Wild @ Animal Kingdom!

Hey cuties! As promised I am (finally) delivering some disney access from our recent trips, starting with Animal Kingdom. To get you in the mood I made you a Animal Kingdom inspired playlist – take a listen here.

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Disney world was so kind to have us as their guest for the second time this year, and we were of course beyond honored and exited to attend. We we’re there for Disney Date Night (more on that later) but also had to extend our stay to visit all the parks – today I’m talking all about our stay at Animal Kingdom and making a case for it as my favorite park.

ALL ABOUT ANIMAL KINGDOM
Animal Kingdom? What is that?

For those of you who don’t know, Animal Kingdom is a zoological themed park at Disney World Orlando – it’s also a TV show about a crazy family on TNT but today we’re talking DISNEY PEOPLE so stay focused. It opened on Spring of 1998, I went that summer as a child. On our way to that trip my family actually got in a small plane crash. Don’t worry – we survived ! My dad who has a license but wasn’t flying the plane when it crashed, basically saved the day when the pilot had a panic attack and kept us from, well you know, way to go dad. My brother and I were young enough not to be phased by it. I remember getting on the next small plane to fly from where we crashed in Tampa to Orlando and asking my mom do you think this one will crash too – lol my poor mom, can you imagine! Anyways, that trip in ’98 was the one and only time I went to Animal Kingdom until this Spring, 20+ years later.

Animal Kingdom is centered around the Tree of Life – a 145 foot tall artificial baob tree. At night the tree comes to life as they perform s light show on it (it’s amazing) and one of two night show’s I’ve seen at the park – fun fact, none of the night shows have fireworks are crazy effects that would disturb the animals. They also have no small plastic pieces in the park, no straws, no drink caps and (as far as I could tell) even no plastic trash bags because they don’t want things that could hurt the animals if they ended up in the wrong place, I thought that was really cool. I also learned that the animals were relocated from Zoos and not taken from the wild, which is nice because I find this to be a big step up from any Zoo I’ve ever been too – more on that below.

Alright ready to learn everything you need to know about Animal Kingdom? OKAY LETS DO THIS!

PARK AREAS
The park consists of 5 main areas:

Discovery Island -the central hub that connects most of the other parks. The main attraction there is the oasis where the tree lives snd Rafiki’s Planet Watch.

Africa – one of the original areas of the park, this is what I remember seeing (and being bored by) when I was a kid. But I totally love it now! This is set in the fictional African port village of Harambe, which promoted Paris to sing the distasteful (yet kind of funny) lyrics from 2 Chainz’ Good Drank all day “Take your babies no Harambe”. If you go, keep your eyes pealed for this word throughout and thank me later. The Harambe Wildlife Preserve is the main attraction, complete with the “ride” and my second favorite part of this park: Kilimanjaro Safaris. On this ride, you’ll load a open-sided safari jeep and explore African species in a seemingly natural habitat. I don’t like Zoo’s they actually freak me out and often make me cry, and not a good cry like I’ll talk about 2 other times in this article – like a scary, bad, I’m uncomfortable and maybe have PTSD cry. I’m pretty convinced I was an elephant in a past life. You’ll laugh but I have an intense connection to them and any time I see one chained up at a renaissance fair or something else awful it takes all my restraint to not burn the place down and set it free; see that’s not normal behavior…. so the only reasonable answer is that I was in fact an elephant before I became Courtney, and thus Color Me Courtney. Science. Facts. Anyway our first trip here in the Spring I avoided the Safari Ride for this reason. But this last trip (a few weeks ago) se had two extra fast passes from our Disney Family so I thought, let’s try it. The ride is nothing like I thought it would be, instead of driving by a bunch of caged animals you are rolling around on what looks like a real Savanna complete with rivers, terrain and rocky hills. It’s 110 acres and makes up the largest attraction in any Disney theme park in the world. Along the trip you’ll see hyenas, wild dogs, rhinos, lions, giraffes and more. We had a giraffe come up right next to our car, I was sitting in the front row on the left side and if I reached my hand out (I didn’t) I could have touched it. We also saw a baby giraffe and Paris almost cried (that’s his spirit animal he told me, I responded with a graceful eye roll). We went right before dusk, so it was still light when we got on the ride but turned to dusk as we got off. This was perfect because the nocturnal animals were waking up, and the diurnal creatures were still out. The lions got up, started walking around and roaring. As the sun went down, we saw an elephant walk away with orange sky disappearing on its back and then I cried – BECAUSE COME ON! Anyways if you’re at animal kingdom go on this ride. PLEASE! Africa also has a bunch of other great attractions but the one I’ll mention is the Lion King performance. It’s very similar to the broadway one but shorter, even so if you haven’t seen the broadway one (I have 6 times) its a must see!

