Disney's Animal Kingdom theme park, one of 4 theme parks at Walt Disney World Resort, is full of attractions, adventures and entertainment that reflect Walt Disney's dedication to nature and conservation, and in doing so, the Park leads the way in animal care, education and research. Home to more than 1,700 animals from 250 species and sprawling across 500 acres of lush landscape, Disney's Animal Kingdom theme park is the largest animal-themed park in the world!
Disney's Animal Kingdom theme park is divided into 7 areas:
- Oasis
- Discovery Island
- Camp Minnie-Mickey
- Africa
- Rafiki's Planet Watch
- Asia
- Dinoland, U.S.A.
Within each area, encounter real and fantastic animals. Get close enough to pet some of them, or ask for their autograph! Exciting attractions await, along with live and wild entertainment-like Broadway-style musical shows and parades that invite you to be part of the excitement.
Attractions at Disney's Animal Kingdom theme park include exciting expeditions and wild adventures with animals. Get close to creatures, from the whimsical to the mighty, from feathered to fanciful. Use Disney's FASTPASS system on popular attractions to reduce wait times.
Entertainment at Disney's Animal Kingdom theme park includes elaborate parades, performances that feature nearly 20 species of birds and big-as-Broadway musical-stage shows and Disney Character meet and greets. For show schedules, check the Park calendar or Times Guide.
Oasis
The Oasis is the park's main entrance. Along with providing various guest services, the Oasis features a number of animal habitats. Guests can encounter African Spoonbills, Australian White Ibis, Babirusas, Bronze-winged Ducks, Buffleheads, Chiloe Wigeons, Eleonora Cockatoos, Florida Cooters, Giant Anteaters, Hooded Mergansers, Hyacinth Macaws, Lesser Whistling Ducks, Military Macaws, Puna Teals, Raja Shelduck, Reeves's Muntjacs, Rhinoceros Iguanas, Ringed Teals, Rosy-billed Pochards, Ruddy Ducks, Scarlet Macaws, Spot-billed Ducks, Swamp Wallabies, White-cheeked Pintails, and Yellow-billed Teals. The main paths lead deeper into the park, and onto Discovery Island.
A Rainforest Cafe is also located at the entrance of the Oasis, although technically it is outside the park boundaries. Guests may dine at the restaurant without entering Disney's Animal Kingdom, while guests entering the restaurant from within the theme park are actually exiting the park and must present their admission tickets to return to the park.
Discovery Island
Discovery Island is located roughly at the center of the park, in the middle of the Discovery River waterway. It was originally called Safari Village, as Discovery Island was the name for the small zoological park located in Walt Disney World's Bay Lake. After that facility closed in 1999, Safari Village was renamed Discovery Island. This is the "central hub" of Disney's Animal Kingdom, connecting almost all of the other sections of the park, except Rafiki's Planet Watch.
The Tree of Life, the park's visual icon, is located here surrounded by animal enclosures of Discovery Island's trails showcasing Abdim's Storks, Black Crowned Cranes, Black-necked Swans, Blue-and-yellow Macaws, Cape Teals, Chitals, Collared Brown Lemurs, Easter Grey Kangaroos, Galapagos Tortoises, Greater Flamingos, Knob-billed Ducks, Oriental Small-Clawed Otters, Plumed Whistling Ducks, Red Kangaroos, Red-and-green Macaws, Ring-Tailed Lemurs, Roseate Spoonbills, Saddle-billed Storks, Salmon-crested Cockatoos, Silver Teal, White Storks, White-faced Whistling Ducks, and Woolly-necked Storks.
The park's largest gift shops and two of its major restaurants are on Discovery Island, each with a different design theme, such as decor based on nocturnal animals, insects and so forth. The island's other major draw is It's Tough to be a Bug!, a comical 4-D film featuring appearances by Flik and Hopper from Disney-Pixar's A Bug's Life.
Camp Minnie-Mickey
Camp Minnie-Mickey is themed as a rustic summer camp. Here guests can meet the Disney characters such as Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Goofy and others. Located in the area's main theatre is Festival of the Lion King, a live stage show featuring acrobatics and musical performances inspired by The Lion King.
Africa
Set in the fictional east African village of Harambe, this area contains a number of animal exhibits. According to Disney legend, Harambe was once part of a colony, but a peaceful revolution made Harambe self-governing in 1961. Today, Harambe is the starting point for tourists and students who want to observe Africa's animals in their natural habitats.
