Day 1 - Los Angeles to Orlando
We left home last Wednesday around 5:15am to beat LA traffic; unfortunately, our flight was delayed FOUR times, so we had a lot of time to kill at the airport. Owen didn't seem to mind. He ran around, watched airplanes pull in, and watched movies on his dad's iPad.
In true Owen fashion, he fell asleep 5 minutes before we boarded, woke up when we sat down, and stayed awake the whooole flight...and then fell asleep as we were descending, haha. I'm just grateful that he was quiet and well-behaved (for the most part); good thing it was only a 5-hour flight. Also, changing a diaper on an airplane should be considered an Olympic sport. For. Real.
After we landed (which was around 7:30pm, Florida time), we hopped on the Magical Express bus, and we were on our way to the Old Key West Resort!
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| Trying to be helpful at check-in. |
Once we checked in, we all realized that we were starving. We ate at Olivia's, which is a restaurant within the resort.
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| After much thought, Owen decided on mac and cheese. |
After dinner, we headed to our suite; and let me tell you, it was AMAZING. It had 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a kitchen and dining room (with everything you need to cook!), a living room, 3 TVs, and a patio that overlooked the resort's golf course.
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| Owen planning our day at our first park - the Animal Kingdom! |
We unpacked our clothes and got settled in (it was probably after midnight at this point); and then we passed out. The next day, we got ready for the Animal Kingdom!
Day 2: The Animal Kingdom
The first thing we did was become Wilderness Explorers! We received a booklet that tells you where you can earn your badges within the park; however, we weren't used to the heat and humidity, so we didn't go out of our way to collect them all. (If we happened to be at a Wilderness Explorer location, then we'd get the badge. I think we only collected 5 or 6. Heh.) We also met Dug and Russell from the movie "UP". Owen didn't really like Russell, but he sure loved Dug.
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| My mom and dad grabbing a midmorning break/snack! Aren't they cute? |
Afterwards, we went on a couple of rides in Dinoland - TriceraTop Spin and and Primeval Whirl. You're probably wondering how we arranged going on rides that Owen couldn't go on, and my dad made a simple rule, "If Owen can't go on it, then I won't go on it." Basically, if it's too crazy for a toddler, it may be too crazy for my almost-50-year-old dad, hahaha. My mom is a daredevil, so she went with me and Ralph on most of the rides.
As I mentioned, it was very hot and humid, so we took a bit of a break and cooled down while watching Finding Nemo, a musical show. The sharks were my favorite!
There aren't too many rides at the Animal Kingdom, so we spent most of our time just sight-seeing and taking LOTS of photos.
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| The Tree of Life was GORGEOUS!!! See how many animals you can find hiding in the bark! |
Later on, we went on the Kilimanjaro Safaris, which was pretty amazing. We lucked out because there were a lot of animals out, and even the giraffes walked SO CLOSE to our jeep!
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| On the safari ride! |
Ralph and I also rode on Expedition Everest, which was a fun coaster ride. It went forwards, then backwards, then forwards again. I recommend getting a Fast Pass for this ride; but like I said, there aren't too many rides in Animal Kingdom, so you can really get Fast Passes to all the good rides you want to go on.
Later on, my parents called it a day and took an Uber to a nearby grocery store to buy some food items (for breakfast, snacks, etc.) before heading back to the suite. Ralph, Owen, and I stayed till the park closed, which was only 8pm.
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| Owen even got to meet Mickey and Minnie! |
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| Dancing with everyone! Or trying to, at least... |
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| He was pooping here, LOL! |
At night, there was a projection show on the Tree of Life, and it was absolutely gorgeous. When that finished, we headed back to our suite. Owen tried out the jacuzzi, and he thoroughly enjoyed it.
Next post...Epcot Center and Disney Springs!
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