AK is divided into lands much like the Magic Kingdom is. The entry of the park takeds you through a very lush tropical setting with some animal diversions along the way. Parrots, monkeys, flamingos, and ibis' are among the animals that populate the entryway. After this, you cross the bridge to the Oasis.

The Oasis is dominated by the Tree of Life. The Tree is stunning to say the least. There are over 300 different animals, insects, reptiles--all manner of creatures carved to intricate detail from the roots of the Tree to the top of the trunk. It's hard to take your eyes off of it as you get closer. The details keep revealing themselves in so many different ways and places that it is mesmerizing.

Make sure to see It's Tough to be a Bug. This is a 3D movie that plays inside the tree. The movie itself is quite a treat, but some children (and queasy adults) might be scared of the bug theme. It is loosely based on Pixar's A Bug's Life with Flik being the star of this show. Be sure to read the movie posters in the queue area for the movie, it's funny stuff. While going through the line to get in, you will have ample opportunity to marvel close up at the Tree of Life as you wind all around it on your way to the movie.

My two favorite places to eat are around the Oasis--the Flame Tree Barbeque and the Pizzafari. Flame Tree has a few better items, like rotisserie chicken. Pizzafari has the best decor. Also, you can get value meals here where you get vouchers for a drink and popcorn or ice cream later that day. It is only good in the Animal Kingdom, however, so be sure to use it that day if you do not plan to go back. If you are a light eater, get the kids meal version. It can save you a handful of dollars over getting the adult value meal.

To the left of the Oasis is Camp Minnie-Mickey. This are is more geared towards children and has a large gathering place for them to meet characters. This area is also home to two shows--Pocahantas and her Forest Friends and the Festival of the Lion King.

Pocahantas is a cute show which restates the message of the film--that we need to be careful of forest creatures' habitat. It is a live show with singing and some animal appearances. The animals are trained to do quick appearances and then disappear backstage. It's a cute show geared more towards younger children.

Festival of the Lion King is an entertaining show. It is full of acrobatics, singing, and some wonderful costuming. The acrobatics are quite thrilling. This show is a must-do for anyone visiting the park.

Continuing clockwise around the park, you come to Africa. The gem of this area is the Kilimanjaro Safari. First a tip: go as early as possible. The lines get long and the animals are more active towards dusk and dawn. The safari is a must do. Very often, you can seemingly reach out and touch some of the animals that are roaming about the savannah. The underlying theme of the ride is to educate us about poachers, but this attraction needs no gimmick. The diversity and amount of animals that you can see here on any given day are never disappointing.

There are more African animals to see if you walk the Pangani Forest Trail, which is right next to the Safari. The highlight here is the silver back gorilla, which is just an awesome sight. On our last visit, he charged the glass partition and gave some of us quite a fright. You will be perfectly safe though.

There is a railroad here which takes you to Conservation Station. This area has a petting zoo and educates us about wildlife conservation. You can often find Lion King characters wandering about here, too.

Continuing to the next land is Asia. The two gems are the Kali River Rapids and the Maharajah Jungle Trek. The Rapids is quite a fun ride which guarantees that you will get wet, maybe soaked. It is like any other Rapids ride in that you are in a round vessel with nine people careening through white water rapids. The ride is kind of short, but still a fun ride, and a can't miss attraction on a hot day. And the queue area is decorated to an extreme extent that keeps your eyes busy.

The Jungle Trek is one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. Disney has done a fabulous job at making this place look like a grand palace of extreme opulence that has been slowly reclaimed by wilderness. The Bengal tigers are the stars here and there are three different vantage points at which to see them. And you can get pretty darn close to them! My personal favorite are the giant fruit bats. Seeing them is impressive enough. When they spread their wings, it is just incredible to see. I learned from a guide there that bats eat between 600-1000 bugs, especially mosquitos, per night!!! If more people had bat houses in their backyards, mosquitos would barely be a nuisance anymore.

There is construction going on in Asia that will be the next big ride for Walt Disney World. It's called Expedition Everest. It will be a roller coaster, probably motre like Big thunder Mountain rather than Rock n' Roller Coaster intensity-wise. You'll have to be patient, though. It will at least be until 2005 before this ride opens its gates.

Dinoland USA is the last stop on the clockwise tour of Animal Kingdom. There is a huge play area for older kids as you first walk in that can give tired parents plenty of down time while the kids burn off some excess energy. A quick tour of this place is an easy 10-15 minutes. Off to the right is the main attraction, Dinosaur.

Dinosaur is a cross between a motion simulator and a railcar ride. Your vehicle travels on a rail much like the rides in Fantasyland like Winnie the Pooh and Snow White. What really makes this ride rock is that the car itself pitches and tilts on suspension that is attached to the moving vehicle. The result is a ride that can be quite rough. And since you are supposedly driving through prehistoric forests to catch and bring back a dinosaur the the present time, it's no wonder that it is a rough ride. I'll warn in advance,if you have back problems, this ride can aggravate them. Even for the healthy it is a wise thing to use the handle bars between the seats to stabilize yourself. Dinosaur is the closest thing to a mechanical bull that Disney has.

There is a subsection of Dinoland called Dinorama that is reminicent of large carnivals that can be found all over the country. There are carnival games there which are separately priced,like Whack-a-Dino. There are two rides there as well. First is Triceratops Spin which is yet another version of Dumbo, but with Dinosaurs. Across from it is Primeval Whirl. This is like a large Wild Mouse Coaster with cars that spin around. The ride is rather short and the effect is rather underused, I thought. Without the spinning, the ride would be rather boring. The first half of the ride is small ups and downs and continuous left and right turns.

There are small things to notice around the park as well. One is that it seems to feel hotter in this park than at others. Well, it IS! Instead of walls and buildings everywhere, tropical foliage makes up much of the boder space. This keeps the area warmer and more humid than usual. There is a special character called DeVine that is a brilliant touch. If you weren't paying attention, you would not even notice it. This person is dressed so well, it really seems as if a group of vines is climbing around on poles and such in the park. It's quite neat!

Keep in mind that this park closes at 5pm. I usually recommend going to MGM after eating dinner on AK days so you can get a few extra rides in. Or, of course, you could go back to the resort, catch up on sleep, or relax by the pool.