Animal Kingdom News

• Santa's Holiday Grove brings snow flurries and Santa to Animal Kingdom for Christmas 2026 — Animal Kingdom's holiday season runs November 13, 2026 through January 6, 2027, and its one new addition is Santa's Holiday Grove, a walk-through trail with sn…
• Bakso the Sumatran tiger turns two and will leave Animal Kingdom this fall — Bakso, the Sumatran tiger born at Disney's Animal Kingdom in September 2024, has turned two and will move to another AZA-accredited zoo later this fall on a Sp…
• Expedition Everest Drops Single Rider on September 21, and Odd-and-Even Queue Sorting Is Why — Walt Disney World has confirmed that Expedition Everest ends its Single Rider line beginning Monday, September 21, 2026, removing the signage and the attractio…
• Typhoon Lagoon Closes, the Railroad Goes Down September 28, and Tiana's Bayou Adventure Follows November 2 — Four things guests plan around close at Walt Disney World between September 9 and November 2: Disney's Typhoon Lagoon, the Walt Disney World Railroad, Scat Cat…
• Animal Kingdom moves its Early Entry checkpoints onto Discovery Island and opens the Oasis to everyone — Disney's Animal Kingdom has changed how it opens each morning, the last of the four Walt Disney World parks to do so. Resort guests with Early Entry and off-si…
• Prospect, a new male African painted dog, joins the pack at Disney's Animal Kingdom — Disney Parks introduced Prospect, the newest male African painted dog at Disney's Animal Kingdom, in a September 2 post on X saying he has joined the pack and…
• Casita's Tallest Tower Goes Up in Steel at Tropical Americas — The tallest tower of Casita, the house from Encanto that will form the facade of Antonio's Fiesta de Encanto, is now standing in steel at the Tropical Americas…
• Tropical Americas' Entry Arch and Artificial Mountain Range Take Shape at Animal Kingdom — Steel is going up across Tropical Americas at Disney's Animal Kingdom, where the land's main entry arch, the rooflines of Pueblo Esperanza and a substantial fr…
• Animal Kingdom's solar-powered trash cans reach Asia and the Discovery Island Trails — Two more sets of solar-powered trash cans and recycling bins have been installed in Asia at Disney's Animal Kingdom, carrying a red triangle with a tiger, alon…
• Disney says it is bringing the Expedition Everest Yeti back to life — After nearly two decades frozen in place, the Yeti inside Expedition Everest is getting fixed. Disney confirmed the news at D23 with a comedy video in which pa…
• Disney will bring the Expedition Everest Yeti back to life at Animal Kingdom — Disney Experiences Chairman Thomas Mazloum announced at D23 that the Yeti audio-animatronic inside Expedition Everest at Disney's Animal Kingdom will move agai…
• Indiana Jones and the Myth of the Jade Serpent: Animal Kingdom ride gets a name, story, and Harrison Ford animatronic — Disney revealed the name of Animal Kingdom's Indiana Jones attraction at D23: Indiana Jones and the Myth of the Jade Serpent. Harrison Ford is the model for th…
• Antonio's Fiesta de Encanto: Disney names the Encanto ride coming to Animal Kingdom — Disney confirmed at D23 that the Encanto attraction in Animal Kingdom's Tropical Americas land will be called Antonio's Fiesta de Encanto, with no height requi…
• First Look at Casita: Encanto Ride Models and Chispi Animatronic Have Animal Kingdom Fans Buzzing — Walt Disney Imagineering displayed physical models of the Encanto ride coming to Tropical Americas at Disney's Animal Kingdom, including a Casita kitchen scene…
• Eeyore, Pua, and a Capybara: Animal Kingdom's Tropical Americas Carousel Lineup Has Fans Buzzing — Walt Disney Imagineering revealed four new animal figures for the Tropical Americas carousel at Disney's Animal Kingdom: Eeyore, Chispi the capybara from Encan…
