Wilderness Explorers

[lynzi2004]

What can you all tell me about the Wilderness Explorers at Animal Kingdom? My kids are 5 and 3. Is this something that is super interesting or just something that would be a time filler? I could see us actually spending most of the day there so just curious what you all think or if our kids would be too young?

 

[cassie58]

It is a fun program, and you can do as much or as little as you want as you tour the park. They may be a little young to do it on their own, but you can assist them. When you come in, you can pick up a booklet at the main station just over the bridge into Discovery Island. There are stations all around the park that you can stop at to do the activity, and you get a badge(sticker). Each one teaches a little about animals or cultural things. They do take up time, so we generally do the ones that coordinate with our plans.(I think there are about 30). If they like it you can do more, it if not you can stop and do more next time. DD has brought back her book on subsequent trips to continue filling it. Last trip we had extra time before our flight and were staying at AKL, so hopped over for a few hrs. mostly to get more badges completed. Enjoy!

 

[Crystal824]

My 5 year loved this. The three year old might be a little young, but might enjoy doing it with an older sibling too. My daughter also completed it over two trips.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

My DS LOVED this and completed his book when he was 7 (he's 9 now). The book is pretty big and the activities span the entirety of the park and some of the activities take a little time, so it took him 4, half days to complete the book (we did it over the course of a few trips). You can really do as much or as little as you want as time and interest permits. The book and activities are free, so might as well pick up the books on the way in and give it a whirl. If they aren't interested, well, you have a really cute souvenir to take home!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

My 5 (now 6) year old really liked this when we did it last year. It was an unexpected surprise. It takes a little time/effort, but we really enjoyed it.

Same thing with the Epcot/Duffy bear thing. Now that DS is getting older, reading well, and can truly understand the scavenger hunt / adventure part of it, these little things have added a whole new layer of fun to our park time with a little bit of actual education as well.

 

[RachaelA]

We just did it with my 5 and 3 year olds earlier this month (1 afternoon and one full day within all the usual ak normal activities) They loved it but did get bored near the end of our second day doing it but at that point DH and I were like let's finish because we are so close!

 

[disnut8]

I don't have kids but I can tell you that when a kid stops at a post, they are educated. I love listening to the Cast Members talk to the kids (usually at eye level) and tell them things. Also, just by going out to Rafiki's Planet Watch, they can get, I think, eight badges on that trip so it's worth the extra time.

 

[skuttle]

My kids (4 and almost 6) enjoyed it last week. We had did it several years ago with our older son (he's now 13), but this was our first time with the younger two. They really enjoyed finding the spots and earning their badges. Some things were too advanced for them to actually do the required activity. Some CMs were better than others as far as adjusting things for my kids' ages. There were a few I wanted to just say, "give us the sticker so we can move on, they don't understand!" LOL! We would do them as we saw them, but we didn't seek out the spots. They did shut down at dark, even thought he park was open later, which disappointed my kids.

 

[oct2014]

We did it a few months ago with a just-turned-4-year-old and an about-to-turn-8-year-old. Both enjoyed it and recently asked that we include it on the next trip. When you pick up the booklet, glance through it and look for a few activities you think might fit the younger one best. Also, make sure you pick it up on the way in the park (I think just over the first bridge). We went to Russell and Dug first (thinking that seemed appropriate), but didn't realize we would have to back up so much!

 

[mshanson3121]

What can you all tell me about the Wilderness Explorers at Animal Kingdom? My kids are 5 and 3. Is this something that is super interesting or just something that would be a time filler? I could see us actually spending most of the day there so just curious what you all think or if our kids would be too young?

My children were 8 & 5 when they did it and they absolutely loved it. It was a huge hit for them and they want to do it the next time we go back, too.