Animal Kingdom
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Affection Section
Time: N/A
Best for: Kids
Height Requirement: Any Height
Type: Educational/Interactive
Summary: Animal enclosure where you can love on, pet, and brush different animals. Kids might even make a new friend!
Our Opinion: Great for animal-loving kids who need a time to relax.
Caution:
Trivia:
It’s Tough to Be a Bug
Photos Courtesy of Disney Parks Blog
Time: 8 minutes
Best for: Family
Height Requirement: Any Height
Type: Show
Summary: Follow Flik and some other buggy friends inside the Tree of Life and into a look at their life and how truly tough it is to be a bug in this 4D experience.
Our Opinion: While this attraction is unique in that it is a theater housed inside the Tree of Life, it often can be slightly frightening to children during certain parts where the 4D experience simulates bugs running across their feet. Some families solve this by having their children lift their feet at the right time, but the content of bugs everywhere can still be a bit scary.
Caution: Can be a little bit scary for kids afraid of bugs!
Trivia: This attraction actually opened before the film did! However, the film was scheduled to release two months later. So, the attraction was not one of those that inspired a later-made movie. Still, it added a little fun that guests got to meet the characters before ever seeing the film in theaters.
Avatar Flight of Passage
Time: 5 minutes
Best for: Older kids, teens, and adults
Height Requirement: 44” or taller
Type: 3D Simulation Show
Summary: Ah, the revered Flight of Passage. This ride is truly hard to describe for those who have not ridden it. (Anyone who has ridden Soarin’… start there.) You board your personal banshee, an animal unique to Pandora, and take flight through their world (shown by a massive, theater-style screen) in your own 3D experience. The ride fills your flight with sci-fi, bioluminescent scenes, other worldly creatures, breathtaking scents, and wondrous views of the Pandora world.
Our Opinion: One of the best rides done at Walt Disney World. It captures the awe and magic of Disney while showing off their expertise with engineering and pixie dust combined.
Caution: If you tend to get motion sick, this ride could be a trigger for that. Our biggest concern with this one is that it varies just a bit from Soarin’. On Soarin’ you can close your eyes and nothing is moving. You can imagine you are sitting on a bench with some beautiful music and smells around you to curb that nausea. With Flight of Passage, your individual vehicle moves a little as well as the entire row. This makes it much harder to imagine that you are stationary, though it is better than watching the screen if that causes an issue. For many, closing your eyes will be the immediate fix! Hopefully that breaks it down for you a bit. We always recommend this one as it stands as one of our top rides at Disney. Yet, it comes with this slight disclaimer if you have motion sickness tendencies.
Trivia: The gorgeous, sweeping music was performed by the London Symphony Orchestra! Also, see if you can find three hand prints on the wall of the queue. Those are the hands prints of the creators/visionaries behind the ride.
Na’vi River Journey
Photos Courtesy of Disney Parks Blog
Time: 5 minutes
Best for: All ages
Height Requirement: N/A
Type: Dark Ride/Water Ride
Summary: Board a small boat and travel through a peaceful nighttime scene in Pandora, encountering animals and characters from the films along the way.
Our Opinion: The bioluminescent scenes and animatronics are not to be missed on these rides. Nothing incredibly exciting happens, but it is a good place to get out of the Florida heat and take a break.
Caution:
Trivia:
Kilimanjaro Safaris
Time: 40 minutes
Best for: All ages
Height Requirement: N/A
Type: Safari tour
Summary: This is the closest you’ll get to a safari in Africa while still being in Orlando. From lions, to wildebeest, to giraffes, a guide will take you on a tour of the savannah by way of a jeep that will bring you fairly up-close to the animals.
Our Opinion: Anthony is probably the more inclined “nature-lover” of the two of us. However, neither of us is really big on this specific attraction. Don’t get us wrong, we love the animals and the nature of it, but it’s just not high on our list. It could be that part of the reason is it always seems to take a chunk from the day. If you have an animal-lover in your group though, they will adore this tour!
Trivia: Disney is known for taking expert care of the animals in their care. At the same time there are some interesting hurdles that come with having animals in a park for guests to view them. Some animals may want to be far away from guests or find shade elsewhere. So, Disney incorporates hidden AC units and other “tricks” to provide comfortable areas for the animals in places where people can still see them well!
Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail
Time: N/A
Best for: Kids
Height Requirement: N/A
Type: Interactive, Educational Trail
Summary: Venture out on a trek through areas like the savanna and forests filled with animals to observe. You’ll come across fish, gorillas, zebras, meerkats, and more! You can go through the trail at your own pace to experience as much as you want.
Our Opinion: Everyone knows Disney is filled with a ton of walking. So, on some days this area is one that we don’t want to tackle because it includes even more walking. However, other times it is an absolutely gorgeous place to take in the sights and experience some of the calmer parts of Animal Kingdom.
Trivia:
Wild Africa Trek
Time: 3 hours
Best for: Teens and Adults
Height Requirement: 48’ and at least 8 years old
Type: Privately guided (and priced) adventure tour
Summary: Experience the natural world with a private guide through the Safi River valley. You’ll climb rope bridges, hike through forests, and cross rivers through this exciting, completely interactive adventure. As said above, this is a privately priced tour separate from your park ticket. It definitely is set apart from any of experience in Animal Kingdom though. You’ll get the VIP treatment without a doubt!
Price: $139-$249
Our Opinion: We have personally never done this tour, so we can’t give you our honest opinion on it. However, we do know Disney typically does an incredible job on their VIP tours and adventures. We rarely ever hear of someone being disappointed.
One thing to note… This may not be for you if you want to do everything in the park, only have one day, and are looking to add this on top of everything. You probably won’t have time to do everything and this in one day. Something to consider!
Celebration of the Festival of the Lion King
Photos Courtesy of Disney Parks Blog
Time: 30 minutes
Best for: All Ages
Height Requirement: N/A
Type: Show
Summary: Step into a round theater to watch a live show of the Lion King characters as they interact with the audience and perform certain scenes from the movie. You’ll hear amazing vocals, watch acrobats, and see some of the movie’s characters.
Our Opinion: We love watching this show and it has never disappointed. We do miss some of the acrobats that came in the previous version of this show. Still, we so enjoy seeing the performances here and of course the music!
Trivia: Many of the floats that enter the stage with some of the characters on board actually got shipped from Disneyland after the closing of the Lion King Celebration parade there. Take a look at the elephant, giraffe, and Pumba. Each of those came from the California park!
In addition, make sure to check out Simba’s float. Interesting fact about this one, you might never guess it but he actually stands 12 feet tall up there!
Wildlife Express Train
Time: 7 minutes
Best for: All ages
Height Requirement: N/A
Type: Train ride
Summary: Get a behind the scenes look as you head to Rafiki’s Plant Watch at the work going into caring for the animals and keeping the safari a fun places for guests to experience. You’ll see their homes, the spaces they play in, and some of the cast members working to keep everything safe and healthy!
Our Opinion: This is a fun little break from all of the popular rides and it really does give you a little look behind the scenes!
Trivia:
The Animation Experience at Conservation Station
Time: 25 minutes
Best for: All ages (Kids may have a more difficult time following the class.)
Height Requirement:
Type:
Summary: After leaving the Wildlife Express train, you will be able to explore in this area. This particular attraction gives you the opportunity to learn to draw your own Disney character. A cast member will share different details of animals that have made it into Disney films, enhancing your knowledge of them.
Our Opinion: We love these artistic experiences! It is such a fun way to feel the Disney magic firsthand. We do think this area is a bit out of the way, but still love the experience it gives.
Trivia:
Expedition Everest
Time: 3 minutes
Best for: Teens, Adults
Height Requirement: 44”
Type: Thrill, Rollercoaster
Summary: Thrill seekers, this is the Animal Kingdom ride for you! Take a speeding train through the Himalayan mountains. In true Disney fashion, your journey turns awry when you encounter a torn track in your way. At this point, you careen backwards along the track, passing by the culprit of the track destruction, the Yeti.
Our Opinion: One of our favorite thrill rides between the two of us. The storytelling along the ride is great without sacrificing the thrill of a rollercoaster.
Trivia: Disney remains one of the best experts at forced perspective. For this particular mountain, the imagineers painted shadows upon the rockwork to make the structure appear even bigger and have depth to it. This forced perspective tricks your eyes into thinking a pretty realistic mountain range looms before you.
Along with that, the attraction has three superstructures that form it. The reason behind this is that the forward and backward tracks, along with the massive Yeti animatronic, produce enough force and shaking that all of them would crumble one structure on its own. Truly! The power behind the Yeti itself creates the same amount of power as the engines on a Boeing 747! They weren’t kidding around with that animatronic. That kind of violent vibrations could bring down the entire concrete structure if it were in one piece. So, imagineers had to separate parts of them to have them be self-sufficient in order to minimize the shaking.
