Cayetano Reunion 2006 Day 4

On Sunday, we meet up with Kathy and family at the bus stop to head over to Animal Kingdom. When we get there, we get a Fast Pass to the Kilimanjaro Safari ride and eat lunch at Tusker House in Harambe Village in the Africa section. This is an African-themed counter-service restaurant featuring beautifully displayed animal photos and drawings. I order the 1/2 Rotisserie Chicken served with garlic mashed potatoes and vegetables. Sheila has the Grilled Salmon served with jollof rice and vegetables. Lauren and Maddie share the Chicken Drumstick and mashed potatoes with applesauce and Macaroni and Cheese - served with applesauce and Mickey cheddar crackers. For dessert we have chocolate cake and carrot cake. After we finish eating, we ride the Kilimanjaro Safari. Sheila and I loved this ride the previous 2 times we were here. Both times we were there before we saw an ostrich at pretty much the same exact spot so we thought all those animals were Disney animatronics. Well, this time around the animals are out and about roaming around freely (sometimes blocking our safari vehicle). This is one of my favorite attractions. When the ride ends, we split up so James and I could ride the new roller coaster - Expedition Everest. The line was long but they have a single rider line that is much shorter but would only let us on the ride if there’s an odd number of people in a group (thus we will fill in the empty seat). I get to ride near the front of the coaster. It was okay. I didn't know what to expect but the ride itself makes it seem like something fantastic is about to happen but it was relatively tame. No really steep drops - just a lot of looping around in circles in the dark. While James and I were at Expedition Everest, Sheila, Kathy and the kids go to see the It's Tough to be a Bug 3D show. The kids did NOT like this show so much. I guess large 3D bugs is not their idea of having fun. It’s time for a nap anyway. We all head back to the resort for our afternoon nap.

When we wake up, we head over to Animal Kingdom Lodge for our dinner at BOMA - Flavors of Africa. We get there about an hour early hoping they could take us in before our reservation time, but this is a VERY popular restaurant and we are not seated until about 15 minutes after our actual reservation time. Well it was worth the wait. They have a great variety of foods to try. Too many to list here but one memorable one for me was the watermelon rind salad. It was cold, crisp, sweet and delicious! BOMA is an expansive and inviting family buffet which resembles an African marketplace. It has open kitchens so you can watch the creative culinary team prepare salads, vegetarian dishes, grilled seafood and roasted meats — inspired by the varied flavors of over 50 African countries from the coast of the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean. It definitely captures the magic of the alluring tapestry of tastes and textures that make up the flavors of Africa. This is an all you can eat experience, but unlike traditional buffet lines, where you start at one end and work your way across...Boma offers "pods". Each pod has a selection of food and generally a chef nearby to answer questions.

After dinner, we head over to Epcot while Kathy and Family head back to the resort. We stroll around Epcot to find a place for dinner on Tuesday. We already have a reservation at Restaurant Marrakesh in Morocco at Epcot but was not sure if the food there would appeal to everyone in our group. We walk and walk and finally make a reservation at Biergarten at Germany. We watch a little of the Illuminations Fireworks then head back to our resort for the night.