Disney World Day 1 Part 1 (Animal Kingdom)

Driving into Walt Disney World. It really is a world. So far removed from everything else, and just acres and acres of green rolling hills, lakes, and parks. This is the archway into the land preserve.

Our first stop was Animal Kingdom and it was AWESOME!

We waited out front for Ari's cousin, Kristin, and stole a quick picture of the sign.

I was hoping there was a big "DISNEY" sign when we walked in, but Kristin told us that it's all about this tree. This is the "Tree of Life" and it has 365 animals carved into. It's quite a work of art.

We were feeling extra frisky on this day because it's OUR TEN YEAR ANNIVERSARY! 

Kristin got us these cool pins to wear all day, and everywhere we went people wished us happy anniversary. So nice. It made our day extra special!

A close up of the tree. If you look closely you can see some of those animals. The tree is located on Discovery Island. We had a really good barbecue lunch there (ribs for me and pork for Ari) along with amazing cornbread. The birds were pretty friendly and kept trying to steal everyone's food. I'm talking like huge pelicans and storks type birds.

Here's a cool bird!

Our first stop was the jungle safari. It was one of Ari's favorite things we did. We were in a jeep and a tour guide took us through an animal preserve. All the animals were running free. It was the closes thing I could think of to going on an actual jungle safari.

Those baby giraffes were so cute.

Such beautiful animals!

I had just read a book about elephants so it was quite fascinating to see them up close and personal. Such majestic beasts!

Cool view of the silhouette and the ears.

So fun to see these rhinos having a mud bath. They were very playful. The little baby rhino was so cute.

Kristin's job at the park is a performance manager. She manages performers like this drummer guy here and keeps an eye on the crowds and weather, and makes sure the performers are where they are supposed to be and doing what they are supposed to be doing.

Another shot of the Tree of Life. I would say this is our "official" ten year anniversary photo. It got the most likes on facebook:)

Another closeup of the animal carvings. The whale, scorpion, and owl are my favorite!

I thought this truck was so cool and colorful as we ventured our way into India.

Seriously, I want to own this vehicle!

This was a very cool ride similar to the Matterhorn at Disneyland. It has a creepy story line about an expedition at Mt. Everest gone wrong. The coaster is a little like thunder mountain railroad but the tracks switch up on you, mid-ride, and you go backwards. It's pretty sweet!

Those are prayer cloths that denigrate in wind and sun. They have these in the real Mt. Everest so it's very authentic.

Another pic of the Kristin and Ari and the awesome India truck.

Waiting in line at the Kali Rapids. This was a fun water ride similar to Grizzly Rapids at California Adventure, except it had a very authentic mid eastern/India twist.

This next experience was MY FAVORITE of the whole trip. Kristin hooked us up with VIP tickets to watch the Lion King Performance. This was Broadway quality and we were front and center. Because it was our anniversary they called us up and embarrassed us a bit.

Here's those buttons up close.

Talking to us about our anniversary in front of the crowd.

We had to make an elephant noise and I don't think he was prepared for my realistic sound quality. It was quite lifelike I must say.

The show began and it was STUNNING. It had a lot of cirq de sole influences.

Cool acrobatic, gymnast monkeys.

The costumes were amazing!

The people were flying around like birds!

Afterward we had a meet and greet with the cast. Such a neat experience! Thanks Kristin for arranging this!

Kristin and her friend. These stilt walker guys were very impressive!

Next we went to an awesome bird show where the trained birds did cool tricks. Kristin told me to have a dollar bill ready, so I did. I was selected to have a bird fly to my hand and get the bill. It was awesome but kind of scary. Those talons were sharp! Kristin for the win again!

Entering Discovery Island to go have are yummy barbecue lunch!

Looking out over the mote surrounding the island.

Another favorite experience of mine was this Finding Nemo show. The visuals were awesome and stunning. So good, and I loved the music. The turtle music was very beach boy-y.

We tried to hit up this Dino-Land, but time was running short so I could only snap some quick pictures.

Ari really wanted a caramel apple so we ran back to Africa to the sweet shop and the lady was really rude to us and didn't appreciate that we were in a hurry. She made me feel smaller than a little ant ready to be stepped on. Not how you want to feel in the happiest place on earth.

Oh well- on to Hollywood Studios. The day was halfway done and we had A LOT to do! This was such a great day! Very humid and hot though!