Alas, our final day at the parks arrived and we were off to find adventure in Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Much like Epcot, one cannot help but feel as though the Animal Kingdom does not get the love and appreciation that it deserves. Often coined as merely a “half-day” park visit, it is often said that apart from seeing the wildlife, there isn’t much fun to be had. Again, I disagree because the Animal Kingdom provides you with the perfect opportunity to do what you should be doing at all the parks, soak in every detail and moment, and enjoy your time!
We arrived at the park around 9 am and immediately made our way towards Pandora: The World of Avatar. The newest addition to the park, and arguably the hottest attraction at Disney (alongside Toy Story Land), Pandora captivates your senses and invites you to step foot into a stunning land of remarkable flora and landscapes. Our first attraction was Avatar: Flight of Passage – an unbelievable 3D experience allowing you to feel what it would be like to ride on the back of a banshee and navigate through the stunning landscapes of Pandora through the Valley of Mo’ara. Yes, this ride has been open for two years and the wait time is still about three hours. With all things Disney World, pack your patience. However, there is much to look at while waiting in line; once again Disney does not skip the details. There are so many beautiful trees and plants to admire, and the higher up you get in the line, the more beautiful the views you see of the park. Our wait was about 2 and a half hours, and honestly, it was worth it. The ride is mindblowing; you truly feel the wind on your face and the dips and dives of riding the banshee; it lasts about 5 minutes and there are about 16 riders allowed in each section, so it’s understandable why the wait is so long. It definitely is something you’ll want to experience, even if you never watched Avatar back in 2009.
When we exited the ride, we decided to explore Pandora a little more. As we were exploring, a group of drummers and performers had started in the middle of Pandora; their crowd interaction and engagement was wicked and my friend even got to do some drumming. After having some fun with the drumming and dancing, it was time for lunch. Once we filled up on pizza, there was more fun to be had. It wasn’t quite time to use a Fast Pass, so we managed to find Pocahontas and snag a picture with her and discuss our spirit animals, alongside our appreciation for Meeko because who doesn’t love that little raccoon? It was then time for the Festival of the Lion King!
The Festival of the Lion King is a spectacular 30-minute production full of sing-along songs, dancing and incredible performers and acrobatics. All your favourites are there: Timon, Pumba and of course Simba; they also get the audience involved. I am beginning to sound like a broken record, but it really is amazing how engaged you are in all the experiences. We used a Fast Pass for this experience, usually, the wait is about 30-50 minutes, depending on when you get in line and when the last show started. It is a show I would recommend time and time again, and I truly think the more you see it, the more you enjoy it! I also am obsessed with the robotic Simba… don’t ask until you see him swaying his head to the beat. Bahaha…
The Festival of the Lion King was followed up by dancing in the streets of Africa; incredible live music and dancers always speak to us so we were happy to sway and dance alongside the performers in the crowd. Our next fast pass was Kilimanjaro Safaris; a 25-minute jeep ride throughout the safari within the park. We got to see some of the animals wandering about, and this trip we got quite close to some of the animals!
After the safari, we stopped to grab a snow cone and headed off to Expedition Everest; a thrilling rollercoaster ride. We were able to use a fast pass here and that allowed us to catch the last show of the day of Up! A Great Bird Adventure (a 20-minute live-action performance with Dug and Russell showcasing a variety of different bird species). This is a newer addition to the park, so it was a new experience for us alongside all the Avatar attractions. By this time, it was after 5:30pm and there were still a few things we wanted to do. Utilizing another fast pass, we were able to see It’s Tough Being a Bug (the A Bug’s Life attraction) and made our way back to Pandora to ride Na’vi River Boat Ride. Once again, this Avatar inspired ride was so visually stunning, it was worth the hour and twenty-minute wait.
The sun had set on another magical day at Walt Disney World and our vacation was coming to an end. We left the Na’vi River Ride and began to make our way toward the exit. We stopped at a few shops and stood to admire the Tree of Life one last time before catching the shuttle back to our resort. I really appreciated having the Animal Kingdom park close out our trip because it allowed us the time to slow down and enjoy everything around us. Weather-wise, it was a comfortable 20 degrees Celcius throughout most of the day, and we probably had the most consistent sunshine that we had seen throughout the entire trip. Leaving Disney World is always a bit sad, but I had such a phenomenal trip with my bestie that I couldn’t feel sad at all; we had the chance to try new things, reunite and relive some old favourites it was impossible to be sad.
Thank you to everyone who continues to read my blog. I hope you’ve enjoyed reliving some of my Disney adventures with me, it has been really fun to recap and revisit some of these moments. I can’t wait to start planning my next trip to Disney World, whenever that may be!
Five Feet High Thoughts 