Animal Kingdom seemed even more authentic thanks to the small belts of moderate to heavy rainfall that gave it an organic, rainforest-like feel.

Anyway, having indulged in a little too much Egg Nog while visiting my aunt the previous night, I was having none of that crazy ride madness; not that I was having any before. I stuck to the strictly tame, mostly animal-related activities that didn't really thrill you, but made you feel good about nature and stuff.

The funny thing about the live animals in Animal Kingdom is that, with the exception of a few species, it seems like all the creatures on display are native to the area. It's as if they just happened to be on the grounds when the park was built. Had I been in New Hampshire, not Florida, I might have been impressed. As it was, I was looking into glass habitats filled with the kind of birds that tried to steal my sandwich at Epcot.

Aside from having more locals than Cheers, they had some gorillas who were just chilling out, a hippo who I got to see above water and under water (they're surprisingly graceful under water), and a wide selection of creepy crawlies kept in glass aquariums which just didn't seem to be thick enough (we're not talking about the kind of bugs you go after with Raid. When these guys show up at your house, it's time to pack up the kids and move).

They also had the world's most disappointing petting zoo. I don't know if it was the spurts of rain, of if the animals were kind of burned out on people, but every last one of them was huddled together within a roped off area labeled as their, "Time Out Zone." Species that were probably natural rivals were piled on top of each other in their little zone telling each other, "If one more kid touches me I'm gonna freaking loose it."

My favorite attraction was within the "Tree of Life," large man-made tree whose bark, upon closer inspection, is actually a collection of hundreds of carvings depicting various animals. Within the tree was the theater for, "It's Tough Being a Bug," an interactive presentation starring the characters from "A Bug's Life." Not just a 3D movie, you were sprayed with water, "stung" in the back, and hosed by a stink bug. Better than the beloved "Muppets 3D." I'm told that I missed a similar experience at MGM in "Honey I Shrunk the Audience," which I didn't intentionally avoid, I simply didn't know it was there. Maybe next time.

It was a short day because we had to catch the craziest ride of all, our flight home.

Overall I had a wonderful time at Walt Disney World and I think perhaps one day I'll go back, but maybe after I have kids of my own, I KNOW they'll freaking love it.