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Disney’s Animal Kingdom Can’t Miss List

Posted on May 5, 2015 by waltdisneyworldblog

Many years ago when Disney’s Animal Kingdom (or DAK for efficiency’s sake) first opened, I didn’t love it. I adore animals and you’d think my outlook would’ve better. But it wasn’t. However, as often with first impressions – my opinion has altered since my first look. I found my liking of DAK increased with each visit. It’s such a beautiful park; the landscaping is exotic. When I was working on the Disney College Program, I used to roam around the park on my days off to check out the plants and animals.

I certainly no longer find the park dull, as evidenced by my hearty “Can’t Miss” list. There are shows, attractions, stunning animals, and tasty treats everywhere. What’s not to like about that?

Below is the Walt Disney World Blog 2015 Disney’s Animal Kingdom Can’t Miss List. As always, there will be an asterisk next to “super favorites,” or things we often do more than once.

(by area) Oasis, Discovery Island, Africa, Asia, Dinoland USA

The Oasis Exhibits * – These are just pathways around the front of the park, but they have some really beautiful plants, awesome birds and animals. Take time to enjoy these instead of power-walking past as you hurry to squeeze in one more attraction. (I might be speaking from experience…)
It’s Tough to be a Bug * – This 3D show will have you feeling bug sized. The queue usually isn’t too long either so it makes a great midday attraction.
Discovery Island Trails – Like the Oasis Exhibits.
Flame Tree BBQ * – Many kinds of BBQ are available here. YUM, YUM, YUM. The food is delicious and there’s a great seating area off to the side making this is one of our favorite lunch (or dinner!) Quick Service options. Bonus – try the Safari Amber beer, specially brewed for Disney World.
Festival of the Lion King – This charming 30 minute show brings The Lion King story to life with singing, dancing, and exciting acrobatics. Kiddos will love the interactive elements. The monkeys are our favorite park!
Kilimajaro Safaris ** – This unique attraction takes you onto Disney Animal Kingdom’s Harambe Wildlife Preserve. As you bump along in an open-air vehicle you’ll see a variety of African wildlife. The animals are free roaming so what you see varies with each safari. There are over 34 species roaming the savannah such as lions, hippos, elephants, zebra, rhino, giraffe, okapi, ostrich, etc. **SPECIAL TIP** Visit the safari early in the morning or late in the evening for cooler temps and potentially more animal sightings.
Pangani Forest Exploration Trail – A beautiful walking trail where you’ll encounter flora and fauna. You can get an amazing, close up view of gorillas here.
Maharajah Jungle Trek * – This trail exposes guests to Asian wildlife. Get a close up view of a variety of animals that includes many species of birds, tigers, and fruit bats!
Kali River Rapids – To be honest I haven’t ridden this ride in several years. This raft ride is full of twists, turns, dips, and of course – water. I remember it being a lot of fun. So why haven’t I been in a while? You can get very wet. Maybe you won’t. Maybe you’ll get soaked. I don’t liked to be soaked and left to dry out with my clothes sticking to me as I roam the park. Perhaps this makes me a party pooper. I do think husband and I are going to give it a go on our next trip. Soaking wet or not – I bet we’ll have fun.
Expedition Everest ** – Oh dear readers, how do I express in words how I love this coaster? I adore every detail from the museum style queue, to the trainlike coaster, to the Yeti himself. This ride is a thrill and I tackle it as many times as I can.
Finding Nemo – This Broadway style show tells the Finding Nemo story. It’s fun and gorgeous. The sets and costumes are really striking. The show lasts 40 minutes and it’s a nice opportunity to cool off, rest, and be entertained while you do so!
Primeval Whirl * – This colorful ride is a mild roller coaster with round cars that spin. It will leave you giggling – I guarantee it.
DINOSAUR – Hop into a time rover and travel back in time to hang out with dinosaurs during an impending meteor strike. Yikes! This ride is dark with some really cool animatronic dinosaurs. Could be scarey for young kiddos.

