I remember when that eagerly-anticipated park was “under construction” – more than ten years ago! I must be getting old…in any event, Animal Kingdom is an interesting fusion of a zoo and a traditional theme park, with a heavy emphasis on conservation. Unlike Sea World, the animals are pretty much left to their own devices, and it’s up to park viewers to pay attention if they want a glimpse of the animals:

I might compare my life over the last few months to that of those Silverback Gorillas’ – laying about, looking for food, and looking surly at passerby, thinking about whatever it is gorillas think about. Very majestic animals, and quite gentle, despite their immense size.

The most fun part of the trip had to be the Kilimanjaro Safaris. The wait time was excruciating (lessed somewhat by having a FastPass), but it was so worth it – a ride through the animal reserve, getting to see animals in their natural habitat. Well, as natural as Kissimmee, Florida gets:

Being a theme park, the shops, restaurants and other buildings have a distinctly African flavor. The goal, I suppose, is to make you think you’ve stepped into an issue of National Geographic:

And of course, plenty of cast members to add local flavor:

Animal Kingdom’s a fun place – plenty of interesting critters to see, and a setting to excite the imagination. However, winter isn’t the best season to take it all in. It was a balmy 70 degrees, yes, but with a very early sunset of 4:45 PM, there was a bit of a rush to see everything before the sun went down.

Of course, what would any Disney park be without a parade or two?

Even if you’ve been to your local zoo a hundred times, you should give it a shot if you find yourself in the area. It’s one of those few destinations in tourist town Orlando that will actually leave you feeling a bit closer to the earth. Now if you’ll excuse me, I hear “Circle of Life” playing in the background…

Sea World

Make no mistake, Sea World Orlando is a tourist attraction first and foremost – think of it as a curious fusion between your local Aquarium and a Disney park, with rides and gift shops only footsteps from live animal shows and exhibits. Not to mention the ground is literally crawling with hordes of screaming children, putting eardrums and patience to the test! Still, when it comes to excitement, nothing beats seeing the majesty of dolphins…

…up close! These stills hardly do them justice – they can cut through the water like a dancer across a stage. As one of the performers explains, these shows are a delicate partnership between human trainers and these incredibly intelligent creatures – the dolphins are never “commanded”, but are “asked nicely”, and bribed with a fish or two! Kind of like myself as a young child, but moving along…

Of course, no visit would be complete without seeing the park’s mascot in action:

In person, Shamu is every bit as impressive as the ads, able to splash 14 rows of spectators with a single leap! This was the first time I’ve seen a killer whale up close, and a part of me envies the trainers and park staff which get to interact with these magnificent creatures every day:

Their Discovery Cove park actually lets you swim with dolphins, rays, and other delightful sea creatures, but at nearly $300 admission, such pleasures are beyond my reach at the moment. Not to mention I should spare Flipper the trauma of seeing this homo sapien in swim trunks.

Besides the animals, the park had several interesting stage shows, two of which we attended  that day. The first was “Allure: The Call of the Ocean”, and was a Little Mermaid-esque tale of a dashing bachelor of a fisherman and the fish-woman who inevitably falls in love with him. Apparently it’s hard to do dinner and a movie underwater, so when it comes to courtship, impressive feats of acrobatics will have to suffice:

Move over, Sydney Potier – it’s interspecies dating the kids are exploring these days. Of course, meeting the family is kind of hard when they have a sharp pair of fangs:

The second show involved dinner, so you’ll have to excuse me if I seem just a bit partial! The Makahiki Luau is a show highlighting Polynesian culture in all its flamboyant festiveness:

The only thing I couldn’t quite get over was the guilt factor. After seeing Shamu and friends frolic in the park all day, sitting down for a meal of Mahi-Mahi just seemed so…wrong. I had a good cry for all of two seconds about it.

My feet were practically numb by the time I got back to my room, but all in all, it was a fun day!