On April 22nd, 1998, Walt Disney World opened its fourth theme park, Disney’s Animal Kingdom. It was was a ground-breaking, new type of park dedicated to all types of animals: past, present and mythical. On April 22nd, 2018, I found myself at Animal Kingdom to celebrate the park’s 20th Anniversary.
Getting up early on your day off is never easy, so I didn’t even leave the house to head to the park until right before nine. My goal was to be there in time to see the Opening Ceremony with Joe Rhode that was being broadcast on the Disney Parks Blog. I was about three-quarters of the way to the park when I realized I had never switched my wallet from my purse to my park bag, and I didn’t have time to go back. Thankfully I had my Magic Band with me, but no ID and no money. Oh boy.
The road into Animal Kingdom was extremely backed up but moving steadily. Getting through the Toll Plaza took about fifteen minutes, and I honestly applaud how smooth the parking process went. Animal Kingdom’s parking team has gotten a lot more efficient since the opening days of Pandora. The tram was full with another load already waiting, so Duffy and I headed in on foot. Once we were past security, I noticed a cool Photopass setup to my right and I almost jumped in line, but I checked my watch. It was 10:10! If I was going to make the ceremony, I needed to hurry.
Inside the park they were handing out maps freely, and even the ones on the map stands were the special 20th Anniversary edition, a far cry from how stingy they were with the Magic Kingdom 45th Anniversary maps. I grabbed a couple and headed towards the Tree of Life.
As soon as I got there, I knew something was off. There was a crowd, but it wasn’t a crowd waiting for something, and there weren’t any cameras set up. I spoke to a Cast Member – the ceremony had been canceled due to incoming weather. Disappointed, I jumped in line for a Photopass picture.
I listened to the Cast Member explain the same thing over and over again. The most frequent thing I heard was, “But it’s not raining!” They were right, it wasn’t, but there was a storm forecast for early afternoon. The problem wasn’t the chance of the ceremony getting rained on, it was the fact that the storm could break before they got all the equipment put away. If they proceeded with the ceremony, Disney could have potentially lost thousands of dollars’ worth of equipment. I would have canceled too!
They did still have the ceremony, they just weren’t telling guests because it had turned into a media only event at the Harambe Theater.
So, my plans were slightly squashed, I didn’t have a way to buy any of the Anniversary merchandise without my wallet, and my Fastpasses didn’t start until the afternoon. Time for pictures!
There was a long line for photos with the 20th Anniversary sign. There wasn’t a Photopass Photographer there since they were further back, so you had to take your own photos. What I LOVED was that the Cast Members were stopping anyone from walking through the area, and only letting one person take a photo at a time. A major pet peeve of mine has always been the people that walk in the back of the photos to take their own because they didn’t want to wait in line. If you don’t want to wait in line for photos, that’s fine, good for you, take your own. Just don’t ruin the photos of the people who waited their turn. The Cast Members were super strict and weren’t letting anyone through, and it was amazing. I hope Magic Kingdom learns this practice for the flower beds at the front of the park. It’ll never work at the castle, but it could certainly work at the train station.
Scattered all over the park were Disney Photopass photographers with animal cutout frames. I wandered around to as many of them as I could find. It was actually quite entertaining because each photographer would take photos of me and Duffy, and then hesitate before asking me if I wanted to use the frame because they couldn’t figure out how I was going to hold the frame and Duffy. I’d have them hold the frame for a second, put Duffy’s arms on top and grab the frame quickly to pin him to my chest. Every photographer was somewhat surprised and impressed.
I wandered past the line waiting for the new UP! A Great Bird Adventure Show. It was an hour away from show time, and there was already a long line. I had promised Jay I’d wait to go see it with him so I kept going. (Someone forgot to request the day off!)
I even found a Magic Shot spot in the Asia section of the park where a friend from the Jungle Book dropped in!
Normally on Disney Park Anniversaries, in addition to a special map there’s usually a button. For Animal Kingdom’s 20th, you could only get the button if you made a donation to the Disney Conservation Fund. I am totally in support of this, except for the fact that I had no money to donate. Thank goodness for Starbucks Rewards! I was able to pay for a drink with my phone at Creature Comforts and get a button! I thought about getting one of the specialty cupcakes too, but I don’t actually like cupcakes due to an unfortunate incident with a stomach virus and I didn’t think eating nothing but sugar on an empty stomach would be a good idea.
