We had an 8:45 breakfast reservation at Tusker House, so we scooted past the crowds waiting at the rope and headed towards Africa. It was our first time eating at Tusker House- we had lunch reservations there on our first trip I ended up canceling- and I have only heard great things about it. It was my parents' favorite place they ate! BJ was asleep for the beginning of the meal, but it was pretty loud in there, so he woke up and I fed him while we ate.
Daisy came by first! That was our first time to meet her, and the girls were excited!
Then Donald came next.
We had to wait a loooong time for Mickey to come by.
John tried to get a baby photobomb :)
I'm so sad I missed getting pictures of some SUPER cute moments with Baby John and Mickey. I had already put my camera up, but he gave him a few kisses and tickled his toes. {BJ does not look thrilled in this picture however.}
Donald came by a second time and visited with baby John. Sallie was loving it.
A kiss on the forehead.
Last was Goofy!
He also loved the little guy.
At the risk of being ostracized, I hate to admit that neither John nor I understood what all the fuss was about with Tusker House. The food was very similar to 1900 Park Fare which we love, but it wasn't above and beyond anything else at Disney like I expected. Maybe we just didn't get the right things?? We're not very adventurous eaters, so maybe that was it. It was definitely better than a lot of places, but it didn't blow us away. There were other things that could've contributed to this: the kids didn't eat much because they were so distracted waiting on the characters to come by, John had to leave for a while to take care of a stressful work situation, and the timing and placement of our seating was awkward in that we saw two characters right away and then had to wait another 45 minutes to see the other two, and we had long been done eating and were the only table still in our section of the restaurant. But I'm glad we did it for sure, and I bet we'll be back there at some point!
As we walked out, an African band was playing {in the background of pic}, so SC couldn't help but to bust a move!
After breakfast we went to Kilimanjaro safari for our fast passes. There were lots of animals out, so we had fun. At one point they go over a rickety bridge and the jeep really tilts, and the driver makes you think you're going to fall off the bridge. Well I remembered this from last time {and didn't fall for it then}, but I guess John had forgotten and completely freaked out and jumped across my lap trying to get on the right side of the jeep. I could not stop laughing! Don't worry about your family, but save yourself! Hahahaha! Baby John liked all that bouncing around in the jeep and took a great little nap.
Then we went to see the 11:00 Festival of the Lion King show which I thought we had Fast Passes for. I tried scanning my band which didn't work and wanted to argue with the lady when she said we didn't have a FP. But nope, we didn't. I had just added the show to plans, so it was in my itinerary which confused me because that was the only thing I did that for. So we moved on over to the standby entrance and went in and got seats. Then I remembered why I had decided not to fast pass Lion King- I knew we would be in that area and would be able to get to the show well before it started, so we would be able to stand in line if need be. I got a FP to the Nemo show since we would be crossing the park to get there and thought it would be better if we didn't have to wait in line. Anyway, I took BJ out of the Ergo once we sat down and realized he had had a major blowout. And one that could not wait to be addressed until the show as over. So they let me out to go take care of that, and then let me back in when I was done. On a side note, I found the cast members to be extremely accommodating of our needs with the baby.
After the LK show, we walked the Gorilla Falls exploration trail. We had not gotten our stroller out of the stroller parking at breakfast, so Sallie Cate was wanting to be carried everywhere. You would never know she is almost 5. (Eye roll) Then we took the Wildlife Express Train to Rafiki's Planet Watch to meet Chip and Dale and Rafiki. The girls had fun exploring the area while we waited on Rafiki to come back from his break. We were the first in line to meet him, and then headed back to ride the train back down.
SC originally said she didn't want to meet Chip & Dale, but quickly changed her mind once she spotted them!
Then we went inside the Conservation Station where Rafiki meets. He was on a break, so I waited in line while the girls and John wandered around.
