Our Orlando
group of four split in half for the next day of the trip. While our
friends opted for a more low-key day around our rented house, my husband
and I went in on a second day at Disney World.
We
started off at Animal Kingdom, the one of Disney World's four parks we
hadn't visited years earlier. Some people say it's a "half day" sort of
destination, and I'll add my agreement to that. In fact, I don't
anticipate I'd go back again on a future visit to Orlando. Nevertheless,
I am glad we did go, as it was an interesting change of pace and did
offer some good things to do.
The layout of Animal Kingdom is rather similar to Magic Kingdom, actually. But replacing the Cinderella Castle is a huge tree:
From there, we found our way to a few particular attractions.
Expedition
Everest. Our first stop was this roller coaster, which I'd heard
described as the best in Orlando. I'd say that overstates things a
bit... though it is pretty good. It all depends on what you're looking
for. Universal has more intense rides, but Expedition Everest is quite
clever. Upon setting off into the Himalayas, you quickly come upon track
that's been completely torn up by a yeti. The ride comes to a sudden
stop, and then throws things into reverse to take off down a previously
unseen path. The ride continues along these lines, playing like an
escape from a dangerous mountain and the dangerous monster living there.
Kilimanjaro
Safaris. I could probably get a whole post out of this attraction, a
bus ride through the wildlife preserve that occupies a major section of
the park. In some ways, it's a trip to the zoo (and that expectation is
exactly why we'd avoided Animal Kingdom on our previous Orlando Trip).
But in other ways, it's a lot more. There's a wide variety of more
exotic African animals here. And they have gone to great lengths to
design habitats that don't immediately present as "cages." The animals
feel mostly out in the open, until you look more closely. (Hopefully,
that feeling applies to them too.)
That was really it for Animal Kingdom. We then moved over to Epcot for the rest of the day.
We
did do a couple of rides at Epcot (which I'll get to in a moment), but
most of our time went to a Food & Wine Festival that was going on
throughout the park. As you moved through all of the different
"countries" in the park, special stands were selling samples of food,
wines, and beers from those countries. We got to taste all sorts of
great things. And as we did, we got to enjoy the fact that there are a
lot fewer kids at Epcot than at any other theme park in Orlando. Though
we were on our feet and walking all day, it felt far more relaxing than
anything thus far.
Soarin'.
We'd missed this ride last trip, but made sure to check it out this
time. It's a bit straight-forward -- you're lifted up in a hanging chair
and brought close to an IMAX-sized screen. Small movements generate the
sensation of flight, and you hop all over the world looking at amazing
scenery. But at the same time, it's a quite effective illusion, simple
though it is. After so many rides the day before that involved coasting
by vaguely creepy, singing and talking robots, this felt like a welcome
change of pace.
Spaceship
Earth. It's not that this was a beloved ride from the last trip, but
after a full day of food and drink, it was a gentle enough ride not to
risk upsetting anything. We took the slow ride through Epcot's famous
silver ball, and then were picked up by our friends to end our Disney
fun.
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