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[experiment627]

I just returned from a day at my favourite Disney theme park on this side of the pond: Disney's Animal Kingdom.

I just adore the place: the wonderful places it takes us, the stories it tells, the animal encounters it offers and its message...

I got there rather early this morning, but at 9:30 "Kilimanjaro Safaris" had already a 50 minute line (which would later climb to 80 minutes), so I got a FP and walked back to Discovery Island.
There, I strolled through the trails and was just in awe for the Tree of Life. This has to be seen to be believed and pictures don't do it justice...

I finally went on my safari at 11ish. The heat (how are you guys doing with that heat wave of yours, by the way?) had already driven most animals into shaded areas, but it was still an awesome experience... It feels more like we are guests in the world of the animals than the opposite (like in most zoos).
After that ride I took the short train ride (love those trains) to Rafiki's Planet Watch, which was nice, but way too crowded.
So I decided on heading to Pizzafari for lunch. Animal Kingdom truely has the best counter service restaurants (and the most beautiful, too) on property. I had a HUGE Italian sandwich and a small bottle of water (which I would refill several times during the day  :wink: ).

Caught the 1 o'clock show of "Festival of the Lion King". It's a good and very entertaining show. More circus than Broadway (with DLP offering more Broadway than circus). I'd say the production values are higher in Paris and the WDW version lacks a storyline, but I still enjoyed that show very much.

I started wandering around for a while. The park was busy. 50 minutes at Dinousaur, 30 minutes at Primeval Whirl (which I still haven't done), 30 minutes at "it's tough to be a bug" and 115 (!!!) minutes at "Everest". So I ended up doing - nothing.

I sat down at "Flame Tree Barbecue" and wrote postcards to my grandparents... I thought about maybe going in line for "Dinosaur", but couldn't be bothered in the end.

I waited for "Mickey's Jammin' Jungle Parade" at 16:00 which is the most enjoyable parade at WDW. Something that is actually entertaining (after having been so disappointed with "Motor Cars" & "Share a Dream").


Animal Kingdom is just an awesome experience. It is beautiful. Just beautiful...


And as a quick add-on: went out to "Jelly Rolls" at Disney's Boardwalk last night and had a blast! The guys at the pianos were great. So, if you go to WDW (you know who you are  :wink:), don't miss out on a night at "Jelly Rolls"!

[Maarten]

Also managed to get onto Rock'n'Rollercoaster: the exterior is really pretty, the queue is about the same - the preshow is fun and it is hardly missed at WDS... but for the ride itself... compared to our version it's less impressive and those blacklight props look rather cheap. I prefer our lightshow.

I said exactly the same. Those blacklights looked indeed cheap. Besides that, I didn't like the garage look of the station either (and it's rude Castmembers). The storyline of the small limo's is just so unrealistic, while a Disney attraction has to tell you a story as realistic as possible within the boundries of your imagination, if you know what I mean. Ofcourse, the storyline (or lack of it) of Rock 'n RollerCoaster in Paris doesn't make any sense either, but it just let Aerosmith and the music/concert play the leading role as it is supposed to. We don't have the strange "look-I-am-supposed-to-look-like-a-limo-although-no-one-buys-it" -look. One thing that is far better is their exterior and the much larger (at least it seemed that way, they had more merchandising for sure) Rock Around the Shop.

Caught a couple of minutes of a horrible cover-band slaughtering Aerosmith songs at the American Adventure and had a nice snack in Japan. (Terriyaki Chicken...)

The Terriyaki Chicken is lovely. I loved the sushi too. By the way; try to eat something at The Land. The food is very good there. Actually, the food overall in Walt Disney World was good, and there is so much to choose from. Paris can really really learn from Orlando on this one!

[experiment627]

The Terriyaki Chicken is lovely. I loved the sushi too. By the way; try to eat something at The Land. The food is very good there. Actually, the food overall in Walt Disney World was good, and there is so much to choose from. Paris can really really learn from Orlando on this one!

Yeah, the quick service food here in Orlando is really good. Can't say that I had a bad meal so far... And there is such a great diversity of food!

I was told that the food at The Land is supposed to be really good. But the place always looks like a mad house to me... (thanks to the amazing "Soarin'" next door...) Might try it though next time I'm in the area!

Thanks for your comments!

[Dlrpfan]

have you seen the electrical water pagent yet experiment 627

[experiment627]

have you seen the electrical water pagent yet experiment 627

Yes, I actually have. By incident while exiting the Magic Kingdom one night...

