DisneyWatch 2010: Day 2

Things I have already learned on Day 1 in the parks:

- A stroller is a MUST.
- Park food is just so-so, even if it costs $60.
- Jake can go two days in a row without a nap, but that doesn't mean it will be pleasant.
- People will wear ANYTHING in public. Absolutely ANYTHING.
- It would be helpful to have a Disney knowledge chip implanted in your head prior to arrival. Barring that, tips from blog readers, Tour Guide Mike and the iPhone app work pretty well.
- I wouldn't want to be here during peak season.
- I am raising adrenaline junkies.
- Even here, some things are just like home. See this:


And this:



Our first park visit (on Saturday) was Animal Kingdom, which is a real doozy of a park. It's really large and spread-out, so you do a LOT of walking. There also didn't seem to be as many things for kids Jake's age, but that was perhaps more a product of us not knowing what we were doing and less Disney's fault. I'll never know. I don't plan to go back there with a toddler.

We started our day with a character breakfast at Tucker House. The food was okay (not great), but I especially loved the Mickey-shaped waffles. ADORABLE.



The best part was that the characters came right to our table and posed for pictures.


The older boys were less excited than Jakey, who shrieked every time one of them came in the room. It was so cute.



You might notice that he's a little more interested in his doughnut than in Daisy in this picture ... the caption in my head is courtesy of Kanye: "Imma let you finish, but first I gotta eat this doughnut."

But seriously, the characters were very engaging and posed for as many pictures as I wanted to take. I loved every minute of it!


After breakfast we got our double stroller and then started touring Africa. (ALL HAIL THE LORD FOR GIVING SOMEONE THE IDEA TO INVENT STROLLERS.) Of course, Jake didn't want to be IN it all that much, as he felt compelled to get as close to the animals as possible.



The animal exhibits are REALLY well-done. They're larger than your typical zoo, but small enough so that you can see the animals, even if from a distance.

Meerkat:



GIANT FREAKING TOAD:



Something like a gazelle that is not exactly a gazelle:



A beautiful gorilla:



Since Jakey didn't want to be in the stroller all day, I saw a lot of this:




That within approximately, oh, say, 2 seconds led to this:



If he didn't weight 32 pounds, I'd love carrying him around because he's so sweet and he smells like a baby. LOVE THAT SMELL. But he is h-e-a-v-y.

When we got to DinoLand, we took him to a big Dig Pit full of fine gravel where he could dig and throw things. It was a big hit and I didn't have to hold him for 30 whole minutes.



Gravel is the bomb.



While in DinoLand, we found a ride with only a 10-minute wait that Jake could ride.



We hopped in a triceratops and took off for the sky.



As you can see, the weather was beautiful and the ride was pretty tame.



UNLIKE THIS ONE. This is Expedition Everest.



Guess who rode it. Grayson, Nathaniel and Nicholas. AND THEY RODE IT TWICE. It is a huge rollercoaster, parts of it in the dark and it even goes backwards in the dark. No biggie for them. They LOVED it.



I really wanted to ride it but we ran out of time. (I like rollercoasters.) I knew I'd have plenty of chances to ride coasters at other parks later, so I didn't push to ride Everest. But one day I've love to!

We wrapped up our day with a showing of "It's Tough to be a Bug," a cute show that scared the bejesus of Nicholas, who cried through the whole thing. Do you see the irony here?

Jake and Nathaniel were relatively unbothered by it.

Here's our crew at the very end of the day, just prior to leaving the park. I love the Tree of Life!


Many thanks again to my parents for treating us to this wonderful trip ... it's a huge treat!