In which we go to Animal Kingdom

Thursday of the DisAd is Animal Kingdom.

The first thing about AK that you need to know is the controversy over Expedition Everest. Is it the best coaster in WDW, or the worst? We first rode it when it opened, back when the yeti was in full animatronic swing, so I miss that, but otherwise, in terms of a themed coaster, as far as I’m concerned it’s as good as it gets. The naysayers are those who are somewhat dismayed when the ride runs out of track and they’re forced to careen backwards for a while. We had not warned anyone about this last time, taking the position that this was too much of a spoiler, and if you like coasters, it won’t bother you. Compare this to Tower of Terror, where it’s clear that if someone doesn’t want to plummet down an elevator a whole bunch of times, they’re not going to like it, period, so don’t push it. That I understand. But a little backwards time on Mt. Everest? Why not?

I bring this up because AK is, ultimately, a small park, and if you run to Everest first thing, and have a FastPass for the Safari, what else do you need FPs for? I’ll say the Rapids ride, which I’ve never done, and that leaves one more. I say, return to Everest. Others say, you’re out of your mind. Jeesh.

I think of AK as the most photogenic park, because I’m fond of animal photography. If I decide to bring my SLR (the jury is still out on that one), AK will be the reason why. I was perfectly satisfied, however, with the photos from my little compact Canon in Europe last year, so I don’t know. Bring both? Just the little one? Hard to say. I don’t feel the need to bury myself behind the lens for the whole trip, but I do like taking pictures. Tough call. There are two walks in the park, so to speak, which are essentially paths through various animals. They don’t like to call AK a zoo, but by me it compares well to the zoo experience, if you dress it up a bit and theme it to death. Anyhow, these walks are where you’re up c and p with the animals, and the added benefit of a long lens comes in handy. As I say, the jury is still out.

AK also has a couple of musical experiences that are quite pleasant, one based on Lion King and the other on Finding Nemo. It’s nice to sit down in air conditioning in Florida in August no matter what your opinion is on these sorts of shows. I’m quite the fan of AK, and if it were up to me, this would be the starting park, working one’s way up to the ultimate experience of MK. If I were bringing kids, that’s what I’d do, because, honestly, they might not appreciate the lesser impact experiences of the other parks after they’ve seen Paree. But with adults, I’ve bowed to O’C on this and agree that we hit ‘em hard right from the start.

That evening we’re doing dinner at Boma, an African buffet at the AK Lodge. This keeps everything themed the same way all day. And it’s good food! All in all, this is a pretty easy day, without a lot of running around, and a swell time should be had by all.