We had some time to kill before our first FastPass+, so we thought it was a good time to take the train back to Rafiki's Planet Watch. I don't think that any of us have been back here since the kids were little, but it didn't seem to stand up to what I remembered it being. Basically, all we did while there was go in the petting zoo area before opting to head back to the main part of the park to do some more exploring.

Like the last time we visited, we were getting hungry at about this point. We once again decided to grab a seat near the Tusker House Restaurant and enjoy the our packed lunch. Just after sitting down we were approached by a cast member who started chatting us up. She was making sure we were enjoying our visit to the park. Our encounter with her may have been once of our best with a Disney employee, as she gave us a free FastPass+ to the Dinosaur ride, along with two free Sprites for Steve and Sam.

Our FastPass+ was for the Festival of the Lion King show. Even though we just saw the show a little less than two weeks ago, both Tara and I swore that the show was different - almost better - this time around.

Once we finished seeing the Lion King we wandered over to Pandora to take in the sights of Avatar Flight of Passage to take advantage of Steve's pass. This continues to be an enjoyable ride, one that I wish had more capacity so that the wait wouldn't be quite so long.

Since we had a bit of wait until our next FastPass+, we decided to make us of our free ride on Dinosaur. Although this isn't my favorite ride, it really has nothing to do with the show itself, but more with the jerky nature of the ride. I certainly won't complain, as we didn't have a long wait nor did we have to use one our own passes on it.

We headed off to Asia to take in our next FastPass+, sitting down to enjoy the UP! A Great Bird Adventure show. We got to see a lot of interesting birds up close and personal. It is pretty cool how smart some of these birds are, and just how close they flew to us in the audience!

Our next FastPass+ was for Expedition Everest - Legend of the Forbidden Mountain. The four of us certainly enjoyed our trip to see the Yeti!

We were able to secure one last ride using Steve's pass before the night was over, and we had decided to use it on Kilimanjaro Safaris. Although we got to see a couple of lions on our ride around Africa, it was definitely too dark to truly enjoy this attraction. It seemed as though the vast majority of animals were nowhere to be seen, and I am just grateful that we didn't wait very long in line for it tonight!

At this point we headed out of the park, with the intention of spending the last couple hours of the day at the Magic Kingdom.

Disney's Animal Kingdom

Russell and Doug from the movie Up.

A mallard picking up loose popcorn near the popcorn stand.

A look at the "Welcome to Harambe" spot along the water.

A closer look at the Harambe sign.

The train pulling into the station to take us to Rafiki's Planet Watch.

An ostrich watching us pass by on the train.

Rafiki greeting us and pointing the way to his Planet Watch area.

A sheep following a cast member through the park.

A goat in the petting zoo area.

Samantha petting one of the goats.

This goat apparently finds the chain to be quite tasty.

A goat on the top of a rock.

A goat climbing across another.

This emo llama was wondering around.

This hipster goat with a beard was enjoying the shade.

Hey look! It's me! Oh, no, wait a second... that's a different ass (donkey) in the petting zoo area.

A bull was available to look at as well.

Steven enjoying the train ride back to Africa.

A look at the train tracks for the train from Rafiki's Planet Watch.

The "Welcome to Harambe" sign.

A few photos from the Festival of the Lion King show...

A few photos from Pandora - World of Avatar...

A couple shots of Expedition Everest - Legend of the Forbidden Mountain...

"Kevin" from the movie Up walking through the park.

An American crocodile.

Statues of Russell and Doug from the movie Up...

...and a picture with Sam posing between them.

"Mind Your Feet, Don't Trip on Street"

Now for some pictures from the UP! A Great Bird Adventure show...

Up first, a chicken.

A great horned owl.

A couple pictures of spoonbills...

Russell, Doug, and their Wilderness Explorer troup leader.

A macaw.

A couple different hornbills...

A cockatoo.

A condor.

A few shots of a crowned crane...

A couple pictures of a bald eagle...

The great horned owl again.

A toucan enjoying a grape...

Sam posing for a picture with the great horned owl and her handler.

Some giraffes on our way too late ride on the Kilimanjaro Safaris.

A couple of lions spotted on the Kilimanjaro Safaris.

The moon in the sky over Disney's Animal Kingdom.

A look at Expedition Everest - Legend of the Forbidden Mountain...

...and the Tree of Life at night.

The Disney's Animal Kingdom sign lit up.

We somehow made it Casey's Corner, but could get no further with Steve's wheelchair. At that point I figured all was lost, and that we should just turn around and head home. Tara decided to fight the crowd on her own to get to the popcorn stand near the castle, and to my surprise she came back with not only the Steamboat Mickey bucket, but the Minnie version as well! Thank you Tara!

Until next time Disney!

Magic Kingdom

The train station and Cinderella Castle at the Magic Kingdom as seen from the ferry from the Ticket and Transportation Center.

We got to enjoy the fireworks show from the ferry...

Steve had fun watching the fireworks.

The castle lit up after the fireworks show.

The sign for Casey's Corner lit up.