Day 4 at Animal Kingdom started out like the others days . . . early! We were there again before the gates opened. Disney is amazing, though. There was a talking tree providing entertainment near the front gate. He picked McIver out of the crowd as we walked to get in line. (I don't really know if it was a she tree or a he tree.) Mac was fine with it until the tree commented on something that he was wearing, then that freaked him out a little bit and he hid behind me.
We didn't realize that we were actually lucky enough to be at Animal Kingdom on its 10th Anniversary which also happened to be Earth Day. As we entered the gates and crossed a bridge to go to the safari ride, we ran into a bit of a bottle neck. The Disney folks were unveiling a new Animal Kingdom logo and talking about the success of the Animal Kingdom. Then, THEN, Jane Goodall spoke. Yes, the Jane Goodall from Gorillas in the Mist, she talks to chimpanzees. Try as I might, I could not convince Olivia that it was very cool for her to be able to hear Jane Goodall speak - she just wanted to get to the rides for the day. I can't say that I blame her, but Jane Goodall - that's pretty cool!
We hit the Kilmanjaro Safari ride first and saw all kinds of animals - rhinoceros, elephants, giraffes, hippos, water buffalo and more. Since it was still early, the animals were all out eating and enjoying the cool weather. The kids loved it as much as we did.
We had passed several face-painting stands throughout our days at Disney, but managed to avoid them. Finally, on the last day, after the kids really had not asked for any souvenirs, I decided to let them get their faces painted. Olivia was thrilled and picked the Unicorn Princess design.
McIver chose to be a Ceremonial Warrior.
For the record, we will opt for a t-shirt next time. A t-shirt that won't wipe off or get washed away when we got on the very next ride - the Kali River Rapids! Olivia managed to keep hers on all day - she delighted in the attention from people at the airport! McIver really didn't know the difference. I would rather have spent $40 on t-shirts, though, than $27 on face paint. But - it was all about the kids and since that was really the only thing they asked for, I couldn't turn them down, especially since it was our last day.
Will took Olivia to ride the Expedition Everest roller coaster so Mac and I had some time to kill. We found the playground/excavation site in DinoLand. McIver was in dinosaur heaven! He loved all the ropes, tunnels, slides and dinosaur bones. Oh, and Olivia LOVED the roller coaster. If we had more time, I'm sure she would have gone again and again. Will and I are so glad that our kids like roller coasters as much as we do!
Olivia found this carriage and asked for her picture to be taken here. 
Sadly, we had to end our day early to catch the bus back to the hotel so we could make our flight home. It was a great trip and we can't wait until we can go again - when McIver is at least 48 inches tall and we can stay at a Disney resort!
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