*jambo: means "hello" in Swahili
Previously: Anyway, we took our meal to the hotel room and munched it while watching TV. To conclude the day, all the soaked clothes were sent to the dryer in the laundry room. Then we went to bed, saving energy for tomorrow's adventure in Disney's Animal Kingdom.
Previously: Anyway, we took our meal to the hotel room and munched it while watching TV. To conclude the day, all the soaked clothes were sent to the dryer in the laundry room. Then we went to bed, saving energy for tomorrow's adventure in Disney's Animal Kingdom.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
- DAY 4: DECEMBER 21, 2011 -
Another theme park day in Orlando! But I was sad as it was going to be our last one. The visit to Disney's Animal Kingdom would officially conclude our crazy theme park explorations in Orlando. We heard a good deal of opinions remarking that Animal Kingdom was probably the most unique park of all Disney Parks in Orlando. That's also probably the reason why we save it for our last attraction of our holiday. So I was really looking forward to seeing it!
At 6.30 am, we got up, took a shower, and had breakfast with the now cold pizza that we bought the day before. Around 8.55 am, the scheduled shuttle took us off to Disney's Animal Kingdom! Good thing that we weren't too late nor too early, because by the time we got there, it was still 9.20 am. Well,, at least it wasn't as late as we went to Epcot or as early as we went to Seaworld.
We spent the half-an-hour after we reached the theme park to explore it. I was especially stunned by the park's design! Unlike other parks we visited before, which emphasized on the open, wide space, Animal Kingdom focused more on incorporating plants and trees and minimize the open space. The smell of trees and plants are overwhelming in the park. Trees are everywhere, even the park seemingly has more trees 20 times compared to other parks.
Overall, out of all theme parks, I personally think Animal Kingdom nails in in terms of the distinct atmosphere.
THE OASIS
The Oasis is the first sub-land in Animal Kingdom after the entrance. The dense trees hovering the area and the narrow space quite make an impression as if we're in a jungle trek or a zoo. The Oasis exhibited a few unique animals coming from many parts of the world, and even one comes from Indonesia – Indonesian babirusa, an authentic pig-like species native to Sulawesi.
THE DISCOVERY ISLAND
Get a good view of the Tree of Life from this area! I guess the tree itself serves as the highlight of the Discovery Island, and not only that, it is, after all, the icon of the park. I really did genuinely think that the tree was real, and that it must have been there for a long time due to its massive size. But the artificial carvings made on its surface later convinced me that it was no other than man-made tree.
AFRICA
The other day at Epcot, I questioned why Africa was not featured as a part of the world's showcase. Now my curiosity was answered that Africa had its own larger, more exclusive area in Animal Kingdom. Dubbed as Harambe, Africa offers its distinct traditional village vibe complete with its artificial markets with African names and the live tribal music performance.
The highlight of Africa itself would be Kilimanjaro Safari, an attraction that involves a real safari tour. But we refrained ourselves from riding that attraction as we were waiting for Ardy's friends, the Indiana girls: Melissa, Wendelin, Nia, and Lina (a newbie). Emelly didn't participate this time.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Now, half-an-hour has gone on with sightseeing. It's time to start getting a taste of the park's attractions!
1. Pangani Forest Exploration Trail
 |
| http://www.flickr.com/photos/kathika/2451653287/sizes/l/in/photostream/ |
This attraction wasn't a ride, but rather a jungle trekking-type of activity. But of course, when I said jungle, I'm talking about an artificial tropical one that Disney could afford of making it to look real. The exhibits featured various African animals, such as western lowland gorilla, okapi, hippopotamus, etc. As for the so-called majestic wild animals like lions and elephants, you'll get to see them in Kilimanjaro Safari.
In the middle of the track was a small wooden research building, which enclosed displays of smaller animals to insects for further observation. The building houses various insects such as tarantula to normal-looking turtles. Too bad that I couldn't stand being there for more than fifteen minutes. The crowd stopping by to view some animals and the hot air quickly drove me out of the room pronto.
Now we're in Asia! The area was located right next to Africa, and it surely gives a completely different atmosphere from Africa. Before arriving at the sub-land itself, we shockingly found something very familiar to our eyes and knowledge.
What a surprise! :'D Well, back in Epcot, I already expected Indonesia wouldn't be featured, but apparently Animal Kingdom was nice enough to have Indonesian culture a part of a huge Disney park, although it was only represented in a small scale.
What a surprise! :'D Well, back in Epcot, I already expected Indonesia wouldn't be featured, but apparently Animal Kingdom was nice enough to have Indonesian culture a part of a huge Disney park, although it was only represented in a small scale.
Of course, Aymee, Elda, Ardy, and I found ourselves engaged with the angklung player, who was also obviously an Indonesian. He – too – was surprised to find a bunch of us Indonesian tourists stumbling around in Disney's Animal Kingdom. We had a warm chat for a bit, and he got to demonstrate his angklung skills to us. Since it was Christmas season, he played a Christmas carol whose title I forgot. You can see in the clip below how he even succeeded to draw some American tourists' attention through his performance.
