Disney World Day 3

Our 3rd day at Disney we mixed it up a little. We stayed at the Swan/Dolphin hotel and one of the reasons I wanted to stay there is because they have an amazing pool and "beach" area. I thought it would be fun to spend half of a day on the beach and relax a bit. Before we hit the beach, we went to Beach Club to have breakfast at Cape May Café with Minnie, Daisy, Donald and Goofy. The breakfast was really great and the characters and atmosphere were really great too. I would definitely recommend this character meal. I was super curious to check out Beach Club because we almost stayed there. It was right across from our hotel so we were able to walk to it and browse around a little. I loved the atmosphere and would love to stay there one day. I still think I would prefer the Grand Floridian but I think Beach Club would be next on my list.

As soon as we finished breakfast we put on our swimsuits and headed to the "beach" at our hotel. It really did feel like a beach too, minus the ocean! It was a huge area surrounded by palm trees, a beautiful grotto pool with a gorgeous waterfall and a cool poolside restaurant. I felt like I was at an all-inclusive. We sat next to a couple who was from the area and I asked them why they chose the Swan/Dolphin (because I assume they've been to all the Disney resorts) and they said they like it the most out of all the resorts because of the beach/pool area. We were only there for about 2 hours before Bennett was really falling apart and needed a nap. So we took both boys up to the room where they crashed for an hour and a half.

While they were napping, a massive rain shower came through. The forecast told us it would last all day. We were bummed because we had plans to go to Animal Kingdom that day. Even though it was raining so, so hard, we weren't just going to sit in our room and miss out on the fun. So we bought some ponchos in our hotel gift shop and took the bus to Animal Kingdom. I got so tickled because as we were going into the park, everyone was coming out of it. I thought to myself "we're going to have this whole dang thing to ourselves!!"
Animal Kingdom was so neat. I think it was Scott's favorite. I feel like we didn't get to enjoy it to the fullest extent because it was raining so hard but we would have moments where the rain would let up for 15-20 minutes before starting up again so that was good. We had some fast passes booked and that's basically all we did while we were there. First we took in the Finding Nemo show which was super cute and convenient to watch since it was raining so hard outside. The boys loved it. Next we took the Kilimanjaro Safari which was so neat. We all loved it! And it didn't matter that it was raining because the safari bus had a roof over it so that was a win. The animals were incredible and I enjoyed learning about them from the guide. After our safari we watched The Lion King show. Oh my goodness, y'all. I wish everyone could have seen Bennett. It was the highlight of his trip, without question. He was dancing and clapping and moving to the beats of the music and got SO into the show. Scott said it was one of the highlights of his trip, watching Bennett enjoy that so much. It almost made me wonder if Bennett is destined to be a performer or something one day because that is the level at which he loved it. I loved it too. The show was amazing and brought me back to when I was a kid and The Lion King came out. After the show we had a meet and great set up with Mickey and Minnie. It was the only time we got to meet Mickey. Bennett, unfortunately, was terrified of him but we did manage to get a family photo, the only family photo from our entire trip, so I'd say that was a win.

We left after that because it was just raining so hard and we did our thing and felt like we did all we could do. Plus we had dinner reservations back at the Beach Club at Beaches and Cream. I had heard how fun and yummy the restaurant was and it seemed like a good place to take the boys. We ate our burger and fries then it was time for us to order dessert. We felt like we really couldn't leave without doing the legendary "Kitchen Sink" dessert, so we went for it. The Kitchen Sink is 8 scoops of ice cream, every topping in the house and one entire can of whipped cream. They do a big announcement when someone in the restaurant orders it and the thing is massive. It's served in a kitchen sink bowl and the dessert is heavenly. We managed to eat almost half between the four of us before giving up.

After dinner we walked back to our hotel (in the rain), took a much desired warm shower, then went to bed. You could say it was disappointing that it rained on us but the outlook all depends on your attitude. We still had such a great time at Animal Kingdom! I'm thankful it didn't rain on us while we had our beach time and everything we did at Animal Kingdom was basically indoors so that worked out perfectly. Scott and I were in awe at what an amazing job they've done with Animal Kingdom and how beautiful the park is. I think a half day there was the perfect amount of time. Rain or shine, we had a great 3rd day at Disney!