The Park Must-Do Series:
#1: Top 7 Reasons to Make Disney’s Animal Kingdom Part of Your Vacation
Hello Magical Memories by Casey fan! I’ve decided to try something a little different. Our Monday Magic articles over the next several weeks are going to explore the various Orlando and Anaheim-based themed parks and provide you, our wonderful readers, my opinion of the must-do 7 things in each park. We’re going to start this week with Walt Disney World’s newest theme park: Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Let’s get started!
Disney’s Animal Kingdom – a Primer
Originally opened on April 22, 1998 (Earth Day), Disney’s Animal Kingdom was a fully realized vision of Walt Disney himself. During the planning stages of Disneyland, Walt expressed how he wanted to have live animals in the parks. But, realizing the costs, maintenance, and sheer amount of additional operational capacity that would take, Disney settled on faux animals instead in what later became the Jungle Cruise. Eventually, these became the animatronics we know and love today. But his passion for the real live animal kingdom never subsided. And while Walt never got to see it come to fruition before he died, there are many who believe that if we could show him one park today that he’d be most proud of, it would be Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
The park itself is massive. In fact, it is the largest Disney theme park built in the world coming in at 580 acres! Magic Kingdom itself could fit in the Kilimanjaro Safari attraction alone. Designed by Walt Disney Imagineering, most Disney enthusiasts attribute the park’s core elements to Disney Legend Joe Rhode. The park was his brainchild. He had previously designed the Adventurers Club and Pleasure Island at what is now Disney Springs, but at the time was the Downtown Disney District. The plan was initially announced in 1995 at a cost of $600 to $800 million, and the Imagineers, led by Rhode, traveled to Africa and Asia to study the landscapes and the wildlife.
Throughout its over quarter-century operation, the park has seen many changes from its original plan, but there have been some core elements that have remained intact. As of February 2024, the park has 7 themed areas: the Oasis (entrance area), Discovery Island around the Tree of Life (the park’s central icon), Pandora – the World of Avatar, Africa, Asia, Rafiki’s Planet Watch (which you must take a separate train to get to), and DinoLand U.S.A. There are many rumors that DinoLand U.S.A. may be getting a retheming or will be removed entirely, but for the time being, this is what you’ll find at the park.
At the park opening, a temporary area called Camp Minnie-Mickey was opened because the original planned “Beastly Kingdom” wasn’t built due to cost-cutting measures. Camp Minnie-Mickey housed what was supposed to be the temporary “Festival of the Lion King” stage show. However, the show became such a fan-favorite that when Camp Minnie-Mickey closed in 2014, they built a special theater in Africa to house the show and continue its production. In Camp Minnie-Mickey’s place, Pandora – the World of Avatar was built, which some say is a spiritual successor to what would have been Beastly Kingdom – a world animals in fiction.
Top Things to Do, See, or Eat in Disney’s Animal Kingdom
OK, now that we have the history out of the way, let’s talk about what I believe are the top 7 things you can do at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
#7 – Pandora – the World of Avatar
Without question, Disney’s Animal Kingdom’s newest land, Pandora, is simply awe-inspiring. Themed in mind-boggling detail, you will find floating mountains, other worldly plant and wildlife, and two fantastic attractions that bring you into the world of the Avatar movie series. What’s more, the experience you get will change whether you come to this area during the day or at night, where the bioluminescence lights your walking path. The gateway the Pandora transports you from earth to the moon of Pandora.
Within this themed land, there are two amazing attractions. First, is the Navi River Journey – a slow moving dark ride that takes you down the river to see actual wildlife native to Pandora and encounter (when she’s working) the Navi Shaman animatronic. This right is perfect for families! The other attraction is Avatar: Flight of Passage, where you will get to connect through a linking system, to an actual banshee high above Pandora and fly her! This technology is breathtaking! You can feel her breath beneath you, and you’ll truly walk away feeling as though you’ve just had the most believable flying experience you’ve ever seen.
#6 – Dinosaur!
An opening day attraction that has seen retheming, the Dinosaur attraction can be found over at DinoLand U.S.A. I have a special place in my heart with this attraction as it is the first ride I ever rode at Walt Disney World. A dark ride, you are transported back in time to when the dinosaurs roamed the earth to try to capture an Iguanodon (the same one from the Disney’s animated movie, Dinosaur). But you are mere minutes away from the time when the asteroid that wiped out all life on the planet is set to strike. It’s a wild, rocky, adventurous, and thrilling time as you encounter both predators and pretty amazing animals all around. Universal Studios has the market on dinosaurs, but this does a pretty good job competing against them.
#5 – Kevin!
