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Walt Disney World Disney's Animal Kingdom Discussion Thread


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I saw Black Panther this weekend and man I hope there's a way to work that film into an attraction at some point, I could totally see a Guardians style overhaul of Dinosaur re-themed to Black Panther working really well and being massively successful.

 

Also, I absolutely LOVE Pandora, everything about it, the rides, the themeing, the impressiveness of the entire land, it's absolutely amazing........ but I can't help but think what Wakanda would have looked like instead if the movie had released a few years earlier. Oh well, fun to think about, maybe that will be the in the next phase of Animal Kingdom.

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I mean, semi-spoiler not really, but in the movie there is a VR "simulator" to remote pilot a vehicle from a lab, which in a way is almost EXACTLY like the Flight of passage ride system, and the que line might as well be an entrance to the Vibranium mine and Shuri's lab hahaha. Not that they're gonna scrap that section anytime soon but it's fun to think about what else that ride system could be used for in the future at another site.

 

The Dinosaur ride was just the first thing to come to mind, it's kind of a weird ride to me in that it's is good but was never really great but has the potential to be overhauled into something else. I'm not sure how they could thematically "fit" a Black panther attraction into Dinoland but that kind of thing might not matter as much anymore and the Imagineers are smart enough to make it work.

 

I'm not sure where Disney stands legally with using which characters form the MCU in what parks etc. but it sure looks like Black Panther is gonna make a boatload of money and spawn multiple sequels (can we get a Rogue One style origin story about Ulysses Klaue stealing Vibranium from Wakanda please?) so hopefully that might justify developing some sort of attraction in the future. In the mean time a meet n greet would be awesome.

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Walt Disney World has sent us a press release announcing details for the celebration of the 20th anniversary of Disney's Animal Kingdom!

 

Disney’s Animal Kingdom will mark its 20th anniversary on Earth Day, April 22, with more wild adventures than ever before – kicking off spring and setting the stage for an incredible summer filled with all-new events and experiences at the Walt Disney World Resort.

 

Commemorating the milestone year, the 500-acre adventure park will offer animal encounters, family-friendly activities, specialty desserts and more during an expanded Party for the Planet celebration April 22-May 5.

 

Over the two-week “Party for the Planet celebration, guests can attend conservation talks by animal-care experts and participate in enhanced interactions with some of the more than 2,000 animals that make their home at the Association of Zoos and Aquariums-accredited park.

 

Rafiki’s Planet Watch will take center stage for the year-long 20th anniversary. It’s home to fun educational exhibits and activities that help create awareness of animal issues. During the 20th anniversary, Rafiki’s Planet Watch will offer backstage experiences with experts where guests can learn about animal nutrition, visit the veterinary hospital and hear how Disney promotes global wildlife conservation.

 

Guests can also commemorate their visits to the theme park with special photo opportunities. They can step into an oversized picture frame celebrating the park’s 20th anniversary. Other photo frames support Disney’s “Reverse the Decline,” an initiative created to help protect 10 threatened animal species. One recent success of the program was the birth of two critically endangered Sumatran Tiger Cubs at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

 

Just for kids is the chance to earn a limited-edition badge as part of the Wilderness Explorer program. The badge is one of many that youngsters can earn by completing fun activities throughout the park.

 

Party for the Planet will also include six different Tiffins Talks – themed dinners hosted by animal experts at Tiffins, the theme park’s signature, full-service restaurant. Watch the Disney Parks Blog for more information.

 

The 20th anniversary fun also includes a commemorative adventure guide, limited-edition merchandise, and a special-edition print created by renowned Walt Disney Imagineer Joe Rohde. He will be available on April 22 from 1-4 p.m. to sign prints at Discovery Trading Company. Quantities are limited. For more information on Party for the Planet, visit Disneyworld.com/PartyforthePlanet.

