Hayden and Célia's Web Site

The second Disney park - Animal Kingdom.

Located in the centre of the park is the Tree of Life, containing carvings of animals all around it. Although it looks like wood, the 'tree' is actually made of concrete - pretty good though! The park itself consists of 4 zones located around the tree itself - Africa, Asia, Dinoland USA and Camp Minnie Mickey.

A closer look at the animal 'carvings'.

More details.

And more....

Very well done I'm sure you'll agree. Through here to the Harambe (an imaginary African village) Wildlife Reserve and town.

Entrance to the Kilimanjaro Safari drive. Disney have basically tried to replicate the African Veld, offering 20 minute 'game' drives to see the animals.

Rhinos we saw on the Kilimanjaro Safari.

Another shot of the rhinos - it's difficult to know when you're there whether the shot you've just taken looks ok so better safe than sorry.

A shot of the hippos.

And off course - crocs.

Hayden's favourite - the giraffe.

We even saw ostrich - this one kindly crossing the road very slowly so the driver had to stop the truck, offering us a perfect photo opportunity.

And no African scene would be complete without Zebra.

In case you can't see - it's an elephant hiding behind a rock. Unfortunately he doesn't know the rock is too small for him!

Another elephant, but this one is a bit smarter....

Yes, we even got to see lion. Now, you might be thinking how lucky we were, but actually not. We found out afterwards that Disney have air conditioning which blows up out of the rocks on this particular site, making it a great place for the lions to lie down if they want to stay cool in the extreme heat of the day!

One of the good things about Disney is how most of their action rides have stories. The Kilimanjaro Safari has a story all about poachers, and how what they do is wrong. During the ride the driver got a call from base to let him know that poachers had been spotted, and were asked to detour from our safari to help catch them. This shot was taken at the point where our truck, together with the plane, helped 'corner' the poachers.

While walking from Africa to Asia we saw this woman dressed up as a tree on stilts walking across the path. Yes, it really is a woman!

Definitely Célia's favourite ride of the day - so much so that we had to do it twice, in a row! In case you're wondering why the shot isn't of us that's because we had to safely tuck the camera away in the waterproof compartment in the centre of the raft, because we ended up SOAKING wet by the end of it!

Dragon located in Asia.

Bats we saw in Asia.

No, it's not Tigger - it's a tiger!

And this one we found hiding in the corner!

Hayden's other favourite - monkies!

Unfortunately not yet open, we were able to see the construction of Disney's newest rollercoaster opening next year - Expedition Everest.

Yes, this is actually considered to be a destination!

A worthwhile way to spend a half hour or so, we enjoyed the songs and acts here. Plus, it's a great way to get out of the blazing sun!

Definitely a 3-D experience worth doing. And as part of the entertainment you can see some of the funny posters they have outside the hall. A word of warning - remember to lift your feet!

Lunch time, and we were lucky enough to see some of the characters travelling around by boat around the park. Hello Pluto!

Excellent figures of Daisy Duck talking Huey, Dewey and Louie off camping at the entrance to Camp Minnie Mickey.

One of the highlights of the day, the Festival of the Lion King show - a definite must see.

Célia with Goofy, who actually looked a bit afraid initially. We promise we did shower that morning!

And this one, professionally taken by the Disney staff.

Pluto, Mickey and Goofy fishing.

And on the other side of the river - Donald.

After Camp Minnie Mickey we went back to Africa to do a little walk through their animal section and find a good spot for the afternoon parade. Anyone who is from Africa (that's the real Africa, not SA), or has been to Africa will be able to tell how well Disney have been able to make this look like a real African village. They even hire people from Africa to work there - as Célia found out when she overheard two girls speaking Afrikaans who didn't think they could be understood. Also, notice how wet it looks and how everyone is wearing ponchos - that's because of the MASSIVE downpour as we entered Africa.

We think these Gorillas look quite sad - poor things!

Oh my gosh - I'm stuck in Disney with all these stupid humans looking at me all day long!

Just what everyone needs - a monkey who's good with tools.

Leading the charge - Baloo and Louie from the Jungle Book.

Rafiki from the Lion King with a random family picked from the crowd in the car in front.

Fantastic elephant.

Chip - or was that Dale??? Anyone have any ideas how to tell them apart??? (see Paris Pages - H)

Hyuck, hyuck - it's Goofy!

Terk from Tarzan.

It's Donald!

Scampy dog - Pluto!

And finally - Mickey!

Hmmmm, note the blue skies and sunshine now.....

And finally - this was the train we took up to Rafiki's Planet Watch. Long day, and time for bed....