A Frizzy Disney Diary About This Page:

[DisneyMamaSarah]

I love your story with your meal at Coral Reef. I know a bit about Celiac's and myself suffer from some sort of stomach/digestive/intestinal thing that I am too afraid to go in and have pinpointed. So I suffer. Sometimes it's when I've had an excessive amount of breads/pastas/etc that it triggers an attack. Sometimes it's greasy food. Sometimes it's just a large full meal. Sometimes I can't pinpoint it other than it being too late (which is why I prefer to eat dinner between 4-6 and not usually a moment later). There are many times I agonize in a restaurant over the menu, not sure if something is going to trigger an attack or not. So, I can kind of understand how upsetting it can be. So glad they were able to offer your mom a worry free, and enjoyable meal. We are dining at Coral Reef (it will be our first time there) this December. Hope we have as great of an experience as you did.

[sheldoal]

I am loving your story. I teared up (in the first installment) when you said you just wanted to see the castle. My first trip was in my mid-30s, the year after you went. Can't wait to read your impressions of MK and the castle. :-)

[POOH]

I am loving your story.

[debic]

Great update. Can't wait to hear more!

[StephanieB]

Can't wait to hear about your trip to the Magic Kingdom!!!

[MissFrizz]

It was on the monorail from the TTC to MK that I got my first look at Cinderella Castle. I couldn’t form any coherent thoughts I just kept pointing at it and saying, “There it is!! THERE IT IS!!” I think I vastly amused the other people in our car. My parents couldn’t seem to stop grinning either.

The rest is a blur until I make it to Main Street U.S.A. It was flooded with people, as you might expect, but I just kept walking toward the castle. Luckily, there wasn’t a show going on (or getting ready to go on) and you could actually walk through the arch that afternoon. I touched the “stonework” (I know, I know, it’s concrete) to verify that it was real, that I was there and that I wasn’t dreaming.

And then I started crying. What did you expect? Something inside of me was mended when I walked through that arch. We admired the mosaic, peeked in on the little princesses at BBB, and when we emerged in Fantasyland, I was just a little bit different.

I think that is, unequivocally, the moment my interest became addiction. I’ll be Mouse dependent for the rest of my life, and I couldn’t be happier.

My first impression of Fantasyland was, oddly enough, not quite as magical. I loved it, don’t get me wrong, but I distinctly remember thinking “WOW this is small.” As the beating heart of the Magic Kingdom, I expected Fantasyland to be about twice the size it was. Interestingly enough, the New Fantasyland expansion has broadened this area to about what I was expecting on that first trip in 2009. That’s part of why I was so thrilled when it was announced.

I was immediately enchanted with the little Pooh playground. I adored Winnie the Pooh as a child and have never gotten (and will never get) over that adoration. We’d tape “The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh” show off of The Disney Channel, and I’d watch the episodes over and over until I wore the tape out. Funny enough, I only like select bits of the original movie as a child. (There were parts that terrified me-- mostly when Rabbit gets lost in the woods and there are scary frogs and caterpillars. I did NOT like bugs or slimy things as a child and I was terrified of getting lost in the grocery store. Bad combo.) Needless to say, we decided to get a FASTPASS for WTP.

We wandered into Tomorrowland and were delighted to see next to no wait for Monsters Inc. The movie is a huge family favorite, so we had to jump in line. In general, I was shocked at how short lines were this afternoon. I had expected to ride next to nothing at MK, but we managed quite a few attractions before dinner. I knew I didn’t want to be put up on screen, so I tried to pick a row with no lamps (I’d read online that’s where the cameras are hidden). Alas, my strategy did not work, but I needn’t have worried. No one would ever pick me with my dad sitting right next to me.

You see, my Dad looks very…distinctive. Everywhere we go, there’s someone who thinks they know my father. I think he looks like Santa Claus (he even wears round glasses and has blue eyes). Strangers seem to think he looks like Jerry Garcia. Dad isn’t too fond of either of these comparisons. Even he is amused, however, when a small child in the middle of July points at him and says “MOMMY IT’S SANTA!” with pure conviction. (I that!) He’s more amused when shop clerks see his long hair from behind and say, “Ma’am, can I help you?” Their look of sheer horror when he turns around and they take in his full beard and male features amuses him to no end. He’s always very nice about it. Dad’s really just about the sweetest guy you’ll ever meet.

