Day 3 - Animal Kingdom
We didn't get to AK until 9:52 am! It's already 80 degrees and the humidity is at 90%. We arrive to the park later than I would have liked, but it wasn't a busy day. The lines for bag check were very short and there was no line at the turnstiles at all.
UT had today's crowds listed as moderate (yellow) and EasyWDW had it as a recommended park (green). Here are some happy faces arriving on the parking tram!
I wanted to head straight to Everest since we have a FP for the Safari that we can use up until 10:50am. But Brad wants to go to the Safari first, so we head that way. On the way we see the Wilderness Explorers station and stop to take the Wilderness Explorer's Oath and get a book for Kythe to use to collect WE badges. Kythe is a serious wildlife fanatic and she LOVED doing it! There was even a quick WE stop on the way to the Safari. She was able to tell the WE trooper right away that the skull she was displaying belonged to a Flamingo. The WE trooper was very impressed with Kythe's knowledge! They discussed flamingos and even though it was quick it was very informative. She earned two badges here and it only took a couple minutes. Most of the stops we did were very quick, super fun and all the kids participating seemed to be enjoying it very much. I absolutely love that they have added this program!
Also on our way to the Safari was the Photopass Photographer at the Tree of Life. We stopped for a family pic -
Once we got to the Safari the standby line was not visible from the front, but the FP line stretched ALLLL the way back to the stage where the performers play the drum show!!! We got in the line and boy was it moving fast though. I timed it and we were in the loading area within 5 minutes. That's was one fast moving line! I couldn't believe it!
When we got to the front of the queue, the CM made Kythe an Honorary Safari Guide and asked her to share her extensive animal knowledge with everyone. She was all too happy to oblige!
Now for the obligatory Safari animal pics.
The Safari seemed to go VERY fast, even Brad thought they were moving faster than usual. After the Safari we stopped at the WE station just outside it. Kythe met a representative who was actually from South Africa and learned a bit about her country. She earned two badges here as well.
Then we headed over to Everest, stopping on the way to jam the drums a bit. There was also a WE hidden item here at the drum area. She had to find a special instrument and figure out it's name. When she got the answer she went to the small kiosk shop there to get her badge.
