Friday, July 30, 2010

Florida - Part 3

Day 3 we headed over to the Wild Animal Kingdom. Before we even got into the park, we spotted Timon. I adore Tad's big smile in this picture.

When we got in we hit "It's Tough to be a Bug." (Yes, the same show we have in California Adventure.) Even though I've seen it, what, five or six times now? Maybe more? It's still cute. And the kids liked it. Well, except youngest nephew. He cried. But he did that a lot, haha.

After some wandering we got Fast Passes for the Safari and headed over to a train to take us to Rafiki's Planet Watch (lots of hippie propaganda... thanks Disney). But as we were waiting for the train I pulled out my phone to check the time.

And I had missed a call from a school that I had interviewed with.

I checked the message and all the principal said was to call her back. So I did. And got the machine. So I left a message and sat there feeling sick. Longest thirty minutes of my LIFE.

FINALLY, we actually get in touch with each other and I got offered my job! So I'm sitting here, away from the rest of the family because I had to stay where I could get a signal. And I'm shaking because all of a sudden in the middle of my vacation I've been offered a job. I thought I was going to pass out for a minute.

Once I compose myself and am able to speak somewhat I call my mom (hi mom!) and she promptly celebrates (along with Claudia, who danced in their office) and starts emailing people. I texted a few people and walked around still not believing that had just happened for the rest of the day.

So back to the parks, right?

The kids got to see Rafiki. Tad got a solo picture because Rafiki is my mom's favorite. They also got to see Jiminy Cricket. And do a lot of cool exploration type stuff, including a little petting zoo. Our little Willow threw a tantrum (no pics necessary) and we decided it was time to head over to the Safari.

So, the Safari was definitely cool. We did get to see a lot of animals, more than I expected since it was already early afternoon. It's a bumpy ride though. And your driver doesn't pause for very long. So there were definitely more than a few out of focus pictures. But like I said, it is still really cool to get to see the animals out and about.

THIS is the Tree of Life. It was SO cool. I have more shots of it, but in this one you can see more than one animal. The whole tree is like that. There's over 300 animals carved into it. You could spend so much time trying to spot them all.

When we drove into the parking lot we thought this looked a lot like Matterhorn. It's totally not the Matterhorn, it's Expedition Everest. And it was a super fun roller coaster! Tad should have been tall enough (according to one measuring station but not the other?), but ended up not being tall enough. We got Cole on it with us and it resulted in the BEST PICTURE EVER. Which I haven't scanned, and I don't want you seeing a crappy copy of it, so that picture will just have to wait. (Did I hear someone say upcoming Friday Photo?) The coaster was seriously fun, and if you're there, you MUST do it.

After we rode Everest, hubby and I took Tad and split up (so necessary when you're in a group of ELEVEN people). We headed over to Dinoland where they had a reproduction of Dino Sue (you know, the most complete T-Rex they've found? It toured museums for awhile). Anyway, there's an employee right there that talked to Tad for almost 10 minutes and played some games letting him guess bones and stuff. She was really sweet and Tad loved hearing about the dinosaur.

From there we did the Dinosaur ride. Tad liked it. Mostly. There's some intense parts involving a carnivore trying to EAT YOU. Those weren't his favorite. But he didn't scream or anything. Just held on to me for dear life. (I told him he saved me from the dinosaur since the dinosaur was on my side and Tad was NOT letting go of me.)

Outside the ride there was a little trail with some fake dinosaurs. Tad posed with this one. I think the picture should go in his room.

There was also a playground nearby, where Tad showed off just how much weirdness he's gotten from hanging out with hubby and I.

There's a river rapids ride that we didn't get soaked on (thankfully). After that we headed to the Finding Nemo show to take advantage of our dampness combined with air conditioning.

This isn't the best picture, but I wanted to make sure you guys saw Nigel. How awesome is that??? The show was really cute, and judging by how hard Tad was clapping I'm guessing he really enjoyed it. I wouldn't mind going to see it if they extend it and turn it into a full-length show.

After that we hit Bug's Life one more time and then left. Everyone else had left already (the park closes early) so step-dad came back for us and then dropped us off somewhere for dinner. We had to celebrate my new employment. :)

Ahhh, half over. But the third day I was pretty tired already. But there's still three to go...

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