W.T.D.W. – Dinosaur at Disney’s Animal Kingdom

Posted on November 6, 2013 by waltdisneyworldblog

Rrrrroooaaarrr!!! It’s been one of those mornings. Do you know what I mean? The kind where you especially don’t want to get out of bed, and then when you do get up, everything that is normally a simple part of your routine turns into one BIG disaster after another. And then when you go to make coffee (which normally hubby does) you realize that there are no beans ground, so you have to get out the grinder and whip up a whole new batch. (We love to grind our own coffee – it tastes better that way. But really! It’s bad news when you just want it brewed already.) It’s one of those mornings here. That’s why I’m drinking from the Donald mug. In my mind, (and probably under my breath) this morning I muttered a lot the way good ol’ Donald does. But all in all, everything managed to come together – as it usually does.

Today on WHAT TO DO WEDNESDAY we are visiting Dinosaur at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. This was one of the original attraction when Animal Kingdom opened 1998. (Wow, does that make anyone else feel old?)

The story goes like this: You are visiting scientists at the Dino Institute. They have the amazing ability to travel back in time in special vehicles called Time Rovers to study dinosaurs. You are lucky enough to get to join in for a tour – traveling back to the late Cretaceous period. Your scientist guide is on the lookout for a specific dinosaur – the Iguanodon. The problem is, the last known location of the dino was just before a life-destroying meteor shower hits the earth. Determined, your scientist secretly takes you to the dangerous period in search of the Iguanodon despite the inherent dangers.

Guests climb aboard a jeep like vehicle, your Time Rover, and set out, traveling back in time to find the dino. On your mission you move through rough jungle terrain encountering many types of dinosaurs in search of the Iguanodon. The pressure is on as the meteor shower draws closer and closer.

This ride is dark, suspenseful, a bit rough, and exciting with realistic looking dinosaurs all around that move and “breathe.” It’s certainly thrilling. Kiddos need to be 40″ tall to ride. With plenty of darkness, sharp movement, loud noises, and surprises Dinosaur could certainly frighten young ones.

I enjoy this attraction because of the obvious reasons: dinosaurs are rad and the suspense is fun. But, I think it’s the unique way the time rover vehicle moves that really gives Dinosaur the thrills. The vehicle manages to move as though you are in an all-terrain vehicle going over some serious rocks and craters. I love the movement of being pitched and pulled around in the vehicle.

FASTPASS is available for Dinosaur, and I suggest you use it. This attraction is always popular and the queue can get long.

W. T. D. W. – Finding Nemo – The Musical at Animal Kingdom

Posted on October 16, 2013 by waltdisneyworldblog

Fall is here, and in the mid-Atlantic region where we live, that has meant much cooler weather, a lot of rain, cloudy days, and cooling temperatures. There’s a lot to love about fall. Halloween, colorful trees, pumpkin baked goods, and hot apple cider are a few of my personal favorites. But I’m still missing the hot, beachy days of summer, and I haven’t quite finished mourning their passing yet. So for this week’s WHAT TO DO WEDNESDAY, I am taking us to warm, coral reef waters with Finding Nemo -The Musical at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. This charming Broadway-style show opened in January of 2007, and personally, I think it makes a superb addition to Animal Kingdom.

The Basics: This show calls DinoLand U.S.A. home in Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Finding Nemo – The Musical runs about 5 times a day, so you have several opportunities to find a time slot that works with your schedule. This is what I think of as a mini-musical. It has all of the wonderful things a musical has – a story, acting, dialog, and of course plenty of great tunes. The Finding Nemo show runs about 40 minutes, all in one act. Stylistically, this is the Finding Nemo story told with wonderful music and the magic of puppeteering. This a show that will befriend adults, charm little ones, and probably even get a smile out of a teenager.

Why I Love it:

Style – This show is so pretty. The colors alone are so enticing, but it is the puppeteering that really makes it magical. The puppets and the puppeteers, especially the main characters (Nemo, Marlin, Dory, etc.) stand together and apart simultaneously. It’s so fascinating. Other times, the puppets take the focus, and the puppeteer is almost unseen. Some of the puppets are so large they take several puppeteers to bring them to life, such as Crush and the pelican. It’s amazing how everyone moves together to bring one idea to the audience.
Length – This attraction is just the right length. 40 minutes gives you time to sit down in a beautiful theater, where you can rest your feet and enjoy the air conditioning. But, 40 minutes isn’t too long either. You are entertained and engaged, and it doesn’t take an overly large chunk of your day. AND, probably most importantly, it’s not too long for kids to sit still through. Especially because the show is in constant motion.
Interaction – There are many times where the puppeteers enter the audience area, which really immerses you in the musical. My favorite part is the jellyfish. Puppeteers with giant jellyfish on poles make them appear just as if they were floating in the ocean. It’s really neat. I also happen to really like jellyfish. As long as they are nowhere near me when I am swimming in the ocean.

