What is the Disney World Resort? Part 4: Animal Kingdom

I have reached the final of the four parks, Disney's Animal Kingdom. I still remember seeing commercials and information about the park as it was being built and the opening on the Disney World Very Merry Christmas parade back in 1998. Animal Kingdom is themed around animal conservation and is divided into 7 themed areas: Oasis, Discovery Island, Africa, Asia, Rafiki's Planet Watch, Dinoland USA. It will eventually be 8 as Disney is currently working on Avatar land to create Pandora (an opening date has not yet been announced). 

 

Once you enter the park you enter into the Oasis which includes some animal habitats as you make your way into the park you will see the park's centrepiece the Tree of Life(a 50ft tree with 325 animals carved in it's trunk) in Discovery Island. Discovery Island is the park's central hub which connects almost every other section of the park. You will also find the main gift shops as well as the 3D show It's Tough to be a Bug. I have never gone on this as there is spiders during the show (granted they are cartoon ones, but I am a major arachnophobe). I am told it is incredibly well themed though. Whenever I go to Animal Kingdom I always make sure to go to Pizzafari in Discovery Island and buy an order of their delicious breadsticks! They are super tasty and a great mid day snack :) And when you are walking towards Africa keep your eyes open for Devine! She blends in as she is completely covered in leaves and stands completely still and only periodically moved, very cool!

 

If you start making your way around the park from the right you will enter into Dinoland USA. This section is great for any children who may love dinosaurs. There is a dig site where they can find fossils. The area's main attraction is the ride Dinosaur. The story is that you are going back in time to the age of the dinosaurs. Be warned the ending is VERY loud. Personally I find the ride too rough and loud. But it is worth a try because the theming is great :) I do think this area was meant to have more than it does as there is an area with some more midway style attractions not usual to the usual Disney grandeur. There is now a Finding Nemo musical at the end of this section which is a great show and perfect for an escape from the outdoor heat. 

 

From Dinoland you will cross a bridge that will take you into Asia and the first thing you will see is Animal Kingdom's best ride, Expedition Everest! This is a very well themed roller coaster. Just the queue is very well themed and you can see the work Disney put into the immersion of this ride. As you walk through you will see actual articles the Disney imagineers brought back from Nepal where they went to do all of their research for the ride. In this ride you are on a train tour of Mount Everest when you suddenly come to a dead end where the tracks have been torn up. The coaster will then propel backwards through a dark area coming to a stop when you see a projection of the Yeti's shadow ripping up the tracks. Suddenly the train goes forward exiting the mountain and taking a drop on a high speed ride. You will at one point enter the mountain again where your train will go under a giant animatronic Yeti. This is an absolute must do! Also in this section there are several animal trails where you will see various animals you would find in Asia including Bengal Tigers! Also found in Asia is Kali River Rapids, one of the other major attractions in the park. It is a raft ride that can be great on a hot day, because be warned you may get SOAKED. If you are looking for a good quick service place to eat and enjoy Asian food I would recommend Yak & Yeti. This is my husbands favorite place to eat in Animal Kingdom.

Exiting Asia you will then enter into Africa. Make sure you don't miss Kilimanjaro Safari's, the area's main attraction. You are taken through a savanna where you will see animals such as antelope, elephants, giraffes, Lions, cheetahs, gazelles and many more. Another absolute must do! And it is great because you never know where the animals will be or what the will be doing. Once you exit this ride you will also find another animal trail. Located in Africa is a train that will take you to Rafiki's Planet Watch. I actually didn't even know this section was there on my first couple of trips as it is kind of hidden and only accessible by the train. There isn't a lot over there and it is mainly a petting zoo. In Africa you will also find one of Disney's best character buffets at Tusker House. If you can only do one character meal I highly recommend Donald's Safari Breakfast here as it is fantastic! As will all character meals the characters (Mickey, Goofy and Daisy) will go to all the tables. This is by far my favorite character breakfast!

 

It is currently closed as it is being relocated (I am not sure where as of yet), but if it has reopened when you visit make sure to go see the Festival of the Lion King! This is a fantastic show! It was located in Camp Minnie Mickey but this area is being removed to make way for Avatar Land. It is great to see a themed land going in here as Camp Minnie Mickey was only meant to be temporary. The original plan for the park had this section as a land called Beastly Kingdom. It never came to be due to budget constraints unfortunately. The park was originally supposed to include 3 types of animals: Ones that used to exist, currently exist and mythical animals such as dragons and unicorns. I am actually disappointed this never came to be as from what I have read this area sounds amazing! There was going to be a castle built around a roller coaster with a bad side housing a fire breathing dragon at the end and a good side being the home of a unicorn. When Disney didn't end up building this it was actually bought by Universal for Islands  of Adventure and was called Dueling Dragons (although it was not as well themed and did not include a fire breathing dragon). Universal's is still a great ride and has now actually been re themed and renamed Dragon Challenge as part of The Wizarding World Of Harry Potter. It is two coasters intertwined one being fire and one being ice. I think it is very unfortunate though that Disney did not end up building this and it went to Universal as it is a great coaster!

 

It has been a lot of fun doing this 4 part post and I hope it has been informative and helpful :) This will be my last post for probably at least 9 days as tomorrow I am leaving for California and Las Vegas until May 4th! I am of course going to be visiting Disneyland, so when I return expect some trip reports and articles on my visit there :)