Four Hours in Animal Kingdom + a Night at Disney Springs

I’m finally sitting down to recap our time the last park in DisneyWorld: Animal Kingdom. 

I think I’m in the minority here, but I just don’t love Animal Kingdom the way I love the other parks and I can’t quite pinpoint any reason for it either. I like animals just fine, despite being scared of so many. For me, AK doesn’t have the same magic as the other three. Sometimes I wonder if it’s because I’ve been spoiled by the Cincinnati Zoo. I would never profess that it compares to DisneyWorld, but if you’re an animal lover, our zoo is one of the best out there. Maybe I’m numb to the excitement of seeing the animals in AK because I grew up visiting them a few times a year in Cincinnati. 

Whatever the reason, we planned for AK to be a shorter park day. AK was our fifth day in DisneyWorld (six days into our trip if you include drive time) and we were all starting to crack. In fact, this was the only day my husband and I griped at each other. It was an argument about coffee, likely spurred by the fact that neither of us had had any yet. It was resolved without drama in just a few minutes with apologies, a kiss, and two caramel macchiatos. 

Kiddo Favorites

If we’re being honest (and we always are), I don’t think the kids were bowled over by Animal Kingdom. We managed to get Fast Passes for Kilimanjaro Safaris for right when the park opened. Even though we’ve been to the park before, T and I had never done the safari either, so we were all excited. The kids seemed generally interested in it, but I think they might’ve enjoyed the bumpiness of the drive more than the animals. Again, are they just spoiled, having been nose to nose with giraffes at the Cincinnati Zoo? Regardless, there were a few ooohs and aaahs so I call this success.

They were impressed by the Tree of Life. We spent only a few minutes standing near it, trying to pick out all the animals carved into the side, but both kids were stunned by its size. 

And finally, I think they really enjoyed watching Expedition Everest. More on that below, but T rode it while I hung back with the kids. We parked the stroller in a prime viewing location and I plied them with fruit snacks so that we could just sit for a few. Bean had fun trying to figure out where her dad was on the ride and Dude commented on the “beeeeg heeeeeel” (big hill) a few times.

Parent Favorites

T’s favorite was definitely riding Expedition Everest. He’s a thrill seeker for sure. I also had a Fast Pass for it, but wasn’t interested enough to ride it alone. It was the last thing we were tackling before heading back to our hotel and I was ready to be done. I’ll catch it next time around 🙂

I really enjoyed walking through the Asia section of the park. The weather was nice—sunny but a bit chilly—so we took our time strolling through the area on our way to Expedition Everest. I haven’t ever fully appreciated the commitment to the design there and how immersive it is.

And finally, my other favorite thing was our morning snack. After the coffee fiasco and Kilimanjaro Safaris, we found Tamu Tamu Refreshments, which sells Dole Whips with rum and enormous ice cream cookie sandwiches. One of each for me, please and thank you. T had a spiked Dole Whip too and the kids were happy to split some delicious pineapple ice cream.

What We Knew Better Than To Try

We went into this with zero intention of trying anything in Pandora. Knowing how long the lines were was enough to scare us off. I don’t think the kids would’ve fully appreciated that area, and I probably wouldn’t have either. I hope we’ll get to give Flight of Passage and Na’vi River Journey a try when we go back in a few years.

We also decided in the end to skip Dinosaur. This is one of my very favorite rides. It’s intense but not over the top; it’s thrilling but not frightening. I remember riding it the first time with my parents and brother and just being totally delighted by the entire experience. I had hoped to share that with Bean, but we ultimately decided that it might be too intense for her so we gave up our Fast Passes and walked right on by.

In skipping Dinosaur, we also opted to skip that entire area of the park. The rides there were likely not going to appeal to the kids and I figured that if they saw The Boneyard they were going to want to be there forever or at least an hour. Given that this was supposed to be something of a rest day, we skipped it completely. 

Who Did We Meet? What Did We See?

We were able to see two shows while in Animal Kingdom: Festival of the Lion King and Finding Nemo: The Musical. I was really impressed with Festival of the Lion King. It’s a show in the round and everywhere we looked, there was something impressive to see. I’m not sure the kids were as interested as we were, but T and I really enjoyed the artistry of this show. 

I don’t remember Finding Nemo at this point. That’s what I get for waiting six months to write this.

I’m going to be honest.

This day was special in the way all days on vacation are special. We were together, focused on nothing but our family and having fun. But was there any one moment that stands out about our hours in AK? I don’t think so. It was a good time, but not the best time. 

We planned this day toward the end of our trip, but still had another day and a half afterwards. I’m glad we planned it that way. I wouldn’t have wanted to skip AK all together, but for us, it would’ve been an uneventful way to close out the trip. We went back to the hotel, rested for a few hours, and then went to Disney Springs in the evening to check out the Christmas Tree Trail.

Now this was spectacular.

In Disney Springs over the holidays, they showcase more than 25 themed Christmas trees. There were trees for all of their major animated films and a few other key characters. I was mesmerized.

By this point in the trip, our daughter was starting to come down with a bug and didn’t feel her best. We had to breeze through the trees a smidge quicker than any of us would’ve liked, but it was still a beautiful evening.

It would be impossible to choose a favorite! I’m partial to anything with blues and purples, but The Jungle Book tree was really striking. What’s your favorite?