Disneyworld 2009 - Part II

August 3-11 2009

Day 2

We got up super early (as usual) to get in when the gates opened so we could get on 2 or 3 rides before needing to wait in a line.

Today we decided to do the Animal Kingdom. Michelle was really looking forward to seeing this park. (She loves the animals)

The first area we went to was Dinoland U.S.A. They had a pretty cool ride where you went back in time to rescue a dinosaur. It's basically the Indiana Jones ride, but with dinosaurs.

We then jammed on over to the Asia area to ride Expedition Everest. On the way, I did manage to take quick stops here and there to take pictures along the way. During the early mornings, the water is super still and glassy, perfect for picture taking.



Expedition Everest is a pseudo-roller coaster type ride that is very similar to the Matterhorn ride. This one was a lot better, as you would expect, as a portion of the ride has you going backwards and the Yeti that they have lurking in the mountain looked totally cool and very realistic.

Our final morning stop was the Kilimanjaro Safari. This is an open tour bus ride through Disney's savannah land. We saw a lot of animals during the ride but didn't get as close as I would have liked, but at least they were active and out in the open.

We strolled around and rode a couple more rides before we decided to leave and check out Disney's Hollywood Studios park. Before we get there, I wanted to share a bit of strangeness that I saw at the Animal Kingdom. It seemed to me that there were an abundance of Rats around. Not mice, but rats. Not real ones, but an uncomfortable amount of them. Here's a couple that I took pictures of.

I dunno, maybe it was just me, but I thought that was a bit weird.

So anyway, next we went to Disney's Hollywood Studios, which is the Disneyworld version of California Adventure. This was in the early afternoon, which is when the park is the most crowded. We were a bit spoiled already since we didn't have to wait in any line longer than 20 minutes so far, so we went hunting for rides that had short waiting times. We eventually made our way to the Lights, Motors, Action Extreme Stunt Show. Those stunt drivers were awesome and the show was Action Packed.

We ended our day at Epcot. It turned out that we ended most of our days at Epcot. For some reason, we all enjoyed Epcot the most. I think it's because Epcot was unlike anyplace that we've been to before.....plus the food from the different countries were pretty good. And speaking of food. One of the things that I really enjoyed at Epcot was the School Bread from the Kringla Bakeri Og Kafe at the Norway pavilion. That was the best pastry ever. I ate it so quickly I totally forgot to take a picture....both times.

I did get a picture of the Norway pavilion area...the bakery is right behind that Viking. And a word of advice, skip the Maelstrom adventure ride there. It's a lame boat ride (like Pirates of the Caribbean) but taking you through the history of Norway. It could have been better, but they decided to not mention the raiding and pillaging portion of the Viking history AND they make you wait at the end to hear an additional lecture about Norway. WTF?!?! We found a side exit and ditched. Sorry Norway.