We had all crashed into bed the night before after a day on the beautiful beach in the warm Florida sun. Thankfully, everyone slept really well that night, and getting everyone up and ready to leave our resort by 7:00am was no problem at all. We were headed to Disney World for our first park day, and we were excited!!!
When making plans for our Disney days, I carefully considered what park we wanted to visit on what day. I decided to kick off our park days with Animal Kingdom. I knew the kids would enjoy Animal Kingdom, but I also knew that they might be less impressed with it if we visited Hollywood Studios (which I predicted would be Bren's favorite) or Magic Kingdom (which truly brings the magic) first. I felt Animal Kingdom would be best enjoyed if visited before the other parks!
Due to COVID restrictions, all the parks were operating on limited hours, although I feel like this change affected Animal Kingdom the least. The official opening time of the park was 8:00am, but we arrived at 7:30am and walked right in. We had a close parking spot (which was great because the trolleys from the parking lot to the park entrance weren't running) and walked right through temp checks and security with zero problems. By 7:40am, we were in the park and headed to Africa for the Kilimanjaro Safari.
While we were able to walk into the park at 7:40am, the rides weren't quite running yet. It took us about 10 minutes to walk to the Kilimanjaro Safari entrance, then we waited about 10 minutes before loading our jeep. Many of the rides at Disney World were not loading to full capacity for social distancing purposes, but the jeeps on the safari were loading full capacity because Disney had put up plexiglass dividers between each row.
We were ready and SO excited for our first ride!
The weather was about 65 degrees which meant we saw lots of animals moving about. It was fantastic!
Look at all these animals!
Excited face!
More excited faces! The squeals of happiness were just what I had hoped for!
Brecklyn loved this little area because of the pink flamingos. Bren loved this area because the island is a hidden Mickey :-).
When we came upon the lion resting on a rock, the whole jeep got quiet. Such a majestic animal!
We also saw two lionesses who were play fighting. The kids loved that!
I know many people who visit Disney plan their whole day . . . which rides they will ride when, where they'll eat, and even what bathrooms they will visit throughout the day. I am not that level of Disney mom, for sure! My hope was to mostly play things by ear, go where the children wanted to go, and just soak everything in. However, I had planned for our first ride at Animal Kingdom to be the Safari because I wanted to start our day with something really cool. I was so glad that the safari was our inaugural Disney ride! We all loved it, saw tons of animals, and truly felt the Disney magic :-).
Brianna and Brenson both had a map of the park and asked if we could walk the Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail as soon as we got off the safari. Since we were right at the entrance of the trail, that was perfect!
AK is so lush and beautiful!
The fish were so fun to watch at the base of the relaxing waterfall.
Everywhere we looked, we saw animals!
I'm pretty sure this gorilla saw us, too :-).
I was amazed at the crowd level at this point in the day. As you can see in these photos, we pretty much had the trail to ourselves!
This time, we changed up who rode with whom.
Even more animals were on the move and active!
I should probably mention here that Disney was super strict about mask wearing and social distancing. We were aware that masks were required, but we didn't know the lengths Disney was going to in order to try and keep everyone safe. Bren struggled throughout the day with keeping his mask fully covering his nose, and more than once a cast member said to him, "Friend, please pull your mask fully over your nose. Thank you!" Also, guests were only permitted to eat and drink while stationary (because your mask had to be down or off to do that). We didn't push the boundary on this rule, but we witnessed several guests being stopped by cast members because they were eating or drinking while walking. Part of me is sad that we're all masked up in ALL our photos from Disney World, but on the other hand it is a true representation of the times we are in!
While I loved not having a strict itinerary for our day, it meant that someone had to made decisions throughout the day regarding what attractions we were going to enjoy. That someone ended up being me most of the time because I had done almost all of the reading and researching about what was currently operating normally, what was currently operating with changes, what was temporarily closed, and what might interest our family. After our second ride on the Kilimanjaro Safari, I decided we should head to Discovery Island (the central hub of the park) and enjoy the show It's Tough To Be a Bug! which is located inside the Tree of Life.
Bren and Momma enjoying the beautiful view while walking from Africa to Discovery Island
The Tree of Life is a man-made and HUMONGOUS tree in the center of Discovery Island that has over 300 animals carved into the outside of it.
The line for It's Tough to Be a Bug! moved quickly, but the kids enjoyed finding animals while we were moving through the queue. In the photo below, Brooke and Brecklyn were already sporting their 3D glasses for the show :-).
We waited in little pods inside the tree for our turn to watch the show.
