The ULTIMATE Guide to Animal Kingdom in 2023

How can you get a lower weight on the Passage flight without a Lightning Lane? What secret paths do you need to know and how to go behind the scenes at Animal Kingdom? Learn the answers to these burning questions and more in our latest Disney

2023

Guide to Animal Kingdom Hi everyone, I'm AJ for the Disney Food Blog. Today we're exploring one of my favorite parks, Disney's Animal Kingdom, to make sure you know all the ins and outs before your visit. We're going to cover a lot of it in this video today, so if you want to cheat, you can check it out anytime and go over everything we're talking about.

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2023

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. to Disney's Animal Kingdom totally free okay let's do a little history here there are six different sections of Disney's Animal Kingdom Discovery Island is home to the tree of life and is known as the heart of the park if you are standing in front of the tree of life and As you head to the back right of the park, you'll end up in Asia, which is home to the Animal Kingdom's only roller coaster, as well as an underrated gem of a restaurant in the back left of the park.

You will find Africa where you can take a full African safari through the park's personal savanna. If you take the Wildlife Express train in Africa, you'll end up in another section of Rafiki's Planet Watch park, which includes areas like the conservation station, the affection section at the Animation Academy, more on that later, if you enter the park and go to the left you will end up in the newest section of Animal Kingdom, Pandora World of Avatar, which yes, is based on James Cameron's popular Avatar film series and if you enter the park and go right you will end up in dinoland USA, which resembles an old school dinosaur-themed carnival, you guessed it, there's a lot of history about it that you'll want to read at some point. very interesting things.

I'll link our dfb post on Dino Land Down in the description below in case you're ever looking for a light, entertaining read now that you have an idea of ​​what each of these areas looks like. a map, let's look at some of the new things you can find in Animal Kingdom lately, it's going to be real with you, there will be a little quiet on the home front of the

animal

kingdom

in 2023, but that doesn't mean nothing is going to happen around the tree of In fact, there are already some new things happening that you can experience right now because the sequel to the Avatar movie, Avatar the Way of Water, has finally hit theaters.

A new Avatar sequence has been added to the Tree of Life Awakening show taking place in the park. Every night after the sun sets, these new sequences show previews of the new film while giving visitors a unique light projection show on the trunk and branches of the Tree of Life and those incredible sizes. The show runs approximately every 10 minutes before the park closes. which is usually around 8 p.m. and listen, don't sell this short, it's absolutely beautiful in April. Disney's Animal Kingdom will not only celebrate Earth Day on April 22, but also the park's 25th birthday during the 2023 Earth Day celebration, which not only happens on Earth Day, but throughout month you'll be able to find magical Earth Day-themed shots for PhotoPass exclusive snacks eco-friendly merchandise rare character cavalcades Unlimited edition wilderness explorer badges I'll talk more about why they're so cool later, so what else can we expect to see at Disney's Animal Kingdom in the future?

Well, potentially a lot during the d23 Expo in 2022. Josh demaro, president of Disney's parks products and experiences division, shared some blue sky ideas that gave us an idea. As for what Imagineers are thinking in terms of the future of the Animal Kingdom, a couple of those ideas include a possible new theme or an expansion of Dinoland USA with Zootopia or Moana themed areas, but don't get too excited, but these two concepts are very early in development. creative process, which is why they're called Blue Sky projects in the first place, although tomorrow he wanted everyone to know that this was more than just daydreaming, that he and the Imagineers were thinking very seriously about the potential of these two expansions.

He also mentioned that they were potential expansion opportunities and not sure opportunities either way, we probably won't see much if any expansion at Animal Kingdom during 2023; However, there is always a chance that we will learn more about the status of these projects and whether they are actually going to work. Look at the light of day. This is my favorite part of these Ultimate Guide videos on how to do the impossible at Animal Kingdom. One of the best things about Dak is that you don't have to stress about your day here for the most part. You're going to have a pretty quiet day and that's why I love this place.

