day 6 (yoda meets the mouse, kooka meets a t-rex -mama meets a snake)

There are half-a-dozen things that Punk loves more than breathing - and all of them are in Orlando:  legos, rootbeer,  cartoons, the Yeti Ride, the Dinosaur Ride, and Haunted Mansion.  Since we'd already knocked the beverage and the spooks off of the list, we figured we'd hit the rest today.

We started out at Animal Kingdom, where Punk couldn't wait to take Rico and I on Expedition Everest (which we all agree is the most intense Disney ride there is).  After that it was off to the Nemo show - a broadway-style extravaganza music and dancing and puppetry and bubbles (oh how Yoda loved the bubbles).

We couldn't leave the park without heading to Dinoland USA.  It was here that Punk and Rico and I cruised back in time on the dinosaur ride, Yoda and Kooka and I took a few twirls on Triceratops spin, and everybody played in the Boneyard. Rico had (and I quote) "the best burger of his entire life" at Restaurantosaurus, and I completed my fear factor list for the week.

It's not enough that I'd already been mugged by a bush, and that Southwest airlines had blown a hole in one of the planes we were intending to ride home.  There also had to be snakes.

Why does it always have to be snakes?

Kooka and I were checking out one of the gift shops, when not ten feet from us, there is a huge (almost three feet long), HUGE black snake slithering from the shelf to the floor. At first glance - it could have been a dropped toy, or some uber-realistic Disney prop.  But no - it was real - and it had no fear.

 Kooka, Yoda and I backed away slowly, but the stroller-pushing woman next to us screamed and bolted through the door, which only served to piss off snake.  He raised his head like that cobra in Riki-Tiki-Tavi and licked his little snake lips before lunging on.

A salesman stepped forward to put some distance between the customers and the snake, while he shouted for somebody to call security.  The saleswoman did pick up the phone, but not before shrugging and and commenting "Well, it's animal kingdom - what do they expect?"

What do I EXPECT?

I expect that when I am reaching for one of your $28 dollar t-shirts, that you will do everything in your power to make sure that I and my 8-month old baby (but especially I) am not ambushed by a slithering, venomous reptile.  I expect, that a corporation who won't even let us see the trash being emptied,  could at least sprinkle some sort of snake-b-gone around the perimeter.  I expect - that somehow, via the magic of Disney, we could be spared this psychological trauma.

I couldn't wait to leave.

Hollywood studios is more my kind of place anyway.  Not that the natural wonders in Animal Kingdom are lost on me - but I'll take a 10 story-free-fall over a stray possum any day.

Punk loves the animation station. Kooka loves the movie ride. The line at Rock-n-Rollercoaster is too long for Rico and I, so we all head to the Indiana Jones stunt show.  We spend lots of time taking goofy pictures and Yoda finally gets to meet Mickey Mouse.

We stop at CiCi's for a pizza buffet (mac and cheese pizza and buffalo chicken are the hands-down faves), take a swim in the pool, and head to downtown Disney where Kooka tours the world's largest Disney Store, and Punk comes face to face with a lego sea-serpent (but decides that the hour long line at the lego store - just isn't worth it).

We take a boat back to the parking lot, make a stop for fresh Krispy Kremes and head for home.  Tomorrow is a beach day - and I can't wait.

Kooka's ears/snake nest - same diff

Best burger he ever had - direct quote.

Punk's favorite dino - a pachycepholasaurus

singin' in the rain

lego nessie meets lego maniac

yoda meets the mouse