We got a bit later start to our morning that we planned, so when we arrived at the park it was already around 10:30am. We headed straight to the Discovery Trading Company store where the magnet pick-up line was set up. Aunt Sherry and Steve both were able to secure their magnets, so we already had a successful trip!

Since none of us had eaten breakfast today, we decided to go ahead and grab lunch. We looked at the menus from a few different places in the park, but settled on my favorite, Satu'li Canteen in Pandora - The World of Avatar. We placed a mobile order and began making our way to Pandora. As we passed the Tree of Life I had mentioned that at various points of the day they do a bird "show" there, and what do you know, just after I said it the birds began to appear. We hung around the tree to take in the show, learning about the birds in the process. Once the show was over, we made our way back towards the restaurant.

Once our order was ready, we found a seat inside Satu'li Canteen. Steve and I both ordered the "Teylu" All-Beef Hot Dog Wrapped in Dough (an all-beef hot dog wrapped in a Parker House dough served with vegetable chips and a Cuties® mandarin), while Grandma Terry and Aunt Sherry both ordered the Chopped Wood-Grilled Chicken Bowl (which is wood-grilled chicken topped with crunch vegetable slaw, and they each chose rice as their base).

Satisfied with lunch, we made our way to Africa. We thought about catching the Festival of the Lion King show at this point, but the handicap seating was at capacity for this particular viewing, so we continued on. We made our way to the star attraction (in my opinion) of Animal Kingdom, Kilimanjaro Safaris. We had what was posted as a 30 minute wait, though it didn't feel like that long of a wait. We got to see a lot of animals today, including a giraffe that slowed our vehicle by walking in front of us along the roadway for a bit. I never mind a bit of extra time on this ride, however!

After completing our safari ride, we made our way along the Gorilla Falls Conservation Trail. Once again, we were treated to a lot of animals, some of them from pretty close by. Definitely a better experience than my last visit on this trail, when Aunt Erica and I got our feet drenched by the rain (thankfully we had ponchos, or we would have been completely miserable!).

After making the walk along the entire Gorilla Falls Conservation Trail, we headed back to the see the Festival of the Lion King show. Although Aunt Sherry was a little impatient waiting for the show to start, she definitely enjoyed the show experience, as we all did.

You can check out the rest of our day on page two...

Disney's Animal Kingdom

We spotted this Babirusa on our way into the park while walking through the Oasis.

Our first view of the Tree of Life as we cross onto Discovery Island.

We were able to catch several birds during the Winged Encounters – The Kingdom Takes Flight show near the Tree of Life this morning...

...including this scarlet macaw...

...along with this hyacinth macaw...

...and several red-and-green macaws...

...and these military macaws...

Of all the times I have crossed the bridge from Discovery Island into Pandora – The World of Avatar, I never noticed this rock creature on the shore of Discovery River, until a child pointed it out to his mother today!

The floating rocks in Pandora – The World of Avatar.

Rodney's selfie outside of Satu'li Canteen.

Another picture of the floating rocks in Pandora – The World of Avatar.

The walkway from our walk from Pandora-The World of Avatar into Africa.

I also never noticed Mr. Mutumbos Fishing Tours as we entered Africa!

A look along the Discovery River in Africa.

I caught a nearly empty Harambe Village photo today!

This is how we know our trip through the safari is getting real - when we see the Harambe Wildlide Reserve Sign on the Kilimanjaro Safaris ride.

We saw a lot of animals on todays safari, including greater kudu...

...bongos...

...and okapi.

We also saw a solitary black rhinoceros laying along the mud wall.

We saw a hippopotamus out of the water...

...and one in the water...

...along with a couple more grouped together.

For the second safari in a row, there was a lone Nile crocodile on display.

There was also a lone painted dog napping in the shade.

We caught several Hartmann's zebras running across the savannah...

...though they may have been startled by this sable antelope.

Another sable antelope hiding in the trees.

An eland grazing along our pathway...

...as several Masai giraffe roam nearby...

...including this one who wandered along our drive path...

A group of Ankole-Watusi cattle keeping cool in the shade.

A couple of elands grazing together.

The giraffe was still walking in front of our safari vehicle!

I took a bunch of pictures of the giraffe, as they are one of my favorite animals on the safari...

We also got to see several African elephants out today...

...including this "little" fellow...

A pair of wildebeests running across the savannah.

A flamboyance of flamingoes standing on a giant hidden Mickey island!

We saw several white rhinoceros...

A little hard to see, but there is a cheetah laying in the shade here, looking up at us as we pass by in our vehicle...

The lone lion we spotted today, the male napping in the shade.

We also saw this ostrich feeding as we neared the end of our ride.

We saw several Nigerian dwarf goats out today...

A waterfall at the end of our Kilimanjaro Safaris ride.

After the safari, we headed on to the Gorilla Falls Conservation Trail, where we saw a bunch of additional animals, including these green woodhoopoe...

...and these African cichlids.

This African pygmy goose was near...

...this hamerkop and red-billed teals.

We also a bunch of Taveta golden weavers.

This great egret was perched on the back of...

...this hippopotamus...

...and a look at the egret and hippo together.

A Hartmann's mountain zebra grazing along the trail.

We saw several western lowland gorillas walking and eating in their habitat...

A waterfall at the end of the trail.

I took a bunch of pictures of the Festival of the Lion King show...

...including this one of Uncle Steven, Aunt Sherry, and Grandma Terry watching show the show alongside Rodney...

Please click here for page two of the photos