Disney 2014, Day 4, Part I (Animal Kingdom)

(Tuesday, September 23, 2014)
Like many other mornings our group gathered for coffee in the food court at Pop Century.  As each family woke up some chose to head to the food court.  It was a different combo of people each morning.  This quickly became a fun part of our trip!  As expected the first couple of days we met shortly after 6 and by the end of the week it was 7 or later.
We had originally planned on meeting at 3:00 this day but we decided to spend the whole day together.   Riding the bus to the park with Makenna and Katelyn.
We all had the dining plan but many meals were booked separately.  This morning we joined Bonnie, Paul and their kiddos for breakfast at Tusker House in the Animal Kingdom.
Characters at this meal were:
Donald
Daisy
Goofy and
Mickey.
Since we were there last year Disney has built a new theatre to show The Lion King.  It was right next to our breakfast restaurant which was much nicer than the long walk to the old location.  It was as great as we remember!
Each year that we’ve been to Disney Hannah has been asked to be in the show.  This year as Paul, Hannah and I went in to get seats for our group the cast member seating us pointed to a spot in the 3rd row and offered it to us.  Sure enough it was the exact place where they choose the kids from and all 4 of our kids were invited to take part!  Nathan chose to pass but the girls were excited to help out with the dance!
When the show was over we found out that earlier in the day than normal the heavens had opened and our strollers were soaked!! Ugh!  Thankfully when it started a cast member went around and closed all the canopies on the strollers so with the aid of mommy’s rain poncho at least Hannah could sit for the day without getting a wet seat.  This happens to me at least once every single trip we’re away even though I try to cover it often.  The good news is that now the stroller is squeaky clean!    Sadly Tuesday was out day of rain as you’ll be able to see from the following pics.  It rained on and off the entire day and at some points broke records in the amount that came down in an hour!
One thing Hannah really enjoys is watching ‘Disney Parks’ videos on YouTube.  I like them because I know they are all safe and she can cruise through them watching what she wants.  This year she watched one for ‘Expedition Everest’ and decided she wanted to give it a try.  It’s a HUGE roller coaster and I was pretty sure she would change her mind before boarding.  I reassured her that I would support her whatever she decided.
I was wrong.  She was super excited to give it a try!  This is our before pic.  Check out that excited grin!
Unfortunately this one was a bit big for her.  I had pushed her bar down firmly and had my arm around her the entire ride but I found out later that she was concerned she was going to fall out.  Poor pet!  I felt bad that I hadn’t thought this might be a concern of hers or I would have reassured her that this couldn’t happen.  When we got off she announced, ‘Mommy, I didn’t cry but, I didn’t like it and I’m never, ever going to ride it again!  Not even when I’m a Mommy!’ 
After pic.  LOL!!
Cooling off with some frozen treats
Bonnie offered to watch the kids in the Boneyard while Dave, Trish, Paul and I rode ‘Dinosaur.’  This is a new ride for me and it was scary but fun!  (Pardon the hair.  I had spent most of the day in the rain and very quickly given up on trying to stay dry.)
Bonnie is a trooper and loves all the kids.  Our relationship is quite neat and I love the way God has woven our families together!  If you’ve been around here for a while you’ll know that Norma is my best friend from work (she retired last December) and that she travelled to China with me when Hannah and I became a family.  Bonnie is Norma’s younger daughter so I watched Bonnie grow up and now we’re great friends!  Bonnie also is the daycare provider of my brother and SILs children so the friendship they share is special too.   She is also my backup provider when Ange is on vacation so Hannah knows her well too.  Norma and I have remarked about how we had no idea 25+ years ago when we became friends the way our 2 families would weave together.  It’s really neat!!
This is where Bonnie and I differ.  It was a hot, sticky, rainy day and I was doing everything not to walk in the little beads of sand the kids were playing in.  When we returned from the ride Bonnie had allowed the kids to bury her legs in the sand!  You’re a trooper Bon!
Coming up next….dinner at ‘Ohana.  Yum!!!