Go Slow and Look Around

“Don’t run through the parks from ride to ride. Go slow and look around or else you’ll miss all the fun and magical details around you!”

I have admitted before that I am a ride-addict and can get caught up in the crazy pace that can set when you’re weighing your enjoyment of the day against how many rides you were able to do.  However, there is a lot to be said for not approaching your day as if it is a race to stand in the most lines.  Sure, if you get there five minutes faster you might be able to ride Everest twice before the line gets crazy, but in racing through the parks with your eyes set on that wait time, you’re going to miss the incredible detail that has been poured in the Animal Kingdom! The picture above sparked a treasure hunt of detail for us one morning, when our race to the Expedition Everest came to a halt as Adam noticed the similarity between the altar and the mountain.  That surely was not a coincidence, so we stopped and found ourselves actually LOOKING at the park for the first time.

While other parks have the same amount of detail put into them, Animal Kingdom really stands out in my mind.  The way some benches are fallen statues and people don’t even seem to notice, or how one land transitions into the next in subtle ways with tiny changes.  It makes me sad that they never did the Fantasy Animal land (where Camp Minnie Mickey is now, I believe) because you can still see the little touches they made for that, like the dragon mouth waterfall that is now pretty much covered in foliage so you have to know where to look to see it.  The parks themselves, besides the rides and the shows, can be a draw just to see all the little touches and details that the Imagineers put into them.  So slow down, you’re going to have to wait in line anyway, and take it all in as you head from land to land.