Kristen has her eye on a couple Outlet stores, and wants another go at Wal Mart this afternoon. So after massive crowds arrived at Typhoon Lagoon we headed out for a bit of shopping. A couple hours of that was enough and then we headed back to the resort.
 

We have been trying to keep very hydrated this trip with all this heat, and had lots of water bottles around. For whatever reason, SOMEONE who shall remain nameless (Kristen) decided to stick their finger in a bottle (Kristen) and it got stuck! LOL Now, typically, that wouldn’t be any big deal, but she (Kristen) got it REALLY stuck. Kind of freak out, OMG – get this thing OFF my hand NOW stuck! Now, I’m concerned (laughing) but driving and not much help. (Its hard enough not to hit anything bent over LMAO), so she turned to the girls. I suggested either using some suntan lotion or having one of the girls squeeze the bottle and blast it off there. :-) The squeezing worked and she was bottle free once more. Whew! (I’m in big trouble for including this little side story, hope you enjoyed it!) :-D

So, we arrived back at the resort with all attached plastic removed and headed up to the room. We had just enough time to get changed and ready to head to the Animal Kingdom Lodge for dinner at Boma. We wanted to arrive early so we could see the animals out on the savannah and look around the store for a while.

I love that this is now a DVC resort because we can valet park for free now! :-D So, we did that, and headed inside. SUCH a beautiful resort and we all look forward staying here when the new building opens. Or maybe here in the main lodge if we are lucky enough to get a room at seven months sometimes.
 

We headed out onto the savannah and while the animals were scarce at first, we soon had quite a few show up for dinner. We saw a couple types of cattle, deer, giraffe and zebras. We enjoyed watching them for a bit and then headed back inside. It was still mighty hot and the A/C felt good. We headed into the store and spent quite a bit of time looking around. We all found a couple things we wanted, including things for the Pirate and Princess party the next night.
 

Now it was time for dinner, so we checked out and headed downstairs to check in for dinner. After a very short wait we were seated and the buffet explained to us as first timers. *I* was excited, but the girls weren’t thrilled with all the more exotic choices. But there are the old standards which was good, and the dessert bar made up for ANY issues they had with the special food choices.

About half way through our dinner the heavens opened up and BOY did it come down. We have been very lucky so far where rain is concerned. Either we are ALWAYS eating, or it just rains WHEN we eat. Either way, it works out well for us! :-D

Boma – (at least to me!) was a wonderful meal, and the desserts really topped it off (according to everyone!) :-) The zebra domes were a big hit and we loved most everything we tried. All was very good and soon we were stuff and ready to move along – albeit slowly! We walked up to the main lobby area and found that the welcomer was now giving a talk so we sat down to listen. He was telling a story that was just finishing up and then we all joined him for a parade around the lobby. The first stop was the store where they let the children (and a few adults!) grab maracas and other noise makers and learned to sing a simple African song. Then it was time to parade around the lobby and sing and dance a bit. Lots of fun to participate and watch and all too soon we returned to say goodbye at the store. The girls even received a Magical Moments certificate which was very nice.
 

After finishing the parade it was time to head back to the resort. We wanted a good night sleep because tomorrow will be a very busy day! Early Entry at the Animal Kingdom followed by and evening enjoying Pirates and Princesses!

After valet parking the car we headed inside and stopped for a picture at the Mickey totem pole.  Jesse - a CM working the Guest Services desk saw us taking pictures and wanted in on the action.  :-)  She did a nice pose, and then offered to get a picture of us as well.  She liked posing, and set us up for her shot as well.  She was a lot of fun, and of course got a Rootin- tootin CM appreciation card (and an Atta-girl to the day manager the next day)  I love when the CM's are so much fun!