So, this year Disney’s Animal Kingdom turns 15 years old. Can you believe it? I remember when it opened and there was only the Africa section available for tourists (which is a small portion of the park) and the amount of animals on the safari ride was small. Of course, in order for Disney to pimp it out and gain public interest, they filmed Sabrina the Teenage Witch down there on a class trip LOL Remember those days of Friday night Family TV viewing on ABC?
Sigh. The good old days.
No matter. Here are some interesting facts about the Animal Kingdom, complete with pics from some of my own adventures.
Animal Kingdom covers more than 500 Acres.
The icon of Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park, The Tree of Life, stands 14 stories, features more than 300 animal carvings and is 50 feet wide.
If you were to ride above Animal Kingdom in an airplane, you may discover that Animal Kingdom Park is shaped like Africa. If you look at the park map, you may also see the likeness.
Disney’s Animal Kingdom is home to the largest groups of Nile hippos and African elephants in North America. (Interesting fun fact: once while there and observing a hippo, my husband and I saw it poop then fling said poop by twirling its tail around like a plane propeller. Strange but true)
Ten artists and three Imagineers worked full-time for 18 months to create the 325 animal carvings on The Tree of Life.
There are climate-controlled rocks on the safari, to encourage the lions to sit in view of the safari vehicles.
There are 27 million gallons of water in Discovery River . . . that’s an amount equal to 1,800 average-sized backyard swimming pools.
Since 1995, the Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund has devoted more than $6 million to conservation efforts around the world and has supported more than 230 projects
The village of Harambe is based on the Kenyan town of Lamu.
Disney Animal Kingdom scientists have discovered two new vocalizations never before reported in elephants.
The mammoth-sized Audio Animatronics yeti in the Expedition Everest attraction at Disneys Animal Kingdom has a potential thrust, in all of its hydraulic cylinders combined, of slightly over 259,000 pounds force – potentially more instantaneous power than a 747-400 airliner.
There you go. I hope your day is magical!
OMG! The hippo flinging poop! Better watch out for that hippo. ROFL. Sounds like a great place to visit when going to Disney.
Sue B