We had a Fast Pass for Finding Nemo: The Musical, so we went towards that end of the park. Baby John woke up on our way there, so I fed him during the show. After the show, we went to Expedition Everest for Curran and my fast pass. We all checked in so we could get rider switch, and John waited with the two younger kids. Neither C nor I had ever ridden Everest, and I was a tad nervous. C was just excited! However when the ride started I could tell she was scared. She never made a peep during the ride, but I screamed bloody murder. Afterwards she said she loved it, but I could tell it scared her to death!
Bad pic- but waiting for the ride to start
Pictures don't lie- she looks pretty scared! Haha. And it looks like she was screaming but I promise she was silent the whole time!
After Everest, it was 2:00 so we were ready for a late lunch and got on the waiting list at Yak and Yeti, but I decided I couldn't wait because I was starving, so we went to Pizzafari. After lunch, we went to meet Pocahontas.
Then Curran wanted to use our rider switch to ride Everest, so she and John went there while I took SC to meet Tarzan, who she had been dying to meet.
Meanwhile on Everest...oh dear. And excuse the tacky guy in the first row.
And for some reason she said she wanted to ride it a THIRD time!
I could not stop laughing when I saw these pictures later that night! She still swore she loved it, and finally the next day I got her to admit that in fact she didn't. :)
After Tarzan, Sallie and I {and the baby} went to Dinoland and rode Triceratops Spin. John and C decided to ride Everest the third time, so I let Sallie play in the Boneyard playground. It's a bunch of rope ladders and slides, and she had a blast and did not want to leave. I told her we could go meet King Louie and Baloo, so she finally agreed to leave. John and Curran were waiting in line when we got there, but I ended up going to sit down with BJ because I was really hurting at this point. My back was killing me from wearing John all day in the Ergo the day before {I think I had it too tight}, and I was also really struggling with other things that aren't appropriate to mention. Let's just say being a little over 3 months postpartum and walking upwards of 10 miles a day is not super smart. I was in a lot of pain and feeling pretty miserable.
After the meet and greet, we decided it was time to go back to the resort. It was 4:30 at that point, and we had had a really full, fun day, and the girls were dying to swim. Of course we had to stop for a few pics on our way out. The girls were not feeling it, but I told them they could have ice cream {a privilege they had already lost earlier in the day} if they complied. We are nothing if not stellar parents. :)
Once we got back to the resort, John took the girls to the pool while I let BJ nap, and I also got some laundry done. In the villa section of our resort, the washer and dryer was free, which was so nice! I had brought a small bottle of detergent from home so I wouldn't have to buy soap there. BJ and I also took a stroll down the Boardwalk because I wanted ice cream from Ample Hills Creamery. It's the cutest little place and smells divine, and I am not lying when I say it was the best ice cream I've ever had.
Walking across the lawn at our resort to the boardwalk.
I got Ooey Gooey Butter Cake, and it was delish! John John says "why you taunting me with that?!"
After my ice cream, we met the rest of the crew at the pool and watched the girls swim.
A blurry SC on the super long slide.
After exiting the slide, she would pop up and would say every time, "Just keep swimming! Just keep swimming!" :) And my girls are both good swimmers, but for some reason they always love wearing those life jackets.
Pretty sunset over the creepy clown.
Again it was like pulling teeth to get them to leave the pool and hot tub. We got them dressed and then headed back to the Boardwalk for dinner. We walked around trying to see where we wanted to eat and ended up at Trattoria al Forno. It was good! And they are about to start offering a character meal there at breakfast with Disney couples! Can't wait to try that soon! BJ started getting antsy towards the end of dinner, so I took him back to the room for bed while John and the girls finished up, and then they went to get ice cream at Ample Hills.
Coloring at dinner. SC had been such a pill before this, but was then so sweet and good during dinner. Until her spaghetti came and it had "black spots" aka spices in the sauce, so she didn't eat. :/
I could see the Hollywood Studios fireworks as I was walking back to the room.
Next up, back to MK!
1 comment:
John in the jeep, hilarious!
Lu was the same way about walking at Disney, refused to do it :(
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