The Flower and Garden, Work and Play Trip – Day 2

After my long day of travel yesterday, I couldn’t fall asleep, and the last time I looked at my clock, it was almost 2 am, so when my alarm went off this morning, I turned it off and went back to sleep for an hour. When I finally got up, I headed to Animal Kingdom. I had a backstage tour of the elephant habitat called Caring for Giants booked mid-morning. I made it to the park around 8 am, grabbed a coffee from Joffrey’s at the entrance, and then spent the next 30 minutes or so wandering around the park and exploring all the little details that make this park so amazing.

Kilimanjaro Safaris doesn’t open until 8:30, so I headed there once it opened to ride it before my tour. This ride is always a nice break and a great way to see the animals on the Savannah. There were tons of animals out this morning, and I got a bunch of great pictures. Usually, this ride takes about 25 minutes, but today, I was on it for almost 45 minutes because some of the animals kept hanging out on the road, which brought everything to a halt until they moved.

When I finally got off, it was time to check in for my tour. I will post another post in the future detailing the tour, but in the meantime, I will say it was awesome! We saw some backstage areas behind the safari ride and learned several interesting facts about elephants and their care here at Animal Kingdom.

Once the tour ended, I was starving, so I grabbed an early lunch at Harambe Market. I got the Beef and Lamb Kofta Pita served with house-made chips. It was really good, and I would definitely get it again in the future.

After lunch, I grabbed a drink from the Dawa Bar and found a place to sit in the sun and enjoy it. While sitting there, I also got to hear Kora Tinga Tinga perform.

Then, I slowly made my way out of the park, stopping to take more pictures on the way out.

Once I returned to the resort, I found a quiet place to work for part of the afternoon and then took a nap in the sun by the pool.

I had tickets to the After Hours Event at Hollywood Studios this evening. The party didn’t start until 9:30, but I wanted to get something to eat beforehand, so I headed to the park around 6:30. The nice thing about staying at Pop Century is that it is on the Skyliner, which goes to Epcot and Hollywood Studios, and is so much nicer than waiting on a bus. Once I entered Hollywood Studios, I was able to pick up my wristband for the party, then headed over to ride the Tower of Terror as the wait time was listed as 13 minutes, which usually means it is a walk on. It ended up being about a 20-minute wait, which was not bad.

Once I got off the ride, I decided to find a place to eat, and since today seemed to be about trying new experiences, I put my name in for a table at the Hollywood Brown Derby Lounge as I had never eaten there before. The wait time on the app showed it would be a 40-minute wait, but I got the text that my table was ready in about 5 minutes. I was seated outside, with a great view of the walkway, so it was a perfect spot for people-watching. I ordered the Famous Cobb Salad and a Grapefruit Martini. The salad, which Included spit-roasted turkey, bacon, egg, tomatoes, avocados, classic dressing, and blue cheese crumbles (which I omitted), was excellent, and I would 100% order it again. I’m glad I tried the grapefruit martini, as it is something everyone raves about, and while it was good, it’s probably not something I would order again.

After dinner, it was almost time for the nightly showing of Fantasmic, so I decided to watch it to kill some time before After Hours began. Fantasmic is always one of my favorite shows at Disney. I don’t watch it every trip, but I try to see it at least a couple of times a year.

After watching Fantasmic, it was time for the party to begin. This event was worth the price as I was able to ride every ride in the park (I could have ridden them multiple times if that’s all I was focused on), get pictures with a bunch of characters, and eat free popcorn and ice cream in just 3 hours. It was also really cool walking through a mostly empty park…In some areas, I was the only person around. Below is a handful of pictures from the After Hours at Hollywood Studios. To learn more about the event and see the rest of my photos, check out my post – Review of After Hours at Hollywood Studios