Tag Archives: Animal Kingdom Attractions

Disney’s Animal Kingdom – Maharajah Jungle Trek

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Details along the Maharajah Jungle TrekA visit to Animal Kingdom just wouldn’t be complete for me without a walk along both of the two fantastic animal trails there.  These trails boast a wide array of exhibits that allow guests unforgettable opportunities for some close-up animal viewing in gorgeous, highly detailed settings.  The trail in Animal Kingdom’s Africa section is the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail.  The trail in Asia is called the Maharajah Jungle Trek – that’s the one I want to talk about today.

The trail’s backstory sets the mood and an impressive (spectacular, unbelievable, insert favorite-adjective-of-wonder here) number of amazing Disney details make a visit to the Maharajah’s jungle into a mysterious, magical experience.  As I tend to like to do, allow me to give you…Komodo Dragon at Animal Kingdom

Five Great Things about the Maharajah Jungle Trek

From  the Walt Disney World web site, “Venture into the mystical Anandapur Royal Forest, a tropical paradise of trees, ruins and wild animals. Legend has it the area was at one time the hunting ground of wealthy maharajahs; today, it exists as a preserve that you can explore.”

1.  Komodo Dragon – Yep, a giant lizard!  What else do you need?  Seeing this guy is like looking at a living dinosaur and Komodo Dragons are the Animal Kingdom - Bats on the Maharajah Jungle Treklargest living lizards on earth.  As he sits there with his tongue darting in and out to “smell” the air while basking in the sun, it’s incredible to think about the fact that Komodo Dragons are venomous and capable of taking down large prey.  An adult Komodo Dragon can consume up to 80% of its own body weight in a single meal!  Go here for some other cool Komodo Dragon fun facts.

2. Rodrigues Fruit Bats and Malayan Flying Foxes – The way this section of the trail is designed is genius!  The bats are on display (sleepily hanging around) in a wide-open viewing area – which makes it seem as if there is absolutely nothing separating you from the bats!  Those Flying Foxes are enormous and so cool!  (Read all about them here.) I like to Asian Tiger - Maharajah Jungle Trekimagine what it would be like if the sun set and they got to go free all night – Those huge bats with their leathery wings flying overhead would be quite a scary sight!  Hands down, this is one of my all time favorite exhibits.

3. Asian Tigers – Usually we get here too late to see the tigers doing anything besides napping, but they’re huge and beautiful to see – even if they are asleep.  Because windows are used in this area instead of bars, it seems as if you could practically reach out and pet one of these big cats!  Even snoozing, they’re amazing.

4. The Aviary and Birdhouses – I never know which gets more of my attention in the aviary – tBird in Animal Kingdomhe colorful and unusual birds- or the equally beautiful bird houses.  Spotting guides help visitors identify a variety of different bird species and the Asian bird houses located every few feet throughout the aviary are as beautiful as the  Birds House in the Aviary in Asia / Animal Kingdom Animal Kingdom Asian Aviary Bird Spotting Guidebirds!  If you’re afraid of birds, this probably isn’t the best place for you…especially since they’re kind of friendly and will walk right up to you sometimes when you’re not paying attention and make you jump.  Not that I’d know from personal experience or anything.  I’m not afraid of birds at all.

5.  The Ruins – I know, weird that I’m such an animal lover and I’ve named decaying walls as one of the five best things about the Maharajah’s jungle, but it’s true.  And I make it a point to be honest with you here at the Living a Disney Life blog.  So….in all honesty – you won’t find a better example of the wonder and genius, the unique artestry of Disney imagineering than among the ruins of Anandapur.

Because of the location of the Maharajah Jungle Trek, this trail is almost always less crowded than the Pangani Forest trail.  There are also plenty of Hidden Mickey’s to find along the way!  We try to hit this trail in the morning before the day heats up too much.  Our touring plan at Animal Kingdom usually starts with Expedition Everest, then Kilimanjaro Safari, then the Pangani Forest Nature Trail, and finally the Maharajah Jungle Trek.

