Out of all of the zoos and theme parks that I have visited, Disney’s Animal Kingdom is a prime example of what occurs when both zoos and theme parks are combined, and is a wonderful place to sit back, relax, and watch the crowds go by, and the animals roam in their habitats. Animal Kingdom consists of six different themed areas: The Oasis, Discovery Island, Pandora: World of Avatar, Africa, Asia, and Dinoland USA. You can follow along using an interactive map on the Walt Disney World website.
The Oasis
A “Main Street” that transitions you from the outside world, to the natural and animal world. The Oasis achieves this by using a large amount of foliage that blocks out the outside world mentally as the guest will now only care about how dense the vegetation is here and visually as the trees and plants all do a very good job of blocking out the outside world and obscuring it from view. However, while it does its job of transitioning guests from the human world to the animal world, I feel the area doesn’t feel unique to Disney as I have visited areas like this at the San Diego Safari Park. Then it transitions into Discovery Island over a wooden bridge.
Discovery Island
This land is an island that serves as the “hub” for this park as the hub is the center of Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom. The land itself is like the Oasis, but has some buildings that fit the jungle aesthetic. At the center of the area, there is the Tree of Life: a 145 foot tall and 50 foot wide artificial baobab tree that serves as the park’s icon and is home to the show “It’s tough to be a bug”. This show is by far the worst 4D show I have ever experienced as it stings you, sprays you with stink, and is an aggravated assault on the senses! Both of these lands serve as great introductory lands, not unlike Main Street, USA, but unlike Main Street, the guest is taken into the world of animals instead of fantasy. We will now view the lands in a clockwise direction.
Pandora: World of Avatar
Themed to the planet from the movie Avatar, it depicts the Valley of Mo’ara. This land is world renowned for its floating mountains, bioluminescent plants and unique attractions such as Flight of Passage, which allows you to fly on the back of a banshee. The backstory for Pandora is that you are an ecotourist visiting Pandora by way of the Alpha Centauri Expeditions. This is my favorite land at DAK because it is visually stunning because of its “floating” mountains and its authenticity as the area looks as if it was pulled straight out of the world of the movie. This land especially comes to life at night, when the bioluminescent plants and the floating mountains light up, giving this park something worth staying around till sunset to see.
Africa
Like a zoo, DAK is broken up into lands that are themed to continents. Africa is the one that is home to Kilimanjaro Safaris, a realistic African safari experience that features African wildlife in a recreation of their natural savanna habitat. Animals that can be seen on the tour include, but are not limited to, zebras, giraffes, and lions. In Africa, the town depicted is an east African village called Harambe which profits off of ecotourism. This area is highly photorealistic, as if taken from a National Geographic magazine. Africa is also one of the best areas to view animals at, from its animal trails and Kilimanjaro Safaris.
Asia
Unlike Africa, this land does not include a safari. Instead the main focus of this land is a roller coaster called Expedition Everest: Legend of the Forbidden Mountain, where you take a train up from the foothills of the Himalayas and are attacked by the Yeti who does not enjoy your company. Asia is also home to a long walking trail that features tigers, komodo dragons and birds of various species. Asia’s backstory is set in the fictional Nepalese-inspired kingdom of Anandapur, which is also open to ecotourism like Harambe. Asia is also very photorealistic with its depictions of southeast Asian architecture and lushly detailed temples. I can attest as I have been to Bali, Indonesia, which was one of the inspirations for the Southeast Asian kingdom of Anandapur and is home to Expedition Everest, one of the finest roller coasters I have ever experienced.
Dinoland, USA
Finally, Dinoland USA is supposed to represent the extinct creatures that once roamed the earth through a recreation of the roadside attractions that once populated the US highways. This land’s backstory is very complicated, so just to summarize, some dinosaur fossils were found here and now the place is swarming with both tourists and scientists. This area also is home to a carnival midway meant for the park’s younger guests. This land was obviously built on the cheap because of its carnival, off the shelf, roadside appearance. Furthermore, this land hits too close to home since many Americans have already seen roadside carnivals across the country, so they aren’t unique. At the back of the land is the central focus of it, The Dino Institute is where guests may go on a ride called Dinosaur which takes you back in time to save an iguanodon right before the extinction of the dinosaurs. This ride uses the exact same ride system and layout as the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland. It is the worst dark ride I have ever seen from Disney because it’s story is incoherent and reeks of 90s cheesiness.
Animal Kingdom was the first non-castle Disney park that I have visited. I have to say that I have mixed feelings regarding it, because while it goes above and beyond the call of duty for a themed zoo, and has lushly themed areas and great rides, it is under-built and has an entire land that doesn’t meet Disney’s own standards. Despite this, I believe that zoo and theme park enthusiasts will love this unique, Walt Disney World only offering. I give Disney’s Animal Kingdom a B-.
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