Animal Kingdom

Mickey is a thoughtful mouse. He left gifts for Max each morning in our hotel room: stickers, water bottle, a puzzle, other goodies, and pajamas! 

Eager to find some other animals, 

our next Disney adventure led us into the wild!

Tree of Life

"Just like in the Lion King!"

There were fossils to discover...

Daddies to hunt....

and a cousin of Frank's to meet!

Our new gorilla friend

Leaving in a huff - must be a female.

Who's bigger?

Amazing similarities!

The Africa section of Animal Kingdom earned points for authenticity with the power lines and luggage piled on top of the train, but Jason reported the overall effect was...well...Disney-fied. Max didn't seem to notice. He was excited for another type of train!

Rafiki's Conservation Station

Petting Area

Almost as tall!

Safari Time!

Grasslands

The herd (pack?) of giraffes blocked the path of the jeep

and stopped for us to admire them.

Back in the township...

Max tries to fit in with the natives.

Safari Donald

Extra points if you can spot two ducks in this picture!

An early lunch means you get breakfast and lunch options.

Mickey Mouse waffles, anyone?

The Mouse has an awesome hat.

And a fun conga line!

Goofy is Mommy's favorite!
And Sarah's favorite, too! She laughed and laughed when Mimi showed her the picture of her family with the big dog!

Dinoland

Hmm..this ride is remarkably similar to Dumbo and Aladdin's Carpets.

Some of our favorite parts of Animal Kingdom were the shows. After securing great seats at the Nemo show, Max informed us that he needed to use the bathroom. The cast member warned that the show would start before we could return and Max insisted he could wait. And he waited and wiggled and squirmed on Daddy's lap throughout the 45 minute show. Daddy was not as cool and remained paranoid until the curtain closed and the race to the bathroom commenced! Max was encouraged to sit on Mommy's lap for the Lion King show.

A full day in the wild led to tired beasts. Thank goodness for the watering hole at the lodge for us to relax and groove to the animal beat!