The Water Pageant is really nothing you have to say during your time at WDW. It is, however, a nice bonus after a long day at the Magic Kingdom.

The technology is obviously very, very low-key - and the music borders the obnoxious.

Still, it's a nice little thing. A little extra...



On other news: went to Jiko's at the Animal Kingdom Lodge today. First and foremost - the hotel is absolutely stunning. Really amazing. (Right now one of my favourites right next with the Polynesian and the Yacht Club.)
The dinner was 100% delicious. I went with a dear friend and we both shared a wonderful bacon-arugula-tomatoe flatbread as appetizer. She then had the halibut while I enjoyed my lamb (on couscous with spinach), accompanied by a nice glass of South-African chardonnay. For desert, we shared a pistachio creme brulée on a mousee au chocolat.
Everything tasted wonderful.

It might not have been the very best Disney dinner I ever had, but one of my favourite Disney dining experiences none the less.

[Kristof]

On other news: went to Jiko's at the Animal Kingdom Lodge today. First and foremost - the hotel is absolutely stunning. Really amazing.

Good to hear!!!  

[experiment627]

Another evening at the MK: I went out with some friends, who spent their last day at Disney World...

I finally got to ride Big Thunder Mountain (which is fun, but doesn't hold a candle to "our" BTM) and Jungle Cruise (which is just fun). Went on the Haunted Mansion again and did Peter Pan. We also managed to see the amazing Philharmagic with a wonderful crowd that clapped, cheered and even sang along.

A thing that I noticed at the MK last night is the lack of attraction specific costumes: BTM and Splash share the same generic costume, so do all the Fantasyland costumes (no nice costumes for the folks working at Small World...).

We ended the night with a very nice dinner at Tony's (I had the eggplant spaghetti, which were quite good - and they serve some bread with a delicious tomato pesto...). Also, our waitress was really great. (If anybody gets to eat at Tony's, ask if Rebecca is working that day...)


It's been exactly one month now that I've arrived here in Florida.
I enjoy my time here, mind you, but I'm also starting to be looking forward to getting back to Europe...

[Dlrpfan]

Also, our waitress was really great. (If anybody gets to eat at Tony's, ask if Rebecca is working that day...

ok ill try to remember!
i love that restraunt - the theming and the staff are allways so very nice and so is the food!

[experiment627]

If you should ever ask yourself the question: on property or not? - Stay on property!!!

I'm living right next to WDW, so off-property. And because people in Orlando have no clue about driving, traffic jams are frequent. And so it actually took me 1 1/2 hours to get back home after an afternoon at Disney-MGM ... sigh...

But let's get to the good, the bad and the ugly:

I got to the park around 15:30 - it was busy (I guess because of EMH tonight). 70 Minutes at RnR, 40 at ToT - so I got a Fastpass for that one.
For a late lunch, I chose to go to the ABC Comissary and ate outside in the alley, while I was seranded by classic TV tunes like "Love Boat" and "The Brady Bunch" ...
I already mentioned this, but: the counter service food at WDW is - compared to DLP - outstanding! The many different restaurants offer a great variety of dishes. Today I got some very good Asian noodles with fresh vegetables - and because this is the US, the portion was HUGE. (There is nothing small around here... which can be also annoying at times...)

Then I got to see "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire - Play It!" ... it was kinda fun. "Kinda" because the one in the Hot Seat was a dodgy English teenager who spoke as much and as clearly as Chewbacca... The show would have been good - but it's way too short! How is anybody supposed to win the 1.000.000 (and a Disney Cruise...) when the show just ends without anything special after some odd 20 minutes? (Oh well... this attraction's days are supposed to be numbered anyway...)

Walked to "Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show" (I hate it when anyone uses the word "extreme" in a title or name...). My verdict: they butchered the show from Paris. First, I had this strange feeling that the whole set was a bit more removed from the audience than it is in Paris. Then there wasn't any audience participation. And the whole "secret agent"-storyline was just missing. Everything that makes the WDS' show so much fun - the tempo and even the relationship the audience builds up with the two presenters - is lacking in Orlando.
To be fair: I only got to see half a show. Due to lightning in the area, the show got cancelled after the Herbie segment. But trust me: I'm not making a point about seeing the rest of it...

Took a ride on the Great Movie Ride and finally ended up in the "Wild West"-car... yes, it was busy today. (The ride had a decent 30 minute line with both cars running.) I enjoyed it. It's still very hokey at times and would do well with an extensive update (especially the "Tarzan"-scene is plain silly and if they didn't tell you, you'd have problems recognizing Gene Kelley, Julie Andrews, Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman - the Oz-Scene and John Wayne are great however!), but it is a ride that actually puts a bit of Hollywood magic into a park that doesn't really seem to know which way to go...

