Day two of our Disney trip was our earliest park entrance, which meant we caught this beautiful sunrise as we arrived at Animal Kingdom.
We knew we'd be getting several pictures with Memory Maker, but we didn't really know who to look for. As soon as we arrived at the park we saw a family getting their picture taken by someone who looked official. I asked if their outfit was what we should be looking for, they confirmed it was, and we had our first batch of pictures taken. I'm not posting all the shots they took over the four days we were there, just my favorites from each spot.
We were barely through the gates when we posed in front of the Tree of Life. I love this thing! With over 300 animals carved into the trunk, it's super fun to look at.
Tanya gave us an optional tour plan for each park, which was a really useful starting point for our days. We almost always followed her order of events, but split up after sticking together for some key rides at the start. Our first ride at Animal Kingdom was Avatar Flight of Passage, which we all thought was cool. These pictures were taken as we left that ride. I know I'm the whitest W, but I'm absolutely glowing in this picture. Ha!
Oh, look! A banshee flew by while we were posing!
For one who usually takes a lot of pictures of ordinary life, I really didn't take a whole lot of our family in the parks on this trip. The Memory Maker shots were super convenient and always strategically located, and I just wanted to focus on the trip itself instead of stopping to take pictures. But I did take some, including this one with Tim as we all waited in line for Na'vi River Journey.
After two rides in Pandora, we blitzed over to Africa for the Kilimanjaro Safaris. No pictures, but lots of animals and a nice chance to sit for a little while. Next up was Asia for some roller coaster action. But first, another photo opp. I like this one because it's closer to our faces.
But this one's better of the whole scene.
We had a visitor. It's kinda funny to do whatever the photographer says without knowing what exactly they'll be adding to the picture.
A glimpse of Expedition Everest, our first roller coaster of the week.
I'm so glad our whole family likes roller coasters! Some of these pictures are from when we all went together the first time, others from when we came back for more later in the day after splitting up.
We planned on splitting up after that ride, but noticed a photographer at the viewpoint we'd passed earlier. Quick stop for a few pictures, then we went our separate ways for lunch and entertainment.
Which do you think we were more scared of, the Yeti or the roller coaster? And which W needs a lesson in proper hand placement when faking scared?
The little Ws took off on their own for the rest of our time while Tim and I hung out together. We split a lunch of shrimp, pork rolls, and teriyaki chicken salad at Yak & Yeti Cafe, rose Everest again, and mostly just walked around.
Found another photographer.
Checked out some wildlife.
I had to get a W-free picture of the Tree of Life. Don't you think a high quality picture of it would make a neat puzzle? Or even a 3D puzzle that showed all the carvings? Such a cool thing!
Earliest park opening meant earliest park closing, but we were actually ready to roll a little bit before things shut down. We all had fun, but I knew this park would hold the kids' interest for the shortest amount of time because in some ways it's a fancy zoo. Since they've gone to the Oregon Zoo countless times, animal exhibits don't hold their interest as much as rides do. Although they ended up going in the dark later in the week, the kids also wanted to take advantage of the earlier park closing time to head back to our room so they could swim for a bit while it was still light out.
One perk of doing Disney in January is Christmas decorations were still up. I was standing on the wrong side for good lighting, but snapped a quick picture of this tree as we left the park.
I already showed you the first visible side of our building in the Portland to Orlando post, but snapped a few more pictures of the Cars area as we returned from the park. This is the main entrance to our building.
This is the view just to the right of our building's entrance and the pool the kids swam in is right behind it.
And to the right.
The side of a building.
And yet another building (there are three Cars buildings, each three-pronged). I actually snapped this one a few days later, but whatever. It makes more sense to add it here.
Finally, pool time! The Big Blue Pool, which is the biggest in all of Disney World's resorts, closed for refurbishment the day after we arrived, but the smaller one in our area, Cozy Cone Pool, was open. Safety cones are a major theme in the Cars area, showing up in various light fixtures, curtain fabric, and as cabanas at the Cozy Cone Pool.
You may know there are subtle Mickeys hidden throughout the park, like this one in the corner of a rug design in our building. The kids enjoyed keeping an eye out for them all week. Here's a little history about how hidden Mickeys got started, as well as a book that helps you find all of them.
What you may not know is there are also hidden Ws, like this one our room.
Ok, fine, there aren't any official hidden Ws. That being said, I had to laugh when pillows got moved and I noticed the pattern of Ws the safety cones on the headboard made. It's like the room was perfect for our family or something!
One park down, three to go!
*****
Here are links for all the posts about our Disney trip.
The trip was a prize from our orthodontist's office, Senestraro Family Orthodontics, as our name was drawn from all the established patients who referred new patients to their office in 2019. We've loved that office for over three years now and highly recommend them to anyone within driving distance of their three offices in Sherwood, Wilsonville, and Woodstock. Initial travel information was provided by Kristy and all travel arrangements, as well as really helpful daily tour plans for us to use as suggested launch points for our days, were provided by Tanya, both from Incredible Memories Travel. I'll definitely use their services if we ever get to travel again and recommend them to anyone who'd like someone else to do all the background work for their next vacation.
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1 comment:
Lol, hidden W's. That proves it was meant to be! That is a pretty tree!
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