ANIMAL KINGDOM PART 1: The Most Underrated Disney World Park

Expedition Everest

Outside the Animal Kingdom Ticket Center

This is our families second favorite park and not by much. We will do this park multiple times in a trip while the others we have to really think about doing twice. This park also seems to get the lowest ratings. Some call it a glorified zoo, and it does have animals so I can totally see how they can mistake it for this.

Let me be perfectly clear, Animal Kingdom is not a zoo! It is a Walt Disney World theme park and it is done with just as much if not more care than the other 3 major Disney Parks in the area. I say if not more due to the animals. Disney already holds itself to a certain standard as far as safety and maintenance goes. Add in the extra care needed for the animals and you got yourself a very well cared for theme park.

This review is from Late May 2014, right after I started this blog and right before they added the Harambe Nights. This is an after hours hard-ticket event. Meaning it is separate from normal park admission. It is to celebrate the 20th anniversary of The Lion King, and is all-inclusive: food, drinks, and of course entertainment.

Another thing we missed was The Festival of The Lion King. We missed this due to construction. The show has since reopened at it's new location: The Harambe Theater. This is located next to the Africa section of the park and rightfully so as that is where the movie took place. This was an excellent show before they moved it and I have heard it is still absolutely amazing! We will definitely be checking it out on our next visit.

Keep in mind that there is still a lot of construction going on. However, it does not get in the way of much. They put large walls up so that you do not actually see the construction. Disney has closed down the old area called Camp Minnie Mickey, where the Lion King show used to be, to make way for Avatarland. Once completed it should be quite amazing.

Okay on with the review!!

We started our day off fairly early. We had our Fastpass+ already booked and as it was our first full day we decided no rope drop was necessary. This was to be a leisurely day. I must say, almost all of the days I have spent in Animal Kingdom were leisurely.

We arrived earlier than expected so our Fastpasses hadn't started yet. We decided to head to the center of the park. That is where the big tree is located. Under or in this tree is the 4D show A Bug's Life. It is very adorable and we enjoy it every time. This time my 3 year old even kept his glasses on the whole time!

Tree of Life in Animal Kingdom

 This wonderful tree has over 300 animals carved into it! Another fun fact they are currently replacing all of the leaves, one by one, with leaves that will light up at night!! Oh and of course the Bug's Life show is in it, pretty cool tree!

Then we headed towards Asia. This is where Expedition Everest and the Kali River Rapids are. These are two of my favorite rides! My husband and daughter headed over to Expedition Everest while my son and I headed to Kali River Rapids. At this point we still have no Fastpasses scheduled for about 40 minutes so I get on my app and what do you know I mess everything up!

The line for Kali River Rapids says 20 minutes so I figure it's perfect. My husband and daughter headed straight for the single rider line on Expedition Everest. Sometimes they get lucky and ride in the same car and sometimes they don't, but honestly they don't care they think that ride is soooo awesome!

My daughter in line for Kali River Rapids. Phone got put away as to not get we so no more pics beyond this point lol

The line for Kali River Rapids turned out to be more like 40 minutes than 20 minutes. Which I must say, is unusual for Disney. They are pretty good at letting people know how long of a wait they are looking at. I think they are still figuring out how the Fastpass returns are affecting the wait times. This extra time did allow for two things, it gave me time to fix my Fastpass+ mishap on my phone, it gave me time to get over my frustration of the mishap, and it allowed my daughter to catch up to us and jump in line with my son and I. My husband hates rides where you get wet so he did not join us. He did however, stand on the bridge waving to us as we went by soaking wet! I love this ride as do the kids, and we dried pretty quickly. The ride is totally worth getting wet. Try to go when it's already warming up for the day so you can dry quickly.

After that we headed to our test run to see if our son was finally tall enough to ride the 40" rides..... and he was! He was so excited, little did he know we were about to take him on one of the scarier rides in all the Disney World Parks lol. We were in line for Dinosaur. Another one of my favorites, as you can see a lot of my favorite rides are here. This park does have a small amount of rides, but the ones it has are good. Add that to the shows they offer and the animals plus theming and you have yourself one heck of an experience. Anyway, this is a dark ride and it is pretty loud and jerky but in a purposeful sort of way, not like Space Mountain over in the Magic Kingdom. My son hid in my side almost the whole time, but said he liked it when we got off.

Next we headed over to Dinoland U.S.A. This is the carnival type area of the park located right next to the Dinosaur ride and it is kind of like a carnival. When we arrived they were having a character dance party. It looked like fun but the little guy is scared of characters so we walked past quickly. You know he is the opposite of my fearless daughter, so it goes to show you will not know what kind of experience you will have until you arrive.

