Disney World Florida 2014 Holiday Day 4 Animal Kingdom

Thursday 24th July 2014 – Disney World Florida Holiday Day 4

Today was our first visit to Animal Kingdom, and the first day we waited more than ten minutes for a bus from the hotel. Animal Kingdom shares its bus service with Typhoon Lagoon, and there seemed to be a lot of people wanting to go to the water park today. It was super hot today and the air was humid. At times almost unbearable.

We spent the morning exploring the park, and looking at some of the amazing views and scenery that Animal Kingdom has to offer. My first impressions of the park were that it wasn’t as well maintained as Hollywood Studios or Magic Kingdom, but I did have to take a step back and realise that this park is about dinosaurs and animals, not pretty princesses and the glamour of Hollywood. Still it didn’t appeal to me quite as much which was a shame.

We had three fast passes booked today which were Kali River Rapids, Kilimanjaro Safaris, and Festival Of The Lion King. As the morning drew to a close we had just reached Kali River Rapids so off we went. I was really glad that we had a fast pass as the queue was sitting at around 70 minutes and there was no way I wanted to wait that long for a ride that lasts less than five minutes.

I got nice and wet during this ride which was a welcome relief from the heat. My only mistake was wearing white shorts! Still they were dry within half an hour.

Miss A got to hold a cast of a tiger’s paw as we explored a tiger enclosure. I think it was too hot though as they were all hiding. We did spot a few furry characters on their way to meet and greet.

Lunch today was really nice and we found it by mistake. Tamu Tamu refreshments is located opposite Tuskers House restaurant where we should have booked for lunch, however we were all really pleased with Tamu Tamu. Miss A had a meal that didn’t contain hot dog or fries which was a welcome relief for me as a parent. I had a lovely salad and we found a shady spot to sit and eat.

Onto our safari ride after lunch which was great. The clouds weren’t looking too clever when we exited the ride, and as the musicians in the street were covering their instruments up, we knew a storm was coming. Our fast pass for Lion King was another hour, so we took a chance and got in the queue for the show before it instead. Whilst waiting the sky went very dark and the winds started picking up. We learnt that when it got windy, the rain would start in around ten minutes. Today was the day we thought we were going to get caught in the middle of a storm without having got back to the hotel.

Luckily we made it inside the theatre before the drops got too heavy and when we emerged after the show, the sun was shining again. Festival of the Lion King was brilliant. If you go to Animal Kingdom for nothing else then this is worth it. The cast work so hard and put on a great show. You wouldn’t think you were sitting in the middle of Disney World when watching it.

The photos of us waiting for the bus in the afternoon show us all sitting on the floor with not very smiley faces, so I know we must have been tired at the end of the day.

Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 5 Day 6 Day 7 Day 8 Day 9 Day 10 Day 11

If you planning your first holiday to Disneyworld then check out my list on what to buy before you go.

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