Day 1 - Animal Kingdom

We woke up so excited to get going!  We ate our free breakfast at Embassy Suites.  Then we fixed lots of snacks, filled waters, put sunscreen on for the 90 degree weather and then we were ready to drive to Animal Kingdom.  

We arrived about 8:15 a.m.  Then we waited in line to get into the park.  

Noah gave a sad face and Isak said something like, "What?  You can't be sad at Disney World!"

So Noah cheered up.  :)

We got our magnetic cards that we used to get into the park everyday.  I kept the girls cards.  Nels kept track of the boys cards.  I was Tiana.  Kira - Elsa.  Sofie - Nemo.  Nels - Mickey.  Isak - Simba.  Noah - Woody. 

Then we were finally inside the park by about 8:45 a.m.   Here's a gold statue for the 50th Celebration.

We went to Dinoland first and went on our first ride called Dinosaur.

Noah and Sofie cried.  It was pretty intense for their first ride.  😂

Then we went on the triceratops spin which is like the Dumbo ride but with dinosaurs.  Noah and Sofie did much better on that one.  

Then we headed to Everest.  

Nels, Isak and Kira waited 50 minutes for the Everest ride. 

While the older kids were on Everest, Sofie, Noah and I explored.  We went on the Maharajah Jungle Trail and saw tigers, bats and birds. 

They each got a Wilderness Explorer book and sticker badges.  The kids really enjoyed these books.  Isak and Kira got one later.  Different areas had a station where you learned about something - flamingos, birds, plants, tracking, gorillas and then the person would give you a sticker badge for a certain page in the book.  So fun!  The kids also liked the map and helped guide us through the park.  

We also went on the triceratops ride again.  

Noah let it go to the top this time!

Then we enjoyed the Finding Nemo show all together.  

Tree of life...

The whole park is just fun to walk around in and the kids were always stopping to look at things.

We watched the "It's Tough to Be a Bug" show.  The water shooting out surprised us!  The biggest surprise for me was when the "bugs" went sliding under our bums at the the end!

Also, the 3D glasses were a new/fun experience for the kids.  

We were all exhausted and hungry by this point.  So we left the park and happily found a Portillo's to eat at for lunch!

We even enjoyed the chocolate cake.  And of course, I got cheese fries to go with my salad.  

We also took a nap at the hotel.  Here's Isak and Noah standing by Mickey Mouse in the hotel lobby.  

We all felt much better after eating and sleeping.  We went back to the park.  We took pictures in front of the Tree of Life.

Then we explored some more.  Here's Kira with the flamingos.

We all went on the Kilimanjaro Safari.  

We loved seeing all of the different animals.  Especially, the giraffe and

lion.

I love this pic!

We went on the Gorilla Falls Trail and saw monkeys and Gorillas and we got 3 badges.

Then Isak, Kira and I went on Everest.  So fun!

Can you see us in the photo below?

Nels took Sofie and Noah to the playground area in Dinoland while they waited for us to do the Everest ride.  

Here's Noah leading the way...

Then we went to Pandora.  Isn't it amazing?

Nels, Isak and Kira waited in line an hour for the Avatar: Flight of Passage Ride.  We did the parent swap for this ride.  While we waited, Sofie, Noah and I waited an hour to ride the Navi River Journey.  It was a boat ride that was nice and calm.  Noah loved it.  

Here's Sofie and Noah's feet waiting in line...they loved to climb on the railings.

An hour is a long time to wait.  Overall, they did well waiting.

Then Sofie, Isak and I went on the Avatar ride...only a 20 minute wait with the parent swap.  Wow!  The avatar ride was FANTASTIC!  I absolutely loved it.  

Nels, Kira and Noah only had a 20 minute wait for the boat ride.  So the timing ended up being perfect!

The park closed at 8:30 and we stayed until it closed.  It was dark as we walked to the car.  The sidewalk in Pandora lit up like glow sticks.  Noah loved how magical it was.  We ate dinner at Red Robin.  Then crashed into bed around 10:30 p.m.  It was a great 1st day!