 

Here are other experiences and adventures rolling out in 2018 at Disney’s Animal Kingdom:

 

  • April 22 will mark the debut of a brand-new show, UP! A Great Bird Adventure featuring Russell and Dug from the Disney•Pixar animated comedy-adventure film “UP.” The show will give guests the chance to see Senior Wilderness Explorer Russell and his fuzzy friend Dug in a new adventure that includes encounters with exotic birds from around the world. This free-flying show will be performed multiple times daily.
     
  • A “dino-tastic” celebration with Donald and his friends will also premiere Memorial Day weekend in DinoLand, U.S.A. This dinosaur-themed party celebrates Donald Duck’s discovery that his bird ancestors were actually dinosaurs. DinoLand U.S.A. will feature colorful new décor and playful character greetings with rarely seen pals like Scrooge McDuck, Launchpad McQuack and more. A DJ-powered dance party will mix tunes from the truck-o-saurus stage, capping the nighttime festivities.
     
  • Memorial Day 2018 commemorates the one-year anniversary of Pandora – The World of Avatar. Here, travelers are transported to a mystical world of floating mountains, bioluminescent rainforests and breathtaking new experiences. Inspired by the blockbuster film, AVATAR, the epic land invites guests to explore a glowing landscape, encounter a larger-than-life Na’vi Shaman of Songs and soar on the back of a banshee.

For more information about the 20th anniversary of Disney’s Animal Kingdom, visit DisneyWorld.com/AnimalKingdom.

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Edited by jedimaster1227
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^KT *REALLY* loved Flights of Wonder so I'm hoping this is still really good and not 'dumbed down'.

 

Yeah, I really liked Flights of Wonder as well. It definitely was dated, but I really hope this new show is just as good.

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  • 3 weeks later...

There's a possibility I might make a day trip to the park as part of a large group on a late-April Saturday. I fully expect the park to be packed, and was wondering just how necessary the Magic Bands are to the utilization of fastpass? Or do I just need the MyDisneyExperience app? I'd use Robb's patent-pending end-of-the-day trick, but other trips I've taken with this group tend to arrive late/leave early and I want to get around the park without feeling rushed (even if it means I miss the Flight of Passage queue). Also, does Dinosaur have a single-rider line?

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Just throwing it out here, but we are so hoping that eventually, through the (hopeful) success of the upcoming SkyLiner System,

happening between lodgings and various parks.... could a SkyLiner connection to Animal Kingdom be a Phase 2 possible kind of thing?

 

Our WDW touring plans are way far in advance, like Nov.of 2023 or 2024. But it never hurts to ask in advance.

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I fully expect the park to be packed, and was wondering just how necessary the Magic Bands are to the utilization of fastpass?

You need a physical RFID-enabled DTI card (which you pick up free at will call or at the entrance with a ticket barcode), or a magicband to check into your fastpasses. The App can only help with times.

 

Also, does Dinosaur have a single-rider line?

 

Nope. Everyone goes as a group through the pre-show. I'm 99 percent sure Everest is the only single rider queue here.

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Just throwing it out here, but we are so hoping that eventually, through the (hopeful) success of the upcoming SkyLiner System,

happening between lodgings and various parks.... could a SkyLiner connection to Animal Kingdom be a Phase 2 possible kind of thing?

 

Our WDW touring plans are way far in advance, like Nov.of 2023 or 2024. But it never hurts to ask in advance.

Insiders have said that the plan for AK transportation is looking to be something else. Not monorail, not SkyLiner, not bus so people have been thinking some form of rail/light rail or a peoplemover style system. It would be odd if they didn't expand the SkyLiner system but who knows. They said the plans are pretty far off for AK transit.

 

I know I still want a walking path from AKL to AK.

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I'd use Robb's patent-pending end-of-the-day trick, but other trips I've taken with this group tend to arrive late/leave early and I want to get around the park without feeling rushed (even if it means I miss the Flight of Passage queue). Also, does Dinosaur have a single-rider line?