Do you enjoy the trails at Animal Kingdom?  Which is your favorite?  What animals do you find the most fascinating?

Disney’s Kali River Rapids – You’ll Get WET (or will you?)

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Disney's Animal Kingdom EntranceI’ve mentioned several times before, but it bears repeating – Disney’s Animal Kingdom is NOT a half-day park.  If you think so, you’re not giving Animal Kingdom the time and appreciation it deserves.  You make me mad, you half-day person.  You should go away from here now – we don’t see eye to eye, so kindly remove your eyes from this blog.  Of course, I mean that in the nicest way possible under the circumstances.

Still here?  Love Animal Kingdom as a FULL DAY experience?  Good!  Me too.  Let’s talk about Kali River Rapids, want to?  I like Kali River Rapids in general – well themed, great queue, fun ride (most of the time).  There’s a tiny detail that always gives me pause, though – you may ride it oneView of Kali River time and barely get a drop of water on you…but, ride it again and you may get completely soaked from head to toe!  It’s a risky proposition, that ride.  Lots of times I think I’ll ride it, then chicken out because of the uncertainty.  Still, on our last visit to Animal Kingdom, I was fully committed to riding everything except the train to Rafiki’s Planet Watch – if I want to go there, Animal Kingdom becomes more than a full day park for me!

So, back to Kali…

Kali River RapidsI wanted to film our trip down the rapids with my new GoPro camera.  I like the experience of riding in the round raft and I like making friends (or at least trying to) with our fellow passengers.  I don’t like being soaked and especially don’t like wet shoes (which you are NOT allowed to remove for the ride, by the way).  So as we made our way through the ride’s queue (it has some of the best, most beautiful details in all of Animal Kingdom!) I dug our rain ponchos out of my backpack and handed them out all around.  As we approached the boarding platform, we all suited up, so to speak, and took our seats.

There’s a bar around the boat’s middle section you can put your feet on – don’t know if that Animal Kingdom's Kali River Rapidshelps keep them dry or not, but it makes me feel more prepared.  Since I was wearing my poncho over my backpack, I didn’t feel the need to store it in the bin provided in the middle of the boat, but the bin is there if you need it.  GoPro at the ready, we found ourselves in the boat with a couple of other families who were really friendly and nice and gave me permission to film them knowing I’d put the video on YouTube.  I made a joke as we left the dock – you can hear it on the video – I joked that we were the people who were going to stay dry since we were wearing ponchos while everyone else was going to get wet.

Kali River Rapids BoatIn the end, WE were the ones on the side of the boat that got completely drenched.  Thank goodness we were wearing ponchos and had the hoods up!  My shorts were somewhat wet – as was the front of my hair, but in no way was I as completely soaked to the skin as I would have been without proper protection.  SO glad we’d come prepared!  The best part was this frog that hitched a ride during the big splash and ended up jumping right on me which was really funny.

Have you ever ridden Kali River Rapids?  What did you think of the experience?  Which side of the boat were you on?

 

 

 

16 Best Things About Disney’s Animal Kingdom

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Animal Kingdom's Tree of LifeSweet 16!  Walt Disney World’s Animal Kingdom is celebrating its anniversary this week and in honor of such a special occasion, I thought I’d share some thoughts on what I love about this oh-so-much-more-than-a-half-day park.

16 BEST Things (both great and small) about Disney’s Animal Kingdom:

1. Tracks! Take an occasional look down while you’re walking around and you’ll see animal tracks and leaf prints in the pavement.  This tiny detail adds to the feeling that you’re in the wilds of Asia and Africa and it’s just pretty darned cool!IMG_1116

2. Naked Mole Rats (g’head and say nekkid if you like, I do) – They’re really pretty disgusting, but SO interesting!  Find these gross yes undeniably riveting critters on the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail (Africa).

3. Kilimanjaro Safari – My love for this attraction can be found here.  It’s just awesome! That is all.

4. Foliage – The trees and plants in Animal Kingdom are cultivated to perfection!  Lush, exotic Animal Kingdom Foliageand perfectly overgrown to add to each area’s theme in a way that is pretty much taken for granted and underappreciated – it’s SO good, you just don’t really think about it.  A lot of work goes into perfecting the live backdrops for each area and attraction. Pay more attention next time you’re there, okay?

