Disney's Animal Kingdom

We decided to go to Disney's Animal Kingdom today. The big draws here now, of course, are Pandora's Avatar Flight of Passage and the Na'vi River Journey. And there was a 2-3 hour wait for those, so we passed. Someday we'll be able to get Fastpasses, but right now they are completely booked. If the Floating Mountains are anything to judge by, they should be pretty great.

So we moved on, through the Gorilla Falls Exploration Trial and the Conservation Station, where a lizard was being treated. Apparently he just wasn't feeling well, and they were checking if he was sick. How do you tell if a lizard isn't feeling well?

We took the Kilimanjaro Safaris, which rides through the area with the big animals. They have lions, cheetahs, several different kinds of antelopes, Nile crocodiles, elephants, wild dogs, hippos and rhinos.  Most animals have their own area, but sometimes different species can share digs.

The young giraffe was aware of us, but kept close to Mama while she snacked on palm leaves. 

We had lunch, then went to see Finding Nemo and It's Tough To Be a Bug. The Bug show was fun - they've added to it over the years. And there is a lot of creative work in the Nemo show. They borrow a technique from Lion King's stage performance, with players moving the characters. Randy knew a guy at the gate, who got us great seats close to the runway to center stage. How close? This close!

The play was a real spectacle with actors playing the part of fish and coral, and singing almost every line. 

In scenes in the dentist's aquarium, the pelican was a huge puppet, with just his head fitting onstage. 

Lots of fun! And someday we'll be back for the Pandora rides.