…Continued from Hollywood Studios…
I have to admit, I love love love this park. The park opened on Earth Day 1998 and as you may guess it, is based around animals! The park is actually accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and World Association of Zoos and Aquariums. One of the original concepts of the park was to cover three beings of animals – “real, ancient and imagined”. The park has lots of areas dedicated to animals, even a dinosaur land, but for me, never really hit home on the imagined part. Well, with the addition of Pandora (from the movie of Avatar) the fantasy is finally at the park, although, I wished they had more with Dragons & Unicorns. The park that once closed at 5PM or 6PM is now open late every night – which gives guests the real opportunity to visit animals at one of their most active times of the day. Some of the animal exhibits are closed around 7PM, but the safari runs until 10PM! I think with increased capacity, keeping the park open later is fantastic! Animal Kingdom truly does a great job also with growing awareness to conversation, even donating portions of sales to their cause. You will also not find any plastic straws, lids or anything – all to protect the animals in their care.
Attractions & Areas to Highlight:
Oasis – This is the main entrance area. It has a few animal exhibits in the area, including lots of birds. Sadly, with the heat, many of the animal areas were empty as animals were inside in the A/C or in the extreme shady areas away from the fencing.
Discovery Island – This area is the central location of the park, and often referred to as the hub – as you have to go through this area to connect to most areas of the park. The staple piece of the area is the Tree of Life. The Tree of Life has taken on a new life with the late park hours – with projections on the tree during the night, called Tree of Life Awakenings. There are lots of animals to see in this area including Flamingos, Tamarins and Vultures.
It’s Tough to be a Bug! 4D – This attraction is below the Tree of Life. This film is also at California Adventure and utilizes similar 4D technology as the Muppets Vision.
Africa – This area is set to a fictional village in East Africa, called Harambre. The area often has live music and fantastic shops. There are also dozens of animals to see on the trails including Gorillas, Hippos, and Meerkats. We also didn’t get to see The Festival of the Lion King, which is an awesome live action retelling of the movie, the Lion King.
Kilimanjaro Safaris – This is a safari through the fictional Harambre Wildlife Reserve in Harambre. With various safari drivers and over 30 types of animals, each time the guest rides it can be a totally different experience. I LOVE this ride, and make it on the MUST RIDE list every time I visit Walt Disney World. Last time we came to Florida we rode it several times.
Rafiki’s Planet Watch – This area is only accessible from Africa, and guests ride a train to access it. This area has lots of animal exhibits including a petting zoo, and provides guests with information on conservation and preservation.
Asia – This area is set to the fictional kingdom of Anandapur, and the kingdom is focused on animal research and tourism. The main staple is the Forbidden Mountain of the Himalyayas. The entire area resembles areas of South East Asia, India and parts of Northern India. There are lots of animal exhibits here including Komodo dragons, Bengal tigers, Gibbons and more.
Kali River Rapids – This rafting ride is themed to discovering illegal logging and local habitat destruction. If you can get over these depressing thoughts and enjoy getting SOAKED, it’s a great ride.
Expedition Everest – This roller coaster is a favorite of ours! And if you ever go and have the opportunity to sit in the front – do it! You can see all the logistics of this pretty unique coaster (trying not to give away too many of the secrets). Can you guess what the ride is themed about – finding the Yeti!
DinoLand U.S.A. – This area is themed around Dinosaurs and other extinct life. It is centered round the Dino Institute, but also has a playground called the Boneyard, and other dino themed rides in an 80’s summer camp vibe. The restaurant we went to played songs all relating to Dinosaurs, which we honestly had no idea so many existed. We were not able to get on all the rides here – Primeval Whirl and TriceraTop Spin.
Dinosaur – This ride is similar to Disneyland’s Indiana Jones, but with a Dinosaur theme (related to the Disney movie – Dinosaur). The ride takes guests through a pre-show with the idea we are going back in time to bring back a Dinosaur. The ride is much darker and at times hard to follow along. The animatronics are pretty cool, but outdated now that better technology exists. I enjoy this ride, Steve, not so much.
Pandora: The World of Avatar – The newest addition to the park, which opened in summer 2017. If you are a fan of the movie Avatar, you will be impressed with the area. The amount of details is outstanding. There is actually nothing really “Disney” in the theming like “FastPass” signs, or Mickey Mouse merchandise, sticking only to Pandora theme. The land itself is meant to be a conservation of Pandora. At night, the entire area is illuminated with black light effects – it is awesome.
Avatar Flight of Passage – This ride is the best simulation ride I have been on, being far superior than Soarin’ and Star Tours. The ride simulates the rider is riding a mountain Banshee around Pandora. From smells, to sounds and more – the ride truly feels real. My sister and I waited 90 minutes and felt it was worth it. The queue was impressive, but had minimal interactive features.
Na’vi River Journey – The “It’s a Small World” of Avatar. The ride is impressive with animatronics and details, but I felt it lacked a storyline. At the end of the ride I felt confused asking, “what was the point of that?” If it wasn’t for the amazing technology and animatronics invested in the ride, I would actually tell people to skip it if the line is over 30 minutes, but the fact that you can ride it multiple times and see new things might be worth it to people. If you had to pick between the two, choose Flight of Passage.
Entertainment:
Animal Kingdom has a lot of street entertainment, especially live music. Our favorite was the nightly show at the end of the night (see below), but I also found myself dancing to the beat during the Discovery Island Carnivale.
Rivers of Light – This nightly show happens in Discovery River Lagoon. It incorporates mist screens, water fountains, fire effects, lasers, projections, boats and more (but not fireworks because of the animals). The Tree of Life also gets illuminated and projected on. The show does a great job highlighting animals, and the fact we all need to take care of them and each other – reiterating again we are all connected. Overall, it’s an interesting show, but probably something I only need to do once unless it gets a revamp. The next time we go back to Animal Kingdom at night I would use that time to do the Safari or Pandora.
Overall
I love Animal Kingdom. Due to the layout of the area, it does feel much hotter than the rest of the parks, which made it quite challenging for us to enjoy. I feel like each time I visit the park, it’s a completely new experience animals. With the addition of Pandora and new nighttime hours, it is a worthy park to visit.
What’s Next
More on Springfield, Virginia
After seeing the movie Avatar I now understand the ride Na’vi river journey much better. I understand the ending now. LOL
I think I should re-watch the movie 🙂