Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park

On April 20, 2018April 20, 2018 By Living The Q Life Travel AdventuresIn Walt Disney World6 Comments

The Animal Kingdom Theme Park at Walt Disney World is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, so it is probably fitting that we visited on our 20th wedding anniversary several years ago. There are so many things to see at Walt Disney World, but Animal Kingdom is pretty unique because it combines the excitement of a safari with the things that you would expect from Disney such as thrill rides, characters, and fantasy come to life. Obviously, the attractions have likely changed some since our visit, but the heart of the adventure remains the same, which are the animals within the park.

IMGP2367 — Donald Duck on a Parade Float

Clearly it isn’t the same as a real safari, but unlike going on a safari in Africa, you are guaranteed to see all of the various animals in an environment that feels very authentic. Although the Kilimanjaro Safari ride, which is an open air vehicle ride among the animals, is the highlight of the park, there are plenty of other things to see. Second on the list of things that must be done is Expedition Everest. The main attraction is the rollercoaster-style ride, which is definitely thrilling with its Abominable Snowman encounter. Even though we went without children, Dinoland is definitely another part of the park that will be fun for people of all ages. Finally, Conservation Station provides more animal encounters along with a learning experience that the kids won’t find boring.

We spent a single, full day in the theme park and felt that we were able to thoroughly explore the park, but it could certainly be visited more than once during a trip to Disney World. For those that love the parades with all of the Disney characters, don’t worry, there are definitely fun parades that are unique and different than those that you see in the other theme parks. We would certainly recommend going to each of the different theme parks in Walt Disney World, but visiting the Animal Kingdom will be an experience that you will certainly enjoy due to its uniqueness.

IMGP2371 — Not All of the Animals are Real 😉

IMGP2342 — Tibetan Flags in Expedition Everest

IMGP2270 — Recreation of an Explorers Cabin

Sweet Memories

On February 15, 2018 By Living The Q Life Travel AdventuresIn Photo Challenge, Walt Disney World2 Comments

We are firm believers that if you stay young at heart, you will have a happier life in general. We try to stay energetic and push our boundaries wherever possible. We also try to view the places that we visit with same sense of awe and wonder of a child. One our favorite memories was of our 20th wedding anniversary when we went to Disney World without any children. It was an opportunity for us to really let our inner children out and have that sense that anything is possible. We went on many different rides and went to the various theme parks, thoroughly enjoying each of them. One of the ones that was especially enjoyable was Disney’s Hollywood Studios theme park where memorable scenes from movies come to life before your very eyes. One movie that is definitely part of our childhoods is the Wizard of Oz and when we were in London several years ago, we even went to see a performance of Wicked in the West End Theatre District. So, when were in Disney World and saw scenes from the Wizard of Oz, it brought back wonderful memories from our childhood. It isn’t easy to take photos from a moving ride, but for this week’s Daily Post Photo Challenge of Sweet, we have chosen a few pictures that we took from that section of the ride. There were many other memorable sights during that ride, but these brought back a wonderful range of emotions.

It Truly is a Small World After All

On November 15, 2016 By Living The Q Life Travel AdventuresIn Photo Challenge, Walt Disney World5 Comments

The more that you travel, the smaller the world truly feels. People are more the same than they are different, there are scenes of beauty everywhere, and every culture has contributed to our collective consciousness. For this week’s Daily Post Photo Challenge – Tiny, we decided to think about our world view versus just taking photos of microscopic objects. During our 20th anniversary trip to Disney World, we rode on the Small World ride, which is definitely a glamorized version of the cultures of the world. Despite the over simplified theme, the truth of the message is still worth understanding. We live in a world that is getting smaller day-by-day. Not just due to population growth, but more due to technology and the ability to share knowledge and images instantaneously around the world. It truly is a small world and we are all on the same ride together, so we need to treat everyone as though they were our neighbors. We did toss in a picture of a figurine that we purchased in France several years ago, mostly because the Christmas Markets are starting here and we have already started collecting Christmas items from each of our travels here in Germany, one of our favorite travel traditions.