Animal Kingdom Wrap Up

AK Christmas Tree

Animal Kingdom Lodge Christmas Tree

Since the park closes so early, we decided to head over to our old stomping ground, the Animal Kingdom Lodge, for dinner at Boma. The lobby was beautifully decorated. We couldn't afford and didn't want to spend our money on staying here again. It is beautiful and spacious, but this time around we decided to go for the cheap hotel. We spend every waking hour at the parks, so we really just need a place to sleep and shower.

We stayed at the value Pop Century Resort. I have no idea what kind of amenities, activities, or what the grounds were like. We literally slept, showered, and ran to the buses every morning. Patrick did have to trek to the dining hall every morning for coffee. That's my only complaint about the rooms; they don't have a refrigerator or coffee maker. We got a preferred room so we would be closer to the dining and buses. The resort is a huge complex, so I think we made the right decision paying extra for a preferred room.

If we go to Disney World again we will probably stay off property. Staying on Disney property is perfect for first time guests, but now that we know what to expect and we have a better feel for it we don't need to. One of the main draws of staying on site is extra magic hours, but we couldn't use many of them this time around because Gabe demanded much more sleep during this trip. Next time, we'll save money by staying at a nicer place and renting a car. That way we can see more of Orlando and possibly, if we ever finish the Harry Potter books, visit Universal Studios.

Dinner at Boma was amazing, as always. They had a butternut squash soup that tasted like gingerbread.

Expedition Everest

You can see my dad in the fourth row

Donald Duck

Goofy

Jungle Jam Parade

How to eat a Mickey Ice Cream Bar

We're going on Safari!

Conservation Station

Inside the traincar

along the way...

Conservation Station was so disappointing we didn't take any pictures. Wah Wah...

Pluto

The most memorable and special part of our trip last year was my interaction with the characters, especially the princes and princesses. This time around, I was a little leery of meeting anyone especially what Disney calls Face Characters (humans). Mickey and his pals are always safe, but I wasn't sure about anyone else until the final days of our trip.

Animal Kingdom

Dad and I are in the 4th row. Dad is wearing a black shirt and I'm wearing a blue shirt.

Before mom sprayed us with the water canons

Soaked

These fruit bats are awake during the day

Tigger, is that you?

Add caption

Disney details on a light post

This was a perfect way to start our vacation. We practically had the park to ourselves, and it was still warm enough to wear shorts. We knew from our last visit that we would only need one day at the Animal Kingdom, even though the park closes early (5PM) and we have to rush to everything. This trip, we worked in some of our favorite activities and some new ones.

I am finally tall enough to ride Expedition Everest! I rode it several times and even talked my mom into riding it. My mom tries to do everything at least once. But usually this means just once. This ride is one of my new favorites. I saw the Yeti!

I also tried out the Boneyard Playground. Disney knows how to make awesome playgrounds. I lost my mom right away, but there is a cast member standing guard at the exit and he doesn't allow anyone to pass without a parent.

Another new thing we tried out was Conservation Station (formerly Rafiki's Planet Watch). It's billed as a place to see what goes on behind the scenes at AK, and as a place to learn about conservation efforts. You have to take a train to get there and that's the best part of the whole experience. There is a vet room with a big glass wall where you could possibly see veterinarians caring for an animal, but there was nothing going on when we were there. There is also a petting area with farm animals, but this is Disney World and who wants to spend big bucks to pet goats? My mom was really disappointed with the whole thing. There's a whole lot of nothing going on there. It feels like the whole area was just thrown together, and it really needs a redesign. We won't make a point to go out there again.

Some of our favorites: 

Finding Nemo stage show:  The puppets, scenery, and lighting for the show are stunning. We loved it the second time around, too.

Meeting characters at Camp Minnie Mickey

Safari: You'll see something different every time you go. We saw the baby elephant, and my favorite: the baby giraffes. We got stuck on a broken bridge, but we made it across!

Veggie spring rolls at Yak & Yeti food stand. Delicious.