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Goodbye for Now

Angie, DJ, and Joan were all bouncing with excitement at the chance to see the elephants up close as they approached Living with Giants. They arrived early after a hearty breakfast at the Rainforest Cafe and immediately came upon a sign that read, 'Guests must be at least four years old to participate in the elephant tour'.

"ME! I'm four!" Angie waved her hands after DJ read the sign aloud.

They made their way through the gate just as the next tour was starting and listened as the host, whose name tag identified her as Denise, explained that Animal Kingdom incorporated special designs to protect the animals.

"The park is located on the western edge of the resort, and is isolated from the resort's other theme parks and properties to minimize external disruptions to the animals," she explained. "The nighttime show has no fireworks and the park uses biodegradable paper straws. No plastic straws, lids or balloons are allowed."

"Kaitlyn will be happy to hear that," DJ said.

"Disney's Animal Kingdom is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums, which indicates they have met or exceeded the standards in education, conservation, and research," the host continued.

Joseph nodded. "That's good to hear."

"So now that we got all of that out of the way, are you ready for an absolutely amazing hour?" the host asked.

She was greeted by an enthusiastic chorus of "Yes!" from the assembled tour group.

As the tour progressed Catherine noticed DJ making notes in his memory book as the animal specialists explained how they care for the elephants on a daily basis. While the kids had been writing and drawing in their memory books almost nightly, this was the first time he'd asked to take notes while a presentation was going on.

"What are you writing, honey?" she asked.

"I'm writing down things I think Kaitlyn would want to know so I don't forget before I get home," DJ said.

"That's very sweet of you," Catherine replied. "I'm sure she'll love that."

As they watched several of the elephants eating grasses grown especially for them Denise explained that a full grown elephant can eat 1,000 pounds of vegetation a day.

"I never thought I'd see a living creature that can out eat you," Danny snarked to Steve who rolled his eyes good naturedly.

As the tour was wrapping up they were introduced to an African Culture Representative who was on hand to share stories of Disney's conservation efforts and detail the company's dedication to the preservation of wild populations throughout their homeland.

"We definitely need to get Kaitlyn's souvenir here," DJ said as the tour wrapped up.

"Did I hear someone suggest shopping?" Elizabeth chuckled. "Come with me. I have a map of the best stores here."


"This is another roller coaster," Steve said as they made their way towards Expedition Everest: Legend of the Forbidden Mountain.

"I was reading about this in our guide book last night," DJ said excitedly. "There's a Yeti!"

"What's dat?" Angie asked.

"It's a big snow monster," DJ told her.

"Kind of like Marshmallow in Frozen," Joan added.

"I tall enough?" Angie asked, warily eyeing the sign at the end of the queue.

"Yes, you are," Catherine said. "But this ride goes backwards and there are some pretty big drops."

"I like that," Angie said happily as she joined the queue.

"Are you goin', Grandma?" Joan asked.

Sue smiled. "I think I will."

"What about you?" DJ asked his grandmother.

Elizabeth waffled a bit. "I'm not sure."

"Oh come on," Joseph said playfully as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "If you get scared you can hang on to me."

Elizabeth relented and the entire crew boarded the Expedition Everest train. The ride started with a small lift which led to a short drop.

"That's not too bad," Elizabeth said as the train began it's ascent up a larger hill. As the train climbed higher it entered the ruins of a temple with murals of the Yeti on the wall warning riders that the mountain is his territory and they should stay away.

"Him needs to share," Angie told Danny, who was sitting beside her, matter of factly.

"I'm not sure he's the type to listen to reason," Danny snorted. "He's more of an act first, think next guy. Like someone else I know."

As the train reached the top of the peak it circled around through a cave. As they exited back into the daylight the train stopped. Directly in front of it was a section of torn up track which had presumably been damaged by the Yeti.

"Uh-oh!" Joan said.

After a few seconds of stillness the train began to roll backwards. As it spiraled down the mountain DJ reached for Steve's hand and squeezed tightly.

"It's ok," Steve assured him.

"I know," DJ replied. "I always feel safe when I'm with you and Mommy."

"Thanks, buddy," Steve said around a lump in his throat just as the train came to a halt once again, this time in a large cave where the riders were confronted with more torn up track.

"Dat Yeti is bad," Angie said.

Joan clutched Aaron's hand as the shadow of the Yeti grew larger on the cave wall.

"It's ok, pumpkin," he assured her.

As the shadow grew closer the train began moving forward again. It rolled out of the mountain and down an 80 foot drop before making a sharp turn and increasing its speed through another cave where the Yeti could be heard roaring angrily.

As the ride wrapped up the train passed through one more cave where the Yeti once again took a swing at it before it dropped down a small incline and reached the unloading dock.

"I think you should tell your daddy you want a Yeti for a pet," Danny teased as he exited the train and held a hand out to help Angie.

"I don't want a yeti." Angie hopped down unaided. "I really want a goat."


The next ride was Kali River Rapids, a family raft ride.

