About The Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World

This park is Disney's newest and is filled with animal exhibits, shows and gorgeous landscaping with 3000 species of plants. The parking lot is very small, and it is best to take a shuttle or bus because it does fill up quickly. The park opens at 7:00 am during the on-season, and 8:00 am during off-season, and it's best to start early when the animals are active. If you can't make it early, then come in the late afternoon. Blizzard Beach is right nearby and shuttles are often shared with the Animal Kingdoms. Consider a half-day at the Animal Kingdom and the late afternoon at Blizzard Beach. The kids will love it. The only full service restaurant here is the Rainforest Café, which is fabulous but does not take priority seating. Put your name in and they will give you an estimated seating time so you can return later. Must-See Attractions: The state of the art 3-D film, "Its Tough to Be a Bug" held in the beautiful Tree of Life. Kilimanjaro Safari - a lorry ride through the African plain. Visit early in the morning when the animals are active. Countdown to Extinction (7 years and up) Motion simulator. This is a good ride to head to first thing if you have older children. Festival of the Lion King - stage show. Can be saved for the afternoon, but is a fantastic show - not to be missed. Disney World TIP: Please, please check Park timings before you plan your days. We went to the Magic Kingdom on the first day of our trip and the Park closed at 5 for the Halloween party! That was a precious loss of time for us. We would have chosen to go to some other Park and come to Magic Kingdom on a day it was open longer.

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