Day 1: Animal Kingdom
Upon entering the park, we were greeted by the Tree of Life, Animal Kingdom's focal point.
Obviously, photos were necessary.
Our first stop was Jurassic Park DinoLand U.S.A. Not going to lie, I was a little disappointed that it was so geared towards kids (read: not terrifying) but then I remembered where I was. We hopped on a ride, perused a few gift shops, and I had to photograph this (not so) little guy. Honest to god- I never realized how TINY T-Rex arms actually were. It was hilarious. Poor thing.
Next we took a trip to Asia- definitely the most beautiful area of the park.
We rode Expedition Everest which is apparently Disney's most scary ride. THE DAMN THING GOES BACKWARDS. It was fun, but I wasn't expecting that. My stomach paid for it later.
One thing that really impressed me about AK and the rides, in particular- they don't mess around with their set design. It was amazing. No standing in boring lines with nothing to keep your attention- they have so many things to look at that you totally forget you've been standing in line with a creeper "accidentally" grazing your ass for the last 25 minutes.
And then there was this. Scat. Really, Disney World? Was this necessary to your display? No. Someone, probably with a sense of humor akin to myself, just wanted to use the word "Scat" at a theme park. Can't say I blame them.
Next stop: Africa. Africa was definitely the most bland out of all the AK areas. They didn't have elaborate sets like the other places and it just kind of felt like Africa was an afterthought. The animals were beautiful though:
This is the only semi-decent shot I got of the elephants. Boo. The safari was fun, but the line was so long and when you finally got on the vehicle, there were so many people that it was almost impossible to get good photos of the animals. Half of my photos were strangers' hands and heads.
The giraffes were my favorite. This one was so close!
Slight pause for the rhino crossing. It was pretty amazing to be so close to these animals with no barrier between us.
These little guys were pretty brave- grazing right next to:
Mufasa on Pride Rock! I don't think his name was Mufasa, and I know they don't call that thing Pride Rock, but I had my Lion King moment. Although, I must admit, I was kind of hoping we'd get rushed by a lion or something. Excitement!
Next Up: Magic Kingdom
Have you ever been to Animal Kingdom? What was your favorite part?
7 comments:
Looking at your photos brings back memories from when we went a couple years back. My favorite part of Animal Kingdom was probably Expedition Everest.
Did you see the Lion King show?? One of the best things about the Animal Kingdom!
I love Disney World!! I totally agree about the set design - one of my favorite details about the parks :)
Looks like such a fun time. I'm sad that I've never been to Disneyland or World. It was all I ever asked for for my birthday as a kid, and it's still never happened!
Oh my goodness that looks like so much fun! I'm so jealous - I've never been to Disneyland or Disneyworld, but I've always, always wanted to go!
My first time at Animal Kingdom was actually just back in October of 2011! I have to say, I was pretty impressed with it: we only spent half a day there because we were hopping, but it was enjoyable! I thought it was interesting when I heard that they have to shut down that park a few hours earlier than other ones because they have to bring the animals in...and sometimes it takes the elephants/rhinos/etc. a while to get back to their enclosures, since it's not like the staff can exactly wrangle them into their cages at that size! Haha!
Yes, it's me again!
I love your pictures & your sunglasses.
AK is probably my favorite park just because of the detailing. Super impressive (even the scat). My favorite part though are the animal treks... in particular Maharjah Trek with bats and a dragon and the tigers. So gorgeous.
Plus they have Safari Amber Ale at this park (exclusively except for the Africa "pavilion" in Epcot)... my husband and I gobble that stuff up.
Again, love when my two worlds collide and I read humorous/fun recaps! :)
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