Animal Kingdom (Walt Disney World)

This week I am featuring Animal Kingdom. This is a fabulous park. Keep in mind that this is largest (in total area) of all the parks and it has the shortest park hours.

This park is divided into 7 areas:

• Oasis
• Discovery Island® area
• Camp Minnie-Mickey
• Africa
• Rafiki's Planet Watch® area
• Asia
• Dinoland, U.S.A.® area

We decided to tackle this park based on the rides we wanted to do and the wait times associated with those rides. For that reason we went directly to Asia, because it has both the Kali River Rapids and Expedition Everest. We decided to go on Kali River Rapids first for two reasons:

1. The wait times can get REALLY long, even though they do offer a Fast Pass.
2. The ride gets you WET and wanted time to dry off.

As a side note, this ride gets you REALLY WET. It turns out my daughter does not like to be wet. So, if you have a child that doesn’t like to get wet I would advise against this ride. My daughter complained for hours about being wet. We eventually had to purchase her a new shirt.

We then rode Expedition Everest. This is a GREAT roller coaster! It takes you through a track forward and backward. This attraction also has a fast pass. We got in line for the ride, as the wait was fairly short since we went their first and then we got Fast Passes for later in the day.

Note: Expedition Everest broke down later in the day. You may want to get there early to make sure you get to ride it!

To finish off Asia we went through the Maharajah Jungle Trek. This was a lot of fun! There are many types of animals and Disney staff around to answer questions. My daughter found the bat exhibit particularly interesting as there was some fruit hanging for them to eat. This is a great area for pictures!

Our next mission was to go on the Kilimanjaro Safari, so we went from Asia to Africa. The wait was not long for the Safari, so we hopped right inline. Be aware the last Safari ride goes out long before the park closes, so move this to the early part of your day so that you don’t miss out.

Note: I know I’ve said a couple of times “the wait wasn’t long” and you are probably wondering how I knew. So here is a little secret. The wait times for the ride are displayed that the beginning of the line. In addition, the times for which the Fast Passes are being distributed are also shown above the Fast Pass machines. We would always look at the wait time first to see if it was 30 minutes or less. We felt that 30 minutes was a reasonable wait time as even with Fast Passes the wait can be as much as 20 minutes. Plus if the wait time was short and the Fast Passes were in later in the day, we would have one of us got get Fast Passes while the others stood inline.

The Kilimanjaro Safari ride is lots of fun. The animals are just moving around freely and provide for some great photographic moments. In addition to the animals, Disney puts their own spin on it by making it feel like you are on a safari adventure, even with the inclusion of chasing some poachers. My daughter loved this ride and was really into “getting the bad guys”. This is a must ride during your visit to Animal Kingdom.

The additional attraction in Africa is Pangani Forest Exploration Trail. This is similar to the Maharajah Jungle Trek, as you are walking through an exhibit with a variety of animals. This particular attraction includes gorillas and hippos. Fun for all!!

After we finished in Africa we traveled to Rafiki's Planet Watch® area. You must travel there by train. So look for Wildlife Express Train from Africa. As you travel along the train you get to see some of the animals night time sleeping quarters and other behind the scenes goodies. Once you get to Rafiki’s Planet you must go to the Affection Section. This is a petting zoo and is great fun for kids of all ages. Have your camera ready and watch out for the goats. My mother set down her backpack and they began to rifle through it (see picture below).

There are some additional attractions in this area including Habitat Habit, which shows you all about cotton-top tamarins. This is an exciting and interesting exhibit. The final attraction is Conservation Station. Unfortunately, we missed out on this exhibit during our visit.

To continue our journey we headed back on the Wildlife Express Train to Africa, where we then proceeded to Dinoland U.S.A. Here we first acquired Fast Passes for the ride DINOSAUR. We then went on the Primeval Whirl ride. This is a lot of fun, but beware if you get motion sickness. I have this problem, and I had taken medicine before going to the park and I still was feeling a bit woozy once I got off the ride. We went back with our Fast Passes and rode DINOSAUR. This is a GREAT ride. Lots of fun with a little bit of thrill. Not too scary and just enough excitement to keep everyone laughing and screaming. This is a MUST RIDE in Animal Kingdom.

