Rhinos and Tigers and Bats...Oh My!

We finally made it over to Animal Kingdom, and what a beautiful day it was! We got there shortly after opening and made a beeline for the very popular Kilimanjaro Safaris. The sign said the wait was only 20 min. but looked longer to us, and before getting in line, we picked up Fast Passes so we could ride again without as long a wait…always a wise decision.

The animals were out in abundance especially on our first ride, and we were lucky enough to see the newest Pink-backed Pelicans in their nest, all fuzzy and white, well protected by the rest of the family in the nest. I won’t list all the animals we saw but will share a few photos including the best view we’ve ever had of the cheetahs!











After exiting Kilimanjaro, we walked next door to the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail where you’ll find birds, fish, a viewing area of the hippos underwater, meerkats, and so much more on this self-guided walking tour. Our favorite animals to see here, however, are the Lowland Gorillas. If you’re lucky, you may see a couple of them near the large observation window at one end of the enclosure, or you’ll see several of them along the trail out in the open brush. Last year right up against the window we saw the newest member of this Lowland Gorilla family, little 8-week old Lilly. We hoped to see her this year, and sure enough there she was clinging to the underbelly of her mama walking in the distance. (You can double-click on the photo above to enlarge it.) She found a spot to rest, and then Lilly was off on her own exploring…but not too far from mama’s watchful eye! She’s now a year old, and cute as ever though smaller than what we expected.

Next it was on to Maharajah Jungle Trek, another self-guided trail “through the ruins of an ancient palace inhabited by exotic animals”. Here we saw what seemed like a huge Komodo dragon, a lounging tiger, and numerous bats hanging from the trees in their enclosure…fascinating to watch!

Further down the trail was the aviary full of more birds than we’d ever seen there before...and so many colorful varieties. We must have timed our visit just right since so many were out and about. One of the most interesting was the blue-billed duck pictured at right (though the blue didn’t really come through as well in the photo as seen in person). We’d never seen anything quite like it.

After our second ride on the Kilimanjaro Safaris, we left “Africa” and headed over to “Asia” where we picked up a Fast Pass for Expedition Everest, the high-speed roller coaster (another hugely popular ride), and then walked over to catch a performance of Finding Nemo – The Musical. This original stage production is always fun to watch, and though it only lasts about 30 min., it still covers the entire story. Good songs and very cool staging, but would you expect anything less from Disney? From here it was back for our ride on Expedition Everest…we forgot just how intense this ride is!!

The park was packed so we decided to head on home for now and return another day for two of our favorites, Festival of the Lion King and It’s Tough To Be A Bug.

Full-time life in an RV isn’t much different than in a regular home. There are still repairs that need to be made on occasion, and sometimes it requires a learning process. Most of our windows have day/night shades, and once the string begins to wear (and eventually break), they don’t work so good. We had one repaired last year through a local camping store that cost us $40 just to have some guy restring it. Now we had 3 more in need of repair, and I had been researching on the internet hoping we could do it ourselves. Last week when Paul and Anne stopped by, we discovered that they had ordered a kit to try and repair one of theirs. We made plans to come by their place Sun. so we could see how it’s done. The kit had come with a learning CD, some grommets, and the required string all for $15. Paul had watched the CD before we arrived so he was ready to begin the repair when we arrived. As it turns out, it’s a much simpler process than any of us had imagined. Theirs was only a 2-string shade, and though we had one of those, we also had two 4-string shades which are a little more involved but as it turns out, not much. We borrowed their CD and went in search of the correct string. We found some masonry string at Lowe’s that we were assured by one of their associates would work just fine (he’s restrung several of these shades before). It was cheaper than ordering online and cheaper than the kit so figured we’d give it a try. If it didn’t work, we weren’t out much money and would probably order the correct stuff online since it’s nearly impossible to find in the stores. Paul and Anne made plans to come by Wed. afternoon to see how the 4-string was done, and before they arrived we repaired our 2-string shade and one of the 4-strings (thought we should be prepared before they arrived). Once again, the re-stringing was much simpler than any of us anticipated once you knew what you were doing. Hardest part was getting the shades out of the window boxes. Hmmm, maybe we’ve found a new line of work!