Tree of Life

Can Walt Disney World keep everyone happy? – Animal Kingdom

If there is one thing that Walt Disney World is, it is fun for ALL the family.

Walt Disney World is a champion of family time with four theme parks and two water parks, each with unique theming and attractions, plus dining shopping and entertainment experiences, there really is something for everyone at Walt Disney World and I have already shared my thoughts on Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios.

Animal Kingdom

My kids love discovering all about the natural world around them, so were really excited about visiting Animal Kingdom.

Hubby, on the other hand, was more excited about visiting Pandora: The World of Avatar.

Animal Kingdom’s 500 acres are home to some 1700 animals representing 250 different species throughout the park and with the exception of the Pandora area, seemed a lot quieter than the other three parks.

Pandora: Flight of Passage

As with my last two posts, it is recommended that if you are staying in a Walt Disney Hotel, get to the parks during their Magic Hours as it’s the best chance to get on the rides queue free, however, with Pandora being so new and with all the fastpass+ tickets booked weeks in advance, you were always going to queue for Pandora: Flight of Passage and Hubby waited a staggering 210 minutes to ride it. (Thankfully parent swap passes were available so I got to ride too).

Pandora - World of Avatar

Whilst he queued for this ride, the kids and I enjoyed the Na’Vi River ride which had a much more reasonable 15 minute queue and then headed off to explore the rest of the park.

Navi-Shaman

With Pandora being so busy we almost had the rest of the park to ourselves and found ourselves amidst dinosaurs and digging for fossils in the Boneyard with Donald Duck.

Animal Kingdom

With the rest of Disney being so full on, the Boneyard made a relaxing change which allowed the kids to climb atop rocks, cross rickety rope bridges, roam mysterious caves and hurl themselves down twisting slides.

The Boneyard

Opposite the Boneyard was a funfair themed area called Dino-Rama with games to play, the Primeval Whirl rollercoaster and the Triceratop Spin. Sadly Sebby was 2cm too short to ride Dinosaur, a moving simulator ride but we had fun nonetheless.

Dino-Rama

By now, Hubby had re-joined us and it was time to see what the rest of the park had to offer and take advantage of our photo pass.

Animal Kingdom

A definite highlight of Animal Kingdom is a ride on the Kilimanjaro Safari which gives you a chance to see many of the parks resident animals as they drive you through the African Savannah.

Hippo

I envisaged a Longleat style safari but it was so much better. It honestly felt as if we were in the African Savannah seeing animals in their natural habitat in the Harambe Wildlife Reserve.

Animal Kingdom

The tour guide had bat like vision and managed to spot and point out animals that I would have missed, stopping so we could get a good photograph.

Animal Kingdom

I love elephants so it was a real treat to see them wandering around and watching a hippo swimming underwater was fascinating.

Harambe Wildlife Reserve

I think the animals are so used to seeing the jeeps trundle around the track that they just carry on with whatever they are doing and don’t bat an eyelid.

Harambe Wildlife Reserve

The safari takes around 20 minutes and we then boarded the Wildlife Express train to get a sneak peek of some of the behind the scenes wildlife areas before heading into Rafiki’s Planet Watch, home to fun exhibits dedicated to animal conservation and a petting area for the kids.

Animal Kingdom

The kids were given some challenges to complete which allowed them to earn wildlife badges, just like Russell from the film Up!!

Animal Kingdom

Sadly we missed our photo opportunity with Rafiki but we did manage to find Russell.

Animal Kingdom

Another of our highlights from Animal Kingdom were the shows and thanks to the Festival of the Lion King, I have a family of new fans.

Festival of the Lion King

Festival of the Lion King is a kaleidoscope of colour with giant puppets, acrobats, spirited dancers, regal stilt walkers and brilliant singers, all in imaginative costumes with ornate beads, feathers and fringe and of course Simba, Timon and Pumbaa. You will be expected to join in too!