It was a surprise to find an Indonesian cast member here in a Disney park. He shared a bit how he ended up working in the happiest place on earth and that he became a witness how Indonesian culture here managed to attract not just American but international tourists by his angklung skills.
Before we took off, the cast member offered us a fast pass for Expedition Everest at 2.30 pm, which was going to be his break time. We happily complied to his offer. “We come from the same country. Just consider that (offer) as part of your magic moment in Disney park.” he replied :”D
 |
| Credit to Elda |
Then we took a picture and Ardy ecstatically shouted Merdeka!
Yes, Ardy, we are all proud to be Indonesians.
2. Expedition Everest:
After the amazing encounter, we moved on to the deeper part of Asia, and we finally managed to meet the Indiana girls at last! I was excited to finally meet them again at a theme park because us being together the other day at Seaworld was simply not enough. As mentioned, Aymee, Elda, Ardy, and I were introduced to a new girl named Lina.
Despite the fast pass offer to Expedition Everest given earlier by the Indonesian cast member, we all decided to have give it a try first that moment, seeing that the line was not that long. Again, screw my fear of riding roller coasters that Elda and I could only wait at a small yard facing the ride's drop. We kept on guessing which coaster had our friends in it everytime each of them emerged from the tunnel and made a sharp drop and turn.
Despite the fast pass offer to Expedition Everest given earlier by the Indonesian cast member, we all decided to have give it a try first that moment, seeing that the line was not that long. Again, screw my fear of riding roller coasters that Elda and I could only wait at a small yard facing the ride's drop. We kept on guessing which coaster had our friends in it everytime each of them emerged from the tunnel and made a sharp drop and turn.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The lunch was quite brief before we moved on to the next ride. As promised, we finally got to go for Kilimanjaro Safari!
3. Kilimanjaro Safari:
Ardy was kind enough to get us fastpass for the safari tour while we were still having lunch. A fastpass is basically an option visitors can use to avoid long lines to a particular attraction. It must be retrieved approximately an hour before the ride. To get the fastpass of a particular ride, Ardy must have our Disney park tickets which should be used in retrieving a fastpass ticket.
Before today, we were unaware that fastpass could be purchased for free as it was part of the park's admission.
Anyway, enough about fastpass. We all quickly rushed to the entrance of Kilimanjaro Safari with the fastpass ticket in our hands and managed to avoid a regular long line with a more exclusive line for fastpass users.
In a matter of minutes, we got ourselves seated in an open safari vehicle called Simba 1, similar to that of Universal Studio's Tour. Much like we had expected, we were indulged by the grandness of African wild animals from up-close living in an artificial environment (again, at this point, I thought of how Disney company was rich enough to create an artificial environment capable enough to shelter these wild animals). Since it was a Disney park, most animals exhibited there were featured in the movie Lion King. So I kind of expected kids screaming “Look mom it's Simba!” while pointing at a lion.
In the latter part of the attraction, we were given a surprise, where poachers were reported to have snuck up into the area and stole baby elephants. The tour guide busily informed us to stay aware of the poachers' presence. At this part, there were no more live animals exhibited, but rather a track full of Universal Studio-ish effects, such as a shaking bridge, water effects, animatronic elephants trapped at the back of a truck. Anyway, it was one fun tour!
4. Kali River Rapids:
After the safari tour, we quickly got into the line for Kali River Rapids, still in Asia. Another surprising moment came when we happened to spot a Pertamina gas tube (!!!!) in the queue line. It was actually displayed along with other vintage, artificial artifacts that decorate the interior of the queue building, like the decaying statues, barrels, and Indiana Jones-style adventure supplies.
Still, I was blown away by the fact that a Pertamina gas tube could make its way to a Disney Park! Yes, to confirm its origin, it even has the text “Berat bersih” (=gross) on it. And guess what, that item is something you can see in your own kitchen in Indonesia! I'm surprised even a simple thing that no one barely even looked at in Indonesia (seeing its position at a house's kitchen near the stove, it's part of the household appliances) could even make its way to Orlando, to one of the happiest/most sophisticated places on EARTH!
 |
| This is how the tube looks like http://www.jualtabunggas.wordpress.com |
Anyway, that was all for the highlight during the line. As for the ride itself, I already anticipated of getting soaked because after all, it was a river rafting sort of ride. So the chances of getting soaked is 90%. But there was more than just getting soaked because of the tube's turbulences: there was a DROP. Yes, a DROP. Holy mother of cows. And to make matters worse, I was facing sideways when the tube was plunging down.
Well, it was fun! The ride wasn't as scary as I had expected. It was the kind of ride that I wanted to try more, but of course we had no time for that.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Kali Rapid pictures are credit to:
http://disney.wikia.com
http://disney.wikia.com
No comments:
Post a Comment