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W hen people think of Orlando, the first as-sociation is usually taking the kids to Disney World. Few would think of the place as an adult getaway within the greatest family entertainment park in the world. Twenty years ago, we did a Briefcase Excursion in Orlando, and yes, it was an adult experience, and yes, it was EPCOT Center, as it was known then, in the Disney complex. Would we recommend a visit based on that experience? Never. It was July. School was not in session. It was 99 degrees with 99 percent humidity.

Cut to today. We kept hearing great things about Ani-

mal Kingdom, a theme park located in the Walt Disney World Resort. When we were presented with a chance for another visit, we took it, but planned a decidedly differ-ent trip. And, while the memories of the horrible weather were still with us, we decided also to give Epcot another shot. This year, we visited in January on a school day. The weather was delightful. We avoided the crowds and most of the kids by arriving in the afternoon when families were going back to their hotels to swim and nap. Staying into the evening allows you to enjoy a leisurely dinner and the fireworks and other evening entertainment.

Spaceship Earth at the entrance to Epcot

Agatha Hoff

DEAD?

Orlando ISN’T ONLY FOR KIDS

Pam Ellis and Peggy Edwards

BRIEFCASE EXCURSIONS

56 SUMMER 2012

Animal Kingdom and Epcot are more than entertain-ment venues; they are testimonies to the world vision of Walt Disney himself. Animal Kingdom is built around the theme of animal conservation and is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, demonstrating it met or exceeded standards in education, conservation, and research. EPCOT, an acronym of Experimental Pro-totype Community of Tomorrow, is known more simply now as Epcot. Disney planned to build a city for twenty thousand people where concepts of city planning and or-ganization could be tested but died before that plan was realized. Spend the majority of a day at each to fully expe-rience the two parks.

Epcot opened in 1982 and has two distinct areas—a World Showcase and Future World, an area featuring technological innovation. This gives the park a flavor much like a world’s fair. Looking like a giant golf ball, the iconic Spaceship Earth greets visitors at the entrance. Inside, a ride through time and space sets the tone for appreciation for the many cultures of our world and the innovations that have brought the human race to where we are today.

The World Showcase is composed of eleven country pa-vilions displayed around a large man-made lake. Each pa-

vilion contains representative shops and restaurants and is staffed by citizens of these countries. Some also contain rides and shows. Be sure to peek into the side streets to note hidden patios and other architectural features.

Our strategy for experiencing Epcot is to eat our way around the world! Most pavilions offer at least one ca-sual dining and one themed sit-down restaurant. Start-ing clockwise as you face the lake, experience “slices” of Mexico, Norway, China, Germany, Italy, the American Adventure, Japan, Morocco, France, United Kingdom, and Canada. We are especially partial to the pastries at Boulangerie Patisserie in the French pavilion and the fish and chips with ale served on the sidewalk at the York-shire Country Fish Shop. You can eat your fill, take a ferry across the lake to Future World, and then come back for another round of grazing!

In Future World, experience the feel of hang gliding over California at “Soarin,” one of our favorite Disney attrac-tions (also found at Disney’s California Adventure). You’ll smell the orange blossoms and the scent of the pines as you swoop over panoramas from the vineyards of the

Epcot Morocco

Epcot England

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wine country to the Golden Gate Bridge, through the Yo-semite Valley, along the coast of Malibu, across the bow of a navy carrier in San Diego Bay, through the canyons formed by buildings in downtown Los Angeles, and fi-nally to the spire of the Disney Castle in Anaheim. Grab a Fastpass on your way in because you’ll want to experience this more than once.

Another highlight at Epcot is Living with the Land, a re-laxing boat ride that travels through experimental green-houses where vegetables are grown for the Epcot restau-rants. The journey also includes fish farms conducting research on cultivating fish for market demands.