Lion King

Another amazing show was Finding Nemo – the Musical, 40-minute show features original songs that bring the big, blue world to life, along with extraordinary puppets and vibrant sets that plunge you right into the depths of Nemo’s fin-tastic terrain.

Animal Kingdom

We stopped to have lunch under the Tree of Life, which celebrated all living creatures, making this the iconic centrepiece the symbol of Disney’s Animal Kingdom park.

Tree of Life

Inside the Tree of Life root system is where It’s Tough to be a Bug! is performed. This 8-minute, 3D movie and multimedia show stars Flik and Hopper from the Disney•Pixar film A Bug’s Life—along with a supporting cast of insects and arachnids who provide a surprising glimpse into the animal kingdom. It is a great show, but beware of some unexpected surprises!

Animal Kingdom

For adrenalin junkies there is Expedition Everest – Legend of the Forbidden Mountain rollercoaster which not only goes forwards, but sends you hurtling backwards to avoid ‘missing track’, the Kali River Rapids, Dinosaur and Pandora: Flight of the Avatar.

Animal Kingdom

All four main Disney Parks have evening entertainment and Animal Kingdom certainly doesn’t disappoint. As you are waiting for the main show to begin, the Tree of Life awakens and watch in awe as animal spirits light up the whole of the tree.

Rivers of Light

The main show is the Rivers of Light, a brilliant fusion of water, sound and light and quite unlike anything I’ve experienced before!

Rivers of Light

With projections on fountains, boats, floating flowers and animals, it was a truly stunning show.

Rivers of Light

It is also worth noting that Pandora: World of Avatar has Disney Magic Hours at nightime too and is well worth a visit to see it in all its bio-luminescent glory in the dark too.

Pandora-at-Night

Disclaimer:  This post is in partnership with Walt Disney World and Mumsnet. I am a member of the Mumsnet Bloggers Panel, a group of parent bloggers who have volunteered to review products, services, events and brands for Mumsnet. I have not paid for the product or to attend an event. I have editorial control and retain full editorial integrity and all opinions here are my own.

animal kingdom



Magic Kingdom

Can Walt Disney World keep everyone happy? – Magic Kingdom

If there is one thing that Walt Disney World is, it is fun for ALL the family.

During our holiday we saw the parks being enjoyed by everyone from young couples to multi-generational families, complete with t-shirts with their family name on and badges displaying how many visits they had made. I even saw one with “60 visits”.

Travelling with two boys, aged 4 and 9, plus a girl of 6 we often come up against one of them not wanting to join in and whilst they all individually had their favourite attractions, none of them ever felt excluded or left out.

Walt Disney World is a champion of family time with four theme parks and two water parks, each with unique theming and attractions, plus dining shopping and entertainment experiences, there really is something for everyone at Walt Disney World.

Magic Kingdom

Possibly the most iconic of the four theme parks, Magic Kingdom is home to Main Street which leads to Cinderella’s stunning castle.

Magic Kingdom

If you are staying in a Walt Disney Hotel, make sure you get there during the parks Magic Hours to take advantage of watching the magical opening of the castle and the chance to get on the rides queue free.

Magic Kingdom

Tomorrowland

The kids favourite rides in this park were almost all in Tomorrowland and top of the list was Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, where you fire lasers from a cannon to defeat Emperor Zurg.

Buzz Lightyear Spin

The Monsters Inc laugh floor was another hit and the ‘Monster of Ceremonies’ was Mike Wazowski. He’s convinced that he can fill the laugh meter, but Roz isn’t quite so sure of this plan and the cleverly use jokes submitted by the audience and live interaction for this funny show. Isaac now does a mean impression of Roz too.

Monsters Inc Laugh Floor

A surprise hit was the Carousel of Progress, with its catchy tune and moving auditorium that followed the progress of a family from the 1920’s through to the present day. We also enjoyed the Astro Orbiter, Tomorrowland Speedway and Stitch’s Great Escape.

Fantasyland

It was in Fantasyland where we met our first Disney characters and the kids looked forward to doing this as much as they did the rides. The animated characters interacted with the kids and gave them hugs and high-fives whereas the princesses would stop and have a long chat with the kids which really made their day.

