February WDW Trip Report Part 3a, Sunday 2/3/08

Wow! I can’t tell you the last time I had a full day at WDW (it’s been several years) with absolutely NOTHING on the agenda. No dining plans, no meetings, no research, no meets… just a day for me to spend doing whatever I wanted.

The first order of business was to NOT have a wake up call for Sunday morning. That usually doesn’t matter and I’m up early. However, on this Sunday I was awoken when the phone rang a little after 8am!

It was a beautiful day outside and so I got ready for a day of exploring.

On my way to the Yacht Club bus stop I made the decision to begin at Animal Kingdom. Even thought I had spent Saturday there, I didn’t walk any of the animal trails or see any shows.

As I walked from the Animal Kingdom bus top toward the entrance to Animal Kingdom, I was reminded about a great photo op that I rarely see folks use…

I love photography, especially in Animal Kingdom. There are so many things to take photos of, some easy and some challenging. I just love images with a bright blue sky behind them.

The West African Crowned Cranes were all out and about in Discovery Island.

No trip to Animal Kingdom is complete without spending time finding creatures in the Tree of Life. I wonder if I found the Moss growing like a Hidden Mickey next to the buffalo?

I just love the animal walking trails so I headed past the Kilimanjaro Safari (about a 20 minute standby line) and entered the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail.

At the beginning of the trail are the Colobus Monkeys. They were just lazing around and it was hard to take photos of them.

Two Okapis as well as the yellow backed diker were out foraging. Here is a photo of one Okapi and the diker is in the back right of the photo

The Aviary in the Pangani is small and because many of the birds and ducks keep moving, it’s hard to get good photos.

Around the bend to the Nile Hippopotamus viewing area. I was quite surprised to find one sleeping on the ground soaking up the sun. Usually they are all in the water.

As you enter the Meerkat village you can also see Gernuks. I don’t often see them out, but today I was excited to find both the male and female posing for photographs.

Soon I entered the Gorilla Research Camp. Wow, I was in luck as I saw at least 6 different gorillas along the trail. This one, in the first viewing area that is floor to ceiling windows, was posing for us.

All too soon, the Pangani animal viewing trail had ended.

I took a break and headed to Flame Tree BBQ for lunch. I had the same Turkey Sandwich on Multi-grain roll that I had the day before.

Next stop, the Maharajah Jungle Trek in Asia.

Many of the animals and birds were out and about. It was great animal viewing and photo ops!

Here is a bird from the aviary, I can’t recall it’s name. It was making a nest up in the tree and so walked on the ground gathering small twigs and branches.

After completing the trail I wanted to see a live show, either Lion King or Finding Nemo, but I would have had to wait around longer than I wanted. I took the opportunity to head back to the room and enjoy the balcony.

All photos taken with a Canon S5 IS digital camera. Other than cropping, no alterations to the photos were done.

To be continued.

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