One of four theme parks within the Walt
Disney World property, the Animal Kingdom is huge; at 500 acres it’s five times
larger than the more popular Magic Kingdom Park nearby. Disney’s Animal Kingdom
is a mix of high adrenalin rides, shows, animal enclosures, eateries and shops all
brought together with mind blowing theming.
Upon entry the park can feel complicated to
navigate due to its sheer size. Once you have identified land marks such as the
Tree of Life and Mount Everest you should get your bearings a lot easier. Six themed areas make up the bulk of the
park. They are:
The
Oasis - the lush entry point to the park and is
the location of some interesting enclosures. It has a feel of a traditional zoo with
good selection of animals from many regions of the world.
Discovery
Island - located at the centre of the park and
is the location of the 145 foot high Tree of Life – Great photo opportunities.
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| Carvings on the Tree of Life |
Dinoland USA- is the ride and entertainment district of
the park. Themed up to be more like a fair ground The only animal to be found
here is the American Crocodile.
Africa
- is dominated by the Kilimanjaro safaris, home to
a great variety of both wooded and savannah dwelling animals that can all be
viewed from open air safari buses. The
Pangani Forest Exploration trail located next to Kilimanjaro Safaris is home to
western lowland gorillas and hippos as well as a good selection of African forest
dwelling animals. Both the Pagani Trail
and Kilimanjaro Safaris can be accessed via Mombasa Village which is the
location of many stalls selling traditional African food and handicrafts.
Rafikis
Planet Watch - can be accessed via the Wild Life
Express Railroad at the train station located at Mombasa Village. Rafikis Planet Watch is the location of the
petting zoo, education centre and a lot of the back of house infrastructure
including night time animal pens for the safari animals.
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| Rafikis Planet Watch entrance |
Asia - is dominated by a replica of Mount Everest. The mountain is
actually a ride and can be seen from various vantage points around the park. The
other ride attraction in Asia is the Kali River Rapids a white water ride - where
you will get wet. The main animal
enclosures in Asia are located at Maharajah Jungle Trek, where you will see
tigers, giant bats and a good variety of Asian animals and birds.
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| Perspective of Mount Everest |
Extra
Activities
Ok its Disney, so you know that there is a
heap of activities that will fill your day. Without going into details - shows,
rides and food take equal billing to the animals. For animal specific
activities at an extra charge, you can organise a walking tour of the safari
area called Wild Africa Trek, giving you a totally different perspective of the
savannah and it's animals.
Children and adults can grab a Wilderness
Explorers Handbook for free, take the pledge and earn badges as you explore the
park and learn about the animals and their environs. The Wilderness
Explorers Handbook is a brilliant tool to help children learn about every
aspect of nature whilst experiencing the whole park. I saw more than one parent taken from one adventure to the next, to earn one of the 30 plus different badges on
offer.
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| Badges that can be collected |
Conservation
Efforts
The Disney World Wide Conservation Fund
(DWCF) is Disney’s conservation arm. The fund provides grants to organizations
that protect and study both animal species and their habitats. The fund also
provides grants to help in connecting children to nature through exploration
and discovery. DWCF Google Earth App is a great tool to locate the animals,
organizations and habitats DWCF has helped since it was established in 1995.
Rafikis Planet Watch is without a doubt the
best conservation and education centre I have seen at any zoo, and is where DWCF
is seen putting money where its mouth is. The centre is full of interesting talks by the
keepers proudly talking about, and showing off their animals. The centre
includes an animal hospital, environmental exhibits, petting zoo and behind the
scenes tour of the main administrative area of the zoo. It is well worth the train ride.
Stu’s
review and tips
Video showing a selection of animals found at the Animal Kingdom.
The main purpose for theming in a zoo is to
help build the illusion that you are somewhere else. Done well, theming can drop you into an
animal’s environment giving you a more immersive experience. More and more zoos are including themed areas
and I have seen good examples at some larger zoos. Disney’s Animal Kingdom however is on a
different level altogether and is the standard that I think every zoo should
try and emulate. Of course this should
not be a surprise – it's Disney after all.
I expected great theming, I also expected lots of rides, over the top
shows and more Disney magic than one could handle. Sadly I expected all of this to be at the
expense of the animals. I am happy to report that I got the expected magic, but instead of taking away from my animal viewing experience it enhanced it to a level
that I have never seen at any zoo before.
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| Mombasa Village |
The park is big but can be done in a full
day if you go early and not during the busy holiday season. When I reviewed
this park it was over the Christmas / New Year period so it took two full days
to get through it all, including four tours on the safari bus. If you
have time, try and do the safari more than once. The safari site is huge so you will have a
different animal experience every time you do it. The safari bus drivers
commentate for the whole tour and depending on who you get will impact on your
experience as well. They are all good, just some much better than others. The
safari bus ride itself can get very bumpy because you travel over rough tracks,
rickety bridges and across rivers so if you want to lower the impact of the bumps,
try and sit as close to the font of the bus as possible. Because of the bumpy
ride it can be hard to get good photos, the bus will not stop at every animal
sighting so be prepared and set your camera on a sports shooting mode to get the best
shots. The safari and other rides can get very popular – it’s not uncommon to wait
in line for over 90 minutes. Try and take advantage of the Fast Pass and Fast
Pass Plus systems where available.
Florida can get very hot and humid in the summer
months – When we visited in late December it was still getting up to 27 degrees celsius (80 degrees Fahrenheit) so be
prepared.
Each enclosure throughout Asia and Africa
is accompanied by a zoo keeper who will answer any of your questions regarding
the housed animals. For me this made all the difference between passively
walking around the enclosure to actively participating and learning about
things that you can’t necessarily see looking in from afar including the
animal’s status in the wild.
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| Tiger Enclosure @ Maharajah Jungle Trek |
When entering the park it’s easy to walk
past and miss a large selection of animals that are housed at both Discovery
Island and the Oasis. I ran past both
these areas when entering the park to get to the Safari before the lines got
too long. Try and find time to explore
both these areas. The enclosures in these areas are lovely and house some of
the more unusual animals of the park.
For lunch I definitely recommend the
Rainforest Café. You will need to leave the park to enter but that won’t be a
problem because Disney has set up a specific enter and exit point at that
location. Like all sit-down restaurants at Walt Disney World make sure you book
well in advance, especially at busier periods like holiday seasons.
For ticketing information and opening hours please refer to the web page to get the best package for you.
Must See Animals
Gorilla
Tiger
Lion
Elephant
Rhino
Hippo
Giraffe
Okapi
Victoria Crowned Pigeon
© January 2014-Stuatthezoo.blogspot.com.au
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