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 The Tree of Life, the icon of Animal Kingdom | |
 Interactive map of Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park | |
| Location | Walt Disney World,Bay Lake, Florida, United States |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 28°21′29″N81°35′24″W / 28.358°N 81.59°W /28.358; -81.59 |
| Status | Operating |
| Opened | April 22, 1998; 27 years ago (1998-04-22)[3] |
| Owner | Disney Experiences (The Walt Disney Company) |
| Operated by | Walt Disney World Key people: Maryann Smith (VP)[1] Dr. Mark Penning (VP, Animal Sciences)[1][2] Kristen Stalker (GM, Operations) |
| Theme | |
| Operating season | Year-round |
| Attendance | 8.77 million (2023)[4] |
| Website | Animal Kingdom |
| Walt Disney World |
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| Theme parks |
| Water parks |
| Other attractions and areas |
| Resorts |
| Affiliated services |
| Transport |
Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park is azoological theme park atWalt Disney World inBay Lake, Florida, nearOrlando. Owned and operated bythe Walt Disney Company through itsExperiences division, it was the largest theme park in the world upon opening, covering 580 acres (230 ha).[5][6][7] The park opened onEarth Day, April 22, 1998, and was the fourth theme park built at the resort. The park is dedicated and themed aroundnatural environment andanimal conservation, a philosophy once pioneered byWalt Disney.[8]
Disney's Animal Kingdom distinguishes itself from other Walt Disney World theme parks by featuring hundreds of live animal exhibits alongside traditional theme park elements. Special designs and provisions were incorporated throughout the park to protect the animals' welfare. The park is located on the western edge of the resort and is isolated from the other theme parks and properties to minimize external disruptions to the animals; as a result, the park does not feature nighttimefireworks shows that would otherwise disturb the animals. In efforts to be more eco-friendly, the park usesbiodegradable paper straws and prohibits plastic straws, lids, and balloons. Disney's Animal Kingdom is accredited by theAssociation of Zoos and Aquariums and theWorld Association of Zoos and Aquariums, indicating they have met or exceeded the standards in animal welfare, education, conservation, and research.[9]
In 2024, the park hosted 8.8 million guests, making it the 15th-most-visited theme park in the world.[10] It is the most-visited zoo in the world as of 2019.[11] The park's icon is theTree of Life, a 145-foot-tall (44 m), 50-foot-wide (15 m) artificialbaobab tree.
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Disney began planning a new park shortly after the opening ofDisney-MGM Studios in 1989.[12] Animal Kingdom was the brainchild ofImagineerJoe Rohde, who had previously designed theAdventurers Club atPleasure Island.[13] When presenting the idea of the new animal-themed park, Rohde brought a 400-pound (180 kg)Bengal tiger into the meeting with Disney CEOMichael Eisner.[14] Originally slated as Disney's "Wild Animal Kingdom," Disney announced plans for the construction of the park in 1995 at an estimated cost of $600-$800 million. To design the theme park, Disney Imagineers traveled to Africa and Asia to study the landscapes and wildlife.
In July 1996, construction was underway on the animal holding facilities, the installation of trees, shrubs, and grasses to shape the park's AfricanSavanna-inspired landscape.[15] Disney Imagineers collected seeds from 37 countries to be used for the plants and grasses in the park.[16] The landscaping efforts included spreading four million cubic yards of dirt, planting 40,000 mature trees (a mix of real Savanna species and artificialBaobab trees[17]), constructing 60 miles (97 km) of underground utilities, and construction of various waterways, and structures built by over 2,600 construction workers.[14] Many buildings containedthatched roofs assembled byZulu workers fromSouth Africa.[17] About 1,500 hand-painted wooden horses were crafted inBali under Disney supervision.[14] Parts of the park were designed to have an aged appearance, with artificial potholes in the safari roads and boats peppered with dents and rust.[14]
Most of the park's animals were acquired in 1997 during the fall; they were held at a rented holding facility in northern Florida forquarantine and observation.[15] Disney hired staff from 69 zoos around the United States to care for the animals.[12]
