The last of our Disney park days was spent at Animal Kingdom. This isn’t one that we usually visit every trip to Orlando, but when we do, it’s always a fun, unique experience! This year, Animal Kingdom was the location of the newest and most popular Disney ride– Pandora: Flight of Passage. I was excited to wear my Victoria’s Secret romper I got from VS a few months ago with my friend Lisa. It was a super comfy and good choice for this park. I wore this romper with a VS bralette in lavender (outfit and similar items linked). I also have this one in “Coconut Daisy Lace” and wear it frequently under off-the-shoulder tees!
So, we set out for the park, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed after a good night’s sleep and some Mickey waffles (insert heart eyes emoji x100). But then… upon entering the park– rain. Non-stop rain. Poncho up. Thank goodness we got those highly-fashionable designer Mickey ponchos; we sure got some use out of them that day! We went to A Bug’s Life: It’s Tough To Be a Bug first to get out the rain. We entered the tree of life for this cute show, but I must admit… it always freaks me out just a tad. Anyone who knows me knows bugs aren’t exactly my thing and the creepy crawler under my bum and a stinger in my back during the show is sure to make me scream.
Bug-eyes!
Next, we walked to Africa for the Kilimanjaro Safari– Harambe. I can remember doing this when I was little and each other time I visited Animal Kingdom. I love this one. It’s always different each time. It was raining so I didn’t get the best photos of the animals.
After the safari, the rain was subsiding a little and we walked toward the newest ride Disney had to offer, Flight of Passage in Pandora. We didn’t have fast passes because they weren’t available for this not-even-two-week old ride when we made our plans. The line was at an all-time low of 130 minutes, so we waited. (This ride typically had a 4-5 hour wait. No exaggeration.) Most of the line was inside, so after about 15 minutes we were out of the rain. The line was actually entertaining with lots of fun things to observe. I’ve never seen the movie, but I put it on my Apple TV and iPad so that I can understand the ride a little more when I get a chance to watch it!
Finally out of the rain and only a little bit wet.
OMG. When we finally got to this ride– it was amazing. So, you start out in a little room where your “brain and DNA are scanned” to be matched with a member of the Na’vi. From my understanding, this is what happens in the movie. Everyone in the room shows up on a digital screen as the indexes are scanned for each one’s perfect match. Then, you enter another little room where you watch a video with instructions. Finally, you enter the “chamber.” You sit on what looks like a motorcycle, but transforms into a Banshee when the ride begins (the bird-like predator the characters in avatar ride which are “unsafe for humans”). A massive screen opens up as the Banshee takes its rider on a crazy and amazing tour of Pandora. There are twists, turns, dives, and even ocean waves to escape. You can even feel the banshee breathing and the mist of the ocean spray. To put it simply, this ride is like Soarin’ on steroids. If you’re going to Animal Kingdom, do it; you have to. We even ended up doing it again later! Though I’ve tried to properly put this flight into words, I’m not sure if I’ve done it justice. Read more about it here. It’s my new #1 favorite Disney ride.
Finally, we did another amazing roller coaster– Expedition Everest. This is a fun one– if you’re not afraid of the Yeti. 😉 I love this one, especially because it’s not one we got to do every year– definitely a must-do at Animal Kingdom– and it’s so pretty!
We ate dinner at the Rainforest Cafe on property. It was so fun eating while surrounded by all of the fishtanks, animals, and rainforest decor. I’ve been to a few of these in other cities– always a fun meal!
After dinner, we went to see the Festival of the Lion King, always a classic and entertaining show. The kids did Expedition Everest one more time after that, while I walked around and took in the beauty of Animal Kingdom in the evening.
It may have been a rainy morning/early afternoon at the park, but it was a beautiful late afternoon and evening. I was really impressed with Animal Kingdom’s Pandora. I didn’t get to try the Na’vi River Journey ride, but would have liked to do that one t00– maybe next time! If you’re going to Disney, get to Animal Kingdom! Do the safari and take the Flight of Passage— you won’t regret it! <3
xo,
Ashley
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