We split up again here but remain within the same area.  The little one and I go on Triceratops Spin, which is another version of Dumbo or Aladdin's Magic Carpet Ride, while the big ones go on Prime Evil Whirl. Both are good rides. Triceratops is good because the wait is never very long and it's just as good as the other two I compared it with. Prime Evil is good because, well it's just good! You have to ride it at least once and then you form your own opinion. We all like it, except the little guy he's to small. I think the height on this one is like 44" or 48".

There are also carnival type games in this section. Yes they do cost extra, just like carnival games do. We enjoy doing a couple of them because we always win at least one due to the lack of people competing against you!

Triceratops Spin

One entrance to dinoland

Carnival Games

Prime Evil Whirl from Triceratops Spin

After we did part of Dinoland, the part I just told you about we headed for lunch. We ate at a little quick service place right next in the area. The food was just ok. I don't even remember it, that's how just ok it was. We decided while eating that it was time to head back to the room for our afternoon rest. So that is what we did.

I will continue my Animal Kingdom Part 2 review tomorrow, with what happened after our nap lol.

HOLLYWOOD BEACH: A GREAT PLACE FOR COUPLES, FAMILIES. AND TOURISTS

Doesn't this look like exactly where you want to be relaxing this weekend? It is a great place to be any day of the week! This was a beautiful day about a week ago on Hollywood Beach in Sunny South Florida. Just being at the beach, playing in the sand and water can make for an entire day of fun filled activities. There are many hotels and motels lining the beach so you do have the option to stay in the middle of the action. There is also a great parking garage that has the perfect location.

Located right on A1A and Garfield Street is a public garage. It is Pictured above. There are also three other garages that are open to the public one is off of Taft Street and A1A. This is the Hollywood Beach Marriott Garage. I will do a review of that next time we stay there. There is one right off of Hollywood Boulevard called the Hollywood Beach Resort Garage and one a little farther south. This one while still on Hollywood Beach is closest to Hallandale Beach. It is right on A1A next to the Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa and the Crowne Plaza Hollywood Beach. The garage is called the Diplomat Landings Garage.

There is other parking along the street and in a few lots that are not garages along the beach, however, my suggestion is always a garage. After a hot day at the beach the last thing you want to do is get in a car that has been baking in the same sun as you all day!

There is also the Hollywood Trolley Lines. If you wanted to park Downtown or by Arts Park you could hop on the trolley to the beach or vice versa.

The Garfield Street Garage is the one we will focus on in this blog entry. It is a great place for families and those looking for recreational activities. While there is tons to do on Hollywood Beach this will be an entry on this small area. Please keep in mind parking on the beach is not free.

Garfield Street East of A1A

The garage lets you know where there are open parking spaces and how many there are.

View of Hollywood Beach from Garfield Street Garage

View of Intercostal from Garfield Street Garage, the intercostal is just west of A1A

 When you first walk toward the beach from the garage you will be walking through a park. Charnow Park is a great place for families to hang out. It also has an information and visitors center where you can pick up maps and brochures for things to do in the area. All of which will be mailed to you when booking a vacation with me.

Here there are racquet ball and tennis courts along with a water play area for the kids. There are also covered picnic benches and shady places to sit eat or just watch the kids play.

Information and Restrooms right next to parking garage and tennis courts

Pavilions and places to sit before the kids water play area

Kids water play area on Hollywood Beach

Small child play area, the buildings in the background are small hotels and motels

Water play area, in the background is shaded oversized steps to sit on and relax while your kids splash.

Shaded picnic pavilions. First come first serve

Climbing area, most popular early in the morning and later in the evening when it's not as hot.

It's a great place for the family to come and hangout and play. The evening hours do give way to an older and more couples based crowd. That being said there is never a lack of families visiting the beach.

There are many shops and restaurants lining Hollywood Beach. From ice cream, to pizza, to cabanas, live music, to upscale there is no lack of food or entertainment. We stayed in this general area on this particular day but here are a few pictures of what is right here.

View to the right of the park/play area

Souvenir shops and pizza parlors

Beach clothes incase you came unprepared or just need something new

Cabana Restaurant

As you continue walking down the strip there are plenty more places to eat and play, including an organic farmers market. For today this is as far as we go. If you turn around from this picture we are standing in the sand.

Hollywood Beach

This is the real reason you came today. The BEACH! Walk down the white sand until you find the spot you want to sit. Whether you are here just to tan and sunbathe on your blanket or chair, or you are here to frolic in the water with your floats, you have come to the right place.

What was that? You forgot something to sit on? You forgot your umbrella? Not to worry you can stop in any of the shops along the beach and pick up whatever you need, or you can rent one of these:

Cabana Rentals

This beach really has you covered. It is a great place to go and relax or play.

