We began our Animal Kingdom adventure bright and early—up at 6:30 AM to whip up a quick breakfast at our rented house. It was Joel’s bday, so we sang a round of Happy Birthday! By 7:30 AM, we were out the door to make it to the park right at opening time. We splurged on the preferred parking for $50, which felt steep compared to the regular $20 option—but by the end of the day, we were incredibly grateful to be parked so close!
It rained on and off the entire day, sometimes turning into a full-blown downpour. Luckily, we’d found 99-cent ponchos the day before, which saved us from becoming completely drenched. I used mine to cover the stroller, so I didn’t stay as dry, but I didn’t mind much.
Our first stop was the Adventure Post to meet Mickey and Minnie. From there, we visited It’s Tough to Be a Bug! While Miles did just fine, Hailey got scared when they threw the “acorn” at us, and I had to take her out. The rest of the group stuck around—turns out they don’t do the “stinger” effect anymore, but the stink bug part is still in play.
Meanwhile, Joel and his dad took advantage of a single-rider pass for Avatar Flight of Passage—a birthday present for Joel! They came back absolutely thrilled. While they did that, the rest of us strolled through Gorilla Falls, where we had a moment of pure Disney wonder: gorillas up close, including a playful three-year-old showing off at the window, spinning and being an absolute ham!
Next up was the Lion King show at 10:00 AM. The kids seemed to love the music and the gymnastics were so cool! Hailey got a little nervous during a dark portion of the show but ended up loving it. Post-show, we met up with a friend from my running club—who was fresh off completing the Princess Half Marathon—and her daughter, who had worked at Animal Kingdom for six months! They gave us awesome insider tips, and we indulged in a quick Starbucks fix before circling back to the gorillas.
With Lightning Lane passes, we hopped on the Safari at 11:35 AM. Because of the rainy weather, the lines around the park were already pretty short, but it was still nice to skip straight to the front and have Hailey stroller parking. And it turned out the animals loved the drizzle—so many were out and about! Miles was especially taken with the baby elephant scratching itself on a rock—he declared it “very cuuuyyyuuutteee.” Hailey, meanwhile, was super excited about the flamingos.
“Hailey likes flamingos! – Miles
I have a stuffy flamingo! They’re my favorite color! – Hailey
After the safari, we headed to Tusker Inn for our 12:20 PM character lunch. Yes, it’s pricey— around $60 per adult, $40 per kid—but the African-inspired buffet had delicious options (including stuff for dietary restrictions), and the time with Goofy, Donald, Daisy, and Mickey was priceless. The kiddos’ faces lit up when each character stopped by our table!
A nice moment of chaos when Miles dropped his jacket into the toilet right after using it (yikes!), so we had a hasty bathroom cleanup. Note to future visitors: if you have littles, definitely pack extra clothes—because you never know!
After lunch we headed over to catch the Friends in Flight bird show, but the rain forced a super-short performance. Joel and I decided to try our luck on Expedition Everest while his parents watched the kids. I was a bit nervous about motion sickness I’ve been more sensitive too in my older age, but it ended up being a total blast! The short lines were a hidden perk of the wet weather—we only waited about 15 minutes.
Then, it was off to Dinosaur with our 2:30 PM Lightning Lane. Hailey got scared in the pre-ride video, so I waited with her while the rest of our crew rode—and got stuck for a bit, too! Miles insisted he wasn’t scared, though the on-ride photo told a different story.
Joel and his dad went back to Everest for a second spin—and got stuck there, too! Meanwhile, the kids, Sheri and I headed over to the Boneyard play area, but most of it was closed because of the slick slides. So instead, we decided to see the Finding Nemo show. Hailey got scared again during the shark scene, but she came around once it got brighter and absolutely loved the music.
We regrouped afterward and made our way to Na’vi River Journey at Pandora, which had almost no line at all. Hailey was nervous at first—she was on high alert for surprises—but when she realized it was mostly gentle, she loved it and hopped back on with her grandparents for a second go. Joel and I took Miles to ride Dinosaur again while they floated along.
After a long, soggy day we headed to the car around 5:30pm. Unfortunately, the excitement wasn’t quite done. Back at our rental house, the dining table collapsed (it was poorly assembled) and crashed onto Miles’s toe! We spent 2.5 hours in the ER—he ended up with a crush injury to his big toe. They gave him a walking boot (way too big!), so he’ll likely be in the stroller for the rest of the trip.
After that ordeal, we all settled in with Thai food (delivered by Uber Eats in another mini-adventure) and called it a night around 10:00 PM. Despite everything, Miles slept like a rock. We did note some extra safety concerns at our rental: the headboards are wall-mounted while the beds themselves are on wheels, which resulted in the kids taking a few tumbles and the pool light not working so we couldn’t see when it got dark and wanted to swim..
Rain at Disney isn’t exactly on anyone’s wish list, but the upside is definitely the shorter lines and less-crowded walkways. We got to ride favorites multiple times and had more up-close encounters with animals who were happily roaming in the cooler temps. Hailey kept shouting, “This is the best day ever!”—and that alone made all the soggy socks and impromptu ER visits worth it (well, mostly!).