On November 12th, 2012 I flew to  Orlando Florida to spend a week in the sun (well it didn't quite turn out to be as warm or as sunny as I would have liked).  I spent a few days in Disney World visiting Magic Kingdom, Epcot Centre,  Hollywood Studios  and Animal Kingdom.   I hadn't been to Disney World in a very long time and was happy to discover that I still enjoyed it.  My favourite places were Epcot Centre and the Animal Kingdom.    Magic Kingdom was just too busy for me  and the attractions were too short given the long lineups.   To be fair I had been here a few times before and nothing seemed to have changed. I'm guessing that for first timers and children it probably is magical.    Epcot Centre had terrific attractions and much shorter lineups.    My favourite attraction was called Soarin' Over California which is a simulator.  The ride uses a mechanical lift system, a film presentation on a large concave projection screen and at certain points artificial scents to simulate flight via a hand glider ride over several California landmarks ending at Disneyland of course.  I have no idea how it all works but it sure felt like I was in a hand glider looking below at people rafting, skiing, golfing, horseback riding and hot air ballooning.  It was a bonus that I got to "soar" over my favourite state in the United States.   Animal Kingdom was like a large zoo with some great animal/bird shows and some musicals (The Lion King and Finding Nemo) that were excellent.  My favourite attraction though was going on a mini-safari ride.   It was a bit difficult taking the photos given that the jeeps couldn't really stop for more than a few seconds.  I went on this ride about six times in two days to prepare for my "Safari" in Africa in the distant future.  

I took very few pictures of scenery in the parks but I liked this scene in the Animal Kingdom, showing "Expedition Everest" in the background.  There is a railway adventure to the top of the Himalayan mountain where riders encounter a fictional mountain beast and no I was not brave enough to go on the ride.  

The Tree of Life, is a  sculptured 14-story (145 -foot tall), 50-foot wide tree and is considered the centre-piece and icon in Disney's Animal Kingdom Park.  

You can see some of the sculptures if you look closely.  From a distance, the structure appeared to be the real thing but as you get closer the details come to life.  An international team of artisans were brought together to design and implement the carving of nearly 400 animals.

And a close up view of the sculptures.  

I wonder what this guy was thinking about?  This Colobus monkey eats leaves, buds,seeds and fruit and are found in trees in the wild in Kenya.  They are hunted for their fur but today their existence is more threatened by the destruction of forests.

Unlike other monkeys, Colobus monkeys have no thumbs.

 Meerkats are found in southern Africa and the Kalahari Desert.  They are just 12 inches tall.  These guys are very territorial and can often be found standing erect guarding their territory.  Besides eating various types of bugs, birds, eggs  and small mammals and reptiles, they can eat scorpions since Meerkats  are immune to scorpions' venom. 

 Animal Kingdom has a Gorilla Research Camp.  There were trails leading through an open air viewing where you could see the gorillas although they were at times quite far away.  I was using a fairly long zoom lens at the time.

Although the animals were still fenced in they had huge areas to wander around in unlike the typical zoos.  They were actually quite far away from me so these photos are cropped.

The Gorilla exhibit is a quiet zone.  Excessive noises and waving arms are seen as threats which will agitate the gorillas who will leave.

The baby gorilla finally showed up not looking too happy.  

I boarded a rugged open-sided safari vehicle  to go on Disney's Kilimanjaro Safari which transported me  to a 100 acre African Savannah.   The ride is a 25 minute safari where the tour guide points out animals and occasionally stopped the jeeps very briefly for viewing and photographing opportunities.  The giraffe is the tallest living terrestrial animal standing between 16 and 20 feet tall.

We came across a group of Zebras which have recently been added to the Reserve.  Zebras stripes come in different patterns unique to each individual.  

A hungry Giraffe

The white rhinoceros is one of the five species of rhinoceros that still exist.  It spends about half a day eating and a third of the day resting.  Not a bad life!

We came across some hippopotamuses resting near each other in the pond.  After the elephant and rhinoceros, the hippopotamus is the third largest type of land mammal by weight(between 1 1/2 and 3 tonnes).  These friendly looking guys are amongst the most aggressive creatures in the world and are regarded as one of the most dangerous animals in Africa.  Despite their stocky shape and short legs, they can easily outrun a human and have been clocked at 30 km per hour.  

Termite mounds have a very complicated structure.  Inside the mounds above is an extensive system of tunnels that serve as a ventilation system for the underground nest.  

The giraffes resemble the trunks of the surrounding palm trees.  

Although warthogs appear ferocious, they are basically grazers of grasses and plants.  They are members of the domestic pig family but sure look different.  Their large, flat heads are covered with "warts" which are actually protective bumps.    When startled or threatened these animals can fun at speeds of up to 30 miles an hour.  These animals, like elephants wallow in mud to gain relief from insects.  This guy sure blends in with his surroundings.  

This guy was enjoying resting on the rocks.

Lions are very inactive during the day being primarily nocturnal. One interesting fact about lions  is that they are unusually social compared to other cats.  

The White Ibis is one of many birds inside of Disney's Animal Kingdom.  

We passed by many elephants on our travels.  The guide told us that  the social lives of male and female elephants are quite different.  The females spend their entire lives in tight-knit matrilineal family groups which is led by the oldest female who remains leader until her death or until she no longer has the energy for the role.  When her role is over, the eldest daughter takes her place.  During the dry season, elephant families may cluster together as in the case of elephants in Amboseli National Park Kenya.  The life of the adult male elephant is very different.  Once he reaches 14 or 15, he spends about 80% of his time away from his family.   Eventually the adult females of his clan show aggression towards him at which point he permanently moves away.  Once he leaves, he lives on his own or with other males.  A dominance hierarch exists among males, whether they range socially or solitarily.  Older bulls appear to control the aggression of younger ones and prevent them from forming "gangs".   

After going on the safari, I wandered around to where the tigers were.  I couldn't seem to get a shot of the tiger's face  without something being in the way.

Pangani Forest Gorilla Falls.  This man-made waterfall was in the Gorilla exhibit at Animal Kingdom.