Disney's Animal Kingdom

 

The biggest of the four parks in Walt Disney World is a nature-themed park where the natural world is celebrated. Here, guests can go through the wild and see many animals, including nature-based rides and attractions.

This concept was developed in the 1990's as a new park for Disney. Despite some controversy surrounding the use of animals in the park, imagineers pressed forward and believed in their vision. Eventually, the park opened on Earth Day in 1998 to success, and has been praised by many animal conservatives, such as Jane Goodall.

Let's go over the top five things to see in this park, and because there aren't too many rides here, I will be talking about shows here too.

#5 Finding Nemo: The Big Blue....and Beyond!

Location: Dinoland U.S.A.
Height Requirement: None
Opening Year: 2007
Scope: C-Ticket
This Broadway-style show, located in the Theater of the Wild, features screens, puppetry, effects, and more to retell the story of Disney*Pixar's Finding Nemo. Original songs are featured in the show as well, written by Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, who also wrote the songs for Frozen. This show has been recently updated with an extended story featuring the Marine Life Institute and the tank gang from the film, as well as some background screen effects.

#4 Festival of the Lion King

Location: Africa
Height Requirement: None
Opening Year: 1998
Scope: C-Ticket
In the Harambe theater is where a celebration of the classic Disney film plays. Here, guests come into the theater and sit in one of four sections, making the noises of lions, warthogs, elephants, and giraffes. Then, they are treated to a musical show featuring acrobats, aerialists, puppetry, fire dancers, songs from the films, and African dances to bring the world of the movie to life.

#3 Kilimanjaro Safaris

Location: Africa
Height Requirement: Any Height
Opening Year: 1998
Scope: E-Ticket
This is the largest attraction ever created for a Disney Park, mainly because of all of the hidden areas to care for the animals and keep the predators from getting other animals. In addition, this creates the illusion of going through an African savanna on a real-life safari.

Guests ride a jeep through the savanna, seeing many animals as they go. This includes giraffes, elephants, rhinos, lions, and such. While some animals might not be seen on one ride, they may be seen on another.

#2 Expedition Everest: Legend of the Forbidden Mountain

Location: Asia
Height Requirement: 44 in.
Opening Year: 2006
Scope: E-Ticket
Guests board a rugged train going through the Himalaya mountains. However, this becomes a fast-paced thrill ride that goes forwards and backwards on a race to survive.

The Royal Andurpur Tea Company was a successful tea company that shipped tea between British India, the Kingdom of Nepal, and Qing Dynasty China in the early 20th Century. However, the company was shut down after a series of incidents happened, blamed on the elusive yeti. It is unclear whether or not this beast is real, but now in the present day, guests are taking one of the tea trains to the top of the mountain. As they go through the mountain on an expedition, they discover that the yeti is real, and it will do anything to protect its home. The guests must escape in order to avoid becoming its next victims.

#1 Avatar Flight of Passage

Location: Pandora: The World of Avatar
Height Requirement: 44 in.
Opening Year: 2017
Scope: E-Ticket
This 3-D motion simulator ride recreates flying on a Mountain Banshee and it's the headliner attraction in Pandora. Here, guests will fly over Pandora and see the moon's unique life, and even feel the creature breathing beneath them.

Guests come in as expedition members of ACE (Alpha Centauri Expeditions.) This is an expedition group that has come to Pandora to study the life on the world and help repair its damaged ecosystem. To help educate more people on it, they are working with the local Na'Vi people, and they have discovered a ritual where they fly on Ikrans (Banshees) as a rite of passage. Here, guests will be paired with avatars and fly over the moon on an Ikran.

Honorable Mention: Animals

Location: Park-Wide
Height Requirement: None
Opening Year: 1998
Scope: A-Ticket
All around the park are animals you can see. This features many animal exhibits where guests can see while they visit the park, and they can see three exploration trails filled with animals: Tree of Life Trails, Gorilla Falls Exploration Trails, and Maharajah Jungle Trek.

And that's all for now. Make sure to see my book, Magecraft: Legend of the Last Snawfus, now on Amazon!

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