November 2023 Trip Report - Animal Kingdom

Disney's Animal Kingdom is the favorite park of my entire family, and Flight of Passage is our favorite ride in the World, so we left Animal Kingdom for the last park, especially because this meant the husband could join us since his conference will have been done by this day. HOWEVER, the day we were going to Animal Kingdom was also Veteran's Day, and having experienced the mayhem that was Veteran's Day at Universal Studios the previous year, I was very concerned about what that meant for crowds. The crowd estimate for this day was 8.

But before we get into Animal Kingdom...

There's a gator in my pond! Video of a gator swimming around (near the far side, right of the pond).

The day in between the Christmas Party and Animal Kingdom was a rest day at the resort. We slept in, which was much deserved, and then fell into our usual routines while the husband went down to his conference. The daughter worked on her homework while I started my morning by the pool and hot tub, and then transferred in the afternoon to the bench by the fishing hole with a book.

On this day, when I arrived at the fishing hole, it was quiet. Like, really quiet. It was always quiet in that it was devoid of people or the piped music that permeated the rest of the resort, so it took me a few minutes to realize what was different: There were no birds. The large brown bird that was usually there was not there. There were no ibises or pelicans by the banks of the pond either. And something was floating in the middle of the pond.

My Midwest brain at first translated the thing in the pond as a log, but that prompted my Florida brain to recall that when you see a large log in a pond in Florida, it could be something else. And then the "log" took a 90 degree turn. In short, there was a large alligator in my pond. It didn't seem interested in me at all, and the fishing pier was elevated above the water with the bench a couple feet back from the rail, so I figured I was safe but I would keep an eye on it. It lingered in the pond for about an hour, doing lazy loops, sometimes swimming faster, and sometimes just floating, before it finally decided to meander its way upstream and around the bend. I knew it was safe when I heard the first returning bird.

The birds returned with a vengeance, including long-necked birds that would dive for fish under the water. A few people came by to take pictures of these birds because they were fun to watch. If only they knew what they missed!

Veteran's Day at Animal Kingdom

Animal Kingdom wins for the most beautiful and unique Christmas decoriations, like this garland above the turnstiles.

Animal Kingdom opened at 8:00 that morning, but having experienced the entrance crowds at official park opening the past few days, the family and I decided it wasn't worth showing up right at opening, and instead showed up at 8:30. This was in part fueled by the knowledge that we didn't have to rush to get an Individual Lightning Lane for Flight of Passage, given we had been given our replacement Anytime Lightning Lane by guest services earlier in the week in exchange for a failed attempt to ride Rise of the Resistance. We were also all pretty tired by this time in the week, so we agreed that Animal Kingdom would be a more laid back day.

Fittingly, it was what we Disney folk call "Animal Kingdom hot" that day as well, 87 degrees and high humidity with the chance of showers later in the day, and we felt it right away. The first Lightning Lane I secured was for Na'Vi River Journey at 9:15. After that, we walked over to Flight of Passage and used our Anytime Lightning Lane to ride. I timed the entire experience from getting in the ILL queue to finishing the ride, and even with Individual Lightning Lane, between the queue, the two preshows, and the experience, it is a 40-minute experience. I wanted to know this because we were debating riding again later in the day. More on that later.

After Flight of Passage, family was already warm, and in the mood for what even my non-Disney fan husband calls "the good slushie with the boba over here somewhere": the Nightblossom from Pongu Pongu. We each got one, and took then over to the empty seating area outside of Satuli Canteen to enjoy for a bit. During this time, we decided we did want to try riding Flight of Passage again, and given the Individual Lightning Lane we'd been given by Guest Services was described as an "extra" experience, I decided to try to purchase another one... and it worked! Once again, the tip to refresh if you don't like the first return time you see came in handy because at first we were served a 6:20 return time, but we had reservations at Yak & Yeti for 7:00, and knowing the experience had just taken 40 minutes, that was too tight. I refreshed and got a 4:30 return time - perfect!

At this point, we wandered over to Africa where I had a Lightning Lane for an 11:00 safari. Because we had some time, we explored Gorilla Falls first, then returned to do the safari. Hot again, we headed to Tamu Tamu and got ourselves some dole whips. I was also hungry so I ordered some Kofta as well from Harambe Market, mobile order making it all really easy. We ate in what I feel is the secret spot tucked behind Tamu Tamu where there are like a dozen tables in a shaded courtyard with fans flowing. This is one of my favorite places in Animal Kingdom, and we sat for a while and just enjoyed ourselves and cooled down.

