Friday

Friday -

Today was our last day in the parks. ::boo hoo::: It is the same every time. I get so excited when I go to Disney World - I want to ride everything! But when the end of the trip comes, I always say “I wish I had more time to spend just experiencing everything…” you know, not just rushing from ride to ride but exploring the World Showcase and the interactive exhibits etc. But then my next trip comes and I’m rushing around again… this trip, of course, I really wanted Kevin and Angie and the kids to be able to see as much as possible.

So on Friday, we went to Disney’s Animal Kingdom. This park always throws a kink in my plans - I don’t know it well enough to plan well. Plus it always seems to rain when I go there.

We arrived at the parks at around 10:00 and went straight back to Expedition Everest. Last time we were here, that ride was closed because of lightening, so I wanted to get on it asap in case the predicted storms arrived. We got a child switch, and while Angie, Andrew, Steve, Grant, and Kevin rode Expedition Everest, Cori and I trekked over to Kilamanjaro Safari to get fast passes. Cori and I spent time waiting for the others at a kid station coloring animal masks. Then I rode the ride with Kevin and Drew while the other’s waited.

Finding Nemo, the musical, is one of the newest attractions so we wanted to make sure we saw it… The show is awesome. The performers are top notch - the songs are cute, and the sets and props are immersive. This was a great show.

The rain started as we finished eating lunch at Pizzafari, so we headed quickly over to Dinosaur, and took turns riding it while Cori napped. After some bouts or pouring rain, it slowed to a sprinkle so we figured the worst had passed. However, there was still thunder and lightening, and as we found out, the Safari also closes in the lightning, so we went to watch the Festival of the Lion King (I love this show!)

When the show ended, we decided to check the Safari and they were letting people on… we saw some animals that usually hide in the heat - hippos and rhinos up out of the water - impalas, lots of stuff ! As we left the Safari and headed out of the park, the skies opened up and it began to dump buckets of water. The lightening was right over our head… one was so loud I jumped a mile… and I got so wet, I couldn’t have been wetter if I’d jumped in a pool - no kidding, no exaggeration!

However, we decided to go to EPCOT, because it was our last day, and Kevin and Andrew needed to do some shopping. The last two hours were interesting to say the least… it never really stopped raining, and we just couldn’t get much done… the kiddos were tired and miserable… but we all survived and got home tired but satisfied. WE ordered a pizza on our way home, and it was delivered to us shortly after we arrived home. We spent our last evening munching on pizza and watching High School Musical.

The next morning, bright and early, Grant and I drove Steve and Kevin to the airport to fly home and to swap cars at the terminal. The first part of our trip was awesome - we crammed a lot in and did really well - Steve and Kevin had awesome attitudes and were great with the kids. The kids, considering how much we did, did a pretty good job!

Now it is time to head to Port Canaveral and the Carnival Glory!

P.S. - I am posting this from Key West!