Animal Kingdom is such an incredible park. You get this feeling that you're in another part of the world when you're in Animal Kingdom. The park is so beautifully done and the entire place feels relaxing and peaceful...or to me it does! Scott and I were really excited to visit Animal Kingdom. Every time we've gone to Disney, it has POURED rain on us when we're at Animal Kingdom. The first time we ever went, it was raining so hard that everyone in the entire park was leaving and we were the only ones entering. Haha!! This is the first time I've ever gone to Animal Kingdom and felt like I actually got to see it.
We arrived at AK right at rope drop and this was the first time I had ever been able to stand in front of the tree of life without dozens of people surrounding it. Everyone who enters Animal Kingdom at rope drop heads straight for Flight of Passage. We followed the crowd to FOP but by the time we reached it, the line was already 30 minutes long. We decided to ride the other Avatar ride, Navi River Journey, instead. It was such a smart call. When we got off Navi River, we decided we'd come back to FOP later. We walked to Kilimanjaro Safaris and hopped right on a vehicle that took us on a tour of a lush African Savanna.
We do the Kilimanjaro Safaris every time we go to Disney but I think this is the best I had seen it. All of the animals were out and it was so enjoyable. After our safari, we hopped on Kali River Rapids then we decided to head to Dinoland. We rode Dinosaur and even Triceratops Spin (LOL) because zero wait. By the time we had finished all of those rides, they all had a wait time whereas we were able to walk right onto them. It was a good call to bipass FOP because the people who waited in line for it ended up having to wait in line for the other rides. Even if the lines are only 10 minutes, it's still nice to be able to walk right onto them!!
Since we had done all of the rides we thought we'd take an opportunity to sit down for a minute and check out a show. The only one they had playing was It's Tough To Be A Bug. We had never seen it so decided to check it out. It was super cute--something my boys would love. Since we had done everything but Flight of Passage, we decided it was as good a time as any to wait in line for it. We waited about 40 minutes to ride it which is nothing compared to what it normally is. The ride was amazing! It was our first time to ride FOP. We've never wanted to use a Fast Pass on it in the past since the boys couldn't do it and the normal stand by time is always SO long so we've always skipped over it. I'm so glad to say I've done it now. It was truly an experience unlike anything. Amazing ride!!
As soon as we got off Flight of Passage it was time for lunch. We decided to try Yak and Yeti and it was fantastic!!! Hands down the best lettuce wraps I have ever had. If you love Asian cuisine, this is your place. Tucker House is still my favorite restaurant in AK. The lunch is so unique and one of my favorite meals in all of Disney. But they were temporarily closed and I was glad to get to try Yak and Yeti. After lunch we rode Expedition Everest, then decided to grab a drink, walk around and take in beautiful Animal Kingdom. We had literally done everything we wanted to do in four hours so we decided we should call it good and head back to the hotel and lay by the pool. However, Scott loved Flight of Passage so much he wanted to ride it one more time. So we waited in line for 40 minutes again. Totally worth it. I think it was better the second time.
We left Animal Kingdom, got back to our hotel, quickly threw on our swimsuits then lounged by the pool. It was really nice to just chill after 3 days of constantly going. I always say a rest day is a necessity when you go to Disney. It just feels good to reset. The Dolphin pool had servers walking around taking orders so I didn't even have to leave my lounger for several hours...a very all-inclusive Caribbean vibe. Before we knew it, it was time to get ready for dinner. I had chosen a restaurant on The Boardwalk that I have always wanted to try called Trattoria al Forno. I have heard awesome things about their breakfast (a character breakfast with Rapunzel, Flynn, Ariel and Eric) but hadn't heard much about dinner. One of our very favorite restaurants at Disney, Schulas in the Dolphin Hotel, was temporarily closed otherwise we would have eaten there. Since we couldn't, we took the opportunity to try Trattoria since it's so close to the hotel. Mistake! I can count only two times that I have had a bad meal at Disney: Cosmic Rays and now Trattoria. We were pretty disappointed but also glad we tried it because we've always wanted to. Definitely would not recommend it. The atmosphere and location are great and the food looks beautiful but doesn't taste so good. I still want to try their breakfast and the next time we take the boys we plan on doing the Trattoria character meal.
Despite a not so great meal, it was still a lovely evening. The Boardwalk is beautiful at night and we enjoyed sitting on a bench for a bit, listening to jazz and taking in our surroundings. A short while later we headed back to our room to get some rest for our last day at Disney in Magic Kingdom.
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