Walt Disney World With Kids (Fodor's, 2012) - Fodor's [84]
The Animal Kingdom closes early (between 5 and 7 PM depending on the season) and has no closing show.
The Animal Kingdom Don’t-Miss List
Dinosaur (if your kids are 7 or older)
Expedition Everest (if kids are 8 or older and at least 44 inches tall)
Festival of the Lion King
Kali River Rapids
Kilimanjaro Safaris
Maharajah Jungle Trek
Pangani Forest Exploration Trail
Tree of Life—It’s Tough to be a Bug!
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Animal Kingdom Attractions
The attractions may be few, but they’re powerful. Most are designed for the whole family to enjoy together.
On Discovery Island
Tree of Life—It’s Tough to be a Bug!
Map Location 1
This state-of-the-art 3-D film is a real highlight for all ages. First of all, it’s shown inside the Tree of Life, which is an amazing edifice with 325 animals carved into its trunk. Perfect for pictures. The show combines visual, sensory, and tactile effects and the cast of characters, including an accurately named Stinkbug, is so funny that everyone leaves laughing. The best effect of all is at the very end of the show.
The Scare Factor
Tree of Life—It’s Tough to be a Bug! is a huge hit with most kids, but there are scary scenes. At one point, large spider puppets dangle over your head. Later, the theater goes dark, you hear swarming wasps, and the back of your seat might give you a small electrical zap. (Not into pain? Simply lean forward in your seat.) Most children seem to find Flik and friends to be great fun, but there’s usually at least one child crying in the audience. If your kids are scared of the dark or bugs, skip the show. “My 7-year-old girl is normally a brave thing,” wrote a mom from England. “She went on Tower of Terror, Space Mountain, Expedition Everest, etc., with no problem at all. But Tree of Life—It’s Tough to be a Bug! scared her so badly she was ready to leave.…”
In Africa
Kilimanjaro Safaris
Map Location 13
This is the Animal Kingdom’s premiere attraction, a 2-mi ride that simulates an African photo safari. The animals have a great deal of open space around them and, in fact, appear to be running free—although cleverly incorporated water and plant barriers ensure that the cheetahs don’t meet up with the ostriches and graphically illustrate the circle of life in front of you.
Your guide helps you tell the impalas from the gazelles and at times your vehicle (called a lorry) comes startlingly close to the wildlife. The story is that you’re helping the game warden look for poachers who have abducted a baby elephant.
Safari drivers say that the animals are often active in the morning, but that you have a better chance of seeing cheetahs, rhinos, and warthogs later in the day. And because of the attraction’s mammoth and unpredictable animal cast, Kilimanjaro is, in essence, a different adventure every time. You could go on one safari in the morning, get a Fastpass, and return in the afternoon for a whole new show.
Wild Africa Trek
One highlight of this three-hour, behind-the-scenes tour for ages 8 and up is crossing a rope bridge that sways 50 feet above a creek full of crocodiles. You’re safely tethered with a bungee cord, of course, and the bridge is created only to seem precarious, but it’s still exciting. You also hike through the bush, get up close to hippos, eat a stupendously good lunch from a deck in the savannah, and have access to guides who give far more info than you’d get on Kilimanjaro Safaris. In fact, the Trek is the perfect basis for a school project. Despite the $189 per-person price, tours fill up fast. Make reservations at (407) WDW–TOUR well in advance.
Pangani Forest Exploration Trail
Map Location 12
Near the exit of Kilimanjaro Safaris is a self-guided walking trail. The highlight is seeing the jungle home of Gino, the silverback gorilla, and his harem. (The dominant male in a gorilla troop is called the silverback because he is ordinarily older than the other males and often has gray hairs mixed in with the black.) Along the trail you also pass everything