EPCOT

We decided to start the Disney parks with Epcot as we heard it was the biggest. The best thing about visiting Disney world with Tim, is that we got a special pass, one that allowed us to go to the front of the line for everything!!!! I suggest if you plan a trip here, take Tim. So after a quick bag check and scan of our tickets we were standing in front of the Epcot park icon, the big Golf Ball.

The first stop we made was when we stumbled upon a great photo opportunity with all the Disney fav's. As you will see we met Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Donald and Goofy. Tim turned from 30 to 3 when shaking Mickey's hand, it was very cute and Roxy of course was besotted with Pluto and vise versa. I loved Goofy the best because he was the only character I didn't have to bend down to match heights!

It was this park that we discovered just how accessible Disney is. We entered into a Nemo ride and expected that Tim would wait while I did the ride, but much to our pleasant surprise, Tim was able to do this ride as well. We were skeptical, and thought, they must think Tim can transfer, but no they led us to an oyster shell seat, opened the front of it, pulled out a ramp and slid him in, Roxy settling in on both our feet. This ride began on a conveyor belt, that then merged into a river. Roxy was amazed at the colours ans sounds that she sat and watched it all go past her just like we did. I wish we could have taken a photo of the three of us sitting in this shell. What a sight it must have been!

We then headed to a more educational ride, called the Land of the living, a small boat ride that showed off Disney's agricultural flare. The sparse greens that you can buy at the parks such as salads and fruit come from their own backyard so to speak. Entertaining for those who enjoy their own vegie patch, not so much for the kids.

Next to this ride was another ride called soarin'. I went on this as Tim could not and it was gliding in a hang glider over San Francisco, pretty cool. Then we headed inside the icon golf ball to see what this famous icon had in store. Well it was a bunch of video space stuff, Tim loved it but me not so much. I missed that whole video game fascination phase.

After the golf ball we headed to test track. As you begin this 5-minute, nearly one-mile auto escapade, strap yourself in, ascend steep terrain that's 3 stories high, then let loose downhill, blasting across a bumpy road and roaring through 50-degree banked curves and hair-pin turns that test suspension and brakes at speeds up to 60 miles per hour! The best ride I have ever done, but may I suggest that if you have long hair, tie it up as I returned to Tim looking like Young Einstein.

 (above is a stylized futuristic car that Chrysler is working on)

Then it was off to try my skills at being astronaut. Now Tim spurred me on to experience the more 'intense' flight experience. So off I went. For those of you not so daring, there is a 'not so intense' option. Now I am not normally one who suffers from motion sickness but this ride really does make your tummy do things it shouldn't. I am not sure if it is the realistic view of actually blasting off or if it is the G-Force pulling your face back like it is being stretched. But whatever it was, this ride had me panting like I was in labour. Having said that, I would do it again, and I would love to do it my brother as he would get a real kick out if it.


Once I was steadily back on the ground, we headed over to visit the world. Now here at Epcot you can visit a different country. Each country has a replica of traditional buildings, food for sale and of course a gift shop.  Each country also offered some kid of attraction, from rides, to boutique gardens to museums. We started off in Mexico, then moved to Norway, China, Germany, Italy, USA, Japan, Morocco, France, UK and Canada. 


Here are some photos of some of them.

(check out some of the names that read the Christmas story in the evenings)

To finish off the day we had a reservation to eat at the Norwegian restaurant Akershus Banquet Hall. This was a Disney character dining experience, where while you eat you enjoyed the company of all the Disney Princesses. 

 

Epcot was the biggest Disney park and we did what we could to fit it all in, in one day, we missed a lot of things and it is our suggestion to do this park over 2-3 days to experience it fully.

Animal Kingdom

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!'

A drink and a bite to eat as well is a walk around the park led us to the amusement area, with all kinds of carnival games and rides that were based on an animal theme. The mad mouse would not be out of place here. Knowing we were off to Vegas in a week, we didn't bother wasting our coins with these carnies.

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.