AM I EVER COMING HOME! 23RD DECEMBER....ANIMAL KINGDOM

:excited: Animal Kingdom day today :excited:
We woke up to lovely blue skies but it was a little on the cool side so we wore sweaters to start off the day. Arriving at AK around 9.15am and the entrance was quite busy....I didn't care though....I was at AK :excited:

We headed straight over to get a fastpass for Kilimanjaro Safari. The return time was 10.30am to 11.30am. The wait time was 40 minutes. So, we made our way to Panagani Forest.

Now, I don't know about you but I just love the okapis. I think they are so handsome and besides....you always get a laugh at the comments some people make when they see them for the first time. :yes: The most common being "what in the world are they" :lol: One father even told his son they were horses that had been painted to star in a show later that day! And he was serious :jawdrop:

The hippos were actually out and being rather playful. Well, as playful as a hippo can get :hippotutu: No, they weren't wearing tutus but I know some of you like that smiley!

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I then have a very rare blond moment :rolleyes3: :lol: and get quite concerned when I think one of the ducks swimming on the surface of the water only has one leg. I just wish I hadn't said what I was thinking out loud enough for DH to laugh at me :doh2:

We get to the first viewing area for the gorillas and this guy was sleeping right in front of the window.
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The next viewing area I just love. It always feels so peaceful here. We spend about 30 minutes just watching. I love the space the gorillas have and the fact that they can hide away if they want to without having folk like me wanting them to strike the right pose....
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It's time for our safari so we head over to use our fast passes. The wait time is now 50 minutes for the regular line. It takes about 5 minutes with the passes. We are asked to sit in the front row of the truck when it comes...which is usually what happens to us. The safari is a good one :yes: Not all of the animals are in view but we know we'll be back later in the holiday so we don't mind. We have to stop for a rhino in the road. He is standing on the track, facing the truck.
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About 20 seconds go by before he decides we are bigger than him. He scrapes the ground with his right foot then goes on his way at .0000009 miles per hour.

The mandril monkeys are even sitting at the front of the rocks. (sorry about the quality of these photos but some of them were taken with my pocket camera)
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The giraffes were nibbling on the trees but still in good view and three elephants were drinking from the pool. I didn't get to see the lions this time but then, that's not unusual.

Feeling peckish, we head over to Pizzafari for lunch. DH has a pepperoni pizza and I go for the deli sandwich. We share a regular diet coke. The bill comes to $16.69. Nothing to get excited about with this meal....just the average counter service you would expect. While we were eating, the family on the next table to us started to get excited. They were grinning from ear to ear and waving at a couple who had just arrived. There were lots of hugs being dished out and photos taken. It turns out they were from an online message board and were meeting for the first time.

Now, it's a must to watch Festival of the Lion King :yes: When we get there, the queue was enormous :thumbsdown: When the doors opened, a CM was letting people through very slowly and another CM inside was directing us to our seats. This is the first and only time we have not been able to sit where we wanted to. Never mind, if I sat on one cheek, held onto the bench so I didn't fall off and twisted my head to 90%, I could still see :thumbsup:
I love this show and, as usual, it brings tears. DH looks at me and does the :rolleyes2: I can't help it, it's beautiful!
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We do It's Tough to be a Bug and I still let out a little squeal when the spider drops :eek3:

We wander over to Asia where a Flights of Wonder show is about to start. We actually get quite good seats...everyone must be waiting in the two hour queue for Everest! The show is kind of corny but we still enjoy it. When the actor on stage asks if anyone has a camera, DH's hand (holding his camera) shoots up in the air so fast it makes a whooshing sound! So, he is chosen to go up on stage and sit ready to take photos of a bird as it flies towards him. Again....DH had his camera on stage so this photo was taken with my pocket camera!
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The parade is starting soon so we head over and find a spot among the thousands of other tourists hoping to get a good position to shout for the characters :anxious: We end up just as the bridge from Africa runs into Discovery Island. So, we have no one in front of us at all and a great position to take photos and video. It's the Christmas version of the parade and I can't help but sing a long and get carried away waving at everyone who looks my way. Then.... there he is....right at the end of the parade.....my pal, Mickey Mouse. Even DH is waving to him :lol:
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We go into the Maharajah Jungle Trek next. Blue, the tapir is out swimming looking ever so cute until she does something rather messy in the water. The water is now dirty so she gets out and goes and lies in a corner!

Some of you just may know by now that I love the big cats :D
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We spend quite some time just watching the tigers and chatting to the CM about them.

Now, it is a habit of mine while in Florida to take everything in, soak up the atmosphere and look around me, including looking up. Well, I shan't say what happened next but you may get an idea.....:thud::embarassed2:

We take a limping wander around the park coming across the beautiful DeVine.
We both go into the usual corny lines of "oh, there's DeVine, I thought she may have taken a leaf of absence" "I think it's time she branched out into something new" "or maybe even go back to her roots" ... you get the sad idea :lol:
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5.45pm....time to head over to Yak & Yeti for our 6pm ADR. We've never eaten here before so are looking forward to trying out their food. We are sat upstairs next to the window. I have the sweat & sour with fries instead of rice and DH had the ribs. I have a soda and DH has a tea. The bill came to $51 before tip. DH said the ribs were nice but not the best he's had. The sweat & sour was delicious. The chicken was lovely and white and the batter was crispy.
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After dinner, we head out of the park and go to DTD Marketplace as we need to buy some Christmas presents for friends. The place is heaving!!!
We find what we want and get out of there.
On the way back to the villa, I see my first ever wild opossum. He/she comes out from the drain at the side of the road and then sits on a driveway....looking at the car. So cute! I thenwatch out for it every night on the way back.

Shattered, we are in bed by around 11pm.

Did you get bird poo in the eye? :unsure:

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Originally Posted by Dawn

Did you get bird poo in the eye? :unsure:

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No....we haven't got a smiley for that!! :lol: I don't think we do anyway :unsure:

You fell over backwards?

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Originally Posted by Dawn

You fell over backwards?

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forwards .... but I got up very quickly and NO ONE saw :questionmark1:

:point:

See i thought bird poo. Lovely day Diane. I have always cried at The Lion king show,but then l cry at amost things.

Just spotted your dinner choice. Ewwwwwwwwwwww!!!

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Originally Posted by Isafari

: I have the sweat & sour with fries instead of rice .

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Great report Diane...keep em coming!

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Originally Posted by Isafari

On the way back to the villa, I see my first ever wild opossum. He/she comes out from the drain at the side of the road and then sits on a driveway....looking at the car. So cute! I thenwatch out for it every night on the way back.

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Florida is quite a place for wildlife isn`t it compared to the UK?
We were driving back to our villa late one night and almost ran into a couple of wild boars crossing the road near to the villa!

Thanks guys.
Terry....I looked for boars :lol: Mind you, I was looking at anything that moved at night just in case it was an animal.

We saw a couple of armadillo's, a snake, and we had some sand cranes who adopted us.