Maisie is 7

Animal Kingdom 2013

Animal Kingdom is Disney's version of an animal park, it's split up into Africa, Dinoland, Asia and camp Minnie-Mickey with Discovery Island at it's centre. This park closes early due to animal welfare, so we set of very early for this one as we wanted to do this park a one day and didn't plan to make a return visit.
We had decided the night before which main thing we wanted to do, choosing the Kilimanjaro Safaris so headed straight there to book a fast pass ticket, leaving us time to wander some of the area.
Maisie and Lucas were a little tired out this day, Maisie has her sulk face on but we soon fixed that with hot chocolate and churros to start the day, we went to Tuskers but they were serving character breakfast which was way too pricey for us, and be honest my kids weren't overly bothered about going on of their way to meet them. We bought lunch at a snack bar close by and ate in the covered Africa village area.

Africa is the largest part of the park, the African theme here is quite realistic in a shabby way, without the Disney gloss. Broken down buildings and dancing cast members make the atmosphere here, the kids loves this live music and Lucas had a bit of dance.
A problem with Animal Kingdom is it has lots of great shows but their times overlap and although a small park in terms of things to do it covers a wide area. So by the time you choose what to do it could be full by the time you get there.
TIP: Make sure you get a day schedule at guest services when you enter the park. It will give you times for the day so you plan ahead or use a park planning app like Touring Guides.

We headed to camp Minnie-Mickey, an area set out like a Summer camp with lots of small sectioned off trails leading to a character meeting, the queues for this seemed huge and very concentrated. Which made getting to The Festival of the Lion King even harder, we made it just in time.

The show is set in a round theatre and even though we were in some of the last rows seated our view was still great, the cast were energetic and brilliant at getting the crowd to interact. we were in the Giraffe section and had to make Giraffe noise(apparently they barr like a sheep). 

The show includes all the Lion King songs, dancing, acrobatics and wire work. My kids were amazed through out an I'm really glad I made this show.

TIP: If you want really good seats head to this show 20-30 minutes before it starts, and if you want your children to have a good chance of being picked out to be part of it, seat them by an aisle so they can easily be walked down and get them shouting and waving when they ask for volunteers.

Time for the Kilimanjaro Safaris, this is classed as the parks premier animal attraction but I think it goes too fast to be classed as a 5star attraction. You enter onto a realistic looking jeep(it's actually on tracks) and set out into the wilderness, they've done a great job making the natural looking animal areas. The driver/guide describes the animals you see(although ours sounded too scripted) and gives a run down of the areas you're going through. What animals you see I think is pretty much pot luck, depending on weather and what they fancy doing. Disney can't quite stage manage everything.

As you can see here we were lucky with some of our animal spots, the kids loved the very bumpy ride but it does make it harder to get good pictures. There's a part of the ride where you cross a bridge that falls apart under the jeep, I think some children may find this scary(mine loved it) and as I said the ride is very bumpy.

We loved this ride but it was over way too quick. You can pay extra to do Wild Africa Trek, which takes you behind the scenes across rope bridges and gives a closer view of the animals.

Leaving the Safari you can easily head into the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail, most people head straight from the safari to the trail so expect it to be busy.
TIP: If you want this trail without the crowds,then go when the park first opens before lots of people exit the safari. Get your safari fastpass and use the wait time to trek the trail. You'll get a great view of the animal enclosures without having to fight your way through.

Our children loved the trail, spotting the different animals which ranged from wonderful bird spotting to waving at the Gorillas. It was a relaxing space giving the kids a chance to run around and explore.

We also toured the Maharajah Jungle Trek this is very similar to the Panagani Forest Trail starting with Komodo Dragons, then you go past Tapirs, fruit bats, antelopes and Benegal Tigers. I preferred this trail to the Pangani one mostly due to the elaborate temple ruins. The scenery along the trail was especially well done in my opinion and made it more of an adventure for Maisie and Lucas who loved pointing out strange finds such as these wonderful flags in the Asia area covered in different animal stamps.

TIP: The Maharajah Jungle Trek does not get as crowded as other areas of the park as it's not attached to a ride exit, this is a great place to wander and relax in the midday sun when other areas can be packed.

After the trail we went on the Wildlife Express train to Rafiki's Planet Watch, the train was a fun way to rest tired feet in the shade and it takes you to a conservation centre. To be completely honest I found this section pretty boring, there was a vet centre but nothing was happening while we were there, there was a petting zoo where you can stroke goats an sheep but none of this area really meshed well with the rest of the park. I'd also like to say the train goes round the back of the safari area where you can see the animals are housed in large buildings at night, for me this took the shine off the safari trying to show the.animals in their natural habitat just for them to be housed at night. In my opinion unless this is really an area that calls to you when reading the guidebooks I'd give it a miss and go see a show instead.

