Take the time this Earth Day, April 22, 2012, to think about what you can do to help protect the planet and the environment.

Disney World 
If you are fortunate enough to be at the Walt Disney World Resort this weekend travel over to Epcot and enjoy the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival where you can not only enjoy all of the wonderful flowers and gardens, but learn new gardening techniques that conserve water.

You could also visit Disney's Animal Kingdom.  Here spend the time talking to the Cast Members to learn more about the animals and their care or travel to Rafiki's Planet Watch where they have a number of exhibits and programs designed to teach people about preserving the planet and its creatures, large and small.



Disneynature  chimpanzee
From your own home town you can go see the newly released Disneynature chimpanzee film.  This Disney True Life Adventure takes you to Africa to meet Oscar.  It is a story of family bonds and individual triumph.

From the Disney Nature Website:

Disneynature takes moviegoers deep into the forests of Africa with "Chimpanzee," a new True Life Adventure introducing an adorable young chimpanzee named Oscar and his entertaining approach to life in a remarkable story of family bonds and individual triumph.  Oscar's playful curiosity and zest for discovery showcase the intelligence and ingenuity of some of the most extraordinary personalities in the animal kingdom. 

Earth Day, April 22nd, marks the anniversary of the opening of the Walt Disney World Resort's 4th theme park: Disney's Animal Kingdom.  It debuted on April 22nd, 1998.  There was no coincidence that Disney chose to open their park featuring live animals on Earth Day.  Is was all part of their master plan to not only entertain the Animal Kingdom guests, but to also make Environmental Awareness a large part of the message.

Disney's Animal Kingdom
From the moment you approach the front entrance of Disney's Animal Kingdom, you can tell that this park is different.  The lush green landscaping presents a much different image that what you see at the other parks.  Here the park is truly "alive," teeming with hundreds of varieties of plants in addition to all of the live animals that you will discover.

In honor of this Earth Day, we will present some favorite images of Disney's Animal Kingdom.

Disney Cast Members are retrofitting more than 1000 theatrical spotlights and floodlights around the resort with more efficient and longer-lasting light fixtures. Some of the fixtures include LED (light emitting diode) lights which can be 330% more efficient than other lights. For example, a 575-watt spotlight may be replaced with 70-watt LED light that puts out the same light equivalent.