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Wednesday, January 3rd, we along with thousands of others streamed into the Animal Kingdom.  The Tree of Life rises 145 feet above the landscape, and looks as real as any tree created by nature instead of Disney magic.

The park was jammed with people in no time, and so long lines for anything with sold-out fast passes became the order of the day.  Our guide book recommended visiting “Rafiki’s Planet Watch” to explore conservation when the rest of the park was crowded.  The only way to reach it is by today’s railroad theme, the ficticious “Eastern Star Railway” based in Eastern Africa.  Unlike Disney’s other railroads, this one has no publicly-accessable spots from which to get any good roster shots, so I had to settle for these at the station where the platform blocks a full side view as the train pulls in.

The 24-ton diesel-hydraulic engines are constructed as replicas of 1926 Beyer-Peacock 2-4-2T steam locomotives orignally built in England.

Each train consists of five coaches that seat passengers theater style looking out the station side of the train.  Each coach weighs around 7 tons with fake baggage on top.

After this adventure and once again dealing with the thick crowds augmented by high temperatures and humidity, mid-afternoon we decided to head back to our rooms to rest up for the crown jewel coming tomorrow, the Magic Kingdom.