Snowleopard's Florida Road Trip

17-12-2008

Very, very interesting to read the review, snowleopard! You and BlackRhino seem to share the same opionion about DAK. I had no idea that the place is actually such a crazy mixture of zoo, amusement park etc.

What an incredible mistake to only give the option of taking a 20 minute ride through the African exhibits (the ones that had made me so interested in DAK). Of course, one would have wanted to spend hours exploring them at one´s own pace.

I fully understand now why DAK doesn´t belong on any TOP TEN list....

17-12-2008

Whether the Kilimanjaro Safari ride is a "mistake" is debatable. Certainly from the perspective of Disney, it allows the most people to see the exhibits--there is simply no way that 6 million people a year could be accommodated in a way that encouraged the leisurely viewing we all like to engage in at "regular" zoos. On the flip side, all the attention to detail that makes the spaces so spectacular and work so well as animal habitats would not have been possible without the finances of Disney, both for the up front costs and the enormous amounts they spend to keep things looking good.

It really points out one of the paradoxes of "success" for a zoo--at some point, the sheer number of visitors degrades the experience of intimate encounters with animals and compelling "immersion" into a simulated environment. But most zoos need an ever-increasing flow of visitors to pay the bills to continue to operate and expand their offerings.

But I have to agree--I'd rather visit a less spectacular but very good zoo (say Woodland Park or North Carolina) than fight the crowds and commercial overkill at Disney, even with the incredible exhibits only they could have afforded to build.

17-12-2008

I don't know.
I appreciate @snowleopard's points and agree with them, but they do not damn the exhibit in my eyes.

The DAK ride is not the best way to really view animals.
On the other hand, it is a spectacular exhibit if you accept it for what it is. The context in which we see those animals is unequaled anywhere. So I love it for what it IS and I guess I forgive it for what it isn't.

The tiger exhibit can offer great views, but I don't like the exhibit.

17-12-2008

I think I disagree with you here, while I have not seen Congo gorilla Forest in person I am assuming it is the best because it so highly regarded. Disney's ape exhibit though is most definitely not the second best. While it is a nice enclosure I would never rate it second best. I would rate San Diego's Gorilla Tropics as second best. Another ape exhibit that looks better than Disney is Woodland Park, which looks like an ape paradise. I personally, even like Campo Gorilla Reserve at the LA Zoo better than Disney's ape exhibit.

17-12-2008

I spent a lot of time at that DAK exhibit one day and saw one gorilla for about two minutes. I'm sure they were happy. I was not as happy

17-12-2008

It's not that I hate the ape exhibit there or don't think there happy, it's just I have seen better, and San Diego and LA's gorilla exhibits I thought were better. Just my opinion.

17-12-2008

San Diego's gorilla exhibit is pretty good, except for the horrible view of the holding building wall with a pointless mural painted on it. LA's lacks any sense of mature forest, and is surrounded by some of the worst "mock rock" walls I've ever seen. Congo Gorilla Forest is the best, Seattle's still works beautifully, and I like it and Busch Gardens' gorilla habitat more than either of the California exhibits. Disney has more trees/shrubs, better disguised containment and a more exciting viewing situation (the wooden bridge) than LA or San Diego too. Just my opinion!

17-12-2008

Great review Snowleopard! I am always thirsty for information on DAK and after what you've said it seems like a bit of a disappointment. I suppose all the shops and suchlike are typical disney but it's a shame that you thought that things had been done better elsewhere.

Having watched the complete ride on YouTube, I totally agree about the timing for kilimanjaro safaris but i suppose the casual visitors don't really care about watching the animals. Having said that, the illusion created is amazing. I would be interested to know what you thought of the whole poachers thing on KS.

Can't wait for the rest of your reviews.

17-12-2008

Redpanda, please supply us with a link to the video on YouTube!

17-12-2008

I was at AK the same week as snow leopard and also visited Seaworld and Busch Gardens as well as Merritt Island and Blue Springs.

Like Snow Leopard I am an avid zoo goer, the only difference being that I do have a 4 year old child, who having zoo fanatics as parents gets inundated with zoo trips.