Duffy on the Wildlife Express Train.
Next, I hopped on the Wildlife Express Train to Rafiki’s Planet Watch to check out the “Party for the Planet”. Rafiki was hanging out outside, which I thought was strange. When I got inside, I found out why-Jiminy Cricket was in Rafiki’s usual spot! Apparently, he’s usually out on Earth Day every year. Since he’s such a rare character, I was thinking about jumping in, until I realized his line went out and around the building.
It had to be at least two hours long. I decided to pass. I wouldn’t wait that long for anyone except Duffy and his friends. I did manage to take a quick picture of Jiminy when he was switching between guests!
I stopped by the “Party for the Planet” table to talk to the Cast Members there. Jiminy was only out for the one day, but the rest of the Party activities are going on through May 5th. Currently they are doing a roughly thirty minute behind the scenes tour called “Backstage Tales” that takes you backstage at Rafiki’s Planet Watch. The best part is it’s free! The not so great part is it’s first come, first serve in the mornings. It was full long before I got there, but now I know how to sign up. Rafiki’s Planet Watch usually opens around 10:00 am with the first train heading there around 9:45 am. So, hopefully I’ll get the chance to go back and try again before May 5th!
I headed back to the train to ride back to the main part of the park. I was still about forty-five minutes from my first Fastpass, and I was starving. Not being able to purchase food had not been in my plans! I kept hoping I’d run into someone I knew who I could plan to repay later, but no such luck.
Facing a looming headache, I decided I’d just head out. Thankfully, I have the luxury of going back to Animal Kingdom anytime I want so it wasn’t really a loss. I had Fastpasses for Kilimanjaro Safaris, Festival of the Lion King, and Dinosaur since they were all opening day attractions, but I’ve done them all many times before.
I took the long way walking out of the park to check for any more photo spots, and I found my favorite one for the whole day in Dinoland!
Outside Riverside Depot, one of the gift shops by the Tree of Life, I spotted a table with Cast Members standing around. Curious, I stopped by. They were from the Disney Conservation Fund. Anyone who made a donation for a button could receive a second button in an old style. I honestly didn’t realize there was a new button design every year, but they were trying to help people complete their collections. I just picked the one that glows in the dark because I thought it was cool.
As I made my way out of the park, I encountered a line for Baloo and King Louie from the Jungle Book. Rumor has it their days at Animal Kingdom are numbered, and I believe it since their old meeting spot has been turned into a Wilderness Explorer Station. Baloo is Jay’s favorite character so I jumped in line. It went super quickly and I probably only waited about twenty minutes. I even got Baloo to sign one of the Anniversary maps for Jay!
My final stop was outside the park at the 20th Anniversary Photopass spot I had walked past when I first arrived. I love this setup, and I hope it’s around for a while!
Between the weather and forgetting my wallet, my Animal Kingdom adventure didn’t go quite according to plan, but I’m so happy I went.
I had only been to Animal Kingdom twice before I moved to Florida, once when I was five (okay, I was actually six apparently when I went to Disney as a child, but in my head its always been five so we’re going with five even though Animal Kingdom wasn’t actually open when I was five), and once just before I turned nineteen. When we came to Disney when I was fourteen, we skipped Animal Kingdom due to time and money. So, I can’t say I have all these great childhood memories of Animal Kingdom like a lot of people can. I mostly remember Mom having to take me out of “it’s tough to be a bug”, and that I made my parents ride Kilimanjaro Safaris a second time because I liked it so much. I remember sitting in the Warthog section at the Festival of the Lion King, but my memory of the show stops there. (My mother also made fun of me for being scared of “it’s tough to be a bug” until we did it again when I was an adult, and she has since apologized.)
Here we have a very small Chelsea at Animal Kingdom in 1998.
When I was getting ready for my Disney College Program, I knew I would be in Orlando for Animal Kingdom’s 15th Anniversary. It was one of the first Time Off requests I put in! I went to the park, got a map, a button, and stood in line for an hour to buy two pins. Now five years later, I was still here for the 20th Anniversary and everything seems to have come full circle.
I plan on being here for the 25th Anniversary, but we’ll see what the future holds!
