Day 4: Animal Kingdom
1) While I can't say this is my favorite park, I CAN say that it has my favorite ride (outside of the Star Wars ride at Hollywood Studios.) The DINOSAUR ride was a lot of fun. Just bumpy enough, and the special effects were great. Had so much fun I rode it twice, the only ride in Disney I've done so with so far.
2) Best Disney coaster so far too. The Expedition Everest coaster was faster and bigger than all the other coasters I've been on, including Space Mountain. Plus, it goes backward for a few moments. Don't normally care for backwards-running coasters (for the same reason I think the darkness of Space Mountain diminishes the ride) but in this case, it was just brief enough to add to the fun. A nice little coaster that gets better as it goes along and finishes strong.
3) My vertigo-infested head doesn't handle the virtual-reality rides all that well, so I avoided the most popular attraction -- the Avatar-themed hang-gliding VR trip.
4) I remembered AK being much more bright and vibrant. It's actually very dim and somewhat dreary in its decoration. The Mrs. seems to think it WAS brighter almost 20 years ago, right after the park debuted, but I'm not sure. The overcast sky (though welcome, from a temperature perspective) probably didn't help the ambience, but the decor is very earth-toned and drab. I realize it's basically a zoo with some rides, but still...
5) VERY fun Lion King production. Top-notch, but then, it's Disney. Worth seeing.
6) My feet are feeling the effects of walking 5+ miles each of the last four days. Ready for a break.
7) Rather than picking and choosing, we decided to pre-purchase a photo package ahead of time to take advantage of all the photos the parks offer to document your trip. Is it worth the money in the end? I don't know. But the Mrs. and I are taking advantage of EVERY SINGLE ONE of them we encounter. We are stopping at every photographer we see, and will have access to literally hundreds of photos taken by the staff during our visits when it is all said and done.
8) Skipped the River Rapids ride as well. To our detriment, I think.
9) Walking down the path, I hear, "Paul Uhls!" Some friends from Mooresville visiting Disney these days as well. Ironic, I think, to bump in to someone over 800 miles away from our hometown. Even though I live in SC now, and they're still in Indiana, what are the odds?
10) Lot's of White Ibis birds wandering around the grounds, amongst the patrons, especially near the food establishments. Sat next to a couple very interested lads as we ate lunch. Even saw one hop up on a table in a flash and steal a bite of mac and cheese from the patron's plate. That being said, I ate all my lunch, except for the cole slaw I had scraped to the side off the top of my own mac and cheese dish. Being that cole slaw is vile and awful tasting, and knowing I'm not supposed to feed the wildlife anyway, I literally and verbally apologized to my Ibis friend that I had nothing to offer him expect a scrap of cole slaw. Being the schlep I am and feeling bad at the sad look at the end of his long, sleek beak, I caved and dropped a small sliver of the cole slaw to the ground. He immediately pounced, picked it up, slung it around a bit, and dropped it cold, refusing to eat it. Read in to that what you will.
11) People watching is such an interesting and fascinating social study. As a society, it's trendy right now to pretend that stereotypes don't exist, or worse, are somehow bigoted or racist. But darn if we just can't escape reality, no matter how hard we try. A very wise man once told me, "Young man, there is a reason there are stereotypes in the world." He was right. Remember though, "different" doesn't necessarily mean "better." It just means "different."
We have one more day at Disney coming up on Monday. Likely, it will be Hollywood Studios again to take another stab at the Star Wars attraction. Meanwhile, we go to SeaWorld tomorrow. Stay tuned.
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