Now this park has a very different feel to the other Disney parks in our opinion. We’re not really sure why but it probably has something to do with the amount of greenery and shrubbery planted so things don’t stand out like they do in other parks. It’s all kind of blended in to look like you might actually be in a jungle or in an African Village or in India. The attention to detail is staggering – the queues for rides and the way the continents are put together is amazing. The Everest ride can be seen for miles towering above the park, and the Tree of Life is a great focal and meeting point, not to mention photo opportunity.
There are 1,700 animals in the park, from over 250 species. The park itself was opened in April 1998 and is the largest of the four Disney parks. You can fit The Magic Kingdom in to Animal Kingdom four times over!
The park is split into 6 distinct areas, they are Africa, Asia, Discovery Island, Pandora – The World of Avatar, Oasis and Dinoland USA. All are very unique. The Florida weather, along with the sympathetic planting does make it feel like you could be lost in a jungle or rainforest.
The Oasis
Let’s start with Oasis, as that’s the entrance to the park. Oh one quick thing before you actually get through the ticket barriers, there’s often a “potted plant” on the approach – it looks pretty normal – right up until it starts following you and talking to you. A fun start. There are pretty much only a gift shop (which doubles as a Magic Band and Photopass pick up point, The Rainforest Cafe and a little Oasis Exhibit, which is a walk through little garden pathways looking for exotic birds.
Dinoland USA
Let’s take a right turn from there – because most people will go left to Pandora (and we assume you will have a Fastpass time booked for this because queue times are still well over an hour and often nearer two hours in peak periods). So onto Dinoland USA we go. The joy of this place – it’s definitely part educational, The Boneyard being a dinosaur dig-site playground. There are a couple of good gift shops – one is
particularly aimed at Dinosaur based gifts and apparel so great if your kids are dinosaur nuts. There’s a pretty cool ride here called Primeval Whirl, part mini rollercoaster part fairground waltzer type ride. It’s a journey on a time-machine coaster meant to be taking you back in time. Mad fun – flings you all about the place till you really are in a whirl (anyone remember the Mad Mouse at Blackpool?) There’s also the Triceratops Spin which is a dinosaur equivalent of the famous Dumbo ride at Magic Kingdom. There is a restaurant and a couple of fast services cafes here – all dinosaur themed – Dino-bite Sandwiches, Trilo-Bites, Restaurantosaurus and Dino Diner.
You can also see Finding Nemo the Musical here, fabulous puppetry and spectacular music – well worth a look for the whole family.
The ride everyone heads for is DINOSAUR! A brilliant ride if ever there was one. No major spoilers here as you’re kind of on a mission to collect something live to save it from extinction. It’s dark, and roary! You’re in a time rover vehicle which moves forward but also dips and turns sharply as you try and outrun giant dinosaurs of the people eating variety, meteor strikes and heaven knows what else. Even the queue is pretty entertaining and kind of sets you up for your mission – which is a little bit naughty and definitely “off the books”. Fun family ride, but be wary if your kids are scared of the dark, or loud noises, cos this ride has both, in abundance.
Little known Easter Egg for you to look for in this ride, there are three pipes running along the walls and ceilings, one red, one yellow and one white. The have the chemical formulas written on them for ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise and are a throw-back to when the ride first opened and it was sponsored by McDonalds! Have a look for them next time you ride – if your eyes are open long enough! Eeeek!
Heading round from there is Asia – visually our favourite land in Animal Kingdom. The food and drinks available in Asia are fantastic – our favourite being Mr Kamal’s. There’s the Anandapur Ice Cream Truck and Thirsty River Bar and Trek Snacks for beverages and ice cream treats and the fabulous Yak and Yeti restaurant and cafe for amazing Pan Asian cuisine – the menu is fantastic. But in our opinion Mr Kamal’s seasoned fries , falafel and hummus are absolutely the most amazing tasting things EVER! Plus there’s a gorgeous shady leafy area behind the food truck to sit and relax and enjoy your food. It’s so quiet and peaceful back there we actually saw someone napping for the whole time we were eating – just having a lovely after lunch nap in the warm but shady area. Lovely!
Right, food done – although we should mention maybe you should eat AFTER the Expedition Everest ride, for fear of leaving your lunch at the top of the mountain. The whole area around the Everest ride is stunning. It really does look like you could be in an Indian Village, it is fantastic and we while away some time here taking photos, looking round the really interest shops and bazaars. The queue to the Everest ride is worth getting in even if you aren’t riding. You pass through a Gurkha station and a mock Yeti museum, and we can tell you it looks pretty authentic – not that we’ve been to a Gurkha Station on Everest but you get what we mean – it feels and smells like many expeditions have passed through the place. Arriving at the station, you’re invited to board the train – and off you go, on a chase through the Himalayas trying to avoid the Yeti! Thrills and spills galore, unexpected journeys and a blooming giant great drop! Love love love this ride.
There’s UP a Great Bird Adventure if that’s your thing – in a 25 minute show starring exotic birds. There’s also a Maharajah Jungle Trek which is a self-guided walking tour of animals from Southeast Asia. To be totally honest captive wild animals are not our thing so we rarely head towards these experiences – but have had a wander through and if your kids are animal lovers we have no doubt you’ll love it. Warning: heavens the bats smell, but they are amazing and massive!
