Travel Feature: 

Zoos of the World: San Diego, Washington D.C., and London
by Cheryl Pendry, PassPorter Message Board Guide and Guest Contributor

It's a well known fact that zoos around the world are big visitor draws. A bit like Disney theme parks, there's nowhere else quite like them – that is unless you've got enough money to head out on an African safari or into Asia and the Far East to see the animals in their own habitat.

Of course, as well as being tourist attractions, zoos also play a vital role in conserving animals that may otherwise be extinct by now. One of the best -- and perhaps most high profile -- examples of that in recent years has been the panda breeding program, which has led to delightful arrivals at two of America's top zoos.

San Diego Zoo is generally considered to be one of the best in world and with good reason. Open every day of the year, including holidays, its 100 acres are home to something like 4,000 animals. Highlights include tigers, gorillas, polar bears, elephants and, of course, their world famous pandas.

Pandas first came to San Diego in 1987 and since then, the zoo has seen the building and expansion of the Giant Panda Research Station, which is currently home to four of these awesome black and white bears. Their latest arrival is Su Lin, who was born in August 2005 and now weighs around 80 pounds. She is beautiful to watch in the panda area. We were lucky enough to see her climbing a tree and being followed by her protective mother on our visit, and she's certainly an active thing when she's in the mood! Of course, while she's undoubtedly the cutest resident in there, she's not the only attraction in the panda exhibit, and the paths you walk along offer great panda watching opportunities.

That's part of the attraction of San Diego Zoo, the way the paths are laid out. There are various routes you can take around the place, allowing you to see the animals in the different parts of the park. But remember, not only is San Diego Zoo is spread out over a big area, it's also laid out over very hilly terrain! Fortunately, the zoo keepers have thought of everything, so when you enter you get a great map that not only shows you how to track down the animals, but also tells you whether the route to get there will be an easy one with gentle slopes or whether you're going to be on your last legs after hiking up a steep hill!

They've also installed moving walkways to make getting around easier, and you can also hop on the Express Bus - double or single decked buses that stop at five locations around the park. If you want to get your bearings before you set off exploring on foot, then the zoo's 35-minute narrated bus tour is the perfect way to be introduced to everything that you need to see during your visit.

For a truly stunning view though, you can't beat the Skyfari Aerial Tram, which takes you between the top of the park and the main entrance. These gondola cars take you soaring 180 feet over the zoo. You'll see some of the animals from up high, and you'll get a great view of neighboring Balboa Park.

What we enjoyed the most here was the way this is set out over such a huge area and how much room the animals have to enjoy. We'd rarely seen such active animals, and watching a polar bear play with a traffic cone was a definite highlight for us. If you're in San Diego, a visit to their magnificent zoo is something that's certainly worth doing.

Another zoo worth seeing on the other coast of America is the National Zoo in Washington D.C. Just like San Diego, one of its biggest draws in the last year or so has been a beautiful black and white bundle of fun called Tai Shan. This panda cub, born in July 2005, has attracted considerable worldwide attention. We were lucky enough to get tickets to be amongst the first to see him when he was introduced to the public in the winter of 2005.

But there's so much more to the National Zoo than just its pandas. The pandas are part of the Zoo's new Asia trail, which is home to species such as red pandas and sloth bears (who also have a cub, who's just turned one). Another "cub" that's worth seeing is the Asian elephant calf Kandula, although he's hardly a baby anymore, having now turned five! But the cutest current inhabitants have to be the three Sumatran tiger cubs, who are just eight months old and only made their public debut in September.

Perhaps one of the nicest -- and most unusual -- aspects of the National Zoo is that unlike many others, it's free of charge to visit. But do remember than while San Diego is beautifully themed, D.C. lacks some of the theming and good weather than San Diego enjoys. The day we visited, D.C. had been carpeted in snow, something that most of the animals have to get used to, even those who wouldn't usually experience snow in the wild!

You can't talk about zoos without mentioning London Zoo, the oldest scientific zoo in the world. First opened in 1828 for scientific study, it was opened to the public 20 years later and to this day, still attracts thousands of people each year. Set in the Regent's Park in North London, today it's undergoing a huge investment, with new areas being added all the time to bring it up to the same quality as the world's other finest zoos.

This spring, the gorillas will get a new home called Gorilla Kingdom and visitors will be able to walk through the forest aviary, which will also include rainforest birds and monkeys. Another new addition at around the same time will be the Clore Rainforest Lookout, which will be home to South American monkeys and birds. Of course, the old favorites are still there. The tiger area remains one of the best places to have up-close encounters with these magnificent big cats, and you'll also be able to get close to the stunning reticulated giraffes and zebras in the zoo's Edge of Africa area.