5. DiVine – Speaking of greenery!  DiVine details can be found here.  Please don’t miss her next time you find yourself following my advice (see #4).

6. Gorillas – The highlight of the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail (Africa section), this exhibit (two troops of lowland gorillas) is absolutely amazing.  Patience during crowded times pays off – I Gorilla at Disney's Animal Kingdomcalmly and quietly wait for an opportunity to zoom in and get some incredible pictures.  In the morning, when the gorillas are most active, it’s just fun to watch them go about their day.

7. Festival of the Lion King – Currently closed for relocation to a new theater and scheduled to reopen later this year. This show is a must-do for our family.  Wonderful songs, super costumes and tumble monkeys!  Who could ask for more? Go see it and you’ll understand it’s greatness.

8. Tigers – Just as the gorillas are my favorite animals along the Pangani Forest trail, tigers are, to me, the best part of the Maharajah Jungle Trek in Animal Kingdom’s Asia section.  The tigers are gorgeous and appear close enough to touch!  Great photo ops abound in this beautiful area.

9. Perfect Theming – In every area, every building, every ancient ruin – there’s just no Boat on the Water in Animal Kingdombetter overall perfection in theming than you will find in Animal Kingdom.  It’s nothing short of genius!

10. Conservation – Disney’s commitment to animal conservation is apparent throughout the park, but is particularly prominent at Rafiki’s Planet Watch.  Lots of folks skip this area of the park, but it’s well worth the time and effort to make a visit (take the Wildlife Express Train to get there).  This one area of the park can take 1-2 hours or more to give it the attention it deserves. No, there are no thrill rides or shows here, but you can see veterinarians in action taking care of injured animals or just performing routine medical exams.  It’s the “backstage” area for the park’s animal care Expedition Everest - the Queueactivities.  If stuff like that interests you, you’ll like it.

11. The Queue for Expedition Everest – It’s not only my favorite thrill ride in the world, it’s my favorite standby line.  I’ve been through it literally dozens of times and can still spot something new every time.  No FastPass? It’s all good.  Go standby on this one and take it all in.

12. The Music – No matter where you go in the park, the music is just wonderful.  If you get the chance to catch a live performance, even better!

13. The Tree of Life – 14 stories tall, this is an absolute marvel!  The joy of walking around the tree to study all the animal figures that make up the trunk, roots, and branches is indescribable.

14. Dinos in Dinoland – This may not be my favorite section of the park, but I’m still thrilled byDinoland Dino the replicas of dinosaur skeletons on display.  I remember how exciting it was when Sue was discovered in 1990 – the most complete T-Rex skeleton ever found – replicated for your viewing pleasure right there in Dinoland.

15. The Cast Members – Yes, they’re top notch at all the parks, but particularly so at Animal Kingdom.  Throughout the day (and especially at the front of the park when it first opens), you’ll find interesting and passionate Cast Members – each holding a small animal – ready to let you take a look while they fill you in on anything you’d like to know about the little creature in their care.

16. Expansion!  Even if you’re still not sure about the whole Avatar thing, if you’re an Animal Kingdom fan, you’ve got to believe that expansion is good!  Think about all the cool stuff that could happen when the park stays open later – the nighttime safari, shows, and c’mon – deep down inside you’re curious about how Pandora will turn out.  Personally, I can’t wait!

You’ll notice I didn’t mention any food!  I do think Animal Kingdom offers a wide variety of delicious food, I just couldn’t settle on any particular items to make it onto the list.  Go ahead and shout out some food love in a comment!

If you’re a big fan of Animal Kingdom (like ME!), be sure to check out the Radio Harambe Podcast!

An entertaining and informative Animal Kingdom fan site is Jambo Everyone – check them out if you have a minute.

What are your favorite things in Animal Kingdom?  Were any on the list?