Disney KiteTails is a new show we want to check out at Animal Kingdom. And this will be our 1st time to Animal Kingdom since Disney World’s 50th Anniversary Celebration started. Yesterday we had a full day at Disney World, see our separate post: Homecomin’, Candlelight Processional and More! So today we plan to enjoy a relaxed day at Animal Kingdom.
Planning Disney KiteTails and More
We always plan before we come to Disney World and today is about Disney KiteTails. This new show at Animal Kingdom is part of Disney World’s 50th Anniversary Celebration. And this 10 minute show happens multiple times throughout the day so we have plenty of time to catch it.
We also always try to plan our meals. Today we reserved breakfast at the Rainforest Café at the entrance to Animal Kingdom. It has been a few years since eating here and our first time for breakfast. Our plan it to eat breakfast first then head into the park to watch Disney KiteTails. Then we’ll see what else we want to do before leaving in the afternoon to come home. We’ll probably have a late lunch or early dinner, but will keep it open depending on when we leave. Today we will take it easy and enjoy Disney KiteTails and more at Animal Kingdom!
Rainforest Cafe® Breakfast at Disney’s Animal Kingdom
We get to the park after 9:30 and get the standard parking which is free with our annual passes. However, we park pretty far from the entrance, which is surprising since it just opened at 9:00. And even though it is December it is hot, so we apply some sunscreen before heading into the park. Our reservation at Rainforest Cafe is at 10:00, so we walk fast getting to the door a couple minutes early. You do not have to go through the park entrance to enter the café, so we go straight in and check-in.
After our brunch yesterday, we decide to share some entrees. To read about our brunch yesterday, see our separate post: Homecomin’ Brunch at Disney Springs. The Pie of the Viper, a Mexican-style breakfast pizza, sounds very interesting so we order it and add bacon. We also order the Wild Waffle with a side of sausage. Our daughter gets the breakfast slider with breakfast potatoes and this time the drink is included and in a kid’s cup.
We split the breakfast pizza and waffle and both are excellent. The large breakfast pizza cut into 8 slices has some poblano peppers that give it some spice without the heat. The waffle comes with fresh strawberries and bananas and some syrup. Our daughter’s breakfast slider comes with 2 sliders and is more than she can eat. It was probably not the best option for her, but she really enjoyed the atmosphere. The last time we were here was her 1st trip to Disney World when she was only 2. This time she enjoys the rain and animals and we walked around checking out the other animals and the fish tanks.
Heading into the Park and Fab 50 Statues
We pay our bill at Rainforest Café and head pass the very large Christmas tree on the way into the park. It is almost 11:00 and the park seems crowded already. But we are heading to KiteTails at the Discovery River Theater which is in between Asia and DinoLand U.S.A. Since we got out of the Rainforest Cafe early, we think we can make the next show at 11:15.
When we first cross the bridge to the Discovery Island area, we decide to stop at the Wilderness Explorers. Here you can get an activity book which has a map of different places around the park you can explore. We think this may be a good activity to do since the crowd-level and wait times are high. As we pass the Tree of Life, we see Simba and Timon and Pumbaa from the Fab 50 collection. These golden statues have been placed across all 4 parks as part of the 50th Anniversary Celebration. It is fun to look for them, though they are usually not where you would expect.
We then head through Asia and find our first place to stop for the Wilderness Explorers. A cast member is explaining about the gibbons there and our daughter gets 2 stickers for her map. Once near Expedition Everest it is packed. We make our way through the crowd to the first set of stands for the Discovery River Theater. There are plenty of seats and we get here just before the show starts.
Disney KiteTails – The Jungle Book
When we find some seats, we notice there are 2 sets of stands. We are in the side in Asia across from Expedition Everest. The main theatre section is across the river in DinoLand. But, we decide to stay here as the show is about to start. Though this side is directly in the Sun and it is hot. We’re glad we applied sunscreen.
Separating the two sides of the theater is a river, but you feel like you’re on the other side of the lagoon. A boat comes out from this river into the lagoon with some people playing drums. Over at the main theatre you can see people holding up large umbrellas that look like trees. Then others come out dancing with wind-catchers that look like elephants. They come from the side dancing in front of the main theater so we can only see from a distance.
