Disney World Day 3 - Animal Kingdom & Magic Kingdom (again)

So by the time Day 3 rolled around, we were all pretty worn out, but we weren't about to miss anything.

Everyone was all smiles on the air conditioned bus ride to the park.

But that quickly changed when we got back in the heat.

We headed straight for the safari ride since we heard that was a must-do.

It was really cool to be that close to these animals and look at them in the open rather than through a fence.  However, this was the general attitude of our girls...

Adeline kept saying, "This is just like a zoo.  I'm tired of seeing animals.  I want to go see more princesses."  Guess I won't be taking them to any zoos anytime soon.  We ate lunch at an air-conditioned, sit-down restaurant, then Jon and I took the girls back to the hotel for naps, while Sarah went to back to Magic Kingdom to ride the big kid rides.

The girls napped for three hours, then we were ready for Magic Kingdom (our favorite park).  It rained not long after we got there and this pretty rainbow appeared in the sky.  

Then we went back to the Belle attraction so Annabel could get a turn to see her.  And she got the chance to play "Chip" in the little play.

I'm so glad we went back because I got one of my favorite pictures of the whole trip. 

We rode a few other rides, and Jon staked us out a prime spot for the electrical parade, the light show, and the fireworks.

All in all, we had a fantastic trip.  I think everyone of us had a smile on our face the majority of the time we were there, and we're already talking about our next trip.

A few pointers for you first time Disney goers:

1. Go in the off-season - less people, and most of all, COOLER temperatures
2. Stay in a Disney resort so all your transportation to/from the parks is free
3. Get the dining plan - food is expensive!
4. You can only get one fast pass at a time, so get ones for the most popular rides first
5. Don't take small children to Epcot
6. Don't take anyone younger than 18 months to Disney at all (if it can be avoided)
7. Do at least one character dining experience - those were my favorite
8. Get the photo pass plus so you don't have to haul around a camera ~$200 but so very worth it
9. Wear athletic shoes - we walked over 10 miles each day
10. We definitely used the park hopper pass - it allows you to go to more than 1 park in a day
11. HAVE THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE!!!