It'll Be Alright: Disney World February 2021

Floating Mountains at Pandora

Day 4 - Animal Kingdom

Wait for bus, short ride - We got to the bus stop first thing and didn't wait long for an Animal Kingdom bus. The ride seemed shorter than normal too.
Slow walking - When we got in the park, we were very slow getting around. It was also very foggy to start the morning which gave the park an interesting aura.
Pandora - Flight of passage - We started by heading to Pandora. This was a new land for most of us (my brother's family had been there before). I had very high expectations of this area because it was new and my brother had told me how great it was. The land itself was fine. It was hard to find the features of the land and it didn't overly excite me. The fog gave it a very eerie feel, but otherwise it was just ok to me. We got in line for Flight of Passage (the marquee attraction), and the line was fairly short. We split up because most of the kids couldn't ride. The group to ride was me, Lisa, Ellie, my brother and his daughter and my dad. This ride was incredible. It is Soarin' on steroids and in 3D. It was really cool. Most surprisingly, my dad loved it so much that he said it might be his new favorite, and he hasn't seen the movie, Avatar. The technology is incredible. I hope they use it in other parks with other intellectual properties.
Coffee - After Flight of Passage, we found a quick service food spot with breakfast items called Pongu Pongu. They had a cream cheese and pineapple spring rolls which were amazing. Ellie and Lisa shared a night blossom drink, which was layers of slush/frozen juices topped with boba balls. I though it was a little weird, but the girls loved it. Next we headed back to the hub and then to Africa to ride the Safari. On the way, we stopped at Starbucks and got a cold brew. So good!
Safari - Grady ‘I saw a moose’ it was a cow; zebra peeing - We got on the Safari with a very short wait. This is a great ride and you are immersed in the animals habitats. The kids loved it. I sat with Grady and he pointed to all of the animals. His favorites were the crocodiles, hippos and lions (he called them Tigers). We drove by the Zebras and one was peeing while we went by. Not something you see every day. Grady called it a 'moose'. I'm not sure he knows what a moose is, but it was cute.
Gorilla trail - hot, slow, line, fighting kids - After the safari, we wanted to go see the gorillas. We didn't realize it, but we had to wait in line just to go down the path to see the gorillas. It took WAY to long and it was hot and lunch time. The kids were started to bug each other and cause trouble. We went down the path saw the gorillas and quickly left.
Lunch - Satu’li - Yummy - We placed mobile orders for lunch at Satu'li Canteen while waiting for the gorillas so we headed back to Pandora after the gorillas. We got lucky and were able to find tables inside. It was HOT outside. The food was delicious. We got a cheeseburger that looked like a bao bun, a bowl with beef and chicken which was very tasty. The kids got hot dogs wrapped in dough, which were huge. This was a very good stop for us. We cooled off and all ate.
Flight of Passage again - After lunch, the line for Flight of Passage was very short, so we rode it again. So great.
More drama - After Flight of Passage, the kids were really starting to not get along and causing trouble, so we split up.
Navi river journey - We decided to try out the Navi River Journey. This is the other Avatar ride in Pandora. It was always a longer ride and since we had never done it, we decided to give it a shot. My parents stayed with us because they hadn't done it either. The wait was around 45+ and most of it was in the sun. It was too hot. Overall, the kids did pretty good waiting. We got on the ride and it was a dark ride with a boat, similar to the Pirate ride system. It was not nearly as good as Pirates though. There was some cool technology, like the giant Avatar animatronic, but that was it. There was very little to see, nothing happened and it was unbelievably short. There was nothing about this ride that was worth waiting any length of time for.
Everest - walk on x2 Ellie loved it - After Avatar, we decided to walk around the rest of the park head toward Expedition Everest. Animal Kingdom was very strange during COVID. There are a lot of shows and they were all closed. There was a lot of the park closed. In parts of the park, like Africa and Pandora, it was very crowded. Other areas like Asia and Dinoland, there was no one around. We walked slowly to Everest and when we got there, there was no wait. We left Grady with my mom and Lisa, Ellie, my dad and I went on the ride. Ellie was VERY excited to ride Everest. She loves the Incredicoaster in California and is quickly becoming a thrill ride enthusiast. We walked on the ride, and Ellie LOVED it. She wanted to go again. My dad stayed back, but the three of us went again. It was a lot of fun. It's always great to find one of the top attractions with no wait so you can go back to back. My brother's family found us so they rode Everest and Ellie went again with them.
Ellie and Lisa - free Mickey ice cream bars - When we were waiting for my brother's family to meet us, Lisa and Ellie wanted a Mickey bar and found a spot close to Everest. They came back with 2 Mickey bars and Lisa told me the nice guy working the booth asked what they were looking for and she said Mickey bars. He gave her 2 and said have a great day. She tried to pay and he said not to worry about it. It was a great magical moment for them and I always love hearing those type of stories about cast members.
Back to hotel - After Everest, Lisa and I were done with Animal Kingdom. We walked back through Dinoland, which was empty, and then walked through the shops close to the Tree of Life. The shops had all the same stuff as all of the other stores. My parents went with us because they were hot and tired too.
Pool time - The kids had been asking for pool time and since Animal Kingdom closed early, we went back and got our swim suits on. This was a great change of pace. We had a great time. Ellie is a little fish and Grady is getting close. The pool had life jackets for little kids so we put one on Grady. With the life jacket on, he went everywhere in the pool by himself. He did great. Ellie wanted to go down the slide so I watch her do that a few times, then Grady wanted to go too. They did great and had a lot of fun.
Mobile order - contempo and wave - After pool time, we ate at our hotel. Lisa got some food from the Wave and the kids and I got food from Contempo Cafe. During our trip, I at pretty much the entire menu there.
Shopping - After dinner, we walked through the shops in the hotel and got a few souvenirs. We also found some sweet treats. We took them back to the room to eat, and they were terrible. I'm not sure what Disney has done to their candy and sweets, but they were not good on this trip.