The cast member manning the ride cleared them for a 12-person raft since Angie would be sitting on Steve's lap. They boarded one named Kathmandoozy and away they went, starting on the Chakranadi River, climbing a ninety foot lift through jasmine and ginger scented mist.

They floated past geysers, a waterfall, a rock that looked like a tiger, through a tropical jungle.

"Is dis gonna go faster?" Angie said hopefully from her spot on her father's lap and next to Danny.

Her godfather laughed and shook his head. "Yes, Adventure Angie, it is."

"Yay!" she said just as the water became choppier, and they heard chainsaws and smelled smoke. Around a bend, they saw burned tree stumps, and a truck, which slid into the river, and was trying to get out before they passed a flaming bridge and dropped 30 feet down a slide, soaking everyone.

Zooming down the rapids, they passed waterfalls, slid down a rock and spun cascading down into whitewater. Danny quipped to Steve, "This feels familiar, it's no different than how you drive."

"I never drove us down a waterfall," Steve scoffed, causing his partner to say, "See what I mean?" to Ramon, who was chuckling.

After passing through a cave under dripping water and spray water jets, beneath a wooden bridge and past statues of elephants that shot water from their trunks the raft returned to the loading pagoda and everyone disembarked.

After lunch at the Harambe Market where all three children proclaimed the chicken nuggets among the best they'd ever had, the group headed for the Maharajah Jungle Trek.

"Where Denise?" Angie asked, referencing their guide from the elephant exhibit.

"We just walk through this one ourselves," Steve told her.

As they walked through the forest across large footbridges and past cascading waterfalls they encountered ancient ruins that served as a home for bantengs, bar-headed geese, Sumatran tigers, blackbucks, orangutans, Eld's deer, gibbons, large flying foxes, komodo dragons and over 50 bird species.

"It's pretty loud," Joan observed.

"That's because all of the birds are singing at the same time," Mary said. "That's what happens in the forest.

As they walked further Angie saw a tiger and stood mesmerized. "So pretty," she said in a voice barely above a whisper.

"She's from the same animal family as Pumpkin," DJ said. "Can you believe it?"

Angie studied the big cat for a few seconds. "If she climbed da Christmas tree it will fall down," she said.

Joseph barked a laugh. "I'll bet you're exactly right."

After bidding goodbye to the animals they made their way to UP! A Great Bird Adventure Show.

There bird researchers educated Russell and Dug, from the movie Up, about natural bird behaviors and the effects of habitat loss and conservation efforts on bird species, such as the black crowned crane and bald eagle.

When the bird handlers asked for volunteers to have an eagle perch on their arm Catherine's hand shot up.

"Was it scary, mommy?" DJ asked her afterwards.

"Dat bird was big," Angie said.

"It was a little scary at first," Catherine admitted, "but the longer I held her the more comfortable I felt."

"Kinda like me on Space Mountain," DJ said.

"Exactly like that," Steve replied. "That's why it's always good to try things, even if they seem scary. You might end up having fun."

After a trip through Dinoland and a ride on the very tame dino roller coaster the group gathered at the Tree of Life, the park's sculpted, man-made baobab tree. They headed for the Disney buses that conveniently ran every 15 minutes and rode back to their hotel for dinner where Grace met them before the whole group made the short walk to the Magic Kingdom one final time.

"We thought we'd see the fireworks show up close for our last night here," Aaron said.

"Yay!" Joan said, walking between her parents and holding their hands as her grandparents walked behind them.

"Fireworks!" Angie said excitedly as she skipped along holding Catherine's hand. She stopped, registering the latter half of Aaron's sentence. "Last night?"

"Yes, baby girl, this is our last night at Disney World," Catherine said. "That's why we were starting to pack this morning."

Angie frowned, thinking this over. She looked up, smiling excitedly as a thought occurred to her. "We can live here!" she said, beaming.

"Ohh, honey," Catherine said, chuckling a little. "But our house is in Hawaii."

"We can have a house here," Angie reasoned.

"Grandma Ang and Aunt Carrie and Uncle John and the Allens are in Hawaii," Elizabeth added. "And Uncle Chin and Aunt Kono …"

"Dey can come here, too," Angie said.

"Your gymnastics class is in Hawaii," Joseph said.

Steve quirked an eyebrow. "And our backyard ocean …"

Angie bit her lip, having a harder time countering that argument.

"Cammie and Pumpkin are in Hawaii," DJ said, his eyes serious.

Angie's mouth opened. She looked toward the Magic Kingdom they were nearing, then back at DJ, pressing her lips together. She looked up at Catherine and Steve. "We have to go home to Cammie and Pumpkin," she said decisively.

Steve chuckled, picking her up so they could pick up the pace and get a good spot. "That settles it then."

"But we come back here soon, okay?" Angie said, trying to find a way to have both.

"We'll be back, baby girl," Steve promised and smiled down at DJ as Catherine took the eight-year-old's hand. "We'll definitely be back."

THE END


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