My 5 Day Disney Itinerary - Day 3

Welcome back for Day 3 of our fun trip to Disney in 2007 with my mom and 2 kids. Day 3 was our day off so to speak. I always recommend planning down days between full park days. We started out with breakfast at the World Premier Food Court. It is a madhouse in there in the morning. Everyone is trying to get to their destinations and its crazy busy. On future trips we would send one person to get the food and eat it in the room to avoid the chaos with the kids in tow. After 2 breakfast platters to share between the 3 of us we went down to the bus stops to head out to Downtown Disney. (2 CS)

In Downtown Disney we walked around and shopped a while. That is never hard for two women. We hit one of my favorite stores, Disney Days of Christmas. I like to get a Christmas ornament as a souvenir when we go on vacation. It helps spark discussion and brings up good memories when we decorate the tree as we remember our family vacations. After shopping we went over to the Rainforest Cafe for lunch. We got there just as they opened for lunch so there was no wait. This is not on the dining plan but we thought it would be a fun experience for the kids. For the most part they liked it but Ashley was a little scared when we had the first thunderstorm. We talked her through it and then wasn't bothered by the other storms. I love their BBQ Chicken quesadilla. Outside the restaurant they have trainers with beautiful tropical birds like Macaws and others. It is always fun to stop by there even if you aren't planning on eating there.

After lunch we went back to the hotel for some fun in the pool. All Star Movies has a great splash area for little kids as well as a kiddie pool. Ashley had a blast playing in there and I had fun too since I didn't have to worry about her drowning. It was quite relaxing. She did take a dip in the big pool and the resort has life preservers you can use for free if your child can't swim. They was a bin of them by the pool. You can ask a lifeguard if you don't see them.

After the pool we got changed and started out on our journey to dinner. We took the Animal Kingdom bus and was planning to transfer to the Animal Kingdom Lodge bus but after telling the driver where we were going he said he would drop us off at the Animal Kingdom Lodge after the Animal Kingdom stop. If you are planning a transfer like that be sure to mention it to the driver, especially if it isn't at a busy time of day. Occasionally,  they will just drop you off at the hotel on the way there or back if there aren't many people on the bus and its not a busy time. It has happened to us a handful of times over the years.

When we got to Boma at the Animal Kingdom Lodge both kids were sleeping. This worked out great. They let us bring the stroller right to the table and we had a great meal while the kids slept. When they woke up they were in a good mood and they ate well. Boma has a such a huge variety of interesting dishes. They had 5 soups and each one was more delicious then the one before. They were all unusual too like carrot ginger soup and Mulligatawny. The salads and entrees where interesting too. Everything they prepare has origans in Africa or African spices and flavors. I tried just about everything. I didn't care for the watermelon rind salad but I loved the Afric-crust prime rib and an African version of a shepherds pie that was sweet and savory at the same time. Yumm! I was so glad that among all the interesting and still delicious food choices we had, there was chicken tenders and fries, macaroni and cheese, and spaghetti and meatballs for the kids. Disney understands the palates of adults and children so well! (3 TS used)

Animal Kingdom Lodge has lots of animals on their property and in an effort to protect the animals there are some rules. One is that they have no straws. Another is they don't allow balloons. The balloon I had on my kids stroller they put in a closet for us until we left...except I forgot about it. After dinner we enjoyed looking at some of the animals at the resort. We saw giraffe, zebra, and other animals. Nothing huge or aggressive like elephants or lions. Then the sky got dark and everyone was told to go inside. There was a HUGE thunderstorm and (we found out later) some tornados in the area. We ran out to the buses and saw a bus for All Star Resorts. I have never before or since seen a bus going from one resort to another like that. We hopped on the bus and in no time we were back at our resort and pretty dry.

At this point it was time to put the kids to bed and for my mom's daily trip for laundry and maybe an ice cream, she brought one back for me too (2 snacks).

Day 3 was relaxing and fun. We enjoyed our time away from the parks and were ready to hit them again the next day. We have 3 TS, 5 CS, and 6 S remaining. Check back tomorrow for Day 4 as we head back to the Magic Kingdom for a full day of adventures.