The Kingdom By Night

A big change at Disney World this year was the extended hours at Animal Kingdom for the spring and summer months.  Having opened in 1998, it usually closed by 6pm, but this spring began evening hours with several nighttime activities including extended hours for Kilimanjaro Safaris, one of our

 favorites.  We arrived about 6pm with it still light out and experienced a couple of firsts.  The newest animal on the Safari is the hyena, and we were lucky enough to see one roaming about.   As we passed the lions, not only did we see the king of the jungle with two

    lionesses!  First time we have ever seen more than one male and one female.  After disembarking from the ride, we strolled through Pangani Forest Exploration Trail and got to watch the two newest Western Lowland gorilla youngsters playing and interacting with the family.

Music seemed to fill the air as part of the Discovery Island Sunset Serenatas while we walked around the park. We had hoped to catch one of the new parades but had just missed one and were in the wrong location for another.  Instead we stopped to listen to Victor Espinola play the Paraguayan harp, the national instrument of Paraguay.  As the taped background music accompanied him, his fingers flew across the strings filling the night air with beautiful music.

The biggest new thing was to be Rivers of Light, a nighttime spectacular featuring live music, singing, and projections on water screens much like Fantasmic at Hollywood Studios.  However, they’d been having technical difficulties and had to put a replacement together quickly for

their new 5,000 seat open air theater so Jungle Book: Alive With Magic was created.  Based on “The Jungle Book” film, it was to be a limited engagement show lasting about 20 minutes.  Unfortunately despite all the colorful pageantry, we felt it was rather disappointing to say the least.  It was hard to

    follow/understand, the water screens made from giant water cannons on which images were projected did not allow for clear images and were somewhat separated creating a split in the “screen”, and it didn’t have any of

   those “wow” moments found in Fantasmic.  Plus when it was over, the crowds were unbelievable in the confined and narrow paths and were trying to exit between the throngs of people waiting to enter for the next show.  We could say we saw it but had no plans to return for an encore.

Another new nighttime “show” was the Tree of Life seeming to come to life with projections of colorful birds and animals flickering across its massive trunk.  (Be sure to click on the photos to get a better look though the photos don't do it justice.)  Each “show” is about 3 min. long, and because of the crowd of humanity we had to get through when leaving Jungle Book, we only caught the very end.  Evidently there are several showings throughout the evening with each one being a little different so we’ll need to

return to check them out.  However this was our last trip into the parks for the summer since the blackout dates would now be in effect on our annual passes, but there was one last treat in store for us...watching the Hollywood Studios fireworks from Animal Kingdom's parking lot.

Though July didn’t offer much other than heat and humidity, we did have one fun outing.  My buddy, Rafael, had quit the Omni and went to work at Mango’s Tropical Café (www.mangos.com/orlando/) as a Concierge Manager. He held a special reception for current and prospective clients and invited some of us from the hotel so we could have firsthand knowledge when making suggestions for our guests.  Mango’s is a dining and entertainment experience with a Latin theme and is like a constant party with a live band, a DJ, dancers, singers, even a Michael Jackson impersonator at one point!  Our event was held on the 2nd floor overlooking the main stage and was a fun evening complete with complimentary Mojitos, hors d’oevres, and a chance to mingle.