Animal Kingdom Take 2

Yesterday we ventured out to Animal Kingdom again hoping that since school is back in session (at least locally) we'd have better luck.  A Disney employee told us last week that the first 2 weeks of January are the slowest...but to not wait until February because then the Brazilians invade the park! :)

Our mission was to go on the safari so Gavin could see all the animals up close.  I couldn't get great pictures of the animals or Gavin because well, I did want to enjoy them too!  The ride is a bumpy one because of the terrain and Gavin kept saying "bouncy".  I thought Nick would get motion sick but he said because there is so much to see, his mind was distracted enough to not think of the rough ride.  Here are some pics of the safari:

Hippos....although Nick got confused and called them Rhinos (in his defense, we had just seen a Rhino on the other side) 

Gazelles?  

Elephants--  notice the baby elephant to the right of the dark elephant on the left

 

Giraffes

 

A lonely elephant

Ostrich....  I did not know that they just lay eggs wherever- no nest or anything.  I wonder what the survival rate is.

There's the rhino

The lioness is sitting up on the rock   ( I need a better zoom!)

warthog

We also visited the gorilla trail and saw many gorillas up close.  It is remarkable how close they behave to humans (or how close we are to them I should say).

Gorilla eating his branch next to the tree

Me: "Gavin, where's the gorilla?"  Gavin: "There he is"

Gavin: "Mama, walk"

Happy Gavin

We also saw tigers but I forgot to take pictures of them.  It was close to meal time for the tigers so they were separated in two's per section and they would both pace back and forth, back and forth.  I don't know if that's normal behavior for a tiger so it made me sad but Nick said "it's not their first day here you know".  I know that but still part of me felt guilty for supporting their entrapment even though it looked like they had lots of space to roam once they were not "trapped" for feeding.

Overall, it was a really good day.  Although I will say that Animal Kingdom for us gets the worst rating on food choices, especially vegetarian choices!  There are only 2....TWO! places where we could get a meat-less meal- 1.  a food cart in Asia where they sell vegetable egg rolls (if you consider that a meal) 2.  the dinosaur restaurant where you can get a veggie sub (because the brontosaurus is a veg!).  So,  based on food selection we vote 1.  Epcot, 2. Magic Kingdom, 3. Hollywood Studios, and 4. Animal Kingdom.