Birt Family Focus

Disney's Animal Kingdom - Oasis and Discovery Island -- 05/27/03

Howdy everyone.

Today we were going to do the Oasis, Discovery Island, and Camp Minnie-mickey, but I have decided to pare that down to just the first two.

Oasis is the name given to the area between the parking lot and the actual park. It is lushly planted and jungly. There are several paths to take, once you have left the ticket booth, take them all. One at a time, of course-LOL. Each path is lined with amazing gardens and animal enclosures that make the walk over to the actual park almost as much fun as any attraction you'll find inside. It is a quite, calming walk, despite the throngs of people sharing it with you, because folks just naturally walk slower and take the time to look at the animals along this path. I have found some amazing things here- my favorite was an up close look at an Okapi. The Okapi look like a cross between a zebra and a giraffe. They are lovely, shy, and extremely rare. Funny how the urge to "hurry up- you'll miss it" kind of just goes away while you are in the Oasis. I think it's intentional and personally, I love it. There are 28 different animals and birds to see in the Oasis. Take your time both entering and leaving the park, you'll be gald you did.

Once you emerge from the Oasis, you will find yourself on a bridge over the AK river with a magnificent view of a village anchored by the Tree of Life directly ahead. This is Discovery Island, the center of the park. As with the castle area in the Magic Kingdom, all the different areas of DAK branch out from here like spokes on a wheel. There is some shopping to be had along this walk, as well as a couple of places to eat, but don't miss the attractions here. There are three.

The Tree Of Life is an attraction all it's own. It is 14 stories high. The trunk and branches are caved with over 325 different animals. We like to hunt and count them everytime we come. We have yet to find them all. This is the official Icon of this park, as esily recognizable now as Cinderella's Castle, or Spaceship Earth. It is a magnificent work of art. You can't help but be impressed. It took 20 artists to carve it and 18 months to build. It has something like 100,000 leaves-individual ones- or more on it. It is interesting to note that one of Jane Goodall's favorite chimp friends is carved into this tree. He is called David Graybeard and is near the entrance to ITTBAB. See if you can find him.

It's Tough to be a Bug is an attraction in the traditional sense. It is a 3-D show located inside the tree. You will travel down a path that leads sort of underground (actually, under the trees "roots"). All these roots are also carved with animals, so it's quite a nice queue. Once inside, it is quite cool and a bit dark. The attraction is all about bugs, so there are some who may be squeemish. It's also audiance interactive in that you will feel special effects (and smell some, too- EWW) so keep that in mind when bringing littles along. I will not spoil it by telling all the effects, in case there are some readers who haven't experienced this attraction yet- but there are some definite surprizes. My family and I think it's a hoot and don't often miss it. You can use fastpass here, too, BTW.

Discovery Island Trails are more of the gardens and animal enclosures you experienced coming through the Oasis. Here, there are 25 different animals and birds on display. The gardens wind around through the "roots" of the Tree of Life and you will find as you go that the sights and sounds of the bustling park disappear. You will find yourself likely quietly alone with a big Galapagos tortise, or a Red Kangaroo. Communing with nature is easy here, and I highly reccomend it. Bring your camera, you will burn up quite a bit of film, your digital will get quite a workout, too.

That's all for today- as you can probably tell if you haven't been to DAK, it's a more laid back park than the others. There is plenty to do, though, and some of it quite exciting. My family and I just love this park, though, precisely because of the differences. It is the most beautiful of all the parks, IMO with the lush jungles and tropical plantings everywhere. It is serene, even when loaded with people. I never get the urge to run when I'm here. I love this place. Next week, We'll visit Camp MiniMickey and Rakiki's Planet Watch. Until then- Jambo!!

Sla`inte~