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Stomach Virus Spread at Disney’s Wild Africa Trek

The provided snack In the past couple of years the spate of food poisoning cases on cruise ships put a big “health alert” smirch on the often laid-back and envied vacation. This year, however, Disney World might be taking that dubious crown. At least, the Wild Africa Trek at the Animal Kingdom could. NBC News reports that several dozen people became sick at the beginning of June, and the primary link between them was that they’d all gone on the Wild Africa Trek right around the same time. The safari-style tour, that takes guests to parts of the park usually … Continue reading →

Wild Africa Trek

Everyone around here knows how much I love the idea of Disney’s Animal Kingdom. The concept of a zoo in an amusement park would be neat enough, but the Animal Kingdom is in some ways closer to a safari experience than that of a zoo. My excitement about the Animal Kingdom leads me to share new information any time there’s news about the park. I’ve managed to restrain myself from posting in paroxysms of glee whenever a baby animal is born there, but I think that the creation of a new attraction at the Animal Kingdom warrants attention. The official … Continue reading →

Special Shopping and Tours at the Animal Kingdom

Well, we’ve finally come to it. Today is the last in my series looking at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. As special events and other highlights happen at the park I’ll cover them, but today I’m finished my peek at what you can find on a normal basis at the Animal Kingdom. We’ll conclude with shopping and special tours. There’s not a lot of unique shopping at the Animal Kingdom. Most of the stores are of the typical shirts-and-stuffed-animals variety. However, there is the Mombasa Marketplace, in the Africa section of the Animal Kingdom, near the Tusker House. It’s divided into two … Continue reading →

Baby Animals at Disney’s Animal Kingdom

We interrupt your regularly scheduled details of the Animal Kingdom to bring a special post about the park: a highlight of all of the baby animals born there in the recent months. I could talk about the special tours and shopping found there (and I will eventually), but a choice between that and adorable baby animals? Please, I’m going with the cute. The most recent addition to the Animal Kingdom came in June, in the form of a baby okapi. Okapis look like they’re some kind of deer, or strange deer-like horses that are related to zebras, because they have … Continue reading →

17th Annual Epcot International Food & Wine Festival

I’m breaking with my own tradition here: usually I wait to post about the Epcot Food & Wine Festival until closer to when it will actually start. We’ve got just over a month until it kicks off, so why am I writing about it now? I’m doing so in case anyone reading this is interested in going, and wants to sign up for one of the seminars or other special events. As of right now, some are sold out but others still have spaces available. Slots are going fast, so sign up ASAP if you’re interested. Here’s a quick summary … Continue reading →

Adventures at Disney World

Your family is desperate for a Disney World vacation. They’ve been begging you to go for ages, but you just can’t get into the idea. Amusement parks aren’t your thing. Sure, there’s stuff like the Animal Kingdom and special events at Epcot, but even on an off-season Disney might just be too crowded for you. You’re the outdoorsy type, you love adventure. In fact, Adventures by Disney would be more your speed, but that’s way too expensive. You’re in luck, because a little-known fact about Disney World is that there’s tons to do there that one wouldn’t associate with amusement … Continue reading →

Lodging at Disney’s Animal Kingdom

The Animal Kingdom has lodging at just about any level: from deluxe villas to discount resorts. If you want something themed around the Animal Kingdom you’ll have to go for the pricier places: the deluxe villas Jambo House or Kidani Village, or the deluxe Animal Kingdom Lodge. The two former are actually just specific floors/areas within the latter, which is an African-style lodge spread out over 43 acres. The Animal Kingdom Lodge has two of its own restaurants, which weren’t covered when I looked at the dining at the Animal Kingdom. They’re Jiko – The Cooking Place and Boma – … Continue reading →

Attractions at the Animal Kingdom

Today, in acknowledgement of the fact that I talk so much about it, I’m going to start a new feature on the Animal Kingdom. I’ll profile its various aspects: the attractions, entertainment, food, and lodging. The most obvious place to start within the Animal Kingdom is, of course, with its animals. Given that there are a ton of such attractions at the Animal Kingdom I won’t have time to dwell on any for very long. Also, because I’ve already covered the Wild Africa Trek, I’m not going to go over it again. The attractions at the Animal Kingdom can be … Continue reading →

Kunekunes Come to the Animal Kingdom

I’m not a huge fan of zoos. I’ve been to enough in my lifetime that I’ve seen many small local ones, where a poor bored black bear ambles restlessly on a barred cement slab the size of my bedroom. If a zoo doesn’t take proper care of animals I can’t stand to visit it (as shouldn’t be surprising to anyone who reads my articles on the families.com Pets Blog), and as I make few trips into cities that narrows down my list. But when a zoo is done right, then I love it. My husband and I love nature documentaries … Continue reading →

International Day of Forests at the Animal Kingdom

When I was in third grade I had my future career decided: zoology. I loved animals but didn’t think I could handle many of the messier aspects of veterinary medicine, so I decided I would study animals from a strict scientific viewpoint instead. Although my skill set ended up steering me away from any future career in the sciences, I’ve never lost that inherent love of learning about animals. That explains why Disney’s Animal Kingdom is my favorite part of Disney World, and why I’m always so excited to share what’s new with the park. On Wednesday July 27 the … Continue reading →