Disney Adventures Part 3

Saturday was our last day at Walt Disney World. We headed out early and made it to Animal Kingdom shortly after it opened. It’s the largest of the parks, although it doesn’t have TOO many things to do just yet, being the newest park and all. After walking through the zoo section at the front of the park, we started out the day watching the Lion King show, which we were practically ushered into. It was actually pretty entertaining, and we learned important things like how a giraffe makes a sound like a sheep. Who knew??

From there, we headed into Discovery Island where we admired the beautifully carved Tree of Life and wandered around the many trails. Then it was off to Dinoland U.S.A., where we rode the incredible DINOSAUR dark ride. Talk about intense!! It was really incredible, and I dragged Nate back to ride it a second time. Sadly, we discovered that Primeval Whirl, the double spinning mouse coaster, was down due to maintenance, so that’s an important reason to come back. Beyond that, we played around in the Boneyard, attempting to slide down slides and all that good stuff. We’re definitely kids at heart!

After Dinoland, we were off to Asia where we approached the most obvious attraction in the park: Expedition Everest. You just can’t miss this ride. An enormous replica of Mt. Everest climbs magnificently into the sky, and every now and then you see a train of people ascending its dizzying heights followed by screams of terror and delight. I knew about this ride, but I hadn’t bothered to read up on the details, so I went in not knowing what to expect…and what a treat it was! You start off climbing a ridiculously steep lift hill, and then you do a few gentle turns and twists before coming up to another lift hill that takes you…wait…where’s the track?? It appears that the track has been twisted and broken by the Yeti! What do we do?? “Aaaaaahhhh!!!!” The next thing you know, you’re plummeting backwards through utter darkness, twisting and turning and dropping until you reach another lift hill-like area. You get pulled up backwards, and the train stops as you watch the Yeti on the screen in front of you rip up more of the coaster track. Then the train is released and you plummet out of the mountain. After a few more twists, including a close flyby of the Yeti himself, you arrive back at the station. It was a really exciting coaster, and more so when you don’t know what’s coming! (Sorry for the spoiler!)

Then we headed over to Kali River Rapids, which I was hesitant about riding once I saw all the drenched people coming off. It was pretty chilly out, so that might not be the best plan of attack. Well, we did ride it, and everyone on the raft got soaked…and when we returned to the station, the ride op asked if we’d like to go around again…and we DID! Luckily the water seemed warm, but it didn’t help for the rest of the day, walking around with soaked jeans and a damp t-shirt. It was worth it, though, to experience one of the few raft rides with a substantial drop. What fun!

From there, we were off to Africa where we took the safari tour through the savanna, seeing all sorts of antelope, giraffes, elephants, lions, and rhinos, among other things. It was a pretty good ride, but nothing spectacular, really. I think Busch Gardens’ is better, actually. We then took the train to Rafiki’s Planet Watch, where we toured the exhibits and had some ice cream. Then it was off to the 3D show “It’s Tough to Be a Bug,” followed by Everest and Dinosaur re-rides. Then it was back to Epcot for us!

We arrived back at Epcot pretty early – around 3:30, I think. We started our adventure in Future World, visiting everything we missed the night before. Among our adventures were the Living with the Land ride, which took us through some incredible greenhouses where they grew plants that required minimal soils and actually procured tomato trees, which last about 3 times as long as regular tomato plants. Much of what they grow is used at the park, too. They also raised tilapia and shrimp and alligators. It was just fascinating to see the incredible things they’ve come up with. Then we rode the Nemo ride, which was ok, though I understand it was better before they Nemo-fied it. It was situated in an aquarium, so the animated characters took away from the sea life in the background. I’m still kicking myself about not seeing the Journey Into the Imagination Ride, which we didn’t even realize was there, especially because its host is a dragon. Ah well, I’m sure we’ll be back someday!

After enjoying Future World, we headed off to the World Showcase. We had no idea that the Food and Wine Festival was going on, but what a lucky turn of events! Besides the already astounding number of countries and foods available when the event is not taking place, there were kiosks all along the lakefront, representing even more countries and culinary delights, each of which was quite affordable. It was like visiting the Taste of Chicago, in fact! We flitted from booth to booth, sampling all sorts of treats…spanakopita from Greece, escargot from France, chorizo quesadillas from Mexico, sushi from Japan, cheeses from Holland, Durban spiced chicken with coconut milk infused root vegetables from South Africa, seafood gumbo from Louisiana, meze from Turkey, various wines, including a wine sampling of Melbourne Australia area wineries, and that’s just what we tried! There were many, many more booths and foods to sample. It was incredible!

Besides the amazing cuisine, there were also the various shops, restaurants, shows and rides smattered throughout the World Showcase. Incredible replicas of famous buildings like the Eiffel Tower, stood regally along the waterfront – it really did feel like visiting a number of countries all in a few hours. We saw the 360 degree show about China, which could make a person dizzy, but was completely worth it, followed by Norway’s Maelstrom – a boat ride through Norse history complete with a tiny, though unexpected drop. Finally, we rode gondolas through Mexico, which felt more like Italy, save for all the stucco. Once we had made a loop of the Showcase, we headed back to Test Track for one more spin, this time entering the single rider line and getting on within five minutes. After a quick trip to the gift shop, we headed over to the lagoon to watch the incredible “IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth” show. This was an incredible fireworks show featuring an electrical globe in the center of the lagoon that would change images with the music. It was absolutely spectacular, and easily one of the best shows in the park. It was a perfect way to top off the trip, and I’m glad we stuck around.

Jeez, I feel like I must be forgetting something! There was just so much we did, it’s hard to tell anymore! Regardless, after we left Epcot, we managed to make it over to the bar that claimed to be tiki, next to our hotel. It was open this time, but unfortunately they don’t serve tiki drinks every night. Nor is it at all tiki themed. Regardless, we had a good time chatting with the bar tender, who just happened to be from Chicago! We had two drinks and headed off, exhausted from our adventures.

Our flight was at 8:30, so we were up before 6, just to get ready. Luckily, the flight back was uneventful, and we got back around 10:30, Mountain Time. I was absolutely exhausted the rest of the day and wound up passing out by 7! If that’s any measure of a good trip (which I think it is), it says a lot. This had to be the most “normal” of any of our vacations, by other peoples’ standards, but it was also an incredible one. It’ll be a while before we return to Disney, but in the meantime, we have a lot of magic to relive.