Kind of like Sully. In fact, after we first saw Monsters Inc., I took to pointing at him and crying (in my best impression of Boo) “Kitty!” So how could we be surprised when the two headed monster put him up on screen to play Sully in their retelling of the story? Mom and I couldn’t stop laughing.

Poor Dad isn’t a big fan of being the center of attention, but he was a good sport and played along. I’m not sure I’ll ever get him on this attraction again though, as the only other time he’s seen it he was picked to be “That Guy.”

Still waiting for our FASTPASSes to ripen, we spent a little time in Mickey’s Toontown Fair. And I mean a little. The fact that this area was only ever supposed to be temporary seemed very evident. There was no transitional flow, the area was cramped and oddly laid out, and it even seemed dirtier than the rest of the park. I recognize that, as a land whose primary (if not only) attraction was character greetings, we were not exactly the target audience. Anyway, we high tailed it out of there and breathed a sigh of relief when we were back in the “real” Magic Kingdom.

Because it had been the center of the book Dad and I had just read (Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom by Cory Doctorow), he and I really wanted to ride Haunted Mansion. We were delighted to round the corner and see the wait time listed at ten minutes. In reality, we walked on. It was immediately clear why this attraction deserved to be the centerpiece of a novel. We adored every second of it. When the narration in the stretching room said “…is this room actually stretching?” I looked up and gave a genuine gasp of surprise. It was exactly as the Imagineers had intended.

The three of us crowded into one Doom Buggy. It was cramped, and we wouldn’t ride that way now, but I’m glad the three of us got to experience our first ride (of many) on HM together. To this day, Haunted Mansion is my favorite attraction at Walt Disney World. Not even my beloved yeti quite crowds out this classic in its top spot. I believe we immediately rode it again, in an attempt to catch some of the things we had missed in our first ride through.

[On that note, I leave you for today. I’m sorry it’s short, but I wanted to get SOMETHING on here. The rest of our MK afternoon/evening still to come, as well as our day at AK.]

-MissFrizz

[DisneyMamaSarah]

Awww, I could totally relate to your first glimpse of the castle. When my parents went for the first time in 2008 -- I couldn't WAIT for them to see the castle. They, too, caught the glimpse of it on the monorail.

It was truly magical seeing their smiles.

[debic]

Cracking up just thinking of a child in July soo sure that your dad is Santa! Can't wait to hear more.

[StephanieB]

Yeah another installment!!!!

[MissFrizz]

I got the job I've been interviewing for!

The process took forever, but I received a job offer on Tuesday. I'm going to be a Cast Member at the Disney Store! I start a week from Sunday, so my goal is to finish this up before then. Look for an update on the rest of our Magic Kingdom experience later today.

-MissFrizz

[KMB733]

Congratulations

[bluejn]

thats great, i'm sure your gonna love it

[debic]

Congratulations on your new job!!! Can't wait to hear the rest!

[MissFrizz]

After our second Haunted Mansion ride, we began wandering aimlessly in the direction of Frontierland. The parade was beginning, and soon we were essentially trapped in the area. Thankfully, this meant that the line for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was relatively short, so we decided to try the “wildest ride in the wilderness.”

This was our introduction to Disney thrills. As people who genuinely like roller coasters (though I don’t think we’re fanatical enough to be aficionados) we were surprised at the thrill level of this headliner. In terms of fear factor, it most strongly reminded me of a Scooby Doo kiddie coaster I had ridden at Kings Dominion. In terms of theming and charm, it was like no coaster I’d ever been on. Big Thunder isn’t my favorite coaster, but it does have a special place in my heart as the attraction that introduced me to the Disney thrill ride. Sure, if I’m craving visceral thrills, nothing beats The Hulk at Islands of Adventure, but no one tells a story like Disney. I loved that it had details almost like you would find in a dark ride. The falling rock especially tickled me and my mom, who pointed and faux screamed.

