5 Things: Must-See Attractions at Disney's Animal Kingdom

If you are visiting Disney World, each park has some must-see attractions that should not be missed. My kids love the Animal Kingdom at Disney World and I have listed our top 5 rides/shows that you will not want to miss. Some people do not have an entire day to devote to each park, and if you only have a small amount of time or are there on a extremely crowded day, hitting a few of the highlights will make your time seem very well-spent.

1) Kilimanjaroo Safari Expeditions-
Ride jeeps into the African savanna for some real-life encounters with animals such as lions, giraffes, rhinos, zebras and the list goes on. It is a wonderful attraction with such attention to every detail and probably the closest that most of us will ever be to a real African safari.
There are fast passes for this ride and I recommend getting one upon arrival if the lines are already getting long.

2) Festival of the Lion King-
A 30-minute Broadway-style musical show based on the music and characters from The Lion King. Even though it is 30 minutes in length, the action and colors will definitely keep the attention of younger children. My kids really enjoyed this show and asked to go back and see it again. 

3) Expedition Everest-
Cleverly themed Mt. Everest-inspired high-speed roller coaster with a fun twist: an encounter with a very realistic Yeti. This ride is not for young children or those who do not enjoy high-intensity rides; however, for thrill seekers, this is a must.
Fast passes are available and I highly encourage getting one early in the day. 

4) Finding Nemo-The Musical-
This musical experience is definitely one of my favorites at any of the parks. The show is 30 minutes in length and fashioned on the Pixar film, Finding Nemo. I loved the positive energy and colorful artistry of the show and my kids enjoyed seeing their favorite characters come to life. 

5) Tree of Life-It's Tough To Be A Bug-
The Tree of Life is the centerpiece to the whole park and is so unique with the numerous animals carved into it. There are trails encircling the tree so that you can walk at your own pace to look at the carvings and take pictures. The show, It's Tough To Be A Bug is a 3-D movie based on the film, A Bug's Life. I really like the special effects involved with the movie, although I will say that my toddler was a bit afraid as were a few others in our showing.There are also fast passes available for the 3-D movie.

Trying to catch all of these attractions in one day does not have to be difficult as long as you take advantage of the fast passes and keep an eye on show times. I will have a list of slower-paced and less crowded attractions around the park in a later post.
If you are planning a trip to Disney, don't overlook this awesome park. It is a great park for younger kids and they will love the myriad of animals that can be viewed up close and personal.

FREE Disney Planning DVD

If you are planning on visiting a Disney park and would like an overview of what each park and resort have to offer, I would encourage you to send for a free Disney vacation planning DVD. They provide the highlights of each park and give a glimpse into the various themes of all of the Disney property resorts.
Even though we just took a Disney vacation within the past year, my kids still ask to watch the DVD. I think it brings back good memories of their trip and gets them excited to make a return trip someday.
Just click on the link and fill in the information.
https://www.disneyvacations.com/dv/en_US/VacationPlanningDVD/index?CMP=ILC-DPDVDPagetoWDWVPD&sourcecode=14326
                                          

DisneyWorld Planning Websites

Oh, the Disney vacation! So many things to do, places to eat, new attractions, characters to meet and shows to see. Everyone has an opinion on their favorite park, ride, or restaurant. It can seem a bit overwhelming when trying to plan and decide what the best options are for the ages of your children and what everyone is interested in doing. Not to mention the exact science of figuring out when the best time to visit each park would be as well as the least crowded times to visit attractions within each park. Moms will usually attest that they loved how much their children loved the Disney experience, but will also admit that it was utterly exhausting to figure out logistics, eating and shuttling everyone from ride to ride in order to get the most of out of every day.

Being on the Type A side myself, I used several blogs and websites to help fine tune a tentative game plan for each day so we at least knew where we were going and had a basic idea of the things we wanted to see and do and the best times for those things. Of course, there is something to be said for spontaneity, but a Disney trip really does require some pre-planning to keep everyone happy and things running smoothly.
Two things that I feel helped out greatly:
1) We had the Disney meal plan, which I think is terrific and cut down on the time it always takes most families to make an eating decision. Since the table service was already reserved ahead of time, we just showed up and enjoyed our meal without waiting. The quick service meals were also fairly easy to decide upon as they all have many of the same meal choices.
2) Even though we did not go at a busy time of year, we still got fast passes for some of the bigger rides. Why wait in line with little ones, even if it is only 20-30 minutes when you can come back and use your fast pass and get on in 5 minutes?
So, here are some well-established blogs/websites about Disney travel that I hope will be helpful for anyone planning a Disney trip.
http://allears.net/index.html
http://www.wdwinfo.com/
http://www.mousesavers.com/
http://www.ourlaughingplace.com/walt_disney_world/wdw.aspx  This one has a great restaurant guide and transportation planner that will tell you how long different modes of transportation will take to get you from one Disney site to another.
http://disneyworldforum.disney.go.com/home.aspx