Today we went to one of our favourite parks, Animal Kingdom.

Animal Kingdom consists of 5 areas being:

• Oasis - Mostly contains animal exhibits and is the entrance to the park.
• Discovery Island - Mostly animal exhibits and has a few smaller attractions.
• Africa - Fantasic area. Lots to see and do. You have the safari, wilderness train and an exploration trail.
• Asia - Has the signature ride which is "Expedition Everest" as well as the Kali River Rapids, the Jungle Trek and a good number of asian restaurants.

We are very familiar with this park and so we headed to the Expedition Everest ride. This has the record as the most expensive roller coaster ever made. The roller coaster is a favourite with the kids. I stole the following from Wikipedia as this is a good description of the ride.

"The train departs the station to the right and climbs a small lift leading to a short drop, then circles around to the 112-foot (34 m) lift hill, carrying the riders into the 200-foot-high (61 m) mountain. On the way up it passes through a ransacked temple with murals of the yeti, warning the riders that the mountain is his territory. At top of the mountain the train curves around the main peak and goes through a cave. When it emerges, it draws to a halt in front of track that has been torn apart, presumably by the yeti. The train itself is held in place by a series of rubber tires while an automatic switch rotates the piece of track directly behind the train. The train then rolls backwards along a new route that spirals down through the mountain, coming to a halt in a large cave, where riders see the yeti's shadow on the wall as he tears up more track. This effect distracts riders from noticing another automatic track switch being thrown in front of them. As the shadow moves away, the train rolls forward out of the mountain and down the main 80-foot (24 m) drop. It enters a 360° helix and speeds back up through another cave in the mountain, where the roars of the yeti are heard once more. The train exits from the rear of the mountain and enters a large helix before being lifted back into the mountain a final time. The train drops through a cave, where a large yeti is reaching down toward it. On reaching the bottom of this drop, riders return to the unloading dock and depart into a gift shop. One ride takes about 2 minutes and 50 seconds".



We did the Expedition Everest Ride 5 times ... yes 5 times ... we love it!

We booked a fast pass for the Kilimanjaro Safaris so this was our next stop. The ride has you boarding a safari truck complete with a guide. You drive through different African habitats learning about and seeing African animals.Very well done and great way for the kids to see some of the more rare animals and how they would look in the wild.



Upon our return we did the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail. Some great animal exhibits here and the kids were thrilled to see two very new baby gorillas. Well worth taking some time to visit the trail and it s exhibits.



We quickly headed to another Fast Pass booking called "Dinosaur". This is a new attraction added to the park since our last visit. This ride is a prehistoric tour where you are part of a team trying to save a dinosaur from extinction. Awesome ride. We would have liked to do it twice but did not have the time.



After the Dinosaur ride we headed back to Asia and completed the Maharajah Jungle Trek. I personally love the effort the park has gone to to make you feel you are in asia. The props and paintings are so authentic. The tigers exhibit is escpecially impressive.



We have been to this park before and therefore gave Dinoland and Oasis a miss. If you are short of time head straight for Africa and Asia, you won't be disappointed.

Fitbit Stats

Dad - 18,886
Mum - 22,318