On our third day at Disney World back in November, my friend and I decided to visit Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park.  Even though we already checked out Universal Studios Florida, Epcot, and Magic Kingdom, we were not tired of theme parks and were ready for the next one.  This one will have some similarities to a zoo which should be exciting.

Getting there

Similar with the trip to Magic Kingdom, we took an accessible bus from our hotel at Pop Century Resort to Animal Kingdom.  It only took 10 minutes to get us there and I am still amazed at how huge the Disney World property is.  It is really cool to see the iconic purple, red and yellow road signs that signify you are in Disney World.  They just started to change all the road signs to blue to match the rest of the city which has some fans upset.

Animal Kingdom

Animal Kingdom opened on Earth Day April 22, 1998.  At 580 acres, it is the largest theme park in the world.  It is the last theme park to be built at Disney World.  Since it is part zoo, part theme park, to minimize disruptions to the animals, there is no night time fireworks show, and it closes earlier than the other 3 theme parks at Disney World.

The park is divided into 7 main areas: Oasis, Discovery Island, Pandora – The World of Avatar, Africa, Rafiki’s Planet Watch, Asia, and DinoLand USA.  The Tree of Life which is an artificial baobab tree is the iconic centerpiece at Animal Kingdom.  Here is a list of our main activities and which area it could be found in.

The Animals

(Oasis)

The entrance of the theme park leads us into the Oasis area.  We made sure to get a wheelchair accessible guide map that is available near the entrance once you get inside every theme park.  In this area we get to see animals like deer-pigs, iguanas, spoonbills and other water birds.  There are also lots of trees and plants surrounding everywhere we go.  Animal Kingdom already feels totally different than Epcot and Magic Kingdom.

Tree of Life

(Discovery Island)

We then head towards Discovery Island, where we saw a few more animals like the tamarin monkey and the lemurs.  Just like Cinderella Castle is the iconic symbol of Magic Kingdom, the Tree of Life is the symbol for Animal Kingdom.  This baobab tree sculpture is 145 feet with over 8000 tree branches of different sizes and over 100,000 artificial leaves.  The tree trunk also features over 300 carvings of different animals on it.

We had to make sure we got to take a bunch of pictures in front of this magnificent tree.  We know this tree will be the centerpiece for a brief light show at the end of the night and will revisit to do so.  Surrounding this tree were also a bunch of gold Disney 50th anniversary statues of characters that we also took pictures of.

Na’vi River Journey

(Pandora – The World of Avatar)

Pandora – The World of Avatar was really amazing and we were so surprised in all the detail Disney put in to make this world come alive.  Plants, trees and waterfalls were everywhere and it made us feel like we were in the movie.  There was a sample ride vehicle just outside Avatar Flight of Passage attraction and I was debating on going on the ride but ultimately didn’t end up transferring to the ride vehicle due to no seat belt or lap belt.

After my friend did go on that ride and getting a quick snack at Satu’li Canteen restaurant, we went on Na’vi River Journey boat ride.  My friend had to physically carry me onto the river boat as the boat was not wheelchair accessible.  He had to secure me in the seat and help me balance during the whole ride.  It was a nice slow moving boat ride in the dark to see all the colorful lights and sounds of Avatar.

Donald’s Dino Bash Flotilla

(Discovery River – Discovery Island)

We left Pandora and was heading towards Oasis area to get our late lunch reservation when we happen to catch Donald’s Dino Bash Flotilla on Discovery River.  This new type of show was created since covid as a way to see our favorite Disney characters from a safe distance.  This flotilla has Donald Duck and his friends floating on a boat doing a full 360 degree loop on Discovery River while waving at guests and dancing to music.  My friend then went on the Expedition Everest ride when we went to check out Asia.

Rainforest Cafe

(Oasis)

Reservations at sit down restaurants are hard to get as they are usually booked weeks in advance.  We were lucky to have a late lunch reservation at Rainforest Cafe.  It is a jungle themed restaurant that simulates being in a rainforest with lots of trees, plants, waterfalls, fog and jungle animal statues.  There is also a large aquarium and a gift shop attached to the restaurant.

The food consists of regular American classics like burgers, chicken, pastas and more.  I had one of their burgers and fries and it was really good.  It can be very noisy at this restaurant because once in a while, there is thunder storms and animals noises.  It’s part of the experience but some people might be bothered by this.

It’s Tough to be a Bug!

(Discovery Island)

After our late lunch, we headed back to Discovery Island to our next activity.  We went to see “It’s Tough to be a Bug!” show.  I have previously watched this 9 minute show at Disney California Park and it is basically the same exact show.  The neat thing about the Animal Kingdom version is that the theater is actually inside the base of the iconic Tree of Life.  This 3D animated show also features wind, rain, motion seats and smells.

A Celebration of Festival of the Lion King

(Africa)

My friend and I just missed Disney KiteTails show featuring 3D kites soaring around the waters of Discovery River.  We did finally made it to A Celebration of Festival of the Lion King show which has multiple showtimes throughout the day.  This very popular 30 minute Broadway type show was revamped and debut in May 2021 and is at a large theater in the Africa area.  The wheelchair accessible seating is in front of each section of bleacher seating.

This show based on the animated movie was really one of the best shows at Disney.  This moving and totally immersive show has actors in bright colorful costumes interacting with moving puppets, parade floats, stilt walkers and dancers celebrating with music from the movie.  It really is worth checking out for sure.

TriceraTop Spin

(Dinoland USA)

Dinoland USA was the last area of this huge theme park to visit and we had fun looking at fossils and dinosaur models in The Boneyard.  I skipped joining my friend on the Dinosaur ride as it wasn’t accessible enough for me.  I did go on TricerTop Spin ride as I got to wheel my chair inside a dinosaur.  This easy carousel type ride is geared towards small children but I still got to enjoy it.

Tree of Life Awakenings

(Discovery Island)

Tree of Life Awakenings is a quick 5 minute night time show that happens every 10 minute once it gets dark.  There is soft music and a dazzling light display on this iconic tree with colorful fireflies and Disney animated images.  There wasn’t a special accessible seating area because it is a short show that runs multiple times.  It was still an amazing mini spectacular show despite no fireworks because that would scare the sleeping animals.

Final Thoughts

Animal Kingdom does open and close earlier than the other theme parks at Disney World and my friend and I still managed to spend 8 hours here.  It was unique and totally different than the first 2 theme parks we visited and was great to have real live animals combined with rides and entertainment shows.

With the night ending earlier here, it gave us a much needed few hours to check out Disney Springs which is Disney’s big entertainment, shopping and dining center.  Stay tuned for that next blog post.