The next day we decided to check out Disney's Animal Kingdom. I love that we have season passes to Disney World and can explore the parks at our own pace, without the stress of needing to finish at a certain time, or get "our money's worth." It makes for a much more enjoyable experience each time we go!
I had heard wonderful things about Animal Kingdom and was super excited to explore, watch the different Broadway performances, and view all the different animals. Dallas and I knew that it would also be a hit with our little guy since he is fascinated by all animals right now.
Once again, Disney did not disappoint. The attention to detail and theme was evident everywhere we looked.
We started by checking out the Lion King performance in the Camp Minnie-Mickey area of the park. I took several different videos, showing how much Daxton LOVED the costumes, Broadway music, characters, and live drumming, but I will have to post them at a later date. It was a half hour show and Daxton was literally dancing and bouncing in his seat the entire time. He sure does love music!
After the show we found several different characters for Daxton to meet. Daxton had so much fun on our Disney cruise meeting Mickey, Donald, and Goofy, but I felt bad that Dallas had not been able to see Daxton's face light up each time. I was so glad they had characters available for Daxton to meet while we were there, so daddy could see his adorable face for himself.
First was Donald dressed in jungle themed attire. Daxton loves Donald and immediately ran into his arms for a big hug.
Holding hands with Donald...
Daxton was a trooper while posing for pictures! He wanted to face the characters, not the camera!
Next up was Chip...
Daxton was so cute as he felt Chip's nose and cheeks. He kept giving him big hugs and giggling when Chip would tickle his belly. Our hearts melted!
Next was Baloo and King Louie from the Jungle Book. Daxton hasn't ever seen the movie, but he loves his brown bear at home and was so excited to meet another bear. He also thought King Louie's mouth was very funny.
After meeting the characters we headed up through Discover Island to the Africa area of the park. After getting fast passes for the Kilimanjaro Safari, we walked through the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail. Each of the trails were so much fun, with all sorts of animal exhibits along the way. Daxton was in heaven running up and down the trails and looking at all the different wildlife. The bird aviary also had a cool aquarium viewing where Daxton loved looking at all the colorful fish.
We also saw some relaxing gorillas on the trail and I couldn't help but think of how hot they must be in all the humidity!
We killed the last few minutes of our wait riding the train back and forth, which Daxton loved.
We all loved the Kilimanjaro Safari. It obviously wasn't as great as the safaris I went on in Uganda, but it was pretty awesome. They had all sorts of animals to observe and a lot of land available for them to roam. We were lucky to catch one of the hippos walking from one pond to another. What an interesting animal! I remember we called them horse pigs while living in Uganda and have some great stories of close encounters with them...
The "jeeps" were quite interesting and allowed great views from all seats. We did make sure Daxton was sitting on the inside of the row however!
Crocodiles...
Some of the gorgeous scenery...
Giraffe...
It was really fun to see the giraffe calf next to it's mother as we drove by.
Elephants...
I loved all the different African native vegetation planted...
Flamingos...
We also loved watching the Rhinos...
Ostrich eggs, Warthogs, and lions...
After the Kilimanjaro Safari we quickly walked through Asia to make it to the Finding Nemo show, another Broadway worthy production with incredible costumes and amazing music. We were nervous for how Daxton would react since it was an hour long show and he was going on no nap and it was late in the afternoon, but he did great! He ate snacks and sat in his own seat almost the entire show while tapping his little toes along with the beat. We sure have an amazing kid on our hands!
Since the park closed at 6, we headed back through Discovery Island after we saw the Finding Nemo show. It was crazy that we had spent the entire day at the park and didn't even get to Asia or Dinoland. Once again, I am so glad we have passes so we can come again soon!
Our last stop was the Tree of Life in Discover Island. It is the symbol of Animal Kingdom and is so insanely detailed. It was put together in several different pieces and I was in awe of how beautiful it turned out.
I loved all the intricate carvings throughout the trunk and limbs.
By far my favorite of the day, was watching my two loves play and goof off after a fun-filled day together. I couldn't help but be overwhelmed with gratitude for my wonderful little family.
My favorite picture of the day...
It turned out to be a fantastic day at Disney's Animal Kingdom and we can't wait for our next visit!
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