Trippin' Tuesday... Animal Kingdom Part 1

We started off Wednesday morning with a very sleepy little girl. She was decked out in her tiger top because we were headed to Animal Kingdom...

Oh, Animal Kingdom, you are a dream to photograph! Gregg and I could spend the whole day snapping pictures and be completely content... Okay, so there are a few extra things we would need. (Like a frozen chai from Anandapur Tea Company and lunch at Yak and Yeti... but we will get to that.)

King Louie is my favorite monkey! We had to get in line to take a picture. I like that Gregg got it in black and white.

We love this carpet. It's the name of one of Gregg's bands.

As I said, Animal Kingdom makes us a little snap happy....

Our second stop was to meet Pooh and friends. Belle was so excited. As each day passed, she was getting more and more comfortable around the characters.

Poor Eyeore couldn't find Belle during the whole meet and greet. I don't think he every knew she was there. It was pretty funny.
Tigger and Belle bounced together. I really wish we could have our own personal Tigger at home. They would wear each other out!
Our next stop was Dinoland. It's always empty in the mornings. Gregg and I were very sad to miss the adult dinosaur ride (the name escapes me) on this trip. We have so much fun riding it together and didn't want to split up. We did take Belle on the dino-spin. It's like Dumbo, but with cute dinosaurs.
Despite the face, she enjoyed herself.

More family pictures. We are big fans of this blue door. (Gregg is such a good looking dad! :)

Then we stopped for a frozen chai.

And the angels sing....
It was only 10 am, but we were starving, so we bought fries at Yak & Yeti's counter service. They were some of the best fries we have ever had.

I love all of the little details at Animal Kingdom. We had our refreshments in front of this wall. I thought it was so neat.

Then we hopped on a train and headed to Rafiki's Planet Watch. At this point we noticed that Belle was really, really starting to enjoy herself. Her fear had melted away and she was a very happy camper.

The first stop at Planet Watch is a petting zoo. Our child has pretty much lived her first 3 years on a farm, so she is very comfortable around animals. She had a great time meeting and petting new friends (and combing their hair). She got to chase a pack of goats, which always makes for a great time.

Inside the pavilion there are lots of really cool exhibits. Rafiki, Pocahantas and Jiminy Cricket are there, too.

Now I don't mean to brag, but I really think that Belle was most likely Pocahantas's favorite friend that day. Belle had her in stitches asking all kinds of funny questions about animals and 'your man, John Smith'.

We met Mr. Cricket, but had no interest in Rafiki... because 'his booty looks weird...'
Then... the highlight of Belle's day...

She got to hold elephant dung.

And yes, she knew perfectly well what it was. It was the topic of conversation for weeks.