The park opened to the public on April 22, 1998. Several marketing events surrounded the day.ABC aired a two-hourprime time special about the making of Animal Kingdom, as part of itsThe Wonderful World of Disney anthology series.[14] Eisner and Disney Vice ChairmanRoy Disney hosted an opening day party for 14,000 corporate partners, travel agents, and media figures, which included celebrities such asMichael J. Fox,Drew Carey,Stevie Wonder,David Copperfield, andJane Goodall.[18] Broadcasts ofGood Morning America,Today andLive with Regis and Kathie Lee aired live from the park on April 22.[18]
In 2011, Disney announced a major expansion to the park,Pandora - The World ofAvatar, a joint venture with directorJames Cameron and his production company,Lightstorm Entertainment, with the intention of transforming Animal Kingdom into a full-day operation with added attraction capacity and nighttime experiences.[19] Construction on the area began on January 10, 2014,[20] and the area opened to the public on May 27, 2017.[21]
The parkwas closed from March 16 to July 11, 2020, due to theCOVID-19 pandemic in Florida.[22][23]
In September 2023, it was announced at Destination D23 that DinoLand U.S.A. would be replaced with a new area inspired by the American tropics,[24] andIt's Tough to Be a Bug! would be succeeded by aZootopia-themed film in the Tree of Life Theater.[25]
In August 2024, it was confirmed thatIt's Tough to Be a Bug! show would be replaced by the new showZootopia: Better Zoogether in the Tree of Life Theater, opening in the winter of 2025, and DinoLand U.S.A. would be replaced by a newTropical Americas land, set in the fictional town of Pueblo Esperanza, featuringEncanto andIndiana Jones-themed attractions with completion expected by 2027.[26]
In October 2024, the closing date of DinoLand, U.S.A. was pushed to 2025. The first phase of the closure of DinoLand, U.S.A. became effective on January 13, 2025, with the closure of the subsection Chester & Hester's Dino-Rama, including TriceraTop Spin, Fossil Fun Games, and Chester & Hester's Dinosaur Treasures.[27][28] In February 2025, it was announced thatIt's Tough to Be a Bug! would close on March 16, 2025.[citation needed]
In March 2025, it was announced thatZootopia: Better Zoogether! would open on November 7, 2025, and would be based on the 2016 movieZootopia and its 2025 sequel,Zootopia 2, which will release in theaters a few weeks after the show on November 26, 2025.[29] In June 2025, it was announced that the second phase of the closure of DinoLand, U.S.A. became effective on September 1, 2025, including The Boneyard.[30]
In September 2025, it was announced that the third and final phase of DinoLand, U.S.A. will be closed permanently, effective February 2, 2026, including the Dino Institute, and more.[31]
Disney's Animal Kingdom is divided into seven themed areas. The park's Discovery River separates Discovery Island from the other lands. The park is home to approximately 2000 animals representing around 200 species.[32]
Oasis is the park's logistic equivalent toMain Street U.S.A. and provides the transition from the park's entrance to the world of animals. The main paths feature animal exhibits and dense vegetation and trees lead deeper into the park and then onto Discovery Island. Between the parking lot and the Oasis sits aRainforest Cafe, which can be entered from both inside and outside the ticketed area.[33]
Discovery Island is located at the center of the park and is an island within the park's Discovery River waterway. It serves as the "central hub" connecting the other sections of the park by bridges, with the exception of Rafiki's Planet Watch. It was originally calledSafari Village, as Discovery Island was the name for the small zoological park located in Walt Disney World's Bay Lake but was renamed after that area, which closed in 1999.
The Tree of Life, the park's sculpted, man-madebaobab tree, is located in this section and is surrounded by trails and animal enclosures. The park's largest gift shops and two of its major restaurants are on Discovery Island.[34]
Pandora – The World ofAvatar is themed to the fictionalhabitable exomoon,Pandora, fromJames Cameron'sAvatar and devoted to the many extraterrestrial fauna and flora that inhabit it. The land's marquee attraction isAvatar Flight of Passage, a 3Dflying thrill simulator that mimics an exhilarating flight on abanshee across the Pandoran landscape.[35] Another attraction, theNa'vi River Journey, is a dark boat ride through Pandora'sbioluminescent rainforests.[36][37] The area opened on May 27, 2017.[21][38]
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Africa, set in the fictionaleast African port village of Harambe, resembles the local villages found inKenya,Tanzania, andUganda. Some snippets from Africa that were duplicated by the Disney Imagineers included a fortress that was found inZanzibar, and a water-stained, crumbling old building that was found in Kenya. Harambe includes a "hotel”, restaurants, an outdoor bar with live entertainment, and different marketplaces.
