Day 2: Three Parks in One Day!

Yeah, it's true. We went to three parks in one day. Sound crazy? Just trying to get our money's worth :) We spent the morning at Animal Kingdom. We got there a little early, so we had to wait with everyone until they officially opened the park. When they let us through, everyone was rushing in one direction--towards the new roller coaster. But the majority of the park was still blocked off. Apparently it was only 8:55. So we waited impatiently in the sun with all the other park-goers. I think that park was hotter than the rest, but maybe it's from all the extra foliage they have--it definitely felt like jungle heat. So finally the moment came, and Mickey, Minnie, and Pluto drove in front of us on a bus! They had this checklist that they went over with us, to make sure we had sunscreen and water and a map. Then they rolled down this sign and we all said together "Let the adventure begin!"

And so began the stampede to the new ride. Some people started running, and the Disney workers told them to slow down. I mean, there were parents with strollers and little kids--it would be a shame if one of them got trampled. We were gonna get Josh a fastpass, but the wait time was only 10 minutes, so he hoppped in line. I went to the gift shop area, which was where he'd come out at the end of the ride. Oh yeah, I got so mad, cause I saw people ducking under the ropes and cutting a bunch of people in line! People, it's just a ride--wait your turn!! Anyway, it was called Expedition Everest, and Josh said it was a pretty cool roller coaster. They tell you all about the legend of the Yeti, and then when you're on the ride, you find that a part of the tracks are completely destroyed by the monster! So they shoot you backwards through the mountain. It was a pretty realistic-looking mountain. We wished the snow on it was real :)



The next event was a safari through the jungle. Waiting in this line was a little long, but it wasn't bad. The lines are never air conditioned, but they had ceiling fans along the way and open windows, so it was bearable. At one point Josh switched with me so I could stand underneath a fan and feel the breeze from the window (he's so sweet). And then a couple minutes later, this guy behind me says, "Excuse me, but can you step forward so I can feel some air?" I'm naturally non-confrontational, so I automatically stepped forward. But as I thought about it, "Hey, that was rude of him. I should have told him I was pregnant!" I told Josh about it later, and he said, "What a jerk." He really was, cause when we got further up in line, there was a place where we split into two sides, and he and his wife and son managed to cut a bunch of people in line. As you can tell on this day, my pregnancy hormones left me little patience with rude people :) We saw lots of animals, and here are some pictures!

This zebra was so close to the safari bus! And I think this is a gazelle, maybe?

A cute baby elephant and a cute baby rhino with their mommies!
This giraffe was shy and here's Simba's wife taking a nap.

Warthogs - gross!
Our favorite event at Animal Kingdom was Finding Nemo--The Musical. It was a thirty minute Broadway-style show, and they did such a professional job. The people held puppets of the character they were portraying, and they dressed to blend in with the background. They could move the eyes and mouths of their character, and the puppets were made of a lighter material in the back. So when they would swim around, you really believed they were in water. Josh snapped tons of pictures of this, so I'll just put out a bunch for you :)

Here am I waiting in line and this was the sign near the entrance

Here's Nemo! The star of the show. And here he is again with his dad.

This is Nemo's class and teacher and we can't forget about crazy Dory!

Fish are friends not food! These are Nemo's fish tank friends.

The seagull was as tall as the stage! And here is Nemo with Gill.

Dude! Jellies! Crush and his posse.

In the afternoon, we headed over to MGM studios for some more fun. First things first though, we had to have lunch :). We ate at Toy Story's Pizza Planet, and as we walked away from there, we saw Woody and Buzz posing for pictures. Josh got his picture taken with Woody, but the line for Buzz closed before we got over there. Oh well! Oh yeah, we also did the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular. I thought I knew how it would all go, cause they've showed it on Full House, but they only show the first part. The second half they show you more stunts and act out some scenes from the Indy movies. It really was neat to watch.



We went to an audio show with Drew Carey, and you wore headphones the whole time. We were in complete darkness for 7 minutes, so all you had to go by were the sounds. We liked that one, especially cause it was air conditioned. I remember when the lights went out that some kid was getting scared, even though her dad was right next to her. Right when we came out of that, they were setting up for the Disney Stars and Motor Cars Parade. It was perfect timing, so we had a good view of the characters. The temperature dropped extremely during the parade, and the wind started blowing. It felt great, but we knew that meant a storm was coming. They still did the whole parade though--we only got a few drops. Here are some shots Josh took.

You've got a friend in me! Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!!!

This is Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia. Here's Mulan.

Mike and Sully (Kitty!). Hades from "Hercules".

Lilo and Stich. And the Little Mermaid.

After the parade, hmm, I don't remember what exactly we did. We caught some of the High School Musical Pep Rally. We actually heard it a couple times when we went back to MGM the last day, so the songs kept getting into our heads :). For dinner I had made reservations at the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theatre Restaurant. It was a really neat atmosphere. I tried to take pictures inside, but it was too dark for any of them to come out good. We sat in a classic car, and everyone faced a big screen that showed black and white segments of "thrillers." There was this one movie about an attack of a fifty-foot woman--scary! (yeah right). They also showed some old cartoons, so it was fun. Josh got a more regular-sized meal, but nothing looked good to me. I opted for a bowl of soup, and a strawberry shake. Hey, I was in a 50s car--I had to get a classic beverage :)

Whew! I haven't even talked about Magic Kingdom yet. We went there next, but we only did a couple things, since we had a few hours, so I think I'll save that for the next installment. Until then!