Dinoland also includes:

• Cretaceous Trail
• Finding Nemo - The Musical
• Dino-Sue
• Fossil Fun Game
• The Boneyard
• TriceraTop Spin

We did not ride these rides or view the attractions due to time restrictions. At the time, we had Fast Pass tickets for a second ride on Expedition Everest and had to head back to Asia. Unfortunately, when we got there the ride was broken, so we didn’t get to go again.

We finished off our day with in my opinion the best attraction in the park, It’s Tough to be a Bug. We visited this attraction at night, and the line was not long. In fact, we were basically able to ride it back to back, which my daughter loved because she loved this attraction. It is a 4-D “movie” with great “extra” effects. This is a must visit.

We ran out of time so that concluded our visit to Animal Kingdom. Unfortunately, we missed out on Camp Minnie-Mickey which included two shows (Festival of the Lion King and Pocahontas and Her Forest Friends) and a character greeting trail.

Because this park has shorter hours due to the animals, I would STRONGLY suggest if you have one extra day to spend it here in order to be able to enjoy the entire park.

Here are some links for Animal Kingdom:

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/parks/animal-kingdom/

http://www.kingdommagictravel.com/disneyworld/theme_parks/animal_kingdom.htm

http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/guides/animalkingdom/ak-overview.htm

Next week I will conclude this series with the final major park at WDW, Disney Hollywood Studios. Have a great remainder of the week!

Magic Kingdom (Walt Disney World)

First let me apologize for not getting this post up yesterday. Unfortunately I was sick (back to school germs makin' their way through our household). But I'm healed and ready to talk about travelin' to the Magic Kingdom!

This is a HUGE park with SO much to do. We were there from park opening to park closing and just barely got everything we wanted to do in. I would really recommend 2 or 3 days for this park! Here are a few tips for navigating Magic Kingdom:

1. Because the park is so large, do your best not to criss cross the park. Try to ride all the rides in one land before going to the next land.

2. The following rides typically gather LONG lines. Try to either get to them early in the day or get a Fast Pass to come back later:

• Pirates of the Caribbean
• Splash Mountain
• Big Mountain Thunder Railroad
• Space Mountain
• Peter Pan' Flight
• Small World
• Ariel’s Grotto

Note: Small World, Ariel’s Grotto, and Pirates of the Caribbean don't have Fast Pass.

3. Don't be afraid to send someone for a Fast Pass. My husband and father-in-law were not interested in riding Peter Pan's Flight, so they headed to Tomorrowland to get Fast Passes for Space Mountain and Stitches' Great Escape. This worked out well. By the time they got back we were all able to move right over and ride Small World together.
Note: You can only get a Fast Pass every so many minutes (as I recall it was every 20- 30 minutes). So you may have to choose which ride you want a Fast Pass for first.

4. As I said before find out what everyone wants to see most and move those things to the top of your list. This way everyone will have a GREAT day at the park.

5. Use baby swap on those rides that have height restrictions. Baby swap enables one of you to hold the child while the other rides and then as soon as one of you gets back, the other one can get right on the ride!

6. There are several parades and shows throughout the day. If you want to see these, make sure to make time in your schedule and find you spot to sit early as good places to view the parade from fill up fast.

7. In Tomorrowland there is an attraction called Monster's Inc. Laugh Floor. Before the show you can text a joke and they may use it for the show (instructions are on monitors). I put in a joke using my daughter's name and she got a HUGE kick out of it when they said her name and the joke, making the trip it a really special experience.

8. If your family has no preference I would start in Tomorrowland, and then work counter clockwise through the park.

9. The Tiki Room is a great attraction with lots of music and fun for all! As a bonus it is INSIDE! So if you are there on a hot day, you can at least get out of the sun!

Below are a couple of direct links about the Magic Kingdom with some additional advice about navigating the park.

http://www.kingdommagictravel.com/disneyworld/theme_parks/magic_kingdom.htm

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/parks/magic-kingdom/calendar/

http://www.wdwinfo.com/maps/MK.htm

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/parks/maps/mappopupid=MagicKingdomMapPage&bhcp=1

Have questions? I'd be happy to answer any! Have a great holiday weekend!

Next Thursday I'll cover EPCOT!