My First Solo Walt Disney World Trip : Day 4

By Nick
 
Monday, January 4th, 2016 

I woke up early feeling a whole lot better than the morning before, and headed to Disney's Animal Kingdom for the 8am Extra Magic Hour.

I headed right for Kilimanjaro Safaris, which was very uneventful as it was a very chilly morning. The most exciting thing was the male lion was actually up and a bit active. I still have not heard him roar though!

I took a walk through the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail. I walked around the newly opened Harambe Market snapping pics before taking another unremarkable ride through the safari.

I walked a couple of laps around the park, which is when I discovered Maharajah Jungle Trek and The Tree of Life Garden (which used to be Discovery Island Trails) were closed due to the cool weather!

I then headed to a show that I haven't seen in years. And, okay, I'm just going to say it, unless I'm with others who REALLY want to see it, it will be several years before I return. I know, it's the most popular live show in Walt Disney World, but I just don't get the big attraction of Festival of the Lion King!

I used my FastPass for Dinosaur before crossing back across the park where I had lunch at Harambe Market. Man, was it crowded! I'll have a full review in a future post.

I took a walk over to the newly opened Thirsty River Bar and Trek Snacks next to Expedition Everest and had a beer before walking over to It's Tough to Be a Bug, which was down.

I decided to go to Disney's Hollywood Studios, which was packed, I expect because Disney had extended The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights for few more nights. Even The Great Movie Ride was an hour wait!
I went into Star Wars Launch Bay and went to the Disney Visa Darth Vader Meet and Greet, where there was literally no wait.
I walked in and met the Dark Lord of the Sith, and he told me I gave the Rebellion another reason to be afraid! I told him I was in the Rebellion, and ran away!

I walked around the Launch Bay taking photos and had a great conversation about the entire Star Wars saga with a Cast Member there. I walked over towards Star Tours to watch Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple, and I am sorry to say I feel it has lost a lot of it's humor. Perhaps I just didn't see the right Jedi Master, but this show was nowhere near as funny as I've seen in the past.

I went over to the Tune in Lounge, which is the bar/waiting area for 50's Prime Time Cafe, and was happy to find an empty seat at the bar next to a father and son from California and discussed craft beer for about an hour. And I had one of my favorite dinners, the fried chicken! Man that is good stuff!

I walked over to catch The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights again, before heading back to the Polynesian for the evening.