What to do for an Animal Lover?

[DISNEY1975]

Hi! My 11yo daughter is an animal lover! She is glued to Kids Nat. Geo., loves zoos and reading anything she can about animals. I was thinking of signing up for horseback riding during our stay, but was wondering if Animal Kingdom, or any other place in the World, offered any hands on program / tour for kids that might be better. If anyone knows of something fun, please share! TIA

 

[mshanson3121]

Well needless to say Animal Kingdom will be a must. Also, go at Rope Drop and head straight to Conservation Station, you can watch the veterinarians do actual procedures on the animals. You can also do the Dine With an Animal Specialist at Sanaa at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, it's on Wednesday and Saturdays at noon, and is a beautiful meal and I think you get 1.5 hours with an actual animal specialist where they talk to you about their job, the animals, etc... and then you go out after and get a one on one interaction with one of the animals. Animal Kingdom also offers a "behind the scenes" type tour called the Wild Africa Trek, it's 3 hours, and gets you more up close. It's not cheap, but they have $50 off until October when you call to book. I believe it includes snacks, as well as photography services (you'll get a code to download the photos).

Now, not sure how you feel about going off-Disney, but from what I've read, while AK has the better theming, Busch Gardens actually offers more up close and hands on interactions with the animals, so you may want to look into that place as well.

Have fun, we too have an animal lover!

 

[tomatecerise]

This can Be interest her
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/events-tours/animal-kingdom/wild-africa-trek/

 

[amerikiwiroo]

Depending on your dates there's a couple of Y.E.S programs that may be of interest. There's one in Epcot about Marine biology and also one about animal behaviour at Animal Kingdom. The programs are normally for youth and school groups but there's individual enrolments at certain times of the year. If you go, you get discounted Park tickets for the student as well. More info here: http://www.disneyyouth.com/our-prog...ategories-individual-enrollment,locations-WDW

 

[SeilerBird]

Take her to Gatorland. She will love it.

 

[Best Aunt]

The Disney World website says you have to be 12 to do the Backstage Tales tour at Animal Kingdom theme park:
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/events-tours/animal-kingdom/backstage-tales/

But you can be 8 to do the Wild Africa Trek:
Wild Africa Trek is $189 to $249 per person, plus tax. Prices vary based on season.
Please Note: This tour requires a separate admission ticket to Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park.
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/events-tours/animal-kingdom/wild-africa-trek/

 

[supersnoop]

Check out the Dine with an Animal Specialist package at Sanaa.

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/animal-kingdom-villas-kidani/sanaa/

 

[Fizban]

Make sure she sits up front for Flights of Wonder. Simply put that experience is worth the price of a vacation just to be part of. Also make sure she has a dollar $ in her pocket before it starts.

 

[sophy1996]

Epcot offers a snorkel tour for ages 8 and up in the big tank in the Seas. We did the dive tour there and it was outstanding.

 

[tink9702]

if you'll have a car or are willing to do a taxi here are quite a few options that are non-Disney: http://orlandotouristtips.com/attractions/other-attractions/animal-attractions

 

[pfalcioni]

I second the suggestion about Busch Gardens, they have an excellent array of "keeper for a day" experiences, and their prices are very reasonable. If she's most interested in the care-taking side of things and likes small animals, the Animal Care Center tour would probably be perfect http://seaworldparks.com/en/buschga...riences/animal-care-center-behind-the-scenes/. If she loves the big cats, we've done the Heart of Africa tour and it's excellent http://seaworldparks.com/en/buschga...s/exclusive-park-experiences/heart-of-africa/. Even the basic Seregeti Safari gives you the chance to feed giraffes http://seaworldparks.com/en/buschga.../exclusive-park-experiences/serengeti-safari/ and you get a really nice up-close view of the other animals on the Seregeti.

 

[3CW]

Make sure she sits up front for Flights of Wonder. Simply put that experience is worth the price of a vacation just to be part of. Also make sure she has a dollar $ in her pocket before it starts.

For the dollar part, they only take volunteers over 18. But they always pick a kid volunteer to throw the grapes for Miles the trumpeter hornbill.

Whether OP's daughter gets to volunteer in the show or not, I'm sure she'd LOVE Flights of Wonder!

 

[disnut8]

Make sure she sits up front for Flights of Wonder. Simply put that experience is worth the price of a vacation just to be part of. Also make sure she has a dollar $ in her pocket before it starts.

Actually, the thing with a dollar is for adults only so she wouldn't be picked for that. And unless you can get the very first row on the bottom seats, I would instead recommend sitting in the bleachers. *cough* about four rooms from the top on the right hand side. *whistles* next to the aisle with a good view of the walkway from the backstage area. Two things happen from there that your daughter might enjoy. Make sure she has a camera. When I sit there with kids around me, I point out the two things so they are ready. I don't tell them what it is but tell them to be ready.