That said, there are times when things can get complicated and when those times happen, you will want to know the best possible solutions to get back into those situations. Chilling Vibes again, so how can you skip the lines without a Lightning Lane? Well, we'll talk about Lightning Lanes a little later in the video, but for now let's talk about what you can do to skip the lines at two popular Animal Kingdom attractions without paying an extra dime for the Legend of the Mountain Everest Expedition Banned, uses the single Rider line at times. I will warn you that single Rider lines will not always guarantee that you will get to the front of the line faster than the standard queue, but the Expedition ever single Rider line has a pretty good track record and when you use it you will probably get on the ride faster than if you you use the waiting line, just remember that if you use a single Rider you will be separated from your group, if a group is going with you for the Passage flight, there are three methods I like to use to get ahead of the line, as this ride tends to accumulate the highest weights in the park.

First, you can use early entry to the theme park. By the way, a benefit for guests of Disney World Resort and Resorts or hotels, as well as some select Good Neighbor Hotel guests, and allows you to enter any of the parks on any day 30 minutes before they open to everyone else if you get to Animal. Kingdom, just as early entry to the theme park begins, you can head to the Passage stretch first to help reduce those huge weights that tend to accumulate throughout the day. Your second option, as the Passage line section can sometimes still be quite crowded even during the first few hours.

Theme park entry time is to line up just before the end of the day. Most ride queues will remain open until the park closes, meaning you can queue 15 to 20 minutes before the park begins to close for the night and still be there. be able to ride the attraction, in fact you can wait in line one minute before the park closes and still be able to ride the attraction as long as you are in line when the line cuts off for the night you are ready to go . Many times this will guarantee you not only a shorter route but also the ability to stay in the parks a little longer after hours, but here's the big bet if there is some kind of technical difficulty with the trip at the end of the At night you don't have that safety net option of being able to come back and try again later, so if you want to wait on the Passage flight until the end of the night, keep in mind that if something were to happen, it won't be temporary . closures here, the trip will go down and down until the next day and the third option that I use is my new favorite and it's called copy hour wait, it starts at 2 p.m. every day and most of the time guests with this add-on option will be park hopping from Animal Kingdom instead of heading towards Animal Kingdom as this park has the shortest hours of the four Disney parks and they will start there and They will jump to a park that is open later, which means we tend to see a splash. on wait times around 2-3pm, just keep an eye on the My Disney Experience app so you can check those wait times around early afternoon, when you see the wait time decrease then You can approach and enter. line another how to do the Impossible There are hundreds of live

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s to see at Animal Kingdom and one of the best ways to see many of the animals at once is on the 18-minute

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d Kilimanjaro Safari tour, but on those scorching days in En the park, the animals are not going to be too active, but rather they will look for shade and probably sleep all day.

Who can blame them now if you see it's starting to drizzle during your day at Animal Kingdom? Don't avoid this African tour, instead get in line. Rainy days at Animal Kingdom Savannah mean more active animals, so it's one of the only outdoor rides you'll want to rush to when it starts to look a little gloomy or rainy. Even seeing the elephants playing in the puddles sounds like a great memory for some members of the DFB team, but don't rush to this place if it's too stormy. Kilimanjaro safaris will not be done much in severe weather conditions. just like any outdoor ride at any other park and let's talk about escaping the crowds let's talk about the impossible another way to see a lot of Animal Kingdom's wildlife in one go check out some of the park's animal-focused trails you'll see tons Not only that, but they are a great way to get away from the more congested areas that pop up around the park in case you need a little respite.

Animal Kingdom may be the most relaxing theme park of the bunch. but it is still a theme park and all theme parks have their moments where sometimes it can be too much to handle. Some of our favorite places to spend some much-needed alone time are around the Discovery Island trails, also known as the surrounding Tree of Life trails. Huge icon of the park and are generally much less crowded than other areas of the park. You can enter these trails behind the tree near the bridge to Africa or in front of the adventurer outpost where you can also meet Mickey and Minnie or you can hop on. near the front of the icon by visiting the Tree of Life Garden, which has entrances near pizzafari and in front of the Discovery trading company.

As you wander the trails, be sure to check out the super intricate animal carvings on the tree. More than 400 animals are represented and we like to call that Disney imagination to the max. There are also some pretty easy animal trails in Africa and Asia with even more wildlife to explore the Maharaja Jungle Trail and Gorilla Falls, both are full of live animal habitats and are super peaceful and relaxing if I have a day exhausting and busy at Disney World, this is where I like to go to decompress while they can be busy in certain places, like in front of the gorilla habitat, there are often little quiet corners scattered throughout the paths where you can observe the animals more peacefully, you're ready for some secrets because we have them.