Much as we enjoyed our experience at Epcot, if you can only visit one place in Orlando, choose Animal Kingdom. This park, set in 500 acres of lush landscaping, is home to more than 1,700 animals from 250 species. Animal Kingdom is divided into seven areas. Adults will find the Africa and Asia sections really interesting. On your way to either, you’ll pass Animal Kingdom’s iconic Tree of Life on Discovery Island. This fifty-foot-wide Disney-made tree soars fourteen stories high and incorporates 300 animals into the sculpted trunk, branches, and roots. We were told that you might even spot a famous mouse in the tree if you look closely enough!

The Kilimanjaro Safari in the Africa section is now our all-time favorite Disney (or other theme park) attraction. While every other ride we know of is built around some type of vehicle placed on a track and controlled by a com-puter, the Kilimanjaro vehicle is actually an open-sided truck, driven by a guide. Because the animals are roaming freely in a 100-acre savannah, no two trips through this park are the same. You may see giraffes, elephants, rhinos, cheetah, hippos, ostrich, and even the extremely rare black rhino (we saw his tail). Grab a Fastpass and ride through again later to see what other animals have emerged.

If you haven’t been to Africa to experience the real thing, this ride gives you a taste of that adventure. Though our Disney driver was a tad overenthusiastic (it is Disney af-ter all), we were left with appreciation for the effort that Disney had made to re-create the African savannah so that people who will never be able to experience the real en-vironment can get a taste of and an understanding of the land and the magnificent creatures that inhabit it.

A natural question arises: is Animal Kingdom Disney’s version of a zoo? Of course it is. But, the big difference is space to roam. The zoos we’ve visited have small spaces designed to ensure that visitors can observe the animals they’ve paid to see. Disney, at Animal Kingdom, at least gives the appearance of space and it is noted that the

Mother and child silverback gorillas in Disney’s Animal Kingdom

A giraffe along the Kilimanjaro Safari route in Animal Kingdom

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animals may or may not be vis-ible, just as is the case in the “real” world.

Close to the Kilimanjaro Safari is the Pangani Forest Explora-tion Trail. The trail winds though more lush landscaping, where you can spot hippos, okapi, na-ked mole rats, and meerkats, and in and out of aviaries to view many species of exotic birds. The highlight is the end of the trail where you can watch the antics of a troop of lowland gorillas or perhaps spot the mas-sive silverback males and their families. This is the next best thing to seeing these huge ani-mals in their natural habitat, and we spent many minutes enjoying this rare opportunity.

The Asia section portion of Animal Kingdom has an en-tirely different feel. The highlight is the Maharajah Jungle Trek, about a one-mile walking path, where you may see giant fruit bats hanging upside down in trees. The cen-terpiece of the trek is Disney’s version of a ruined ancient Asian palace where we saw a pair of tigers languishing in the sun. They seemed close enough to touch.

As usual, we found a great place to eat. The Yak and Yeti Restaurant serves outstanding pan-Asian food and is a great place to relax after walking the trails. Another place to relax your feet, but not your mind, is Festival of the Lion King. Based on the musical, the show is about thirty minutes long and filled with great music and per-formances, as well as appearances by the Lion King and all the wonderful jungle animals.

For a special treat, book a room at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, located on the grounds of the park. This is a more

expensive hotel option, but it does have perks that daily park visitors do not have. Situated in the Savannah, gi-raffes and other animals hang out near the hotel and, if you are lucky, you can view them from your patio. Another op-portunity is the Wanyama Safari and dinner, exclusive-ly for guests and limited to twelve people. You can spend time with staff from the Ani-mal Kingdom programs team to learn about the manage-ment of the park.

But, please, be sure to go in the winter months.

Business partners Pam Ellis and Peggy Edwards developed Briefcase Excursions after too many airport to hotel to conference center to hotel to airport trips. They decided to break the cycle and add a day or two of exploring for their mental and physical well being.

Briefcase Excursions are quick explorations of out-of-the-ordinary areas near cities you might travel to for business. Designed to cover the highlights, they present interesting activities and provide lodging and dining suggestions that are worthy of note.

B R I E F C A S EEXCURSIONS

Photos by Pam Ellis and Peggy Edwards

Yak and Yeti Restaurant in Asia Animal Kingdom