The Birthday Bash - Part 2, Day 3 - Animal Kingdom and DTD About This Page:

[ladyt]

Birthday Bash – Day 3, 3/13, Animal Kingdom and Down Town Disney

We started out late because dh still wasn’t feeling good. The weather was nice, I think it reached about 70 degrees that day and it was total sunshine. We had a 10:30 PS for Donald’s Breakfast in Dinoland. We barely made it. The hand scanning really held up the lines that day for some reason. We checked in, had our picture taken, which turned out to be a really good family picture, and were seated within 10 minutes. The breakfast was yummy! It was still hot and fresh and there was a large selection. We were visited by Donald, Mickey, Pluto and Goofy. This was one of our cheapest table service meals but I don’t have receipts in front of me. I think it was around $40 with our dining experience discount.

After breakfast, we headed out to Dinoland. This is my dd’s favorite location in the Animal Kingdom. Dh and dd went and explored the Cretaceous Trail while I had a break. Dd and I rode Triceratops Spin – 10 minute wait. After that, the dinosaur character was around so we saw her and got some pictures of her trying to “eat” my dd. It was really cute. We went to the Boneyard and she had a blast. Lots of sliding, climbing and digging for bones. I have most of it on tape. You could tell we were from up north because she was trying to make sand angels! (She learned how to make snow angels this winter.) After spending about 45 minutes in there, we decided to see if she could ride Dinosaur. This is where I was NOT happy with customer service. We decided to ask about a baby swap, but with a twist. Dh would ride first, let me know if he thought she could handle it, and then we would all go on together. The first CM said that was fine. She gave us the ticket and we headed through the line. The second CM said we did not follow the correct procedure. We told her that was what the first CM told us to do. She was not happy with the first CM and took it out on us. Another CM approached up and led dd and I through the exit. He told me to wait for dh and enter a back door to return to the que. We did so after dh said he thought dd could handle the ride. Now, there were 3 CM’s standing there and they said we had to go back out and come through the entire que! I tried to explain that another CM told me I could enter that door, but they were insistent. By this time, I decided dd would not ride and neither would I. So, that experience behind us, I took dd to get a Popsicle and dh rode it again.

I decided I wanted to ride Primevil Whirl, so dh took dd shopping. I loved that ride, but it was really hard on the body! We then rode Triceratops Spin again and headed out to Discovery Island.

We were going to leave, but it was so close to parade time, we decided to go through Pangani Trail and then watch the parade. We got some great video of the animals, especially the gorillas. They were not doing much, but with the zoom on the video camera, it looks like we were standing right in front of them!

We watched the parade in Africa and I video taped the entire thing. All of the characters could see that I was taping and they made sure to wave to the camera. It was really cool. I am glad I have it on tape so I can watch it when I need a Disney fix.

After the parade, we herded out of the park with 50,000 other people. It was a good time to people-watch, that’s for sure! On the way back, the bus driver led us in the singing of the Mickey Mouse March which was so cool! My dd thought that was really neat. He was the best driver we had all week!

We went back to the room and dh took dd for a swim. I hung up some of her birthday decorations so I wouldn’t have quite as much to do that night. She was so surprised when they came back to the room. I had a banner made that said Happy Birthday Katie and it had a castle and princess stuff on it. She loved it.

We decided to go Down Town to do some shopping. We wanted to eat at the Rainforest, but it was way too crowded, so we settled on the Earl of Sandwich, which was my first choice anyway. I had the All-American which was turkey, ranch dressing, cheddar cheese and cranberries. It was soooo good. Dh didn’t want anything but coleslaw and dd kind of ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. She was cranky, so we decided to go to the memories store for scrapbooking stuff. She started acting a little better, so we went to the World of Disney. I could spend so much money in there it isn’t even funny! I bought a bunch of stuff for my car, some gifts for friends and got dd her free pin with a coupon from Birnbaum’s guidebook. I also got 10% off with my AP!

(I was on the hunt for a PlayDoh charm. A friend of mine bought her dd one in September and she lost it. I could not find one anywhere!! She said she got it at DTD. Well that narrowed it down!! I looked at every charm kiosk I came across. No PlayDoh charm. I asked CM’s. They had seen them, but not for awhile. OK, DTD was a bust, but the hunt was still on so stay tuned, you’ll never guess where I found one!)

Next installment – The big birthday!!!

[Joy J]

Great installment! Sorry that you ran into problems with the CM's at the Dinosaur attraction. It sounds like you coped well with the situation though and still managed to have a great day. I'm eager to read all about the big birthday celebration.

Joy

[Jillybean]

Great day at AK! Sorry about the mix-up at Dinosaur though!

Jill

[lauren-roxy]

Can't wait to read more!!!

[Colexis Mom]

Another great installment

[Tara O'Hara]

Great update! I'm sorry about the trouble at Dinosaur, but it sounds like after that, you had a terrific day!