The village is the namesake of the Harambe Wildlife Preserve, the fictional home of Africa's main attraction, Kilimanjaro Safaris. Guests climb aboard an open-sided safari vehicle for an expedition to see numerous African animals freely roam through acres of savanna, rivers and rocky hills, including Addax, African Elephants, Black Rhinos, Blue Wildebeests, Bongos, Bontebok, Cheetahs, Common Elands, Dama Gazelles, Gerenuks, Grant's Zebras, Greater Flamingos, Greater Kudus, Helmeted Guineafowls, Hippos, Impalas, Lions, Mandrills, Nile Crocodiles, Northern Pintails, Nyalas, Okapis, Ostriches, Pink-backed Pelicans, Reticulated Giraffes, Sable Antelopes, Saddle-billed Storks, Scimitar-horned Oryx, Thomson's Gazelles, Warthogs, Waterbucks, White Rhinos, Yellow-Backed Duikers, and Yellow-billed Storks.
On the adjacent Pangani Forest Exploration Trail, visitors trek into the forest where they will see Black-and-White Colobus Monkeys, Blue Cranes, Gerenuks, Gorillas, Hippos, Kenyan Sand Boas, Kori Bustards, Meerkats, Naked Mole Rats, Okapis, Shield-tailed Agama, Spiny-Tailed Lizards, Tarantulas, and Yellow-backed Duikers. It's aviary consists of African Grey Parrots, African Jacanas, African Olive Pigeons, Bearded Barbets, Black Crakes, Brimstone Canaries, Cichlids, Collared Kingfishers, Golden-Breasted Starlings, Hamerkops, Hadada Ibis, Hoopoes, Hottentot Teals, Iris-Glossy-Starlings, Magpie Shrikes, Northern Carmine Bee-eaters, Pygmy Goose, Snowy-Crowned Robin-Chat, Superb Starling, Taveta Weavers, Violet-backed Starlings, White-Backed Ducks, and White-Bellied Go-Away-Birds.
Rafiki's Planet Watch
The one section of the park not connected to Discovery Island, Rafiki's Planet Watch is instead connected to Africa. Guests board the Wildlife Express Train for the short trip to and from Planet Watch, which consists of three distinct areas. Guests first encounter Habitat Habit!, where they can see cottontop tamarins and learn about the efforts to protect these endangered primates in their natural homes. Along the way, guests can also learn how to provide animal habitats in and around their own homes.
Conservation Station showcases the various conservation efforts supported by the Walt Disney Company. It also gives a behind-the-scenes glimpse into Disney's Animal Kingdom's animal care facilities, including a veterinary examination room complete with a two-way communications system so the veterinary staff can answer guest questions. Outside, Affection Section is a petting zoo featuring goats, sheep and other domesticated animals.
Other animals seen here are Ball Pythons, Blue-And-Yellow Macaws, Blue-Tongued Skink, Boa Constrictors, Butterflies, Central Bearded Dragons, Chinchillas, Chinchilla Rabbits, Citron-crested Cockatoos, Common Brushtail Possums, Corn Snakes, Costa Rica Zebra Tarantula, Death's Head Cockroach, Dexter Cattle, Dominique Chickens, Eleonora Cockatoos, Emperor Scorpions, Eclectus Parrots, Fennec Foxes, Ferrets, Giant African Millipedes, Golden Lion Tamarins, Gray Rat Snakes, Green Tree Pythons, Guinea Hogs, Gulf Coast Native Sheep, Hermit Crabs, Hyacinth Macaws, Kinkajous, Llamas, Madagascar Day Geckos, Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches, Madagascar Tree Boas, Nigerian Dwarf Goat, Nile Monitors, North American Donkeys, Opossums, Pygmy Goats, Rats, Rat Snakes, Red-And-Green Macaws, Red-Cockaded Woodpeckers, Red-Crested Turacos, Roughneck Monitor Lizards, San Clemente Island Goats, Savannah Monitors, Solomon Islands Skinks, Spectacled Owls, Striped Skunks, Tamanduas, Tarantulas, Tawny Frogmouths, Tawny Owls, Tenrecs, Tunis Sheep, Two-Toed Sloths, Uromastyx, Variable Hawks, and Vasa Parrots.
