Disney's Animal Kingdom
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- For the biological Kingdom Animalia, see Animal.
Template:Disneyparkinfo Disney's Animal Kingdom is a theme park at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. It opened on April 22, 1998. Covering more than 500 acres (2 km²) in size, it is themed around live animals and extinct dinosaurs.
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Dedication
"Welcome to a kingdom of animals... real, ancient and imagined: a kingdom ruled by lions, dinosaurs and dragons; a kingdom of balance, harmony and survival; a kingdom we enter to share in the wonder, gaze at the beauty, thrill at the drama, and learn." - Michael Eisner, April 22, 1998
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Attractions
The park is made up of seven themed lands.
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Oasis
- The Oasis Exhibits - Unwind as you enter this tropical oasis of Eden-like flora and fauna rich with cooling waterfalls and meandering streams. This idyllic setting sets the stage for your day. From here all paths lead to adventure.
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Discovery Island
Formerly Safari Village, this is the center of the park, the hub from which all other lands can be reached. Its centerpiece is the "Tree of Life", a fourteen-story-tall (145 feet, 44m) artificial tree on which are carved images of more than three hundred twenty-five animals.
- It's Tough to be a Bug! - See the world through a bug's eyes as you peek into the hilarious and dazzling 3-D world of amazing and amusing insects as they astound you with a one-of-a-kind stage show. Laugh at the fun and startling in-theater effects like overhead giant spiders! The only thing that will "bug" you is if you miss it!
- Animals located on Discovery Island include lemurs, flamingos, otters, kangaroos, storks, cranes, and deer.
- Discovery Island Trails - Saunter through these sumptuous garden pathways for glimpses of hilarious animal antics and captivating critters. Have face-to-face encounters with Galapagos tortoises, lemurs, cotton-top tamarin monkeys and other fascinating creatures.
- Tree of Life - Marvel at this 14-story masterpiece sculpted by more than a dozen artisans. The 50-foot wide tree is the centerpiece of Disney's Animal Kingdom. The swirling tapestry of 325 animal carvings creates a staggering spectacle that is truly a sight to behold!
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Camp Minnie-Mickey
Image:Festival of the Lion King.jpg
- Pocahontas and Her Forest Friends - Go on a quest with Pocahontas and her animal friends in this intimate musical stage show. The Native American princess seeks the advice of Grandmother Willow when her forest is threatened. Pocahontas' quest leads her to commune with many live critters on stage in this show that is a delight for young and old.
- Festival of the Lion King - Plunge right into the middle of the action in this cleverly staged in-the-round production featuring songs from the film and a cast of familiar faces, including Simba, Timon and Pumbaa. Combining the pageantry of a parade with all the excitement of a tribal celebration, this is a lavish, high energy spectacle created through song, dance and specialty performances. This is also known as the best show in WDW.
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Africa
Image:Male silverback Gorilla.JPG
- Kilimanjaro Safaris - Climb aboard your open-sided safari vehicle for an exciting expedition for the entire family. Animals from Africa freely roam through acres of savannah, rivers and rocky hills. Look out for giraffes, hippos, elephants, rhinos, lions and poachers too!
- Pangani Forest Exploration Trail - Trek into the forest in search of gorillas! Along the way, enjoy a nature walk through a verdant African valley filled with Nile hippos, birds and fish. Enter an exotic bird aviary, an underwater hippo viewing area, a savannah overlook, and have an intimate up-close encounter with a magnificent troop of gorillas.
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Rafiki's Planet Watch
Formerly Conservation Station and still accessible by train only, this area contains small animals, a petting zoo with domesticated goats, and exhibits teaching about conservation efforts. The veterinary hospital's viewing window allows guests to watch medical procedures conducted by the veterinary staff.
- Wildlife Express Train - Ride the rails on this rustic African train that travels the savannah for a behind-the-scenes journey through several animal housing and care areas of the park. In just over five minutes, your guided train ride transports you to the core of the park's conservation center. All aboard!
- Habitat Habit! - See endangered cotton-top tamarin primates up close. Trek down this adventure trail and help your animal friends in ways that you never thought possible. It's fun to share your world and your own backyard with animals!
- Affection Section - Don't be shy! Enjoy this delightful animal encounter with goats, sheep, pigs, chicken, llamas and more. Watch for special guest appearances by some of the park's friendlier animals. This is a great way to help little ones begin to "open their eyes to the world around them.
- Conservation Station - At trail's end, the discovery has just begun as you visit the center of Disney efforts to promote wildlife conservation awareness. Inside, there is a whole herd of wild animal experiences, interactive games and fun-filled shows. See animals up close in this rare behind-the-scenes adventure!
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Asia
- Flights of Wonder - "Wing" on in to the Caravan Stage and join a trainee bird handler and a wayward tour guide who teach each other about the delicate state of nature. See birds such as vultures, hawks, colorful macaws, crowned crane and the American Bald Eagle up close. May your spirits fly sky-high
- Kali River Rapids - Raft down the turbulent waters of the Chakranadi River aboard a 12-passenger raft through an enchanting Asian rain forest. A blazing inferno rushes toward you! Escape down a rushing waterfall! Beware of gushing geysers! Get set to get wet!
