Disney Day 6 {Animal Kingdom & California Grill}

Day 6 was spent at Animal Kingdom. I love African things and animals so I knew this would be my kind of park and it didn’t disappoint. This was by far everyone’s second favorite park. The animals are fascinating and it has the elements of a theme park, a perfect combination!


As soon as we got there we went straight to Kilimanjaro Safari’s. This was unanimously everyone’s favorite ride at any of the parks. You board a bus and go on a safari through Africa. Damian made me take pictures of every single animal and Madelyn sat in my dad’s lap squealing at every animal she saw. I would love to go to Africa, but this is as close as I’ve ever been.

We then went to ride Dinosaur. My dad loves dinosaurs so we really wanted to get him on it. Madelyn was too little so she hung out with my mom while we rode. Damian loves the ride, but hated the noise. He is very sensitive to loud noises. I thought it was a little loud too. The dinosaurs in the ride are amazing. They look so realistic.

We then rode the ride that is like Dumbo, but with dinosaurs and went through all the trails to see animals. There are so many animals to see at the park. Whenever we would see someone who worked there Damian would ask what the animals name is and wanted to know all about it. He was most fascinated. It took a while to see the animals and by that time both kids were getting grouchy. I’m not going to lie, I knew there was a lot to do that they are too young to do so I was glad to have some alone time with Michael.

We immediately got fast passes for Expedition Everest and Kali River Rapids (my parent’s left their park tickets with us where we could get more fast passes). Since we had a while we went to get lunch. I’m not a fan of Chinese food. Actually, I can’t stand it. It made me sick when I was pregnant with Damian and I have disliked it ever since. We ate at some counter service Chinese place and it was good, really good. It was the first time I’ve ever eaten Chinese food and really enjoyed it.

After lunch we still had time so we went to see the Tree of Life. All of the animals make it so fascinating. Michael and I found a deserted spot and sat and talked. It was very odd, we were in a park surrounded by thousands of people, but no one was near us. The only human we saw was an obese woman on a scooter trying to hide and smoke her cigarette. I said very loudly how nasty it smelled and she left. We enjoyed the rest of our time just sitting and chatting. Ironically, this was one of the best parts of our entire trip. There are all sorts of things to do, but just sitting with my husband was definitely a top moment. I don’t think I could ever find that spot again if I tried.

We then headed to Expedition Everest. I loved the missing track. Only at Disney World would you have something like that. When we got off Michael was sick. He did such a good job on Space Mountain, but this ride was a different story.

Kali River Rapids was disappointing. It was fun, but Thunder River at Six Flags is better. Out of our boat the only people not to get wet at all were the ten year olds who were dying to get drenched, Michael was drenched and I just got splashed. From there we went on back to the condo.

That night my parents took the kids out so we could have a date night. The following Friday was our five year wedding anniversary so we celebrated at Disney. Michael said we would always go wherever we wanted for our fifth wedding anniversary. We both had visions of a deserted island in the Caribbean. That does sound nice, but I could never, ever leave my kids. It would be a nightmare. I wouldn’t have fun so it would be pointless. Somehow, our nice, romantic getaway turned into Disney with the kids and my parents! The perfect trip for me! Our kids will only be young once. We can take quiet vacations when we are old.

For our date we went to California Grill on top of the Contemporary. I didn’t think much of it while researching, but everyone at Disney kept insisting to go there. They were right, it is breathtaking. We had the best seat in the house. We had the perfect view of Cinderella’s Castle. I know I sound like a five year old, but I could look at it all day. It is simply stunning looking at it from 15 stories high. The sushi there isn’t very good. Personally, the place near our house has better sushi. The fillet mignon on the other hand is simply outstanding. It has a barbecue glaze that makes it very unique. Michael had some kind of boar entre. I think mine was much yummier. He ordered some really strange cheesecake for desert and I thought it sounded nasty, but is was delicious. I would definitely recommend California Grill. The food is really good and the view is to die for.

After that we went to the Magic Kingdom. By that time we were both majorly hooked on Disney. Michael can act like a big, macho man, but he loves it just as much as I do. We rode, and rode and rode. We closed the park and went back to the condo for the night.

The last day coming soon. We finished off this awesome trip by going to Magic Kingdom and had dinner at Chef Mickey’s.