Animal kingdom, we had been told, was the smallest and probably least attractive of the theme parks, but we knew there would be some wonderful attractions considering some great movies in the past have been created by Disney revolving around animals ... Lion King anybody?
We had already learnt that the best way to prepare for a Disney theme park was to sit down the night before with a map and list of attractions and plan your day, marking a route and scheduling the show times. Knowing that each day there is at least 100,000 people in a park at any given time, you really want to know where you are going, how to get there and by what time to get the most out of your day. I know this sounds very anal, but trust me, you can lose a week wondering around these places.
So having a day setup already we got on a bus and took the half an hour ride to Animal Kingdom ready to head straight towards the safari before the lines got too long. Now even though I said it is best to have a plan to and get going on your mission, sometimes attractions grab you at the right time and you find yourself ad libbing a bit. As we were walking to the safari, a Disney cast member grabbed us and led us into a huge auditorium where they were about to start the Lion King show. We were situated front and centre and had a great view of the show.
As we had come to expect, the performers were incredible, the costumes stunning and the sets, puppets, props etc etc, were top notch. The animatronic's of Simba and Pumba were very clever and very believable. They make the characters at Fairy Park, back home, look pretty ordinary.
After the show we 'Hakuna Matata'd' all the way to the back of the theme park to where the Kilimanjaro Safari was. Once again we were whisked up a side path bypassing the hour-long line straight up to where they loaded the wheelchairs on to the trucks. And when I say trucks I mean full Safari 4x4's!
Once loaded and strapped in the driver took off in a mad rush and we knew straight away this was not going to be your average slow drive through an outdoor savanna. The theme of the trip was to actually catch some 'poachers' that were hunting animals in the area and it was our job to spot them along our way. It was a fun element but I'm pretty sure it was mainly used to educate people about the dangers of poachers and the extinction of animals. All of that aside we were able to get amazingly close to some beautiful animals. Roxy behaved very well considering she could smell the animals all around her but she stayed low on the truck floor as to not be seen by one of the big cats!
Off the Maharajah Jungle Trek where we ventured into the wilds of the mystical forests of Southeast Asia. We encountered majestic tigers, Komodo dragons, wild bats, deer and tons of exotic birds amid ancient ruins and murals. Climbing around these ruins were these tiny South American cotton-top tamarinds. Very cute and curious.
A little further along the path we came to the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail. Here we took a stroll through a lush, tropical forest and saw gorillas, hippos, okapi, naked mole rats and our favourite, meerkats.
Next we boarded a rustic African train that took us behind-the-scenes to see some of the animals housing and care areas. It is incredible how the animals look so natural in the Safari Park amongst vegetation, and then amazingly how unnatural they look when you have the same rhinoceros or elephant behind a massive metal fence and gate penned in. We are always reminded though that all of the animals are a part of breeding programs to continue the species out in the wild. And let's face it, if a 5 tonne animal did not want to be kept in an enclosure it would certainly let you know!
The train took us to an area that had a petting zoo, a discovery centre, as well as our first opportunity to take Roxy to one of the many designated service animal relief stations situated around the parks. Disney are so well organised that they are more than happy for service animals to come into their property, but they have special areas which they would like to us to relieve our animals, so to not destroy that the grass and gardens. How thoughtful of them.
By this stage we had seen enough animals and it was time for Mel to do a ride. Expedition Everest was the latest attraction at Animal Kingdom and it had been advertised as a high altitude, high-speed roller coaster train with daring drops, hairpin turns and a close encounter with the hospitable inhabitant of the Forbidden Mountain, the infamous Yeti. This ride was no match for Mel, as she disembarked the train, brushed off the shoulders and said 'Sasquatch ... Melsquashed!'
We then hung around for Mickey's Jammin' Jungle Parade. These types of parades happen in every park either in the afternoon or at night and features all the popular Disney characters. This one at Animal Kingdom had elaborate animal puppets, stiltwalkers, drummers, safari vehicles, and cast members dancing to the jungle beats. There was prime real estate viewing for us in a cordoned off area for wheelchair users, such as myself, so we had a great spot to take it all in. Here is a HD quality version from Disney with the whole parade.
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