A Day Worthy of a King(dom) - 01.25.26

After a busy first park day, we had a fraction less pep in our step and we did not make rope drop at our first park of the day, Animal Kingdom. We headed straight to Expedition Everest - Legend of the Forbidden Mountain. This was my first time riding and let’s just say that blood, sweat, and tears were involved as I braced myself and faced my fear. From Everest we went to our Lightning Lane at Kilimanjaro Safaris where we had a very active ride. From here we slowed it down with Lightning Lane passes for Na’vi River Journey. We then took a brief break and got libations at Pongu Pongu. I had the Rum Blossom (Bacardi Superior Rum with layers of Apple and Desert Pear Limeade topped with Boba Balls) for $16.50, Avery had the Mo’ara Margarita (Sauza Conmemorativo Anejo Tequila and Bols Blue Curacao with Lime Juice topped with Boba Balls) for $16.50, and Jen had the Pongu Lumpia (Pineapple-Cream Cheese Spring Roll) for $3.79. We enjoyed the break before heading over to Dinoland, U.S.A. one last time. In Dinoland we used our Lightning Lane pass for Dinosaur (RIP) and took pictures with the themed characters. This was an extra sad goodbye as Dinoland, U.S.A. was my placement during my Disney College Program. After our sad departure, we needed some comfort food from Eight Spoon Cafe. I ordered the Baked Macaroni & Cheese with Pulled Pork (Topped with Crispy Onions) for $12.99, Avery ordered Baked Macaroni & Cheese, and Jen ordered the Buffalo Chicken Chips (Kettle Chips Served with Buffalo Chicken Topped with Tangy Italian Relish and Blue Cheese) for $10.49. We all also ordered the Island Sunrise (Jose Cuervo Gold Tequila with Minute Maid Passion Fruit Orange Guava Juice and a Hint of Watermelon) for $15.50 each. Everything was delicious! We ended our AK day with Lightning Lane passes for Zootopia: Better Zoogether! This new show replaced It’s Tough to be a Bug!, a nostalgic show. The new show is cute but a bit chaotic. I recommend watching the Zootopia movies first to get some context of the characters.

From Animal Kingdom, we caught a bus going to the Contemporary Resort where we got lunch at Steakhouse 71 Lounge. Avery and his mom ordered the Stack Burger (Signature Beef Blend, Pork Belly, American Cheese, Lemon Aioli, Red Onion, House-made Pickles, Brioche Bun served with choice of Petite Caesar Salad, Steak Fries, or Pasta Salad) for $24.00 and I ordered the Caesar Salad with Shrimp for $17.50. I also ordered the Heron Gimlet (Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Izarra verte Liqueur, Seedlip Garden 108 Non-Alcoholic Spirit, Lime Juice, Simple Syrup, Lemonade) for $15.50, Avery ordered a Raspberry Moscow Mule for $20.00, and Jen ordered an Espresso Martini with Baileys for $21.00. This was a fun break in our day to sit down and fuel up before the second half of our day at Magic Kingdom.

We took the monorail over to Magic Kingdom where we got to work on riding as many rides as we could before the park closed. We started off strong with our Lightning Lane passes for Space Mountain followed by Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor and Jungle Cruise (Lightning Lane). We took a brief popcorn and pretzel break before using our Lightning Lane passes on Haunted Mansion, Under the Sea - Journey of The Little Mermaid, Mickey’s PhilharMagic, and Pirates of the Caribbean. We ended our night by getting soft-serve ice cream at Auntie Gravity’s Galactic Goodies before slipping out of the park just before the nighttime entertainment of Happily Ever After began. We strategically missed the show as we wanted to catch our bus back to the resort before the crowds descended. We finished our jam packed two park days and I cannot wait to fill you in on how we spent our free day, stay tuned.