We want your day at the Animal Kingdom to be even better. Use these secret tricks to transform this wildlife-focused park into one of your favorite parks too. Let's take a train to a part of the park you won't be able to walk to. We mentioned Rafiki's Planet. Watch at the beginning of the video, but we'll give you a few more details about this area of ​​the park so you can get to Rafiki. Planet watching: You'll have to take a ride aboard the Wildlife Express, which is right next to the Kilimanjaro safaris in Africa. After this seven-minute train ride, you will be dropped off at this secluded part of the park where you can participate.

In a few different activities there is the affection section, which is Animal Kingdom's petting zoo, the conservation station, which is a place where some of the park's animals live and where many animals receive veterinary care when necessary, and the experience of animation which is also located inside the conservation station and gives guests the opportunity to create a custom Disney piece of art through an instructor-led animation class. Now we also want to tell you about the secret paths in Animal Kingdom. Let's talk about even more secluded trails and paths that you can find first. I want to talk about the Second hidden entrance to the park that a lot of people don't know about right outside of Animal Kingdom and to your left is the entrance to Rainforest Cafe, which we'll talk more about in the restaurant section of this video because you don't really need a park. dinner ticket at Rainforest Cafe, since it is technically outside the park, you can enter the gift shop for this dining experience.

Instead, outside the gift shopyou'll find a much less crowded place to scan your ticket and enter the park, okay? Let's talk about one of my all-time favorite secret roads, the road between Pandora and Africa. If you're trying to get two Pandoras, you'll find this path next to the Lion King Festival on the African side, but if you're trying to get to Africa, you'll find this in the lushest part of Pandora, to the right of the Satuli Cantina. This is a great way to get out of Pandora instead of circling back to the entrance, not to mention that you will be able to cross this beautiful bridge that goes right over the waters of the Discovery River, not to mention that this path is also a great opportunity to Get a close-up view of one of the flotillas of characters.

This unsuspecting spot is located beneath the large arched stone bridge which you will stroll under while walking. On your way down this path you will be closer to the Africa section of the walkway and cannot be missed. This section of the path will get you pretty close to the characters thanks to the narrow area, meaning you'll practically be in sight. level with them unlike many other places around the park, and the biggest secret about this place is that the boats slow down a little here due to the narrow channel which gives you more time to say hello and take some pictures.

Another big secret that not many people get to see is what Pandora looks like once the sun rises. states that everyone leaves Animal Kingdom so that no one can see this incredible transformation, no matter when you visit the Pandora world of Avatar, you will notice a certain glow around you due to the bioluminescent flora reflected on the ground you walk on in Moana Valley . but this place really shines once the sun goes down. Think of it as glow-in-the-dark roof stickers that you'll see during the day, compared to the night. The shape of the stars is still there, but in reality it is not.

To get the full effect until everything in the room goes dark, you won't really be able to experience this transformation during the summer season, as the park usually closes before the sun completely sets, but in winter and spring you'll be able to spend a few how many minutes. hours on Pandora after dark to truly experience the other side of this land Navi and Disney loves their treasure hunt experiences and so do we, especially when they are free range animals. Animal Kingdom's version of the free scavenger hunt scene is the desert explorers you know. Brussel Joint Troop from Pixar's Up Kids can join the Wilderness Explorers and collect free Explorer Badges around the park and the Complete Wilderness Explorer Guide is a completely free manual that you can pick up at any of the Troop Leader locations in the park. will tell you where you can go to collect your badges.

You will be asked to perform small tasks at various stations in the different lands of Animal Kingdom in order to earn badges, meaning this activity is fun and educational. great way to pass the time when the kids are getting a little tired on all the rides in the lines and during your third fourth or even fifth visit to the Disney gift shop you tend to memorize what items will be available to purchase the mini ear suitable Spirit t-shirts new pins Emos eventually you'll walk into a new store and start wondering if I've been here yet. I could have sworn I've seen all of these things before, but at Animal Kingdom you have some super unique memories to look forward to.