Asia also holds Kali River Rapid-a whitewater raft ride(deemed too wet by some family members) and Expedition Everest-Abominable Snowman rollercoaster(Lucas was too small to ride) both these are Fastpast rides and as they're both very popular you'd probably need it. Also in this area is Flights of Wonder   a stadium show featuring various species of birds, we would have loved to see this but the show times clashed with other shows.

You can't go to Animal Kingdom without a picture in front of the Tree of Life, it's placed in the center of the park, based on Discovery Island it towers above the park. The area is surrounded by gardens and seating areas and makes a lovely area to catch your breath.

The tree is covered with carvings of animals and Maisie & Lucas had a great time trying to spot them, as soon as you see one you go a little further round and it morphs into a different animal. Here's Lucas trying to become part of the tree.

Underneath the tree within it's center is housed It's Tough to be a Bug! a 3D film mixed with sensual effects. It seemed to never have more than a 10 minute wait the whole day which is strange as Maisie voted it the best thing to do in the park. The film is quite loud, and intense sometimes and some effects are creepy. I wasn't prepared for huge red glowing eyed spiders to bounce from the ceilings; and even through I knew you flt things move  in the seats it still made us jump. As it was a dark jumpy show the type Lucas wouldn't like he gave it a miss and went with Dad to check out the animal displays in The Oasis, Maisie loved this show so much she took her Dad back to see it again.

Next we headed to Dinoland USA, this is the most themey part of Animal Kingdom. Full of replica Dino bones including the largest T-Rex discovered. We would have liked to see Finding Nemo-The Musical which is sited here but missed entry by minutes, like the Lion King show you really need to get here early for good seats. There are a few roller coaster rides here one of them being Primeval Whirl small coaster where you can spin the car, the ride didn't look like it lasted very long and as fastpass waiting was still 50 minutes for it we gave it a miss.

We spent sometime playing in the Boneyard, a children's play area with rope swings, nets and slides. My children loved this simple play area, which links to a area where you can dig for your own fossil in a massive sandpit with bones buried at the bottom.

TIP: Play areas are great and all children love them but a lot of Disney ones have hidden exits, it can be very easy to lose your children in these places. Discuss where to meet up again should this happen, it could be made into a game of "race you to the Dino leg". 

Dinoland USA also holds Dinosaur a motion simulator ride, but as we were running out of time,the queue was huge and loads of kids came out crying we choose to do something a little more sedate and headed for Tricera Top Spin. Sometimes the simplest rides are the best.

By this time we were done in and ready for an end of the day ice cream, while waiting for the Daddies to bring back the goodies we prepared for the Mickey's jamming Jungle parade. Beware Cast members are ruthless when organising parades and will berate you for crossing a line they've set when the parade is no where to be seen.
TIP: Check out parade times and routes they can really hamper where you can get to, when a parade is on route Cast members will not let you cross essentially trapping you in the area of the park you're in.
The parade was energetic and bouncing, with characters high fiving the children as they danced past. The floats included Loin King, Song of the South, Jungle Book and Bugs Life, and songs from these films.

Since we've been back I found out they no longer do the Jammin Jungle parade as they are changing some of the shows etc.. we really enjoyed it so I hope they do something  similar.

Remember when ever taking children for great days out, that it's meant to be fun. Sometimes that just standing on a rock, counting animals in a tree or getting an ice cream in the shape of Mickey Mouse's head.

Thanks for reading.

Eye Snot Drama

Maisie got up this morning proclaiming she had yucky stuff in her eye, which her Daddy informed her was just eye snot. We wiped her eye snot away got ready for school and went about our collective days. Upon picking her up from school we were greeted by this (and a word from the teacher informing she kept calling it eye snot, guessing all the kids say it now opps) which looked like conjunctivitis to us. Conjunctivitis is inflammation of the thin layer of tissue covering the front of the eye, it's very common. Symptoms are watery eyes, itchiness, and a stickiness which can clog up eyelashes or stick eyelids together(eye snot). 

As my Husband and I wear contact lens, he also works in an opticians and we have small children(disease spreaders) we've seen this before.

We popped down to our opticians who saw her straight away and confirmed it was, and that there no other problems with her eye.

So I thought you may like some of my tips in case you find yourself with a pink eye child too. 

* There are a few different types of conjunctivitis, it can be viral, bacterial or caused by allergies/irritants. Mostly it clears up by itself without antibiotics in 5-7 days, if you have any concerns like us pop into an opticians or make a doctors appointment.

* If it's an allergy you can take anti allergy tablets and try to avoid contact again.

* If you're a contact lens user, remove them until you eye has fully healed. Make sure they are cleaned thoroughly or even better thrown away and get new ones for when you're all better.

* Good hygiene is a must, conjunctivitis is easily spread, especially to other family members.
Wash hands regularly, and avoid sharing towels, flannels or pillows.

* You can use cool boiled water on a cotton pad to remove any stickiness, and you can ask the chemist for eye drops to help sooth the redness.

* There is no need to stay off school or work, as long as hygiene levels are maintained.

