If the Tree of Life gives you life and Kilimanjaro Safaris drives you wild, you already know that today is Animal Kingdom’s 22nd birthday.

So to reflect on Walt Disney World’s youngest park on its special day, the AllEars team members came together (virtually) to share what they love most about Disney’s Animal Kingdom. 

Celebrate with us by leaving a comment below to share what you love most about Animal Kingdom!

We love the simple things.

THE WALKING TRAILS! I absolutely love love love taking a “break” from the park day on Discovery Island or one of the animal trails.

Animal Kingdom holidays is sincerely beautiful; it’s so wonderfully cheerful and so perfectly Animal Kingdom at the same time — a great addition. There was just something about it… it was as close to the old Osbourne Lights joy as you could get these days, even if it wasn’t the same sort of presentation at all. So simple and lovely. 

The sheer immersion of the whole thing. It feels like it almost literally transports you. I’ve never been to India, but I’ve been fortunate to go to Africa — that’s an experience that I figured was once-in-a-lifetime, but AK really does nearly bring me right back.

It’s the most relaxing park, too, IMO.

I love the park at night. Especially the safari.

The Tree of Life Nighttime Awakenings.

We get to know Joe Rohde just by being in the park, without even really knowing Joe Rohde, if that makes sense. He’s just all over the place in a way that — for Imagineering fans — is just beyond.

We love the food (and drink).

Nomad Lounge is amazing every visit. A Bloody Mary at Dawa Bar would absolutely make my list. 

A cocktail at the Nomad Lounge, a stroll through a trail, a snack from dino bites…

Also I love the ice cream cookies sandwich at Dino Bites SO MUCH — especially the Strawberry Shortcake version!

Satuli Canteen is my favorite quick service on property

I love Yak and Yeti.

We love the animals.

You can ride Kilimanjaro Safaris quite literally 100 times and have a different experience every time. Plus, the simple bonus that, as far as bang for your buck goes with time spent on a ride, you can’t beat it.

Annie the Anteater. I say goodbye to her every time I leave the park.

Wild Africa Trek!

We love the attention to detail.

The intricate details throughout the park.

Animals, of course, are my absolute favorite part but I also love the cheesy, nostalgic parts of Dino Land. The little dinosaur figurines mixed with the antiques displayed in Chester and Hester’s make me smile every time. I love the jukebox in Restaurantosaurus with the themed song selection. The chintzy holiday decorations are some of my favorites.

Those insane details, like the old boom boxes on top of the Africa buildings and those bottle can wreaths they brought out with Fanta toppers at the holidays, oh, my word.

I love this park. I love that every time I go I notice a new detail — like in Harambe there are signs advertising other parts of the land — like posters for FOLK as if this was a local town production. There’s signs in Asia warning residents of the “hotel” above Yak and Yeti that the elephants may be loud.  Even the detail in Dinoland is overwhelming — from the chairs and laundry and cans from grad student “residents” of the Dino Institute on top of Restaurantosaurus to the Hwy 498 signs. I could (and have) spend literal hours just walking around and looking at details.

We love the attractions.

DAK is also home to my favorite thing in Disney — Festival of the Lion King! I cry every time. I have literally watched it and gone back in to watch the next show. It’s just so vibrant, and bright, and incredible; and the music is amazing! Could we love FOLK more? No, no, we could not.

I absolutely love Festival of the Lion King (I ugly cry every time!), spotting animals in the Tree of Life, the level of detail in Everest even in the queue, experiencing the transition of daytime to nighttime Pandora.

Plus they have some of the best attractions in Disney IMO — Everest, Dinosaur, Kilimanjaro. They are Disney magic at its finest.

We enjoyed thinking about this special park, and we hope you’ll join us in the comments, sharing the things you love most about Animal Kingdom.

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