Disney Vacation Day 5: Animal Kingdom

Our 5th and final day was spent at the Animal Kingdom. Ava’s last time at this park was when she was about 14 months old, so we were due for another visit. We decided to watch It’s Tough to Be a Bug which is shown inside/underneath the Tree of Life.



We all looked glamorous with our bug glasses on!



Afterwards we headed to the Kilimanjaro Safari that we had gotten fast passes for. The animals were more active that I remember seeing them the last time.





Remember who I told you was Ava’s best buddy?! She insisted on sitting by/with Elyse



I couldn’t catch a picture of it but some of the animals came closer than I’ve seen as well. We actually had to wait for a giraffe to move so we could continue our safari ride.



While the rest of the family went on the Dinosaur ride, I took Ava to the Boneyard, which is a big playground for kids and she had the best time running through all the ropes, climbing the rocks, and sliding down slides.



My favorite attraction at AK is the Lion King production so it was a must do on my list. I was curious to see what Ava thought of it, but she ended up really liking it- she thought it was really neat.



After leaving Lion King, Adam, Elyse, Aunt Robin and Uncle Scott wanted to ride Everest. They were trying to talk me into riding it saying it was easy and it didn’t do any flips or anything, so I thought I would walk with them while I contemplated it. Mom and Aunt Ann volunteered to take Ava to see the parade.

So I don’t think I need to tell you how this went down… I ended up giving into peer pressure, we sat the 2nd row back and I thought I was going to lose my lunch ( which, by the way, we at the Rainforest Café, so it was a pretty filling lunch).  I kept my eyes closed the entire time trying to keep my mind off the fact we were moving. Here’s the thing, If we hadn’t gone backwards I don’t think I would have been sick at all, but something in the backwards movement had me feeling like we flipped and it just wasn’t a good feeling. Plus, it was a rather long ride (in terms of roller coasters). Luckily I have this wonderful picture to prove that I actually did ride the ride….



What? Ride Everest? No problem…hahahahahaha!





We ended up making it back in time to see the parade but I couldn’t get over to where Mom, Aunt Ann, and Ava were sitting (they were sitting right across the road) but it was neat to be able to watch Ava watch the parade from an angle I don’t usually get to see.



Since a large of AK is dealing with live animals the part almost always closes at like 5 or 6 so we had promised Ava we would take her to the pool slide when we got back. She was so excited and even though she was shivering each time she got out to run and wait in line she had so much fun. I was a little worried, you know protective mom with a child that hasn’t really really swam since last summer and I just didn’t know how well she would do, but she did great.

We had such a great time at Disney with the family- it really is a magical place. We were all tired and when we left the following morning I knew we would all sleep good for the next several nights! I was also proud of Ava for making it through the entire trip without any major meltdowns, even though I know she was worn out, she did great. We now have passes which means it won’t be long before our next trip!