* These are just my own understandings and experiences, if you need more information the NHS page for Conjunctivitis is here, or contact your GP.

Hopeful for a speedy recovery

The Last Day of Summer

 So I was going to post a lovely shot of our town on the last day of Summer, but like the majority of Summer it was pouring down.  

So instead I thought I post some pictures of our lovely trip to Allonby Beach instead.

The children were grumpy, and bored as the evening became warm; and when Daddy came home from work we bundled them into the car for an adventure.

With shells to find, rocks to balance and the wind in our hair we enjoyed just being.

I hope you enjoyed your Summer 2012.

Amanda.x.

Love you.

Happy Valentines day.
Love Amanda.x.

Blowing Off The Cobwebs

 Stuart and I had the chance to go for a long walk to Wreay Woods, without the children, we had a lovely morning meandering along the river bank and seeing all the signs that Spring is not far away.

 Stu got a great camera for Christmas, a Canon EOS 550D which means we got some beautiful shots of the new growth.  I especially loved the Fungi pictures the one below being my favourite.

He managed to sneak a couple of me too, but this one is not too bad.

Take some time out this week to look around, the world around you is waking up from it's Winter snooze a little early, let's hope the mild weather stays.
Amanda.x.

The Blue Pool - Dorset

There are some places we visited in Dorset that need a special mention, so I'll do some separate posts on them, one of those is The Blue Pool and Tearooms in Wareham.

The tearooms have been open since 1935, the pool varies in colour sometimes green, sometimes blue, it's actually a huge clay bowl which has filled with rainwater.

The site has 25 acres of woodland surrounding the Pool full of various wildlife and flora. 

It was an amazing tranquil place, even with our 4 children and 2 dogs added to it.

They have trails for different abilities through the woodland, and a wildlife trail for he children. Hidden in the trees near markers were ceramic owls, red/grey squirrels and woodpeckers for them to spot, they were very hard to spot as we had some difficulty and only Ben(aged 6) completed the task, with the rest giving up to run through the woodland, Lucas was very excited just to find the markers.

I was amazed at every turn, finding smaller ponds teaming of frogs, fish, and dragonfly's, the latter were huge and a beautiful array of colours.

 Oh look can you see an Owl?

Entry to the site costs £5.30 per adult, £3.20 per child between 5-14 or £13.80 per family of 4, making it a very reasonable day trip out.

The park also boasts 3 play parks hidden in the woodlands, which even with my kamikaze son flinging himself from the roundabout, were a great addition to this old but glorious beauty spot.

Happy Holidays,

Amanda.x.

Goodbye Little Cottage

June and most of July has been a stressful, amazing and weird few weeks, and it's taken me this long to kinda get my head around it all and evaluate it's meaning upon our lives. 
In May we decided to try and get our act together and get our house on the market, you know splash some white paint around and fix up all those things that you've put off for the last few years. 
Our house although lovely was bursting at the seams with the mixture of craft materials and children's toys, and to be truthful I was very wary of bringing any potential viewers into it. I mean seriously how do you sell your house with children in it, do you cage them them up or something? by nature they're messy creatures, the thought of having to make our house look amazing at the drop of a hat just brought me out in a cold sweat.
Then Hubby hit on a plan, we'd rent a house close by move into that house, leaving our house empty, not in a chain and more likely to sell. It would be tough financially but could work out better as we could sell our house quicker. It's a crazy plan but it might just work.


So then to sort the rental house, this may seem strange but Hubby and I have never lived in a rented house, we managed to buy our first house at 18year young, and have owned our owe home since. So looking into rented was very strange, we found a house just around the corner, managed to barter on the price(always worth ago) sent off our forms and waited, and waited and waited.....
They rang saying pop up sign the forms get the keys, yeah.  
We all headed to get the keys, having had many chats in the weeks before explaining the situation to our children they seemed very excited by the prospect, Maisie was especially excited about having her own room as she's always had to share with Lucas.
So we get the keys and suddenly realise we don't have another day off together for 2 weeks, Maisie wants to sleep in the new house, I don't drive so couldn't move anything big and all of a sudden at 11am we think okay lets move in today. What were we thinking, never ever move house this way, we were packing stuff into boxes as in was going into the car, it was a nightmare. The kids thought the chaos was amazing, and had loads of fun throwing random items into the car, we didn't have a van just a mates people carrier but had managed to get all the big stuff moved in that first day. Phew.
The children were completely chilled out about it all, even though my stress was probably edible, and they slept fine as if we did this kind of thing every day.
But it's now done, after a couple of weeks painting and fixing we have our empty on the market house.
4 Sinclair Cottages. FOR SALE. 

Strangely I thought I'd really miss our house but I feel that we had lived all we could there, it has loads of potential that we were too young and silly not  to build on. We've learnt many lessons from living here, had 2 children here, started a business here, laughed and cried with friends here. It's been a great house but now we need to get it sold so we can find our home.
Thank you
Amanda.x.