Asia – Asia is another favorite part of the park, but I say that will probably every part because this park is so good!!!! This area is set in the fictional kingdom of Anandapur meaning “Place of many delights” and comprised of two villages: a riverside village and a foothill of Himalayas. The main attraction is Expedition Everest – a steel rollercoaster that takes you through the Himalayas and right into the home of the Yeti! We really loved this ride, it gives you a thunder mountain railroad ride with a twist, its so fun! There is also a river rapid ride in this area but we didn’t try it because hair (shrug). In between DinoLand and Asia is the Discovery River where the host Rivers of the light – its a nighttime show where the water turns into mist screens amongst floating fountains, music and lighting.

DinoLand U.S.A – DinoLand is all about, you guessed it Dinos! honestly we didn’t spend much time here, it looks very young a kiddy so we walked through but if you have littles definitely check it out. There is a primeval Whirl carnival themed coaster if you’re looking for a thrill, but if you’re just browsing through Animal Kingdom, I think you can give it a quick look or a miss.

Pandora – World of Avatar !!!!! – I know what you’re thinking and yes, those explanation points were SO NECESSARY. This land opened last year. It is inspired by the movie, Avatar and its the most amazing thing you will ever see – Really. Disney essentially BUILT explanatory moon or the planet in which Avatar takes place, Pandora. The land includes the floating mountain, waterfalls, alien wildlife and bioluminescent plants that glow at night! The first time we went I cried, I have never seen ANYTHING SO BEAUTIFUL EVER!!!! This land has two major attractions, Fight of Passage and the Na’vi River Journey. The Flight of passage is the most popular ride in the park, maybe in all of Disney World right now and with good reason, believe the hype! I have never been more transported as I have in Pandora, it really is everything I could have ever wanted in a theme park and more.

There are two main rides in Pandora and you really need to go on both for two very different reasons. First is Avatar Flight of Passage. This is a a flying augmented reality simulator ride, the best reference point I can give you is Soarin’ Over the World (Epcot, Walt Disney World) or Soarin” Over California (California Adventure, Disney Land) but like on steroids. You hop aboard a Banshee (the gorgeous flying creatures from the movie) and take flight. The ride will take you through the landscape of Pandora where you encounter creatures and environments like you’ve never seen before all while taking in the sights, smells, and ambiance of this extradorinaiy planet. It will ignite all of your sense except taste, and will not disappoint. This ride has usually a 2 or 3 hour wait time (worth it) but if you get to the park when it opens, or get a fast pass it can cut down your wait time. If you’re planning a trip, as soon as you book your flights and park tickets you can hop on the My Disney Experiences portal online or on your app and start securing fast passes. If you try to do this for this ride same day they’ll probably be sold out, so do it in advance! We met people in line who had to secure passes 6 months in advance in order to get some – SO YEAH, IT IS THAT EPIC! I’m not sure I believe them, I think you can only book 60 days in advance when you’re staying at a Disney Resort but either way get on it. There is also the Na’vi River Journey, which is a boat ride attraction through the Kapsavan River. It uses Audio-Animotronics, 3D holograms, serious ambiance and amazing scenery to transport you to Pandora. It feels like you’re riding Pirates of the Caribbean, no drops, lunges or fear of getting wet, just a simple and slow, dark boat ride so you can admire Pandora. This ride has the most expensive and intricate Animatronic robot ever created at the end of the ride, giving you reason enough to ride. It is not an intense experience but beautiful and definitely a must see. But if you could only pick one ride between the two, go with Flight of Passage. Actually if you can pick one to go on in all of Disney World, go with Flight of Passage!!!

1 Day at Animal Kingdom:

So I don’t think you need to spend more than one day at Animal Kingdom. It’s a fun park and my favorite park at the moment (more on that below) but you don’t need a lot of time there. Here’s is what you need to do while you’re there.

Pandora (2-4 hours)
(9AM) PANDORA – Start the day early, get to the park right when it opens at 9 and run straight (well left from the entrance) to Pandora to get in line for Flight of Passage to prevent waiting in a longer line. If you’re lucky you can ride it twice before it gets to busy then do the Na’vi River Journey without a crazy wait too. If you’re not there early I would allocate 2 hours for this ride to accommodate the line and 1 hour for Na’vi River Journey.
(10 AM) BREAKFAST – If you skipped breakfast or want to eat in the park, the Pongu Lumpia is s good option. Its a simple and hand held snack, a spring roll filled with pineapples and cream cheese, fried then sprinkled in sugar – yum.
(11 AM) EXPLORE – After you’re full, explore!! Get your pictures, hike the mountains, try other food, enjoy the drum circle and hit the gift shop before hoping in line for Na’vi River Journey if you haven’t already.
(12 PM) SNACK – Before you leave pandora or in-between the two rides, get a Night Blossom (a non-alcoholic limeade with apple and pear topped with boba balls and passion fruit flavors – my fave treat in the park) or a Blueberry Cream Cheese Mousse (which I didn’t eat, I dont like blueberry but people rave about). There is also a Mo’ara Margarita, it a alcoholic mix of strawberry and blood orange with strawberry boba balls, but I don’t drink so I didn’t try it. Make a right on your way out of Pandora following the signs for The Oasis and DinoLand.

