Animal Kingdom – 10.18.22
We were able to combine a vacation at one of my very favorite places, Walt Disney World, with an amazing dance opportunity for our daughters in October of 2022. We spent 10 days in “the world” split between vacation time and dance time. We arrived in Orlando late at night on Monday, October 17th. We started the Disney vacation part of our trip right away with Animal Kingdom early on Tuesday, October 18th.
What We Did
We used the Disney bus to get from All Star Movies to Animal Kingdom. We arrived before the park early entry time for Disney resort guests. As soon as the gate opened, we went quickly to Pandora and rode Flight of Passage followed by Na’vi River Journey. We then moved quickly to the Asia section of the park and rode Expedition Everest. Up until that point we were moving quickly and having success staying ahead of the crowds. These three rides are all popular in my family and also crowd favorites that see long lines later in the day.
We then went to Kilimanjaro Safari, one of my favorites. Our touring luck ran out here. There were animals on the road making the ride pause frequently. The slower loading of the ride caused lines to build quickly. We had not purchased genie+ this day and were in the standby lane. While the ride was loading slowly and the wait was increasing, it was extra painful in the standby line and the lightening lane guests had priority. Our wait was much longer than expected. We still love the safari though, and we glad we were able to ride.
After our safari we headed over to Dinoland for lunch and then some attractions. Due to a recent illness, my sister’s family’s schedule had changed allowing us to be in Animal Kingdom on the same day! We met up with them in Dinoland. Our first attraction in this area was Triceratops Spin. It is fun for everyone. Also we wanted to be sure to do everything in Dinoland, because there is speculation that it may be nearing the end of its time.
Our next stop was the Boneyard. It is hard to find enough time for the Boneyard as the kids always want to play more. There are so many tunnels and slides to check out as well as room and freedom to simply run. We let them play as long as we could, but we were needed to get seated for Finding Nemo the Musical. This was a hit. We hadn’t seen it for quite a while, and everyone loved it.
For our last stop in Dinoland, some of us rode Dinosaur. We have a few people who don’t like to ride this one for a few different reasons, so they took a break while some of us rode.
On this day, my sister and her family had purchased genie+ while my family and I had not. My family was staying on site and taking advantage of early entry while my sister’s family was staying off-site. They also had a sit down dining reservation for a meal and we were eating counter service. My nieces wanted to do the Animation Academy at Rafiki’s Planet Watch, but my daughters were not interested this time. All of these factors made it not make sense for us to tour together most of the day. After our time together in Dinoland, we split up and each family did the things that made sense for them. We were able to meet up a couple more times throughout the day while was a bit of extra magic.
My family went to see Festival of the Lion King. We arrived about 10 minutes before a show, and that show was already full. We took a bathroom break and a snack break, and then got into the line for the next show. This is an amazing show, and I think it is a must see for everyone.
We decided to ride the Wildlife Express Train to Conservation Station as a round trip ride. I enjoy the train ride and the glimpse of the animal care backstage areas. We decided to not spend the time to get off the train, walk to Rafiki’s Planet Watch, and check out the exhibits there. My sister’s family was finishing their Animation Academy and able to meet up with us for the train ride back to Africa.
We all went over to Expedition Everest for a repeat ride after the train. After Everest, my family went back for another safari ride. I love Kilimanjaro Safari and always like to ride at least twice per trip.
We finished up our evening with some pictures with both families in front of the Tree of Life. Then we closed out Animal Kingdom with one last visit to Pandora. My sister’s family had lightening lane passes for Flight of Passage. We did not, but my daughters were looking forward to one more ride on Na’vi River Journey. My sister’s youngest daughter isn’t big enough yet for Flight of Passage, so she joined us on Na’vi River Journey.
We were exhausted after our late night flight the night before and then the early, early morning for early entry. We took the bus back to All Star Movies, and had dinner at the food court. Then we quickly went to sleep.
Where We Ate
We had breakfast in our hotel room. We often do this on Disney trips. It takes time in the morning to visit a restaurant. Often the food services don’t start until after we want to be on our way to the parks. We either bring food with us or order groceries to be delivered to the resort. This trip we did both. We had a grocery delivery for the next day when we changed resorts. We had brought protein bars and applesauce packets in our luggage to have for breakfast on this Animal Kingdom day.
For lunch, we ate at Restaurantosaurus in Dinoland. This seems to be a repeat favorite of ours. They have allergy buns and allergy chicken fingers as well as safe fries. They also have a soft drink fountain in the dining room, so you can refill your drink. It is a big restaurant and we can always find a table. We did mobile order before arriving at the restaurant. The whole meal was smooth and everyone had plenty to eat.
Our dinner at the All Star Movies food court was also a success. My youngest daughter loves the chicken parm with pasta with white sauce that can be found at all of the Disney value hotels. That’s what she had. There were several choices available for my older daughter that worked with her allergies. They even had a cute & yummy cupcake! This was such a nice treat for her. When you can never have the dessert offered to everyone else, it is nice to be able to have a treat. And they even made it a cute Halloween themed cupcake. Tonight’s was the first of several she had during our trip.
Where We Stayed
The dance portion of our trip was part of a package through the dance studio and the company facilitating the events. That package included lodging at Coronado Springs. That ended up being the middle of our trip due to airline prices. We were looking for a more affordable option for the extra nights we added on as vacation time.
We spent the first two nights of our time at Disney at the All Star Movies Resort. We enjoyed it. We like the value hotels. For us, being in an on-site Disney hotel is awesome. We love that the hotel is part of the Disney experience. We also appreciate the Disney transportation and the ease of using the magic bands at the hotel and in the parks. The pools are fun. All Star Movies was perfect for us and I know we will be back.
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One Comment
Maddie
it looks great! i had the time of my life on our trip mama!