Animal Kingdom At Christmas

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.

 

 

Goslings

While the “Majestics” wait for their eggs to hatch, several Canada Goose couples have already seen  their eggs  give way to fluffy goslings.

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The families mingled until no one seemed to know which baby belonged to which parent.

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I guess even geese have family cook outs on Memorial Day Weekend.

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More Free Stuff in Vegas

More  free stuff kept coming up as I roved the world wide web.  The Sirens of TI, a Pyrotechnics extravaganza on a Pirate Ship sounded like an exciting if, borderline X rated show but the latest updates  indicate that the show has been canceled, apparently quite suddenly.

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M & M’s World is touted as Free and might be kind of cool to see . Looks like there’s be ton of places for photo ops still  I got the impression it was really a huge M & M themed gift shop kind of like a Disney store for chocoholics.

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But then a entry for wildlife caught my eye. Called Wildlife Habitat at the Flamingo  it includes Flamingos of course.

Flamingos

Touted as one of the most unique and beloved attractions in Las Vegas, Flamingo’s Wildlife Habitat is a serene paradise. It is conveniently free of charge and open to the public daily. Nestled on the Flamingo hotel’s lush 15-acre grounds, the Habitat is stocked with exotic birds, fish and turtles.

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A highlight is the Flamingo Island, home to a huge flock of Chilean flamingos. A colorful collection of other feathered friends such as Ring Tealed ducks and Sacred Ibis fascinate guests and populate the Habitat. In addition to our namesake, you’ll find swans, ducks, koi fish and turtles living at the Habitat. Two brown pelicans joined us from a pelican rescue in 2012.

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All animals are carefully maintained. The species frolic on islands and streams surrounded by sparkling waterfalls and foliage. Spot hummingbirds zipping to their feeders, snap a few pictures of signature flamingos and watch the water animals at feeding time.

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That sounds like my kind of experience.