Hollywood Beach with a parasailer in the background

Hollywood Beach

Hollywood Beach

We played in the water for quite a long time. Then we searched for shells and relaxed. We watched all kinds of activities from parasailing to four people bikes. There is so much to do on Hollywood Beach. Now we are hungry!!

We stopped at the pizza place on the corner.

There was quite a line inside. Good thing I know about the window on the side of the building! We went here and ordered. We were the only ones waiting here. We got 2 slices and a cup of ice total $5.50. Not to bad for buying lunch on the beach.

We went and found a place to sit and eat in the shade over by the water play area. Remember all the places in this blog are within a very short distance of each other.

Large slices of delicious Pizza!

I'm never sure if the pizza here is really good or if the sun just makes me so hungry! It is rather greasy so remember napkins! I do always enjoy the pizza here though. This is a great place to stop on the way back to the car. Parents can sit in the shade while children run back and fourth through the water. This means that there is was less sand being brought back to the car.

All in all a great day at the beach!! And we didn't even go very far. We stayed in one small area of Hollywood Beach.

Next time we will explore different parts of the Hollywood Beach and Downtown Hollywood area.

DIAGON ALLEY @ UNIVERSAL STUDIOS ORLANDO OFFICIALLY OPEN!!!!!

****UPDATE DIAGON ALLEY IS OPEN****

THE NEW 3D RIDE IN THE WIZZARDING WORLD OF HARRY POTTER

CONTACT ME FOR YOUR DREAM VACATION

1 DAY OR 2 WEEKS EITHER WAY WE'LL MAKE IT SOMETHING TO REMEMBER!!



An official opening date has been announced!!!

July 8, 2014, get your tickets and room reservations ready now!!!

CONTACT ME for any assistance needed in doing so.

This will absolutely be a wonderfully crowded time so be prepared if you plan on visiting when it first opens. It should also be totally awesome whether you are a fan of Harry Potter or not. Check out USA Today. They got a sneak peak of the area set to open.

As so as I visit again I will definitely give you my review.

MAGIC KINGDOM PART 3: COMING BACK FOR MORE!!

In Part 2 we left off with a tired family that had been at the park since around 8:00am. It was around 2:00pm when we finally got out of the park. This was after we ate at Be Our Guest click on the link for my review of our lunch there. Let me remind you that we were traveling in late may. This is summer in Florida and that means rainy season!!! Usually afternoon thunderstorms can be expected, however, don't be surprised at rain any time of the day or night during summer in Florida.

So we got on the bus to leave the Magic Kingdom. We went back to Coronado Springs Resort and took about a three hour nap. Everyone was in on this nap as we were all pretty tired from our morning adventure.

When we woke up we kind of ready to go back! We got dressed and this time took the car. This way when it was time to go we did not have to wait for 5 buses of people to go before we got on one. Also you may or may not get a seat and with tired children especially small ones standing room only is not fun.

When we arrived it was smooth sailing. Remember we have Fastpasses already set up for when we get in the park. I think it was about 6:30pm when we were waiting for the tram in the parking lot. The sun was still up but it was definitely cooling off at this point.

We took the boat over to the Magic Kingdom as the Monorail was down. It seems to be down at least once every time we go. While on the boat we saw the Monorail car on the track that was not moving. They had it fixed by the time we left that night, but that was hours later.

The boat ride was beautiful as always and when you are heading in or out at off peak times it is never crowded on the boat.



Space everywhere on the boat, I mean Ferry.

View of the Castle from the Ferry.

Picture of the Grand Floridian from the Ferry

This was the Ferry going in the other direction with almost no people on it.

And this one is the entrance, we finally made it back! This time the lights are on!

  When we walked in the park, although it was crowded, it was not unmanageable. This is due to the fact that some people were leaving, a few were arriving, and most were on what I call an in the park break just hanging out in the stores on Main Street.

We split up when we got back in the park. Two of us headed to Peter Pan with our Fastpass and the other two went to Space Mountain. Neither of us had much of a wait due to our lovely Fastpasses, I know there are mixed reviews but I think it's really nice to be able to pick the time you want them for. Peter Pan is and always has been a great ride. You fly over London and Neverland on your pirate ship type vessel. It's also one of those rides, like most of those in Fantasyland, have no height restriction. This coupled with the fact that it is older and a slow loader means the line is pretty much always long. Get a Fastpass if you plan to go on this ride. Unless you plan to Fastpass other rides in Fantasyland and you go straight to Peter Pan within the first hour of park opening.

