Disney Diaries, Post 7 (Lions, Tigers & Gorillas?)

Thursday was our day to explore the wildlife and activity at Disney's Animal Kingdom park. We started bright and early with breakfast with Donald and the whole crew in their best safari gear at the Tusker House. Hands down, it was our favorite character meal. The food was fantastic, and it wasn't as loud and chaotic as the other two we had done. Another advantage to character meal breakfasts is you can score early park admission if you're willing to schedule them early enough. We did both our character breakfasts at 8 a.m. at parks that didn't open until 9. We were out roaming the park getting in position for the rides that fill up fastest before others had even gained admission. At Disney, it really is true: "the early bird gets the worm!"

We headed to Kilamanjaro Safaris first. Despite the chill in the air, we were not disappointed with our ride. We were able to see so many incredible animals. Sam was delighted to see the giraffes, "they're my fav-wit!" We got glimpses of lions, elephants and many other exotic creatures. Later we took the trail to see the gorillas, and the train over to the petting zoo. Sam loved brushing the goats, and Jack really enjoyed seeing the pigs up close.

Closer to the Tree of Life, we spotted a kangaroo darting around and took a stroll to see the tigers. I talked Jack into braving Expedition Everest with me, but just like Space Mountain...he declined the opportunity to ride again with his daddy.

Both the boys really loved the Boneyard play area. There was tons of slides, climbing structures, nets, ladders and fun. It was challenging to keep up with them in the huge space, but we managed to escape with the same two boys we entered with. Since Sam was tall enough for the Dinosaur ride, we all did it together. Neither of the boys were very crazy about it, but I was interested to see Claire Huxtible posing as a paleontologist.

Sam, eventually gave up the good fight and hit for the series...falling asleep in the last of the four WDW parks. While he snoozed, Jack got a frozen coke and watched the Jungle Jam parade. We ate an early dinner at Yak & Yeti, and then headed back to the resort to swim. Again, I elected to watch as it was still not warm enough for this gal.

Funny side story: when we waited for our turn at the obligatory family photo in front of The Tree of Life at AK, I noticed the couple posing in front of us looked really familiar. I was trying so hard to place them. Then, it hit me! It was a reality tv couple that had met on one of the seasons of Survivor, a show I used to watch faithfully! I couldn't remember their names, but Josh nailed it...Boston Rob and Amber. In case you were wondering they're still together and appear to have three little girls.

Jack & Josh shared their Thursday favorite in the Kilamanjaro Safari expedition. My favorite moment was riding Expedition Everest with Jack, despite that he was miserable. And, of course Sam's favorite would involve food..."the doughnut at breakfast!" I told you the breakfast at Tusker House was good.

just add animals & ice cream

A sweet long-time friend of mine and Josh's (who happens to be a fellow blogger) lives in New York City with her family. Lucky for us, her in-laws just retired to Ellijay and they decided to visit. So, we took the opportunity to meet up. The last time we had seen them was at a baby shower for the first child that was held in Atlanta. Dilan is now 3 years old.

Since we're both bloggers, I don't feel like it's been that long. I feel like I knew this sweet and funny 3 y/o, from the pictures, stories and letters shared on Kajal's blog even though I'd never seen her in person. And she felt the same about our two boys. I was still interested to see how the kids would interact around each other.

We met up at the Chestatee Wildlife Preserve, outside Dahlonega. It was ridiculously hot, but we made the best of it and enjoyed catching up while strolling among some semi-exotic animals. In fact, we shut the place down! Nevermind, they close at 4 p.m. My favorite part of the reunion was the impromptu decision to journey into Dahlonega and enjoy some ice cream from Connie's in downtown. Of course, we enjoyed catching up and hearing about preparations for their second child set to arrive at the end of the summer. But, I'm pretty sure the kids had fun too. Jack insisted Dilan sit beside him at ice cream, and she didn't object. So, maybe it was the animals or perhaps the ice cream, but either way, we look forward to the prospect of more reunions now that Grandma & Grandpa are a short drive away.