Disney at 26 weeks pregnant: Animal Kingdom hates pregnant ladies

Everyone is always asking me if I’m having twins. It’s kind of annoying. I’m carrying everything in the front and so I look huge, but when the ten millionth stranger asks you when you’re due and you say “End of March!” and they give you this skeptical look before saying cautiously, “…are there two?” it gets a little old. That said, let’s get to the most surprising thing I found at Disney:

Animal Kingdom hates pregnant ladies. That’s right. I said it. My most miserable day was the day we went to Animal Kingdom. I had already agreed to let my husband ride all the big rides (he’s a huge photo-fiend so he wanted to ride the safari a bunch of times) so he left for the park early while I took my time getting ready and getting there.

First of all there didn’t seem to be a lot of benches around. Those that were around did not have backs. A couple of the ones outside of the rapids ride had backs and there were tables with backed chairs outside the safari ride, but those were mostly taken up by families eating lunch who didn’t think twice about not letting a huge pregnant lady have a seat. In one case, I was headed for one of those chairs when a guy with a carriage started running to literally cut me off so quickly I nearly tripped over the carriage wheel while he triumphantly yelled for his family to come join him. It was super classy.

Second: none of the major attractions were all right for pregnant ladies. Zero. Expedition Everest, the Safari, Dinosaur, Kali River Rapids, Primevil Whirl absolutely every single one had a warning that expectant mothers could not ride. That meant a lot of waiting around for me with nothing to look forward to. Now my husband rode the safari a few times and said they’d changed it to take away all the bumpy parts so perhaps in the future this will change? I hope so!

Third: Even the safari trails were somewhat disappointing–particularly my favorite part with the tigers where they play in the fountain–there was a flat path that took you completely past it. Otherwise you had to go up about four stairs and down four stairs, which was difficult after a day of walking around the park. Yeah, there’s a tiny little window like around the corner where you can peek in, but it’s not nearly as close or as cool. 

By the time we left (which was pretty early) I was rather convinced that Animal Kingdom was actively hostile to pregnant women, which was upsetting to me. My husband was completely understanding and as befuddled as I was that the park had been so terrible for me, but honestly I would recommend skipping Animal Kingdom entirely if you are pregnant. Stay by the pool instead and avoid the frustration!