More from the Animal Kingdom

One of the cool things Disney is doing is granting Magical Moments. These can include free snacks, VIP seating for show, being the Parade Marshal or even winning a free vacation. We were lucky enough to be granted a magical moment as we got ready to ride Expedition Everest. We were approached and given a fast pass to the line that would have been at least a 30 min wait. Sure it's no free vacation, but still really cool.

Joe with our magic moment granter, Sara, as we were walking toward the fast pass line.

Here we are at the entrance to Typhoon Lagoon. The idea behind this water park is that a typhoon hit a tiny resort village many years ago and the storm, followed by ensuing earthquakes and volcanoes, left the village in ruin. However the locals were resourceful and rebuilt their town as this "wateropolis". It is an AWESOME water park, by far my personal favorite. Yep, I have a HUGE hat on. Seriously, the sun was killer.

How gorgeous is this?! And yeah, all the vegetation, real. You will notice at the top of the Mount Mayday is Miss Tilly, a shrimp boat marooned after the storm subsided. Every 30 mins a 50-foot flume of water erupts into the air from her smokestack. If you look closely you can see the waterfalls and the beautiful, blue wave pool at the base. They even have real soft white sand on the "beach".

This is a little out of order. Here the boys are waiting for a bus to take us to Typhoon Lagoon.