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Travel back in time -- way back -- to a world of ferocious dinosaurs. Surround
yourself with the music and magic of a Broadway-caliber performance in the
"Festival of the Lion King" show. Hop aboard a real safari to capture poachers
and explore the wilds of Africa. Ride raging rapids through a threatened
rainforest, or marvel at tigers, fruit bats and other creatures amid the ruins
of an ancient Asian village.
Lace up your walking shoes and prepare to explore Disney's Animal Kingdom,
where the exciting worlds of wild and whimsical creatures come to life on
thrill rides and on an authentic African safari, in theaters brimming with
colorful entertainment and through up-close meetings with the animal stars of
Disney feature animation classics.
Laid out in a classic hub-and-spoke Disney style, this newest and fourth major
theme park at Walt Disney World Resort first welcomes guests into The Oasis, a
lush gateway to adventure populated by deer, anteaters, tree kangaroos and
other animals. The park's fun-filled lands radiate from the centrally located Safari
Village
, where The Tree of Life park icon towers 145 feet above guests and houses the
hilarious 3-D film and special effects attraction, "It's Tough to be a Bug!"
From there, guests can explore:
Africa
, home to Kilimanjaro Safaris, Harambe village, Pangani Forest Exploration
Trail, and Conservation Station and the Wildlife Express steam train.
DinoLand U.S.A.
, with the DINOSAUR thrill ride, The Boneyard excavation play area, Cretaceous
Trail and Theater in the Wild, featuring "Tarzan Rocks!" stage show.
Camp Minnie-Mickey
, with "Festival of the Lion King" stage show, Pocahontas in "Pocahontas and
Her Forest Friends" stage show and Disney character meet-and-greet pavilions
featuring Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Winnie the Pooh and other favorites.
Asia
, featuring Expedition: Everest, a roller coaster ride through the Himalayan Mountains;
Kali River Rapids, a white-water raft adventure; Maharajah Jungle
Trek with tigers, gibbons, Komodo dragons and other creatures; and "Flights of
Wonder," an exotic bird show.
"Nothing like Animal Kingdom exists anywhere else in the world," says Joe
Rohde, Walt Disney Imagineering executive designer for the new park. "Our
guests journey into the last wild sanctuaries of the planet -- vast forests and
grasslands where the great herds of Africa surround them. And they race against
time into the darkness of a prehistoric world where gigantic dinosaurs
literally shake the earth around them."
Bugs are another matter. They may not shake the earth, but they know how to
shake up an audience in "It's Tough to be a Bug!" at The Tree of Life Theater.
With advanced 3-D and Audio-Animatronics® technology combined with surprising
special effects, this insect adventure leaves guests laughing and screaming for
more.
The magical music of the Disney classic "The Lion King" combines with dance,
acrobatics and elaborate staging and costuming to inspire one of the theme
park's most talked-about shows, "Festival of the Lion King" at Camp
Minnie-Mickey. And at Theater in the Wild outside DinoLand U.S.A., guests are
swept away on a theatrical thrill ride in a high-energy 30-minute stage
musical, "Tarzan Rocks!"
At the heart of DinoLand U.S.A., guests discover DINOSAUR, where they board
time-traveling vehicles to zoom back 65 million years on a twisting, lurching
journey to save the last dinosaur from extinction before the crash of a fiery
asteroid. A busy paleontological "dig," The Boneyard, provides plenty of fun
activity for children as they climb, crawl and slide throughout the
well-preserved skeletons of triceratops and Tyrannosaurus rex.
From the thrilling era of the dinosaurs more than 65 million years ago, Disney
guests can travel on to an African savannah of today, where rare and wonderful
creatures such as black rhinos, hippos, African elephants and lions roam
openly. On Kilimanjaro Safaris, passengers experience a true African safari in
vehicles that bounce over rutted roads, ford through pools of hippos and pass
herds of zebra, giraffe, gazelle, elephants and other animals. But beware!
Lurking in the tawny grasslands are ivory poachers, and it's up to the safari
passengers to help save the herd from poachers' guns.
At the end of the 20-minute safari, visitors can follow Pangani Forest
Exploration Trail into an Eden-like world of streams and splashing waterfalls.
Pangani Forest is home to a troop of endangered lowland gorillas. Hippos --
viewed from under water -- meerkats and tropical birds live along the shady
walking trail.
On another "continent" nearby, guests encounter the thrill of Kali River
Rapids, a white-water rafting expedition in the new land of Asia. Guests are
launched on 12-person rafts into the turbulent Chakranadi River for a wet
journey of twists, turns and fiery adventure.
A surprise awaits around every turn, including an abrupt drop into racing,
splashing waters.
Asia's other main attraction, Maharajah Jungle Trek, is a breathtaking journey
through the lush home of myriad animal and bird species.
In this rainforest environment, Nepal, India, Thailand and Indonesia all are
represented through architecture, animal carvings and ruins scattered
throughout the village. The exotic animals are visible from the top of a
parapet, through a stand of bamboo and from a bridge that stands amid the ruins
near an old herb garden.
"Flights of Wonder," a humorous show highlighting the beauty and diversity of
birds at Caravan Stage outdoor amphitheater, is also a part of Asia. The
setting for "Flights of Wonder" is a crumbling Asian town where macaws, ibis,
pelicans and other birds emerge from their alcoves to soar overhead.
Which birds show off on any given day is part of the surprise, but all birds
are being taught to show off their natural talent, not "do tricks." Trainers
demonstrate how birds respond to special audio or visual clues, how they hunt
and eat. "Flights of Wonder" is one of many shows and demonstrations in
Disney's Animal Kingdom designed to entertain while inspiring guests to a
greater awareness of animals and what threatens them around the world.
For an up-close look at more of the real animals inhabiting Disney's Animal
Kingdom, guests can board the Wildlife Express steam train to
Conservation Station
. An interactive backstage look at how the park's animals are kept happy and
healthy, Conservation Station features: Animal Cam, with a peek into animal
care areas; hands-on displays for the opportunity to participate in
conservation and species-survival efforts; and The Affection Section, where
guests can meet and pet small domestic animals. A wondrous audio experience
transports guests into a threatened rainforest.
Animals have played an important part in Disney stories from the earliest
Mickey Mouse films to the "True-Life Adventures" television series in the 1950s
to "The Lion King" in feature motion pictures.
"Disney is all about storytelling," says Rohde. "And now, for the first time,
real live animals help tell the story as their fascinating families play out
real-life experiences on nature's "stage".
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