Meeko's Walt Disney World Trip 2001
After arriving at Port Orleans Riverside, I have spent an evening at Downtown Disney and a day of discovery at EPCOT.
Again Wednesday started the same was as Monday and Tuesday, with Vault Disney and Mickey Mouse. After breakfast at the Colonel's Cotton Mill it was on to an adventurous day at the Animal Kingdom.
Arrived early before the park was even open. Got in line and the talking palm tree was working the crowds. I'd heard of Talking Trash Cans but never trees. After he left, all the characters came out and opened the park. Next it was through the Oasis and on to Safari, um, Discovery Island (I just can't get use to these name changes. Riverside, French Quarter, Discovery Island. Did they change all the names this year?) and on to Africa.
First up was Kilamanjaro Safaris. Absolutely no line. Just walked right on. It was great. Most all of the animals were up and active, even the cheetahs and hippos. Pangani Forest was next. Lots of the animals were up there too. One of the gorillas was up at the glass watching all the guests.
Next it was on to Maharajah Jungle Treck. It was getting kind of hot, so I was afraid it might be too hot for the animals, but it wasn't. The highlight was definatly the tigers. In all my trips down the Treck the most active I've seen the tigers is standing up, turning around in a circle, sitting down and going to sleep. Well this time many of them were up. One was by the glass pacing back and forth. Further down one even woke up and walked around. It turns out he heard one of his handlers and recognized the sound of her keys. After the Treck, I went over to Flights of Wonder. I'd never seen it before, so wasn't sure what exactly to expect. It was pretty good, though. Next it was back to Afica for lunch at Tusker's and back to Discovery Island. Got a FastPass for Tough To Be A Bug and looked around Discovery Island and Dinoland USA.
There was some construction going on at DinoRama so I looked around. I actually thought the theming of the road section they have done is really nice. Next it was off to Tarzan Rocks. Great rest from the heat and the show was wonderful. When the show as over my FastPass for Bug was ready so I saw the show. The line was OK. Just had to wait for the next show. From there it was back to Africa to head off to Rafiki's Planet Watch. The Wildlife Express was ready for boarding when I got there, so it took no time at all to get there.
This was the first time I've been there since it became Rafiki's Planet Watch, so it was easy to notice many of the changes. The Train ride seemed quicker and the little exhibits along the path to Conservation Station made the walk there better. Conservation Station was fairly much the same. Did some of the exhibits, looked around the animal hospital, and did the Song of the Rainforest show.
Meeko and Pocahontas were even there! Got to meet Meeko and get his picture, but the line for Pocahontas was, unfortunatly, too long. (one of longest line I saw for a character all trip). Had to head back to Discovery Island and have dinner at Pizzafari. After looking around the trails on Discovery Island and the Oasis, It was back to the bus stop and on to the TTC. I had planned to go to Magic Kingdom tonight, but on the way it began to pour down rain. Since most of the things I was planning were outside, I decided to head to MGM Studios instead. It wasn't raining nearly as hard there at at Magic Kingdom. Got there and first thing I noticed was the Sorcerer's Hat. I have no comment on this. I'll wait to decide how I like it when it's done.
It was off to Mickey Avenue to get a FastPass for Who Wants To Be A Millionaire: Play It. I had about an hour, so I went to the AFI Showcase and looked around the New York Street a bit. Headed back to Millionaire and got in the FastPas queue. The show was great. Never made it in the Top 10, but I had a lot of fun trying. Another fun, but long day over, returned to the Riverside and prepared for the next day.
