{"id":4555,"date":"2014-03-11T15:16:57","date_gmt":"2014-03-11T19:16:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coreyann.com\/blog\/?p=4555"},"modified":"2014-03-11T15:16:57","modified_gmt":"2014-03-11T19:16:57","slug":"disneys-animal-kingdom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coreyann.com\/blog\/animals\/disneys-animal-kingdom","title":{"rendered":"Disney’s Animal Kingdom"},"content":{"rendered":"

I think that those of us that are in our 30’s got the short end of the stick as far as Disneyification goes. \u00a0Growing up, I liked Disney just fine but I wasn’t obsessed with the movies like you see kids are now (hello Frozen). \u00a0\u00a0I did however go through a Hayley Mills phase and was OBSESSED with Pollyanna thanks to them reairing it on The Magical World of Disney they had on Sundays (my parents were weary of my pretending to fall off of a roof every 5 minutes though). \u00a0I think we hit the gap between the old animated movies that were good (i.e. Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Snow White etc.) and the “new” animated movies that recaptured the hearts of kiddos everywhere (The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Toy Story etc. were all released when I was in my teens). \u00a0Very few new animated movies that I recall beyond Oliver and Company and The Black Cauldron and there was more of a focus on the movies on Sunday night… anyone remember Flight of the Navigator or did I just REALLY date myself? \u00a0Ha! \u00a0Anyway, the end result is that I never really had any HUGE desire to go to Disney World and that was SO not my Dad’s scene so until this past summer I never went.<\/p>\n

This past summer my nephew got a job with Disney’s College Program and worked at Hollywood & Vine (he’s now at Cinderella’s Royal Table as a full time employee). \u00a0His family decided to go visit and we decided to tag along because I’ve been wanting to go but had no real reason to go (and no kid to use as an excuse). \u00a0He has a discount so we ended up staying on site at Port Orleans French Quarter. \u00a0Hubs campaigned for the Animal Lodge though and I kind of wish we’d gone for it but there’s always next time! \u00a0I really did love the hotel we stayed at though, it was small and quite lovely and you all know how much I adore New Orleans. \u00a0Sad to report, the food they had was NOTHING like traditional cajun faire. \u00a0Skip the beignets if you know what they should taste like!<\/p>\n

Sunrise over my beloved Akron-Canton Airport the day we left. \u00a0Glorious isn’t it?<\/em><\/p>\n

\"disneyanimalkingdom_0001\"I wasn’t really sure how I was going to blog this trip because I’m not sure if people want to read about the trip\/advice I have since this is a photography blog… but I figure I’ll have a taste of it and if you guys want more I’ll expand on my thoughts! \u00a0Our first day I didn’t plan for us to do anything because I assumed (and was right) that checking in could get messy and I thought it was silly to pay for a ticket for a day that we would only use a few hours of. \u00a0I’m glad that I didn’t plan for anything other than our late dinner reservation (we did the dining plan) because it took us 5 trips to the concierge to get our reservations straight! \u00a0I don’t recommend doing the online check in, especially for your first trip ever. \u00a0Driving in Disney is INSANE due to the lack of road names and getting to the Polynesian was an adventure even with our GPS. \u00a0After a couple U-turns in Epcot’s parking lot we decided from then on to use the transportation Disney provides for you. \u00a0The day we got there someone actually died in a car accident and I guess this isn’t uncommon. \u00a0I definitely would just rent a car for a day in the future if I wanted to leave Disney. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ohana<\/a> was SO so so so so so so good. \u00a0I can’t stress how freaking good this was. \u00a0From beginning to end, this was my favorite meal of our entire stay. \u00a0We had a lot of good meals (which surprised me!) but this was far and away everyone’s favorite. \u00a0When I began planning my friend Kimberly told me that this was the place to go, especially because Stitch is my favorite of all Disney characters. \u00a0Stitch isn’t there at night but it’s still Hawaiian themed and seriously, the food is amazing. \u00a0We ended up with a reservation during the fireworks so that was fun to watch as well. \u00a0My #1 recommendation to anyone going to Disney World is to eat at Ohana. \u00a0I loved the experience so much I didn’t pause for pictures! \u00a0 It’s basically a brazilian grill so you don’t order anything beyond drinks. \u00a0The meal starts with bread and salad then moves to appetizers, side dishes, meats and finally dessert. \u00a0It’s also one of the best values if you’re on the dining plan as it hits just below the $60 mark per person so you only have to use one credit for it.<\/p>\n

The next day we went to the Animal Kingdom<\/a> and I honestly had no idea what to expect. \u00a0My experience with theme parks is Cedar Point type stuff so Disney is a whole different level (and I’m not talking the ticket prices, which are insanity). \u00a0When planning the trip, I couldn’t decide if I’d want to take an SLR or not but it seemed like everyone\u00a0<\/em>takes an SLR to Disney so I figured I would take it. I ended up taking the D700 and my “b” team lenses (just in case anything happened) and taking it with me for most of the days. \u00a0I’m especially glad I took it for the Animal Kingdom but I think outside of that I would have been just fine with my Canon G11 and\/or my iPhone. \u00a0The day we spent at the Animal Kingdom was a HOT one and we mostly walked around seeing the animals and riding very few rides. \u00a0We started out the day at the safari per everyone’s recommendations. \u00a0You ride in an open aired truck around a faux african safari and see a ton of different animals including rhinoceros, hippopotamus, giraffe, elephants and lions. \u00a0Getting pictures was NOT easy due to the speed we were trucking through the safari but I’m pleased with how some images turned out. \u00a0We got held up for a bit where the giraffes were so I was able to get a few more images of them, yay!<\/p>\n