After exiting BTMRR, we came upon the raft launch for Tom Sawyer Island. We ended up hitching a ride over, but between waiting in line in the sun and then riding the raft in the sun (God bless those CMs, I can’t imagine going back and forth between Frontierland and TSI all day) we were pooped. We wandered over to a shady spot with rocking chairs (I believe it’s a QS joint in the busy season) and enjoyed simply SITTING for a moment. We talked about how much shorter the lines had been than we’d expected and pulled out the map to pick out a few other things to ride. (Aw, I feel all sentimental, remembering a time when I’d actually need a map in MK.)

After our success with HM, we thought about hitting another Disney classic—PotC. It had always sounded kind of hokey to me, but so had Haunted Mansion. Some things can’t really be explained; they have to be experienced.

We spent another few minutes recovering in the shade (we’d been going since dawn and it was now after 3 PM, we were tired!) before bracing ourselves to reenter the heat for a sunny raft ride back to the main land. We looped up through Frontierland into Adventureland and rejoiced at the advertised 5 minute wait at Pirates. We walked on and were soon sailing.

This attraction was another home run. I had walked in slightly skeptical, though willing to be impressed, and I certainly was. There’s nothing quite like recovering from your little dark drop to come out into the open sea between a pirate ship and the town they intend to plunder. We’d seen the movie and were especially impressed with how lifelike the Jack Sparrow animatronics were. I was also surprised at how PG-13 some of the vignettes were. I mean, how do you explain to your kids the scene where they’re auctioning off bound women? It’s hilarious because that would NEVER get past public relations these days. (Of course, neither would any Disney movie made before 1970.)

I believe it was at this point that we wandered back to Fantasyland to ride Winnie the Pooh. Our FPs still weren’t ripe and we desperately sought a place to sit down. We were definitely fading fast at this point. The wait was worth it, though, as soon as I saw our hunny pot (yes that’s the genuine, authentic, correct, “Hundred Acre Woods” spelling) come round the bend. I literally squealed, “Oh my God! You ride in a hunny pot!!!” I was sold, right then. One of the CMs working the ride laughed at me and I couldn’t blame her. I was five years old at that moment. Five year old me would have flipped her s**t to get to ride in a hunny pot.

That feeling of being five again lasted through the whole ride. I loved every second of it, from the blustery day to the last “hooray.” The only exception is that while I love the heffalump and woozle section now, that would have terrified me when I was little.

Exiting our ride, I was almost crying all over again. That childlike feeling was exactly what I had always expected from Disney World. Leading up to our trip, my parents were so afraid that I was going to be disappointed. They worried that we wouldn’t find a magical place, but a stressful, crowded, soul sucking mecca of capitalism. What’s amazing is not that Disney exceeded their expectations; what’s amazing is that Disney exceeded mine, which were so high and in which I had so much of my heart invested.

We still had a little time before our ADR at Tony’s and I wanted to check out the shops on Main Street. I was intrigued by the pins, but didn’t buy any. My mom did pick up a pair of Mickey earrings each for herself and me.

We were hungry and tired by this point, so we decided to see if we could check in early at Tony’s. Having read that the patio offered a great parade viewing spot, I asked if we could sit out there. The hostess said that she would see what she could do, and we settled into the waiting area. I scored a seat with a good view of the television, and happily spent my time watching Lady and the Tramp. It’s one of my all-time favorite Disney movies and I loved that the restaurant was themed to it.

As the hostess brought us to our table, I complimented her on the brooch on her costume. It was lovely and Victorian looking, picturing Lady and the Tramp. She said that guests ask about it all the time and that some have even offered her money for it! When we got to our table, we found that we not only had a seat outside, but that our table had been decorated with streamers and Mickey confetti.

After walking through the bustling restaurant to get to our table on the patio we were doubly glad we got to sit out there. The restaurant was extremely noisy inside, but outside it was quiet and peaceful. We enjoyed watching all the people in Town Square as we leisurely ate our meal.

Our server (another fantastic CM whose name I wish I remember ) was by quickly to take our drink orders. He wished me a happy birthday (something I had yet to tire of) and was both pleasant and efficient. He chatted with us some too, and I mentioned how excited I was to eat here because I love Lady and the Tramp. He said he liked it too, and that his favorite character was Trusty. We were getting spoiled by Disney service. You don’t ALWAYS get stellar wait staff at WDW, but I find it happens far more than in the “real world.” We had certainly hit a home run that day. Our servers really added an extra dimension of Disney magic to our first day.

