On to Epcot.  I was so disappointed when I looked through the pictures to pick out the ones for tonight’s blog.  First of all, I didn’t take that many while we were at this park (that alone puzzles me greatly) and secondly, the ones I did take were too dark so they got deleted.  *sigh*  So, this post should just be deleted as well, but, I don’t have the heart not to post a few..

The kid carriers….

That the biggest dang golf ball I’ve ever seen!

Sherriff takin’ a siesta….Two parks back to back makes for a very long day!

While the boys and I were being jerked and spun around and regretting our decision to ride the Primeval Whirl, J. and RA rode this:

Nice, easy up’n down kiddie ride.  J. definitely good the better deal!

It was hot as blazes by this point and we all felt a popsicile was in order..

After our ice cream treats and popsiciles it was time to say good bye to Animal Kingdom and hello to:

Just like the other Disney Parks, Animal Kingdom is divided into different areas.  After the Yeti rollercoaster we got outta dodge and headed to DINO WORLD.  Here we encountered the mini-rollercoaster called Primeval Whirl.  It’s a cross between a roller coaster and a Tilt-a-Whirl.  It looked really cool with  all the bright colors and blinking lights.  It had kind of a time machine feel….

RA wasn’t tall enough for this ride, so I went with the boys.  We breezed right through the waiting area..

Out time machine was waiting for us…kinda resembles the tilt-a-whirl in shape without the rounded top…

We got settled and C. was pumped!  He had just said he was ready for something not so scary..about that time D. noticed the hill we were about to go up and wasn’t as pumped as his bubbie. In fact, D.’s exact words were..”I’m not so sure about this anymore Mom.”

This is said hill that had D. tied in knots…

My plan was to get pics of their laughing faces, to document all the fun they were having on the kiddie coaster. Right after we topped the hill and began the ride, which was a tad scary due to all the herky jerky movements, the camera was stowed on the seat because the only way I could keep both of them calm was to stretch my arm across both  and continually say, “It’s almost over. We really aren’t going that fast, look at the car in front of us, see how slow they are going?” 

I thought this was fun…  May 2012.  C. is 9 and D. is 7..

August 2007.  C. is 5 and D. is 2 1/2…

 

So, onto the roller coaster at Animal Kingdom..Expedition Everest:  Sure is big. Sure is faaaaast.

It’s kind of loomimg in the background here…not looming as in photo bomber, but loomimg and laughing at all the fools getting on thinking “Oh it won’t be that fast…” Uh huh.

My big boy was feeling all kinds of brave and said he wanted to get on. So, we all climbed on minus Big D. and RA.  They were the smart ones.  He was all smiles before the ride. Not so much afterwards.  He didn’t cry, but he was definitely ready to get off and NOT get back on.  He was such a brave fella.  I was proud of him for giving it a shot!  Oh, and Coop did good too!! 

I’m kidding of course!  After it was over we took C. back to hang with the rest of the group and J. and S. and I went back for another ride.  Why?  I haven’t the foggiest idea..I guess I was still in shock that I had actually gotten on a roller coaster that I was talking out of my head.  So we go back..I tried to document as much of the ride as I could.  Up we go..

The infamous Yeti…I was told this guy actually jumps out at you at one point in the ride.  S. and I discussed that at one point and both of us never saw it.  Well, I found out after we got home that he actually does jump out, but it is when you are inside the mountain when it is dark.  Well, I’m sorta a scaredy cat, sissy, whimp, whatever you want to call it, and I spent most of this ride with my eyes closed as tightly as possible and my head down willing it to be over..so I guess I missed it.

Going down the first curve. This one teased me pretty good.  I remember thinking, oh this isn’t so bad…umm yeah.

End of the road. It’s supposed to look like the Yeti destroyed the track.  You literally sit here a few minutes.  Long enough to snap pictures  and to start to get a bit nervous because there is only one way to go..backwards and it is fairly steep right here.  This is where I thought the Yeti jumped out.  Nope. 

