Disney’s Animal Kingdom: A Brief Tour

The Oasis -- This gateway to the adventures of Disney’s Animal Kingdom is a cool, natural place of flowering glades and tumbling waterfalls. Guests explore several lush paths that lead to natural animal habitats of miniature deer, brilliant macaws, an anteater and iguanas. The park is laid out in a classic hub-and-spoke Disney style.

Discovery Island -- Towering 145 feet above this island village of brightly colored shops and restaurants is the giant Tree of Life, the park’s centerpiece and principal icon. 325 images of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and insects are intricately carved into its trunk and branches. Several species of animals including Galapagos tortoises and red kangaroos live in pools and meadows around its base. Within the tree is a 430-seat 3-D film/special-effects theater featuring “It’s Tough to be a Bug!” a humorous and exciting adventure within the miniature world of insects. Bridges lead across Discovery River to other lands and attractions, and the daily “Mickey’s Jammin’ Jungle” parade is a character safari that enters from the park’s land of Africa and circles Discovery Island

DinoLand U.S.A. -- Begins in an open-air, paleontological dig where scientists have reassembled gigantic dinosaur skeletons in The Boneyard, a playground for families and an introduction to one of the park’s most thrilling adventures, DINOSAUR, where huge dinosaurs move and breathe with lifelike realism. Adventurers take a fantastic, careening, high-speed journey back 65 million years through a primeval forest in a desperate race to save the “last dinosaur” from threatened extinction in the fiery crash of a giant asteroid. At Chester & Hester’s Dino-Rama! -- Primeval Whirl and TriceraTop Spin are two wacky time-warp rides next to the Fossil Fun Games midway. Nearby Cretaceous Trail allows guests to wander through cycads and palms to discover plant and animal survivors of the prehistoric world. On the edge of DinoLand U.S.A., an outdoor amphitheater, Theater in the Wild, features “Tarzan Rocks!” a live musical stage show based on the Disney animated feature film, “Tarzan.” DinoLand U.S.A. is presented by McDonald’s.

Asia -- Guests explore an ancient palace and exotic rainforest where jungle animals inhabit mysterious ruins along Maharajah Jungle Trek. Tigers, gibbons, Komodo dragons and other animals appear to roam freely, and giant fruit bats fly without apparent barriers from guests or one another. Most thrilling of the Asia adventures is Kali River Rapids, a white-water raft experience along a raging river through a rainforest threatened by lumber operations. “Flights of Wonder” is an exciting free-flying demonstration of the many skills of falcons, owls and other exotic birds in performances several times each day. The open-air theater seats 1,000.

Africa -- Expeditions into the wilds of Africa begin at the edge of a typical wildlife reserve in the coastal village of Harambe, with its bustling marketplace, white-washed walls and reed-thatched roofs typical of present-day Swahili architecture. A huge, gnarled baobab tree, traditional icon of the African savannah, serves as the starting point for Kilimanjaro Safaris. Traveling in large, open-sided safari lorries, guests follow bumpy trails exploring 110 acres of forests, rivers, hills and grasslands filled with free-roaming antelope, rhinos, hippopotamus, zebra, crocodiles, baboons and other creatures. The high adventure culminates in a race to save an elephant herd from a gang of dangerous ivory poachers. The journey ends at Pangani Forest Exploration Trail where guests can disembark and walk through a bamboo jungle inhabited by two troops of lowland gorillas, see hippos from an underwater viewing area and explore a forest of exotic birds. And they can board the well-worn steam trains of Wildlife Express to Rafiki’s Planet Watch for a backstage look at the veterinary headquarters and center for Disney’s Animal Kingdom conservation programs. Visitors can enjoy interactive experiences and meet wildlife experts to discover how they can help endangered animals around the world. In The Affection Section, guests meet and touch fascinating animals.

Camp Minnie-Mickey -- In this character greeting and show area, animal characters made famous in “The Lion King” and other Disney classic animated motion pictures come to life to greet visitors and perform in special stage shows including “Festival of the Lion King,” presented on huge moving stages in an outdoor pavilion. Live animals from American forests perform with Pocahontas in “Pocahontas and Her Forest Friends” at Grandmother Willow’s Grove. Resembling an Adirondack summer camp, the area features themed shelters where guests meet individually with their favorites like Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, Brer Rabbit and Brer Bear.

Other items of interest -- Live bands, Streetmosphere characters and other moving entertainment add to the non-stop fun at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. The park also includes a 100-acre parking area for 6,000 vehicles, plus many shops and restaurants and snack facilities including the exciting Rainforest Cafe at the main entrance, Flame Tree Barbecue, Pizzafari, Restaurantosaurus and Tusker House Restaurant.