We were ready!
The show was really neat . . . it had 3D bugs who fought with one another on stage, and threw all kinds of things (including "acid") onto the audience. Of course, the 3D glasses made it feel like we were part of all the commotion. At one point, our seats even felt like bugs were moving across the back of them! While the show was fun, Brecklyn hated it. She screamed and cried and begged us to take her out of the theater. Sigh. I had read that the show may be scary for smaller children, but I thought all of our kids were big enough to be okay. I was wrong!
I decided our next destination would be Dinoland, USA, so we headed in that direction next.
After lunch, our spirits and bodies felt renewed (it's amazing how food has that effect), so we decided to walk over to Pandora - The World of Avatar and see what all the hype was about. Both attractions in that land had wait times of 75 minutes, so we decided to just look around and enjoy the scenery. It was amazing!
Even though we skipped the attractions in Pandora, we were glad we walked around the land. It is incredible how Disney creates these areas that truly feel like you're in a different world!
All the water crossings make for pretty photos!
Welcome to Dinoland, USA!
Brecklyn had been talking constantly about how the one ride she couldn't wait to ride at Disney World was Dumbo. Because of this, we got in line for TriceraTop Spin, which is pretty much just like Dumbo except with Triceratops.
Brianna and Brenson thought they were big riding without any adults :-).
Brooke and Momma
Brecklyn was so excited it almost made up for the It's Tough to be a Bug! fiasco!
The line for this attraction was very short (only about 5 minutes), so as soon as we finished riding once, we looped around for a second ride.
This time, Bren wanted to ride solo.
Brianna rode with Brooke,
while Brecks and I were in the same car in front of them.
After two rides on TriceraTop Spin and a little bit of pin trading, Daddy, Brianna, and Brenson decided to go ride the big roller coaster called DINOSAUR. The twins and I were not interested in this attraction, so we took off to find our own fun.
My plan was to take Brooke and Brecklyn to The Boneyard (a massive playground in Dinoland) for some play time, but it was closed due to COVID :-(. When we discovered the Nemo show was also closed, the girls were feeling pretty disappointed. Thankfully, right at that moment, we saw a boat coming by with Mickey, Minnie, and Pluto!
We decided to sit for a while, take a drink break, and watch for more boats. Sure enough, we saw three boats total, including one with Santa Claus. I had two very excited little girls!
Brooke, Brecklyn
Meanwhile, the {long} queue for DINOSAUR was moving along nicely. Disney absolutely knows how to make a 60 minute wait for an attraction feel shorter than it is!
Brianna and Brenson were quite excited for their first BIG roller coaster!
From what I was told (by Bri and Daddy), the excitement quickly faded to regret for Brianna, haha! She decided after that ride that she was DONE with roller coasters. Spoiler alert: She decided to give a few other coasters a try later in the trip and actually enjoyed them!
This photo is great, haha!
Somehow, while we were *patiently* waiting for the others ride DINOSAUR, Brooke, Brecklyn, and I ended up in Asia. We were really in search of somewhere to eat (as it was about noon at this point), but that proved to be a challenge. Many of the restaurants were either closed or mobile order only.
We finally met back up with Chris and the big kids and decided to eat at a quick service restaurant in Asia called Yak and Yeti. The food tasted better than it probably was because we were all hungry and thankful to have a chance to sit down for a while (although seating was not easy to come by and the only seating open was outdoors).
All these photos were taken by a Photopass Photog and are some of my favorite from the day!
We decided our next adventure should be taking the train over to Rafiki's Planet Watch. This put us walking back through Africa, but this time we slowed down and enjoyed the scenery a bit more!
As you can clearly see in these photos, all the kiddos were worn out by this time! We had been on the go for 12 hours and our legs and feet were feeling it, for sure! Bren was struggling so much with his legs hurting that he ended up riding in the stroller while exiting the park. I was definitely ready to call it a night, but first I wanted to take advantage of the photo pass opportunities at the park entrance.
By this time in the day (about 2:00pm), the park was getting much busier. Disney was only allowing each park to be at 35% capacity at this time, but we could really feel that the crowd levels were much higher than they had been that morning.
On the train headed for Rafiki's Planet Watch
I remember these cute little guys!
While at Rafiki's, we were able to see how the animals are cared for, including what all they eat in a day!
We toured the Conservation Station, then decided to take another water and snack break. The temperature was only about 85 degrees, but the Florida humidity had us feeling quite warm and a little run down from all the walking. This little break is just what we needed to feel re-energized!
