Disney Day 4

    Tuesday was our day to go to Animal Kingdom.  Animal Kingdom is probably my least favorite park out of the four.  It's a great park, but the other three are just each so amazing they are hard to top.  We had a great time there, despite it being very crowded.  We quickly learned that February is prime season for tour groups from Brazil.  This is their summer break and apparently girls go to Disney World.  They walk around in packs of 75 teenage girls.  They all wear matching shirts and chant and sing songs.  It is kind of unusual, but there were so many of them they really congested the parks. 

Animal Kingdom has this amazing tree of life right when you enter.  It is huge and has all sorts of neat carvings on the trunk.  It's the logo for the park. 

   We got to Animal Kingdom right when it opened.  Animal Kingdom has an awesome roller coaster, called Expedition Everest.  It is a Tibetan themed coaster that is centered around the Yeti.  We loved this roller coaster last time and I couldn't wait to ride it again!  We got fast passes and there was no line since the park just opened.  We each rode it about 4 times.  That ride never gets old!  Ashlyn rode it, and she decided it was a little too scary for her.  She is still too young to truly decipher from fantasy and reality.  She said the Yeti scared her.  

Katy and my dad riding

It is the neatest roller coaster.  You start by going up into this mountain. 

You even come out of a mountain.

Ashlyn insisted on riding with her Uncle Bryan instead of mommy, and she still got scared!

Katy and I are in the back in this one.

If you look really closely, Katy and I are in the sixth row.

The four of us riding

This is what the roller coaster looks like in the distance. 

 Joey and I riding.  We are kind of hard to see with the hands in front of them.

    After the ride, we decided to go explore other areas of the park.  We found some really neat African street performers to watch.  We made our way over to the African safari ride.  It's a really neat ride because you ride in huge jeep like cars.  There is a huge area with all sorts of animals to see.  There are no fences to be seen, so it really feels like you are on an African safari.  The kids really enjoyed seeing all of the animals. 

Street performance

The white rhino we saw on the safari.  Our guide told us that white rhinos are extremely rare. 

Ella

A very lazy hippo.  The guide said that the birds will just cover the hippo, and every once in a while the hippo will shake them off.

Ashlyn pointing something out

Dawson enjoying the view

So much to look at

The lion that was just perched on a rock.  He seemed so relaxed. 

   Our safari ride made us all very hungry.  We went got lunch from the Flame Tree BBQ.  It's a quick service so you just walk up and order your food.  They have all outdoor seating so it made for a nice, relaxing lunch.  The bbq is actually really, really good too.  I love their chicken.  After lunch, we walked around a little more. 

Ashlyn and her Gram

Funny

 
 We then ventured into Dinoland.  I'm still not sure what dinosaurs have to do with the park's African animal theme, but it was still fun.   

Joey and Ashlyn on a dino ride

    We discovered a really neat dinosaur playground for the kids.  There were all sorts of slides to go down.  They had a huge sandbox with dinosaur "bones" that kids could dig up.  The kids had so much fun here.  It was nice and shaded and a perfect play spot.  We took turns with the kids while the adults went and rode the dinosaur ride that's really fun.

Ashlyn and Ella making a big find

Sitting on a bone

Ashlyn is seriously so good with kids.  She loves kids and helping them just like her mom.

Dawson exploring

So much to dig up

    It was kind of hot and pretty crowded at this point.  We had some time to kill, so we found some nice tables that were virtually empty.  We got some cold drinks and spent some time talking and taking a few minutes to relax. 

The bird that joined us

Ashlyn showing Dumbo to Papa

Bryan and Jameson

Ella and Dawson just sat in their strollers and talked.

Great place for a ride

Uncle Bryan tickling Ashlyn

Perfect spot for a family picture

Ashlyn modeling for the camera

The Leones

   After some much needed down time, we made our way towards the exit.  On our way, we saw a parade.  We stopped to watch it.  It was a fun one. 

Parade watching

Mickey

  After leaving, we boarded a bus to head to the Polynesian resort.  For some reason, we didn't take many pictures.  This was my first time at the Polynesian and I fell in love!  It's decorated so beautifully and has breathtaking grounds.  I have definitely decided this is my new dream spot to stay at Disney World.  We had dinner reservations for a restaurant named Ohana.  We had never eaten there before, but I had just read review after review about how amazing the food was.  It is a Hawaiian themed restaurant.  The food is served family style.  They start by bringing out salad and these amazing chicken wings and pot stickers.  They also serve this amazing bread that tasted like it had macadamia nuts in it.    They then brought out a huge plate of noodles and vegetables.  The noodles were unlike any we have ever had.  They then bring out skewers of beef, chicken, and shrimp.  Its not like the Brazilian steakhouses that we go to.  The meat was unlike any I had ever had.  They finish the meal by bringing out a huge piece of bread pudding with a mountain of vanilla ice cream on top.  It was definitely our favorite meal of the entire trip.  It also ranks up there as one of the best meals I have had in a very long time.  This will definitely be a can't miss from now on!

Where they cook the meat

The wonderful noodles and vegetables

Ashlyn looking like a movie star

You can't tell how big it is in the picture, but this served four of us. 

Enjoying dessert. 

    We had to take the monorail back to Epcot and then take a bus to our hotel.  We kept telling Ella to hold on and she had a great time holding on to that pole. 

   When we got back, we noticed that Katy and Bryan's curtains were open.  We looked in and saw that the maid had set up their toys in the window waiting for them when they returned.