To earn merchants on Pandora, you'll find everything Navi and Banshee related, but if you have an extra $80 burning a hole in your pocket, you can completely transform into an avatar figure in the avatar creator once. Your face is scanned to create a personalized Navi that is supposed to look like you. You'll return to the store about 45 minutes later to pick up your finished action figure, and if you want to earn your souvenir, head over to Dinoland USA and compete for fun fossil games that give you a chance to win a Dino Land prize as you compete. against other guests in a head-to-head competition to see who emerges as the reigning carnival game champion, you'll be able to purchase those fun fossil games. vouchers for Chester and Hester's dinosaur treasures and just a word of warning: if you're competing against a child, it feels really horrible to win.

I'm not telling you to quit the game or anything, I just thought I'd let you know. about those potential sleepless nights, it's time to talk to Genie, plus you know we came here with all the definitive guides, point blank. I wouldn't spend money on lightning lanes at this park and here's why, of the four parks, Animal Kingdom has the fewest ride deals, that's not to say the right deals they have aren't good, but you won't get as much for your money here with the premium Disney Genie Plus line without going through services that start at fifteen dollars per person per day. but they have the potential to go up in price during busy on-screen seasons.

I'm going to show you a list of all Animal Kingdom attractions with Genie plus capabilities and next to each attraction I'll show you an average wait time for each one. experience without taking into account low or peak seasons, which can make these numbers a little surprising, yes, that's right, there are only five attractions where you will be able to skip the lines to use Genie plus Triceratops spin does not have a lightning lane nor would you really need one? Lightning Lane is available not on the standard Genie plus line but on the individual Lightning Lane line, which means you will have to pay an additional price per person per ride.

I've already talked about ways to Reduce Your Weight with Flying Passage and Expedition Everest, so if you use those tactics, then you really won't need lightning lanes for those Animal Kingdom rides. By the way, we've been testing this theory and Expedition Everest, even if you don't want to do the Rider single line, it never really has a very long wait, not often, anyway, and Disney tries to make the genie plus worth the purchase. a little more by offering lightning lanes to numerous Animal Kingdom shows and other attractions such as The Lion King Festival and Finding Nemo, as well as It's Tough to Be a Bug, meet Disney's favorite friends at Adventurers Outpost and experience animation, but honestly, while these shows are worth it, except it's arguably hard to be a bug that triggers anyone's antimophobia.

In no time at all it's not hard to get a seat for any of these, just show up 15-20 minutes before any of these shows and you should be good to go and as far as the booth meet and greet goes advanced adventurers, the wait times can be long, but they're not the worst we've seen, they just arrive earlier in the day and you shouldn't have to wait forever to see our favorite mice now if you want to buy Genie plus because you plan to change from Park to another. Park and you want to do as many rides as you can at both parks in one day, which is absolutely fair.

Do so, but don't forget that you won't be able to immediately make any reservations to go to the park for your second Little Genie's Little Genie's Little Lesson of the Day Park plus for you. You can only make one Lightning Lane reservation at a time. You can book another one once you've used your last one or after 120 minutes have passed since your last reservation was made and the park opened. but other than that trip at a time when you are making a lightning lane selection, you will be given the earliest available return time, so if I reserve a lightning lane at 8:30 a.m. m. for Expedition Everest, it may give me a return window. for 11 or 12 p.m. m. or later or sooner, it really depends on the Lightning Lane demand for the day they are still with me, if you are not worried you can always check out our Ultimate Guide for Genie plus video for a little more explanation.

How this system works You will now be able to make lightning lane selections for the park you plan to go to, but only after the ride's return time reaches 2 p.m. onwards, since you can't enter that park until after two, here's a For example, let's say I'm doing my first Lightning Lane at 8:30 a.m. m. at this time. I'll start at Disney's Hollywood Studios and plan to jump over to Animal Kingdom after two. I won't be able to make a reservation for that. 11 a.m. return window m., as I found before for Expedition Everest because I won't be in the park at 11 a.m. m., so I will have to wait until the earliest return time for the trip is 2 p.m. m. or later and that makes it complete.