I already knew what I was getting. There was no way I was eating at a Lady and the Tramp themed restaurant and NOT ordering spaghetti with meatballs. Five year old me would never do anything else, and my seventeen year old self was definitely listening to her inner child that day. I’ve no idea what my parents got, although we all started with caesar salads. Our waiter also brought a separate bread basket for my mom, which was nice, although these weren’t as fresh and warm as the one’s she’d had at Coral Reef. They were the same in every other way, and she felt like one heaping basket of bread was plenty for one day.

The food was not great but not bad either. I’ve certainly had meatballs with more pizazz…but I wasn’t really expecting stellar culinary quality from a restaurant in the Magic Kingdom. The atmosphere and service more than made up for what the food lacked.

I wanted to hang out so we could watch Spectromagic from our primo seats, but I wasn’t sure if that was frowned upon. Our waiter put my doubts to rest after we had ordered dessert. He said that it should be out just before the parade, and that we should make sure to stay put to watch it as we had a great view. Ok, I guess it’s alright if we stay then!

Our dessert did indeed come out just before the parade began. Mine was a strawberry cheesecake with a piece of chocolate that said “Happy Birthday” on it. The best part, however, was the stenciled image next to the cake: Lady and the Tramp in powdered chocolate. That little detail just made me beam. I took a picture of it so I could remember it even after the dessert was gone (if I could find it, I would post it for you guys…but I can’t ).

Just as we were tucking into dessert, the lights on Main Street went off and the parade began. I was utterly transfixed. I loved the music. I love the floats. I loved the lights. I loved the characters. I loved it. To this day, I miss Spectro SO MUCH…MSEP is nice, but it’s not the same. It was the perfect end to the evening

The cherry on top came after the parade. When our waiter brought us the bill, he turned to me and said, “Every birthday celebration needs a birthday present—so here is our present to you.” He then handed me my very first pin. It was the pin they handed out at Grand Gathering breakfast celebrations at Tony’s. It had Tony (the chef from Lady and the Tramp) on it, but it could have been a Hannah Montana pin for all I cared. He went that extra step to make me smile and to make our evening memorable and I was genuinely touched. (Incidentally, that pin started an obsession with Disney pins that I’ve yet to kick. I don’t trade much, but I do buy the ones I can’t live without to go on my Disney pin board.)

We decided not to stay for Wishes as we were completely exhausted and knew that we’d be fighting massive crowds afterwards. At this point, we knew (without having to talk about ) that this would not be our last trip to Disney. There would be chances in the future to watch the fireworks. So we dragged ourselves to the bus stop for our ride back to AKL. I was so tired I fell asleep. We then dragged ourselves upstairs and collapsed into bed. We needed our beauty sleep, since we were heading to EMH at AK the next day.

[Up next: Do we make EMH at AK or do we sleep til noon? Do we take a friend of ours’ advice and skip Kilimanjaro Safaris? Do we wish we’d gone to Hollywood Studios?]

-MissFrizz

[MissFrizz]

Our alarm went off at 6:45 AM. I sprang out of bed and was completely dressed and bolting down my energy bar breakfast by 7:00. Mom and Dad gaped at me a little bit. I’m not a morning person and I we had all been completely wiped out last night. I needed no bribery to get out of bed though, because today was another Disney day!

First, though, we had to check out. I don’t remember much of this (I think I suppressed the unpleasant memory of having to leave ), but I’m fairly certain I hid on one of the couches and watched Disney cartoons.

That unpleasantness over, we hopped an Animal Kingdom bus, and made it to the park in plenty of time before the 8 AM EMH opening. A few minutes before the park opened, they let us through the turnstiles and we snaked our way through the Oasis before being stopped just over the bridge into Discovery Island. I remembered our similar situation the day before, and figured we were in for another opening ceremony. We scored decent spots on the right-hand side—we were prepped to march to EE as soon as the rope dropped. While we waited, Mom and I sang along with the animal themed Disney songs that were playing, grinning all the while.

