DHS and Animal Kingdom

Unfortunately, Disney Hollywood Studios got the least of our attention. Since we lost half a day with taking Elle to the doctor, we had to double up on parks. We decided we'd do DHS in the morning and Animal Kingdom after lunch. A bummer to that plan was that we couldn't get fastpasses at DHS because our assigned time would have been in the afternoon. We did get to see the Voyage of the Little Mermaid show and take the Great Movie Ride, but there was no way we were going to get to see/ride the other main attractions. And, we couldn't get into the couple of restaurants I wanted to try without a reservation. We knew to make reservations for the princess dining, but didn't think to make reservations for just "regular" eating. Lesson learned for next time. We didn't take one picture at DHS either. That park was just a bust for us this time.


Animal Kingdom was better. The first thing we had to do was take the Kilimanjaro Safari, which was the most fun! Oh my goodness, it really is like you are on safari in Africa! Here are some of the animals we got to see. Again, forgive the poorly taken pictures...I could not find "sport" mode on my camera and we were bopping up and down like crazy in this large jeep, not to mention zooming by.

Hippo

Alligators

Can't remember. They look similar to gazelles, except these are not as dainty.

Wildebeest

Male Elephant--almost doesn't look real.

Ostrich eggs

Cheetah

Next, we hopped aboard the Wildlife Express Train. We didn't realize that this was a one-way train and Cannon was very upset that we had to get off, especially because it was so short!

While trying to get onto this train, I made a little boy cry. Yes, mean Monica made a total stranger little boy cry. Here is the scenario...first of all, there were very few people waiting for the train. We happened to be right up front where, once the gate opened, we would be leading the way to hop on the train. I had Cannon by the hand with the girls behind me and was stepping onto the train through the narrow entry (with the stroller, my backpack and purse also) when I feel this pushing and shoving and Cannon's hand almost being pulled from mine. When I turned around, there were two boys, probably aged 4 and 6, that were trying to duck, squeeze, and push their way by us. Of course, the teacher in me kicks in and I said "Just a minute sweetheart. You need to wait your turn. As soon as we get on you can get by." I was not yelling or making ugly faces, I was just correcting behavior. By the way, their parents were behind them and I'm assuming they saw the situation. If nothing else, they certainly saw me correcting their boys' behavior. They sat right behind us even though the entire car was available. Immediately after they sat down I could hear the little boy crying and the parents were telling him "It's okay." I felt bad that I upset him and I conversed with myself on whether or not I should apologize. I figured, however, that might open the door for something worse so I sat feeling terrible instead.

My next awful experience occurred after we enjoyed It's Tough to Be a Bug, a 3-D show in a large theatre with special effects. Carroll had Cannon on his lap so he could see. After the show, I led the way out. We got separated a little bit from Carroll so we stepped aside. As soon as Carroll caught up, Cannon was not with him. "Where's Cannon?!!!" I screamed. Thank God a lady was paying attention because as soon as she saw/heard my panic, she said "He's up there." Cannon was way up ahead and moving with the crowd without a clue.

Now, I love my husband. He's a wonderful daddy. He loves his children. The point I'm trying to make here is that men think very differently than women. Apparently, Carroll thought that he would let Cannon catch up with me...WHILE IN A SEA OF PEOPLE! After I had Cannon back safely, I scolded Carroll and reminded him that if he has him on his lap, he is responsible for him--and that means holding his hand. I can't tell you how tight my chest got when I saw that Cannon was not with Carroll. I don't think I breathed until I had hold of him again. My chest hurt the rest of that evening and was even sore the next day. On another note, before our trip to Disney, I prepared for a situation like this by purchasing these. All of our children were "labeled" at all times. :)

There were several things that we missed in this park that we will definitely have to catch next time.