My preference has always been with Busch Gardens Africa over AK, if I could only do one, it would be Busch gardens everytime. AK is a theme park that happens to be associated with animals, real ones rather than the animations that make magic kingdom so popular. Disney market their theme parks as a package, while it cost $70 to visit a single park it is much cheaper to buy a multiday multipark ticket which can reduce the price to <$30 a day, after all they will make more on food and souvenirs. Therefore many of the visitors are at AK as a theme park and not as a zoo, and they require that Disney perfection and gloss. I think this is the reason that the safari can only be viewed from the fast moving people carriers. If you had more time to reflect you would see the hidden fences, moats and other behind the scenes items that might make you realise that you weren't on an African safari but are in a zoo. By making you take the safari they decide your view point and it is easy to do when they know the height of the vehicle and make the roads tight so they can pick your angle of view. This way the predator-prey relationship looks as though its real, all created by the Disney "magic". I believe this is why they chose not to have pathways so people could take their time to look at the exhibits. The Gorillas were really active when I was there and i ended up watching them for nearly half an hour as they were playing to the camera. I also love rollercoasters and although expedition everest is an average coaster, I really am a zoo purist and hate to see combined amusement parks and zoos. The Lion King is aimed at adults as much as kids and is generally good family entertainment by the way.

Busch gardens Africa can be viewed from the perimeter via a thirty minute train ride, you can ride right over the middle in a cable car, or take one of the many paths that go through the safari areas. Although not immersed into the safari experience like you are AK, you can go at your own pace which is very important to me. While the safari is good, I have no explanation as to why they have orangutans and white tigers (yeuk!) even though they are in a different part of the park, it is called Busch Gardens Africa. Both enclosures are good, especially the clear glass floors in the orang viewing tower that have a cargo net underneath which the orangs use as a hammock. While I was there the giant anteater was very active but I was disappointed by the komodo exhibit, especially as such good new exhibits are being developed for komodos like at Colchester in the UK. The chimp and gorilla exhibit, while adequate and spacious, were looking tired and in need of some more extensive landscaping.

I'll post some of my pics in the near future and i apologise if I hijacked snow leopards thread.

17-12-2008

Here are two videos of the Kilimanjaro Safaris ride.

YouTube - Kilimanjaro Safaris ride at Disney's Animal Kingdom (Part 1)
YouTube - Kilimanjaro Safaris ride at Disney's Animal Kingdom (Part 2)

Here is another: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rt5oJZahm-M

17-12-2008

Oh boy, this is fun! I happened to be on-line the very minute when snowleopard started uploading his DAK pictures, so I have stayed on-line ever since, checking out picture after picture as they appear! Only trouble is that I am in a different time zone and eventually it will get pretty late here in Sweden. Oh well, maybe he will take a lunch break so that I can go to bed, work tomorrow and catch up again tomorrow night? Don´t think my employer would like me to spend my entire working day browsing ZooChat...

Anyway... also very interesting to read all the new posts coming in on this thread. "Disney" is indeed a strange and fascinating cultural phenomenon, especially for a European like me who hasn´t travelled a lot and never been to America.

And I can´t help but to be astonished by the fact that many hundreds of millions of dollars must have been poured into the creation of what is essentially (to 99 percent of the "paying customers") a 20-minute joy ride for vacationing thrill-seekers, albeit - almost as if by chance - with a zoological theme.

Please don´t be offended anyone, if I for the second time (I think) on this website use the expression "Only in America"....

Yes, indeed: ONLY IN AMERICA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now I gotta get back to check what new photos have been uploaded while I wrote this post...

17-12-2008

Thanks for the links, mstickmanp! Will check them out at once.

17-12-2008

Mstickmanp has already given the links to these videos but if you are interested, then type into YouTube AK pangani trail then there is a 24 minute long tour and if you type in disney world maharaja jungle trek - full exhibit there are two 12-minute videos and finally disney's animal kingdom oasis has a few videos of a couple of minutes (I can't work out how to do links, hence the addresses). Also if you type in any other attraction that you are interested in, plus disney's animal kingdom, it generally comes up - although you sometimes have to change the wording round a bit.

And finally, in order to make comparisons between disney's safari and busch gardens', type into YouTube Busch Gardens Rhino Rally.

BTW, be sure to listen to the commentary. Whereas at Busch Gardens it seems pretty much all animal name and weight, animal kingdom's seems far more informal and interesting.

And sorry, Dan, for interrupting your browsing!

17-12-2008

I most definitely like San Diego's gorilla exhibit better than Busch Gardens. I was really not as impressed with Myombe Reserve as I was with Gorilla Tropics. Every time I go to Busch about three times a year ,there are only two gorillas in view. They are always way at the other end of their field waiting by the door to go into their night house. I like Disney's better than Busch and LA's better than Disney's and san Dieo's better than LA's. I am sure that Bronx's Congo Gorilla Forest tops all of these.