A Day at Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom

I remember when my wife and I were planning our very first trip to Walt Disney World. I watched every video I could find online trying to see the parks, the rides, the resorts etc. I wanted to see and learn about it all. I keep that in mind now as I visit the "Happiest Place on Earth" and I try to record things of interest so the next person can see and learn and get as excited about their trip as we were.

If there is a park at Walt Disney World that is somewhat misunderstood, it is The Animal Kingdom. We actually overheard someone telling a first time visitor that it is really just a big zoo. I so wanted to jump in on that conversation and make sure the new visitor knew that she was being given wrong information. I have been to a lot of zoos including the world famous San Diego Zoo and, trust me, Animal Kingdom is WAY more than a place to just go and see animals.

Disney's Animal Kingdom has at least 5 major rides and 2 of the best shows in all of Walt Disney World. Some would now say that one of the rides (Expedition Everest) is now probably the best thrill ride out of all the parks. It is the largest park out of the 4 and some would also say the most scenic. So go with an open mind. Take a walk through by watching this short video of ours and see what fun lies ahead at Disney's Animal Kingdom.

Walt Disney World Pop Century Resort

Here is a little video walk-through of the Pop Century Resort at Walt Disney World. This resort gets a huge thumbs up from me. In fact, if we were trying to decide to stay at either a "Value" resort or a "Moderate" one, we would choose the Pop Century over any of the higher priced Moderate resorts on Disney property. The food court had a great variety and the 3 pools were never overly crowded. The bus system was a quick as it would be at any of the Moderates. The only negative is the room size. The rooms are smaller than the Moderates which we for sure noticed as soon as we entered the room. If you have a party size of 3 or 4, you will need to be prepared for the tight quarters. But I will say that I am not sure the slightly larger rooms at the Moderates are worth the higher price. The only other thing that you get at a Moderate resort, that is noticeable, is at least one table service restaurant option. But reviews have shown that they are not the most desirable when considering all of the other table service choices throughout Walt Disney World.

The Pop Century is divided up into decade sections which is where the resort gets its name. The theme of the resort is pop culture. You can stay in the 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's or 90's building. Each building is then themed for that particular decade. For example, the 70's building has a huge "8-Track Tape" at the end of each building. The 80's building has a huge "Rubik's Cube." Music from each decade plays throughout the resort's common areas like the pools and "Everything Pop" which is the shopping and eatery area in the main building.

If you are on Facebook...stop by and become a fan of my travel page and you can see more resort pictures posted showing some of the detail that Disney has put into the grounds, the buildings and the rooms... "Operation Destination Vacations."