 

If you have your tickets already link it to an account ASAP and check the app 30 days out (set a reminder in your phone). If you're in a solo fastpass group and don't care if you ride with anyone you might get Flight of Passage. Refresh the app constantly every time you have a free moment for that entire 30 day period. If something comes up and you don't like the time, take it anyway and then modify it using the same technique of refreshing CONSTANTLY for weeks on end if you have to. Flight of Passage most likely won't be available right away even 30 days out, so take Navi River Journey as a backup and try to change that to get Flight of Passage. Don't hold out on selecting River Journey because that will fill up too.

 

If you get Flight of Passage and schedule your other Fastpasses early, there's a semi decent chance you can reserve River Journey in the park for a party of 1 if you refresh enough. It's no guarantee, but it's possible. You can probably get Dinousar day-of if you refresh enough too.

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I wonder if the people that bash Disney have kids. I used to only care about parks with a bunch of big coasters and theme didn't matter much. Having kids and seeing their reaction to Disney I find it hard to believe people could still dislike it.

 

We regularly hit Kings Island and I do not get any where near the reaction we did at Disney. It doesn't matter if the park is expensive or crowded when your kids are smiling ear to ear just looking at everything.

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The app is great. The process to reserve / search for a FastPass to [insert attraction here] from anywhere, on or off the resort property, is smooth and easy. I would never want to go backward from that.

 

I feel like some of the complaints come from the now apparent inability to get FastPass for some of the newer / "hotter" attractions. I just checked FastPass Plus for 30 days from now (April 14th), and I can't get Flight of Passage, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, or Toy Story Mania. Now, I bet that I'd be able to scoop one up for the 15th if I was at my phone at 7:00 AM tomorrow. As an annual passholder who really only needs to "catch up" by experiencing the Pandora attractions, I'm okay with that. I'll just go some weekend, no worries there!

 

But unless that sort of process has now become the accepted norm (which it very well may have) for doing a Walt Disney World vacation, I could see why that would frustrate some people when planning. Maybe it's like trying to buy / pre-order a Nintendo Switch during the time when retailers were under-stocked. You would have either had to have your finger on the refresh button, or hoped that you'd get lucky at your local retail store.

 

Not complaining myself, just speculating / trying to understand.

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What if your friend is picking up their Florida Resident ticket at Will Call? They literally can't make reservations until they have the ticket number.

.

 

That's not true, I bought a 4 day FL Resident ticket earlier this year and you can book fast passes 30 days out after you purchase it online just like any other ticket, you do have to pick the tickets up at will call but once you do the Fastpass+ you reserved ahead of time are synced to the ticket you receive.

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I never used the old system, but I love the current system.

 

I feel like I'm getting slightly better, but when it comes to Disney (at least going into the trip) we're complete novices. That said, I was able to bang out Fast Pass after Fast Pass simply by refreshing the app. Every time I scanned in I immediately went back to the app and started doing it again and 99% of the time I had a good one by the time we boarded the ride we were in line for.

 

Yeah, I guess the old system might be better for you if you're going to one park and staying there all day long but it was awesome to be able to stand in Epcot, pull up the phone and decide which park we wanted to hit next based on what we could reserve. You could also walk up to less popular rides that were still posting 20-30 minute wait times, get in line and then 2 minutes later snag a Fastpass, leave the line and walk right on. We did this at Living with the Land and Spaceship Earth. It was great.

 

In fact, to add on to what I said above, not only is it better for locals, but also better for non-locals. It was amazing watching a non-local like Coasterbill, who had never used the system before, crank out FP+ after FP+ on the app using it to it's full potential. I think we were in line for Big Thunder Mountain around 10:00pm and he cranked out yet ANOTHER FP+ for Space Mountain for an hour later. And this was after he already had a bunch that day. He was able to immediately see what was available, no running around, and we got in so much MORE that evening at the park using FP+ than if we had to run around the park playing the guessing game of what rides may or may not have still had a paper FP. And this was all on a weekend night, too! (A Saturday was it, Bill?)

 

Great example.