While sitting, I got a Lightning Lane for the noon showing of Festival of the Lion King. Standing in line, even with a Lightning Lane, was not fun as it was SO hot. People were sweating and fanning themselves and scrambling for the shady spots in line, but once we got into the air conditioned theater, it was enough sitting and AC to perk us right back up. We were in the warthog section this time. I always forget what a fantastic show Festival of the Lion King is. This time, I would say family ranked it above the Nemo show.

Energy restored, we decided not to leave the park for a midday break (we had a backpocket plan to head over to Animal Kingdom Lodge to enjoy some AC and treats from the Mara if we tired of the crowds). Although it was very, very hot, we were finding ways to cool down when needed, and the crowds were not bad except in the middle of Harambe and in the courtyard outside of Everest (like they always are... these seem to be congestion spots at Animal Kingdom). We meandered toward Asia, looking in shops, and walked through Maharajah Jungle Trek. The aviary in Maharajah Jungle Trek is my favorite. This time, there were these large blue birds that were nesting. Sometimes they came down to the ground to get a twig or something for their nest and the Cast Members had the difficult job of making sure guests gave them space. Guests always looked at the ones on the ground, but had they looked up, they would have seen several large nests with the same birds sitting in them right above their heads. Pretty neat.

Hot again, the husband found himself a remedy at Drinkwallah in the form of a dipped Mickey Bar, which he declared was the best frozen treat ever. We found another amazing seating spot on a pier by the water while he ate this and daughter and I enjoyed cold drinks. Then, we headed over to Expedition Everest (I got a Lightning Lane that was an immediate return time, even though the line was 45 minutes). Husband and daughter rode together while I rode with a 10-year-old boy who had ridden the ride seven times already that very day, and also enthusiastically told me it was his first time at Disney, and that this was the best ride. I've been on Everest before, but it was fun to let this boy "guide me" through the ride. Right before we go down the big drop, he turned to me and said "Get ready" !

After Everest, we headed over to the Nemo show and watched what I think was the 3:00 showing. Again, a great show, in a nice, air conditioned theater. Pro tip: If you can, sit in one of the front sections next to the catwalk. After Nemo, the daughter was hungry and required a Mickey Pretzel so I got on the app to find the nearest one, and located Dino-Bites. Continuing the theme of the day, we found a lovely seating area here too, in a VERY shaded pier near a narrow river that comes off the main river encircling Safari Village. While there, we also mobile ordered some chicken nuggets from Restaurantasauros. I believe this spot was called Pelican Pier.

If you look very closely, you might see the rainbow.

After snacking, we made our leisurely way to Pandora for our 4:30 Flight of Passage Individual Lightning Lane. It started to sprinkle on the way over, and judging by the wet pavement and how much was dripping when we got out, it looked like we missed the rainstorm while on the ride. We came out to a rainbow in Pandora at dusk. It wasn't quite full dark yet, so we decided to sit a while at Satuli Canteen and get some sodas while waiting for Pandora to get dark. Once it was dark, we spent some time walking around enjoying the biolumenescent atmosphere.

I had to get in a ridiculous position on a pretty busy path to get this photo of the biolumenescent pavement in Pandora.

It was nearing 6:00 and we were getting pretty tired. Many rides and animal trails were closed by this point, so we decided we wanted to check out Island Mercantile (the big gift store on Discovery Island near the entrance), and then perhaps catch some Tree of Life Awakenings. While shopping, we could hear them happening, so I just had to step out, and it was crowded right out there. The family was not having it, being tired from crowds, and insisted we make our way to Asia.

The ambiance in Asia at night. It's so pretty I don't know why I haven't spent more time there at night! Oh yeah, because I'm always in Pandora.

I hesitated, but what I didn't know was that you can see the show from the back of the tree! Crossing over to Asia, another Awakening started, and we found that if we walked down to one of the piers between Asia and Africa, we had a really nice view, and there was only a handful of other people there. So we sat there a while watching two different Awakenings, before we decided we should head to Yak and Yeti for our 7:00 dinner reservation.

A portion of Tree of Life: Awakenings.

