More Florida....Animal Kingdom

I think I can say that one of my favorite parks at Disneyworld is Animal Kingdom. It is so unique to Disneyworld, and I think it is very well done. It is beautiful, green, and lush. The animals habitats seem large and very true to where they would be living in the wild. The areas of the world you "visit" also seem pretty real. Fun entertainment, good food, and there are even some fun rides thrown in there with the animals! We went twice while we were there, and didn't realize until the 2nd day that there are some really fun educational opportunities for the kids, and because of time constraints (like a flight home to be caught!) we weren't able to let the kids fully partake of that......I guess we'll just have to go back! :)

To really see most of the animals, you get to go on a ride (it is Disney after all!) called the Kilamanjaro Safari. Think "Jungle Cruise" with a guide, but in a bus that is really driving, and the animals are real, not animatronic! The fun part about the drive through to see the animals, is that it is hard to tell that the animals are really in enclosures....except the safe animals like the giraffes, antelope, and buffalos which you are driving right in the middle of their habitat!



Doesn't Riley look thrilled to be there?! She was sorta happy to be at Disneyworld...as usual we had to beg her to be in pictures, but a smile was asking a bit too much?! She was happiest when we were in line for the big rides, like roller coasters...the safari ride wasn't on her list of fun rides. Stinks to be a teenager on vacation with your family, doesn't it? :)

There are some "thrill" rides at Animal Kingdom as well. Expedition Everest is the new one...think Matterhorn on steriods! Big mountain, and a bit of a storyline involving a Yeti. Problem for me was the fact that since it was "Everest," it was pretty high with some very steep drops, some of which are backwards in the dark due to the "yeti" ripping out the tracks. Yeah, I only needed to do that ride once. :) Although the daredevils Nicole and Riley gladly went on it again with Dad! We also went on the "Kali River Rapids" ride. This ride has a huge potential for getting you wet. Ellie was lucky to be just tall enough to go on the ride. She went through tentatively, but laughing. When we got to the end, there was no one else in line, so they told us if we wanted to stay on, we could. Ellie didn't! And since we really dodged the water bullet on the first time through, I opted to not tempt fate and accompanied Ellie off. That was a good choice! The rest of the family went TWO more times, and came off literally drenched! I guess at one point Jared had a wall of water come up over his head! We took Jared and Nicole to the bathroom after to wring out their clothes. :) See all the other smart people in ponchos on the ride?!

Since it is Disney.....the characters are available for auto- and photo-graphs.



And to finish this post out....a perfect shot of the monkeys at the "Tree of Life"!