DinoLand U.S.A. (1 hours)
(1PM) PHOTO OPP – Say bye to Pandora and head on over DinoLand U.S.A, on your way snap a picture infant of the Tree of Life so you don’t have to later. If you have free time at golden hour, you might circle back for a snap here with better lighting but this way you’ll have one for sure!
(1:30 PM) LUNCH – Hungry? Time to eat at Restaurantosaurus. This quick service spot is modeled after a paleontology student dorm with decorated dining rooms and a airstream you can eat it! The food is pretty standard, burgers, chicken nuggets and cheeseburgers ranging from $10-17. You could also eat at the Dino Diner if you wanted or Dino-Bite Snacks.
(2 PM) EXPLORE – While you’re here walk through DinoLand, there isn’t much to do in my opinion but it is still nice to see while you’re digesting. After you eat, continue right following the signs for Asia.

Asia (1 Hour)
(2:30) EXPEDITION EVEREST – Head to Asia and get ready to explore Everest! This ride usually has a 30-45 min wait without a fast pass for 1 hour total; and takes about 30 min with one. That’s all for Asia now, we’ll come back later. Continue right around the park heading towards Africa.

Africa (2.25 Hours)
(3:30) LION KING – Head to the festival of the Lion King for the 4PM show. You might be able to catch some of the Burudika show (3:30) on your way there. You’ll see it as you walk. If you don’t want to see Lion King, finding Nemo is also playing at 4PM in DinoLand.
(5 PM) KILIMANJARO SAFARI – You might have to move this around as the time of the year changes and swap it with Lion King Or dinner (next) as need be. The goal is to get on the ride 20-30 min before the sun sets so you hit that perfect timing I talked about before. You don’t want to go when it’s too dark, and you don’t want to do this in the middle of the day either – so dusk / golden hour is best. Without a fast pass plan for 30-45 min in line and 30 min on the ride here.

Asia, Again (1 Hour)
(6 PM) DINNER – So yes, you’ve already been here and yes it is on the complete other side of the park but it has the best restaurant and we’re hungry -so that’s where we’re going. Eat at Yak & Yeti (make a reservation) for southeast asian themed food including Thai chicken wings, egg rolls, firecracker shrimp, dim sum and more!

Discovery island (3o Min)
(7:15) EXPLORE – You might not have time to see this, but if you do give Discovery Island a quick stop look between dinner and the shows.

Night Entertainment (1 Hour)
So there are two must see night shows in the park, but they kind of happen at the same time. I figured out a way to see bits of both so that’s what I’m sharing below.
(7:45) TREE OF LIFE AWAKENINGS – Tree of light awakens every night from 750-830 which is really cool. It’s not really a show show, but it’s nice to see it light up and come to life. Be there right before 7:50 and watch for 10-15 min max, leaving no later than 8:05 so you can rush over to the next show.
(8:15) RIVERS OF LIGHT – This is the show I talked about earlier in the Asia section, a total must see! If it ends with enough time, try and ride Everest one last time (it is behind the show) before the park closes at 9.

My Favorite Park:
Honestly, when I went to Animal Kingdom back in 1998 I was really unimpressed, I felt like it was just a really expensive Disney Zoo without the magic and fun of Disney World. I was also s child, so I knew nothing. NOW with the addition of Pandora and my adult wisdom (hair flip) I can safely say its my favorite park. If you were to go to only one park for the first time in Disney World, I would recommend Magic Kingdom because it is the most “magical” but a close second and must see has to be Animal Kingdom. With the addition of Pandora I would rank it above Epcot in must see parks in Disney World – PLEASE GO.

Animal Kingdom Lodge:
In addition to loving the park, I also love Animal Kingdom Lodge! It has some of the best food in the Disney Hotel circuit plus is one of my favorite hotel experiences. It’s dark, moody and cool with a unique atmosphere. I loved all the African touches and that the staff was really knowledgeable about the countries that inspired the decor. You can stay in a room that overlooks the animal sanctuary too so you can see giraffes and zebras outside your window! Plus the room service wings are epic, we stayed here for 2 nights and ordered them three times. Casual.