Every time a visitor to Walt Disney World describes Animal Kingdom as a half-day park, a small part of my heart breaks.
No, it doesn’t have the attractions of the Magic Kingdom, and no, it doesn’t have the gloriously time-sucking World Showcase to eat up an afternoon. But, what makes Animal Kingdom special is that it’s not trying to be either of those places. It’s trying to do something wholly different and, on this criteria, it is a complete success. And, if you know where to look, it’s easy to spend a full day there.
But this isn’t an article about how Disney’s Animal Kingdom isn’t a half-day park. I’m taking it one step further.
I think, if you look at all four parks of Walt Disney World, there’s a very good argument to be made that Animal Kingdom is actually the best of the lot. What it lacks in quantity, it more than makes up for with the quality of experiences and the depth and richness of its story.
“Well, this is it,” you’re probably saying right now. “Dakota has absolutely lost his mind.” And I dunno, maybe I have. But in thinking about what each of these four parks represent, and the amazing attractions that lie within them, I came to this conclusion. Here’s why:
1. Its wholly original concept
Great ideas never die at Walt Disney Imagineering. They might be shelved for a while or reworked into something new, but if something is truly a good idea, it will eventually get its chance to shine. And, if those ideas happened to belong to a Mr. Walt Disney himself, you’d better believe they don’t go far for too long.
One such idea was Walt’s obsession with nature.
Back in the 1950s, Walt Disney Productions released a series of adventure documentaries called “True-Life Adventures.” Several of these documentaries actually won Academy Awards, and are still considered pioneering works in the nature documentary canon. Walt was so interested in this type of work, when he launched Disneyland in 1955, he wanted to give guests the opportunity to experience nature in this manner close-up.
Obviously, that would be a pretty big challenge in 1955, and so Walt ultimately gave in, and that plan morphed into the world famous Jungle Cruise.
But Disney’s Imagineers never forgot that impulse to put guests inside a True-Life Adventure, and in 1995, then-CEO Michael Eisner announced Disney would begin construction on a fourth theme park titled “Wild Animal Kingdom.” It wouldn’t simply be a zoo – Disney was adamantly opposed to such an idea – but rather, it would be an immersive experience sharing a message of conservation. Animals would be relatively free roaming, and guests wouldn’t experience them in enclosures, but rather, they’d meet them like they might out in the wild. But even more than that, Disney would use those animals to tell a story about humanity. It wasn’t just a zoo — it was a storytelling experience. That was a unique and deeply iconoclastic idea, and one that really hasn’t been replicated anywhere else.
2. Its immersive storytelling
Perhaps more than anything else, what makes Disney’s Animal Kingdom special is the fact that it can be viewed as one enormous attraction unto itself.
Unlike the Magic Kingdom or Epcot, where guests queue for different attractions and then spend time walking between them in clearly delineated states, the line between attraction and queue is more blurred here than in any other park. And even when walking between attractions, you often stumble upon an animal exhibit or a fascinating bit of horticulture that feels like worthwhile experience all itself. Attractions, then, aren’t the sole draw to this park, but rather, they’re points of interest in one long, continuous story – that is, the story of your exploration of the Animal Kingdom.
Look at the Africa section of the park, specifically. This area of the park is themed around the Harambe Village – a former British colony that has since come under self-rule – and its centerpiece is the Harambe Wildlife Preserve, which also happens to be the setting for Kilimanjaro Safaris: the park’s signature attraction.
But when you think about it, Kilimanjaro Safaris doesn’t really begin when you hop in the line for it. Rather, it starts the moment you first enter Harambe, feeling its energy and studying its architecture. As you walk into this area of the park, the exposition work for Kilimanjaro Safaris is already underway. It sets the scene for the ride long before you even walk beneath the attraction’s sign. How many other attractions have that same level of in-depth storytelling? And that attention to detail is found throughout the park – and really, nowhere else on Disney property.
3. Its intricate theming
Of course, for the concept and storytelling to work, the park would need to be themed with even more care and attention to detail than Disney’s other parks – and it is in this area where Animal Kingdom truly begins to excel.