- Maharajah Jungle Trek - Trek into the lush forests for an unparalleled adventure into the wilds of the mystical Anandapur Royal Forest of Southeast Asia. Have up-close encounters with Komodo dragons and tapirs and tigers. Make eye contact with stalking tigers. Wander among the ruins of an ancient palace inhabited by beautiful and exotic animals!
- Expedition Everest - In this runaway-train roller coaster, Himalayan trekkers board refurbished steam trains on their way to the base camp of Mount Everest, using a shortcut that passes through the "forbidden mountain" guarded by the legendary yeti.
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DinoLand U.S.A.
- The Boneyard - Slip, slide, slither and slosh through a play maze filled with fun fossils. "Exploration. Excavation. Exultation." is the motto of the Dino Institute and nowhere is this truer than here. Would-be paleontologists young and old play amidst a world of dinosaur discoveries like a Triceratops, T-Rex and Wooly Mammoth. Frolic among the fossils!
- DINOSAUR (formerly Countdown to Extinction) - Whoosh back to primeval times for a wild ride of an expedition to complete your dangerous mission. The clock is ticking on your Time Rover and you have mere minutes to rescue a stray dinosaur. Beware the hungry clutches of one large meat-eating predator and the devastating power of an impending asteroid! It's fast. It's a blast! It's in the past!
- Animals located in Dinoland include an American Crocodile, Abdim's Storks, and Asian brown tortoises.
- Finding Nemo - The Musical - Set to debut in late 2006, the original musical stage show developed by Walt Disney Creative Entertainment tells the story of the Disney/Pixar film Finding Nemo with new songs by Avenue Q composer Bobby Lopez and puppets designed by Michael Curry.
- Dino-Sue - Visit Disney's oldest "cast" member, clocking in at 67 million years. Dino-Sue is a painstaking reproduction of the largest, most complete T-Rex ever found! The length of a four-story building, the mighty T-Rex is available to pose for pictures with you at the Dino institute. It's fossiliferous!
- Cretaceous Trail - Enjoy a lush, shady, relaxing and surprising walking tour amidst plant and animal survivors that have outlived the dinosaurs. Play with a Pachycephalosaur, encounter living animal species that have survived since prehistoric times and discover fossil dig sites!
DinoLand also contains "Dino-Rama!", an area made to look like a tacky 1950s roadside attraction built on an old parking lot. Dino-Rama! has been criticized by Disney fans for containing only "off-the-shelf" attractions (whack-a-mole and other carnival games) similar to what other parks offer, and for charging guests money for each play.
- Primeval Whirl - Take a whirl into prehistory in one of these spinning time machines that are part of the zany fun fair of Chester and Hester's Dino-Rama! Thrill to the sudden dips, hairpin turns and tight curves of this rollicking coaster. Each colorful car spins independently so you never know how things will "turn" out! It's the best time you've had in ages.
- TriceraTop Spin - Take the family for a spin aboard this whirling, twirling, friendly flying dinosaur. Climb into one of these four-person dino vehicles and spin 'round, up and down. Expect a dino-sized surprise for kids rising from the giant tin top at the hub of it all. It's an experience that can't be "topped
- Fossil Fun Games - Erupting with fun, these dinosaur-themed games offer a good time for everyone. Whether you are wowed by the nostalgic past of a carnival or by the distant prehistoric past, these games are a total blast from the past!
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Trivia
- Though offering several counter service restaurants and snack stands, this park contains only one table service restaurant, a Rainforest Cafe, located just outside the park's gates. An Asian-themed table-service restaurant operated by Landry's Restaurants is scheduled to open in 2007.
- Disney's Animal Kingdom closes earlier than other parks in the Walt Disney World Resort, usually at five or six o'clock in the evening. The animals are said to require a strict schedule to avoid stress, so even on nights when the park is open later, animals will still usually be brought inside around five o'clock. Another notable difference from other Disney parks is that Animal Kingdom does not have a fireworks show in consideration of skittish animals.
- Originally the park was divided into three sections: live animals, extinct animals (dinosaurs, etc.), and mythical animals (dragons, unicorns, etc.). The area for the mythical animals was to be called Beastlie Kingdomme, to have contained a dragon rollercoaster and a unicorn hedge maze and have been located where Camp Minnie-Mickey is now. [1] Plans for this area were scrapped when the park's development budget became tight, and the Imagineers who had been working on it were laid off and quickly hired by the Universal Orlando Resort to create the Dueling Dragons coasters for its Islands of Adventure theme park. Though Disney's Animal Kingdom opened without any attractions featuring mythical animals, the theme lives on in the park's logo (which contains a dragon) and its parking lot (which has a Unicorn section). Also, dragon sound effects and even an occasional fireball emanate from the trees nearby the footbridge leading to Camp Minnie-Mickey. The 2006 opening of Expedition Everest brought the mythical Yeti to life in the park.
- Development costs for this park up to the time of its opening are estimated to have been US$800 million.
- When the park opened in 1998, Disney used the made-up word "nahtazu" in advertising to describe the park. Pronounced "not a zoo," the word emphasized that the park was more than animal displays found in a typical city zoo. As of January 2006, Disney is no longer using the "nahtazu" phrase in park promotional material.
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External links
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