Disney World Day 2: Animal Kingdom and Swimming

 We were exhausted after our travel day and yesterday so we slept in this morning before going to Animal Kingdom. We took the monotrail to the TTS and then boarded a bus to Animal Kingdom, which meant we had to fold up the strollers and de-bag them before getting on board. Luckily we had awesome strollers (City Mini's) that folded in one step and the bus wasn't very crowded. The hardest part was getting the girls to stay seated.

Jeremy and the hat....

On the way in to Animal Kingdom and after a day of the sun beating down on his nearly bald head the day before, Jeremy decides he should get a hat. He was ok getting a safari hat and he figured since we were in Disney World, it was ok that it had Mickey Mouse plastered on the front. :) And if he was getting one, well, then I thought I should probably get one too.

We watched The Lion King Live Show first. I loved it. The girls liked it, but were hungry and tired and just wanted lunch. Impressive regardless.

We ate a late breakfast/early lunch at the Tuskerhouse. Very very good, and very very allergen friendly. And I will say it was awesome having that reservation. Other people were forming a rather long line and having to wait, but we walked right up, checked in and were seated.  Loved this place. Audrey though was deathly afraid of the Mickey Mouse safari characters and hid under the table throughout lunch. She cried and screamed. It was a huge ordeal. The characters here don't just visit your table, but do a dance and parade around the restaurant. Poor baby had gone to the bathroom with her father and was on her way back into the room in which we were seated and out of nowhere she ran into this conga line of safari Mickey Mouse and friends. I think that might have scarred her for life. 

We rode the safari and Ava fell asleep. We walked around a little bit exploring the sights-- I could not believe how much it looked and felt like we were walking down the streets of Africa-- no detail is left undone at Disney. Audrey and I rode the Triceratops, which is exactly like the Dumbo ride and  the Magic Carpets of Aladdin. We all got a snack and drink, had our picture taken by one of the street photographers and then said goodbye to AK.  When we got back to our hotel we went swimming the rest of the afternoon and then got ready for dinner at California Grill. Before heading to dinner we ran over to MK and bought Audrey the Merida's Mom doll (Merida was sold out everywhere) and checked out the princess places we wanted to visit tomorrow.

I was really impressed by this signature restaurant. Out of all the places we ate, the California Grill was the most accommodating with children and strollers. The food was excellent, the wine was good, and the firework show you can see from your table. Or, you can go outside to the terrace and and watch them there as they have the music and narration piped in. Fabulous! Everyone should watch the fireworks from this spot. No fighting people afterward, and you go right back in and finish eating when they are done. 

We came back to the hotel after checking out the Contemporary's Pool and the campfire we missed at Bay Lake. Jeremy and I got the girls to bed and sat out on the balcony to relax a bit before another big day tomorrow. We were headed back to Magic Kingdom.

Here she is hiding underneath the table so Mickey wouldn't get her. 

 Audrey might have not liked the characters but they didn't bother Allie and Ava.

Sarah