I have to say, I miss this version of the AK opening ceremony, with Mickey rising out of the foliage by the Tree of Life. My guess is that he was too far away for kids to really feel like they get the full “Mickey” effect, but I thought it was so cool. This was something my Mom really loved, too, and she still likes AK’s opening ceremony best of any park’s (yes, including Magic Kingdom).

After the opening ceremony, CMs “walked” the rope instead of dropping it, which is a big ol’ win for safety. :thumbsup: I started to do my speed-walking thing again until my parents gently reminded me of the unnecessary scramble to Soarin’ the previous morning. …Oh yeah. It’s tempting to get whipped up in the fever! We slowed down and enjoyed our surroundings. I remember pointing out the different imprints in the pavement. It’s one of the little details that make AK such a great park. You’re welcome, Joe Rhode.

Wow, there’s nothing like turning the corner and seeing that mountain ahead of you, the prayer flags billowing in the breeze coming off the water. It’s the Cinderella Castle concept—on a bigger scale. And I love the “Main Street” of Serka Zong! I always look at the sign for the hotel “opening next season” and sigh a little wistfully. I would so love to stay above the “outfitter,” looking out into the Himalayan town. Of course, what’s really inside the “outfitter” is bathrooms…but a girl can dream!

As my parents promised, we were not punished with a long wait by walking at a normal pace to Everest (oh, what a little Disney noob I was, ). We were soon boarding our train. As we were doing the tame little swoops outside before the big climb, my dad marveled, “It’s not even 9 AM and we’re on a roller coaster!” It was an excellent way to start the day.

But oh my God, that yeti terrified me. Don’t get me wrong, it was a good, good terror. I knew all about it, had seen several pictures even, and STILL I was surprised by how amazing and lifelike it looked. I don’t know it was even running in A mode at this point (actively moving animatronic instead of B mode, which is static and lit up with strobe lights) but I remember that thing MOVING. Whether it was just a good illusion with lighting or if the animatronic was actually functioning correctly, I don’t care. I LOVED it.

Once again, the Disney thrill ride provided so much more than stomach churning drops. Strip EE down to its track and it’s a smooth, fairly tame coaster: no inversions and only one steep drop. Throw in the mountain, the yeti, and the fantastic story elements that stretch out not only to the queue but to the entire surrounding area, and it is hands down, my favorite roller coaster. My legs were jelly by the time we got out of our train car and wobbled into the gift shop. Did I want to ride again? *Expletive* yes. (it’s a Disney forum, so I won’t spell it out, but that’s what I was thinking!) Buuuuuuut, I needed to wait a little bit. We decided to grab FPs and come back later.

From EE we headed to Dinosaur. This too was a walk-on, after we watched the pre-show. We boarded our time rover and zoomed off to the past.

Now, here’s the thing. We had already had the pants scared off us by a yeti (ok, ok, I admit it. My mom and I had our pants scared off by a yeti. My dad pretty much took it in stride) so maybe our defenses were a little low. I knew that a giant scary dinosaur popped out at the end to terrify you for the ride photo. I didn’t realize he popped up repeatedly throughout the ENTIRE DANG RIDE. And, the make matters worse, EVERY dinosaur in that ride scared me, ranging from a little freaked out (Sauropod getting a little closer than I’m comfortable with) to full-on, “I’m seriously going to die” terror (Carnotaurus trying to chomp my head off). The thing is, I also didn’t want to miss it. If I was smarter, I would have shut my eyes and buried my head in my father’s side after the first carnivorous dino sighting. But noooooo, I was just curious enough (or masochistic enough ) to not miss a second of it. Mom and I were clutching each other and shrieking through most of the ride. Our ride photo featured me in as close to the fetal position as I could get, strapped into my seat.

Seriously though, all of this would have been 100% fine. We would have laughed about it (well, we did anyway, I guess) and maybe even have bought the ride photo (it was pretty hilarious). Except that after we time travelled back into the present, the ride broke down. We had been stopped at the perfect spot to be in pitch black total darkness.

Remember, we had never ridden this before, so for all we knew this was part of the ride. I could hear dinosaurs roaring in the room behind me. I kept thinking there was going to be one last cruel surprise. Actually, at this point, I had suspended my disbelief well enough that I half thought the Carnotaurus that just tried to eat my head was going to come stomping in for seconds. The longer we stayed there, the surer I was that this was not an intentional part of the ride. Unfortunately, we were still in the pitch blackness, strapped into our seats.

My dad and I both get a little claustrophobic. I was already on edge from the ride. Combined with the inability to move from my seat and the oppressive darkness, I started having a full-fledged panic attack. My dad wasn’t anywhere near that level of anxiety, but it was a highly unpleasant situation for him, and then there I was, spazzing next to him. If you’ve ever had to help someone who was having a panic attack, you’ll know that it requires a great deal of calm and patience. I felt so bad that I was panicking when I knew my dad was uncomfortable. Luckily, we were only restrained by a lap belt, which helped limit the claustrophobic feeling, and Mom could put her arm around me, so I could bury my face in her shoulder. This is the only time I’ve ever had a panic attack in public and floating in the back of my mind was extreme embarrassment. I didn’t yet feel the full force of it, thankfully, because genuine terror is pretty much 90% of your brain’s function during a panic attack. By the time I could really feel embarrassed, all the people who’d been around me were long gone. Still, I was glad I had Mom’s shoulder to muffle my crying. Mom kept reassuring me that the ride was over, that we were just sitting here for a while, that the dinosaurs weren’t real, and that nothing could hurt me. Dad, bless his heart, managed to pat my knee, I think.

We weren’t stuck for more than five minutes, according to my mom, though, of course, it felt like much longer to me. When the ride started moving and we moved into an area of light, I started calming and managed to dry my tears and look semi-respectable by the time we got off.

In case you’re worried: no, this did not ruin our trip or even our day. Panic attacks are still a (thankfully very occasional) part of my life, but back then I had one around twice a week. We expected that at least one would likely happen on our trip and were prepared for it. There’s nothing like being in Disney to help you shake off a negative experience! Honestly, the thing that broke the tension was seeing our ride photo. My dad looks mildly interested, my mom is shrieking, and I’m in between them: a little ball. The three of us HAD to laugh at that. After exiting the gift shop we took a breather to sit down in the blessed sunshine. (If you’re wondering, I have ridden Dinosaur many times since that cursed first time. I rarely content to be afraid of something, especially if I think it’s silly, so I was determined to re-ride it. Every time I’ve ridden, I’ve been less afraid, and I actually like it quite a bit now.)

After we had recovered outside a little bit, my dad said in his best, faux-perky voice, “Everyone ready for Everest now?!” I laughed and said, “Nooooo.” I needed an adrenaline BREAK. We decided that now was probably a good time to see some animals, so we headed over to the Maharajah Jungle Trek to see what the Tigers were up to.

If you’re confused as to why we weren’t hot-footing it over to Kilimanjaro Safaris, it wasn’t because we were ill informed about how long the lines can get later in the day. Before our trip, I spoke to pretty much everyone I knew had gone to Disney. A family friend, let’s call her Betty, gotten back about a month before from taking her husband and daughter on the little one’s first trip. Betty was utterly unimpressed with Animal Kingdom. When I told her we planned to spend a day there, she recommended we go to Hollywood Studios instead. She said that AK was basically a zoo, and that you can see more animals at our zoo. She particularly thought that the safari was lame and claimed to have seen essentially no animals. We obviously didn’t take her advice and skip the park, but I made the mistake of believing her when she said KS to be not worth it. So, with her proclamations about the lack of animals in the back of my mind, we headed to MJT to see what we could see, rather than walking to Africa for KS.

