic. Rocky was so cute at Philhar Magic! It is a 3D ride and he kept grabbing the air trying to grab the things that were "floating" out. 

We stopped for a little lunch and some photo ops at Cinderella's castle before heading back to BTMR for Teddy and I to ride.  We stopped at a little Christmas shop and while we were in there the characters had a mini parade by so Thom and the boys went out to watch.  We discovered that all the windows in the second story of the buildings are automatic and open to allow the speakers out and then close automatically-- they've thought of everything! It was clear the heat was taking a toll and the boys were getting tired so we decided to head out of Magic Kingdom. On our way we stopped at the gift shops in finding a good hat for Teddy because he lost his Cubs hat at Epcot.  As we exited we found a little "fire department" with a fire truck and stopped to look. Just then the marching band walked by. In my opinion, music plays such a huge role in the feeling of Disney. 

On the way to Animal Kingdom Rocky fell asleep which was good.  The drive to Animal Kingdom was easy and we got parked with ease. We decided to head toward the safari first.  We stopped at a little kiosk gift shop and as we did that a huge flock of macaws flew over us! It was incredible to see! The crew members fed them and then they flew away. Thom talked to one crew member and asked how they kept them in the park and she said they don't; they just try to feed them and entice them enough for them to keep coming back.   

It was a 30 minute wait for the safari, but it sure was worth it! We saw SO many animals!! I've never seen so many animals on the safari. I really thought they'd be hiding and resting because of the heat, but I was wrong! We saw giraffes, hippos, alligators, and many animals I don't remember the names of! The pack of wild dogs (similar to hyenas) was playing and running and laughing (like hyenas) as they were playing. We had a deer like animal cross and stand right next to our vehicle. The giraffes were close and when we rounded a corner we were stopped by a big white rhino! There was a mother and her baby rhino and a friend rhino who really just wanted to stand happily in the road.  The driver said when rhinos spiral their tail up like a pig that means they are happy, and boy was this rhino happy to be blocking our way.  A zookeeper crew member in a truck tried to get the rhino to move but she had no interest! After about 10-15 minutes she continued on her way out of the road. 

We then found a Gorilla Trek that we haven't done before. It was a very nice trail with lots of stops to see different types of African animals.  There were gorillas and there was a 2 year old baby gorilla. It was so cute! We then head over to the Asia area to the Asia trail of monkeys and tigers. The tiger was growling and Teddy growled back at it!  It then walked over to the area we were! After our Asian trek we walked toward the Expedition Everest ride. We found a little stop that had a local Florida IPA, an Icefall (raspberry slushy type drink) and Simba shaped pretzels. Thom got in line for Everest while the boys and I shared the pretzel. The drink was delicious and refreshing on such a hot day!

Thom, as he always does, meets friends everywhere he goes! He started talking to the people in line in front of him to find out they were from Spencer, Iowa. Then the conversation continued to how he just finished residency at University of Iowa and studied and was a resident under a good friend of ours- small world! 

I was a little disappointed that Teddy couldn't go on Expedition Everest because he had been enjoying the rollercoasters, however after it was my turn to ride I learned why it is the 44" requirement instead of 42" like many of the others...that coaster is intense!! Teddy would have been so scared; I'm glad he didn't go on it.

We decided at that point that it would be best to head out. We definitely did not do all of Magic Kingdom or Animal Kingdom, but we sure enjoyed what we did see! 

After a quick gas fill up and grabbing some dinner at Chic-Fil-A we headed back to the condo for dinner and then it was one last pool time! We decided to try the middle pool because the main pool was crowded, but the middle pool was so cold we only lasted about 10 minutes in that pool! The main pool was SO much warmer! We played and played and tried to soak in as much as we could. 

It was an incredibly amazing trip and we are all so sad to head home tomorrow. Thom and I literally just talked about switching our flight because this warm weather, sunshine and pool will be missed greatly. 

As we were getting Teddy ready for bed we asked him what his favorite part of the day was. He said, "the rollercoaster with Dad". He said I didn't hold him right. What an incredible day!