W D   W  Animal Kingdom

Park Introduction

Animal Kingdom (AK) is also a special place for us. We moved to the Orlando area in the summer of 1997 and the first vacation day we both took was AK’s public grand opening on April 22, 1998. The park was intentionally designed to be more intimate than the other parks with narrower, winding walks giving guests more “surprise experiences” as they navigated the park. AK is a registered Zoological Park so the animals are not just there for the show.

When the park first opened there was a “Camp Minnie-Mickey” area for meeting characters and the Lion King Show; this has been replaced with the Pandora (Avatar) area. The Africa area was also there on opening day along with Dinoland USA and Rafiki’s Planet Watch. The Asia portion of the park didn’t open until later in 1999. The Everest Roller Coaster came in the mid-2000s.




Favorite Memories




Thoughts for Planning a Visit

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General Notes

Comparatively, this park requires the most walking to get around and the ground is the least consistent; more hills and “rougher” surfaces.
There aren’t straws or lids at any of the eating places or stands in the park since it is technically categorized as a zoo and they don’t want them to end up in the animal enclosures.
James could spend hours watching and photographing the tigers.


Attractions

Safari ride is interesting. Hopefully it’ll be a cooler day so the animals will be up and active. Don’t slap rhinos on the butt.
Lion King Show is pretty good. Up tempo and entertaining.
Kali River Rapids is good; expect to get wet.
Everest is an interesting ride if you're into roller coasters.
If you’ve got kids in the 8-12 range, taking the train out to Rafiki’s Planet Watch can be very educational.
Dinosaur is interesting, but there’s a lot of motion and might be bad for motion sickness.
Primeval Whirl will make you dizzy(er) but is pretty fun.
Flights of Wonder shows you some interesting birds.
We haven't visited since Pandora opened so we're not sure what's available there.


Addressing Rumbly in the Tumbly

What’s open for food changes seasonally but most should be open in the summer.
Counter Service - Flame Tree BBQ is pretty good. Pizzafari is okay. Restaurantosaurus pretty much was a McDonalds; don’t see McD in the other parks so not sure if it still is or not.
Sit down – Yak and Yeti is pretty good; Tusker House is one of the originals in the park and had decent food.
There’s a Rain Forest Café just outside the entrance to the park.