We were pleasantly surprised on our recent visit to see just how much has been done to turn this zoo back into a great family favorite. There's a lot of ground to cover here and you can't help but feel you're enjoying history as you walk around the zoo. Many of the buildings here are protected as landmarks and the giraffe house, built for that purpose, dates back to 1837. So, it's also worth looking at the structures as well as the animals within!

Wherever you go in the world, zoos all share one thing in common -- an amazing array of animals, a dedication to conservation and a great day out for the whole family. The next time you're in San Diego, Washington D.C. or London, it's certainly worth checking out each of these city's zoos. You won't be disappointed with them!


About the Author: Cheryl and husband Mark live in England and love to travel, particularly to America. They're now looking forward to setting sail on Disney's first cruise around the Mediterranean in May.

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Walt Disney World Transportation: The Monorail
by Dianne Cook, PassPorter Message Board Guide and Guest Contributor


How many times have we heard or said this to ourselves: "Por favor manténganse alejado de las puertas?" I even have it on my iPod! It was the first thing my son's first-year Spanish teacher said to him when we told her we had been to Walt Disney World. This has to be the most quoted foreign-language phrase related to Walt Disney World.

Just imagine ... since the monorail at Walt Disney World opened, it has carried over a billion passengers, averages over 150,000 passengers every day and carries over 50 million people every year. If you add all the miles traveled over the system's track since the beginning, it would total over 25 round trips to the moon! No other monorail system in the world transports this amount of passengers.

We all know about Walt Disney's love for the railroad. However, it was not Walt Disney who invented the monorail. The monorail had its beginning over 181 years ago! The first passenger monorail began June 25^th, 1825. This was the Chestnut Railway built by Henry Robinson Palmer. This monorail was pulled by a horse. Then in 1876, General LeRoy demonstrated a steam powered monorail at the United States Centennial Exposition.

In 1957, the ALWEG Company of Cologne, Germany introduced the most successful monorail system to date, which is still the most widely used in the world today. This monorail caught the attention of Walt Disney in that very same year. It was then that Walt Disney's love of railroads and steam engines culminated in a fascination with the monorail. He wanted one for Disneyland and in 1959, the Alweg monorail opened there.

When the Walt Disney Company opened Walt Disney World in 1971, they used a fleet of five MARK IV monorail trains built by the Alweg Company and later added an additional fleet of five. The first rail loop went from the Contemporary Resort to the Ticket and Transportation Center (TTC) and then to the Polynesian Resort and on to the Magic Kingdom. Later the Grand Floridian Resort was added to the loop. Then a counter clockwise track was added which ran from the Magic Kingdom to the TTC and was known as the "Express" track. In 1982, an extension between Epcot and the TTC added an additional 4 miles to the existing track.

The current model of monorail car went into service in 1990, with the full fleet of 12, six-car trains operating by 1991. The exteriors are painted white with a colored stripe around the whole body below the windows. It is this stripe that identifies the train for communication purposes. The colors of the stripes are black, red, yellow, coral, green, blue, silver, gold, orange, green, lime, and purple. The cars are permanently coupled using articulated joints.

Each train has a single lever controller with five points for accelerating and five points for braking. The first point will bring the train to 15 MPH, the second to 20, and so on until the fifth and final, which will have the train reach its maximum speed of 40 MPH.

The track consists of 26-inch wide, pre-cast concrete beams with a Styrofoam core, supported by concrete columns which are approximately 50 feet apart.  They were originally built in Oregon and shipped, ironically, by rail to Florida. The trains are electric, with the power coming from metal bars running alonside the beam. Each monorail travels on rubber tires and is powered by a 600 volt DC propulsion system which included eight DC motors rated at 112 HP each, with the power coming from each side of the beam.

The entire current monorail system is 14.7 miles in length. Will we ever see an extension of the monorail system? That is the question asked by many Walt Disney World visitors. The answer is, "Doubtful." It is just not cost effective for Walt Disney World to do so. The beams that the monorails ride on cost about a million dollars a mile!

One of our favorite things to do to get out of the intense Florida heat is to take a ride on the monorail. We have spent many an afternoon just relaxing and enjoying the scenery around the Seven Seas Lagoon. It is also a wonderful way to see the resorts, in an air conditioned environment. Or just enjoy the view from the ride to Epcot and back from the TTC, just for a change of pace from the parks.

If you get the chance, ask to ride up front with the driver. You may have to wait a little while in a designated area, but it is well with the trip. We especially enjoy the ride from the TTC to Epcot. The drivers are very helpful in sharing their knowledge of the monorail and showing you the controls. What great pictures you can get from there! The Monorail system at Walt Disney World has a wonderful history. Think of it the next time you hear "Por favor manténganse..."

About the Author: Dianne has taken over 25 trips to Walt Disney World and is taking her first Disney cruise in April 2008 for her 25th wedding anniversary. She has two sons who she "raised on Disney" and a husband she "converted." Dianne is a Registered Nurse and Certified Diabetes Educator.

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