Animal Kingdom (Florida)

Disney's Animal Kingdom is a zoological theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando. Owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks and Resorts division, it is the largest theme park in the world, covering 580 acres. The park opened on Earth Day, April 22, 1998, and was the fourth theme park built at Walt Disney World. The park is dedicated and themed entirely around the natural environment and animal conservation, a philosophy once pioneered by Walt Disney.

While I was visiting the park it was an overcast day and it rained pretty much the entire time I was there. At first, I thought this was going to make for a horrible experience. On the contrary, I actually enjoyed walking about the park in the rain. Being a photographer the atmosphere made for some pretty interesting images like the one above.

I was riding on a tourist truck around the park, so I was covered by a tarp for the ride, and was able to capture the animals in their natural habitats with the passing downpour. Surprisingly and luckily for me, they were still very active in the rain and showed no signs of searching for shelter.

This lioness was also caught in the rain while I was on the tour, she was laying on the top of a hill as we passed by from beneath her. It was an amazing view. I remember saying to myself "I wish we could stop to take it all in just a little while longer". But, the truck had designated stopping areas, and this was not one of them. So, Lifting my camera up in shooting position, I snapped a few frames while the truck was moving toward our next location. (above image)

After the truck tour, the rain was still coming down hard so my friend Vered and I stepped into a covered area to avoid the rain. The paths and pavement was flooded, so getting to higher ground was a must.

After finding a small area that was not covered by 5 inches of water, I turned around to see the most breathtaking scene I have ever come across without having to create it myself. The Tree Of Life was across from us, an overcast sky, rain falling hard, the wind blowing and a winged friend sitting on a post saying "what else is new?" (below image)

Despite the rainy gray weather, I had a great time and created many memories on this day. I do plan to return to this magical place again in the future. I do recommend that you see it for yourself if you ever have the opportunity.

Thanks for stopping by!

-Billy