62 Days to Go: Animal Kingdom Lodge

Love animals? Have a child that does? Then book yourself into the next hotel in my series, Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge. 

Designed to evoke a lodge in the African wilderness, the hotel property also houses a wildlife preserve. Guests can see various animals from their windows and while out on the property. I always joke that the vultures perch outside the guests' rooms. "Oh, you're up? Never mind then." If you're worried about coming too close to an animal, don't worry. There are little barriers to prevent this from happening. A friend of ours likes to stay on the 6th floor (the concierge floor) of this resort and loves to tell the story of giraffes coming up to fences that don't even reach their knees, but turning around because something's in their path. We visited the resort once while he was there, going swimming in their pool (and sliding down their water slide). While we were splashing each other, a giraffe poked its head out from some trees, looked around and then seemed to think "People in the watering hole again." He pulled his head back in and we rushed out of the pool due to a surprise rain storm. 

While visiting our friend, he took us to Boma: Flavors of Africa. It's a buffet of African cuisine and is absolutely delicious. Just don't ask what you're eating. No, seriously, that's what the people working the place told my family when we went. I just asked to be pointed to the poultry and figured I was safe. Please don't pop my bubble. 

As the name suggests, the Animal Kingdom Lodge is next to the Animal Kingdom. It is also considered a deluxe hotel. 

77 Days to Go: Animal Kingdom

We go to the baby of the Disney parks--Disney's Animal Kingdom.

This won't be long as while my family and I go to the Animal Kingdom, it does not rank high on our list of "to-do." In fact, it's rare we make a second trip back in a vacation. We do ride the the Dinosaur ride, even if it scares the bejeebus out of me. The day of our visit to the Animal Kingdom, we don bathing suits so we can ride the Kali River Rapids. Splash Mountain may get you wet, but the Kali River Rapids will get you soaked.

The newest ride at the Animal Kingdom, Expedition: Everest, is a thrilling roller coaster through Yeti country. There are dips and twists throughout the ride, but the true highlight comes when you begin to do the ride backwards! My mother wasn't too thrilled with it, though.

My parents also like to do "It's Tough to be a Bug" in the Tree of Life. However, I have such an intense fear of bugs that seeing animated ones in 3-D sends me into panic attacks. So, my sister and I often sit this one out. This time, we shall try some of the rides in Dinoland, USA, especially the Primevial Whirl.

As we don't spend as much time in Animal Kingdom, we've never had to eat there, so I can't comment on the food. I can comment on the walkways, which are extremely narrow. It forces nearly everyone to walk in a single file line and is laid out in such a convoluted way so that one can easily get lost.

But the most important aspect of the Animal Kingdom are the animals themselves! They are in habitats and easily seen from the walkways. There is also a safari, allowing you to view the animals from a very close position. When my friends I did the safari, we were stalled because a giraffe was standing in the path, just enjoying his breakfast. We were able to get some good shots of the giraffe and we learned its tongue was black!

So, if you have an animal lover, I suggest you definitely go to the Animal Kingdom.