Animal Kingdom

Today we journeyed to the Animal Kingdom in search of animal encounters. We definitely saw some amazing animals! In fact, it seemed a little crazy to be riding in an open air safari car with nothing to separate us from the animals. Perhaps the craziest was the cheetahs. Fortunately, the animals are well fed and didn't mind us at all!



After the safari, we took a train to the petting zoo,
where Alex, Zachary and Ryan made sure to brush every single goat in sight.

There wasn't much else at this train stop, so we rode back to the main station and headed to Dinosaur Land! First we stopped for lunch, where the kid's meals came in plastic buckets with shovels. Those came in super handy when we were digging for fossils! After lunch we broke off into smaller groups, with the Mason clan heading to a more adventurous ride, and we went to the play area. There was a big climbing structure with rope nets, slides and tunnels. It was from here that we found the fossil dig site. Next stop, the carnival area. Alex and Zachary convinced Grammy to ride a dinosaur!
While Zachary was busy playing carnival games (and winning big!) Alex had his face painted. You were supposed to pick from a design on the board, but Alex really wanted a green dinosaur. We asked the girl if that was possible, and I was expecting a little dinosaur on his cheek. What she created was amazing!

Alex played some games and won while Ryan was transformed into a tiger.

And finally, a walk through the dinosaur statue park.

We found a fairly unobstructed view for the Parade of Animals. The animals were giant puppet-like creatures. They were really amazing.


And of course we had to have pictures with some of the characters! Zachary just about tackled Thumper in his excitement!

Later that evening, Phil, Jeff, Leslie and I took advantage of the grandparents' babysitting skills and extended hours at Hollywood Studios. We rode a couple of the rides, determined it wasn't a very pre-schooler friendly park and called it a night.