So look, this one isn’t an attraction, necessarily. But, nonetheless, it’s so much fun. Anybody who is a fan of the movie Up!, or even if you’ve never seen it; there’s nothing like coming across a giant 10-foot multi-colored bird named Kevin. Kevin is a female bird based on the Himalayan Monal pheasant. She debuted as a walkaround character in 2018 during the Pixar Fest event as a new addition to the Pixar Play Parade, but then a Russell-free version debuted in Animal Kingdom in 2019. Not an official “character meet,” she doesn’t stay in one place for long, nor does she pose for pictures, but you are allowed to take a selfie with her and capture her as she walks by.
#4 – The Tree of Life
The Tree of Life is the icon of the park and situated right in the center of Discovery Island. Built with an oil rig underneath it, the tree of life is a 145-foot sculpture of a baobab tree. It contains over 8000 branches of different sizes and about 102,000 artificial leaves. But makes it special though are the over 300 animals carved into the tree of life. Disney describes it as an “epic visual symbol of the diversity, beauty, and interconnected nature of Earth’s creatures.” The tree currently houses the attraction “It’s Tough to Be a Bug,” but Disney has announced that this show’s closure is eminent. We have no indication of what could replace it, but even if there’s no show, the Tree of Life provides an epic backdrop for amazing photos and a great scavenger hunt for those guests who love animals.
#3 – Food!
Disney’s Animal Kingdom is home to so many great places to eat, especially if you LOVE barbeque. My personal favorite is Tusker House – an African-safari themed character buffet where you’ll get to interact with Safari Mickey, Donald, Minnie, and Goofy. In my personal opinion, Tusker House is the best character restaurant on property. In fact, we even did an entire podcast about it on the Beers and Ears Podcast. Beyond Tusker House, you have fan-favorite, Yak and Yeti, an Asian-themed restaurant, and Tiffin’s, an upscale signature restaurant that serves adventurous food for eclectic palettes. And don’t hold your nose at the over 7 quick service restaurants that serve everything from pizza at Pizzafari, to protein and salad bowls at Satu’li Canteen in Pandora, to one of my personal favorites – the Harambe Marketplace in Afrida, serving up amazing, giant portions. And, oh, you’ll love the smell of Flame Tree Barbecue on Discovery Island around lunch time.
#2 – Kilimanjaro Safaris
This was Walt’s vision for Disneyland. A true adventure to see the animal kingdom up close and personal. The attraction is meant to simulate a short photo safari through the Harambe Wildlife Reserve in Harambe, East Africa. The driver acts as a narrator and guide pointing out live animals such as lions, giraffes, elephants, crocodiles, rhinos, mandrills, cheetahs, wildebeests, and so many more. Guests get the impression that they can come right up to the vehicle and in some cases, they can. But, for some of the more dangerous predators, Disney does a fantastic job at hiding fences, or trenches to keep the guests safe. Because this is one of the E-Ticket attractions for the park, and because there are real, live animals, Disney’s Animal Kingdom is the only park that doesn’t use fireworks, and for that reason, it often closes earlier than other parks. Depending on the time of year, it will close anywhere from 6pm to 8pm while other parks close between 8 and 11pm.
#1 – Expedition Everest
Towering high above the park’s skyline is Expedition Everest – a thrilling roller coaster that has been a fan-favorite for years. This coaster, created by Joe Rhode, takes you high into the Everest mountains for your encounter with the mythical (or maybe not) creature, the Yeti. Disney’s first coaster to go backward, it also runs through tunnels in the dark, has a huge drop, a ton of smaller drops, and a story that will make you want to come back again and again. This is a thrill-seekers dream coaster, and in my opinion, is probably the second-best roller coaster on Disney’s property, beating out Space Mountain, Seven Dwarves Mine Training, Big Thunder Mountain, and Slinky Dog Dash. The only other coaster that, in my opinion, rivals it, is Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Rewind at EPCOT. And here’s a big tip for you: if you don’t mind riding the roller coaster without anyone in your party, this attraction has a single rider option. Go beyond the regular entrance and find the exit of the nearby gift shop. You’ll see a small sign for single riders. Enter this area and you’ll typically only have a wait of less than 10 minutes to get on (sometimes it’s walk on). I once rode this ride 5 times in a matter of about 30 minutes!
Ready to Have a Wild Time?
So, are you excited? Ready to plan that trip and make Animal Kingdom part of your magical vacation? Magical Memories by Casey can help you plan and arrange your trip from star to finish, all at no extra cost to you. Visit me at www.caseywooley.com/wdw-blueprint to start planning your trip today! And be sure to check out next week’s article where we’ll cover another park’s top 7 things to do!
Magical Memories by Casey 