Disney World (Animal Kingdom)
This is a photo of Camilla, taken in Pandora (The World of Avatar), at night. If you wait until the sun goes down everything glows in the dark, including you. This was one of the coolest moments of the trip. Visually, it doesn’t get more magical…
Animal Kingdom was my favorite park at Disney World. I love anything that brings me back into nature. I felt so grounded and stimulated all at once, seeing such beauty all around me in the most innovative, unique way.
And the recent addition of Pandora sent the whole experience over the edge. Disney reportedly spent half a billion dollars to build this 12 acre land (which opened in 2017) and it was worth every penny. I was immediately transported to a whole new world that was visually stunning, with bioluminescent foliage and floating mountains.
Upon arriving, we used our Fast Passes to embark on Na’vi River Journey, in which we boarded a boat and road deep into Pandora’s glowing, bioluminescent rainforest, gliding through caves and exotic plants and mystical creatures. It’s an extremely gentle, slow-moving, fully immersive ride and perfect for passengers of all ages. It was also spectacular for me (who was pregnant at the time) and my favorite attraction in all of Disney World. I can’t wait to go back in December with my son (who will be 8 months old) and see his eyes light up as we journey together.
My husband ended up waiting in the single passenger line to experience Avatar Flight of Passage, which was his favorite ride in all of Disney World. In his words…
“You board a creature and fly over cliffs and mountains. A watery mist blows in your face and you can smell the rainforest as if you were there. ”
This attraction utilizes an incredibly immersive augmented reality simulator to transport you into Pandora. And it is worth the wait. There’s a height requirement of 44” for this one, so unless you’re traveling with older kids or teens, you’ll be flying solo. Try to use your second Fast Pass on this if you can. I also can’t wait to try this ride when we return since I was pregnant the first go-around.
We weren’t able to indulge in many of the rides because of the height requirements (and Camilla being 3 at the time), but there were several more we were able to enjoy. We ran across the entire park to Kilimanjaro Safaris first thing in the morning and it did not disappoint. We boarded an open-air vehicle and saw several animals, including lions, elephants, giraffe, zebra, and a hippo. It wasn’t exactly on par with an African Safari but it was fun and relaxing and we were fairly close to the animals which was very special.
We ventured over to Dino-Land and Camilla, unfortunately, was a half inch too short to ride Dinosaur. We tried to sneak her in and failed. But it looks absolutely awesome and we are so excited to be going back in a few months. I’m happy to report she’s now exactly 40” so we will make the cut! Instead, we ended up watching Finding Nemo - The Musical, also located in Dino-Land. It’s a 45 minute live show that features actors holding vibrant enormous puppets. She was enthralled and sat silently, in awe the entire time. And the real bubbles that floated down from the ceiling were a real treat for her. I also found that taking breaks by watching the live shows at Disney is a great way to relax, cool off if it’s sweltering outside, while keeping the kiddos highly entertained.
Another great way to cool off would have been Kali River Rapids, where you sit on a raft that swirls through a lush Asian jungle as water splashes in every direction, but every time we popped by it was closed due to technical difficulties, so that was a no-go as well. However, if you’re visiting on a hot day with kids the height requirement is only 38” so this would be a perfect option. And Asia is a very cool section of the park with an area that looks like Everest Base Camp filled with stands and hanging backpacks. Disney really went to great lengths to make Animal Kingdom a realistic experience with delightful details at every turn.
Since it was sweltering out and we were absolutely exhausted, we hit The Rainforest Café on our way out at around noon for lunch (located right next to the exit) and lounged at the Four Seasons Orlando (to see our post on the resort click here) the remainder of the day until nightfall. We ubered back over to Animal Kingdom at around 7pm, just in time to catch Rivers of Light (a gorgeous show on the water, just watch the video by clicking here), the Tree of Life lighting ceremony (which they call Tree of Life Awakenings), and of course, watch all of Pandora transform into a bioluminescent jungle. Animal Kingdom is definitely worth visiting after hours.