May 5th - Page 2

I'm going to add the end of the recap on page 1 here so that it lines up with the pictures on this page as well...

Once our safari was over, we headed out on foot on the Gorilla Falls Conservation Trail. Although some of the animals weren't out today (like the trails namesake gorillas), we got a chance to see a lot of cool ones during our hike. We saw okapi, naked mole-rats, snakes, several varieties of birds, a hippo going for a swim, a zebra, and a family meerkats.

As I did on my solo trip on the 23rd, we next headed to Asia, except this time we had the knowledge of the Maharajah Jungle Trek. This was our next stop, and it provided us with the opportunity to see a lot of new and different animals. On this trail we saw a komodo dragon, a Sumatran tiger, water buffalo, and several new varieties of birds.

Just off the trail we saw a white-cheeked gibbon in its exhibit as we made the walk over to Expedition Everest - Legend of the Forbidden Mountain for our ride. We breezed through this line and enjoyed the thrills of the ride as well.

At this point it was nearing time for Disney's Animal Kingdom to close, as we made our way to the front of the park so that we could make our way to Epcot for our final stop of the night.

Disney's Animal Kingdom
		A meerkat on lookout patrol...
		...as its brother dine nearby.
		Another shot of the meerkat on lookout duty. (Jayden)
		Jayden comparing herself to a lowland gorilla.
		A rabbit was the only wildlife we spotted in the Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail gorilla exhibit...
		(Jayden)
		A cardinal perched on the rocks. (Drew)
		A waterfall that we passed by during our Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail walk...
		...which was near this pretty bougainvillea plant that spanned the walkway. (Jayden)
		The Maharajah Jungle Trek trail (that I missed out on during my solo visit as I was unaware that it existed)...

		A komodo dragon resting on a rock... (Jayden)
		(Drew)


		Drew and Jayden listening to the guide talk about the komodo dragon...
		...and finding him both amusing but impossible to get away from!
		A Sumatran tiger laying in the sun.
		A painting of the Sumatran tiger that we spotted on our walk along the Maharajah Jungle Trek.
		A herd of water buffalo relaxing in the shade.
		A close up of one of the water buffalo.
		A bar-headed goose walking in front of the water buffalo herd...

		A metallic sterling nest spotted in the Maharajah Jungle Trek aviary. (Jayden)
		We also spotted perhaps the prettiest pigeon that we've ever seen in the Maharajah Jungle Trek aviary, the Nicobar pigeon.
		This bird, a galah, seemed very interested in something on or in the wall! (Jayden)
		(Jayden)
		(Jayden)

		A common emerald dove sitting near the edge of a fountain. (Jayden)
		A couple more shots of the Nicobar pigeon, which I later found out is...
		...the closest living relative of the extinct dodo and Rodrigues solitaire birds. (Jayden)
		A headless pied imperial pigeon! Or just a grooming one - you be the judge!
		Another couple of looks at the pied imperial pigeon... (Jayden)

		A male white-cheeked gibbon hanging out in its enclosure in Asia...

		Jayden and Drew sticking their hands in this bubble fountain...

		Expedition Everest - Legend of the Forbidden Mountain in the distance.
		Rodney sporting Jay's giraffe ears inside a gift shop. (Jayden)
		Another shot of Expedition Everest - Legend of the Forbidden Mountain.
		In the Oasis, a babirusa was looking handsome!
		Rodney making his way through the Oasis on our way out of the park for the day.
		Drew taking perhaps the most famous picture in front of the entrance to Disney's Animal Kingdom.
		Jayden taking her turn at perhaps the most famous shot in front of the entrance to Disney's Animal Kingdom.

We made the drive from Disney's Animal Kingdom to Epcot so that we could eat our packed dinners and enjoy the Epcot Forever fireworks show. We decided that we had enough time to enjoy one ride before we needed to stake out a spot for the show, so we settled on Test Track. We usually get the "VIP treatment" on this ride thanks to Grandpa Gary's retirement from GM, but today we were on our own. We came up with a truly horrendous vehicle design before we finally got to enjoy the ride. I must admit that it would be great if they would update this ride to some of the newer automotive technology, but the ride itself is still truly enjoyable.

Once we got off the ride we made a quick pit stop at one of the Flower and Garden Festival booths for a quick snack. We hit up a booth called Brunchcot for their fried cinnamon roll bites. They came with a cream cheese frosting and were topped with a candied bacon. It seemed as though there was some type of filling in them as well, though that wasn't in the official item description.

We then made our way to Norway in the World Showcase where we found a spot to sit down to eat our dinner and enjoy the Epcot Forever show. We even made some friends while we waited with a nice couple named Max and Ruby. Of course Max and Ruby weren't their real names... they were ducks, after all. A simple offering of a piece of bread from my sandwich made them our new best friends, as they spent the rest of the evening with us, even watching the show as we did.

Once the show was over we made our way to the front of the park so that we could make the long drive home. There would be no late night stop at Chili's today!

