I'm sure you've probably read/heard this other places, but if you can get on one of the first trucks in the morning, you will see more animals than at any other time of the day. The reason is simple. Look in the first picture.
That's when they feed the animals!
Black Rhino.
Karate Kid impersonation.
Can't help myself with the giraffes. Have to take pics of them.
Monkey butt!
Elephants need pictures too.
I think this is the first time I've ever seen a lion awake on this ride.
Zebras munching.
Once our safari trek ended, the boys wanted to start on the Wilderness Explorer badges that I had been reading about. We headed back toward the main entrance where the signup booth is.
Oh, but there is that photo op by the Tree of Life right there, so...
Early morning sun isn't the best time to do this picture. Look at the squints! Wait until later in the day for this one and get a better looking shot.
We found the signup booth and the boys each had to hold their hands up in the W sign (like Russell in the movie UP) while repeating "The wilderness must be explored!" Then they had to make the bird sign and do the Ka-kaw! and Roar! sounds. It was cute. They earned their first badge for that, which meant they gave them each a Handbook (booklet) to put the badge (sticker) in. The Handbook contained a whole lot of badges they could earn all over the park. What it really does is it gets the kids involved in wanting to go to the exhibits and the side effect being they learn something at each spot. Shhh... don't tell them.
Our first stop was the Flamingo Badge.
See the guy in brown pants with the satchel on crossways? Those are the Wilderness Explorer Guides that you look for at each badge earning spot. It will tell you where to locate them in your Handbook. There are also these signposts...
... which tell you what badge is available at this location. We crossed paths with a group of young adults doing the badges. Without hesitating, the through up the W sign and yelled, "The wilderness must be explored!" Joshua and Daniel yelled back, "Ka-KAW!" It was hysterical and it proves that this can be fun for anyone that likes to learn.
We took time out to see It's Tough to be a Bug, but I have a feeling that'll be the last viewing for us for awhile. Daniel has developed a bug phobia and he was not comfortable in that movie. I won't put him through that again if he is still scared on our next trip.
I've always enjoyed the different perspective on the Tree of Life you get from the exit area of the movie.
Our next FPs were for Expedition Everest, so we decided to head to Asia and work on badges in that area until our window opened.
The badges are all different. In this one...
... they gave you an amount in the Handbook and you had to figure out how much the exchange rate was for three different currencies.
We happened upon a Meet and Greet with both Mickey and Minnie. I almost passed it up (just saw Mickey at breakfast, right?), but I was seduced by the 5 minute wait time.
Oh, I am SO glad we stopped for that one! Mickey and Minnie *together* and in Christmas outfits? Score! Plus the boys got the giggles and it was really cute. Just one of those "happy accident" moments.
We stopped for the "Everest in the background" photo op.
And there were badges to be earned there as well. They used the telescope to learn how high the peaks on Everest are.
Our next set of badges took us on the Maharajah Jungle Trek.
Where we learned about bats (ewwww). Bats are our friends (says the Handbook).
Such a pretty walk.
And this lady was teaching them about tigers and the impact of deforestation.
It was time for our FPs, so we headed for Expedition Everest. This was the first time riding for all of us. It was built after Joshua was born, so riding hasn't been an option until now.
Daniel was a little nervous, so I asked him if he was sure he wanted to ride. He kept saying yes. Okay then, let's go.
We survived! Yay!
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