Animal Kingdom

The last time we came to Disney World Animal Kingdom was our favorite park. We saved it for last on this trip because you know what they say save the best for last. After our amazing Magic Kingdom day we were excited to see what this day had in store. It was a fantastic day!

We arrived at the park a little after 8am. The park opened at 9am so we figured parking would open around and hour before. This assumption was correct. The late opening gave us time to make breakfast burritos at our hotel before we headed to the park.

Once inside we headed to the Pandora portion of the park. Most other guests headed this way as well. The majority were getting in line for Flight of Passage - the headliner ride of this land. We however headed for the Na’vi River Journey. This is a slow river floating ride through the Na’vi landscape. It is a very beautifully designed ride. However, it is not as popular or as fun as the E-ticket attraction. We chose to rope drop this ride because we have been watching wait times leading up to our trip and it consistently has long wait times later in the day. As we waited in line we wondered whether or not this was the correct choice. The other parks we visited started running the rides before the park opened. They did not do this at Animal Kingdom. At first we wondered if this was just our ride, but it appeared to apply to the whole park. Anyway we rode the ride and I am glad we did it early. It is a good ride, but it has significant capacity restraints due to the COVID restrictions, hence long lines later in the day. 

Next we went over to the Kilimanjaro Safaris. I enjoy this ride, but it was bittersweet. If not for COVID we wouldn’t have been at Disney World. Instead we would have been in Africa going on an actual safari. This ride takes you around a replicated African landscape to view African animals. It is a zoo, albeit a very cool looking zoo. Alison doesn’t much care for zoos, but she tolerates this one. The animals do have a lot of space and by all accounts receive good care. The animals were out and active this morning. The lions were particularly majestic sitting and walking on the rocks. We enjoyed the safari. 

Our next ride was Expedition Everest. There was absolutely no wait. We walked right into the ride. Since the last time we rode this ride we have visited Nepal. This time we were blown away by the queue and the ride itself. There are so many small details that powerfully evoke Nepal. The sites, the smells, the whole experience - they absolutely nailed the theming here. 

Since there was no line we got off the roller coaster and got right back on again. And again. We could ride this roller coaster as much as we wanted today with little or now wait. Expedition Everest is one of our favorite rides in Disney World. We were excited to be able to ride as much as we wanted. 

After our third time riding it, we were ready to move on. We continued to make our way around the park. Animal Kingdom is the biggest Disney World park. The distance between attractions is long. We would walk 10+ miles today. The size of the parks is one of the biggest differences between Disneyland and Disney World. 

Animal Kingdom is also the most outdoor/hottest park.  There aren’t many indoor attractions or queues here to give a reprieve from the heat. Today was a hot and sunny day. This made it the most uncomfortable day to wear a mask. Don’t get me wrong we still wore our mask all day, no complaints, but it was less comfortable. We noticed on hot days (today and yesterday) mask compliance was a little laxer. Still Disney World employees were diligent with reminders and compliance was above 90-95%. I think the heat chased some people away. As the day went one crowds, which were low to begin with, died down even more. By the end of the day many portions of the park were completely empty. 

The next attraction was Dinosaur. It is basically a Dino themed version of the Indiana Jones ride. It is alright, but I enjoy the Indiana Jones theming more. The queue for this ride is all indoors and air conditioned, which almost made us wish we had to wait in line, but no such luck. There wasn't much of a queue here. 

At this point we were hungry so we mobile ordered lunch at Satu'li Canteen. This is an Avatar themed restaurant. The food is fresh and tastes really good. They describe it as wholesome grains, fresh vegetables and hearty proteins. It was also nice to get out of the heat. We were able to sit inside at a very socially distanced table. With lunch we also ordered many extra cups of water - on such a hot day it was important to stay hydrated. 

After we ate we rode Flight of Passage. I love this ride. One of the reasons I was excited to come to Disney World was to be able to ride this one as many times as I wanted. The first time we came it was fairly new and we had to wait in line for 75+ minutes to ride it. Today it had a queue, but we only had to wait around 20 minutes. I think the experience of this ride is awesome. Alison is not quite as high on the virtual reality, but she also enjoyed it. I love how they are able to make it feel like you are flying on an Ikran in the world of Avatar. It is spectacular. 

Next we went over to Kali River Rapids. As I have said it was a hot day we were hoping to get wet, or maybe even soaked, to help us cool down. We were disappointed. Not only is Kali River Rapids a short ride, but no one on our raft even got wet. This was really the only disappointing ride of the day. 

Next we explored the Maharajah Jungle Trek. In this area there are a number of animal enclosures. The highlight is an area where tigers can be viewed. They were roaming while we went by. It is really fascinating to watch these animals do their thing. 

Next we went to the only show that is currently running - UP! A Great Bird Adventure. It was an entertaining show. Afterward, Alison and I have had discussions both about the ethics of the Animal Kingdom park and the bird show. It is complex. They help to protect and preserve endangered species and promote conservation. As I have noted, in many ways this park is similar to a zoo, albeit a for profit zoo. Afterward we thought more critically about the bird show where they train the birds to do circus type tricks. While the show promotes conservation it is primarily for entertainment value. It really made us examine our values and how they align with this experience. 

After the show we went back over to Expedition Everest. There was still no line. We walked right on. Afterward we took a break to get some soft serve. We found a bench in the nearby auditorium away from everyone else to sit and eat. In Animal Kingdom the character cavalcades are on the river. We watched boats of characters float by. We have really enjoyed the character cavalcades on this trip. When we finished our ice cream we went back on Expedition Everest. It is such a fun time. Right as it got going it started to rain. It was fun to ride in a light rain - plus it cooled us and everything else down. 

By the time we were off the ride it had stopped raining. We went back over to the Africa area and walked the Gorilla Falls exploration trail. This is another animal viewing area. The highlight here is a gorilla habitat. This was also kind of sad because we should have been hiking through a forest in Uganda to see gorillas in their natural habitat. Next year. 

When we finished with the trail we continued to walk around the park. We walked around the Tree of Life. This is a great centerpiece. We loved looking at the the animal sculptures carved into the tree. 

We did the Tough to be a Bug attraction. It is okay, but there is one scene that stinks and another one that features a lot of spiders. Alisons forgets it makes her a little squirmy. 

We came out of the ride and it was really raining. We broke out our umbrellas and went back to Pandora. We got in line for Flight of Passage. We rode it one last time before calling it a day. 

The park closes at 5pm. It felt a little strange to leave a Disney park so early. We DoorDashed Indian food while we drove back to the resort. We had one last relaxing night at the resort. It was definitely interesting to come back to Animal Kingdom. We still loved it and it’s still one of our favorites. However, it really is a zoo, albeit a really nice zoo where animals are cared for well and conservation efforts are made. We would come here again, but would think twice about the bird show.