vacay day seven: animal kingdom

As is tradition, we were at Animal Kingdom in time for some pre-opening coffee and the "rope-drop" ceremony!  We sang along with Mickey and Minnie as they "opened" the park and then we made our way over to Kilimanjaro Safari in Africa.

Kilimanjaro Safari

Rhinoceros

Hippos!!

Pelicans

A hungry crocodile

The savannah with MY favorite animal: the giraffe

Ankole cattle

My other favorite: the elephant

Cheetah

The lion-- Ben tried and tried to get him to wake up and ROAR! but the lion was too sleepy.

The Mr and Mrs!

After our amazing journey through Africa we trekked our way over to Asia for Expedition Everest!  Grandma and Grandpa had never been on it (Grandpa was SUPER excited!!) and Nick wasn't tall enough last time we were there.  We got fast passes and child swapped so that we could all go on it numerous times since it was a big hit with everyone!  Ben and Lexie weren't quite tall enough (maybe next time!) but they enjoyed entertaining anyone who would watch.

the entertainers!

Jennifer and Grandpa waving (you can't see Chris and Nick) and riding!

We had the most AMAZING lunch at Yak and Yeti.  It was our favorite meal the last time we went so we HAD to go again and introduce my parents to the delicious ribs and miso-glazed salmon.  This trip was the first time we did the Nemo show and it was phenomenal!  I would highly recommend it-- plus it's a great way to cool off in the afternoon!

On our way out of the park we decided to ride Kali River Rapids- the circular 12-person raft that goes through a series of rapids.  Ben was tall enough to go this time (and was super excited for it!!) and Grandma waited with Lexie.  I KNEW I would get soaked because it always manages to be me but I wasn't prepared for how soaked I would actually get.

The beginning of the ride went great and no one got too wet.  And then we went down a hill and of course, I was at the bottom of the hill and the water gushed over me.  The boys (including Jacob and Grandpa!!) all laughed hysterically at me and the fact that I was COMPLETELY soaked.  And then they continued making fun of me all the way out of the park.

We went back to the hotel to clean up (and dry off!!) and then drove to the Polynesian for our dinner at 'Ohana.  I purposely made late reservations (for us at least) at 8:30pm and when we showed up we asked to wait for a table as close to the window as possible.  We were seated about 8:45 and had an AMAZING dinner!!  I love how they serve everything family style and you can get more of anything.

Right before dessert was served they dimmed the lights and the fireworks started over Cinderella's Castle in the Magic Kingdom.  One of my favorite things about 'Ohana is that you can watch the fireworks (and listen to the music) while you have dinner-- and you don't have to fight the crowds at all!!  The fireworks show got everyone excited for the Magic Kingdom in a couple days!!