 

[disnut8]

Hi! My 11yo daughter is an animal lover! She is glued to Kids Nat. Geo., loves zoos and reading anything she can about animals. I was thinking of signing up for horseback riding during our stay, but was wondering if Animal Kingdom, or any other place in the World, offered any hands on program / tour for kids that might be better. If anyone knows of something fun, please share! TIA

Rafiki's Planet Watch. My husband and I are animal lovers and we avoided this for so long because we heard others say it was "stupid". But, we had time to spare and went out and now it's an every trip thing. There are vet procedures in the morning and you can ask at Guest Relations for what is happening that day. We saw a turtle having his shell repaired and, on another trip, just missed seeing a warthog having surgery. The Cast Members in this area are very knowledgeable and can talk to your daughter about Disney animal care. They not only care for all the animals at Animal Kingdom but all animals at Disney World. The turtle who was having his shell repaired was not a Disney owned animal. He just happened to get hit by a car and brought in. Once he shell was fixed, he would be let back into the wild. So, there is a lot of fun education there. And the petting zoo is a nice break from the human hustle and bustle. Where else can your daughter brush or pet a hairy pig?

One of the best times we went was one of the last trips of the day. Since the animals on the Safari are brought in at a certain time, we saw some heading back to their enclosures for the night. No humans were around them, it was just the animals responding to their "calls". Very interesting thing to experience.

 

[mshanson3121]

Make sure she sits up front for Flights of Wonder. Simply put that experience is worth the price of a vacation just to be part of. Also make sure she has a dollar $ in her pocket before it starts.

Do they get people to participate in the show? How early do you you need to be there, to get a front row seat?

 

[DISNEY1975]

Depending on your dates there's a couple of Y.E.S programs that may be of interest. There's one in Epcot about Marine biology and also one about animal behaviour at Animal Kingdom. The programs are normally for youth and school groups but there's individual enrolments at certain times of the year. If you go, you get discounted Park tickets for the student as well. More info here: http://www.disneyyouth.com/our-prog...ategories-individual-enrollment,locations-WDW

This is AWESOME! Thank you so much!!

 

[DISNEY1975]

Make sure she sits up front for Flights of Wonder. Simply put that experience is worth the price of a vacation just to be part of. Also make sure she has a dollar $ in her pocket before it starts.

?? Umm...OK !!!! We will definintely do this!

 

[DISNEY1975]

I second the suggestion about Busch Gardens, they have an excellent array of "keeper for a day" experiences, and their prices are very reasonable. If she's most interested in the care-taking side of things and likes small animals, the Animal Care Center tour would probably be perfect http://seaworldparks.com/en/buschga...riences/animal-care-center-behind-the-scenes/. If she loves the big cats, we've done the Heart of Africa tour and it's excellent http://seaworldparks.com/en/buschga...s/exclusive-park-experiences/heart-of-africa/. Even the basic Seregeti Safari gives you the chance to feed giraffes http://seaworldparks.com/en/buschga.../exclusive-park-experiences/serengeti-safari/ and you get a really nice up-close view of the other animals on the Seregeti.

This is great! We are checking out of our Disney hotel a couple days prior to leaving Orlando (I need a mini -vacation after a trip to Disney!!) I will look into one of these for one of our last days! Thanks

 

[DISNEY1975]

Rafiki's Planet Watch. My husband and I are animal lovers and we avoided this for so long because we heard others say it was "stupid". But, we had time to spare and went out and now it's an every trip thing. There are vet procedures in the morning and you can ask at Guest Relations for what is happening that day. We saw a turtle having his shell repaired and, on another trip, just missed seeing a warthog having surgery. The Cast Members in this area are very knowledgeable and can talk to your daughter about Disney animal care. They not only care for all the animals at Animal Kingdom but all animals at Disney World. The turtle who was having his shell repaired was not a Disney owned animal. He just happened to get hit by a car and brought in. Once he shell was fixed, he would be let back into the wild. So, there is a lot of fun education there. And the petting zoo is a nice break from the human hustle and bustle. Where else can your daughter brush or pet a hairy pig?

One of the best times we went was one of the last trips of the day. Since the animals on the Safari are brought in at a certain time, we saw some heading back to their enclosures for the night. No humans were around them, it was just the animals responding to their "calls". Very interesting thing to experience.

Thanks! We've been to AK many times and have never done this either. I will make sure its on our list for this year. Last time my daughter went, she was 7. Animals were only "cute" to her then. Now, she is fascinated with every animal from baby birds to adult elephants!

 

[pfalcioni]

Do they get people to participate in the show? How early do you you need to be there, to get a front row seat?

We love Flights of Wonder, and usually try to sit in the second row center (first row is typically reserved for any special needs who requires closest seating). Getting there 15-20 minutes before showtime is usually ample.

That said, when they pick guests to participate, it seems like it's those sitting about 4-5 rows back from the stage. We've seen the show probably 15 times over the years and their selection seems pretty random. For the dollar trick it's always an adult, for the grape trick it's sometimes a kid, sometimes an adult. For the flyover, it's two adults, usually a male and a female, both with cameras.

Here's the Harris Hawk taking money from a guest: