Isafari at Animal Kingdom December 2007

We are both awake this morning before the alarm which is set for 7am. It is 23rd December and we expect Animal Kingdom to be pretty full…..and it doesn’t let us down! Still, who are we to complain…..we know that when we come back in a couple of weeks, it will be much quieter so if we don’t see everything we will catch up when we return.

Everyone seems to be in a rush (probably heading for Everest or Kilimajaro Safari) but we take a leisurely stroll and catch a boar enjoying a morning sniff. We scour the otter enclosure but, as usual they are nowhere to be seen.

We wander over the bridge and use the photopass for the yearly snap of DH and I in front of the tree of life. The photographer takes about five different poses then we ask if we can have the Simba pose which she gladly does for us. It’s Tough To Be A Bug is showing only a five minute wait so we wander through the carvings on the tree and find it’s a walk in. Once inside we pop on our ‘bug eyes’ and enjoy the show. I do however, remember when to lean forward!!

Next we head over to Africa and get a fastpass for Kilimanjaro Safaris which is only an hour wait so we go for some food at a counter next to Tusker House. We have two croissants, two muffins and two juice which comes to $13. We sit outside in the sunshine while we eat and watch some of the entertainment. A group of holidaymakers were following the lead of an African lady and dancing to music with other members of her band playing the drums. One guy was getting too familiar with her and had to be warned to calm down by the drummer……he did this using his eyes only!
We had a look in Mombasa Marketplace before it was time for our safari. This safari turned out to be the best one I’ve ever been on … and, believe me, I’ve been on it a lot! We sat at the front of the landrover behind the driver. The okapi was nowhere to be seen from this side of it’s enclosure but after that, it was animals galore. The hippos were sunning themselves and looked so funny all lined up in a row.

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The alligators were in their usual positions and looked like ‘butter wouldn’t melt.’ We even saw one mandril monkey.

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We were busy watching a couple of zebras when a giraffe walked in front of our vehicle so we had to stop a while (gave DH a good chance to snap this leggy fella.)
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The elephants were close too and we spotted them in a couple of places. I’m so pleased they’ve changed the Little Red story at last!

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We saw a rhino and then had to look straight the other way for some ostrich.
There were lots of flamingo as usual….is that a hidden Mickey? Can you believe that the cheetahs were even close enough to see too. Then….my favourite animal….the lion. I nearly fainted when they were actually in view today. I think this is only the second time we’ve seen them up and about. Our guide even slowed right down for us to take a photo.
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The wild pigs were chasing each other …..couldn’t tell if it was in anger or in jest but they put on a little show of their own. So, it turned out to be a very cool safari today.

Next over to the Pangani Forest. We see the okapi from this area. I just love these animals, they fascinate me. They are related to the giraffe but have zebra markings on their legs….they are beautiful. I also found out that their tongues are long enough for them to lick their ears!
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I got some good footage of the hippos playing in the water here too.
Now for the magnificent gorillas. I could spend hours here watching them chew on leaves and drinking from the stream. They don’t disappoint today and we see quite a few of them. I love the fact that if they don’t want to be seen they have plenty of trees and bushes to hide in. It is so relaxing watching them.
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Time to give Asia a visit and we come across DeVine who is as mysterious and beautiful as ever.

Maharajah Jungle Trek is next for us and I’m hoping that the trend of today with animals galore is going to continue here. The Komodo dragon is in his usual spot on the rock. We pass straight through the bat area as it is pretty full. Next…..the tigers We are so lucky as not long after we get there, it’s feeding time and they are running around catching the meat and a few squabbles break out. We even catch some of them in the water
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Then DH says “lets do Everest” before I can put my brain in gear, I reply “sure.” It’s too late, I said it. I’ve done Everest once before and I screamed like a banshee the whole ride ….in fact, I hurt my tongue with all of the straining. Then, when the ride was over and DH had prised my fingers from the safety bar, I could barely use my legs. I was sweating profusely (sorry, I forgot I’m a lady…..I was perspiring) and needed a bucket! Now, I look at DH and he is a tad excited that we are going on Everest so I can’t let him down ….can I? Nope. I tell myself that it is all in the mind and I am going to be fine. Before I know it, we are sitting in the carriage and DH is asking me to open my eyes this time. WHOOSH…….we’re off and I clamp my mouth shut but if you could hear me screaming inside, you would feel sorry for me. I open one eye and don’t like what I see so it closes for me. Then, I can’t help it….I’m screaming like that little girl again whose just had her candy floss pinched…..plus add terror to that scream and that was me. I open my eyes for a little while when we are heading for the broken track and tell myself off for the poor timing. Then……I forgot about the backwards bit. I am so not happy right now. DH says look at the yeti and I say to him….”I can see him” What he doesn’t know was that I could see him in my imagination. When that 3 hour ride finally comes to an end, I surprise myself by being able to walk like I was intoxicated which was better than last time. I feel ill but, I know if I calm down, it will go away in a week or two. We didn’t buy the photo as I looked like the Incredible Hulk’s little sister.

It is nearly time for the parade so we go find a spot to shout for Mickey when he passes by. It is still the Christmas parade so the characters are dressed up in their Christmas outfits and the music has changed to fit accordingly. In fact “boppity bop bop, bobbity bop bop look at Frosty go” is stuck in my head right now. I just love the parades and you can’t help but shout out for the characters can you….well, you do it too, don’t you?

We head over to watch the Festival of the Lion King next which I adore. I have to sit on the ground while we wait to go in as I still feel ill. The show is fantastic and we are giraffe’s for the first time. This show is turning out to be a real tonic as I’m beginning to sing along…..which isn’t necessarily a good thing. Then here come the tears. This show always does this to me.

When we get back outside, we head straight for the character spots at camp Minnie Mickey where we queue with all the kids to have our smiling faces put on the photopass along with The Mouse himself, Minnie, Goofy and Donald who are all decked out in safari clothing. Satisfied that I smiled nicely and sucked in my belly, we go for a bag of crisps/chips and a soda each.

Now, you may call me stupid (hey, that wasn’t nice) but, the one ride that I’ve never done and I really wanted to do here was Dinosaur. I’d heard that it wasn’t a bad ride and, seeing as I felt like a zombie anyway, I went for it. Big mistake! I may have been able to handle this one if it had been the only one that day…..to cut a long story short and, I’m sure you’re tired of listening to me by now….we headed out of the park and opted for an early night. (oh….we bought this photo but there is no way in this hemisphere that you’re going to get to see it)