However, he feels the downside is that you won't really be sure when all the previous and 2pm lightning lanes will have been taken. m. and beyond will be open, so you'll just have to keep checking the travel advice board periodically. appears in the My Disney Experience app to see if the second round of Lightning Lanes will be available for you to reserve yet or not. Are you hungry? I'm hungry. I'm always hungry, so it's time to talk about food and the animal

kingdom

. It's a matter of chance for me whether I'm a bigger fan of the food offerings at Epcot or Animal Kingdom, although Epcot tends to have more offerings thanks to the help of their festivals.

Animal Kingdom has some really unique options with international influences that make you forget about dining at a theme park in a good way, but let's look at the best options you'll find in AK. If you are looking for take out head to Flame Tree Barbecue, this is on Discovery Island and serves. BBQ classics along with a few touches, all seating is outdoors but attached pavilions provide shade and protection from the sun or inclement weather, but you won't want to eat here at Like a Hurricane Restaurant. Asaurus fits perfectly with dinoland kitsch. US theme and not only does it offer tasty standards like burgers, salads, chicken nuggets, but it also has quite a fun theme as The Story Goes paleontology students turn their base into a restaurant and now you can examine all their cool props and equipment, complete with lots of sight gags and stinging humor while you eat extra tip here if you order a kids meal you get to choose between two sides along with a complimentary National Geographic book which is great, second tip Bonus if you can sit in the cabin of the Airstream trailer definitely do it to find it you will want to walk through the dining room that looks like a giant gym and don't forget to look at the jukebox because you will find some songs with very interesting titles on that jukebox.

Next, let's talk about satuli. cantina, this menu is inspired by Pandora's Bounty with customizable bowls and steamed cheeseburger pods along with unique drinks and desserts. Currently, you can also find some super vibrant new menu items here, like the Mechagina Moose made with a flourless chocolate cake with chocolate mousse decorated with raspberry. Coulee mango gel and boba pearls and topped with milk and white chocolate garnishes or you can order the Ocean Moon bowl of tuna, blue noodles, watermelon, radish, pickled daikon, rainbow carrots, avocado, cucumbers and red cabbage with a drizzle of miso and sweet soy. I never expected that in a theme park now you did and there's also yak and Yeti Local Foods Cafe yak and Yeti is in the Asia Pavilion and serves unique pan-Asian cuisine in an outdoor dining setting.

This place also has one of my favorite counter services. desserts at Disney World, the mini mango pie, nothing super revolutionary or anything, but it's cheap and fruity and has lots of graham cracker crust and by the way, if you really like it, you can probably find it at your Kroger or your Publix . made by Kenny's Pies Now, if you're looking for a good sit-down meal, we have to talk about tiffins. This is the only exclusive dining experience inside Animal Kingdom, meaning it is the elegant cultural art restaurant that remembers the creation of Animal Kingdom. hangs in each of these dining rooms, but no matter which dining room you are sitting in, we still encourage you to explore and enjoy the exhibits throughout the restaurant in the same way you would experience it in an artistic calorie that you will find in South Asia and Africa.

There are American-inspired eats here, like Tiffin's famous signature bread service, tamarind-braised short ribs, and chocolate ganache at Tusker House. This is the only character restaurant in Animal Kingdom, so get ready to meet Donald, Mickey, Daisy and Goofy, all dressed up in their Safari. Vest Tusker House is an all-you-can-eat buffet with a mix of African and American foods, meaning adventurous diners can fill their plates with items like roast chicken rubbed with Tandoori spices and braised beef with zaatar; and those looking for more familiar main dishes can staywith options like corn dog nuggies and mac and cheese, by the way, the mac and cheese here is really good yak and Yeti.

I know you think we already talked about that. This is the sit down Yak and Yeti restaurant, not the quick service Yak and Yeti. Restaurant are right next to each other and this is an underrated gem of a restaurant offering a fusion of Asian cuisine in a detailed Nepali style. The menu here combines Chinese, Japanese, Thai and Indian flavors to produce interesting and delicious options such as pasta stickers lettuce cups ribs Seafood Curry lo mein soups and salads stir-fries and sweet and sour meats Hot teas and delicious desserts By the way, I really like them here too firecracker shrimp.