Asia
Asia was the first expansion area added to Disney's Animal Kingdom, first opening in 1999. Like Africa, the section's attractions are part of a fictional place, the kingdom of Anandapur (which means "Place of many delights"). Anandapur comprises two villages: the riverside village of Anandapur and Serka Zong, which is in the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains. Portraits of Anandapur's royal family, the Maharajah and his wife, can be found in most of the businesses within the two villages, and a map of the kingdom, featuring both villages and their location relative to the mountains and river can be found on the wall of the Disney Vacation Club kiosk located there. Much like Harambe, Disney legend states that Anandapur is now a center of animal research and tourism. At the Caravan Stage, these two "worlds" meet in Flights of Wonder, a live bird show where one of Anandapur's bird researchers educates a tour guide with a fear of birds about natural bird behaviors and the effects of habitat loss and conservation efforts on bird species, such as the Black Crowned Crane and Bald Eagle.
The Maharajah Jungle Trek leads guests through the forests and ruins outside the village, which are home to a number of animal species such as Asian Fairy-Bluebirds, Bali Starlings, Bantengs, Bar-Headed Geese, Bengal Tigers, Blackbucks, Black-Rumped Flamebacks, Blue-Throated Barbets, Collared Kingfishers, Common Emerald Doves, Cotton Pygmy Geese, Crested Partridges, Early Bluebirds, Eld's Deer, Golden Pheasants, Golden-crested Mynas, Green Junglefowl, Green Peafowls, Hooded Pittas, Hoopoes, Indian Rollers, Iris Lorikeets, Jambu Fruit Doves, Komodo Dragons, Lady Amherst's Pheasants, Magnificent Ground Pigeons, Malayan Flying Foxes, Malayan Tapirs (no longer in Disney's Animal Kingdom), Mandarin Ducks, Moluccan King Parrots, New Guinea Masked Plovers, Nicobar Pigeon, Northern White-Cheeked Gibbons, Orange-Bellied Leafbirds, Pheasant Pigeons, Pink-Headed Fruit Doves, Pink-Necked Green Pigeons, Plum-Headed Parakeets, Red-Headed Parrotfinches, Rodrigues Flying Foxes, Sarus Cranes, Scaly-Breasted Munias, Siamangs, Silver-Eared Mesias, Sooty-Headed Bulbuls, Timor Sparrows, Treron Pink-Necked Pigeons, White-Headed Munias, White Rumped Shamas, Wompoo Fruit Doves, Yellow-Throated Laughingthrushes, and Yellow-Vented Bulbuls.
Nearby, Kali River Rapids is a river rapids ride along the fictional Chakranadi River through a rainforest, past an illegal logging operation and down a waterfall. Looming in the distance behind Anandapur is the Forbidden Mountain, the home of Expedition Everest, a roller coaster ride through the Himalayas where the passengers will have an encounter with a Yeti.
DinoLand U.S.A.
DinoLand U.S.A. is inspired by the public's general curiosity about dinosaurs. The fictitious Dino Institute and its surrounding facilities attract those with a scientific interest in the long-extinct animals, while Chester and Hester's Dino-Rama recalls the many roadside attractions that were once scattered throughout the United States. Like the other sections of Disney's Animal Kingdom, there are animals on display.
These particular animals, such as the American Crocodile, Red Legged Seriemas and Asian Brown Tortoise, have evolutionary links to the age of the dinosaurs. Other plant and animal species that have survived since the dinosaur era can be found along the Cretaceous Trail. At the edge of DinoLand U.S.A. is the "Theater in the Wild," which hosts Finding Nemo - The Musical, a live-action musical stage show based on the story of the Disney-Pixar feature film.
The Dino Institute is the home of DINOSAUR, a thrill ride featuring a trip through time to the Late Cretaceous Period. Just outside the Institute is "Dino-Sue", a casting of a Tyrannosaurus rex fossil that is the most complete yet found. At the nearby Boneyard, children enjoy a multi-leveled playground area complete with a woolly mammoth fossil to be uncovered.
Chester and Hester's Dino-Rama, on the other hand, is about dinosaurs as fun. The TriceraTop Spin is a colorful ride for families, while Primeval Whirl is a spinning roller coaster for thrill-seekers. Throughout the area are carnival games and gift shops, as well as chances to meet Disney characters.
Animal Kingdom Park Area Hotels