But then a jet-skier comes out with a large inflatable kite of Baloo from The Jungle Book. He circles as Bare Necessities is being played from a speaker before another jet skier comes out with another kite. They both circle a few more times around the lagoon before letting go of the Baloo kite. Right next to our seats, the kite falls into an empty section where it is quickly retrieved by cast members. This was one reason to sit on this side of the theater. Then more jet-skiers come out with 5 kites each. The kites soar up and down as they circle the lagoon. For the finale, one comes out with 6 kites and another comes with King Louie. After a few passes, King Louis retires just like Baloo. The show lasts about 10 minutes and was a nice stop.
Maharajah Jungle Trek
During the show, we looked at our Wilderness Explorers map and found three more Wilderness stops close by. Specifically they are in the Maharajah Jungle Trek which is an area we haven’t seen in a while. The wait times for most rides are about an hour, so this seems like a good place to explore.
This area in Asia is tucked behind the Kali River Rapids ride which is closed for maintenance. Though it is still fairly crowded away from the main attractions. We first see the Komodo dragons before heading into the bat house. In the bat house is the first Wilderness spot. At each Wilderness spot is a cast member that talks with each child about the animals in that specific area. Our daughter is being shy and doesn’t want to talk to them. But we get her a sticker anyway before heading out.
We pass the tigers where there is another Wilderness spot we stop at reluctantly. After that there is a bird sanctuary you can walk in to. We have been to these before, but this one has some really interesting birds. There is a cast member who answers questions about the birds while another one is feeding them. After spending some time here, we leave to see more animals before crossing a bridge. On the bridge is a lady holding a Wilderness sign and this is the third stop. We listen to her for a bit and get our sticker, but our daughter is done. Rather than exploring on your own like junior ranger activities at national parks, you have to listen to a person at each Wilderness Explorer stop. Not a bad concept, but our daughter just wasn’t into it today.
Disney KiteTails – The Lion King
As we leave the Maharajah Jungle Trek in Asia, our daughter says she wants to ride some rides. The ride with the lowest wait time is TriceraTop Spin in DinoLand so we head that way. As we past through the crowded area of Expedition Everest we head past the theatre where we saw the previous KiteTails show. However, we make it to the other side to the main theater section and decide to watch it again. We heard they change the kites so thought it would be good to watch it again from this side.
We see a Passholder entrance and go in. It is on the side and is much more crowded than where we were last show. But when the people come out with the large tree umbrellas and wind-catchers we get a closer view. The show starts similar as before, but with music from the Lion King this time. And then the jet-skiers come out.
This time they have large kites of Lion King characters including Zazu, a young Simba and Timon and Pumbaa. Not only do they have more characters, but the finale is a super large adult Simba. It is the largest of all the kites we have seen so far and watch as it lands in the empty section at the end. We found out that they try to rotate The Jungle Book and The Lion King every other show. However, sometimes it doesn’t work out that way, so glad we were able to see both.
DinoLand Ride and a Treat
After 2 shows of Disney KiteTails, it is only 12:30, but our daughter still wants to go on a ride. So, we go straight to TriceraTop Spin in Dinoland. It is still 25 minutes, but our daughter loves this kiddie ride. However, it only takes about 15 minutes to get on the ride. After the short ride, we decide to get a snack.
Dino-Bite Snacks is right around the corner and sells ice cream which sounds great on this hot day. They have a 50th celebration ice cream cookie sandwich so we order one to share and get a hot fudge sundae for our daughter. The line to order is a little long and very slow. Not to mention they have a little seating area and it is full. We finally get our ice cream and some ice waters. But since there is no seating for us, we walk around looking for a place to sit. Unfortunately, there is nothing around, not even a bench or ledge. Seeing we are upset trying to find a seat, a cast member tells us there is a seating area at the Dinosaur ride exit.
So, we head there and find some open seats. It is also covered, but by this time our ice cream is starting to melt. Though we still enjoy it. The 50th Celebration Ice Cream Sandwich is vanilla ice cream between 2 double chocolate cookies with celebration sprinkles and a 50th Anniversary logo. The price for other 50th celebration treats we have seen or tried have been jacked up. But this was the same as the regular ice cream cookie sandwich and was a good treat.