Finally it was time for my FP at ToT - and I just can't wait to have this one in Paris and be able to ride it over and over again. It's just that good. (They also had some misters on in the garden queue which offered a welcomed way to cool off but also a very eerie mist.) I really love the Tower.

I ended the day wandering around. Aimlessly. It got even more crowded now with more and more resort guests getting into the park for EMH, so I decided not to wait for "Fantasmic!" - I'll do it another night.

So much for today... I'm back in the parks tomorrow!

[experiment627]

Another day at Animal Kingdom (which is without a doubt my favourite theme park around here... but still needs some more stuff to do...):

Again I have to ask: why oh why doesn't DLP have such a great variety (and quality) of counter service offerings as WDW does??? Thank you.

We got to see the amazing Safari again, went on the very fun "Dinosaur" (twice), saw "it's tough to be a bug", got not too-soaked on "Kali River Rapids" (which is a bit on the short side...), took a spin on the very tacky but still entertaining "Primeval Whirl", walked the "Maharajah Jungle Trek", had lunch at Tusker House (see above), got to watch the Parade (the best at WDW) and venture on to Everest one more time.
Again, the park was busy - but managable.
(I was told that Everest has really caused the attendance to swell considerably...)

Can't be bothered right now to write any more in-depth reviews of any particuliar rides... just go ahead an ask about my oh so very important oppinion on different aspects of the park (or WDW in general... or politics... or food... or literature... yeah, just ask anything!  :wink: ) and I might be tempted and so flattered to write it down.  

[Kristof]

Keep us posted about the make-over of the MK parade!

[experiment627]

Keep us posted about the make-over of the MK parade!

I will. They're pretty much done with the re-do of the floats. (Just saw it today. - the opening Walt Disney one was missing...)

Just to give you a quick overview of my activities:

- Went to Epcot on Tuesday night, to watch Illuminations from the VIP viewing spot at Italy. (Ah, connections  :wink: ) Then went over with some friends to the Yacht & Beach Club to order the famous "Kitchen Sink" at Beaches & Cream: 8 scoops of ice cream topped with brownies, nutbread, milky way and a whole can of whipped cream. We were seven people and couldn't finish it... it was delicious, though.
Partied a bit at Jelly Rolls afterwards. (Tuesday nights there rock!)

- Did the Magic Kingdom on Wednesday: Jungle Cruise, Tiki Room, Pirates (bought the great "from the parks to the movies" book), Splash (I want that!), BTM, Tom Sawyer's Island, Country Bears, Philharmagic (I want that even more!), the teacups, Goofy's Barnstormer (kinda pointless), Buzz, Stitch, TTA and Space Mountain. (Which is jerkier than the Paris version but has a nicer queue... I also love the very elegant exterior design of the mountain...)
And we had lunch at Pinocchio's Village Haus, and once again I have to ask: why does counter service food at DLP suck so much?

- went shopping yesterday. :wink: The Premium Outlet Mall is fun... a bit livelier than La Vallée... And due to the great exchange rate an amazing place to go shopping at Calvin Klein & Ralph Lauren.  
Had a nice meal afterwards at Downtown Disney's Wolfgang Puck's Express. A bit pricier than usual fast food, but really delicious. I paid for a nice pizza and a soda 12 Dollars. Good place, nice food.

[Maarten]

Had a nice meal afterwards at Downtown Disney's Wolfgang Puck's Express. A bit pricier than usual fast food, but really delicious. I paid for a nice pizza and a soda 12 Dollars. Good place, nice food.

Another tip; try to eat something at House of Blues. The food is delicious and the atmosphere is really great. By the way, did you know Pink was there somewhere in late July/early August? She probably gave a concert at House of Blues.

[experiment627]

Another tip; try to eat something at House of Blues. The food is delicious and the atmosphere is really great. By the way, did you know Pink was there somewhere in late July/early August? She probably gave a concert at House of Blues.

sigh... there are so many great places to eat - and I only have a couple of weeks left!  :wink:

No, I didn't hear anything about Pink at House of Blues ... could be that she was in Orlando.
The resort is still abuzz about Johnny Depp's visit in early July.  :wink:

[Maarten]

sigh... there are so many great places to eat - and I only have a couple of weeks left!  :wink:

Ah... poor you. I feel so sorry for you man!