I returned last Sunday from Orlando, Fla.

My favorite park is Disney's Animal Kingdom, which is called DAK for short. It's so big, you can fit Epcot, World Showcase, Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom in it.

I was extremely pleased to learn what they're doing to help the environment. For employees to get to their destinations, they ride "DAKcycles" instead of using automobiles. They grab a "DAKcycle" near the park entrance and pedal to their destination and then back at the end of their shift.

The animal/jungle theme might seem silly to some. There are employees with safari hats and jungle attire at every turn. Eventually you forget about that once you enter the park and observe the lush tropical atmosphere and wide variety of happy, content animals.

In DAK's main ride, Kilimanjaro Safaris, you ride a truck on the African plains where you encounter wildebeest, lions, zebras, warthogs, giraffes and mounds of ostrich eggs. Hippos lounge in the cool pools while antelope graze peacefully.

Every animal lover should do the "Backyard Safari," which is a behind-the-scenes tour of the park. For $70, you spend three hours in places where visitors don't normally get to go.

The first stop takes you to the White Rhino Building. After learning about white rhinos, I got to pet Samson, a 3,000-pound male. His hide felt like dusty, dry skin, and to my surprise, he didn't smell too bad. He casually munched on alfalfa, unfazed by all the attention.

DAK's animals are used to "hands on" treatment. Keepers observe them carefully and watch for any changes in health or behavior.

Next stop was the Animal Nutrition Building. In a kitchen-like setting, there were at least six employees cutting fresh veggies and fruits, putting smelt and raw meat in a food processor, and measuring kibble according to a recipe sheet for each animal's diet.

On cutting boards, there were carcasses of mice, rabbits, lizards and quail. Once combined, each concoction is put in a plastic container with a label and then stored in the refrigerator to be delivered to the keepers for the next day. The animal nutritionists do this every day, 365 days a year. DAK's animals get only the freshest food.

Last stop was the Veterinary Building: the place I'm most interested in. Each animal, from the tiniest to largest, gets an annual physical in DAK's state-of-the-art facility. The 10 veterinarians and six vet technicians on staff are proficient in treating all species in the park.

Every morning, on a whiteboard, there's a list of examinations and procedures to be done. Any animal could be on the exam table that day, from a shrew to a lion.

It's cute that each animal at DAK has a first name. The day I visited, a pygmy goat named Reggie was on the examination table.

Reggie, for the past few months, has been losing weight and coughing. While on the table, he was anesthetized and X-rayed. Veterinarians performed a lavage to remove fluid from his lungs for culture and examination.

There were many people (his two keepers, two veterinarians and two vet techs) fussing over Reggie while he was in a deep sleep. One of his keepers was a little teary-eyed as she spoke about his condition. When I checked on Reggie the next day, he was feeling fine, already chewing hay in the petting zoo.

DAK's vets also treat other animals on the Disney property. In one case, a snake, near death, was brought to the animal center. The snake had swallowed a golf ball on one of the Disney golf courses.

The snake underwent surgery to remove the golf ball and was kept for four months while it recuperated. Because of scar tissue, vets wanted to make sure the snake could shed its skin properly. When all went well, the snake was released back to where it was found.

I asked the animal hosts if they had any funny stories to share about what happens in the examination room.

Several years ago, a 485-pound gorilla needed a physical. Three anesthesiologists from a "human" hospital were invited to observe while the gorilla was put under. As he lay sleeping on the table, the vet explained to the crowd which procedures would be performed. Everyone heard a grunt, then another one. The gorilla was waking up! The vet threw the microphone down and ran to get a syringe. The keepers and vet tech staff instinctively piled on top of the gorilla to hold him down while the three anesthesiologists ran out of the room.

DAK's vets also work on fish. The park host recalled they had a fish that had a bad eye. The eye was being picked on by the other fish and in her own words, "Because this is Disney, we can't have that." On the operating table in front of visitors, the fish was anesthetized using a powder in the water, a tube flowed oxygen over the gills and the bad eye was removed and a glass eye put in. How amazing is that?

This place is a dream for animal lovers. Disney's Animal Kingdom is making such extreme advances in animal care and conservation. Please visit. You won't be disappointed!