Welcome back to Trip Report Tuesdays, dear readers and cherished friends! I appreciate the sweet and supportive comments I received about making the switch from the "On This Day Last Year" style trip reports, back to sharing in my tried and true Trip Report Tuesday series style. Sharing the first week of this trip in the "on this day" fashion was great fun. However, TRT will definitely be a much more manageable route to sharing the second half of this trip's magical memories without compromising my daily priorities.
Let's head to the park via another pixie dusted post, shall we?
Our day got off to a "wild" start at Kilimanjaro Safaris!
Even elephants get "Disney tired". :)
Look closely and you'll see a lion relaxing upon the rock in front.
Mt. Everest, here we come! It's time for an expedition!
I spotted my name on the advertisement board once again. Take it from me, Snowman Treks offer the "most expert trekking experience".
More ride photo shenanigans
She asked me to take a pic of this as she wanted to put this cute kitty on her Christmas wishlist. When Jason and I returned in November we did pick it up and she found it under the tree on Christmas morning.
Parent/Daughter Lunch Dates
Jason and "Princess" wanted to grab lunch from Satu'li Canteen. Meanwhile "Little One" and I opted to return to our favorite quick service spot in the park, Flame Tree Barbecue. I can never get enough of their deliciousness.
I couldn't decide between mac 'n' cheese and fries with pulled pork and cheese, so I got both, because vacation! ;) Did I need or finish them both? Nope. Did a regret ordering both options? Not a bit.
I should mention that the macaroni and cheese comes topped with coleslaw. Personally, I'm not a fan of coleslaw so I order mine sans the slaw.
My littlest love also splurged in choosing two chocolate chip cookies as sides to her beloved chicken drumstick. She didn't eat them both right then, but I tucked one away for her in my bag and it was thoroughly enjoyed as a sweet snack later in the trip.
Jason didn't get a snapshot of the lunch he and "Princess" enjoyed, but it is shown in today's Eat, Sleep, Dis, Repeat video. You can find a direct link to that at the conclusion of this post if you're interested.
After lunch we all reunited in Pandora.
It was time for one of my favorite rides in the park, Flight of Passage! Jason isn't too keen on this ride as it makes him feel a bit motion sick, but he usually rides it at least once each trip. This was the day we used our fastpasses and rode as a family.
Pandora is absolutely breathtaking! If you'd like you can see a closer look at the loveliness of this land in a previous trip report: Trip Report Tuesday - WDW Day 3 Part 1 (2017)
DinoLand U.S.A. was hosting Donald's Dino Bash in celebration of Animal Kingdom's 20th Anniversary. This included dressing this gigantic dino in a Donald hat. We also spotted Daisy Duck and Chip 'n' Dale sporting special dinosaur inspired costumes as well.
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Time for some time traveling adventures on Dinosaur...
Jason and the girls simply can't resist ride photo silliness! :)
I always enjoy the humorous tees in the Dinosaur gift shop. I could completely relate to the low carb dino above after having just come off four months of keto. Ha!
Our original plan was to head back to the resort at this point, but "Little One" and I opted to linger a bit longer. Her first request was to take a spin on Primeval Whirl.
After all the whirling and twirling, my girl mentioned that she'd always wanted to play one of these carnival games in DinoLand. Wish granted!
She won!
What an adorable prize!
Soon it looked like rain, but we thought we'd try to meet Daisy in her stylish dino-inspired duds. Sadly the raindrops did begin to fall, so we simply snapped a few photos of Daisy before she dashed away to a drier spot.
Since it was raining we had to shop, right? ;) Remember those pastel pink sequin ears my shopping buddy liked the day before? Well, when she mentioned how much fun it'd be to have matching ears this time I considered it a bit more. She'd talked about wanting to do that in previous trips when she was little, but I never quite wanted to drop around $50 for a double dose of the Disney headbands. Three things factored in my decision to say, "Let's do it!" this time around. First, she is growing up so fast! I figured it's not every day that a teen wants to match her mom and I wanted to take advantage of this sweet moment! Secondly, they were still running an incredible 20% off discount for WDW Annual Passholders at that time which helped a lot! Lastly, pink is my favorite color. How could I resist! It was a "no regrets" motivated moment and I'm so glad we got these pretty, sparkly ears to enjoy together!
