Disney Vacation: Animal Kingdom

We rounded our trip out at Animal Kingdom.  I had an interesting start to this day as my ticket was denied on the way in.  I had to spend about 30 minutes at guest services getting it all worked out.  It turned out, when we had exchanged our paper tickets for plastic ones on the first day, I had accidentally picked up one of Grandy and Grammie's 5 day tickets while they had my 6 day ticket.  Thankfully the cast member was able to issue a one day ticket for me to join them at no extra charge.

While I was working out the ticket situation, Grandy and Grammie took the girls and got in line for Kilimanjaro Safari, and Daddy waited just inside the gate for me.

Our timing actually worked out quite well.  Just as we approached a spot to see the Kilimanjaro Safari line, Grandy, Grammie, and the girls were passing by in the line.  We were able to join them for the ride.  Many of the animals were out and easily seen this morning.  I was amazed at how close they were to our vehicle.

The giraffes where eating right next to the road:

We next rode Kali River Rapids, getting rather wet, which felt good on this warm day.  We ate lunch before heading over to watch Finding Nemo the Musical.

Grandy and Grammie graciously took our girls to The Boneyard to play while Daddy and I went to ride Expedition Everest.  We went through the single rider line, so the wait wasn't too bad.  We even managed to end up on the same train, just not sitting together.  (Unfortunately, our girls are about 1/2" too short to ride, which made them a bit sad.  However, they loved playing in The Boneyard.)

After playing, we tried to ride Dinosaur, but it closed for repairs right as we got to the the front of the line.  They gave everyone in line FastPasses, so we came back shortly after the parade when it had reopened.  Our girls did NOT like this ride very much.  Too scary!

Grandy and Grammie had secured a great location for us to eat our ice cream and watch the parade.  Several characters came right up to us and greeted the girls!

After the parade, we went to It's Tough to be a Bug.  Then, Grandy, Grammie, and I wanted to see The Lion King while Daddy, Ella, and Emma wanted to ride Kali River Rapids one more time.  So, we split up.

While we watched the show, Daddy and the girls navigated the rapids twice, getting completely soaked in the process.  They LOVED it!  What a great way to end our trip!

Today, happens to be Grandy's birthday.  We decided to eat and celebrate at The Rainforest Cafe at Animal Kingdom.  The food was great, but the air conditioning about froze our sweet, soaked-to-the-bones girls.  So, we took off their wet shirts and let them wear their warm, dry jackets instead.  When the server was told we were celebrating a birthday, she brought him a free cupcake, complete with birthday candle. What a great ending to our day!

After dinner, it was time to pack.  Daddy took the girls to the playground at the resort, so I could get us packed for our early departure tomorrow morning.

It has been a marvelous trip!  I have been reminded time and time again how very blessed we are.  First that we are able to do things like this as a family and with family.  Also, that we could afford to go.  But I think what got to me the most was seeing all the families who had children in wheelchairs.  With all the knots in the girls'  umbilical chords, that could have easily been us.  God has been very good to us!