Wilderness Explorer Badges at Animal Kingdom?

[jenhelgren]

What age group would you recommend this for if you have already done it? Is it a pamphlet and the kids get stickers at every stop that they complete their task. I'm trying to get an idea of how it works so I'll know to save time for it if my kids would be interested

 

[CalDisneyMomof2]

I would say *best* for ages 4-9 but then again every child is different. My 5 year old LOVED it and my 3 year old enjoyed it but some of the tasks were difficult(for a 3 year old) or called for someone with a better attention span than him

I think next time we go when he's 4 he might enjoy it better.

 

[lovesdumbo]

My then 10 year old DD enjoyed it last summer. It takes a while to do/find all the spots. We did a lot the first day we were at AK but didn't finish. We went back and finished another day.

 

[Maggie Lizer]

It seems to me that it is geared to kindergarten thru third grade levels, more or less. Like the other poster, my 3 year old was a little too young for some of the things (but I helped him earn some stickers, and all of the CMs were absolutely cool).

 

[andreajanowiak]

I'm 15 years old and I did it, mostly because I love the movie UP. There wasn't a CM who looked at me weird, they treated me the same as they treated the little kids next to me when I got my first badge Mom & I aren't roller coaster people, so while the rest of our party went on Everest we got badges. ((Best part about getting the booklet is getting Russell and Dug to sign it, they act all excited))

 

[BuzzyBelle]

We did this last summer and will most likely do it again this trip. We didn't come close to finishing so I think we will bring back the same booklets and try to knock a few more out My DD was 3 last year and, like others have posted, she was too young to "get it", but she still really enjoyed collecting the stickers. My other DD was 10 and enjoyed it. She's looking forward to it again this trip since one of her favorite characters is Carl Fredricksen I'm hoping DD4 will get more out of the experience this time, and DD11 is good about helping her

 

[geniegirl]

We did it with a 7 year old this January - he had a blast and we did the whole book in 1.5 days. I did one as well so we could have a less messy copy.

I would say that it would be good for up to 10 or 12 but as a mom I also enjoyed doing it

 

[DVCkidsMOM]

I'm 15 years old and I did it, mostly because I love the movie UP. There wasn't a CM who looked at me weird, they treated me the same as they treated the little kids next to me when I got my first badge Mom & I aren't roller coaster people, so while the rest of our party went on Everest we got badges. ((Best part about getting the booklet is getting Russell and Dug to sign it, they act all excited))

for you.

While we didn't get a signature, DS (15) and I did this together and thought it was fun. We made it into a race - just the two of us against time, but if there were a record then we probably broke it.
Anyhow, above poster is correct about the CMs being supportive regardless of age. Have fun!

 

[ktlm]

DD was 7 on our last trip and she loved it! I would say probably 3 (with help) to 10 would enjoy it best, but anyone can have fun with it.

 

[marivigi]

Ive heard about this, but have no clue what it entails.

Can anyone explain what its about?

Thanks!

 

[CalDisneyMomof2]

Ive heard about this, but have no clue what it entails.

Can anyone explain what its about?

Thanks!

Near the entrance of the park kids (or adults!) get a booklet that they take with them around the park and go to the different activity locations on the map. Each location has a different activity that you complete and the CM at that location gives you a sticker or "badge" that you get to put in your booklet. It's really fun and the kids learn a lot.

 

[Disney Khaleesi]

I'm 15 and I did it...so....

 

[minniebeth]

My DD was 11 when we went last January. She had a blast doing the program! She tried to get as many badges as she could. Some stations were super easy and some she learned a lot from. Since it wasn't crowded, there were some CMs that were really knowledgable and spent the time teaching her some cool stuff at her age appropriate level. We ended the day with a photo with Russell and Dug. It was one of our favorite AK days in memory!

 

[tink too]

I'm hoping our DD12 will want to do this on our next trip because I really want to meet Dug!

 

[lovesdumbo]

I'm hoping our DD12 will want to do this on our next trip because I really want to meet Dug!

You can meet Dug without doing the WE badges.

 

[tink too]

You can meet Dug without doing the WE badges.

Thanks for letting me know.

 

[Kimosabe]

My girls (9 and 12) are both looking forward to doing this over the summer, which will likely result in our first "full day" visit to DAK - ha! I am a lifelong patch collector, so they have recently gotten interested in that and were hoping there might be actual patches/badges as part of this new activity. We know that the activity itself revolves around stickers instead, but is there any sort of Wilderness Explorer section of a gift shop in DAK that might have a real WE patch or other related merch that could serve as bribery/incentive to finish the whole thing? (To be fair, I am the biggest "Up" fan in our house, so maybe I'm actually asking this for my own benefit....)

 

[MinnieMSue]

My 10y/o DD did this earlier this month and was determined to finish it which she did. She just loved it and it was by far the longest time spent in AK by us and the most fun we had there. Stopped to see Russell and Doug on way out of park and she was proud to show them she finished the program.

 

[Monykalyn]

((Best part about getting the booklet is getting Russell and Dug to sign it, they act all excited))

YES! My DS (8) did this too! He actually wasn't that interested in AK until we started the WE booklet-then he had a blast!; We then got a pic of him with Dug and Russell and they signed the book. It was falling apart by that time and my DS told Russell it was that way because that is how "real" explorers books are! The CM's who do this are some of the best of any park we were at!! In fact it is the only park I stopped by GS to leave complement cards for a CM.

7-9 yo seems to be the best age (although my 16yo DD enjoyed helping her brother find the spots to get badges; my 11 yo DD wasn't as interested in it)

 

[jco_direwolf]

If you do the park clockwise, it really doesn't take that long. The CMs last time I did it were good. They seemed very clued in to if you just wanted your badge or you wanted to engage with them.

I did it the first time with a 4yo in tow, and did it in a day, as I recall we were headed out by 3:30-4pm we did all the attractions we wanted, which included the safari, FotLK, and spent a lot of time in the boneyard. There are a lot of badges, and you have to visit every "land" including planet watch. And we did engage with each CM/Troop leader about what we "learned".

I will admit that it helps to know the park. Several of the badges I helped others because I could read the clue, and know what to look for and where to look. Several of the clues are for things that are "behind you" in your direction of travel. Also some clues are in the exit of an attraction, you can always bypass the attraction (Dinosaur! and bugs life) and get the solution, but again I knew what I was looking for and were it would be.