Resist Definition: Day Three

As per tradition, we arrived at the Animal Kingdom before the park had yet opened and took Dad's pro shortcut though the Rainforest Café and dodged all the lines, getting in before anybody else and hustling over to Harambe Wildlife Preserve to board Dad's favorite ride, the Kilimanjaro Safari. It was unusually chilly that morning, only 57 degrees when we woke up, and 63 by the time we got to the safari. But the good new was that even though we were shivering in our T-shirts and shorts, the animals were all out enjoying the cool temperatures, and on top of that, they had all just been fed since it was still early morning. Once we boarded our Safari Vehicle, we were all taking pictures, and pooled our best shots to show you guys!

Riding on this particular ride with my father is one of my favorite memories in the park. I would always think of him whenever I went on it during my internship.

Never smile at a crocodile....

Sure, baby giraffes are cute, just don't drop your camera out of the vehicle, whatever you do. (ask me to tell you that story next time you see me- it's a really good one)

Our guide taught us that there are two common subspecies of giraffe, the Reticulated and the Rothschild- and are easily distinguished by the shape of their spots- Rothschild (above) has jagged-edged spots, kind of like autumn leaves, while Reticulated have smooth, straight-edged spots.

These are white Rhinos! We learned on the safari that their being named a 'white' rhino was actually a translation error- white being mistranslated from the swahili 'wjid' which means wide, and refers to their wide, square lips. Black rhinos, on the other hand, have pointed triangular lips. and that's how you can tell them apart!

It's a flock of mingos!

After the Safari, I definitely wanted to hit up the Maharaja Jungle Trek, to see the Giant Bats and my favorite, the Tigers! But on the way, we saw a man playing a most peculiar instrument constructed entirely of bamboo, and Dad and I decided to give it a shot ourselves.

First stop was the Komodo Dragon~ Look how gorgeous that habitat is! We were fortunate to see him out on his favorite rock, trying to take in as much sunlight to combat the chilly weather.

Mom was NOT a fan of this guy, and for good reason! Komodo Dragons are incredibly silent, stealthy creatures, and take great care to sneak up silently behind their prey. Clever girl. They can strike at you just as swiftly as a Cobra, and if that doesn't get you, the thousands of flesh-eating bacteria that lives inside their mouths certainly will! Good thing uncle Choad doesn't have him for a patient.

This is the comfiest lizard I've ever seen.

Poor Bats. The little old lady who was telling people about these super-cool critters was saying that it was so cold, they refused to come out of their hutches this morning, (preferring to huddle together and feed off of one another's body heat, even though they're normally very territorial,) and had to be taken out individually and placed in the viewing area where it was sunny and a bit warmer.

I am the night!

The bats may have been miserable, but the tigers were diggin' the chilly morning, and were playing and chasing one another around the ruined temple they call home.

Time to clean~

Oh hey! I thought we'd been missing some of our luggage!

This lil' guy had no fear and was struttin' his stuff all over this sidewalk. You go, lil' mohawk bird!

The tiger's weren't the only ones out playing in the chilly morning air. These monkeys were jumping and swinging all over their temple scaffolding- even the little baby! And we just sat and stared in amazement at how beautifully agile they were.

Seriously, Tarzan had nothing on these guys. They should have studied howler monkeys instead of skateboarders for his animation.

Easily my favorite thing to do at any park is to take part in the street shows and dance parties that just spring up around the many streets and trails winding through the park. I got to go up with the traditional african drummers and dancers and learn the ancient tribal dance: Oppa Gangam Style. XD

While standing on the bridge we can see our next destination, Mt. Everest! It's times like these you realize how much distance you cover at these parks.

Probably one of my favorite rides. And the atmosphere they have in this area is absolutely stunning.

Little touches like this are what really sets the stage and story for a ride, making it truly great. Such a shame we won't be here for the seminar next week. We always seem to miss it....

With this cold weather, stormy skies, and chilling breeze making the Himalayan flags flutter all around us, it really feels like we're in the scene of the story. The tension in the air is electric!!

After screaming ourselves silly, we decided to settle our stomachs after that brush with death with some good comfort food at Flame Tree Barbecue- my favorite place out of all the parks to eat!

There was some serious confusion over the drinks. We ordered one Diet Coke and three Waters. They gave us one cup of Diet Coke and three bottles of water (which are much more expensive than the free water). We tried to correct the situation but only ended up confusing the cashiers, ending us up with six cups of water and three bottles. Having learned the lesson the hard way, we were all sure to specify wanting CUPS of water from here on out.

*grumbles* This place used to be a sanctuary for me. And whenever anyone would ask me what my favorite place in the world was, oddly enough, I'd describe this dining area. Because it was hard to get to, it was well away from the crowds and gave you a secluded place to rest and eat near this ancient crumbling fountain, and if you peer through the trees you can look out across the lake to Mt. Everest. I spent countless afternoons here sketching and relaxing. Not anymore, apparently. They've added in these stupid staircases that now makes the area easily accessible to everyone and my secret spot's now just as crowded as the rest of the park… *sigh*

Poor Dino.

Dinosaur's great and all, but I still close my eyes sometimes and try to pretend that I'm actually on Indiana Jones, since Dinosaur has an identical track to the Disneyland classic.

There was a long line at the restrooms, and since it took a long time for the rest of the family to get in and out, I entertained myself with a hat party at the little merchandise stand nearby. Fortunately the cast member there was a sporting gent and was willing to take my picture.

8D I hate this park so much. Bart and I consider it a ghastly blight on the rest of the park. So of course mom couldn't resist getting a picture of me when we cut through it on our way back. So I gave her the most sarcastic smile I could possibly muster.

The perfect way to finish our stay here at the Animal Kingdom was with my favorite show, the Festival of the Lion King! The rest of the family hadn't seen it before, but I think it's going to be one of our new regular attractions!