The village is the namesake of theHarambe Wildlife Preserve, the fictional home of the area's main attraction,Kilimanjaro Safaris. Guests climb aboard an open-sided safari vehicle for an expedition to see African species in several large field enclosures, replicating the African savannas, rivers and rocky hills. The safari features theokapi,greater kudu,saddle-billed stork,bongo,black andsouthern white rhinoceros,hippopotamus,pink-backed pelican,Nile crocodile,Masai giraffe,blue wildebeest,springbok,Ankole cattle,African wild dog,spotted hyena,common eland,waterbuck,sable antelope,African bush elephant,mandrill,greater flamingo,Hartmann's mountain zebra,common ostrich,Rüppell's griffon vulture,cheetah,African lion,common warthog, andNigerian dwarf goats.
On the adjacentGorilla Falls Exploration Trail, visitors trek into the forest to see animals such as theWestern lowland gorilla,Angolan colobus,okapi,yellow-backed duiker,Grévy's zebra,meerkat,Kenyan sand boa, andnaked mole-rat, as well as a walkthroughaviary.[39] On the western side of the Africa area is the Harambe Theater, which is home to theFestival of the Lion King, a live stage show based on Disney's 1994 animated feature film,The Lion King.
Rafiki's Planet Watch is the only section of the park not connected to Discovery Island; it connects only to Africa. Guests board the3 ft (914 mm)narrow-gaugeWildlife Express Train for the short trip to and from the area, which consists of three sub-areas.
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 featuringgoats,sheep,cattle,domestic pigs,donkeys, andalpacas.
The area also includesThe Animation Experience at Conservation Station.[40][41]
Asia, set in the fictional kingdom of Anandapur, evokes the traits ofCambodia,India,Indonesia,Mongolia,Nepal,Thailand andTibet, China. The first expansion area added to Disney's Animal Kingdom in 1999, Anandapur translates to "place of many delights" inSanskrit. According to the park's fictional history, Anandapur was established as a royal hunting preserve in 1544. Asia contains both the riverside village of Anandapur and Serka Zong, which is set in the foothills of theHimalayas.
The visual focal point of Asia isExpedition Everest, asteel roller coaster ride through a forbidden Himalayan mountain guarded by the elusiveYeti. Nearby isKali River Rapids, ariver rapids ride. TheMaharajah Jungle Trek leads guests through the forests and ruins outside the village, which are home to species such as thewater buffalo,bar-headed goose,Sumatran tiger,blackbuck,Sarus crane,swan goose,lion-tailed macaque,Malayan flying fox,Komodo dragon and over 50 bird species.[42] In the Anandapur Theatre,Feathered Friends in Flight is a live bird show featuring birds such as theblack crowned crane andbald eagle.
DinoLand U.S.A. is set in the fictional American rural locale of Diggs County and is themed arounddinosaurs and other extinctprehistoric life. The area is anchored by the Dino Institute, apalaeontological facility which is home toDinosaur, adark thrill ride loosely inspired by thefilm of the same name, featuring atrip through time to theLate Cretaceous. Just outside the institute is "Dino-Sue", a casting of aTyrannosaurus rexfossil that is themost complete yet found.
At the eastern edge of DinoLand U.S.A. is the Theater in the Wild, which hostsFinding Nemo: The Big Blue...and Beyond!, a musical stage show based on the story of the 2003 animated filmFinding Nemo.
Camp Minnie-Mickey was themed as a rustic summer camp, built as a placeholder on the location where Beastly Kingdom was intended to be built. This section was a meet and greet with various Disney characters and later hostedFestival of the Lion King. The area closed on January 5, 2014, and was replaced byPandora – The World ofAvatar.[43]
When originally conceived, Disney's Animal Kingdom was to focus on three broad classifications of animals: those that exist in today's reality; those that did exist but are now extinct (i.e., dinosaurs); and those that only exist in the realm of fantasy such as unicorns and dragons.[44] The original design for Animal Kingdom included a themed section called Beastly Kingdom, devoted to creatures of legend and mythology. During the final stages of planning of development, Eisner decided that either Beastly Kingdom or DinoLand U.S.A. would be built first because of budget cuts after the failure of Euro Disney (known today asDisneyland Paris) and the higher cost of the upkeep and care of the animals at the park.[45] DinoLand U.S.A. was chosen first mostly because of its lower budget. Former imagineers who went to work onUniversal Islands of Adventure used ideas that were similar to Beastly Kingdom. In 2000, Rohde said: "We had a vision and now it's become a placeholder. We have all kinds of ideas and not all of them fit with the theme of Beastly Kingdom. I'm not even convinced there will be a Beastly Kingdom."[46]
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The park contains four table service restaurants:
There are seven quick-service restaurants located throughout the park:
As with other Walt Disney World theme parks, Disney's Animal Kingdom has other locations and carts that offer snacks and beverages.
