May 6, 2011: WDW Day 4

Now we were talking. We (even I!) had a GREAT night of sleep. Six plus two hours, with just a 30-minute "trouble spot". We got ready for our photoshoot in plenty of time, with no drama. It was a good morning :)

We met our photographer, Shannon, at the Beach Club. She was very sweet, and we had a session twice as long as we were supposed to. The girls were fairly cooperative, despite Hartley's goofy smiles at first. Once she stopped trying so hard, though, we all had fun. Our favorite part was discovering the "snow" (or, rather, sand :)), that at first freaked the girls out. Apparently they had forgotten their previous experience (not that they loved it then), but they quickly got over it and had a blast playing.

After our shoot, we had made a decision to forgo our plan for Epcot that morning to take things slower. Since it's my favorite park and I never feel like I have enough time there I sort of had palpitations doing so ;) but it was totally the right decision. We went back to the hotel for a little while, got ready for the day, and headed to Animal Kingdom later that morning.

Unfortunately (or fortunately?) because we still can't change our wiring and can't just sit around watching TV or twiddling our thumbs on vacation, we were actually there not long after the park opened anyway. Oh, well! More time for things we usually have to skip :)

We wandered in, took a few pictures, played at the Kids Discovery Station, and waited for the 11am Festival of the Lion King show. The girls loved it as always, and even on the dark and admittedly pretty scary "Be Prepared" number, there was just a bit of timidity - not so much as a single tear.

After the show (during which it apparently had rained), we had lunch at Yak & Yeti under a nice umbrella table while it drizzled enough to get us wet but not quite enough to cool it off or thin out the crowds. Still, in between the showers the sun was shining and at least it wasn't cold! :)

The girls napped right around 1 (without a fight!), while Zach and I walked on Everest via the single rider line, and walked around Asia. It cracks me up that they can sleep right here:

 

Emmersyn and Hartley woke up right around the 1-hour mark as always, and we finished Pangani Forest Exploration Trail as they were waking up. At about 3 we got our usual spot for the parade and munched on some Cinnamon Almonds. The girls were absolutely in awe of Mickey's Jammin' Jungle Parade. It had been quite a while since they had seen it, and they couldn't get enough!

 

After the parade we had just enough time to get over to Rafiki's Planet Watch before it closed.  Hartley was stoked to see Rafiki and Jiminy Crickiet, Emmersyn not so much. (Seriously? 5th trip, and NOW she's shy?)

... but they both loved Pocahontas!

For two weeks prior to our trip though, they had been talking about the petting zoo ("Affection Section"), so that's where we headed next. They loved brushing the goats, petting the sheep (which was very soft after a recent haircut! "Like I'm going to get a haircut!" says Hartley.) We also looked at skeletons and skins, vet offices and labs, etc before returning on the train back to Africa around 5pm.

Dinner was at Tusker House, and once again it did not disappoint. The variety of food is so great (and some unique things we love), but we also love the service, the less-crowded, more-spacious setup, the atmosphere - it remains highly recommended in this family!

Since Hartley and Emmersyn were still in great moods, we went for a swim in High Rock Springs pool and did some laundry. The girls were so great in the pool, and we had so much fun. At first they were a little scared (duh), but in no time at all they were doing all sorts of "tricks" -- some much more, um, real than others. Really though, they were going under water, going down the slide by themselves - we were pretty impressed considering they didn't even want to get in the splash fountains the first few minutes of the visit!

After just over an hour, it was time to head in for the night. Even washing hair and doing our nighttime routine as quickly as possible, we weren't in bed until shortly after 9pm. The girls fell asleep in record time though, and a late bedtime was certainly worth our time together in the pool. And the parks. And on the beach. *sigh* Vacation is great.