Yes, believe it or not, there are more days from Disney that I have not discussed. But only two. And I’ll go fast, because Animal Kingdom is mostly about the visuals anyway.

This is the Tree of Life, the centerpiece of Animal Kingdom. It’s pretty sweet, what with the ANIMALS CARVED INTO THE TRUNK and all. There is also a sweet Bug’s Life-inspired 3D show inside it. Yes, INSIDE the tree.

First thing we did was the African safari, because we wanted to catch all the critters before it got hot and they wanted to nap. Of course, we forgot that they are critters and therefore like to nap ALL THE TIME. Fortunately we still got to see some.

King of the Jungle.

Baby elephant + baobab tree.

Antelope-like things.

We also did the walking safari of Asia, i.e., saw more animals napping. Like these tigers.

The meerkats were pretty alert, though. As was the bunny in the habitat with them. Said bunny obviously does not realize he is in ASIA.

We also got to meet a few animals in person. Like Tarzan’s friend Turk, and Andy’s favorite Disney character, JC aka Jiminy Cricket.

Note the awesome souvenir Mickey ears we got as our SECOND Dream Come True!

Later we went BACK to the African safari, because Andy is really just a bigger version of a 12-year-old boy, and that was his favorite thing of the day. (Like I’m one to talk. Just see what we did on Day 5 when I post about it tomorrow…)

Speaking of faves, this is a baby giraffe. This “baby” is probably like five times my size. And all sorts of gangly and awkward. I heart giraffes.

Really big rhino.

Ostrich. Who was in the road. In front of our vehicle. And did not care.

Just before Animal Kingdom closed, we stopped into Tusker House for our dinner, and let me tell you, that African-influenced buffet was delicious! I particularly loved the passionfruit pastry they had for dessert. And the hummus. Mmm, hummus…

We ended the night by taking the ferryboat over to Disney’s Boardwalk resort, which is right across from the Swan and Dolphin resorts, where my parents and I stayed fifteen years ago. I know this because I still have in my possession MANY complimentary toiletries with swans on them.

This Day at Disney was brought to you by Capital Letters. ALL OF THEM. Because I know how much Angie loves them. (And I’m too lazy to hit Ctrl-I. Seriously, just holding Shift is so much easier.)

(No Foto Friday this week, since all these Disney recaps are pretty image-heavy.)

Day 2 of our Magical Disney Vacation was reserved for Magic Kingdom, probably the most iconic of the four parks at Disney World. Tomorrowland and Fantasyland had Extended Magic Hours that morning, so we got an early start. Unfortunately the first ride we did was Stitch’s Great Escape, in which you get blasted with warm chili breath. Seriously, the technology is amazing, but the application left something to be desired. Andy was pretty amused, but I can think of about eighty billion better ways to begin the day.

The rest of Tomorrowland was neat though, with my fave being the tram ride that takes you all around — and even inside — some of Tomorrowland’s rides, including Space Mountain. Then when we actually rode Space Mountain, we were presented with a dream!

Since it’s Disney’s Year of a Million Dreams (well, really second Year of a Million Dreams) they go around giving a few random people freebies and calling them “dreams come true.” We got TWO!! This was our first, and it essentially let us cut to the front of the line of the most popular rides in the Magic Kingdom. Sweet, huh?

Unrelated but amusing, this Tomorrowland talking trash can totally freaked out a little girl coming out of the restroom.

In Fantasyland, I convinced Andy to do the classic Mad Tea Party ride by promising not to spin our teacup too much. (Wuss.)

We also did the “it’s a small world” boat ride, which was probably my clearest memory from going to Disney World with my parents as a child. Most of my pictures came out blurry, since I hadn’t yet found the best setting for these dark, high-activity situations, but hey, I got Spain!

After the rest of Magic Kingdom opened, we made our way to Liberty Square, where we apparently committed some heinous crime and had to be punished.

(Note: I am so short I cannot even stand in the stocks properly. Extra humiliation.)

After Liberty Square and Frontierland, we checked out the “inside” of Cinderella’s Castle, which turned out to be a big hallway with beautiful mosaics of the Disney princess fairy tales. There’s definitely more in the upper levels, but that hallway, a sit-down restaurant, and the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique were all that was accessible to the general public.

At some point between the Castle and Adventureland, I began to question whether my Old Navy flip flops were really going to get me through this whole trip. Seeing as my feet were ready to fall off and it was only Day 2, the odds weren’t looking good. And so began our epic quest for Kristan’s Crocs. The color combo I liked best was aqua and yellow, but apparently that was only for kids, and small as I may seem, I was sadly unable to squish my feet into a size 5. So we began to stop at every kiosk and gift shop and examine their Croc selection, hoping against hope that a new adult color combo would show up. None did.

Perhaps that is why, at our fabulous character dinner with Winnie the Pooh and friends, I had an Eeyore face.

Overall Magic Kingdom was geared much more towards small-ish children than the other three parks, but it was still fun to see all the iconic Disney World attractions. After dinner we caught the SpectroMagic parade and Wishes fireworks show, and then headed home for some much-needed, well-deserved sleep.