Goofy

It was also here that we visited Enchanted Tales with Belle, where we headed into Maurice’s workshop and then stepped through a magical mirror straight into the Beast’s library, where we meet Belle and Lumiere to experience an interactive fairytale.  Sebby played the part of the Chip perfectly to really become part of the story.

Belle and Chip

Top Tip: Make sure you seek out the photopass photographers outside for some Disney magic too.

Lumiere

Next up was Journey of the Little Mermaid which made you feel like you had actually gone underwater to Ariel’s world in a giant clam shell, followed by the chance to meet the lady herself.

Ariel

Fantasyland is home to some of the more gentle rides and the only rollercoaster that Sebby could ride as he fell just below the 41″ (102cm) limit. They all adored Dumbo, possibly more as the queuing system involved getting the chance to play in a large circus themed soft play area.

Dumbo

‘It’s a small world’ was also a hit although I still have the song going round and round in my head!

It's a Small World

Other rides included Winnie the Pooh where you road around his ‘Blustery Day’ story, Peter Pan’s Flight, Mad Hatters Tea Party (teacup ride), Seven Dwarfs Mine train and Prince Charmings Regal Carousel, plus the chance to meet Princesses such as Merida, Rapunzel, Tiana, Cinderella and Princess Elena of Avalor, who is Eliza’s new favourite.

Princess Elena of Avalor

If you find yourself needing to shelter from the rain, or cool down then I also recommend Disney’s Philharmagic show, a 4D cinematic delight!

PhilharMagic

Adventureland

Adventureland was where we found ourselves during our first Floridian downpour – a sight to behold in itself. We decided to find some shelter and headed into the Enchanted Tiki Room.

Tiki Room

This was a completely unexpected hit, with bird hosts Jose, Fritz, Michael and Pierre taking us through a show in a tropical pavilion full of flowers, tikis and audio-animatronic birds singing and telling jokes.

Pirates of the Caribbean

“Yo ho, yo ho, a pirates’ life for me.” – No visit to Disney would be without visiting the Pirates of the Caribbean and it was clear that it was a popular ride, but the queue moved quickly into cool underground caverns. It is a calm river ride, with one small drop and lots of realistic animatronic pirates around every corner – the eagle-eyed may even catch sight of Captain Jack Sparrow.

Also in Adventureland are the Magic Carpets of Aladdin, the Swiss Family Tree House to explore and the amusing Jungle Cruise.

Jungle Cruise

Frontierland

Frontierland is home to two of the three larger rollercoasters in Magic Kingdom; Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain, neither which we could persuade Isaac or Eliza to try, so we consoled ourselves with playing in Tom Sawyer Island and watching the Big Bear Jamboree.

Big bear jamboree

Liberty Square

We probably spent the least time here as there are only three attractions, but it is set in the colonial era of America and is home to the relaxing Liberty Belle paddlewheel boat which takes guests on a cruise around the Rivers of America and the intimidating Haunted Mansion where you board Doom Buggies for a journey through the mansion which tells the story of a Black Widow bride and her many husbands. Only Isaac and Hubby were brave enough for this one.

Haunted Mansion

Main Street

Main Street is where you will find shopping heaven, with shops that sell everything from Pandora charms to Minnie Mouse ears, clothing, costumes and even a hairdressers, plus the chance to find Tinkerbelle.

Tinkerbelle

It is also the location for the Disney parades…..

Disney Parade

and of course, the finale fireworks!

Magic Kingdom Fireworks

Please do pop over and check out my top 10 tips for visiting Walt Disney World and keep an eye out for the next installment……..

Disclaimer:  This post is in partnership with Walt Disney World and Mumsnet. I am a member of the Mumsnet Bloggers Panel, a group of parent bloggers who have volunteered to review products, services, events and brands for Mumsnet. I have not paid for the product or to attend an event. I have editorial control and retain full editorial integrity and all opinions here are my own.

Magic Kingdom