\"disneyanimalkingdom_0002\"\"disneyanimalkingdom_0003\"\"disneyanimalkingdom_0004\"\"disneyanimalkingdom_0005\"\"disneyanimalkingdom_0006\"\"disneyanimalkingdom_0007\"\"disneyanimalkingdom_0008\"<\/p>\n

I am glad we were able to see the lions, I’ve heard that they aren’t always out and about.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\"disneyanimalkingdom_0009\"\"disneyanimalkingdom_0010\"<\/p>\n

Pumba!<\/em><\/p>\n

\"disneyanimalkingdom_0011\"<\/em><\/p>\n

After the safari we wandered around the Maharajah Jungle Trek which I liked because you could go at your own speed. \u00a0I also liked that bits were shaded as the heat of the day had started to creep up and being from Ohio the heat isn’t something we’re quite accustomed to. \u00a0There were a few of these different treks throughout the park (we did most but I think we missed one or two) and I really enjoyed them. \u00a0Basically I think Animal Kingdom is one elaborate zoo and I imagine it’s a great place to take the kiddos to “calm down” from all of the Disney craziness yet still enjoy the fun.<\/p>\n

\"disneyanimalkingdom_0012\"\"disneyanimalkingdom_0013\"\"disneyanimalkingdom_0014\"\"disneyanimalkingdom_0016\"<\/p>\n

I loved the movie Gorillas in the Mist<\/span>\u00a0growing up so seeing this guy was a highlight for me<\/em><\/p>\n

\"disneyanimalkingdom_0017\"\"disneyanimalkingdom_0019\"<\/p>\n

All over Disney World there are “hidden Mickeys” but here, there are hidden Simbas.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"disneyanimalkingdom_0018\"<\/p>\n

This cute tiger cub was in the water directly below me and I leaned out to take this image. \u00a0I loaded it with the rest of the images when I got home and thought nothing of it but EVERYONE kept raving and commenting about it. \u00a0I still don’t really get why this image is the one people loved. \u00a0Photography is funny like that. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\"disneyanimalkingdom_0021\"\"disneyanimalkingdom_0022\"\"disneyanimalkingdom_0015\"<\/p>\n

I think it’s so neat how they created the Tree of Life out of an oil rig!<\/em><\/p>\n

\"disneyanimalkingdom_0020\"<\/p>\n

After we had a yummy lunch (yay! another win!) and cooled off at the Finding Nemo show (my husband still hasn’t forgiven me for making him sit through that) my niece and I headed over to Expedition Everest <\/a>to ride the only “ride” I would take that day. \u00a0I don’t know why but I’ve always been fascinated with Mount Everest and those that climb it and this coaster was the tops of my “to ride” list for our trip. \u00a0We had used the Fast Pass to nab a ticket when we were nearby earlier as the line was over an hour long. \u00a0In under 15 minutes we had rode and were done! \u00a0It was a fun coaster and definitely a different experience versus what I was used to from Ohio’s theme parks. \u00a0It wasn’t the Millennium Force but it was still a lot of fun. \u00a0After our ride we headed back to our hotel as we were all exhausted from the heat and storms were rolling in.<\/p>\n

\"disneyanimalkingdom_0023\"<\/p>\n

My recommendations for Animal Kingdom<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Eat:<\/strong> Flame Tree BBQ<\/a> (Quick Service)
\nDrink:<\/strong> Mandarin Orange Vodka Lemonade @ Flame Tree BBQ
\nRide:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Expedition Everest\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

That evening we had reservations in Downtown Disney at Ragland Road<\/a>. \u00a0I’m Irish so I was looking forward to the gift shop which did not disappoint! \u00a0Beyond that though, I really loved this restaurant and would absolutely return in a heartbeat. \u00a0I highly recommend the braised beef!!!! Everyone loved their food but it was agreed that mine was by far the best. \u00a0The best thing about Ragland Road is that you don’t need to pay to get into a park to enjoy it. \u00a0They also had Irish Dancers performing all night so that was a treat to watch. \u00a0Definitely give that place two thumbs up! \u00a0Oh and get a Magner’s Sangria to drink! \u00a0YUM!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I think that those of us that are in our 30’s got the short end of the stick as far as Disneyification goes. \u00a0Growing up, I liked Disney just fine but I wasn’t obsessed with the movies like you see kids are now (hello Frozen). \u00a0\u00a0I did however go through a Hayley Mills phase and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4576,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4555","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-animals","category-travel"],"yoast_head":"\nDisney's Animal Kingdom - Corey Ann Photography<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/coreyann.com\/blog\/animals\/disneys-animal-kingdom\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Corey Ann\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/coreyann.com\/blog\/animals\/disneys-animal-kingdom#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/coreyann.com\/blog\/animals\/disneys-animal-kingdom\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Corey Ann\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/coreyann.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/49fc034441344f071869b4a25e9c744e\"},\"headline\":\"Disney’s Animal Kingdom\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-03-11T19:16:57+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-03-11T19:16:57+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/coreyann.com\/blog\/animals\/disneys-animal-kingdom\"},\"wordCount\":1596,\"commentCount\":4,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/coreyann.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Animals\",\"Travel\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/coreyann.com\/blog\/animals\/disneys-animal-kingdom#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/coreyann.com\/blog\/animals\/disneys-animal-kingdom\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/coreyann.com\/blog\/animals\/disneys-animal-kingdom\",\"name\":\"Disney's Animal Kingdom - 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