Welcome to Disney World!
We stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge in a room that overlooked the Savanna.
It was awesome! The hotel itself is a complete experience. There are tons of activities: educational, crafting, cultural, the pool, African cooking....it was amazing!
The view from our room!
We had a fun time finding all the animals in the AKL Wildlife Spotting Guide.
We had a fun time finding all the animals in the AKL Wildlife Spotting Guide.
African face paint
Beautiful Lobby
African Drum Playing
Earning a bead! The kids earned beads for each activity they completed, and when the trip was finished, they had their very own African bead necklace representing everything they did at AKL.
Disney spoiled me multiple times with a Birthday surprise!
We dined at Sanaa in the Kidani Village.
The African cuisine was delicious.
Every detail at AKL is so neat!
Welcome to Epcot!
We visited during the Flower and Garden Festival and the flowers and topiaries were simply amazing. What a treat to see something so beautiful and original! There were also multiple food trucks for each country all around Epcot. We ate all day! The kids also completed an all-day Egg Hunt. They found eggs painted with different Disney characters hidden throughout the countries. It was so fun!
Bruce at the kids in Bruce's Shark World!
After riding The Seas with Nemo and Friends and watching Turtle Talk with Crush we walked around the beautiful aquariums in The Seas area.
After the Seas, we rode Soarin', Living with the Land, and Journey Into the Imagination with Figment. I was excited to see how much has been added to Living with the Land. The greenhouses are just beautiful. Russell fell in love with Figment! It was so cute how much fun both he and Susannah had in Figment's world of imagination.
After the Land, we rode Spaceship Earth. The kids loved this ride. They still ask questions about some of the "things" in history that they saw on the ride.
Next stop: Mission Space!
After Mission Space, we headed back to the countries for some food, education and egg hunting!
Spotted an egg! The Mickey egg is hidden in Italy on the center balcony above Via Napoli.
We ate dinner in Morocco at Cafe Marrekesh. Susannah had a great time dancing!
Ay yay yay! Los Tres Caballeros!
The kids loved this ride in Mexico and were excited to find the Caballeros in the garden!
We stayed for extra magic hours and rode everything we wanted to again. It was fantastic. I love this picture of Mimi Jane & Russell, strolling through Epcot hand in hand :)
One last ride...Figment!
Figment was Russell's favorite ride at Epcot and the Disney cast member allowed Russell to go "behind the scenes" and sit at Figment's desk and take pictures with him. Russell was so excited! He was beaming and my heart, of course, melted. Thank you, Disney!
After a late night at Epcot, we ordered room service and relaxed a bit the next morning.
Beth joined us for a delicious lunch at AKL's Mara Restaurant.
Magic Kingdom!
Time to experience the classics!
Time to experience the classics!
Dessert Party!
After dinner at Cosmic Rays, we surprised everyone with tickets to the Dessert party on the Tomorrowland Terrace.
We had a great time enjoying delicious Mickey desserts, drinks, and hot chocolate - then the party continued on to reserved seating for the spectacular Happily Ever After Fireworks show. This was the best nighttime show I've seen at Disney so far. Almost every Disney film and character comes to life on the castle, and the entire show is accompanied with fantastic fireworks and music. It was amazing. The entire experience was so fun - and yummy!
The park closed, but we stayed until 1am! We rode everything we wanted to - and some rides twice! MK never disappoints...we had a blast!
Welcome to Animal Kingdom!
Tree of Life on Discovery Island
Pandora - the World of Avatar
Our day started here riding the Na'vi River Journey. Then we ventured over to Dinoland and rode Dinosaur, Primeval Whirl, and the TriceraTop Spin. We stumbled upon one of our most favorite shows here, Finding Nemo the Musical. It was so good. The costumes, stage sets, actors. It was a full show and we loved every minute!
We lunched with Mickey and friends at Donald's Dining Safari at the Tusker House. Food was awesome - all different dishes from different countries in Africa.
Another Birthday celebration!
Harambe Village Acrobats
After lunch we walked around the Africa area and found a lot of fun entertainment. The acrobats were amazing dancers and acrobat artists. Their show was spectacular.
After lunch we walked around the Africa area and found a lot of fun entertainment. The acrobats were amazing dancers and acrobat artists. Their show was spectacular.
Tam Tam Drummers of Harambe
The drummers were so sweet to Susannah. She sat and played and sang with them for a while.
The drummers were so sweet to Susannah. She sat and played and sang with them for a while.
Festival of the Lion King
This show brought the Lion King to life! The set was super cool and the music was fabulous, of course!
Mickey Ears!
Mt Everest in the background - such a fun rollercoaster!
This show brought the Lion King to life! The set was super cool and the music was fabulous, of course!
After the Lion King, we walked through the Discovery Island Trails on Discovery Island, Maharaja Jungle Trek in Asia, and the Gorilla Fall Exploration Trail in Africa, where we observed different animals and habitats, and the kids worked on earning their Wilderness Explorer Badges.
We also ventured back over to the Tree of Life for It's Tough to Be a Bug on Discovery Island - still such a cute show!
Mickey Ears!
Rivers of Light Show
Pandora at Night - the entire area lights up neon - so cool!
On our departure day, we spent time walking around Disney Springs
Lego Dragon
Lego Friends
Disney Lego Tourists
Sleeping Beauty
Relaxing on the AKL porch
Enjoying our last few hours at AKL, watching the animals on the savanna
Off to Boma Restaurant at AKL for our final dinner
Thank you, Disney World, for another wonderful vacation full of joy, laughs, and adventure for our family. We can't wait to return again!
Thank you, Disney World, for another wonderful vacation full of joy, laughs, and adventure for our family. We can't wait to return again!