Animal Kingdom

Our second day was spent at Animal Kingdom, the fourth and newest park at Disney World. It’s only got a half dozen rides and a half dozen shows, but it’s easy to spend a whole day there by checking out the animal exhibits. In the center of the park is the Tree of Life, surrounded by Discovery Island. Several themed lands surround it - Dinoland USA, Asia, Africa, and Camp Minnie-Mickey.

Dinoland has three rides, plus some animal attractions, a play area, and some games. The kids enjoyed the spinning coaster in the Dino-Rama area, which is themed to a roadside carnival. There's also a Dumbo-like spinner, and a jeep ride like Indiana Jones, where you go back in time to see Dinosaurs. There used to be a Tarzan musical show, but it closed a few months before.

We went on every ride in the park, including the new roller coaster, Expedition: Everest, located in Asia. It has a great queue and is a lot of fun, although Susan didn't like the part where it goes backwards, and said she'd never ride it again. Asia also has a raft ride and a bird show.

One ride we always do is Kilimanjaro Safari in the Africa section. It’s very good - a long ride on a truck like vehicle with lots of African animals to see. Animal Kingdom definitely needs more family style rides like it. We also enjoyed taking the train to Conservation Station. 

Camp Minnie-Mickey has character greeting areas and two shows - Pocahontas and Lion King. Animal Kingdom is a beautiful park, with really great theming, but does get quite humid in the heat.