Hello, and welcome (or welcome back)!
I hope everyone is doing well and feeling safe, healthy, and happy :).
On this week’s blog, we are going to dive into ‘My Solo Travels’ Series: Part 8a–Animal Kingdom.
When I tell you that I have not been to Animal Kingdom before 2019 since I was a little kid (think 4 or 5 years old), believe every bit of it. This actually made me even more excited to go because I was going to experience it as if I were doing it for the first time.
What made going to Animal Kingdom even more exciting was that it was my first day of going to the parks during my trip! I woke up early at around 7:30, got ready, ate breakfast at the onsite All Star Movies Resort eatery, and caught the bus from the resort to the park.
When I first got there, I took in the scenery. There were a lot of people, which I did not expect because even though Animal Kingdom is fantastic, it is not as popular as Magic Kingdom or Epcot, in my opinion.
As soon as you walk into Animal Kingdom, you feel as though you are being transported to another continent. It is as if suddenly, you are out of Florida and in Asia and Africa all at once. The experience was so surreal and welcoming, that I felt at peace immediately.
The first ride I went on was DINOSAUR in the DinoLand exhibit. I am a big fan of dinosaurs, so this was a lot of fun for me. They had a lot of facts and sculptures that revolved around dinosaurs, which was neat. And the entire ride and waiting area took place inside a building (when I was able to go). If you need a ride to cool out in, this would be a good one for you.
The next exhibit I checked out was Pandora: The World of Avatar. My fellow Chronic Illness Warriors: READ THIS NEXT PART CAREFULLY:
Flight of Passage in the Avatar section of Animal Kingdom is a fun and exhilarating ride. BUT, the amount of time I spent waiting to go on the ride was not worth it. I waiting in line for about 2.5 hours in the heat, without anything to eat, was dreadful. Now, if you are going to Disney with a group, the wait for the ride won’t be too bad because you can send a member of your team out for sustenance while you wait on line. But if you are doing a solo trip, and you don’t have fast pass for this ride (which is crazy hard to get), I would skip it. Or go during a time when it is not too busy at the parks. All of this in mind, please please PLEASE make sure you have water in your reusable bottle and snacks in your bag before you get on a line for any ride.
After my long Flight of Passage passage (I had to, sorry), I made my way over to the Safari ride. A sit down ride where all I had to do was watch animals was much needed. I even grabbed a snack from one of the kiosks before hopping on, so I had something to munch on during the ride.
Going on rides during the day was fun and entertaining. However, the really meaningful entertainment happened in the evening…
Until next time….
Stay safe and stay magical!
Ashley, MCT
My Chronic Travels 