Day 3: Bearizona Wildlife Park & the Grand Canyon
If you would like to start this trip report from the beginning, you can do that here.
This day got off to an early start. The guides had told the guests the day before to set their luggage outside their room by 7:00 AM and then head to a group breakfast at Che Ah Chi, the same restaurant they went to for breakfast yesterday.
Let me digress for a minute and talk about the pace of this trip (and presumably most/all ABD trips). These are definitely “Adventures by Disney”, not “Chill out and Relax by Disney”. They almost always had early mornings and long, busy days. While you could choose to rest & relax during your “on your own” time, my husband and daughter didn’t because there was so much they wanted to see and do, and they were both very tired by the end of the week. This trip has a minimum age of 4 with a suggested age of 6, but I personally wouldn’t take a child younger than 6.
Okay, back to breakfast. This time, my husband got the huevos rancheros, my daughter opted for the buffet, and they both had the mexican hot chocolate.
They met the group at the bus at 8:30 AM and set off for Williams, Arizona, which is about 1 hour and 15 minutes away. Along the way, they made a bathroom/photo op stop at a rest area.
There was also an area with people selling stuff:
Just before they got to Williams, they stopped at a wildlife preserve called Bearizona Wildlife Park. Bearizona is an animal preserve that gives all types of animals a second chance at life after injury, rescue from illegal residential housing, abandonment by mother, etc. The owners were inspired by Disney World and did a fantastic job in the creation of this park. It has sort of a theme park feel with the exhibits, restaurant, and gift shop.
Their group did a private bus tour of the drive-through animal exhibits and got very close to some of the animals. They had 2 guides:
The bus tour takes you through 3 miles of animal habitats. Here they are getting started:
Next, they attended a private jaguar feeding, followed by a private buffet lunch in the upstairs part of the restaurant. The buffet was BBQ and included things like pulled pork, chicken, potato salad, etc.
After lunch, they were able to explore the walking exhibits and gift shop on their own.
One bear was trying to help the other one up. They weren’t successful but it was cute to watch.
The skunk had it’s scent glands removed:
There was a raptor show with hawks, owls and falcons.
In the gift shop was a HUGE model train set that had models of some of the surrounding areas:
Next, they made the short drive into the town of Williams, which was made famous as a gateway to Grand Canyon National Park via the Grand Canyon Railway, and also for being located on Route 66. In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, the east coast elites would drive to Williams in order to get on the Grand Canyon Railway to go see the Grand Canyon. Back then, this was the only way to get to or see the canyon. Also, Williams was the inspiration for Radiator Springs in the movie Cars.
They spent about an hour walking up and down the main street which has some really neat shopping and photo ops.
After their time exploring Williams, they loaded back onto the bus and headed to their final stop for the day, the south rim of the Grand Canyon. They arrived at the south rim, near the Visitor’s Center, and got off the bus. As they neared the canyon, the guides told everyone to line up single file, put their heads down and only look at the person’s feet in front of them. They were setting them up for a dramatic reveal!
They walked them down to a viewing point without looking, and when everyone was in place along the railing, Tiffany began counting down.
When she got to 1, everyone opened their eyes at the same time for a spectacular view of the canyon. They said it was breathtaking, and the size of it was overwhelming!
After the big reveal they had about 45 minutes to walk around, take photos, and enjoy the views. My daughter also got a Grand Canyon stamp for her passport book.
Who knew that squirrels are the Grand Canyon’s most dangerous animal???
Next, they got back on the coach and drove to their hotel, Thunderbird Lodge.
The guides had been warning the guests all day that the accommodations here were not nearly as nice as the Enchantment Resort, but there are not many hotels inside the park so luxury was sacrificed for location. Thunderbird Lodge is one of the south rim hotels and sits right next to 3 other hotels: Kachina Lodge, Bright Angel Lodge, and El Tovar hotel. Of all of those, El Tovar hotel is the nicest, but the guides told my husband that they do not allow group reservations there (or maybe they do but the wait list is years long?), and Thunderbird Lodge is the next best option. My husband described the hotel as basic but nice, with spectacular views and easy access to restaurants, shopping, buses that take you to other parts of the park, and hiking trails.
The guides checked everyone in this time, and just passed out room keys and 2 breakfast vouchers (for the following 2 mornings) to the guests. Even though they didn’t use the front desk, this is what it looked like:
They got settled into their room.
Dinner tonight was on your own, and they chose to eat at Harvey House Cafe (at Bright Angel Lodge) because it did not require a reservation. The other 2 nearby (within walking distance) restaurants, the Arizona Room (at the Bright Angel Lodge) and El Tovar Dining Room (at the El Tovar hotel), require reservations and apparently El Tovar books out months in advance. The guides told them that they could check for cancellations and might get lucky, but they decided against it.
The meal was adequate but nothing special, and they went back to the room and called it a night.
Up next: Day 4 – the Grand Canyon
Stayed at the Thunderbird our last visit and found it quite nice. “A classic” 60’s style hotel of the national park system. We really liked the central location as it was an easy walk to take in all the South Rim has to offer. The South Rim gets very crowded when the train arrives and departs so try to be in outer area during those times. For a really classic trip to the Grand Canyon you must stay at the North Rim (on the other side of the canyon) in the cabins. A bit of a drive but well worth it for a less “day tourist” feel of the South Rim. Less visitors to the North Rim means a more individual experience with majesty of the canyon.
Williams is a nice, quaint town. Stayed there a couple Christmases ago. Didn’t enjoy it as much on the return trip since I got pretty sick, to the point of ordering a grilled cheese and barely finishing half of one piece. Wouldn’t mind staying there again for a grand canyon trip.