|
|
In Brief:
Until very recently this was my least favorite of Disney’s 4 major theme parks. I have changed my mind however after coming to the realization that to experience this park in the way that it should be experienced - or at least the way it was intended to be experienced - simply requires that you enter with a far different mind-set. When exploring this very unique park, that is so very unlike any of Disney’s other three theme parks, you must be able to soak in your surroundings, appreciate the minutest details, and understand that much of the experience is related to the appreciation for the truly amazing and meticulously detailed architecture and landscaping found throughout the park, the remarkable array of wildlife and their distinctive habitats, and, thanks to Disney Imagineers, the remarkably authentic recreation of the Asian and African landscape.
Embarking on Your Adventure
Before entering the park, you’ll have your bags searched in the security check. Relatively short lines (when compared to the other 3 parks) ensure the process is fairly innocuous. The ticketing counter is just ahead, with the turnstiles allowing entry to the park just beyond that. To the right, before reaching the turnstiles, is a character greeting area where you will often find various characters decked out in safari-style garb signing autographs and posing for photos, as well as restrooms, locker rentals, and an ATM machine. To the left is the Rainforest Café, the largest and only full-service restaurant at the park.
The information and guest relations area is just past the turnstiles on the left. Here you can pick up park maps as well as practically any map related to Walt Disney World (which I happen to find extremely helpful if I have, for some reason, neglected to pick up or lost a map that I would like to look at while I’m back at the hotel room trying to plan yet another day). You can also make dining arrangements here (for those of who have neglected to do this prior to arriving). A phone, additional restrooms, and yet more lockers are available nearby as well. To the right are the stroller and wheelchair rentals, an area that also serves as the package pick-up.
(For those who prefer not to lug their purchases around all day, they can be sent here for pick up prior to your leaving the park - details regarding this service by clicking on Guest Services) Now is the time, as at any park, Disney or otherwise (and yes, there are parks beyond Disney out there) to take a minute, maybe two, if you haven’t already, to take stock of what lies ahead, what you absolutely must experience, and where you would like to get to if there’s time. Also make note of show times for any that you plan on attending so you can get yourself there well ahead of time.
Enjoy the Adventure!
So You Know:
From the very instant that you enter this amazing park, and throughout your entire adventure, it is imperative to understand well ahead of time that to truly appreciate and experience this park you must take the time to really look around you, and I mean from the minute you enter to the minute you leave. Stone walkways are filled with fossils of foliage and insects, lighting throughout the park is rustic and often ornate, vines, trees, and shrubbery, are generally indigenous to the area represented, and the extremely naturalistic animal habitats, truly create a feeling of being out in middle of the wild. The im mensely intricate, often ornate, and meticulously detailed architecture found throughout the park--most particularly in Asia, though Africa also offers its own unique style - is, to say the least, impressive. Read the signage on the buildings, look high above you to where the prayer flags hang, take a peek into the bush where many a temple or shrine can be found--you get the idea. Even the queues offer some of the most unusual settings and surroundings –in particular the queue at Expedition Everest and the Kali River Rapids. It’s almost a disappointment when the line isn’t long enough to let you meander through, taking in the attention to detail. If you hurry through, or even just make your way around without really looking around, you will surely miss what makes this park so very unique compared to other theme parks both at Disney and elsewhere.
|