There was an ongoing complete down pour outside. We shopped for quite a while, then finally thought we couldn't stay in there forever, so we added a couple Disney ponchos to our purchase at the checkout. Then headed out. Actually, we tried to fit our ears under the poncho hoods, but that wasn't going to work. (Worth a try! Ha!) So, our new ears were packed away for later and we matched in something different for the moment...
We decided another Disney dessert date sure did sound fun, so we made a beeline to Zuri's Sweets Shop.
These are my kind of "animal cookies"! ;)
We each went with a cupcake. You can't really go wrong with cake topped in fantastic frosting then decorated in darling Disney fashion! I couldn't pass up the pumpkin topped chocolate perfection, and as previously mentioned, this dear daughter of mine never misses an opportunity for a treat with Mickey Oreo ears!
We took our cute cupcakes and looked for a dry spot nearby to enjoy them.
On a sweet side note, seeing this Halloweentime cupcake reminds me of the trip when "Little One" lost a tooth on vacation and the Tooth Fairy brought her the sweetest surprise of all! I shared that sweet story from four years ago here.
On a sweet side note, seeing this Halloweentime cupcake reminds me of the trip when "Little One" lost a tooth on vacation and the Tooth Fairy brought her the sweetest surprise of all! I shared that sweet story from four years ago here.
"Mister Mouse"
I love all the fun details you see throughout Animal Kingdom that truly make it feel like you're in the countries that inspired this park. You definitely don't feel like you're at a typical amusement park while here, and that's one of the many reasons I adore Animal Kingdom!
Selfie for two with the Tree of Life
We boarded a Disney bus back to Animal Kingdom Lodge. when we returned I took some photos that will give you a closer look at the Disney Vacation Club Value Studio we stayed in this trip.
The kitchenette includes a small fridge, sink, and coffee maker.
Couch/Queen Sofa Sleeper
I make full use of the drawers and armoire in these rooms. I love feeling "at home" in the Disney resorts, so I always take the time to unpack rather than living out of suitcases while on vacation.
We had a pool view this trip. Sadly the pool was under refurb during this stay, but still enjoyed sitting outside.
We decided to spend this sweet Saturday evening "in" at the resort. Once dinner time rolled around Jason and I strolled over to AKL's quick service restaurant, The Mara, to grab dinner to bring back to the room.
I love looking at Disney desserts and seeing the variety of what's available in different locations. Check out the cuteness in this dessert case...
Jungle Juice in slush form is delicious!
For anyone who may be interested, they do offer a selection of wine at The Mara.
We went with an in-room pizza party. Always a good idea! Jason also got African Stew (not pictured, but featured in today's ESDR vid linked below).
I spot a (greasy) pepperoni Mickey! Ha!
Later we decided to go for a walk to Kidani Village. Kidani is the Disney Vacation Club building. However, DVC members can use their points to say in DVC villas located within their main building (Jambo House) as well. We've always stayed at Jambo House. I love the grandness of its main lobby, crossing the beautiful bridge that leads to the floor with the DVC villas, the larger gift shop, and having the quick service restaurant in the building that we're staying in. I do think that we will stay in Kidani someday though. It is very beautiful!
When we arrived lovely lanterns welcomed us...
The lobby at Kidani Village is stunning!
We made our way back to Jambo House and headed back to our room, ready to call it a night.
We watched a couple new Disney cartoons, then dozed off after a sweet Saturday well spent.
Thanks so much for stopping by today, friends! It's a joy to have you here! I look forward to sharing Day 10 deets with you a week from today in the next Trip Report Tuesday post!
You can check out the video footage from this day on my family's YouTube channel,
Eat, Sleep, Dis, Repeat!
Direct Link to the Video of Day 9:
Pandora is Beautiful! Day 9
Eat, Sleep, Dis, Repeat!
Direct Link to the Video of Day 9:
Pandora is Beautiful! Day 9
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
Previous Trip Reports from this Vacation:
A sneak peek at what's to come...
Day 5-15: Walt Disney World
+ my 40th Birthday (September 13th)
Day 16: Georgia Aquarium
Day 17: Homeward Bound
I love all the Animal Kingdom details too. And when it rains, it's definitely time for either shopping or eating!
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