First I’ve got to tell you that I am totally and completely excited about the transformation that is underway at Disney’s Animal Kingdom park.  When construction is complete, there will be much more to see and do – and more time for doing it!  We’ll have Pandora and all the certain wonders that will offer, we’ll have a nighttime show and extended park hours, we’ll most likely have more dining and shopping options to choose from.  There’s nothing I’m not loving about the future of Animal Kingdom.

The present, though, is painful.  You can still visit the park and have a great time, but if you’re a regular visitor like me, the construction walls and the closed-in feeling they create is hard to take.  The view-obstructing equipment is an eyesore.  On our last visit, we still had fun on Expedition Everest and the Kilimanjaro Safari, but a big part of Animal Kingdom’s charm is missing right now.  That’s because, for me, one of the highlights of being at Animal Kingdom is walking through the different sections – Asia, Africa, and Dinoland – and taking in some of the most awesome details Disney Imagineering has ever introduced.  Short-term sacrifice, long-term gain, I know, I know.

While we were there, the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail was undergoing refurbishment.  The entrance was closed and guests were being directed to enter the trail via the exit.  This area of the park is a must-see for me and this time I was especially interested in taking the trail due to the recent birth of not one, but two baby gorillas.  So, even knowing that the underwater hippo viewing area and the aviary would be closed, I still wanted to try to spot one of the new babies.

Boy, was it crowded!  Since the exit was now both entrance and exit, there was no flow of traffic and it was chaotic.  People were basically just standing around in large groups, mostly watching one of three exhibits (as far as I could tell) – The two gorilla enclosures and the meerkat area.

The male gorilla exhibit is always popular and that day was no exception.  Those guys are just fun to watch – it doesn’t matter if they’re just sitting or eating or using a bowl to get a drink of water from the stream that runs through their forested hillside – those big, strong gorillas are fascinating!

In the meerkat viewing area, a Cast Member was sitting in the middle of the enclosure feeding meerkats what looked like chunks of raw chicken from what looked like a giant pair of tweezers.  The Cast Member would use the chicken bits to lure the meerkats up onto some small platforms for better viewing by the audience.  I’d never seen anything like this and enjoyed watching for quite a while.  Those little guys are pretty cute.

The area I’d specifically come to see – The female gorilla area – was the most crowded place of all, and with good reason.  Both new mothers had their babies out to play on the grass.  In the center of the area, one mother and baby were accompanied by another gorilla and both adults were completely captivated by the baby who was lying on her (his?) back on the grass between them. The other mother and baby were way over to the very left side of the viewing window.  This mom seemed content to let her baby, unsteady and wobbly though it was, explore the grass in front of where she was sitting.  When the baby took a tumble, his (her?) mom was there with a quick cuddle.  I was thrilled to get to see these beautiful, loving animals at such a special time.

Braving the current state of Animal Kingdom takes some patience.  The core of the park is still there to enjoy, even if it’s disguised by those darned construction walls!  I know in the end, it will all be worth the inconvenience and the anticipation.  Have you been to Animal Kingdom lately?  What was your experience there?