The park typically closes earlier in the day than other parks in the Walt Disney World Resort; Animal Kingdom began to stay open through the evening on May 27, 2016.[47]
Disney does not allow plastic straws, lids, or balloons to be used in the park, unlike the rest of the Disney parks. This is so that plastic does not inadvertently enter an animal's habitat and hurt them. Instead, the park usesbiodegradable paper straws and offers lids for hot drinks only.[48] The restrooms at Disney's Animal Kingdom all have doors at their entrances. This practice is in place so that, in the event of an animal escaping, guests are able to shelter safely inside.
As a zoological park, Disney's Animal Kingdom is engaged in research and conservation efforts involving its animal species. Since the park's opening in 1998, the resident elephant herd has produced seven calves, with births in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008,[49] 2010,[50] 2011 and 2016. In 2008, the park's giraffe herd produced four newborns, raising the total number of giraffe births since opening to eleven.[51]
In 1999, one of the park'swhite rhinoceros gave birth to a female calf named Nande.[52] In 2006, Nande and Hasani, another of the park's rhinos, were transferred to Uganda'sZiwa animal sanctuary, in the first attempt to re-introduce white rhinos to the country. Civil strife had caused the white rhinoceros to be eradicated from the area.[52] In June 2009, Nande gave birth to a male calf, the first such birth in Uganda in over 25 years.[52] By January 2010, eight white rhinos had been born at Animal Kingdom since the park's opening; the most recent was born to another Animal Kingdom-born mother.[53]
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Several Florida-based animal rights groups andPETA voiced concerns when the park originally opened, citing Walt Disney World's previous missteps in handling animals at the defunctDiscovery Island.[54] The groups protested, and PETA tried to convince travel agents not to book trips to the park.[55] On opening day, theOrange County Sheriff's office sent about 150 deputies; about two dozen protesters showed up. The protest lasted two hours, and there were no arrests.[56]
Following aU.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) inspection of the park, it was revealed that 31 animals died at Animal Kingdom between September 1997 and April 1998 from accidents, poisonings, fights, and other causes.[57] TwoAsian small-clawed otters died after ingestingloquat seeds from trees planted in their exhibit; two cheetah cubs died fromethylene glycol poisoning; nine herd animals died from injuries caused by fights, being entangled in fences while trying to escape, and, in one case, being kicked by an ostrich.[57] Twocrowned cranes were killed after being run over by safari vehicles in two separate incidents.[57] The USDA ultimately found no violations of animal-welfare regulations.[58] Disney responded to the report by hiring additional security to prevent animals from fighting, relocating the crowned cranes to walking paths, as well as adding mirrors to the safari vehicles.[57]
One year after the park opened, Animal Rights Foundation of Florida complained that a New Year's Eve fireworks show could upset the animals. A USDA inspector came to the park and found no problems with launching low-noise fireworks one-half mile (800 m) away.[59] In January 2015, the animal rights groupIn Defense of Animals listed the park at number 10 on its 2014 "list of worst zoos for elephants."[60]
In October 2014, a snake dropped out of a tree and bit a boy, precipitating the death of his great-grandmother who suffered a cardiac arrest as a reaction to the incident. The park confirmed that the snake that bit the boy was a non-venomous indigenous snake and that it did not escape from an enclosure. A lawsuit was threatened because of the incident.[61] The lawsuit was never filed.[citation needed]
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| Year | Attendance |
|---|---|
| 2013 | 10,198,000[62] |
| 2014 | 10,402,000[63] |
| 2015 | 10,922,000[64] |
| 2016 | 10,844,000[65] |
| 2017 | 12,500,000[66] |
| 2018 | 13,750,000[67] |
| 2019 | 13,888,000[68] |
| 2020 | 4,166,000[69] |
| 2021 | 7,194,000[70] |
| 2022 | 9,027,000[71] |
| 2023 | 8,770,000[72] |
| 2024 | 8,800,000[73] |
As of 2024, Disney's Animal Kingdom is the 16th-most-visited theme park in the world.[68]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)| The Oasis | | |
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| Discovery Island | ||
| Pandora – The World ofAvatar | ||
| Africa | ||
| Rafiki's Planet Watch | ||
| Asia | ||
| DinoLand U.S.A. | ||
| Future |
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Media from Commons
Travel guides from Wikivoyage
Data from Wikidata| International | |
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| National | |
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