What we saw was amazing. I’ve never seen the tigers as active as they were since this day. They were walking around, splashing in the fountain, and playing with toys. We also adored the bats and spent a great deal of time there. Those are the two animal sightings that stick out in my head, but there were many more. We spent a good hour on the trail looking at animals and taking pictures. When we exited, we decided that Betty was insane. Between EE and MJT alone, AK was fast becoming our favorite park (well, with the exception of Dinosaur. )

After debunking our friend’s “there are no animals in Animal Kingdom” myth, we decided that we should probably give KS a shot after all. We wound our way to Africa (the long way—we went back through Discovery Island first) and only became more impressed with the theming. Harambe Village is a close second to Serka Zong for my favorite themed area on Disney property. (Although the new Beauty and the Beast section in New Fantasyland might edge both of them out. Beauty and the Beast is my all-time favorite Disney movie. I’ve had a crush on Belle since I was little.) We were early enough that the wait was still relatively short, so we hopped in line for KS. Even though this is a long queue, I like that there are little animal exhibits to look at. I even like the little video, since it stays “in character” and helps with the idea that you are entering a real African preserve.

Oddly enough, the specifics of our safari escape me. I can’t tell you all of what we did and didn’t see but I know we saw enough to think it was thoroughly worth it. My favorites were the giraffes and I really adored being that close to them. My mom liked the storyline involved, but I can’t say I’m sad they don’t “chase the poachers” anymore.

By the time we exited KS, it was official. AK was our favorite park. It still is to this day.

The truth is, the Animal Kingdom was practically designed for my family. Shortly after they were married, my dad got a job in Columbia SC and they moved there. My parents got married really young (Mom was 19, Dad was 21—but they didn’t have my older brother until they were 27 and 29) and were really poor. However, annual passes to the Columbia Zoo were pretty cheap, so that’s what they did for entertainment. They went every single weekend. They have some great stories from these weekend trips, my favorite one being the time they saw a hippo stalking a chicken. Yes, you read that right. Apparently a chicken had somehow gotten into the hippo’s enclosure and the hippo was attempting to sneak up on it. I’ll tell you, you haven’t REALLY laughed until you’ve seen my dad imitating a hippo trying to be sneaky.

Anyway, my parents loved the zoo then and passed that love onto their children. The closest zoo to where we live is in Pittsboro, NC, and it is a truly amazing zoo. We didn’t go every weekend, but we probably went at least once a year throughout my childhood. Actually, on my mom’s birthday that year (March 21) we decided to spend the day at the zoo, at that’s where my parents revealed to me that we would be staying on property at Disney!

Unlike the Columbia Zoo (or at least how it was in the 80s), there’s a huge focus on environmental awareness, animal research and rehabilitation, and recreating natural habitats. We love animals, so we want the places where we visit them to have their interests at heart.

I was concerned, when I heard about the Animal Kingdom and the Animal Kingdom Lodge, that these for-profit locations wouldn’t have a heavy enough emphasis on animal welfare. I was so happy when I did the research and discovered what Disney does not only for its animals on property (ALL of them, not just the ones at AK—think the trolley horses on Main Street) but also for the animals of the world through its charity, Disney’s Worldwide Conservation Fund. Not all charities are created equal, (It’s actually, unfortunately, really easy to LEGALLY scam people by setting up a “charity” that gives next to nothing to the advertised cause while pocketing the lion’s share of contributions) but DWCF actually seems to focus on doing real good.

From a young age, my parents taught us not to get our hearts set on seeing one particular animal, as you never know what you may or may not be able to see. What was always the most fun was being surprised by the cool, unexpected things. We also toured the whole zoo, checking out ALL the animals, not just breezing through the highlights.

If people are only interested in seeing one or two animals and Animal Kingdom and are going to be disappointed if they don’t, for example, see the tigers up and playing, I can see they wouldn’t rank AK very highly. On a recent WDW Today podcast, one of the guys (I can’t remember which one) said that AK doesn’t “have animals that people want to see.” His example was an anteater. Personally, I would think it was really cool to see an anteater, and I would spend time checking him out. For my family, ALL the animals are cool to look at. (Correction: not the hissing cockroaches. Or any of the bugs on the Pangani trail. I hate bugs. I rush right past those suckers.)

If you’d like to read more of me pontificating about the wonders of the animals at AK (heehee), or want some practical tips for effective animal touring, you can check out my Passporter article. It’s in the archive as “Making the Most of Disney’s Animal Kingdom.” (Why yes, that was a shameless plug! Go read anyway. )

[Tune in next time for the remainder of our AK day and my final thoughts on my first trip to WDW.]

-MissFrizz