Day two of our Disney mini-break got off to an earlier start. After a quick breakfast Ray and I headed back to the concierge desk to game plan out our day. We had three parks left to see and only two days to see them in. As it turns out, there are many benefits to staying at a Disney hotel: Extra Magic Hours. Today, Epcot Center was open until midnight for guests staying in Disney hotels, but for everyone else it closes at 9:00 pm. With that in mind, we planned to hit up Animal Kingdom first, and head to Epcot Center for dinner and a late evening.
Animal Kingdom is Disney's newest park, and while it has been around for years, I have never been to it. Since we couldn't spend all day wandering around, we decided to do highlights of the park. Upon entering was the rather impressive Tree of Life, which has 325 different animals, birds and bugs carved into it.
Our first stop was Expedition Everest, which Ray and I realized was our first ever rollercoaster ride together! We started here as we were warned the lines could get rather long later in the day. Actually, I think Ray was just as intrigued by the atmosphere presented while waiting in line; we were shuffled through a series of Asian-temple looking rooms, Everest backpacking lodges and rooms filled with actual information gathered about the Yeti. The ride really was great, but I don't think our enthusiasm could possibly have matched that of the under-12-year-old group behind us, who had already done the coaster twice this morning!
Our next stop was Kilimanjaro Safaris, an open air safari truck ride through an African savannah. While Ray and I have actually been to Africa, we didn't have a chance to see any of the wildlife.
The ride was amazing - we got to see a ton of different animals - and I spent half the time trying to take un-blurry photos! Here are some hippos - I learned that hippos are nocturnal and sleep under water during the day....
...an African ox-type (which I know as a wonderful Swahili name which they told us, but I can't remember), ostrich and rhinos...
...and while we did see a sleeping lion, I think I was most excited to see the giraffes (sorry they're a little blurry, we were moving)...
...and finaly gorillas!
After our safari we spent a small amount of time wandering around. The amazing thing about Animal Kingdom is that they have all sorts of "nature" trails where you can wander through the different natural environments. The park features both African and Asian habitats and animals. Here Ray stumbled on some rather interest and LARGE fish!
Our next stop was lunch, and based on the recommendation of our hotel concierge we went to the Flame Tree Barbecue. While it appears to be a fast food kind of place we soon discovered that there were all sorts of hidden seating areas around it nestled in the trees and on Discovery River. We had a rather yummy lunch of Barbecue Ribs (for Ray) and Chicken (for me) and really had a chance to sit and absorb the beautiful surroundings and the quiet that was only really interrupted by bird song. After lunch we headed into the Tree of Life for the 3D "It's Tough to Be a Bug!". It was extremely well done, and the thing I found funniest was the music played in the waiting area. There were posters for "Bug Musicals" - they had taken names of famous plays and "updated" them for the Bugs, and we were serenaded with bug-buzzing versions of showtunes!
Our final stop in Animal Kingdom was DinoLand, U.S.A. where we went on the DINOSAUR ride. Again, the waiting area was awesome! We got to see all kinds of fossils and were even treated to some Bill Nye the Science Guy lecture about how the dinosaurs became extinct. The ride sent us back in time to try to rescue a dinosaur before the meteor hit! Actually, it was kind of intense, and while I knew the dinosaurs couldn't actually "get" us, I found myself leaning away from them and closing my eyes!