Epcot
		In all of our years going to Walt Disney World, I do not recall ever seeing this sign at Epcot.
		A look at Spaceship Earth from outside the front entrance to the park.
		The Encanto topiaries in front of Space Mountain at the front entrance to the park...
		...featuring Luisa...
		...Antonio...
		...Isabela...
		...and, of course, Mirabel!
		Another look at the Encanto topiaries with Spaceship Earth in the background.
		A Chevrolet Miray concept car on display in the Test Track queue.
		A look at the amazing design of the car that we would be testing today! (Drew)
		A look at the monorail track as nightfall set in while we were making our way through the World Celebration area of the park.
		A look across the World Showcase lagoon while waiting for the Epcot Forever show to begin... (Jayden)

		A pair of mallards walked by as we were waiting for the Epcot Forever show. (Jayden)
		Rodney may have made a mistake and gave one of them a piece of bread from his sandwich... (Jayden)
		...which resulted in them hanging out with us until the end of the show. (Jayden)
		I named the drake "Max", as in Max Power...
		...while Jayden decided that we should call the hen "Ruby". (Jayden)
		Ruby and Max waiting for the show to begin. (Jayden)
		Max and Ruby watching the Epcot Forever show. (Jayden)
		A few shots of the Epcot Forever fireworks...


		Max and Ruby during the Epcot Forever fireworks...


		Another picture of the Epcot Forever show.
		Max and Ruby during the Epcot Forever fireworks. (Jayden)
		More pictures of the Epcot Forever show...








		Another shot of Max and Ruby watching the Epcot Forever fireworks.
		A wide shot of the Epcot Forever show. (Drew)
		Ruby would get startled while watching the fireworks.
		More pictures of the Epcot Forever show...


		One last look at Max and Ruby before we headed out for the night.
		A look at Spaceship Earth lit up at night from the World Showcase...
		...and from the World Celebration area... (Jayden)
		(Jayden)


		A couple shots of Spaceship Earth from the front entrance area of the park... (Jayden)

		Rodney in front of Spaceship Earth while exiting the park for the night.

Disney's Animal Kingdom

A meerkat on lookout patrol...

...as its brother dine nearby.

Another shot of the meerkat on lookout duty. (Jayden)

Jayden comparing herself to a lowland gorilla.

A rabbit was the only wildlife we spotted in the Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail gorilla exhibit...

(Jayden)

A cardinal perched on the rocks. (Drew)

A waterfall that we passed by during our Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail walk...

...which was near this pretty bougainvillea plant that spanned the walkway. (Jayden)

The Maharajah Jungle Trek trail (that I missed out on during my solo visit as I was unaware that it existed)...

A komodo dragon resting on a rock... (Jayden)

(Drew)

Drew and Jayden listening to the guide talk about the komodo dragon...

...and finding him both amusing but impossible to get away from!

A Sumatran tiger laying in the sun.

A painting of the Sumatran tiger that we spotted on our walk along the Maharajah Jungle Trek.

A herd of water buffalo relaxing in the shade.

A close up of one of the water buffalo.

A bar-headed goose walking in front of the water buffalo herd...

A metallic sterling nest spotted in the Maharajah Jungle Trek aviary. (Jayden)

We also spotted perhaps the prettiest pigeon that we've ever seen in the Maharajah Jungle Trek aviary, the Nicobar pigeon.

This bird, a galah, seemed very interested in something on or in the wall! (Jayden)

(Jayden)

(Jayden)

A common emerald dove sitting near the edge of a fountain. (Jayden)

A couple more shots of the Nicobar pigeon, which I later found out is...

...the closest living relative of the extinct dodo and Rodrigues solitaire birds. (Jayden)

A headless pied imperial pigeon! Or just a grooming one - you be the judge!

Another couple of looks at the pied imperial pigeon... (Jayden)

A male white-cheeked gibbon hanging out in its enclosure in Asia...

Jayden and Drew sticking their hands in this bubble fountain...

Expedition Everest - Legend of the Forbidden Mountain in the distance.

Rodney sporting Jay's giraffe ears inside a gift shop. (Jayden)

Another shot of Expedition Everest - Legend of the Forbidden Mountain.

In the Oasis, a babirusa was looking handsome!

Rodney making his way through the Oasis on our way out of the park for the day.

Drew taking perhaps the most famous picture in front of the entrance to Disney's Animal Kingdom.

Jayden taking her turn at perhaps the most famous shot in front of the entrance to Disney's Animal Kingdom.

Epcot

In all of our years going to Walt Disney World, I do not recall ever seeing this sign at Epcot.

A look at Spaceship Earth from outside the front entrance to the park.

The Encanto topiaries in front of Space Mountain at the front entrance to the park...

...featuring Luisa...

...Antonio...

...Isabela...

...and, of course, Mirabel!

Another look at the Encanto topiaries with Spaceship Earth in the background.

A Chevrolet Miray concept car on display in the Test Track queue.

A look at the amazing design of the car that we would be testing today! (Drew)

A look at the monorail track as nightfall set in while we were making our way through the World Celebration area of the park.

A look across the World Showcase lagoon while waiting for the Epcot Forever show to begin... (Jayden)

A pair of mallards walked by as we were waiting for the Epcot Forever show. (Jayden)

...which resulted in them hanging out with us until the end of the show. (Jayden)

I named the drake "Max", as in Max Power...

...while Jayden decided that we should call the hen "Ruby". (Jayden)

Ruby and Max waiting for the show to begin. (Jayden)

Max and Ruby watching the Epcot Forever show. (Jayden)

A few shots of the Epcot Forever fireworks...

Max and Ruby during the Epcot Forever fireworks...

Another picture of the Epcot Forever show.

More pictures of the Epcot Forever show...

One last look at Max and Ruby before we headed out for the night.

A look at Spaceship Earth lit up at night from the World Showcase...

...and from the World Celebration area... (Jayden)

(Jayden)

A couple shots of Spaceship Earth from the front entrance area of the park... (Jayden)

Rodney in front of Spaceship Earth while exiting the park for the night.