Its lush flora and fauna, its stimulating visual aesthetic, its flowing water, and its kinetic animals all combine to make Animal Kingdom an overwhelming location at first glance. From moment to moment, there are just so many different and interesting things to look at, its easy to feel swallowed up inside it all.
But, then, that is the entire point. It is this exquisite and exuberant theming that makes Disney’s Animal Kingdom rise above the other Disney parks. Other parks don’t have to stay true to such an immersive environment quite so consistently throughout their grounds. The Magic Kingdom, for all its titular magic, has pauses for basic design work in its hub and its entry way. Epcot, while certainly grandiose, is very honest in its artificiality – it doesn’t require much imagination, because it’s not really asking you to buy into anything imaginary. Even the Hollywood Studios has momentary lapses in magic – particularly jarring due to its post-modern “film studio” aesthetic.
But the Animal Kingdom is unrelenting. It strives to place you in a natural world, and keep you believing in that world for the entirety of your stay. Nothing feels overly artificial except for those moments where you’re meant to appreciate that dichotomy. Most of the buildings seem to recede beneath the natural environment rather than stand atop it. Not only is this an example of beautiful theming, but it also uses the design work to help push forward the park’s main message: Humanity must protect and defend the natural world – especially from ourselves.
4. Its verisimilitude
How many times at Walt Disney World are you asked to suspend your disbelief? How many times are you meant to look at a robotic fox and think, “Yes, that is a real, living being”? How many times do you encounter pirates, aliens, or cartoon characters?
It is this suspension of disbelief that drives many away from Disney. To them, it’s little more than make believe – something we’re meant to grow out of when we’re young. For them, it’s hard to connect with Disney attractions because they’re simply asking too much of them: “Just for a few minutes, pretend this is real.”
And this, more than anything else, is what Animal Kingdom does differently. Because for all the fantasy – for all the disco Yetis and Iguanadons – there are real, live animals there. When you hop on Kilimanjaro Safaris, or walk down the Maharajah Jungle Trek, what you see is – more than anything else at Disney, anyway – real. Those are real lions and tigers and giraffes and elephants. They’re there. You can see them.
And because of this, Disney’s Animal Kingdom offers a verisimilitude that simply doesn’t exist at the other Disney parks. And, because of it, it makes Animal Kingdom’s fantastical attractions pop that much more. After spending 20 minutes looking at zebra and hippos on a safari, and really seeing them up close, who’s to say that Carnataurus isn’t real?
It is this tension between what is real and what is fiction that drives Animal Kingdom creatively. The theming and the storytelling are there to convey the message of conservation, but that tension is what creates the sense of wonder and all of the thrills – and that’s really what’s at the heart of Animal Kingdom.
5. Its sense of adventure
There’s a possibly apocryphal story that goes something like this:
Animal Kingdom creative director and Imagineering executive Joe Rohde wanted the park to be a completely different experience from everything that came before it. He wanted guests to take their time to explore the park in new ways, letting themselves become lost amid the scale and grandeur of it. And so, he thought, why not really make guests explore? Like, for real? Why not refuse to print and disseminate maps of the park?
The idea was genius: If guests didn’t know where to go, they’d be forced to move at their own pace, exploring the nooks and crannies of his new park with the same sense of adventure a real explorer might have. However, for about a million different reasons including restroom needs, first aid, and general guest efficiency, this idea was scrapped. However, it led to the decision to make the Oasis – Animal Kingdom’s Main Street USA – the canopied, multi-directional transition point it is today, giving guests that same sense of choosing their own adventure.
Animal Kingdom was always meant to be different. It was always meant to ask guests to approach it differently – to look at it not as a series of attractions to be conquered, but rather, as an adventure to be savored. More than any other park, you’ll have moments at Animal Kingdom where you truly can’t believe you’re standing in Central Florida. You might even have moments where you feel lost, or completely transported somewhere unfamiliar. That’s entirely the point.
And so, if you find yourself lost in Disney’s Animal Kingdom, find your way home the way you always were meant to: Put away the map, and explore.
