Category Archives: Orlando

The Festival of the Lion King

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A trick I’ve learned from having back problems is that if you rent the electric chair to get around that you survive the parks much better than walking. Call me lazy but I like ending the day with a little energy left instead of exhausted , hot and aching.

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Anyway, I had rented the electric scooter at Animal Kingdom so when we arrived to the Lion King show they asked me if I wanted to keep it or walk in. I said I’d keep it and boy was I glad I did. There are no bad seats in the Lion King Theater but with the scooter I was floor side, practically on top of the performers…or maybe they were on top of me!

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Perfect for low light shots.

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So rather than try to describe the action I’m going to share a few of my photos.

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Simba:
I’m gonna be a mighty king
So enemies beware!

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Zazu:
Well, I’ve never seen a king of beasts
With quite so little hair!

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Simba:
I’m gonna be the main event
Like no king was before
I’m brushing up on looking down
I’m working on my roar!

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Zazu:
Thus far, a rather uninspiring thing

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Simba:
Oh, I just can’t wait to be king!

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Simba:
Oh, I just can’t wait to be king!

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Everybody look left
Everybody look right
Everywhere you look I’m
Standing in the spotlight

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Animal Kingdom At Christmas

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With the Orlando Eye down for the count  Joe and I put our heads together to come up with a plan B. Now when you are in Orlando and your BFF works for Disney World, what is the most logical conclusion for a Plan B?  Why, go to one of the parks , of course!

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My very favorite park is Animal Kingdom because of the animals.  We figured we could get The Kilimanjaro Safari ride in and maybe the Lion King Show before the park closed for the day.

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I love the bridge where we can see the Mountain. I always have to stop and take a picture there. Usually there’s a park photographer too because its such a popular vista.

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The park was pretty slow so we were able to get on the safari ride pretty quickly.

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A lot of the animals were out of sight waiting for the evening feeding but that meant that I got to see some that I’ve missed in the past.

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There was a lovely bright colored bird. The driver told us its name but I don’t remember it now.

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Of course the elephants can’t hide

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and there were giraffes.

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The best were the big cats and of the big cats, the lions.

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We even got a roar out of the male before he laid down for his nap!

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Too soon it was time to move on if we wanted to see the Lion King Show.

 

 

The Eye has it or Not!

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Remember when I started this series I said “Now remember, no trip is without its pitfalls. If you keep that in mind you will be able to handle the little trials that come out of no where.”

Well Our lovely day was about to hit one of those little trials. Up until this point the Orlando Eye had been slowly turning above our heads but as we finished with the SeaLife Aquarium they announced that it was temporarily down. Trying to get any information out of the desk attendants was an exercise in futility.

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We sat for a bit in the food court but pretty soon even a dedicated people watcher gets bored so we took a walk outside to see what restaurants were nearby. We might as well grab some lunch while we waited.

There wasn’t much in the “Eye” complex but we settled on the “Tin Roof”, a typical bar/pub. I can’t say it was a quiet lunch because there was construction going on and the whole side of the building was open so no sound buffering at all. The waiter was pleasant and the food plentiful. But I caught an “ear worm”. I kept hearing the B52’s sing Love Shack in my head….Tin Roof – Rusted!

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After lunch we headed back to the desk and were told the Eye was still offline and they didn’t know when it would be back online. It seems the “Eye” is down more than it’s running. From what I gathered it is something of a joke in Orlando because it is either offline or they are rescuing guests who are stuck on it.

Joe tried hard to get our money back but since we’d done 2 attractions and we’d only had to pay for 1 ticket there wasn’t much to refund. The best he could get was a promise to honor the tickets for 1 year. Of course I don’t know where we put the tickets now. I guess we’ll both have to search for them if I can get back to Orlando before the year is up.

It was time for plan B.

Orlando Sealife Aquarium

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Sea World it’s not. There are no killer whale shows or chances to swim with dolphins but as little aquariums go this is a fine educational experience.

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As an aquarium aficionado I am really glad we went to this but if you are looking for the big WOW factor I don’t think you will find it here. This is great for youngsters. I saw many with their noses pressed to the glass.

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There is no Great Ocean Tank like in Boston but they do have a 360 degree Underwater tunnel. Those are always fun. You get to walk through the clear tunnel while fish and rays swim over and under and around you. Pretty cool.

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They didn’t have a mermaid tank like they did in new Orleans but they did have a pretty spectacular jelly fish display.

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Thus was really my favorite. The lights in all aquariums are dim so the animals are not bothered but the lights are very dim in the jelly fish section. Glowing models suspended from the ceiling light the way to the wall of the tank which is filled with floating jelly fish.

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The ray tank was fun. It’s really hard to get a good shot of these guys. They are fast! No flash photography allowed. The light bothers the animals.

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There’s a scavenger hunt for the kids. Joe, of course, had to participate. In each gallery there was something the kids needed to find. Once they spotted it there was a place to stamp your card. If you found all of the items there was a little prize at the end.

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The emphasis here is on education and I have to say they did a great job at that. This is the perfect size aquarium to introduce the next generation to the beauty and importance of the oceans of the world.

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