I always get them on my birthday and we're going to talk about them. Rainforest Cafe, this is not my first choice for dieting at Animal Kingdom, nor even my fourth choice for dining, but if you really want to create memorable experiences for your kids, they will probably like this one. Rainforest Cafe is the same restaurant chain you find in many of the world's major cities, surrounding you with animated animals in a lush rainforest setting with the sound of rain and thunder and a starry sky. The menu is quite large here. Think of it like an Applebee's or a Chili's or like a Denny's, with many options that will satisfy many different palates, the food is great, no, but you go here for the atmosphere, the real problem as far as I'm concerned, besides the fact Although the food is not excellent, the price is also high.

Basically, you're just paying a lot of money for mediocre food, but your kid gets to see an animatronic gorilla and of course there's that whole thing of what's it really like when we have one at the mall at home so you can grab a bite? decision? In this case, I'm sorry, I'm feeling really down right now if you're looking for really different, refreshing drinks and honestly, if you're also looking for lunch or dinner, I highly recommend Nomad Lounge, this is one of my favorite places. Go to Animal Kingdom and honestly, I like it better than most restaurants.

Nomad Lounge is an indoor outdoor lounge that offers good mood and possibly even better views, especially if you get a patio table next to the water, but I highly recommend an indoor table if it's really hot outside because Nomad is next door. Neighbors with tiffins can get snacks selected directly from the exclusive restaurant menu, which means that here you can also get the exclusive tiffin bread service and don't forget to ask about Nomad Lounge's seasonal soups, they are my favorite and indeed , we added them to our best snacks of 2023 this year. This place also has some of the best churros in Disney World, they are gluten free churros and You have absolutely incredible abs, now I'm still talking about drinks, let's go to the dawa bar, this is a drinking paradise in the middle of the harambe village of Africa, the drinks They are strong and the atmosphere is informal.

On the menu you will find beers, sangrias and wines. domestic and imported from Africa and specialty cocktails again, all outdoors, but there is covered seating. Next up is Creature Comforts. This is your one-stop shop for all things Starbucks. Creature Comforts is located on Discovery Island and offers the same type of specialty drinks and pastries as you. You'll find them at your local Starbucks, but some of those specialty drinks and seasonal treats in the bakery display case have fun little animal twists that can make the longer wait time worth it. Sometimes please note that Creature Comforts does not use mobile ordering like most express orders.

Services are in the My Disney Experience app and do not use specific Starbucks rewards points. If you want to use them on property, you must go to the Starbucks locations within Disney Springs. Instead, stay tuned for an additional time-saving secret about Creature Comforts at the end. from this video and if you don't want to wait in the super long lines for coffee, there are two Joffrey's locations in Animal Kingdom, the first one is outside the park entrance and will be your basic Joffrey's kiosk with cappuccinos lattes and that. peach iced tea option along with some pastries in a pastry case, but the second option is super unique in both theme and drink offerings.

The second location is in the Asian section of the park and is called The Royal Anandipur Tea Company. It offers a variety of different hot and cold teas such as Blackberry Jasmine green tea and Frozen chai. Now if you want a quick snack we have plenty of places to recommend in Animal Kingdom, we'll start with pongu pangu. Fun fact: pongupangu means party. party at Navi and that's exactly what we'll be doing after ordering some snacks and drinks from here along with alcoholic and non-alcoholic sips like the picturesque late-night Blossom that turns into a Blossom rum if you add alcohol made with apple layers. and desert pear and lemonade topped with boba balls pongupangu is also home to a Pandora signature snack, the Pongo lumpia, a spring roll filled with cream cheese, cheese and pineapple, this one is served hot and is delicious, but it is controversial, some people hate it and I love it.

This makes it a good light and inexpensive breakfast option before or after lining up for the Passage flight. Now kusafiri cafe and bakery is very close to Kilimanjaro safaris but it's still easy to overlook this counter service offering quick breakfast bites with a selection of pastries and tasty breakfast sandwiches but during the day You'll have more unique options to choose from, including marinated chicken and pork flatbreads and spiced potato cakes. Across the street from Kusafuri is TAMU TAMU Refreshments, this one is known for rotating options frequently but currently has a variety of breakfast desserts and pastries.

