Disney Orlando Animal Kingdom Trip Page 1 of 2
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Article November 2016

We arrived at the Magic Kingdom at approximately 8:10 A.M. after traveling only 10 minutes from the hotel. Our very friendly and cordial driver told us that we could not catch a Disney bus from one park to travel to another. We found out that that information was false. He also gave us the wrong information as to where to catch the Disney bus which caused some of us to walk in the wrong direction before realizing that our ride to Animal Kingdom was departing just across from where he dropped us off at spot 21. I was not mad because he was a really nice guy and once again I was able to get in some early morning P.T.

We departed the Magic Kingdom lot at approximately 8:40 A.M. in a much nicer and modern Disney bus that had working A.C. (air-conditioning), a P.A. (public address) system, and helpful driver. We arrived at our destination at approximately 8:50 A.M. after another short 10 minute ride and 10 minutes before the park opened at 9 A.M. Our walk to the main entrance was only about a tenth (0.10) of a mile which offset us going in the wrong direction to catch this bus. It took me just over 5 minutes to retrieve my ticket at the booth and just over 10 minutes to progress through the main entrance. The wait in the security line was less than 10 minutes as I noticed a continuous flow of visitors arriving after us.

Now that that was over, it was time to enjoy my half-day at Animal Kingdom before heading over to the Hollywood Studios (future edition) for the balance of the day. My first pleasant encounter was with these flamboyant-looking birds that were posing near the park entrance behind a short three or for foot fence. According to the informational plaque they were known as Roseate and African Spoonbills. The former gets its bright pink color from a diet rich in shrimp while the latter catch's small fish and aquatic creatures by scooping them out of the water by sweeping their long broad bill from side to side (like they just don't care -- Smile).

Next it was time for me to do my usual and plot my strategy for negotiating this park to maximize my opportunities to see and do as much as I can in the allotted half-day time frame. My ticket and map were the standard Disney issue with latter providing any novice with enough graphical information to plot an effective strategic for efficiently getting around the park. Based on my study of the map versus what I wanted to see and do, I decided to start clockwise and head on over to Discovery Island before checking out Africa.

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