 

Our first day at Disney was a busy Saturday with beautiful weather. We had booked Frozen Ever After, Mission Space and Nemo 30 days prior. We started our day at Epcot, knocked out Test Track and Soarin early, Fastpassed Mission Space and Frozen, walked over to the Land and decided to wait it out, saw the line, cancelled Nemo and (after a few refreshes) got a Land fastpass, left the line, got right on, then went to Spaceship Earth and did the same thing.

 

We left Epcot, and in the parking lot (around 1pm on a busy Saturday) I got Navi River Journey which was posting a 200 minute wait so we went to Animal Kingdom, rode that, took a restroom break and got Everest in the process (multitasking, lol), then kept refreshing later on and got Dinosaur and Primeval Whirl.

 

Then we went to meet up with Robb and the crew at Magic Kingdom for a midnight close. I saw he got Space Mountain and Thunder Mountain and I was able to get an overlapping Fastpass for Thunder Mountain while waiting for the monorail at the TTC and then I got one for Space Mountain as soon as we got off just because I kept refreshing.

 

So on a busy Saturday I got

 

Frozen Ever After (in advance)

Mission Space (in advance)

Nemo (in advance, but we cancelled it since we decided we didn't really care)

Living with the Land

Spaceship Earth

Expedition Everest

Navi River Journey

Dinosaur

Primevil Whirl

Thunder Mountain

Space Mountain

 

Keep in mind that this was a 2 person Fastpass party also because I got them for me and Brit. Magic Kingdom was busy that night too, they were using an overflow queue for the Peoplemover.

 

I loved the system and I loved that I didn't have to get to the park at rope drop and run to collect tickets. I could easily book awesome fastpasses while taking a crap. That's Disney magic for you.

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Good to know. Their ticket apparently didn't have that option, as they had bought through a reseller as an exchange certificate.

So you're blaming the app for your friends sketchy ticket purchase??? Yep, most certainly category A!

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Good to know. Their ticket apparently didn't have that option, as they had bought through a reseller as an exchange certificate.

 

Yeah but they're also getting a super discounted ticket and even then they could have probably reserved at least one Tier 1 at Epcot if they refreshed enough plus anything else in the park they wanted. They could have probably reserved anything at Animal Kingdom except Flight of Passage. They could have probably reserved anything at Magic Kingdom except maybe Seven Dwarfs and Peter Pan. In all of these cases, you could rope drop one E ticket ride, get in line for another E ticket ride at park close and skip tons of lines that day even with a cheap a** ticket unless you have a huge group.

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Chiming in on the benefit of Fastpass Plus. Last weekend, we walked into Hollywood Studios at 7:30 for a 9 pm close. With paper Fastpasses, there's almost no chance one of the major rides would have been available.

 

But we went to one of the kiosks, repeatedly refreshed for 5 minutes, one person at a time, and then we each had Tower of Terror Fastpasses for 8:20. If we had searched for both of us at once or only checked once, we probably would have ended up queuing for an hour.

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I visit for full days, with a bunch of people, all of whom are getting in with Fl Resident, Annual Pass, Cast member maingates, Multi-Day stays, Cast members themselves...etc. Coordinating advance reservations with all of those people is a nightmare, especially if there's anyone who doesn't understand the system.

 

I'm confused. Why does everyone have to understand the system? Only one person per group needs to understand the system. They can add to their fastpass party and then just make all of the reservations for everyone. All anyone else has to know how to do is hold a plastic card up to a light. That seems like it would be easier for everyone than making sure everyone gets there at park opening so they can run around the park collecting paper tickets.

 

Brit didn't log into the app once while we were at the parks. Not once. If you had Annual Pass members and Cast members in your group why couldn't they have just done everything?

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I absolutely love WDW's FP system. I'm glad Disneyland is slowing making their FP system better, but WDW's system is so much better than anything out there. Last time I was there, we had a pretty large group and it was so easy to get FP's and change them and split groups and everything.

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