I love exotic animals. I always have. Zoos and places like Sea World and Busch Gardens have been favorite places of mine to visit for as long as I can remember. Needless to say when Disney decided they needed a piece of the animal market and opened Animal Kingdom, I let out a little shout of joy. :) Now, I won't say they are the expert in this area, because they aren't. Outside of the animals we saw on Kilamajaro Safari, we didn't really see too many animal exhibits. There a couple of "treks" where there are animals hiding along the paths but that's about it. Regardless, we still had a blast as Animal Kingdom housed one of the best shows and some of the greatest rides of our vacation. They also close early which is an extra bonus in the middle of a park filled week with four kids. :) We were able to leave the park, eat dinner at our hotel and then let the kids swim while I went for a run. It was a more leisurely day and we all appreciated that!
Animal Kingdom centers around a large hand carved tree called the "Tree of Life". Now say what you will about the name (I have my own opinions about it too), the tree is amazing. Look at those carvings! Its like a 3D search and find picture from Highlights magazine. If it weren't for kids who would get bored standing around staring at said tree, I could have spent tons more time just marveling at the talent in front of me. Simply amazing!
Above are some of the rides we rode during our trek around the "world". The little girls loved Dino-Land (basically a huge carnival area with lots of things they could do including the Bone Yard - a larger than life playground), we all though Dinosaur was fun (and surprising - watch out at the end!), Jason, the bigs and I LOVED Expedition Everest (a fantastic roller coaster) and ALL the kids (Jason included) loved Kali River Rapids. I think the main reason they loved that ride so much is that they all got drenched on a super hot day.
Another favorite ride was Kilamajaro Safari where you ride in a big jeep and head out into the "African plain" to search for animals. Disney keeps this ride very safari like in that most of the animals can walk right up to your jeep. As a matter of fact, we were so close to the giraffes I could have probably touched them and we had to sit and wait for the rhinos to settle down before we could continue on our way. They were stomping and snorting and being very territorial as a new rhino had joined the crash that week. It was amazing to see them up close and personal. I was also reminded again of how creative our God is. These animals are so unique and amazing. What a Creator we have!
Because it was a slower paced day, we were able to get photos as we just wandered along. Lots of togetherness on this day and it was very enjoyable. The little girls also got their most treasured souvenir of the trip at Animal Kingdom - their stuffed Mickey and Minnie. These toys went everywhere for the rest of the trip. They simply adore them. Ella gave Minnie a complete guided tour of the safari ride, whispering to her the whole way. Afterwards, she looked up at me with her big blue eyes and said with all seriousness, "Momma, you know Minnie can talk back...but only to me." Best purchases of the trip!
Our family ate lunch at Tusker House this day. It was an African themed buffet complete with many African dishes (as well as mac n cheese and chicken nuggets for the kids) and it was delightful (but LOUD). We had a great time seeing Donald, Daisy and Goofy whom we hadn't met yet and were thankful for a cool break from the hot sun.
If you ask my kids what their favorite memory from Animal Kingdom was, every single one of them will answer The Festival of the Lion King. This show was simply amazing and cannot be missed if you ever make it here for a visit. It had trapeze artists, a flame thrower, aerial dancers, and lots of Lion King music and tons of African dancers and great costumes. The kids got picked from the audience to participate (Micah at the beginning and the girls at the end) and you would have thought they just won the lottery. Such a treat. Another show we really enjoyed was Its Tough Being a Bug. It took place below the Tree of Life and was a movie you shouldn't miss. Watch out at the end though, those bugs will throw you for a loop if you don't know what's coming! ;)
We ended the day with a cool dip in the pool and the kids thought they were super special because we let them swim when it was dark out (even though it was only around 8:30). The girls cuddled up with their new treasures and were asleep before I could even kiss them good night.
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