Disney Theme Parks: Animal Kingdom!

My favorite park to talk about finally! Disney’s Animal Kingdom is full of animals (duh), cultural emersion, awesome rides, and amazing food! Here I’ll talk about why Animal Kingdom is my favorite (behind Magic Kingdom because well Magic Kingdom)! Let’s dive right in!

Disney Animal Kingdom icon, The Tree of Life

A little background on DAK (Disney Animal Kingdom):

This was the last of the Walt Disney World Theme Parks and opened on April 22, 1998! It is the newest of the theme parks (the best) and features some really unique aspects separate from its other neighboring parks. The park features several lands; Discovery Island, Asia, Africa, Dinoland U.S.A, Pandora:World of Avatar, and Rafiki’s Planet Watch. 

Each of these lands allows you to experience a lot of different things such as in Asia and Africa there are educational aspects that allow you to interact with the cultural through live performers. In Dinoland U.S.A go back in time on the ride Dinosaur and try to bring back an Iguanodon, but make sure security doesn’t see you! Pandora: World of Avatar is the newest land opening in 2017 and brings into world featuring two incredible rides Navi River Journey and Flight of Passage. You get to hear the sounds of banshees and even adopt one if you would like your own. Rafiki’s Planet Watch allows children and adults alike to become connected with nature and understand how to care for it. 

The floating mountains in Pandora: World of Avatar at night, so beautiful. The theming of this land is insane!

To summarize all of that, Animal Kingdom is amazing! Period, no one can convince me otherwise. There is so much to see you do and it just feels like you are apart of nature. I love it! Now to talk about some of my personal favorite things about DAK.

The Shows:

Animal Kingdom happens to be home to my all time favorite Disney Theme Park show. That’s right, you heard me correctly Disney has shows, like theater performances that are Broadway level. My number one all time favorite, Finding Nemo: The Musical. This hour long performance captures the entire movie of Disney Pixar’s Finding Nemo and turns it into a musical with songs that I play on repeat. 

Yes this is a life size version of Crush from Finding Nemo 

The songs are not the only thing amazing, but the puppetry as well. All of the characters from the beloved movie are puppets that actors control by moving their tails and mouths while singing and dancing! Amazing and I hope that this show stays at Animal Kingdom for many more years to come. 

The Character Meet and Greets:

Not only can you go see your characters in shows, but you can also meet them in person! DAK has some of the coolest meet and greets which include; Timon from The Lion King, Baloo and King Loui from The Jungle Book, and Doug and Russel from UP. 

                           

Meeting Timon was amazing!                                             Doug and Russel from UP!!

Every character I have ever met in Animal Kingdom I have had the best experiences with! They are always friendly and it is always a great time, never too awkward at all either which can sometimes be the case. I’m not saying the other park character meet and greets aren’t good, but I think the added uniqueness of the characters at Animal Kingdom adds to the overall experience. I mean Timon has always been one of my favorites and to meet him was amazing!

The Rides:

Two words: Kilimanjaro Safari. That’s right, a real 40 minute safari in Animal Kingdom! Travel through different parts of the world and see real life animals grazing, eating, and sleeping. Really this in itself makes Disney so amazing, the connection back to education in this park is amazing and to show the public about the importance of these animals during the safari is incredible. 

Go see a bunch of Giraffes, Hippos, Zebras, and a ton of other animals on Kilimanjaro Safaris

Besides this particular attraction other favorites include Expedition Everest (a roller coaster that goes forward and backwards) that takes you on a journey to escape a Yeti, Dinosaur (do not miss this ride it is so much fun!), and both attractions in Pandora especially Flight of Passage that is amazing!

To wrap it all up:

Please if you are ever planning a trip to Disney World, do not miss out on this park. Please do not think it is just a zoo and boring compared to the other parks, that is just not true. It is an educational park dedicated to conservation and the stewardship of the Earth. It allows you to see into two incredibly unique continents, Africa and Asia. Go back in time and experience the time of the Dinosaurs or step foot onto another planet completely. There is so much to see and so much to do at this park.

The parks icon, The Tree of Life reminds us that we are all connected. Not just to one another but to nature and that we should always remember that. I love Animal Kingdom so much and I don’t think it gets enough recognition because it is simply beautiful. When I apply for the Disney College Program I hope that I will be able to work at DAK and if I do I know I will have a fantastic time! I love you DAK and I hope to see you soon!

Go visit Animal Kingdom and you will be as happy as me in this picture!

Thanks for stopping by, hope you have a magical day!

–Caitlyn