iluvwesties - Trip Report Feb 28th -Day Five - AK

[iluvwesties]

Feb 28th – Monday – Animal Kingdom

Weather – Sunny – Low 70’s

We headed to Animal Kingdom for opening at 9am.

I have always enjoyed Animal Kingdom, as I don’t feel as pressured to do the “Commando” style touring, it’s more a leisurely stroll through the park.
We started our day by going straight to Dinosaur and walking right onto the ride
After we survived the ride, we continued on to Primeval Whirl.
This was the first time I had done this ride, and it may have been my last, as my kids are now totally embarrassed of me!!!!
Let me say, that under normal circumstances I do not curse frequently like some people
I didn’t realize that this ride had so many short, sharp turns and that the car you ride in also turns while going through the course of the ride. Every time an unexpected turn happened, my language became a little “spicy” . My DD (24) and DS (14) kept telling me off, saying that this is a kiddie’s ride. Fortunately, because it was still early in the day, there were very few families around to hear my language. I now know that should I venture on this ride again, I will have to “button my lip” .

After re-gaining my composure from the previous ride, we walked via the new bridge to “Asia”.
Along the way we could see Expedition: Everest still in construction.
We have been to Animal Kingdom several times before, but this was the first time that we had walked the Maharajah Jungle Trek trail. At the entry area there were some “strange” animal noises that were very loud and very long. Once we got closer to where the noises were coming from we could see that it was two groups of primates in two separate areas “talking” to each other. I asked a CM what was going on and did they make this noise all day long? She explained that at the start of every day the primates define their territory in this manner and that it lasts for approximately ½ hour to 1 hour.
I thought to myself that if it went on any longer than an hour that it would drive everybody nuts and maybe the CM’s language might also become “spicy”!!!

We enjoyed our walk through the area, took pictures and continued on to the Tree of Life, where we stopped to admire some of the tree carvings and then proceeded to “It’s tough to be a bug”. Remembering that during this performance there is a moment where the audience is “poked” by a bug, I made sure I sat well forward on the seat. I didn’t want to have “spicy” language in a confined area

By the time we arrived in Harambe village, it was time for a pit stop, so we followed the advice of a sign outside the restroom which directed us across the street to the additional facilities and went into Tusker House. I was totally amazed at the size of this counter service restaurant, there were many nooks and crannies to sit in and have a leisurely meal or snack. It is very deceiving from the outside as there is just a small doorway into the building, but once inside you realize how large it is.

My daughter was looking to buy something from AK that was authentically African, she loves masks and the carvings of animals on different items, but today she didn’t find that “special” item that she was hoping too

Next stop was to be Kilimanjaro Safaris, but the line up was over 30 minutes, so we took a FP and decided to get the Wildlife Express to Rafiki’s Planet Watch, where we hung out for about 20 – 30 minutes at the petting station petting the friendly goats. Returning on the Wildlife Express to the station, we walked straight on to Kilimanjaro Safaris and had the adventure. Saw lots of animals and enjoyed the knowledge and banter of the driver .

We knew we wouldn’t be able to watch any shows today as our visit to AK was to be for the morning only, we had PS scheduled for 2:30pm in Epcot for a late lunch, I did notice that the recommended wait time before all the shows was 30 minutes and it looked like all the shows had line-ups. Our last views of AK were in The Oasis, which has a nice relaxing walk back to the main gate and the exit.

Remembering which area we parked in (Thank goodness I wrote it down) we continued on by car to Epcot. This was going to be a “get the most out of the park-hopping ticket” day!

Next stop: EPCOT

iluvwesties (AKA Carol)

 

[cottontail]

Hey Carol:

I would love to do ak park when the temps are low 70's. We love the side trails with the animals and beautiful lush vegatation. I have not tried dinasaur yet, though, it might be a bit much for me. My fav is the safari ride and just like you said taking our time enjoying all the sights.

We used to love the discovery island as well, so peaceful and beautiful. I guess you can tell we love nature, etc.

Deb.

 

[iluvwesties]

Hey Carol:

I would love to do ak park when the temps are low 70's. We love the side trails with the animals and beautiful lush vegatation. I have not tried dinasaur yet, though, it might be a bit much for me. My fav is the safari ride and just like you said taking our time enjoying all the sights.

We used to love the discovery island as well, so peaceful and beautiful. I guess you can tell we love nature, etc.

Deb.

Hi Deb,

Must say the temp was Perfect for touring.
Dinosaur is not my favorite ride, but my kids love it! If you don't like sudden, unexpected movements or surprises then this may be a ride you might want to avoid.

I remember Discovery Island!!!! I guess they moved all the birds and animals over to AK and Discovery Island is probably deserted now.

I can tell you like nature by your comments, You and I must think alike!!!!

Here is the continuation to this day:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=8075843#post8075843

 

[Minniespal]

Great report ~ Thanx for sharing.

 

[DisneyPhD]

Hey, we did AK that morning too, however we started with the safari and stayed in that area and camp minnie mickey until heading over to Dino land. (small kids and all). It was a lovely day to go to the parks that day.