Kali River Rapids
Photos Courtesy of Disney Parks Blog
Time: 5 minutes
Best for: Kids, Teens, Adults
Height Requirement: 38”
Type: Whitewater Rapids
Summary: You will get wet. You may get soaked! This ride is a great way to cool off from the heat of the blazing Florida sun while also having an adventure along the way! Crash through the waves of the white water rapids where your journey will take a turn when you come across some illegal loggers who have caused dangerous debris to get in your path.
Our Opinion: Sometimes we aren’t prepared to get soaked and this ride becomes a bit tedious or annoying. However, when we are ready for it (especially when already soaked with sweat), this one holds so much fun! You never know which way the raft will spin to send a wall of water over you or someone else. The anticipation makes it even better!
Trivia: Imagineers created a whole backstory and a town, Anandapur, just for this area and attraction. When you walk through, see what you can find in the area that lends itself to the story of Anandapur.
Feathered Friends in Flight
Time: 25 minutes
Best for: Kids
Height Requirement: N/A
Type: Educational Show
Summary: Join animal trainers as they bring into almost a “day in the life” of training the birds under their care. You will see everything from mackaws to ravens to bald eagles. The show has certain interactive aspects and often the birds will fly right over your head.
Our Opinion: This one is good fun. Like many others, it isn’t super high on our priorities list. However, it is fun to be able to compare between shows and see the animals act differently. You get to know them almost as friends!
Trivia:
Dinosaur
Time: 3 ½ minutes
Best for: Teens and Adults
Height Requirement: 40”
Type: Dark Ride, Scary
Summary: Scientists have found a way to give tours of the past to guests. They can send you back in time to the age of dinosaurs, typically keeping a safe distance from the supposed time of meteors. Of course, this is Disney and the story can’t be a complete one without something going wrong first. One particular scientist secretly informs you he is sending you back in time to just minutes before the meteor showers that caused mass extinction so that you can bring back a particular dinosaur. The adventure is on! Off you go and be prepared for some scary encounters!
Our Opinion: There’s no doubt this ride is a little scary. Between the pitch-black scenes to some of the animatronics jumping out at you, you never really know what will happen next. We love that about this ride though! It is surprising. A different kind of story is delivered to you than many of the Disney attractions. That’s what we love more than anything—the adventure and surprise!
Trivia: This ride actually used to be called Countdown to Extinction. Keep your eyes peeled around the area for “CTX”—a reference to the original name. The release of Disney’s Dinosaur film called for a new name and some story changes.
Another fun fact: the track path itself is the same as the one built for Indiana Jones Adventure in Disneyland!
Finding Nemo-The Musical
Photos Courtesy of Disney Parks Blog
Time: 30 minutes
Best for: All Ages
Height Requirement: N/A
Type: Show
Summary: View a live-action interpretation of Pixar’s Finding Nemo. This time though, it’s a musical! You’ll see acrobats, dancers, singers, puppets, and more on this stage as it takes you through the familiar and endearing story.
Our Opinion: This is a no-go for us. We know quite a few people out there would fight us on this opinion, but we truly just do not enjoy this show. We will say it is a big, entertaining production. They didn’t skimp on this one. However, the songs are feel forced to us and the storyline too jumpy in many places. (Yes, we know they had to move from a film length to a 25-minute show length.) We simply don’t love it. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try it for yourself if you have the time for it though! You could have a different experience than we have.
Trivia:
TriceraTop Spin
Time: 1 ½ minutes
Best for: Young Kids
Height Requirement: N/A
Type: Aerial Carousel
Summary: In the same vein of the Dumbo and Aladdin rides we all know, this one just has a dinosaur spin on it. Located in DinoLand, you will ride on triceratops as they circle around in carousel fashion.
Our Opinion: Great for the kiddos. Not all that thrilling or unique for the adults.
Trivia: The backstory behind this whole area and why this ride “fits” is pretty interesting. Hester and Chester were owners in the area when people came to find that dinosaur bones were discovered there. So, as people traveled to the area, the two men decided to make it a carnival-style area to bring in some profit. Thus, the carnival theme was born—and also this dinosaur attraction for kids!