After Thanksgiving Trip
Review part 1
After Thanksgiving is our
favorite time of year to visit Disney.
Adding the joy of Christmas season with Disney makes for a perfect
family vacation. Of course, planning a
trip a year in advance, especially at this time of year, is always interesting.
In years past we have had
nice weather, where a jacket was optional at night, as well as a couple times
of subfreezing weather (turned out to be record lows for 4 of our 10 days).
This year we had swimming
weather. Shorts were the major outfit
for this trip.
Crowds during this time of
year have been on the increase. When we
first started, crowds were nonexistent.
Gradually the crowds have gotten heavier and heavier. Last year we actually opted for an October
trip due in part to the steady increase in crowds.
My personal theory on this
is quite simple. While some will say it
is due largely to the fact that Disney is busier in general than it was 10
years ago (and I will admit that is part of it); I think it has more to do with
the calendar! When Thanksgiving falls at
the end of November, there are fewer weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The fewer weeks, the more concentrated the
crowds.
On this trip we changed
things up a bit. Instead of leaving home
on Black Friday and visiting a park on Friday afternoon, we waited until
Saturday morning to leave and chilled at the resort the rest of the day.
Our first park day was on
Sunday. After church services, we
visited Animal Kingdom. This is a great
start to a trip. LOW crowds!
Animal Kingdom Christmas Tree |
In fact, the crowds were
so low we really didn’t need our Fast Passes.
I felt we wasted them.
Our last trip to Animal
Kingdom was disappointing. So much was
closed and walled off it seemed claustrophobic.
While the construction is still ongoing, the walls felt much less
intrusive. We visited Animal Kingdom
twice this trip, and on both times we were able to get everything done we
wanted (including multiple rides on Expedition Everest) done in only a few
hours. I was very happy to see that Flame Tree BBQ was open in its normal space
and we could still sit at our favorite lunch spot in Animal Kingdom. Of course, there is still a good bit of
construction going on but we could still see Everest!
View from Flametree BBQ |
On this trip, for our
second visit to Animal Kingdom we tried out a new (to us) spot for lunch. Restaurantosaurus. My favorite thing about this place is that
there is tons of seating inside an air conditioned dining room! In the past, we normally go to Yak &
Yeti, and eat outside. It was just TOO
hot to consider this as an option this trip (yes, in December!) The food was standard Disney burgers and
fries. The kids made a big deal about
being able to refill your drink…but truthfully they never do. However, they did have a nice Christmas tree
in the dining room!
Christmas Tree |
I did see that the Avatar
land is coming along nicely. I hear from
my daughter that this is definitely recognizable as being from Avatar. I will have to go with her opinion as I have
never seen the movie!
Avatar Land |
On both visits to Animal Kingdom we had rather good Safaris. Here are a few pictures from them.
My daughter is fascinated with taking pictures of these animals! |
The Giraffes seemed to want to visit |
Let Sleeping Lions lie! |
And of course, the kids favorite ride of all is Expedition Everest. My daughter/photographer felt brave and actually took a picture ON the ride this time!
Expedition everest |
Over all I felt Animal Kingdom is still not a full day park for our family. We did two partial days this trip and did every ride, saw every show, and enjoyed all the atmosphere the park had to offer. Sadly, this was once our family's favorite park. I know that prior to the opening of Avatar Land I will be watching the movie, but I am not sure this move will make me love Animal Kingdom again...