A new zoo review

By DON SHILLING
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
Travelers to Orlando have a new choice -- whether to pay $48 or use a part of their multiday Disney park pass to visit Animal Kingdom.
Disney's newest addition to its theme complex offers elephants, giraffes and tigers -- the same animals you can see at zoos in Cleveland and Pittsburgh for $8.
Whether it's worth a visit depends on the age of your children, how recently you've been to a zoo and whether you're a fan of the Disney pageantry.
Comparing Disney's park with area zoos may not be fair, however. After all, at Disney, you don't get a zoo, but a kingdom.
Like all kingdoms, this one has a king. It's Tarzan who comes swinging on a vine to be with his damsel in distress as part of a musical stage show.
As is the case for much of the park, younger children will enjoy the Tarzan Rocks show more than older ones. A touch of extreme sports catches the attention of the older children, however. Roller skaters perform some amazing high-air acrobatics off ramps in the middle of the stage.
Another half-hour show the park offers is Festival of the Lion King, which uses the same recipe as Tarzan -- lavish costumes, first-rate performers and some acrobatics to break up the singing and dancing. This time, it's trampoline artists bouncing high into the air.
And what would a kingdom be without adventure?
On safari: A signature event of the park is a safari ride on a bus through an area that is supposed to be an African wildlife refuge. The scenery is realistic as the bus travels through a shallow river and bounces through several mud holes on its way through the African plains.
The animals were quite active for us. The elephants and giraffes were eating. Antelopes walked right in front of the bus, and a newly born wildebeest grazed a few feet from us.
The only disappointing part of the 20-minute ride was that it was so short. The driver didn't allow much time to stop and view any one section.
Where's the adventure? Without giving away the ending, let's just say you'll be clutching the seat in front of you a couple times on the ride -- once when traveling a swaying bridge and again at the end when poachers are spotted in the refuge.
Although older children are sure to see through the poacher gag, younger children love it.
3-D show: Another section of the park offers a high-adventure show you don't have to leave your seat for, a 3-D show called "It's Tough to Be a Bug." Adults, children and even teen-agers will laugh and scream because you never know what's going to come out of the screen, not to mention out of the ceiling or out of your seat.
The show does a nice job of entertaining the teen-agers and adults, without being too scary for the little ones.
If you need more adventure, there's the white-water rafting ride Kali River Rapids. It's not the wettest rafting ride you'll find, but some people on the 12-person raft are sure to get soaked by a geyser that greets them early on their trip.
The adventurous also will want to ride Countdown to Extinction. The movement of the indoor ride back into time is gentle, but the dinosaurs that pop out from everywhere are sure to give the unsuspecting a fright.
One thing an Animal Kingdom is sure to have is animals. Here, there are two main animal sections. The African animals are seen on the safari ride, while the Asian animals are seen on a walking tour.
Though both are enjoyable, don't expect to be overwhelmed by the animal experiences. My family enjoyed a trip to the Columbus Zoo last year just as much.
Learning experiences: An educational part of the park is located at Rafiki's Planet Watch, which is a short train ride from the African section.
There are lots of inside learning stations in this area, which makes it a good place to be in case you run into a passing Florida shower.
Park workers will bring out animals that you can see up close. We got to see a bearded dragon lap up some worms with his darting tongue. You also can watch through a glass window as a park veterinarian works on animals. We watched as she gave a bird a physical which included several inoculations. A park worker watched with us, explaining what was happening.
We also enjoyed going into small, darkened room that featured an audio presentation on rain forests. All of the sounds on the headphones -- from the torrential rainfall to the buzzing of the saws -- help you feel like you are there.
And last, but certainly not least, all kingdoms need fantasy.
Of course, that means one thing at Disney -- Mickey, Minnie and a host of other characters. There are plenty of opportunities to greet characters in the park and a long parade just before the park closes.
The verdict: For my family, a trip to this kingdom met with mixed reviews.
I had fun, primarily because I knew my 7-year-old son, Jason, was having a great time. He's an animal lover so this park was perfect for him.
My older sons, 14-year-old David and 11-year-old Matt, are roller coaster lovers, so the park was too tame for them.
As for my wife, Amy, she started the day with excitement, questioning the knowledgeable safari bus driver about many of the animals.
At the end of the day, however, she ended up being the one under the geyser on the rafting ride. It was a long, cold walk to the car.
shilling@vindy.com