Getting wild at Animal Kingdom!

So…have you been to Disney’s Animal Kingdom?!

Because it’s completely AMAZING.

Admittedly, our kiddos are huge animal fans, so the Hubs & I knew the girls would love it. We didn’t realize it would also be such a hit with the adult set~ Grammy, Grampy, the Hubs & I all thought it was SO cool!

our game plan

Sticking with our get-to-the-park-early-so-we-can-head-home-for-afternoon-naps philosophy, we were at Animal Kingdom a few minutes before it opened. We headed straight for Kilimanjaro Safaris & zoomed right onto a touring truck.

Within minutes, we were barreling through the Harambe Wildlife Reserve, spotting giraffes, lions, elephants, hippos, flamingos…oh my!

The kids adored this adventure~ it was so super fab. On our second day at Animal Kingdom {we loved it THAT much that we needed another day!}, we hit Kilimanjaro Safaris first thing in the morning again & had a totally different~ but equally awesome!~ experience. 

Our little animal lovers were in heaven. And the adults agreed that it was pretty much fantastic to be hanging out on an open-air safari vehicle at 9am within arm’s reach of a giraffe. 

Love!

rides! rides! rides!

There are tons of fantastic walk-throughs all around Animal Kingdom, ensuring that you can grab a bit of shade & check out boatloads of awesome animals in the process. The huge fish were fan faves for our girls~ each time we found a new batch we’d hang out for a while so H-Berry could look for “emo” {Nemo}. 

The Hubs & I decided to tackle Expedition Everest, Animal Kingdom’s biggest & fiercest roller coaster. It did a whole lot of fast turns, backwards rocketing & sailing through the dark. I think you can tell from our faces that it was awesomely scary! 

On a tamer note, we took the girls over to DinoLand & took a few turns on the TriceraTop Spin {essentially a dino-version of Dumbo}.

Two thumbs up from our little adventurers!

paging broadway…

The shows…oh my, the shows. In a word? Phenomenal.

We hit Celebration of the Lion King the first day and we were blown away by the energy, the gymnastics, the visual effects~ you couldn’t help but dance & sing along!  Add in the fact that Little O’s favorites ~ Timon & Pumba~ were in the show, and it was a hit all across the board! 

On our second day at the park, our main priority was to see Finding Nemo the Musical. Let me just say that in addition to being 100% adorable, it also has some of the catchiest, cutest kids songs ever. {Just keep swimming, anyone? How about Big Blue World? Love!}. We now listen to the soundtrack 10 times a day at home {I wish I was kidding!}. Lol.

characters galore!

It must be said: we hit the jackpot of characters at Animal Kingdom. Between Camp Mickey & Minnie and other assorted stops throughout the park, the girls were filling page after page in their super-adorable autograph book.

A few character highlights from our two days at Animal Kingdom include: Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Pocahontas {Little O told P that she loved her necklace & shoes}, Goofy, Pluto, Winnie the Pooh, Eeyore, Tigger and Chip & Dale. 

We also took one of our best family character photos with the not-super-well-known-but-extremely-cute characters from Up!~ we loved Dug & Russell! 

dear animal kingdom: we love you

And next time we’re at Disney, we will definitely be back! So much to do & see, and it was such a gorgeous park. I mean, really. Is this background for real?! 

And I can’t close without mentioning how the breath-taking park centerpiece~  the Tree of Life~ encompasses all of the wonder, thought & beauty that pours out of Animal Kingdom.

Love love love!

Have you been to Animal Kingdom? What was your favorite part? Share in the comment section & have a GREAT day!

Counting My Kisses: Truth be told, I wasn’t sure that any of the other Disney parks could hold a candle to Magic Kingdom, but we absolutely loved Animal Kingdom. {A big bonus? I didn’t see one snake…you know, since I have that ridiculously crippling fear of anything that slithers}. Three cheers for Animal Kingdom~ thanks for giving us a whole new set of magical Disney memories!

{Looking for more Disney? Check out our vacation highlights & our Adventures in the Magic Kingdom, and make sure to stop by tomorrow for even more Disney fun!}.

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