Five Fun Facts About Disney’s Animal Kingdom
Jambo, everyone! I am absolutely wild about Disney’s Animal Kingdom, as I’m sure you are too, so I’m here to share some little known fun facts about this beloved Disney park.
1. The Tree of Life
The Tree of Life has exactly 325 creatures carved into it’s incredible and massive structure.
The artists who worked to design this masterpiece only had between 6-10 hours to complete each animal before the the plaster dried! (Talk about working under pressure!)
Photo: Disney
2. Beastly Kingdom
Ever wonder why there’s a dragon on the sign for Animal Kingdom or why there’s a dragon’s head hanging above a ticket booth? These are the remnants of the land that never was — Beastly Kingdom.
Beastly Kingdom was a concept for a land included in the original plans of Animal kingdom that would have included mythical creatures such as a dragons and unicorns.
However it never came to pass and instead the former Camp Minnie Mickey and the current Pandora: The World of Avatar sit in the spot once intended for this land.
3. Harambe Village
The African village of Harambe is excellently crafted by the Disney Imagineers and is modeled after an actual village in Africa.
There are three distinct districts represented in Disney’s makeshift village – the main town, the old port, and the marketplace.
Image Credit: Disney
4. Dinoland USA
Upon the opening of Animal Kingdom, the entirety of Dinoland USA was sponsored by McDonald’s.
Although the partnership is now extinct, you can still spot a nod to the Golden Arches.
Just before boarding the your time rover in the Dinosaur attraction, you’ll spot some red, yellow, and white pipes with chemical formulas written on them.
These are the formulas that make up ketchup, mustard, and mayonnaise!
5. Expedition Everest: Legend of the Forbidden Mountain
Despite the title “Expedition Everest” this ride is all about the forbidden mountain.
The storyline of this well known attraction is that a train is taking you to a base camp on the “forbidden mountain” where you will prepare for your journey to Everest.
However, before you make it to camp, the fearsome Yeti, who guards the forbidden mountain, appears and you need to get off that mountain faster than you can say “ahhh!’.
So, when you think about it, you’re never even on Everest at all!
Photo: Disney
Do you know of any other fun facts about Disney’s Animal Kingdom? Let us know in the comments!