After a couple of minutes, you literally start rolling backwards and gain speed FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAST and go through the rest of the ride that way at 70+ speeds!  Crazy scary.  I am sooo done with that one.  Can’t believe I went on it twice! TWICE!!! 

The next ride was the Kali River Rapids.  You would sit in a huge inner tube and float down some “rapids”.  There was a 100% chance of getting wet on this one, so I opted out.  I am glad I did, because when the kids came running after it was over, they were soaked….You can see C. and D. waving at the camera in this first shot.  You can barely make out the bowhead next to J.  That girl would have ridden every ride had she been tall enough.

Like I said..SOAKED, and proud of it!  There’s Big D’s famous pose, he even threw in the tiptoes for extra emphasis…

Rehashing the ride and the best parts….

That is a happy boy right there…wet and happy!

Each park has some kind of symbol right smack in the middle close to the entrance.. at Animal Kingdom it's the Tree of Life..
First on the "to do" list here is the safari ride.  It is very similiar to the drive thru safari park I took you to back in February except we aren't driving and we cant feed the animals.
We ride is these big covered wagon trucks...
C. is thrilled to be on this ride.  He loooooves wild animals. The others do to, but I think he loves them just a tad more..
The scenery is just as great to look at as all the animals! If you didn't get to see enough giraffes from the dive thru park...here are some more.  One can never see too many giraffes in my mind..
The "upside down" tree.  The top branches look like the roots...hence the name.  I think the tour guide said it will get leaves at some point.  I don't remember..I was too busy taking pictures of giraffes....

Let's start with breakfast at the hotel on our first morning.  Doesn't everyone look chipper?  Not so much.  It was a late night with an early morning, not a great combo for the Walsworth kids.  As  you can see, someone was very anti-camera.
After a blueberry muffin, some Fruit Loops and some Corn Pops, everyone was in much better spirits and much more camera friendly...
I think this is my favorite picture EVER now.  I was trying so hard to get a sweet pic of me with the boys.  I snuggled them up and got them to smile just right for me. I just knew it was going to be great.  And it was.  BUT,  I have what is known as a "photo bomber".  If you are unfamiliar with the term, it means someone who is lurking in the background of a picture unbeknownst to the others, and usually doing something silly.  Can you find my little photo bomber?  Look at her face, she is totally belly laughing.  She knows EXACTLY what she is doing!  I had NO idea she was back there until I saw the picture after it was imported to the computer.  I am literally convulsing I am laughing so hard looking at her.  Joke is on Mama, and she knows it.  Absolutely awesome!!  You go girl!
This boy.  He has really gotten in touch with his inner clown lately and this trip was no exception.  This was his favorite pose; index fingers pointed up, tongue hanging down and a wild look in his eyes.  I giggle everytime I see him do this.
Sister is riding in style..
Here we go, the first park of our trip...

 

We got all settled in our hotel and it was WAY past time to eat. So, we headed to Downtown Disney and ate at the ever popular Rainforest Café.  Since our kids are such wildlife lovers, this place is sooooooo cool.  The decorations alone are worth a look see..

It had been a super long day and Sister was wearing down.  We were just sitting down to eat at her normal bed time and you can see the toll of the day all over her face…but as soon as we got her belly full, the second wind hit…hard!

The bubbies made themselves busy with crayons and silly face antics…

 

Speaking of silly faces….

Hims got spooked by that baby lizard perched on his shoulder.  Now, now.  That’s not how one makes friends….

So much to see at this place…

 

That had to have been one of the bumpiest  take-offs and ascent ever… I’m not gonna lie, I was  holding on so hard to the armrest I probably left finger indentions. The turbulance finally calmed down when we leveled out and we broke out the  boredom busters.  We played with stickers…

We colored….

We played with Wikki Stiks.  Basically its just colored wax sticks that you can shape into anything.  These were a huge hit.

Sister and I got busy…

D. was especially proud of his creation.  With good reason… C. was reading his book during most  of the flight and he was right in front of my seat, so I wasn’t able to get a pic of what he was doing.

We finally landed and proceeded to the baggage claim.  They were so big and got theirs and Sister’s luggage all by themselves… They sure thought they were big stuff!!!