From my experiences visiting this attraction over the last few years, I have put together some helpful hints for you.

Tips:

Plan a show time. At the start of your day check your Guidemap and Times Guide to see when the show is scheduled for the day. Come up with one or two of the performance times that you think would fit your schedule. If you don’t pick a time, you may find yourself leaving the park having missed all of the performance times. I like to couple the show with lunch. For example I may go see the 11:00 AM show and eat lunch right after. OR, I may have lunch first and then see the 1:00 PM after eating.
Arrive Early. While the theater is large, it can only hold so many guests. If you wait until 11:55 to show up for the 12:00 show, you may find the theater full. Arrive at the show queue about 30 minutes prior to the performance to give yourself the best chance of getting a seat at your chosen performance time. Animal Kingdom is a big place, give yourself plenty of time to walk to the theater as well.
Don’t stress about your seat. Seriously. I’ve sat in several different places in this theater, closer to the stage, further back, more to the side – and I’ve enjoyed it equally every time.
Think forward. – While I think this is a very family/kid friendly show – there are always kids who can’t make it through. If you have a little one with a short attention span, or who may become frightened in the dark after an extended time, grab a seat near the exit so you can easily slip out if you need to.

Have a great day everyone! And remember: Just keep swimming…

W. T. D. W. – TriceraTop Spin – Disney’s Animal Kingdom

Posted on September 11, 2013 by waltdisneyworldblog

I realized this morning that whenever I’m planning my next WHAT TO DO WEDNESDAY post, my favorite thrill rides always try to sneak their way to the top of the list. But hey, maybe you’ve got kiddos that aren’t able to do thrill rides, or maybe you look like my brother over here at the thought of attractions such as Expedition Everest. Or perhaps you’re just one of those people who enjoys any type of attraction – calm to wild. With that in mind this week, WHAT TO DO WEDNESDAY is heading to a very enjoyable, kid-friendly attraction: TriceraTop Spin at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom is divided up into seven lands: Oasis, Discovery Island, Camp Minnie-Mickey, Africa, Rafiki’s Planet Watch, Asia, and DinoLand U.S.A. Each land has its own personality and flavor. I bet you can guess which land TriceraTop Spin is in…

Within DinoLand U.S.A. there is a wildly colorful, dinosaur themed mini-land designed to represent a midway carnival called Chester & Hester’s Dino-Rama. Here you’ll find a series of carnival style games such as Basketball Toss and Whack ‘Em (with a mallet), funky mirrors, photo-booths, and two rides: Primeval Whirl and TriceraTop Spin. Some people I know get very pumped about good ol’ Chester & Hester’s Dino-Rama:

TriceraTop Spin is an uncomplicated concept designed from the idea of an old-school, tin push top. Get it!?! TriceraTOP Spin!

Moving on… The base of the ride, shaped like the old-school top, is orange, red, turquoise, and blue with whimsical little gold stars. Arms extend from the base sporting turqoisy-green Triceratops dinosaurs that are waiting to give you a spin around in the air. (I bet you didn’t know Triceratops could fly.) There is even a blazing comet that spins around the top going the opposite direction of riders.

Each Triceratops can seat up to 4 people amongst its two rows. The fun part about this ride is that each row has a joystick which controls your individual dinosaur. The back row controls how high or low the dino flies, while the front row can tip the dino forward or backward. I think for a kid, this is fantastic. How exciting, to be able to make your dinosaur fly higher or lower as you see fit. Adults will enjoy the breeze on their faces and the views that the higher vantage point offers.

TriceraTop Spin is definitely a simple pleasure. But sometimes it’s the simple things that we remember the most – especially when you’re a kid.

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