Michelle "Zengrrl" S.'s Profile

Disney's Animal Kingdom was the last of the four parks to open, and it celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2008.  Originally, it was the kind of park that you could see everything in about 1/2 a day, but now with the addition of new rides and shows, you could easily make a day of it.

A previous reviewer said to go mid-afternoon, but really, the best time to visit the park is first thing in the morning. It's cooler and more of the animals will be out and about. Come afternoon, especially during the heat of a Florida summer, most animals are hiding in their enclosures.

So, what can you expect when visiting this park?

Well, it's not too much of a stretch to say animals. But not just any animals. The park has several habitat areas that are themed to certain areas of the world, mostly Africa and Asia.

The popular Kilimanjaro Safaris is actually a ride through an African savannah, where guests are driven around in large jeep-like vehicles into the "Harambe Reserve" as the storyline takes you into a race to catch poachers. But the real attraction is the free-roaming animals you will encounter, like elephants, zebra, giraffe, rhinos, hippos, antelope, ostrich and even lions. Your best bet is to head straight back upon entering the park to do this line before the lines become long. I usually grab a FastPass while I'm there to ride it again later because I love this attraction so much.

Nearby is the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail, a walk-at-your-own-pace path where you can encounter other African animals, such as gorillas, hippos, several varieties of antelope and my favorite, the meerkat.  Another walk-at-your-own-pace path is the Maharajah Jungle Trek in the Asia part of the park, where you will encounter tigers, gibbons, komodo dragons, birds and even a whole room of bats, among other animals.

To complete the animal encounter experience, there are the Discovery Island Trails around the park's iconic Tree of Life, which house everything from lemurs and flamingos to otters and ducks; the Oasis, the twisty animal areas at the front of the park; and Rafiki's Conservation Watch, which is reached by a short train ride and features an educational area on animal conservation, along with a fun petting zoo for the young ones (or those who like to be headbutted by free-roaming goats).

If you can't be at a theme park without thrill rides, you have several to choose from.

Expedition Everest is the most popular, and is an exciting rollercoaster ride that follows the storyline of a runaway Himalayan mountain train that encounters the mythical Yeti. If you want to ride this, get there early and grab a fastpass - the lines get long early and usually stay that way.  

Kali River Rapids is a wild water ride that culminates in a huge drop down a waterfall - not as big as Splash Mountain, but you get a lot wetter. In fact, it's impossible to ride this and not get totally soaked, especially since Disney has placed water cannons for other park guests to shoot you with along the path of the river, so bring a change of dry clothes if you don't like walking around in wet ones, or do like I do and wear a rain poncho.

Dinosaur is an indoor track ride that follows the storyline of a jeep full of passengers being sent back in time. It is by far the roughest and most turbulent of all the rides at Walt Disney World and I've found it's one you'll either really love or really hate (I fall into the latter).  Warning: plus-size riders may find the width of the seats too snug, especially once you start getting bounced around. Nearby to Dinosaur are several other more carnival-style rides that are appropriate for those with smaller thrill seekers.

Another reason to visit Disney's Animal Kingdom are the big Broadway-style shows like Festival of the Lion King and the new Finding Nemo: The Musical (my most favorite show in all the 4 parks). Both are very interactive and don't-miss parts of a visit to this park.

I usually start my day at this park and then finish with one of the other parks for the nightly fireworks. In fact you could easily go from here to Disney's Hollywood Studios and still hit most of the major attractions on your list.  But for animal lovers, this park is a must-visit!

I think my experience at this counter-service restaurant can be best summed up by something the cashier said to me as I was ordering...

"Would you like fries with those tacos?" At a Mexican restaurant? What?

Even though The Tacomaker is a national chain, I had never heard of it prior to getting a coupon in my mailbox to try this new location near the intersection of Sand Lake Rd and Turkey Lake Rd.  Since I was headed over to shop at the Walmart nearby with my roommate, we stopped in to check it out.

Normally a semi-full seating area is a sign of a good restaurant, but that wasn't the case here. It's not that the food was bad, it just wasn't good, either. In fact, it was pretty much bland and tasteless except for a few items.

I had the beef chimicanga platter which came covered in cheese with a small dollop of refried beans, rice with corn, sour cream, pico de gallo, chips and salsa and a large soda for $7.29. My roommate went with the $4.99 taco platter that included 2 tacos (she got one beef and one chicken), chips and salsa, and a medium soda. Both of our platters also included a bag of "crustos" - basically fried tortilla strips coated in a sugar-cinnamon mixture.

Best parts of the meal were the chicken used in the taco, the refried beans and the crustos. Mainly because they actually had some flavor to them. The beef tasted like it was seasoned more "south of Miami" rather than "south of the border" (think empanadas rather than tacos) and had a mushy texture that was a bit disconcerting.

I was also turned off by the fact that the employees had enough time to talk behind the registers but nobody had time to wipe down any of the empty tables or pick up the gum by the soda machine - even after I pointed it out to them.

Overall the meal was filling, but I'd rather spend my money on food that my taste buds can actually enjoy. Skip this place.

As near to perfect a mexican restaurant as I've found in Orlando.

The food is fresh and delicious, the service is quick and friendly and the atmosphere is great for both intimate and group dining.

Everytime I go, I want to try new things off the menu, but I always find myself ordering the fried beef chimichanga ($8), which comes covered in queso blanco and served with pico de gallo, sour cream, guacamole and choice of beans or rice (I get the beans). The dish is almost large enough for two, so I always end up taking some home for a late night snack.

Of course, when bringing friends, this means I try a little bit of whatever they order, and I can also vouch for the shredded chicken enchilada (served 3 to a plate for $7), nachos supreme (which features shredded chicken on one side and spiced ground beef on the other, along with beans, cheese, sour cream and guacamole for $7.49), and vegetable fajitas ($16), which aren't actually on the menu, but they whipped up a version on request from my very picky eater friend that featured onions, bell peppers, squash and broccoli in a mildly spicy sauce. It was so good he ordered some to take home, too.

The margaritas are great and on weekends, a strolling mariachi band lends to the festive atmosphere.

Set in the midst of the I-Drive tourist area, Cafe Tu Tu Tango offers up a tapas dining experience with an artistic touch.

The menu has a decent selection of tapas - smaller portioned dishes to share with the rest of your table - both hot and cold, with a few vegetarian selections thrown in.  Most dishes are priced between $6 and $8, but you'll probably want to order 3-4 per couple, as portion servings are a bit on the small side sometimes.

Personal favorites include the Dijon Chicken skewers ($7) a tangy and slightly sweet grilled chicken served over sesame noodles, and the Picadillo and Cheese empanada ($6), a mildly spicy ground beef and manchengo/monterey jack  cheese mixture in a fried pastry drizzled with a cilantro lime sauce. A full menu is available on the website at http://www.cafetututan....

One of the big draws for Cafe Tu Tu Tango is the atmosphere, which is themed after a Bohemian-style Barcelona artist loft. The restaurant offers space to local artists to create works of art while guests dine and it can be interesting to see what they do. Most Friday nights, you'll find live entertainment via a belly dance troupe, and during the summer months, they also have a midweek beach party on Wednesdays, featuring great drink specials at the bar.

But the fun dining atmosphere has its price, especially on weekends, when the tiny parking lot gets full early (even with the additional valet service) and there can be up to an hour wait for a table.

Overall, this is the kind of place you go for drinks, a light meal and a fun atmosphere. Hearty eaters might want to eat elsewhere and just come for the drinks and surroundings.