It also happens to be the only place you can find Dole Whip in Animal Kingdom with or without rum or served on a special float. It is a hidden gem in the open air section of Africa. of the park and Zuri's Candy Shop serves classic Disney treats to guests traveling through Africa. This is basically the candy store of this park, you'll find traditional and unique treats ranging from candy apples, Rice Krispies, marshmallow wands, cake pops, you name it, but what's fun? is that they are all pre-packaged animal kingdom themed snacks that are also sold here, although if given the choice I definitely go for the fresh display case options first, now let's talk about the Dino Bite snacks.

Now this little kiosk is the keeper of some of my favorite snacks. dinobite ice cream sandwich snacks is located in the dinoland USA section of Disney's Animal Kingdom and serves ice cream cookies, churros, and cold drinks. It's basically a kiosk with some outdoor seating, but those outdoor seating are kind of a hidden gem. It's covered, no one really knows what it is. there, so it's almost always available, most importantly you have ice cream sandwiches made with warm, chewy chocolate chip cookies and fresh, creamy vanilla ice cream, and keep an eye out for even more seasonal ice cream sandwiches throughout the year in the past.

I've seen options like mint ice cream sandwiches with double chocolate chip cookies in the winter and strawberry shortcake sandwiches for the summer. Now the inanda ice cream truck is absolutely awesome. It's in the Asian section of the park and has nice, fresh soft serve ice cream. and floats for you to choose from, it's very, very simple, although the menu is minimal. Chocolate and vanilla are always available, but this place on wheels sometimes offers fun seasonal soft treats. There is no dedicated seating for the inanda by ice cream truck, but most guests get these treats to go anyway, just be careful that they melt quickly and keep in mind that there may be some really relaxing seats near the river if walk across the street from Anandipur Ice Cream Truck and Aid Spoon Cafe.

I know some of You may not consider baked macaroni and cheese a typical snack, but you may change your mind if you have the chance to try eight spoons. The current menu here features a variety of delicious baked macaroni and cheese dishes along with a few more surprises, like a crumble. pork jelly donut sandwich, that's right, they did it, now it's time to get some tips from dfb Pro. I know we've already given you tons of secrets and tips on how to do the Impossible here, but let's up the ante by offering you the Pro staff from the dfb team. advice we hold very close to our hearts from decades since we visited Animal Kingdom first, don't skip Animal Kingdom during the holidays, this place doesn't hit the holidays as hard as Epcot or Magic Kingdom, but that doesn't mean we don't celebrate anything, In fact, one of our favorite holiday offerings is the cheerful Menagerie, which you can only find at Animal Kingdom.

It features winter animals in the form of life-size puppets that come out on Discovery Island for the parties you'll see. polar bears and foxes reindeer penguins and a variety of other winter creatures we'd love to prevent next tip and pro tip use the second line at Creature Comforts for a shorter wait so let's say you really need some stars and you need them badly but no You'll want to wait in an endless line to order your Frappuccino. What many people don't realize is that there are actually two lines of Comfort Creatures. The first line pointing towards Discovery Island tends to be much longer because it is the first.

You'll see as you walk towards it from the park entrance, but the second line points towards the Africa section of the park and is most likely the shortest option. You'll almost feel like you're cheating, but it's totally legal, I swear, and here's how to find the best way to watch the Lion King Festival. I briefly mentioned the shows at Animal Kingdom before, but let's really talk about one show in particular that is a long-time fan favorite. Lion King Festival this 30-minute indoor theater show features songs from the hit movie performed by expert singers during each of these musical numbers.

You will also be able to see skilled gymnasts shoot. Spinners and trapeze artists like flying monkeys take the stage. Those guys are Olympic athletes. I could be delirious. on and on about how much this show gives me goosebumps every time I see it, but let's get down to it which is the best seat at the festival The Lion King Theater well, the show takes place in a circular theater surrounded by bleachers something like high school basketball now the bleachers around the theater are divided into four sections boar, lion, elephant and giraffe. Sections may seem insignificant and won't really change your experience much, but you and your entire section will have to show how loud you are. being assigned an animal is just a silly and light-hearted game, nothing too embarrassing, but what's more important than which section you're sitting in is which row of the bleachers you're sitting in, you may feel that being closer to the stage will be better for smaller children, but in reality, the way the bleachers are stacked will make it harder to see the children who are closer to the front for a clear review for everyone in your group, head to the back bleachers that way You'll be able to get an unobstructed view of the entire stage. but if you're someone who wants to be close to the action, the front row will definitely get you there.