If you fancy cooling off on a hot day give Kali River Rapids a go – a turbulent raft ride through the rivers of a jungle landscape – fun and you definitely will get wet. Or if you’re there in an evening you will get to see the Rivers of Light night time show using Disney Nature and Disney animation celebrating our relationship with animals. We have to admit we have never managed to catch this show yet – we are hoping to check it out on our next trip.
So reluctantly we will move on from Asia – there’s still loads of amazing things to see in the rest of the park, but we do have a soft spot for Asia! Let’s move on.
Africa
Well Africa – what’s to say about this Continent – it’s an absolute feast for the senses and eyes. The music, the performers, the food – there’s even the Affection Section which is a petting yard with domesticated animals to interact with and pet, with a team of animal care experts.
There are usually performers here – African singers, dancers, acrobats – stunning to see and hear and you can get totally lost watching them, or in fact find yourself joining in and clapping along – so talented!
Food is in abundance, Harambe Fruit Market for fruit, pretzels and drinks, Harambe market for African-style ribs, chicken and plant based sandwiches and bowls. Plenty of choice and reasonable prices. Tamu Tamu is your ice cream and Dole Whip station and Dawa Bar is the place to head for cocktails and African beer. There’s also a baker and sweet shop. The Tusker House restaurant is a table service restaurant, pricier but Donald Duck and his friends may well be joining you.
There’s a rustic train ride called Rafki’s Planet Watch to the Conservation Station – it’s a look at Disney’s conservation program and the Science Center where the veterinary facilities for the animals is.
The walk through animal attraction in Africa is Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail – gorillas, hippos and exotic birds are the animals you’ll see here. You can also get onto the Kilimanjaro Safaris – which is a safari ride through the African Savannah – kind of like a UK safari park but in a proper safari style truck. Obviously with Disney there’s a bit of a twist – but you definitely will see elephants, giraffes and lions.
Finally the show – and probably our favourite show of all of the Disney parks – Festival of the Lion King. An amazing show featuring your favourite Lion King characters and music – it really is brilliant and so very clever. A must see!
Pandora – The World of Avatar
Pandora is still fairly new – opening in May 2017. Because of this the queue times for the two rides there are massive! Definitely use your Fastpasses for this – and we have to say if you can’t get a Fastpass then the wait for Avatar Flight of Passage will be long, but absolutely worth it.
So – Na’vi River Journey is one of the two rides here – we waited an absolute age for this ride as there were no fastpasses available. Was it worth it? – in our opinion no, it’s visually pretty spectacular, it’s a river boat journey into a rainforest in search of the Shaman of Songs. Very clever and the technology used is the most advanced we’ve seen in terms of animatronics but all in all a bit too gentle for us and not a long ride. We’d go on it again if there was a 30 minute wait but we waited for well over an hour and the ride was over before we’d figured out what it was all about. We’re sure your kids will love it, and maybe the grandparents too as it’s pretty and gentle.
Right – the main attraction! Avatar Flight of Passage ride. Again we couldn’t get fastpasses for this as they’d all gone for the whole two weeks we were there, but it was pretty new at the time. Anyhow – we had to wait almost two hours to get on it, the queue going well out of the normal queuing area and there were cast members with signs directing the queue in a long snake causing as little congestion for the rest of the park as possible. There were ice cream and beverage sellers along the route to ease the guests comfort. It was 9am when we got there! Was it worth it – oh heavens yes it was. It was mind-blowing. We won’t spoil it too much for you as not knowing what to expect was part of the excitement for us. The basic premise is you are riding on the back of a mountain banshee during a 3D ride. It feels like you really are and the visuals are unbelievable. Would we wait again for two hours – YES! And YES again just in case you don’t believe us – it really was that good. Although we’re hoping to get a couple of fastpasses on our next trip!
You’ll find a couple of eateries, one for ices, drinks and snacks and a the Satu’il Canteen where you can build your own chicken, chilli or shrimp bowl. There’s also a souvenir store as you’d expect.
Discovery Island
In the middle of all of these lands and continents you’ll find Discovery Island. There are walkways and paths or bridges from each of the lands onto Discovery Island.
The Tree of Life is the star of Discovery Island. It’s amazing, you can spend hours staring at it discovering new animals. It’s a fabulous photo opportunity and you’ll always find Disney Photo Pass photographers around waiting to take a fabulous photo for you.
There are various trails to explore and the wilderness exploring start point is here where you can earn badges as you work your way around the park. You basically have to find various locations around the park to earn your badges.
It’s Tough to be a Bug is also here. This is a 3D film based on the Disney Pixar animation film. No spoilers here either, and it’s fun for all the family – there’s some creepy crawly moments and a few jumps in the dark.
Our favourite place to meet Mickey and Minnie is here – the Adventurers Outpost. The mice’s are in their safari outfits, they look so cute and we can’t resist getting our picture taken here – every time we go!
Food-wise you are spoiled for choice here, with 7 restaurants and also two merchandise shops. There’s a Starbucks, a pizza place a cocktail bar and a lovely restaurant called Tiffins in amongst these 7 eateries. The Flame Tree Barbecue is also here and meant to be pretty good but we haven’t checked it out yet.
So – wild animals, wild rides, beautiful scenery and greenery, loads of amazing food and if you’re staying later into the evening, some beautifully lit rides and attractions and maybe even the twilight safari.
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