Day three: Animal Kingdom/Hollywood Studios

Okay, I'm not trying to bore y'all with the details, but I have to get this stuff written down somewhere before I forget. . and it's easier for me if I break it into days like this. Please just feel free to skip through the parts that you could care less about.

So we were up early, but we did get out to the bus stop about 15 minutes later than I wanted to, so I snapped just slightly. . not enough to cause a scene, just enough to feel bad about it. It did end up working out okay, though, so I had to apologize for my outburst. I am aware that I may need to seek counseling. . but atleast I can admit it. I just wanted to stick to the itinerary that I had researched for so that our pricey vacation could be as close to perfect as possible, okay? And I was willing to sacrifice almost anything for perfection. I now realize how psycho that I was.

Anyway, like I said, we got off to a somewhat late start, and I was a bit ancey (sp?), so as soon as we hit the gates to Animal Kingdom, we were power walking to Expedition Everest-Legend of the Forbidden Mountain. . a high-speed train ride that zips through the misty unknowns of Mount Everest. Beware of the Abominable Snowman! To my disappointment, the lines were waaaaaay too long, so we headed over to the second ride of our list: Kilimanjaro Safaris. We hopped into a safari vehicle and went on a very realistic Disney-built African savanna to see giraffes, gazelles, elephants, rhinos, crocs, lions, and the like roaming freely. . Bryant's favorite ride! I thought it was pretty amazing myself. After the safari we were back across the park to secure fastpasses for Expedition Everest, then back to "Africa" for a walk through the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail. . not as great as the safari, but we saw more real-live animals. There were birds, fish, gorillas, and an underwater hippo viewing area. . pretty cool. Then we were back over to ride Expedition Everest. Turns out, we didn't even need our fastpasses, because the lines weren't very long anymore. I think that the first time we came by, the ride hadn't opened yet and that's why the line twisted halfway across the park. Oh well. . better safe than sorry. So we hopped aboard the roller coaster, and part way through the breathtaking ride, the tracks have been ripped apart by the monster, and the coaster comes to a stop. Then the coaster starts rolling uncontrollably backwards and goes through a dark cave (if I had lunch in my belly, I would have lost it!) and comes to another stop. There is a deep roar, and you can see the shadow of the abominable snowman on the wall of the mountain. Then the coaster lurches forward again, and goes through twists and turns and over a cliff. . holy excitement! Macy thought she was going to throw up. . scared me for a minute. She was okay. . scared, but okay. She didn't want to ride it again, but she really was a trooper!
After that big ride, we decided it was time to get lunch. The best time to get lunch was 11:15. . no lines or crowds. Keep in mind, though, we were eating a breakfast of Special K bars, NutriGrain bars, and Hi-C juice boxes so we were always ready for lunch by then. We always tried to get dinner early, too, like 5:15 or earlier. We always avoided crowds and lines. . and only had to pay for the expensive meals twice a day. At night we usually had a snack, though. At Animal Kingdom, we ate in this really cool looking Safari Lodge. . they had McDonalds food, but the lodge was cool!
After lunch, we caught a little side show. . juggling in the street. It was pretty funny! Then we were off to ride Dinosaur!, a thrilling, frightening, LOUD journey through the past. . and the dark. Isn't it obvious what this ride is about?
We were going to ride Kali River Rapids next, but we had read that you get really wet on this ride. . I'm thinking Rattlesnake Rapids, but better. . so we decided to skip it on this cloudy, slightly rainy day. Maybe next time. We decided to take in the 3-D show It's Tough to be a Bug! It was great! The show featured Flik and Hopper from Bug's Life, and there were sprays of water in the face from an acid-spraying bug, stink in the air from the stink bug, a poke in the back from the stingin bee, and tickles across your bum as the termites infested the seats. . really cool effects! My kids will be talking about this one for a long time!
Our last stop in the Animal Kingdom is the Festival of the Lion King. Awesome show in my opinion! A lot of singing, dancing, and acrobats that include Timone, and mechanical Pumba, Simba, and an elephant?? I think the kids enjoyed the sit-down time as much as we did before we headed off to Hollywood Studios. .

When we got over to Hollywood Studios, there were really no plans because it was so late in the afternoon. The Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show was one of the things that we FOR SURE wanted to let the boys see, and we knew that Fantasmic! nighttime laser and lights show was a must-see. I also knew that if we could make the High School Musical show work, M would love it! We looked at the Times Guide, and decided that if we could get through the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror in the next 35-40 minutes we would make it for all the shows that we wanted to see. We had been told to get to the LMA stunt show atleast 45-60 min early, and about the same for Fantasmic! We didn't have time for fastpasses on ToT and the sign said it was only a 35 min wait, so we waited in line. . the only line that we actually waited more than 15 mins for our ENTIRE trip (unless you count the 20 min wait for Test Track on the last day because of the technical difficulties they were experiencing). So, ToT was awesome. We were welcomed into an old, run-down hotel, (seemed haunted), and taken into an elevator with benches in it. . and seat belts. When the elevator opened back up, the seats (kind of in a carlike design that holds about 20 people) moved along a track and we were told stories about people who had once stayed at the hotel and disappeared (if I remember right). Then the our little cart stops, and drops from the top to about the bottom floor of the hotel. Then we shoot back up again, and then drop about half way with a pause, and then the rest of the way down. It went on like this for probably two and a half minutes or so, and everytime we dropped we didn't know how far we were going to fall before it would pause. It definitely took my stomach away. . it was AWESOME! I love stuff like that, though. M covered her eyes the whole time. She and B didn't like it so much while we were on the ride, but when we got off, they had this happy rush of adrenalin. I don't think we could have gotten M on it a second time, but B. . maybe.
After the ride, Shane and the boys jetted over to get seats for LMA!. . M and I caught the HSM2 show. When we got there, the crowds were already formed, but we were in time to see the float/stage come up Hollywood Boulevard before the start of the show. We had an okay view for the show, and since the people in front of us were sitting on the ground, M was able to get to where she had a great view. When the cast had some of the kids come out and learn the dance with them, she was able to go out and participate. . thank goodness she had her HSM t-shirt on! She thought that dancing with the show was great! I'm glad she got to have that experience.
After the show, we went over to the backlot to find the boys. . it would have been easier if Shane would have had a cell phone. There was a whole stadium full of people, and I thought M and I would just have to find a seat and watch the show without the boys. As we were walking up into the stadium, I happened to see R across several aisles. He pointed up, and when I looked up, I was able to spot Shane standing up waving at us. Relief to me. I didn't know how we were going to meet up with them again.
The stunt show was awesome! There were fast cars, motorcycles, stunt men jumping off buildings; a man laid his motocycle down at a fast speed, slid across the pavement through fire, and caught himself on fire. They did a really good job of showing how they film stunts for movies. . now maybe my kids will realize that the shows they watch aren't real.
When the show was over, we headed back across the park again to get in line for the Fantasmic show seating. It was perfect timing, and we got excellent seats! The show was amazing. All the Disney villians tried to get Micky Mouse because he's the one who has all the power and control over what they are. Even the fire-breathing dragon from Sleeping Beauty came out. Of course in the end the good guy always wins, and Mickey was triumphant. I think every Disney character was at this show. . except maybe Lightning McQueen. . I'm glad we had great seating at this show. While the smaller two children and I were saving our seats before the show started, Shane and the older two went and got dinner and brought it back. We ate while waiting for the show to start. We had another great day. . and couldn't wait to hit it hard again for our last day at the WDW parks!