When the alarm went off this morning, it was crazy early. 6:45, to be exact. And that is crazy early for this girl- I love my sleep! But we had another back stage tour planned and we were not going to be late this time
so, we got up and toasted some English muffins and had a quick breakfast while getting ready for our day. We were quickly ready and waiting at the bus stop.
We didnt have to wait too long for a bus, and the drive to our destination was the shortest one all trip: we were here before we even had time to take any pictures of me pretending to be a chair!
This was our first time visiting the Animal Kingdom this trip, and we were very excited for our tour. Unlike meeting at Epcot earlier, the group meeting place here was not well marked and we could not tell where we were supposed to be. Ben asked at Guest Relations, but they were not much help. So we continued to hang tight near a planter and watch folks lining up for the park to open.
Just as we were starting to panic, we saw another couple waiting for something. They were on our tour as well, so the four of us waited uncertainly for a bit. At 8:15, two CMs came over and began checking us in. The other 3 people scheduled for the tour never showed up, so we ended up having quite the intimate group!
We started out on stage, in the Oasis area. The park was not open yet, so it was neat to be the only people wandering around. We stopped to look at the animal exhibits and the guides pointed out features of the habitats that are used to encourage the animals to be in view.
Next, it was time to think about heading backstage. Just one problem- the character jeep was out doing the rope drop ceremony! We had to sort of hang back and wait for that, but then manage to slip in front of and past this wall of people rushing toward us to get in the park. It was a strange experience!
Once we managed to get past the people, we headed down the little path near the Rainforest Café park entrance.
One last pic before we head backstage:
We couldnt go backstage until we got the all clear from the performers just coming in from the opening ceremony. But before too long, we went through the gate and found our transportation waiting. One of the other guests on the tour used a wheelchair, so the van had a lift. I cant speak for her, but it seemed to work out pretty well- she was able to go every place we did.
Once loaded up in the van, our first stop was the white rhino night barn. One of the keepers came out to talk to us, and brought us over to meet Sampson, a male white rhino. My new boyfriend. Sampson was adorable!
He obviously enjoyed being scratched and petted by the keeper, and stood near us the whole time we were talking about him. Seeing the level of care and affection the keeper obviously had for Sampson was really neat, too. We learned a lot, like how they rotate which animals are on show, and they dont have to go out on the savannah if they dont want to.
In the same complex is the elephant barn, so we walked over there next. We watched a couple elephants in the yard before they headed off to the safari. Once they were out of there, the elephant keeper spoke to us a bit about the herd and their care. Then, we got to go inside the elephant barn! I was so excited about this; it was just fascinating to me. Once again, I was really impressed by the facilities and how well the animals are cared for.
After this, we headed back on stage to ride Kilimanjaro Safari with our tour guides. As part of the tour, you take a ride on KS without the normal spiel, and instead your tour guide points backstage type things out to you. Unfortunately, we didnt exactly get this.
There was a lot of confusion as we waited to board, which may have been partly because one of our group members was in a wheelchair. There was already a long line of guests in chairs or scooters waiting to board, so the CM loading the cars seemed a bit frazzled about having us cut in front of them and boarded regular guests on with us. The driver of our safari vehicle saw that this wasnt normal, and made a phone call but was told to go ahead and take the other guests. This meant that he still had to give the normal show at the same time our tour guide was trying to point things out to us.
We did have our ear pieces, so I was able to hear most of what he said, but Ben couldnt hear him at all and got very little out of the safari ride. I bet it would be really neat when done the way it is supposed to be on the tour
I did manage to get some pictures along the way, though:
And because I couldn't take a picture of Sampson, here are his friends:
After this, it was back stage again for a small snack and a quick restroom break. Then we got to see the amazing Nutrition Center. This is where they prepare the diets for all of the animals, and was one of the highlights of the tour for me. My dream job would be to work here some day
We then made a stop at the veterinary hospital, which is visible at Rafikis Planet watch. We were on the other side of the operating room that is visible to guests. This is where the tour ended, and we went back on stage.
We took this picture from the on stage viewing window. The window across the operating room is where we were standing while on the tour.
We both really, really enjoyed this tour! It was so amazing to me how small a part the theme park is to what the Animal Kingdom is as a whole. So much is going on behind the scenes: caring for the animals in the park as well as research and conservation.
Now that we were done learning stuff, we were free to wander about on our own
Where did you get it?
Great pics on KS btw!!