The Lion King Festival runs every hour on the hour, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. m. until 6 p.m. m., but the best time to see this. The departure is not in the afternoon. Okay, you can see this one in the afternoon, but you'll want to wait in line 25-30 minutes before the show starts since the line can be long and since the line does form. Outdoors you will be directly in the sun without any shade, so we generally prefer to go to the first show at 10am. when there are fewer people or to one of the last shows of the day when it is less hot and we want to know how to find a souvenir from the animal kingdom that is not sold in the parks if you don't want to match all the Disney dads with that classic King t-shirt Disney's daddy lion, Hakuna Matata, if you know that, check out our Animal Kingdom t-shirts on the dfb store website, we have a selection of unique options that you won't find on the shelves at Disney World and that They'll still show your love for all things tree of life, so don't be the typical Disney dad, be a cool Disney dad or just a cool dfb friend.

Generally, all family members are welcome to our store and head to merch.dfbstore.com to see our latest designs. Everything ready for the animal kingdom. Basic concepts. Okay, we're not done yet. Let's go over some of the Animal Kingdom 101 things to do. You're certainly not missing something important: meet and greets with the characters.I've only touched on the character meet and greet a little bit, but let's explore a little more because you have a wide variety of personalities to meet here. We're going to start with the most anticipated meet and greets and work our way to the, oh my god, what is that thing?

Meet and Greet the Adventurers Outpost on Discovery Island, you'll meet Mickey and Minnie in their globe-trotting finery instead of any parades you can watch. The characters float us down Discovery River from time to time. Some of the characters you can see cruising around include Mickey and Minnie in their safari outfits when they're not at the adventurer outpost, of course, they're keeping busy. Pocahontas and Mikko Donald Daisy. and Launchpad from DuckTales Timon and Rafiki and even Chip and Dale dressed as dinosaurs, which is the exact serotonin boost we could all use right now. Our colorful feathered companion Kevin loves to tower over the visitors on Discovery Island and when I say imposing I mean it that way.

It's a big bird we're talking about here, be sure to check the My Disney Experience app before your visit to find out when Kevin will be saying hello and be sure to say hello for us and last but not least. let me introduce you to Divine, again she can present herself very well, she has a good way of making a first impression. Divine is a character who walks on stilts camouflaged in vines and various other bits of foliage, but if you're lucky, you might be able to. Seeing her walking in the park doesn't happen often, but it happens and if you don't see her, she might be right next to you.

It's true, if Divine is meeting guests on the day of your visit, she might stick around. the front of the park, so pay close attention to the trees around you in case you notice any movement and let's talk about Animal Kingdom area hotels. There are five different Disney resorts that are classified as Animal Kingdom area resorts thanks to their proximity to the park now. You can't walk to Animal Kingdom from any hotel, but you can stay closer to the park. In these places you have the luxurious Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge, which yes, would be a little strange if it were located in any other area of ​​the park.

I guess you have the moderate Disney's Coronado Springs with the amazing Grandetino tower and you have the valuable Disney's All-Star Resorts which are made up of three different themes of hotels, music, movies and sports, not a bad variety of hotels there if you want to prioritize . your visits to Animal Kingdom and remember that the only way to get to Animal Kingdom using Disney's complementary transportation system is by bus, not a monorail, not a Skyliner, not a boat, just a bus; Otherwise, you will have to take your own car or request a rideshare to pick you up.

Rideshare pickups for Uber and the elevated Animal Kingdom are located at the front of the park, on the right side of the parking lot. Okay, do you feel ready to take on Disney's Animal Kingdom now? I know it's a lot to remember, but don't forget it. You can get the full PDF of everything we talked about today right in your inbox, so be sure to send us your email at disneyfoodblog.com dak2023 to request your free digital download today thanks for listening everyone and thanks for watching if you haven't already You've done it. I saw the rest of our definitive guides.

Look at them. We've done everything possible. parks for 2023. As always, this is AJ for the Disney Food Vlog and we'll see you very soon.