Most days when I leave Animal Kingdom for the last time on a trip, the park seems to say "goodbye" to me sweetly. I get a sighting of a rare animal, or maybe of DeVine, but this would be no such goodbye. I've dined at Yak and Yeti before, and I enjoyed the food and service and expected the same, but I think those working there were as tired from the day as we were and, given the park closed at 8:00, were ready to call it a night. We watched as group after group that arrived after we did were seated. Finally, checking on why we hadn't been seated yet after 20 minutes of waiting, we found they had "lost our ticket". They did seat us soon after, and we must have been one of the last groups seated because our server seemed not very happy about having one last group. A dessert on the menu had caught my eye, so when done with entrees, I asked if the kitchen was still open to make the dessert. The server hedged quite a bit, but then said he'd check, then told me they could do it. Which, to be honest, I was probably being too Midwest Nice at the moment because it was their fault we were seated late, and if we came for a meal, we should have the same opportunity for dessert other guests did. Especially given how hard I had worked to get that reservation - I had to set up a watch on Mousewatcher for an opening since it was all booked up. Anyway, my pumpkin creme brulee came to me very grainy and with a grainy burnt sugar top rather than a crackly caramel top. It was disappointing and a somewhat disappointing meal, and by now my daughter was freaking out because she also had the feeling Cast Members wanted us to leave, and she thought we were the last people in the restaurant.

What the busy area in front of the Tree of Life looks like when you're leaving after closing time.

And what the Oasis looks like when you feel like the last ones in the park.

We were not. There were a few other groups seated downstairs when we left. But we were leaving well after the the park had closed, so we joined the handful of other people that were coming out of their last rides, Cast Members blocking the way into other lands, as we were funneled out of the park. Now, this WAS very cool. I had never, as a guest, been one of the last few in Animal Kingdom and I love the way the park sounds and looks at night after most guests had left. It truly felt we were the only people in Animal Kingdom at times. We even had time, upon exiting the park, to admire the large Christmas Tree out front and the decorations underneath, which, I didn't even know before now, were actually moving things such as present boxes lifting, and a train running. I don't think I'd ever had the chance to get close to the tree before without there being a crowd, so this was a treat. A smattering of other guests were around and we took some pictures of groups for them in front of the tree, and I guess this was a lovely way to end the evening and our trip to Orlando.

We called our Lyft and it arrived quickly once more, and we were out of Disney World and back to Rosen Shingle Creek in no time. This was our last full day in Orlando, as the next morning we left our hotel around 8:30 AM to get to the airport for a noon flight (It always pays to arrive early to MCO, and this time, it afforded us the opportunity to dine at Bahama Breeze in the terminal before flying out).

Summary:

Flight of Passage (twice)

Na'Vi River Journey

Kilimanjaro Safari

Festival of the Lion King

Expedition Everest

Nemo: The Big Blue and Beyond

Gorilla Falls trail

Maharajah Jungle Trek trail

Pandora at Night

Tree of Life Awakenings (holiday version)

Yak and Yeti

... and lots of cold treats throughout the day

Crowd Level predicted: 8

Felt like: 6

Temperature: 87 and humid, sprinkles then rain in the late afternoon

Miles walked: 8.6 (most of which felt like it was from the FoP queue!)

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So, after a 8 days in Orlando, only 4 of which were Disney days, we had a pretty nice trip. I have to admit, begrudgingly, that rest days were actually very nice and gave me the chance to recharge before hitting the parks again. I had broken my foot over the summer, and had just finished PT about two weeks before this trip, so I had concerns about whether my foot, and even myself since I'd been less physically active, could hold up. Granted, I'd been walking in the Fall when weather was nice as part of my PT (toward the end, he recommended 4 miles a day at least), and I was glad I had because of all the things that bothered me, sore feet were rarely one of them. This time I felt the trip more in my back (probably from carrying a bag on park days).

Would I stay off-site again if the sole purpose of the trip were Disney? No. But it also wasn't as terrible as I thought once I got used to the speed of things. And that speed is, don't even bother rope dropping. It's no contest between you and the guests already in the park, and aside from which, right at general opening, the turnstiles are incredibly busy. I found we did better when we arrived 10-15 minutes after park opening, and had Lightning Lanes in place. And yes, I would spring for Genie+ again, especially when staying off-site. Which, we will stay off-site again, most likely, because this conference happens every year. Thought next time, we're considering a VRBO that we had stayed at before rather than Rosen Shingle Creek. There was nothing wrong with Rosen Shingle Creek. In fact, it was very, very nice. But we enjoyed the quiet of the VRBO, along with the space for the teenager to have her own room. Aside from which, I could always just walk across the street to Rosen Shingle Creek to enjoy my pond again.

So there it is. I hope you enjoyed this trip report. If you have a trip report and would like to share it on our site, let us know over on our Facebook page by commenting on our most recent post. Until next time...