A Really Good Day at Disney's Animal Kingdom

Disney’s Animal Kingdom is a very different kind of theme park. We’ve been Walt Disney World Annual Passholders for over a decade, and Animal Kingdom seems to be the Disney park we visit the least. On summer days, the winding pathways feel congested and heat from the asphalt makes the park feel so much hotter than the others. While tolerant of shows, my kids don’t put them at the top of their list of things to do. When visiting the park, we typically show up early, hit our favorite couple of attractions, and then head out to Epcot or a water park for the rest of the day.

Yesterday, we had a totally different experience!

A few months ago, we had visited Animal Kingdom for a few hours and Lucas decided to pick up the Wildnerness Explorers Handbook. This is an “enjoy at your own pace” experience that combines collecting things, a scavenger hunt and some learning. On today’s visit, Lucas’s mission was to complete the remaining badges.

The Wilderness Explorer activity starts at the Headquarters Hut on the bridge between the Oasis and Discovery Island; it’s about halfway down the bridge on the right as you face the Tree of Life. Here, you pick up the Wilderness Explorer Handbook, and learn the official Wilderness Explorer Call. Once you’ve learned the call, your “troop leader” will give you your first badge. You can then go around the park looking for the other badges; each badge has a short educational activity that you complete, and then you talk to another “troop leader” to collect your badge. The Handbook has a map in the front to help you locate all of the troop leaders.

If you collect all the badges, you can return to the Headquarters to get your special “Senior Wilderness Explorer” badge. Lucas was determined to finish this activity!

Most of the badges he had left to complete were scattered in Asia, Rafiki’s Planet Watch, and Dinoland, USA; we started our visit to Animal Kingdom with a trip to Asia. Expedition Everest is down for refurbishment until April, so the area around the attraction was pretty quiet – perfect for Yeti hunting to complete one of the badges.

One of the things I really love about Disney in general and Animal Kingdom in specific is the level of detail they put into immersing guests into the environment. To build the Expedition Everest attraction, Disney sent a team of Imagineers to Nepal to study the area around Mt Everest. Everything from the color of the buildings to the plants that were installed are as authentic as possible – transporting you to the Himalayas even though you’re in the middle of a theme park in subtropical central Florida.

One of the WE activities was to find all the Yeti carvings and statues in this area, so we hung out for a bit just soaking in the detail and enjoying the sunshine.

To complete our next set of badges, we journeyed out to Rafiki’s Planet Watch on the Wildlife Express. The only way to get to this area is to take the train. Wildlife Express closes early, so make sure to check the park schedule to visit while it’s open. Planet Watch is made up of the Conservation Station where you can see veternarians at work, and Affection Section which is a small interactive animal petting area. You can also experience drawing with an Animator at certain times during the day. For a kid who has been raised in town without a lot of interaction with farm animals, Affection Section certainly holds some appeal!

We spent about an hour at Rafiki’s Planet Watch and then headed to Dinoland USA to collect the last few badges. Lucas was getting hungry, so we stopped for a snack at one of our favorites, Flame Tree Barbecue . We like Flame Tree because there is usually tons of seating in the shade down behind the restaurant. Some of the seating areas even have a view of the lagoon. Although off-center you can watch the Kite Tails show if it happens to be playing while you’re eating.

In case you’ve been living under a rock the past few years, gourmet cupcakes are officially “a thing.” Flame Tree was offering the Flamingo Cupcake, a strawberry and sugar monstrosity that Lucas pronounced “majestic.”

He ate most of the frosting, but let me have a bite of the cake which was actually quite good.

Thus fortified, we headed over to Dinoland where, after being distracted for several minutes by the Boneyard, Lucas completed his final Wilderness Explorer badges. Wildnerness Explorer Headquarters closes at 5, so we hightailed it over there in time for Lucas to say the Wilderness Explorer Oath and get his Senior Wilderness Explorer badge.

“An Explorer is a friend to all, be it plants or fish or tiny mole.”

– Wildnerness Explorer Motto/Oath

The other part of the park that closes early is the Kilamanjaro Safari. We really enjoy this attraction for the attention to detail, as well as the fact that there’s always something new or different every time you visit the attraction. Cooler cooler temperatures mean more active animals, and late in the day is a great time to visit. As long as you’re in the queue when the attraction closes, they’ll allow you to ride.

This was one of our best safaris ever. The giraffes and zebras were out and active. The hippos were swimming around. The elephants were eating, the cheetahs were prowling. We got to sit and watch rhinos sparring (something I have never seen before!). The lions were actually awake, which is rare for us to see.

After the safari, we decided to head out of the park to begin the drive back home.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom, although it has some really great rides, is not a park that is focused on traditional theme park attractions. It is a more rewarding experience if you visit expecting to wander, and not just rush from attraction to attraction. This is a great park if you have people in your party that like to go at their own pace to stop and discover things along the way. On a multi-day trip to Walt Disney World, Animal Kingdom would make a great first stop. The slower pace allows visitors to get in the rhythm of a theme park vacation, and there is less “scheduling” in this park than some of the others. For repeat visitors, I highly recommend the Wilderness Explorer program. The cast members are so knowledgeable about the animals, and love answering questions from kids of all ages. It took us into sections of the park that we rarely visit – perfect on a day with such beautiful weather.

Ready to start planning your own trip to Animal Kingdom? Click here to get started.