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Today I’m returning to my profile of Disney’s Animal Kingdom to look at its rides. At first I thought the Animal Kingdom wouldn’t have any, being more like a zoo, but no, it’s still a Disney amusement park so there are rides.
Expedition Everest is one of the park’s two roller coasters. It takes riders – big kids, teens, and adults – to the top of a mountain and into the home of a Yeti. The coaster careens in and out of the mountain, plunging riders into darkness, then light, then back again. At one point it even seems that the coaster’s tracks come to a gnarled end, until it dives on an unseen course at the last minute.
The other coaster is the Primeval Whirl (pictured above). It might not have drops quite as big as those on Expedition Everest, but that’s because the coaster’s main trajectory is in a circle, not up and down. Sure, while on the ride you’re rocketing around corners and up and down little hills, but all the while each individual car spins around and around, and in a different direction every time.
The Animal Kingdom has one other ride that’s just for big kids and up: a rapids trip. Kali River Rapids loads 12 passengers into a circular raft onto the white foamy waters of the Chakranadi River in the Asia area of the Animal Kingdom. It takes guests up a 90-foot ascent and then drops them, including down a 30-foot waterfall. Expect to get wet as you’re bounced around the river.
For younger kids, or those who just like tamer rides, the Animal Kingdom offers DINOSAUR. Pack into a time rover and travel to the secret Dino Institute. There you’ll learn that a group of scientists are working on an exclusive experiment, one that takes them back to the Cretaceous area. You’re now strapped into a car that will travel back in time to catch a dinosaur and bring it to the present with you. Of course, it won’t be an easy trip.
The last Animal Kingdom attraction that’s actually a proper ride is the TriceraTop Spin. Kids and those accompanying them (who am I kidding, this attraction is open to everyone, I could ride it by myself if I wanted to, though I’m sure I’d get some strange looks) can climb into a four-seater triceratops car and spin around and up and down while comets soar past riders’ heads.
The Animal Kingdom has a few other attractions that aren’t quite rides and don’t quite have to do with live animals either. Some of these are parades and live shows, which I’m saving for a future “entertainment” article. But there are two that fit more with rides than anything else, so I’m covering them here.
The first is the Fossil Fun Games, which is basically a mini carnival within the Animal Kingdom. Games include basketball and goblet tosses, mallet strength testers, racing derby, water squirt, and more. There is a separate charge to play each individual game, so keep that in mind.
The last attraction in the Animal Kingdom for today is The Boneyard. Essentially it’s just a giant sandpit, but it’s so much more than that. The Boneyard allows kids to be paleontologists, digging and sifting through the sand through dinosaur bones. The Boneyard contains obstacles over, under, and through which kids have to crawl in their quest to discover remnants of the earth’s great lizards.
Stay tuned next time for a look at the live entertainment the Animal Kingdom has to offer.
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*(This image by Bob Owen is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License.)
