Walking into Animal Kingdom is amazing, we were instantly brought into another world with a Tree of Life waiting for us smack in the middle of the action. As people milled about I was struck by the lush greenery and signs of nature everywhere. This is a refreshing sight for a country girl like myself.
Our CAA Magical Planner had given us a list of attractions to visit at Animal Kingdom. Very wisely she didn’t plan our journey through Animal Kingdom by times, she listed the attractions we wanted to see in the most logical order in case we got side-tracked instead.
This made it very simple for us, each attraction was listed by location in the park and historical crowd information. Once again our CAA Magical Planner proved invaluable to us as we avoided confusion in locating rides or time wasted criss-crossing the park to get to attractions. We simply followed her list and each attraction led to the next.
The Tree of Life
Anyone who enters Animal Kingdom is greeted by the sight of this man-made tree; it’s a sculpted 14-story (145-foot tall) and 50-foot wide tree.
There are paths which meander around the Tree of Life, they’re known as the Discovery Island Trail. As we walked along the path we were exported to a magical spot where we found hidden animals in the foliage, carved into the branches of the tree and information on each animal.
The girls loved the challenge of spotting animals and learning new information about each one. I probably should say this but we did find a Hidden Mickey!!
Killimanjaro Safaris Expedition
This is a very cool attraction, we waited in a large line up but honestly it was so worth the wait! We were led onto a safari bus that had open sides and was much like the vehicles we see on televisions in African safaris. If you have any physical issues, be aware the ride is quite bumpy but it’s slow moving and the sights are incredible.
We were taken around the animal reserve and got to see elephants, lions, antelope, flamingo, black rhinos and more. The driver was fabulous, he instructed us where to look and managed to know when to stop and wait…..just as I was about to be impatient he’d yell “there” and an animal would come out of the brush.
Our girls adored this ride and we’ll be back for sure, if you’re going make sure you have your camera ready!
Kali River Rapids
Unfortunately I was unable to do this ride because of back/neck issues but my family LOVED it! Kali River Rapids is a river rafting ride that exhilarated them from beginning to end. The raft is curricular and holds 12 people.
My husband and 2 daughters were taken 90 feet up into the jungle, with sights of beautiful waterfalls and foliage surrounding them. Then they hit rough water, the entire landscape changed to one of a dangerous nature.
The story goes that some illegal loggers had fled the area, leaving debris along the riverbanks. There were fires blazing along the landscape and frightening wildlife waiting for you to fall out of the raft.
The kids were terrified, but they managed to escape by plummeting down a 30-foot waterfall to safety. Their faces as they ran towards me were hilarious, to say they were jazzed is the understatement of the year!
Expedition Everest
This was one roller coaster my husband and eldest daughter were looking forward to! While waiting in line my two adventurers were heard to be yelling Yeti, Yeti, Yeti!!!
The ride had them climb aboard a railway car that took them high up a mountain with some twists and turns where the view was spectacular. Just as they were getting comfy looking around they were plunged into darkness that took their breath away. Suddenly they were in the light again only to find the track their railway car is on has been twisted and it’s a dead end!
Howls greeted their ears and then……well I can’t tell you everything can I? Suffice it to say it was an experience of gut-wrenching drops, turns and yes maybe even a Yeti!
Finding Nemo the Musical
Oh my goodness this show is spectacular! Please, if you’re going to Animal Kingdom mark this as a must see.
Located in Dinoland USA this is a 30 minute Broadway-style show that will have you and your family fully absorbed throughout the entire production. Disney really hit it out of the park with this, I was instantly brought back to the underwater world of Nemo and once again falling in love with my favourite character of all time: Dory,
The theatre darkens and the stage comes alive with colours I didn’t imagine anywhere but underwater. Disney’s innovation with props, lighting, sounds and special effect overwhelmed my senses and I was enchanted. The puppets became life like, as they swayed in authentic fish like movements. The voices were straight out of the film and the songs peaked my memories. Oh yes I fell in love again.
Animal Kingdom is an amazing experience for all ages, surrounded by exotic animals, vegetation and information we had an enlightening day which we couldn’t elsewhere.
8 Responses
We enjoyed our trip to Animal Kingdom last Spring and are hoping to make it back this year. My daughter was only 2 so we didn’t do the rides but we did take in the Finding Nemo show. Some parts were a little scary for her but other than the sharks, she enjoyed it!
Kali River Rapids looks awesome! I am a HUGE fan of water rides. My son would love the elephants. How cool!
Oh we loooooved Finiding Nemo and actually Lion King too. Never did any of the rides as Dottie was too young at the time. The safari was cool too ‘cept she fell asleep just before we got into the jeep!!
This is great. We are planning a trip to Disney World for Christmas /New Years. So thanks for the info :)
I loved the safari at Animal Kingdom! It was the only thing we did there and then left shortly. Was awesome and got some amazing photos there!!!! Glad you guys had a blast :)
looks like loads of fun lovely post
Love the Animal Kingdom. It is a lot more relaxing going through this park than some of the others. The safari is probably my favourite ride at Walt Disney World and Finding Nemo is my favourite show.
I’m not one for roller coasters but according to my husband, Expedition Everest is pretty awesome.
So glad you guys had fun!
I went to Disney three years ago. I earned a trip for my family with Pampered Chef. It was amazing, I had never been before. We went in June and there was a heat wave. We spent one day at Animal Kingdom. The Tree of Life was pretty cool to see. I think for us we enjoyed Magic Kingdom better, I found it was set up better for families with little kids. Animal Kingdom we walked a lot. It was great to see and experience it all though. Glad you had fun. :)