Once we returned to the main part of the park from Rafiki's Planet Watch, we decided to check out the line for Kali River Rapids in Asia. However, on our way over there we noticed the Caravan Stage Theater was getting ready to have a bird show. Yes, please!
Brecklyn was fascinated with the birds!
We all thoroughly enjoyed this show! The birds did several neat tricks (including speaking and untying the trainer's shoe!).
The Kali River Rapids queue looked long, but we decided to jump in line anyway. We probably waited close to 60 minutes, but it truly didn't feel near that long. Brecklyn and Brooke loved watching the gorillas while we waited.
I knew that Kali River Rapids was a water ride, so at first I told the family I would not be joining them. Then, my kids looked at me all pitiful like with their big eyes, and I changed my mind, haha.
We had brought the double stroller with us into the park, but we left it parked much of the afternoon. Brecklyn's legs were feeling it, so she talked Daddy into a ride on his shoulders.
Finally, it was our turn to load our raft. Brecklyn and Daddy were ready to get on with the show!
Brooke and I weren't so sure, lol!
I think Bren and Bri were excited but maybe a little anxious, too.
The ride ended up being a ton of fun. In fact, if the line for the ride had been shorter, I think we all would have gone again! We definitely got wet, though!
At this point in the day, it was almost 5:00pm. The park closed at 7:00pm, so we knew we only had a few hours of fun left. Even if the park had stayed open later, I could tell that everyone was wearing down pretty quickly. I asked all the kids if there was anything they still really wanted to do before we left the park. This was our only day to visit Animal Kingdom, and I didn't want to leave if someone still had a "must-do" on their list.
Bren said that he really wanted to ride Expedition Everest before leaving the park, and the twins both expressed that they wanted to ride TriceraTop Spin again. This worked out perfectly! Expedition Everest is not far from Kali River Rapids, so Chris and Bren went that direction to get in line. Meanwhile, the girls and I headed back toward Dinoland USA to ride the much calmer TriceraTop Spin!
The queue for Expedition Everest was about 45 minutes long, and that gave Bren time to get nervous about the ride!
He was ready once they got on, though!
This photo makes me laugh! Bren said he enjoyed it, but I'm not so sure :-).
Chris snapped this beautiful photo of the sunset from the top of Everest. It had been such a lovely day, and the sunset was just icing on the cake!
The girls and I rode Triceratop Spin at least two more times (maybe three?), then decided to do a little shopping while we waited for the boys. We went into a small shop called Chester & Hester's Dinosaur Treasures and found an entire little area of clearanced items! I didn't know Disney World ever clearanced anything, but all this stuff had 2020 somewhere on it. It was all 70% off, so I let each of the girls get a light up necklace. This kind of stuff is typically so overpriced that I wouldn't even consider purchasing it, but we got six total (one for each of my kiddos plus one for each of the S kiddos). 
Brianna also got a 2020 pin set for herself and one for Brenson (with a plan to keep one pin and trade the other three). 
After scoring these amazing dealz, we jumped back on TriceraTop Spin one more time. Chris and Bren walked up just as we were finishing our ride. As a side note - I was squeezed into a seat with Brecklyn and Brooke because the cast member working the ride told us Brianna wasn't old enough to ride with anyone under the age of 7 (although she could ride by herself) unless I was sitting behind them in the same car. I'm pretty sure that hadn't been enforced other times we rode, but I just moved Brecklyn up front with me to speed things along.
All the kids had brought money to spend on souvenirs in Florida, so Brooke and Brecklyn each picked out a cute stuffie while we were shopping. I told the kids they looked like quintessential theme park children with their light up necklaces and stuffed animals!
Good-bye Dinoland . . . we sure enjoyed our visit!
As we headed toward the entrance of the park, the Tree of Life lit up with an incredible light show as all the speakers began to sound with beautiful music. Of course, we had to stop and watch!
Look at all those worn out faces! We must have had a great day!
This one is probably my favorite :-).
While we weren't necessarily planning to be at Animal Kingdom from before opening until closing, we had an incredible day! And, we were certainly thankful that we had parked close to the entrance after walking all day long! Once we got loaded up and off Disney property, we stopped by Wendy's to get some dinner. Food in the parks is SO expensive that Chris and I agreed we would try to only eat one meal in the park per day. We packed in snacks (granola bars, beef jerky, crackers, etc) and purchased a few snacks, too. This got us by until we could buy a reasonably priced dinner, but we were all ready to eat by the time we got to Wendy's! After eating and showers, we all fell into bed to dream about the magical day we had enjoying our first Disney park day!
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