HEY, HEY!!!
Steve and I have returned home and had a
weekend of rest from our vacation to Disney World (DW)! Now to get back in the swing of real world
stuff, but I’m going to show and tell about our trip first! Since we moved to Alabama, our drive has increased
substantially so we left on Friday at lunch, stopped at Steve’s parents’ home,
then arrived in Orlando late Saturday afternoon. We stayed at the Wilderness Lodge DVC Resort
this time. We discovered it last
December and just love it! It is a great
place for families but the older empty-nesters can enjoy it too! The Wilderness Lodge lobby is awesome and like all the resorts pretty busy; however, the DVC lobby
is much quieter with lovely
We spent a delightful first full day at Animal Kingdom followed by dinner at Boma’s in the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Animal Kingdom Park is one of my very favorites! There is no way to see and do everything in one day for us (remember, we are not 20-something anymore.) But we do have favorites that are just must-do then we try to visit something different every trip.
Flight of Wonder never ceases to amaze
me! I’ve had pet parrots for years but
am always amazed what the DW researchers are able to prompt these magnificent
creatures to during several shows a day!
Guano Joe, the lost tour guide, adds so much humor and lightheartedness! I’ve been going regularly to Animal Kingdom
for eleven years and the same “Joe” has been there every time! Conserving these beautiful creature is the
main message during this show and I think Disney and their wonderful cast
members convey it beautifully without beating me over the head with it! 
Disney is so full of fantasy and wonder, but when
Hope, the bald eagle, made her entrance on the arm of a cast member, emotion
and pride for my country swelled in my heart!
She is so beautiful and is a great reminder of the great country I call
home. 
Kilimanjaro Safari is another “not to be missed” activity
for me! The weather for this ride was
perfect, not too hot or humid to ride in the open-sided trucks. That’s our driver guide in the rearview mirror.
Our driver was very informative about all the animals in 
This big African bull elephant blocked the road for three
trucks during our ride. After several
minutes one of the drivers radioed for the inspectors to come
and shoo him across the road. He was enjoying his day in the sunshine! These trees are often said to be “upside down” trees since it appears their roots are growing out of the ground! (Borrowed this picture from http://sharingflorida.com since my driver went too fast for me and my phone camera!)
and shoo him across the road. He was enjoying his day in the sunshine! These trees are often said to be “upside down” trees since it appears their roots are growing out of the ground! (Borrowed this picture from http://sharingflorida.com since my driver went too fast for me and my phone camera!)
Just around the corner from the big bull elephant, this little
baby was cooling himself with his ears. Mom wasn't far away either!
You don’t have to ride the safari to see wildlife, just walk
through the park! Every nook and cranny holds some wonderful plant, bird,
animal or fish!
This little 
Meerkat was sitting alone in the very large habitat he shares with his friends and family. I have read before that one little guy has guard duty while the rest of the colony sleeps. Wonder if they draw straws?
Waterfalls are just one of many beautiful settings throughout Animal Kingdom. This one is in the gorilla habitat as you cross the bridge going back to the trail.
Speaking of gorillas, the gorilla family was out and active for our Animal Kingdom day! This little fellow was sitting quietly at the large viewing window, but as the crowd left the pavillon, he kind of followed along until we all got to the bridge. He climbed trees then proceeded to swing back and forth to the delight of his audience, until Mama left. Like a small child, when he couldn't see Mama, he was done being big stuff and went looking for her!
The tigers in the Asian habitat were done watching the humans and had settled
down for the afternoon siesta! No, they are not dead, they were breathing! I looked to make sure! :)
We
revisited the Festival of the Lion King and could not figure out why we had
skipped it the last 5 years!
As I mentioned before, we ended our day over at Animal
Kingdom Lodge with dinner at Boma, which offers South African cuisine and stimulates your taste buds to the point of no
return! Although it is buffet style, the food is excellent! Just be careful how many trips you make back
to the buffet! The buffet is sectioned
off by courses so it is easy to navigate back for more of a favorite food! The serving staff is just friendly and
warm! I was wearing my “Celebrating”
badge since I just completed my graduate work the week before our trip. My server noticed and after bringing our
coffee, she came back with a dessert plate bearing three delicious truffles:
dark chocolate, milk chocolate, and white chocolate. Boma’s has been one of our favorite
restaurants for the last eleven years; however, this year, they went up in
price a bit which makes a meal a bit pricey for us to be able to be able to
keep it as a regular visit. After tip,
our dinner for two was about $90.
After dinner, Steve and I needed to walk off some of the many calories we had consumed!
Till next time!
With a Happy Heart,
Leigh Anne
