Orlando – Picture This

Florida IV – Disney’s Animal Kingdom

At the Animal Kingdom, the first thing we did was go on an African Safari – by which Disney meant that we would be driven on a bus through a rather well designed zoo with some very well fed and healthy looking animals.

The park also has a tremendous gorilla area that we enjoyed.

Gorilla at Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Orlando

I guess its true that everybody loves a parade, because if it were just me, Disney would have parades every day at every park. Well, they do and, get this, each park does it differently!

Florida III – Disney’s Epcot Center

We enjoyed Epcot Center most of the Disney parks we visited. We really enjoyed the feeling of being able to step from one country to another. There are little corners tucked into each country that just quietly say “This is us.” It was cool riding around inside the big bucky ball that has been the signature of this park since its beginning in 1982. (OK, its not really a bucky ball because Spaceship Earth is made out of triangles, and bucky balls are made from pentagons and hexagons, but still!) These photos show some of the other great things.

Florida II – Disney’s Magic Kingdom

Jay and Kay and the Happiest Place on Earth

In Orlando, we understood that we had to visit Disney theme parks. So we did! Day Two was The Magic Kingdom. This is before we got drawn into the magic when we were still thinking of managing people and expectations,. This is getting started, what we saw in little corners and finally, how empty the entrance was in the afternoon.

Then there were a few attractions: I liked the Paddle Wheeler and the view as we were cruising the circular lagoon. May-be I just liked sitting down.

There were a couple rides that I enjoyed like “Small, Small World” and “Pirates of the Caribbean”

And then, the parade …

Florida

We went to Ft. Lauderdale. We drove up north and found ourselves in Orlando.

What could we do in Orlando? Well, in Orlando they are glad to offer a few suggestions. We ended up, like lots of other people, trapped – yes, trapped – in universal fantasies that movies are made of.

You might call this “Day One” or “Orlando by Universal.” Looking at the web site, Universal seems to have reorganized since we were there.

We first went to the Harry Potter area.

Then we stood in line for the slowest roller coaster in the world. Don’t think it wasn’t fun, we went through a restaurant on the roller coaster and decided to go back there for lunch. Note the Dr, Suess characters.

Dee and Kay took the log ride, Ripsaw Falls, and Steve took pictures. By then the day had gotten hot and long and the line looked too forbidding. Steve was afraid his camera would get soaked. And anyway, he didn’t want to go. From the pictures, it’s clear that the riders get wet and they don’t mind. It also looks like good fun.