Disney 2018--Friday (Animal Kingdom)

• Friday was Animal Kingdom Day. We woke up early and did our usual thing of breakfast in the room and then getting to the park by rope drop.
• As we walked in, we knew that we'd never get to Flights of Passage faster than all of the other people who were running, so we meandered around a bit at the front to look at the Tree of Life and some of the animal areas near the entry.
• We slowly made our way over to Pandora, which was super cool (especially the water spray area because it was so hot out) and the area to play on the drums.
• Around 9:30am, we did our Fast Pass for Navi River Journey, which was so cool, although I am glad we had a FP and didn't wait a long time because it really freaked out the kids.
• Once we left there, Jasper was getting hungry so Eric fed him while the big kids looked around. We eventually bought stuffed Banshees, which I think were the coolest souvenirs we got. They're just so fun. The kids also had fun dressing in the various Avatar accessories.
• After exploring Pandora, we headed out to do to our Fast Pass for the safari. Along the way, we stopped to meet Timon. I thought Deke would be over the moon to see him since he's such a huge Lion King fan, but he was pretty meh on it. Oh well.
• We still had time to kill before our safari FP so I enjoyed a Dole Whip while everyone else had a huge ice cream sandwich. Seriously huge--like the size of a dinner plate. So yummy and great use of a snack credit.
• Finally, it was time for our safari FP, and we all really loved it. Jasper loved it so much that he had a huge, near blowout poop on the ride. Thankfully, by your fourth kid, you're used to random crazy diaper changes, so we changed him on Eric's lap in the back of the safari vehicle, and no one was the wiser. #ninjaparents
• The safari ended at the perfect time because it was time for our Tusker House reservation. The food here was so good, and the characters were fun. I'm still dreaming about the bread pudding and POG (pineapple-orange-guava) juice that was bottomless. Oh take me back!
• Immediately after Tusker House, it was time for our FP for Lion King. This was perfect timing because it was starting to rain and as we went into the building, it started to pour.
• The Lion King show was another thing that I thought Deke would just go crazy over, and he did at some parts, and seeing him watch his favorite movie on stage was awesome. I was bummed at the end though because they no longer keep the floats out on in the stage area at the end to take pictures--that was one of the best parts. 
• When we came out of Lion King, it was about 2pm and it was still pouring out, so we broke out the ponchos and decided our day at Animal Kingdom was done. I would have liked to go over to Dinoland and see the Nemo show, but not enough to do it in the rain and thunder. That's the beauty of going to Disney more than once--you don't have to do every single thing every time.
• We made our way back to the hotel, bought some things in the gift shop, and then the rain stopped so I took the big kids swimming.
• Around 6pm, the kids got out of the pool, and we all ate in the food court. 
• Now is a good time to mention that in addition to still dreaming about the POG juice, I'm also still thinking everyday about the s'mores pies that I enjoyed daily as a dessert on the dining plan. Oh my goodness--so good. 
• By the time we were done with dinner, the kids were pooped and it was raining again, so we just headed back to the hotel for TV and bed time.
• While we had fun, Animal Kingdom still remains our least favorite park. It's hot, it's hard to find your way, and we're not really interested in going to the zoo part since we have such a great zoo here in DC. I think now that we've done the Lion King stuff for Deke, we'd skip it next time (and yes, there will be a next time because hello--Star Wars Land!).