Williams Family: Our Four Parks; One Day Adventure--December 31, 2018! (Part 2)

Click here to read Part 1 of Our Four Parks, One Day Adventure.

Let me remind you of the rules that we set for ourselves:

• A park icon photo at each park.
• Use only Disney transportation system.(Could we use all forms in one day?)
• Ride at least one ride at each park with a ride photo

So far, we had broken one of the rules as we didn't get a ride photo at EPCOT, just selfies in the line for Soarin'.

We strolled from Future World to the International Gateway at EPCOT and took the Friendship Launch from EPCOT to Disney's Hollywood Studios.

While on the boat, I used the My Disney Experience app to order lunch at Woody's Lunchbox using the mobile order function on the app.  It was easy!

Do you see the 2019 in our picture?  

When we got closer to Woody's Lunchbox, I used the "I'm here" button on the app and proceeded to the mobile order window to pick up lunch.  Did I say this was easy?  It automatically used our Quick Service Dining credits!

Soon it was time for our Slinky Dog Coaster Fastpasses.  Everytime this ride is fun! Also, as soon as we exited the attraction, I was able to snag a Fastpass for DINOSAUR!

The lines for the Star War Characters were a bit long, but Disney Chase Visa has a character meet & greet in Launch Bay so we stopped.  Good thing the husband had his wallet and photo ID!

We exited the park and made our way to the bus stop for Disney's Animal Kingdom.  This was the longest walk of the day!  The bus was full and we had to stand for the ride.  

Just inside the entrance to Disney's Animal Kingdom, Terk and Meeko were greeting guests.  We stopped to say "Hello!"

The photo above met the criteria for park icon photo!  You can also see by the sun that it was later in the day.

On our way to DINOSAUR, we stopped to greet Russell and Dug and met a family from our hometown in the line, too!  It really is a small world!

Since we were right there, we decided to see "It's Tough To Be A Bug" before making our way to Dinoland.

We rode DINOSAUR and the husband was so scared he forgot his part of the 2019 using his hands.  Oh, well!

Time to exit the park and take a bus to Disney Springs.  We had a dinner reservation!

Our reservation was for Enzo's Hideaway.  Seafood and pasta favorites were on the menu.  What was even cooler was the trip to the bathroom which is shared with The Edison.  

After dinner, we took a bus from Disney Springs back to our resort.

We did it!  We hit all four Walt Disney World Parks in one day, along with Disney Springs.  We used Disney transportation throughout and rode buses, the monorail, and two different types of water launches.  We even squeezed in a character meal and met characters at three of the four parks.  We got attraction photos at three of the four parks and icon photos at all four.

December 31 is one of the busiest days of the year for the Walt Disney World Resort.  Knowing this, we tried to move opposite the crowds in the order we visited the parks.  

We saved time traveling without bags.  The husband had the camera, portable phone charger w/cord, and wallet in his pockets.  The boy and I each had our phones and sunglasses.We made no purchases other than food throughout the day.

Would we do this again?  Sure!  But now we're thinking both water parks on the same day!

Williams Family: Up Close With Rhinos

In the Fall of 2018, Disney's Animal Kingdom announced a new tour--Up Close With Rhinos.  Have already experienced Caring for Giants, we were intrigued by this new one-hour tour.

With a cost of $40 per person, we booked right away and got a 15% Annual Passholder Discount.

The tour is offered daily at 11:00 am, last approximately 60 minutes, and is limited to 16 guests.

 Guests are directed to meet at 10:45 am at the Curiosity Animal Tours kiosk which is located on the left side of the sidewalk just prior to the entrance to Kilimanjaro Safari.

We arrived at the designated time, completed the paperwork--waivers.  Since the boy was not yet 18, we had to sign a waiver for him, giving him permission to be on the tour.  As for age limits, the tour is designated for ages 4 and up.  Children under 18 must be accompanied by a participating adult.

The tour is coined a "hopeful" tour as it is designed around a hopeful interaction with a rhino.

There were 14 guests in our group.  We were guided out the gate, across the parking lot, and loaded into a passenger bus that holds 16, hence the tour limit.

We drove around the perimeter of Animal Kingdom, specifically Kilimanjaro Safari.  We could see the night barns for several different animals that are found on the safari.

Our guide was very helpful and told us about how the animals respond to different sounds/signals to return each night.  We also learned that the animals have choice to stay on safari all night and would be called again in the morning for breakfast.  We learned the animals who choose to do this return tired in the morning.  The reverse is also true, the animals have a choice to go out each day.  One rainy, cold day several rhinos decided that their warm barns were where they wanted to be!

Once we arrived at the rhino area, which is also near the large cat area, an electronic gate was opened for the bus to drive through and we were about to disembark and walk with guides to the rhino barns.

Much time and effort was spent explaining rules for our safety.  There were certain colored lines we could not cross and were expected to follow all directions.

We got a close up look at the rhino barns.  They are heated, have various toys, have padded areas, and are cleaned daily.  The rhinos are rotated throughout various rooms in the barns, as some are larger than others.

On our tour, we learned about Duncan, a young male rhino who recently joined Animal Kingdom in the hopes of breeding.  He had only been with his brother previously, so female rhinos were somewhat foreign to him.  He had a large outside area and had been out to the safari a few times.  When we saw him, he was in the barn area so that Helen, an older female rhino, could socialize him and show him the ropes.

It was Helen who we got to see close up.  Her trainer was using a whistle, hand signals, and food to ask her to come closer to the gate so that we could have turn petting her.  And, she let us!

After a few moments up close, we washed her hands, and were able to ask a few more questions.  The trainers and guides were very knowledgeable and patient with our questions.

Soon, it was time to board the bus and make our way back and re-enter Animal Kingdom near the kiosk.  Our lanyards were returned for re-use, although we got to keep the nametags.

This tour was definitely a highlight of our trip.  In addition to having a unique experience and learning more about rhinos and conservation efforts, it was refreshing to leave the park crowds momentarily all while being well taken care of with the tour.

Click here for the official site for the tour.