Animal Kingdom Sleeper Gems!

[Dallwig]

Wondering what to make sure we don't miss at AK that might be something a lot of people miss out on......What have been some of your 'sleeper favorites'?

 

[g-dad66]

I walked the "hidden" trail across Discovery Island last week for the first time (from Bug's Life exit to near entrance to Africa). It was very quiet and restful, considering the rest of the park was teeming with life.

Hopefully, Robo will come along with one of his fantastic maps (which is how I learned about the trail).

 

[Jeffcel]

Not sure if you are travelling with kids but my 6yr old son really enjoyed completeing the kids Passport - I think there are 6 stations and you get a stamp at each one - they also learn a bit

 

[Dallwig]

Do you know how to get the kid's passport at Animal Kingdom?

 

[TillyMarigold]

I agree with g-dad. Look for the ant--he started it all!

Also, try to guess the theme of each building in Discovery Island. And we like to get an animal list and make sure we don't miss any of our favorites. We used The Complete Walt Disney World 2009 last time.

 

[Eljay]

You must have a DiVine sighting. She is an incredible performance artist, very unique. Check the entertainment schedule for her appearance times, the week of your trip.

http://pages.prodigy.net/stevesoares/index.htm

Here is this weeks schedule from Steve Soares'
~DIVINE~
No, kudzu has not taken over Disney's Animal Kingdom® Theme Park. But there is a strange new "vine" that's been transplanted around the park and we have to warn you, it has caught quite a few visitors by surprise. Why? Well, "DiVine" isn't your ordinary run-of-the-mill, ten-foot tall plant. In fact, "DiVine" is really performance artist Priscilla Blight who has brought her expressive talents to Disney's Animal Kingdom® Theme Park for an exclusive engagement after travelling all over the globe. A gifted performer of the "new vaudeville" genre, Priscilla cleverly conceals herself in a towering, hand-made foliage costume. It is only when she moves that guests realize they are not looking at nature but at "DiVine." And that is the message "DiVine" has for us all - really look at nature. Take time to visit soon and look out for "DiVine!"
10:00, 10:50 & 11:40am, 12:30, 1:20 & 2:10pm
(45 minute sets)

 

[Jeffcel]

On the park map the 6 stations are marked (with the letter A I think - but not sure).

The kiosks (for better choice of words) are sometimes tucked away - one is located at the area in the park you take the train to.

 

[Jeffcel]

Sorry didn't really answer the question - you get the "Passport" at the first Kiosk you go to - you don't have to do them in order

 

[cassie58]

I walked the "hidden" trail across Discovery Island last week for the first time (from Bug's Life exit to near entrance to Africa). It was very quiet and restful, considering the rest of the park was teeming with life.

Hopefully, Robo will come along with one of his fantastic maps (which is how I learned about the trail).

Are you talking about the trail that takes you up close to the Tree of Life? It is awesome to see the carving up close, but we missed it the 1st trip, as it is not marked - there are actually 2 parts, you can ask a CM to direct you if you're not sure. We entered one side behind the ITTAB FP booth, and when we came out, we walked a short distance and took a side path to the other part. In addition to the amazing carvings, we saw some animals up close, like DD's fave, kangaroos.

cassie58
11/08-ASMo & Timeshare
8/09-CSR

 

[wdwmaw]

We love EMH PM for Animal Kingdom There is just nothing better than walking out of this empty park. The low lights along the path, the sound of animals and crickets in the back ground, the sense of being away from everything along the empty path ways I can go on and on how wonderful I love after dark at Animal Kingdom Park.

 

[dolphindan1]

I walked the "hidden" trail across Discovery Island last week for the first time (from Bug's Life exit to near entrance to Africa). It was very quiet and restful, considering the rest of the park was teeming with life.

Hopefully, Robo will come along with one of his fantastic maps (which is how I learned about the trail).

There are 2 trails that are very private....what Robo considers the private trail that exits at the exit to ITTBAB is not what I consider to be the private trail that exit at the FP machines at ITTBAB....so take time to walk both

I think Rafikis is a nice getaway...and alot of people skip it...our last trup we went back and there was maybe 15 people back there and we had Pocohontas and Jimminy Cricket and someone else all to ourselves...very nice

here is a link in a thread where we hashed out the trails...LOL

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2373579

 

[g-dad66]

here is a link in a thread where we hashed out the trails...LOL

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2373579

Thanks, I missed that thread. I seem to have been walking the yellow trail on the very day y'all were hashing this out.

Now I know about a red trail to also explore the next time.

Oh, and let me also agree with a PP that seeing DiVine is a great treat!

 

[pickles]

I like riding the train to rafikis as a chance to see the animal housing area

there was some singer the one time we went. he was at rafikis entertaining. It wasnt bad way to spend a little time

 

[winterman]

DH & I skipped Flights of Wonder for our first 5 or 6 visits to AK. We were both pleasantly surprised when we finally saw it. A very good show.

 

[Pixiedust34]

Until our last trip, we always skipped the petting zoo (Rifiki's Planet Watch area) because we have petting zoos at home. When we finally did do the petting zoo, dd loved it!

There were not many people back there, and the cast members were very friendly. Dd and I both had some nice conversations about the animals and WDW with the cast members. It was a quiet break from the park to go back and see the animals for a while.

 

[ADisneyQueen]

Near the petting zoo there is a little stage and sometimes they do a show and bring out animals and tell you about them. My dd got to "walk" a porcupine on a leash. That was the highlight of her trip. Where else can you do that? They also gave her a button to wear.

 

[OB1]

So much - so much

Check out the gift shop in the dinorama area. The amount of stuff up above you is just incredible. Same for Restarantasaurus. Walk in and just look around. It is amazing how much is in there.

I always watch the Village Beatniks perform near Flametree BBQ, then eat lunch there. The seating area is enormous - grab you food and walk down the paths. We end up by the lake most of the time, but there are a lot of small pools & neat areas.

Walk into Pizzafari and look at all the themes in each room. The artwork on the walls are just too neat.

Pick one of the animal areas and spend some extra time just watching. While I don't normally like to watch birds, we watched the ducks one day for about 25 minutes and saw some of the funnest stuff happen. Same with the otters.

 

[Buckeye Princess]

If you are there later in the day (late close or EMH) make sure to take time to look at all of the birds that rest in the trees in the evening. You can see them on the left side of the bridge as you walk towards the tree from the Oasis. You can also see them on the way to Camp Minnie and Mickey if you look left on that bridge.

 

[pakdayton]

I second "Flights of Wonder" as a hidden gem. Its funny, cute, and surprisingly touching ... i get all choked up when they bring out the Bald Eagle.
I've seen it twice this year (8/09 and 2/10) after skipping it for years ... both shows the CMs were excellent, show was slightly different, so even if you have seen if before, give it another chance. In 2/10, a local bird (one of those white egert-y things) hopped up on stage unexpectedly, CM handled it so well ... made jokes about "auditions were on tuesdays." It was hilarious!

 

[MissLiz]

We love Rafiki's Planet Watch, too. Last time we were there, they were doing a skin graft on a little bobcat. They weren't sure what happened to it, but a CM had brought it in one day because they found it on the side of the road.

You can view the procedure and the vet has a mic and they talk about what is going on.

It was a little too graphic for me, but DD7 (the aspiring vet) was really into it.