Everest at Night

After a busy conference day I met the family in our room to freshen up, then we headed over to Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Our evening party was at this park but we wanted to make sure Summer had a chance to experience the Kilimanjaro Safari since this was her first trip to Animal Kingdom. After the safari we wandered the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail checking out all of the cool animals. Next the kids wanted to head to Expedition Everest and I was getting tired to they went to ride the ride and Ron and I found a bench and relaxed. When the kids had ridden Everest twice they joined us and we headed out to the front of the park to meet our group as they arrived on the buses.

Rildey Pearson and Jordan

When the buses arrived, we were escorted back to Dinoland USA which is where our party was being held! For the next few hours we would dine, ride and dance throughout Dinoland! There were buffet stations and dining tables set up along the winding pathways of Dinoland, we chose a table on the path between TriceraTop Spin and Dinosaur. Just as we were sitting down Jordan grabbed my arm all excited because he had spotted Ridley Pearson, author of his favorite series of books, The Kingdom Keepers, walking straight towards us. We spoke with Mr Pearson for a brief moment and Jordan had his picture taken with him. We ate a delicious dinner of carved roast beef with all the trimmings and the kids chose meatball subs. After dinner it was time for some rides! During the party we had free run of Dinoland USA including Expedition Everest, Primeval Whirl, TriceraTop Spin and Dinosaur. Making it even more exciting was the fact that guests are seldom in Animal Kingdom after dark and the fun carnival lights of Dinoland USA just added to the magic of the evening.

First we headed over to Primeval Whirl (though we weren’t sure if this was the best decision right after eating!). After two rides on that roller coaster the kids headed over to ride Expedition Everest in the dark a few times. I headed back to the buffet for some make-your-own strawberry shortcake dessert. When the kids returned they grabbed Ron and headed to Dinosaur, which scared Summer out of her skin Then the kids took a dessert break with cotton candy as their food of choice before we headed over by the DJ to join in on the Cha-Cha Slide and some Hand Jive. Then we took a spin on TriceraTop Spin before snagging a few more rides on Primeval Whirl before the magical evening ended.

TriceraTop Spinning

My boys have been raised at Walt Disney World and this night in Dinoland USA is one of their favorite Disney experiences EVER! To see my 19 year old son as giddy as a 5 year old running around Dinoland snapping photos (most of the photos in this post are his), eating great food and riding rides with no wait-made me a happy mom. I don’t know if the Disney Social Media Moms team is going to be able to top this one…but I can’t wait to see them try!

Primeval Whirl

Disclosure: I paid to attend the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration. In exchange for my registration fee, I received deeply discounted rates on hotel, park tickets, free events, meals, and swag. I am not required nor was I asked to write about the events by Disney or any other brands, celebrities, or speakers affiliated with the event. All opinions are my own.

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