Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Animal Kingdom 2015


Hello everyone! Long time no post. I've been lazy and rundown when it came to this blog during the school year, but now that it's summer once again, I'm going to pick up the pace with posts. To kick i off, I wanted to do a few posts on the Disney World trip I went on last week! We hit up all four of the theme parks, so I'm going to do one post on each park. The first that we went to was Animal Kingdom!


Outfit rundown (although it's hard to see)
Ears: Tokyo Disney Sea
Minnie Mouse signatured heart eyes sunnies: Animal Kingdom
Cat-eyes tee: Cotton-on
High-waisted pink gingham shorts: H&M
Sandals: Birkenstocks
The first thing I saw when I went into the park was Dug and Russell from Up. The line was super short since the park had just opened for the day, so I knew I wasn't going to get an opportunity to get a picture any other time of the day. The two of them were so cute! I hugged them both but Russell began acting scared because I had a cat on my shirt, hehe. 




One of the biggest highlights about Animal Kingdom was the fact that the park was practically drowned in nature, making it truly seem like you were in a jungle. The tiniest details and lush plants impressed me so much! There wasn't a single area where the park was barren. Trees, bushes, leaves and flowers sprouted everywhere. Florida weather at this time of the year feels super humid, hot and tropical, so I was grateful that the plants provided shade. The park also had multiple zoo-like attractions where attendees could sight see animals native to dense jungle areas. I freaked out when I saw that they had a Komodo dragon! 






Around 2pm, I started getting a mild heat stroke since we had been walking in the heat for over 6 hours. Luckily, we were nearby a small venue where they were hosting a show called "Festival of the Lion King." The inside was air conditioned, so we popped in to watch! The show was a celebration of tribal and African culture, brought by characters from The Lion King, including Simba, Timon, and Pumba. The music was sung by live singers, all of whom were wearing traditional tribal clothing. The show also featured acrobatics, my personal favorite being a couple who danced to "Can You Feel the Love Tonight." Festival of the Lion King was a beautiful watch and a wonderful celebration of culture that needs to be more widespread in our society! I definitely recommend going to see it.



The biggest highlight of the theme park was its safari. This isn't some lazily thrown together drive tour, this safari was amazing! The line was 45 minutes long when we got to it, but it was one of things we wanted to ride before leaving. Passengers get in a tram/jeep and their driver guides them around the vast animal reserves that Disney owns. There were so many different animals to see! The pictures below were my favorite sights of the tour. 



I forgot the scientific name, but this plant has a more commonly used name: the upside down tree. It looks like its roots are growing upwards rather than into the ground! It was much larger in person than it seems in the photo.




Giraffe booty




There was such beautiful plant life throughout the safari






The animals seemed to be incredibly at peace in the wildlife. They weren't restrained in a single area but rather they were allowed to roam a vast land as they pleased. Some animals, such as the lions, we weren't able to see because they were roaming a different area. It truly felt like I was taking a safari tour through a savannah! 

The trip to Animal Kingdom suited my tastes very well. As a lover of nature, I was enamored with how in touch Disney went to recreate African and Asian jungles! For those who would rather have easy-going and relaxed theme park days like me, Animal Kingdom has more than enough attractions to fill up your time. For thrill seekers, the rapids ride was very exciting and Expedition Everest is an amazing ride to experience! (Much much much better than the Matterhorn at Disneyland). Keep in mind that if you go in the summer to stay cool with a wet rag, water mist, parasols or fans! 


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