No offence to Minnie & Mickey’s Magic Kingdom or Adventure Land or any of the other parks in the Disney World universe but I love, love, love Animal Kingdom. The only thing I would like better is if the safari ride was longer.

In fact I would just spend the day riding it over and over but Joe wasn’t buying that.

We actually met up at my condo so we could use just 1 car. We checked out the breakfast buffet at Sizzler…only $4.99 and quite extensive and then it was off to the parks. On the way we stopped in front of the big Disney World Sign so for a photo opportunity.

 Of course there were signs everywhere that said  “No Stopping” but I just pretended I couldn’t read. Joe did the honors.

Once in the parking lot we hopped on the tram for the trip to the park.

As we were entering Joe spotted some of his co-workers and stopped for a chat. He  spent a “tour of duty” in Animal Kingdom before he was moved to the photography cast and assigned to the Hollywood Studios Park.

We wandered the various “countries” looking a the different animals. I loved the tigers but they weren’t being the most cooperative for pictures. I managed to get a couple through the glass side of the enclosure.

What gorgeous cats.

The bird aviery was really cool too but finally we reached the  Safari Ride.

 Joe was right about it being a slow week. We had no line. The trucks were going out without being full.

I was on the right side of the truck on this ride and it seemed like all the cool animals were on the left. Just my luck.

 There were hippos and crocodiles..or was it alligators, I forget which, pelicans, rhinos, giraffes, spring bok, wildebeest and other antelope and lions. Of course lions. What kind of safari would it be without the “King”?

And yes, Hippos do get sunburned.

You had to shoot fast because the truck doesn’t stop so good shots were a challenge with the motion of the truck exaggerating camera shake.

After the safari Joe said it was time for a show. We headed across the park to the theater where the show The Lion King Celebration was presented. We got  some pretty good seats. Loved the music! Hakuna Matata! The sets were amazing as only Disney can pull off!

Lunch time and we visited the open air snack bar. We both opted for Sweet and Sour Chicken. Not bad for fast food.

 There were birds every where begging for tid-bits and snatching up dropped food. A mother duck and her brood were trying to get from the pond to the picnic area but a cast member kept shooing them back to the water. They were very persistent.

The chimps were really going all out in their enclosures. Swinging around the tower in the center of the enclosure. That was pretty amazing to see.

About that time Joe said it was time to go see Finding Nemo the Musical. Ok so we were off to another show. This was just as good as the Lion King. The funny thing is that if Joe hadn’t been with me and insisted we go, I would have skipped both shows in favor of the real live animals and that would have been a shame. Both are outstanding shows and worth taking the time to see.

I saw the Mt Everest coaster ride but was content to just watch and of course there was a parade! 🙂

Animal Kingdom closes at 5pm and the afternoon was winding down. I begged one more ride on the Safari. When we got there it was almost empty but once again my place in line was about to put me on the right side  in the truck. I asked the gate attendant if I could please sit on the left. Since it was slow he said yes and directed me to a different row.

This time our driver actually stopped to give us time to take pictures of the animals. I am sure it was because it was the end of the day and not many people were taking the ride. He didn’t have to worry about a little delay.

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After this ride it was time to leave this park but we weren’t finished with Disney yet. We were headed over to Epcot for dinner and to see one more night of fireworks.