Like I said the other two went to Space Mountain. The classic indoor rollercoaster in the dark. It is a great ride for roller coaster enthusiasts and one of the most popular in Disney World. That being said, I personally have grown out of it. I used to love it. Even though the ride itself is not super fast it is in the dark and this makes for an interesting roller coaster. It's also inside so you can go on it regardless of weather conditions. It is an older roller coaster. This is one of the reasons I have grown to unlove it. The ride is quite jerky. It has just become an unenjoyable experience for me. The other members of my party still think it's awesomeness. So it depends on you!!! I say you must try it at least once.

After we went on our separate rides we met up at the teacups. It is a good place to meet as it and the Tomorrowland Speedway are in that sections where the two lands meet. My son and I were already in the line when my daughter jumped in with us. My husband hates the teacups. He says we spin to fast, but he loves Space Mountain so again it's a personal preference. The Teacups were great as always, or as my son calls them "coffee cups", because we drink more coffee than tea!

Going super fast on the Tea Cups

Then we split up again!! It's a great way to hit up all the rides when you don't see eye to eye on which ones are the most important. Especially since it's really hard to fit in all the rides if, you only have one day at the Magic Kingdom.

This time my daughter and I went to the Storybook Circus area of Fantasyland and my husband and son went to Tomorrowland Speedway. I refuse to get on this ride. It's impossible to drive those cars right!! As a kid I do remember loving it so, thankfully my husband will ride it with the kids.

While they waited in line for the Speedway we first went to check for more Fastpasses. There wasn't much left at this point as it was a little after 8:00pm and it was our fifth Fastpass. We took a Jungle Cruise Fastpass for the four of us at 10pm. The park was open until midnight on this particular day.

Then we headed to Big Top Souvenirs. It just always smells so good that I go in every trip. Inside is more souvenirs than you could imagine. It's fun to just look around. There is also a treat shop in the middle of the store called Big Top Treats. Here we got an absolutely delicious smoothie and a rice krispy treat that looked like Maleficent. I haven't seen the movie yet, but she tasted great.

Chocolate covered Maleficent rice crispy treat

Big Top Souvenirs, Big Top Treats my favorite place to shop! 

At this point we still hadn't heard from the boys so we checked out the wait time on Barnstormer. It said 10 minutes so we got in line. This ride is a kiddie coaster. It lasts all of 30-45 seconds and I love it. So do my kids. It's really cute and surprisingly quick around those turns. I'd say the wait was more like 5 minutes and that's good because the ride is soooo short, but totally worth a ten minute wait or less. I also suggest waiting longer than that if you have a child that is 38" (the requirement for this ride) and you are experimenting to see if they like fast rides.


After this ride, we got the call. Where are you guys?! They were off the Tomorrowland Speedway ride and stuck looking at the Cars souvenirs on the cart right outside the ride. So we headed over to distract the boy. It was about 3 minutes from where we were.

Then the rest of the night the four of us stuck together. Our next stop was supposed to be Adventureland, but it was that time of night when the Main Street Electrical Parade was about to start. This means up and down the parade route would be packed and we would be unable to access The Jungle Cruise and Pirates of the Caribbean from where we were. So an executive decision was made to hang out in Tomorrowland.

While there we checked out the Carousel of Progress. One of my favorite rides that honestly I haven't been on in over ten years easily. It is not exiting or thrilling in anyway. I do find it entertaining as did my husband and daughter, it was both of their first times on the ride. Even my 3 year old was slightly entertained by the dog in the show and the way the room moves. Right before it was over my son did say "ok time to go mommy"!

When we got out it was time for Wishes the nighttime fireworks show. It is an amazing display of fireworks that I love to watch every time I'm in the Magic Kingdom. While it is most magical when looking at it from in front of the castle, I will stop wherever I am and watch it. This time happened to be in Tomorrowland. We sat down right on the floor and watched the fireworks. They were awesome like always. When it was over we headed to Adventureland.

In Adventureland we headed straight for our Jungle Cruise Fastpass as our time was almost up. There was only a 5 minute wait but with the Fastpass we jumped in front of those 20 people. The Jungle Cruise is like a fake safari on the water. It's a really cute and entertaining ride. I wouldn't say it's a must do, however, if you get a chance do it. If the line is over 20 minutes I would say skip it.

Then we headed to Pirates of the Caribbean. This has been one of my favorites since I was 5. An absolute must do for me. My ten year old daughter tried to convince dad to do it again, but it was like 10:30 pm and he was so ready to get out of there before the crowds.

We did convince him to run over and go on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad one more time. This is my other favorite ride in this park.

All together an awesome day in the MK!!!

Early Morning

From beginning to end!

Late Afternoon, Early Evening

Almost Midnight

Don't forget I would be happy to help you plan and perfect your vacation CONTACT ME