Disney Day 3

Day 3 (which was Friday) was Animal Kingdom day, a much needed slow down after our Thursday at Magic Kingdom! We got up and out early, and these kiddos were ready!

We got in the park before it opened because we had reservations at Tusker House (YUM!), so we had lots of photo ops.

The Tree of Life, how cool?!? I’m pretty sure the Animal Kingdom wasn’t around the last time Nick and I came to Disney (eons ago), so this was a real treat for us!

Breakfast was fabulous and we loved seeing characters dressed in their safari clothes! So fun!

Would you just look at how happy Lu is with the girl characters and how she wants not much to do with the boy characters? So funny!

About halfway through the meal, they started singing and dancing and parading around the restaurant, and our little munchkins had to get in on that!

After the dance party, we went on safari.

True confession: I don’t like the zoo (gasp!), but this was so much cooler than the zoo! I loved it!

After safari we went to the Lion King show. I may have teared up (maybe) when they started doing the movie version of Can You Feel the Love Tonight because I may have listened to it on repeat every day for the entire year of 1994…. Maybe

After Lion King, we went to the play area (relaxing day, remember!). The kids loved it!

Then, we went to a Bug’s Life, and Z decided he never wanted to go to a show where “things come out” again…

Then, back to the hotel for rest time.

After rest time, we headed to Epcot.

The kids were a little groggy from naps, but seeing Mickey and Minnie perked them right up!

Next, we saw Finding Nemo and rode the ride. The kids loved it, and Lu still talks about Dory.

We walked around Epcot, which is truly amazing at night, and went into a couple of shops (including the Japan shop, which was so awesomely filled with all the characters we love, think Mario Brothers, Hello Kitty, and even Pokemon, which the kids know and love from playing Smash Brothers), such a cool shop!

Then, we went to Morocco for dinner. Somebody was starting to get tired of the stroller….

Z was scoping out some carpets for Nunna and Jido, because they LOVE their fancy carpets…

Lucky for us, Jasmine and Aladdin were at our restaurant, so we girls jumped in that line, while the boys walked around outside and played. I don’t think I am exaggerating when I say this meeting probably had the biggest impact on Lu of any that we’d have the whole trip. One of the many magical things about Disney is that all of the characters are in character all the time! They were talking about Abu and the Genie with everyone as they were getting their pictures taken. Now, Lu has been a little freaked out by the Genie ever since she saw him at the parade. So, when she was acting a little shy, I told them it was because she was scared of the Genie. Then, Jasmine said, “He’s really nice he grants your wishes, and anyway he’s on vacation right now, so he won’t be coming” and Aladdin said (and this is her favorite part of the story), “Don’t worry, if you ever see him, you can just wish for him to become really small, then you won’t be afraid anymore.” Y’all, she was enamored, in love, forever touched by this moment. I hear “tell me that story about Jasmine and Aladdin” multiple times a day every day since we got back, and she hardly lets me get through the story before she interrupts and says, “And then, Aladdin said….”

The Restaurant Marrekesh was so so good. We felt right at home, I mean literally, Z said, we pray first then we eat here, remembering his Ramadan days.

There was a very sweet lady there writing names in Arabic, and when she found out we were Arabic, she did my mom and dad’s names too!

Lu was in some kinda mood. 

A little reminder of Nunna’s home cooking (lentil soup) and she was feeling better.

Z: “Hey, that says Jido’s name, Habibi!”

Another fireworks show and we were out, Day 3, a success!