DINOSAUR Ride and Games
We noticed the DINOSAUR ride line doesn’t look bad though it says a 45 minutes wait. Our daughter rode this ride once before when she was just tall enough to ride it. And that time she was totally scared, but she assures us she wants to ride it again. So we head to the entrance, where there is no line past it. However, once inside the entrance, it goes past a long line that goes well past the ride and back again. However, once in line it starts to move fast and we are inside fairly quickly. We actual get on the ride in less than 25 minutes. Our daughter does great and is not scared this time. She loved it!
As we exit, we head into their shop which has great t-shirts and dinosaur related things. After getting a few Christmas gifts, we head past the seating area we had our ice cream. There is another shop just past it, so we head in there. At this point, it is just after 2:00 and Paul is ready to go. But, Becky wants to play some of their carnival games aka Fossil Fun Games. So, we buy 3 tickets before heading to the games.
The Fossil Fun Games are fun but not cheap at about $6 per ticket. However, last time our daughter one a plush prize and she wants to try again. She tries 3 different games but doesn’t win this time. However we had fun, and are ready to move on. We will pass the It’s Tough to Be a Bug! show in the Tree of Life on the way out.
It’s Tough to Be a Bug!
Again the last time we did the It’s Tough to be a Bug! show our daughter was young and doesn’t remember it. The show has only a 10 minute wait time, so we get in line. Walking into the Tree of Life is always neat as you can see the different animals “carved” into the tree. Our daughter points them out until we get inside. We grab our 3-D glasses and wait for a few minutes before the theater doors open and we get in our seats.
Though the Tree of Life is the symbol for Animal Kingdom, this show seems outdated. A Bug’s Life is an old Pixar movie, and not as popular as others. But after putting on our 3-D glasses, the show starts and we are reminded how great this show is. You become a bug where the whole theatre feels like you are part of the show. And even before exiting, you feel the bugs scurry underneath your seats to the exit. They would totally have to redo this theatre to change this show, but it is still an enjoyable classic.
Exit and Pictures
We walk through the Island Mercantile shops before heading to the exit at about 3:15. Once through the exit, we see a Disney photographer with no line. Normally these photographers have long lines when entering the park, but now there is none. And we always try to get some PhotoPass pictures because they are free with our annual passes. So we get some pictures in front of the Animal Kingdom entrance. The photographer says it’s also a good time to get a picture in front of the large Christmas tree at the entrance. So, we get some more pictures, before we make the trek back to our car.
McDonald’s near Animal Kingdom
On the way driving in to the park, we spotted a new-looking McDonald’s the exit before the entrance. Rather than try to get something to eat in the crowded park, we had decided to stop at McDonald’s on the way out. Though we had one snack since breakfast, we did not eat lunch. So we decided to have an early dinner before we drive a few hours to get home. So we exit the park and take the first exit to McDonald’s.
If you weren’t going to Animal Kingdom or staying nearby you would never know a McDonald’s is here. And this McDonald’s is a uniquely built one. The outside is covered with panels and has lots of outdoor seating. You can’t see the inside, but it looks small. However, we head through the drive-thru. We order a chicken nugget meal, a happy Meal and a double quarter pounder sandwich only. But this McDonald’s must be on Disney prices because it came out to be $25 even. Rather than drive and eat, we park and eat in our car though there is plenty of outdoor seating. In retrospect, we were glad we stopped as it took forever to drive home. There were at least a half-dozen accidents on I-4 and it took an hour just to get to Sanford.
Summary of Disney KiteTails and More
Today we went to Animal Kingdom to see Disney KiteTails and more before heading home. Not only did we get to see both Disney KiteTails shows, but we spent about 5.5 hours in the park. We got to eat breakfast at Rainforest Café which we highly recommend. We also tried some of the Wilderness Explorer activities before our daughter lost interest. But then we rode a couple rides, got a special treat and played some carnival games in DinoLand. We then caught the It’s Tough to be a Bug! show before leaving. At the exit, we got some PhotoPass pictures before heading to a new McDonald’s before heading home.
Normally Animal Kingdom is not a full-day park, but it was crowded today. We only ventured to the Asia and DinoLand U.S.A side of the park. We didn’t even venture to Africa or Pandora, but the wait times for rides there were very long. Though since being annual passholders, we don’t feel like we have to do everything every time. However, we did what we wanted to today. We got to see Disney KiteTails and more at Animal Kingdom!