Animal Kingdom: Top Picks!

At the end of my last Disney post, I left with a note about how Animal Kingdom was a park I longed to see as a kid. It sounded so amazing! I mean, it was a park that had both Disney AND animals! Animal Kingdom opened in 1998, I was nearing seven years old, and it just seemed so mysterious and exotic to me. I wondered what it was really like when I saw images and videos of the Tree of Life, the Kilimanjaro Safaris, and some of my favorite characters (Goofy!) dressed up in safari gear roaming the park. So to finally go to this park felt like a big bucket-list item. I will say though that this was the most exhaustingly hot day of the trip (I think the Jungle environment may have made it even more humid), but it was very fun. Particularly, I found the safari theming to be so unique from the other Disney parks and made the experience quite immersive.

ATTRACTIONS:

Tree of Life: This tree really is fantastic and such a wonderful centerpiece to the park. It acts like what the castle is to Disneyland or Magic Kingdom. It becomes the focal point and the item that welcomes you to the park. The animals that swirl up the bark of the tree were magnificent and gorgeous. The only bummer is that we were so busy throughout the day, we never managed to get closer to the tree, and ultimately didn’t realize you could go INSIDE the tree until later. 

Kilimanjaro Safaris in Africa: This seems to be the most classic attraction at Animal Kingdom, and it was definitely a highlight for me. We went on the safari within the first hour of the park opening. I had read a few times that the animals tend to come out more in the morning as they wake up when the sun rises. The safari is a little under 20 minutes long, and you sit in an open air vehicle as a cast member drives your group around the “African Savanna”, pointing out what animals are visible and sharing a few facts about them. I thought that we saw a large portion of the animals (there is a chart to look at in the vehicle as well), so I was very pleased. There was constantly a new animal to see as the vehicle turned around each bend and curve (my favorite animal had to be a lazy lion lounging on the rocks, or some cute baby warthogs running around!). The animals and space looked well maintained and the cast members were very respectful of the animals. I feel like this will be the closest thing to an actual safari I will see in my life. This is an excellent attraction and so different than the Disney Parks other offerings.

Kali River Rapids in Asia: I’m not usually up for getting really wet, but I could not resist trying out this ride. My mom and I lucked out (or maybe not, since it was so hot out) that we didn’t get very wet (I mostly just got wet on my pants, which looked a bit unfortunate), and the ride was so much fun. All of us that were seated in our raft were laughing the whole journey (well, except for a small girl who fearfully held onto her mom the whole time. I, an adult, was doing the same thing though!) as we went down falls, bounced, spun around, and got splashed with water. There was also a message to the ride, as the lush forest changes to charred trees displaying how illegal logging harms nature. I did not have a FastPass for this ride, but the queue featured ruins, shrines, and murals, which rounded out the experience. Similar to the safari, I honestly do not think I will ever go river rafting, or anything similar, so this is as close to the real thing as I will get. Since I enjoyed this so much though, I now know I have to go on California Adventure’s Grizzly River Run next time (I hear it is longer and full of more dips and falls!).

Expedition Everest in Asia: This might have been my favorite ride on the entire trip to Disney World. It has the spirit of the Matterhorn Bobsleds at Disneyland, but is much more intense and fun. The ride takes you on a train through the Himalayan mountains with twists through hills and tunnels. It picks up speed once you reach the summit and you soon meet a broken train track (which is where my favorite part happened) and the train cars go backwards! The track then leads you to the mysterious Yeti, where he “rips” more of the train track up, and you must escape him by returning back down the mountain. I went on this ride back to back because I enjoyed it so much. I may have had a slight headache after doing it twice, but it was worth it. Expedition Everest also had another fascinating queue, so the wait time doesn’t feel too long if you don’t have a FastPass.

Festival of the Lion King in Africa: The Lion King is undoubtedly a featured film in the Animal Kingdom park (Simba, Timon and Pumbaa are on many of the gifts and snacks), seeing as though it most closely matches the theme, and The Festival of the Lion King highlights the story and Africa well. The festival swirls around the audience and features bright colors, acrobats, dancers, stilt walkers, and characters from the film. All of the famous songs are sung during the celebration and the show is led by four singers. The audience is also assigned an animal (we were in the giraffe section!), which adds a little participation. It is a beautiful show, and since it was indoors, the air conditioning was also one of the highlights!

Finding Nemo Musical in DinoLand U.S.A.: This was really an excellent take on the story of Finding Nemo, and I enjoyed the fact that I didn’t know the songs, so it felt really fresh and new. Since the film is not a musical, I couldn’t imagine what it would be like, but the songs were great and it really felt like it was a Broadway-caliber show. The props and puppetry in the musical were excellent and the actors playing the characters blended right it with the ocean theme. This show was also a great way to take a break, sit in a cool air-conditioned room and relax a bit. At the end, bubbles filled the auditorium and it felt like we had joined the coral reef with Marlin, Dory, and Nemo.

Meet Russell and Dug in Discovery Island: Okay, this is a big personal preference, but I loved that I spotted two characters from one of my favorite movies, Up. The Wilderness Explorer theme from the film fits in with Animal Kingdom perfectly. You can also pick up a free Wilderness Explorer booklet you can fill out with badges by completing activities at different stations throughout the park. 

FOOD: 

Famous Sausages and Grilled Chicken Skewers at Harambe Marketplace: The Harambe Marketplace features 4 walk-up windows. It was a perfect place for lunch, even though seating was a bit hard to find and it was situated in the open sun. I liked that there were many choices in one area though. My mom and I split a famous sausage, which is similar to a corn dog, but with a sausage fried in curried corn batter. The mixture of flavors were really unexpected and fantastic. I could have used a bit more curry in the batter, but I was able to taste the warm flavor. The batter is a little crumbly, and I think it would be a little difficult to eat off the stick, but since my mom and I were splitting it, we just cut in into pieces. The chicken skewers were also delicious and grilled well. Both were served with a tomato and broccoli salad. It was nice to have something that felt a little healthier on the trip.

(left) Famous Sausages (right) Grilled Chicken Skewers

African Milk Tart at Harambe Marketplace: We also got this African Milk Tart treat at Harambe Marketplace. Having seen it on the menu, I sat there in the hot heat after gaining some energy eating lunch and kept thinking about it. So I finally gave in and had to try one. It ended up being a coconut custard dusted with sugar and spices, and then drizzled with a dark chocolate ganache, all in a chocolate tart shell. Being a big coconut fan, it was perfect, unique, and so tasty.

Overall, my impression of Animal Kingdom was very positive. I think there are certain aspects of the park that are outdated (specifically the DinoLand U.S.A. area of the park stuck out as odd to me), but there are some exciting things coming soon that will add some revitalization (including the “Rivers of Light” nighttime show, an after dark safari, new restaurants, and the World of Avatar attraction). Having never been to the park before though, it was quite exciting to see. I don’t think I would visit this park as often as something like Disneyland or Magic Kingdom because it isn’t quite as diverse in terms of the attractions available, but I really loved the activities that were offered. I enjoyed this immensely more than a zoo, and the animals were really fun to see amongst the traditional Disney magic.

Hollywood Studios is the next park we discovered. It was the park I was least excited for, but ended up giving me some of my favorite moments and attractions on the trip!