Animal Kingdom

Here's the entrance to another Walt Disney World park - Animal Kingdom.  

We visited it on the last day in January which was a cool day in the 50s F. with overcast, gray skies.

This is the "Tree of Life."  Can you believe it isn't real at all?  More Disney magic.  Look closely and you can see animals carved all over it.  

Getting on the safari ride at Animal Kingdom.  We walked right on - no wait at all.

These are the only two animals shots that turned out on our safari ride.  It is extremely difficult to take photos on the safari ride because it is so bumpy.  Just as you are ready to take the photo the truck goes faster or it's so bumpy you can't stop the camera from shaking.   Hubby gets an award for these shots.  Isn't mommy and baby elephant adorable!

We're off the ride now walking through one of the trail.  If memory serves me right I think these were fruit bats.  They are HUGE.  See the one all wrapped up and hanging like a vampire on the left.  The one on the right is eating fruit while hanging.  

A magnificent Tiger sleeping up close and personal.  I'm not this close and I'm not this brave - there is a barrier between me and the tiger.  

Another Tiger resting.  Isn't the background interesting?

This is my Hubby's favorite Tiger photo.  This one is wide awake!

Isn't this a pretty bird? - look at the pattern on the feet and legs.  And the headdress is beautiful.

Mommy "Green Winged Dove" sitting on her nest.

Me petting a sheep!  It's so soft and big!  I was the one that wanted to go into the petting zoo.  I love animals and wanted to see them up close and personal.

The young goats (kids?) loved playing "King of the Mountain."  

And they managed to butt heads - but mostly they were licking and kissing each other.

The donkey was cute.  The keeper said that this is the type of donkey that Mary rode to Bethlehem.   Look at the dark brown stripe going down the back and the shoulders - they form a CROSS.  Amazing! 

Mr. Gorilla sat very patiently watching and waiting for the keeper with his afternoon snack.  He would move his head from side to side looking through the crowds for the keeper.  We didn't get a photo of his hands - they were so human like just BIGGER.  

Mr. Wolf  , ah, Gorilla, what BIG teeth you have!  He isn't roaring just yawning.   Again we are close to Mr. Gorilla but not stupid there is a glass partition between us.

  

 On our way out of Animal Kingdom we caught the parade.  Isn't the Minnie jeep cute?

Our last photo of the day taken on our way out of the park.  The birds are coming in to roost for the evening/night.  

Animal Kingdom closes early - 5 P.M. - way before the other parks.  We were told the reason for that is it takes almost two hours to bring all the animals in for the night.  For lunch we ate at the Tusker House Restaurant - a buffet with delicious food.  We didn't see everything so we will come back another day.  

Hope you enjoyed our tour of Animal Kingdom!  More to come...