• Indy's Temple Gets Real: First Look Inside the DINOSAUR Reimagining Has Animal Kingdom Fans Buzzing — A detailed model of the Maya temple facade for the Indiana Jones attraction replacing DINOSAUR debuted at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event, alongside constru…
• Bakari takes over as silverback of the gorilla family troop at Disney's Animal Kingdom — Bakari, a 21-year-old western lowland gorilla, is settling in as the dominant silverback of the family troop on Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail at Disney's Ani…
• Bakari, a 21-Year-Old Silverback, Is Taking Over the Gorilla Troop at Disney's Animal Kingdom — Bakari, a 21-year-old male western lowland gorilla, is being introduced to the family troop on Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail at Disney's Animal Kingdom. He s…
• Zootopia: Better Zoogether! adds a new pre-show starring Mayor Winddancer — Walt Disney Imagineering has added a new pre-show sequence to Zootopia: Better Zoogether! at Disney's Animal Kingdom, introducing Mayor Brian Winddancer from Z…
• Disney Fans Meet Bakari, the New Troop Leader on Animal Kingdom's Gorilla Falls Trail — Bakari, a 21-year-old western lowland gorilla, has taken over as troop leader at Disney's Animal Kingdom after arriving from the Saint Louis Zoo. He debuted on…
• Where to Find Every Character Greeting at Disney's Animal Kingdom — Disney's Animal Kingdom hosts character greetings found nowhere else at Walt Disney World, including Pocahontas in the Oasis, Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde near th…
• A New Leader at Gorilla Falls: Disney’s Animal Kingdom Welcomes Silverback Bakari — Disney's Animal Kingdom has welcomed Bakari, a 21-year-old western lowland gorilla, as the new silverback of its troop at Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail. He a…
• New Bluey and Bingo Merchandise Rolls Out to Disneyland, Walt Disney World, and Disney Store — A new Bluey merchandise collection is arriving at Disney Parks and Disney Store, debuting first at Disneyland Resort’s Fantasyland, heading to Disney’s Animal…
• Wayfinding in Style: The Best New Live-Action 'Moana' Merchandise — Disney's live-action Moana arrives in theaters July 10, 2026, and a wave of merchandise has landed to match. The collection spans Mattel dolls, Funko Pop! figu…
• 626 Day 2026: Global Stitch Pop-Ups and a Galaxy of New Merch — Disney is celebrating 626 Day — June 26 — with Stitch pop-up experiences spanning Newport Beach, Shanghai, Tokyo, Taiwan, London and Lisbon, plus a sprawling w…
• Your Summer Guide to Spotting Animals at Disney's Animal Kingdom — Disney's Animal Kingdom is home to more than 250 species, and this summer the park's Animal Care cast members are sharing tips on where and when to spot them.…
• Tropical Americas Revealed: Indiana Jones and Encanto Rides Coming to Animal Kingdom by 2027 — Disney's Animal Kingdom is getting a new 11-acre land, Tropical Americas, built around the village of Pueblo Esperanza on the DinoLand U.S.A. footprint. The la…
• Disney x Pandora's Charm Collection: Moana, Stitch & Disney Park Keepsakes (Plus a Free Moana Tote) — Pandora's Disney collection at shopDisney spans dozens of sterling silver and 14k gold-finished charms, rings, and bracelets inspired by Moana, Lilo & Stitch,…
• How Kendi the White Rhino Got Her Sight Back at Disney's Animal Kingdom — Veterinarians at Disney's Animal Kingdom performed a rare cataract surgery on Kendi, a 27-year-old white rhino, partnering with a University of Florida ophthal…
• Tiffins Restaurant Turns 10: New Flavors and Imagineering Stories at Disney's Animal Kingdom — Tiffins Restaurant, the globally inspired signature dining destination on Discovery Island, is celebrating its 10th anniversary at Disney's Animal Kingdom alon…
• Bluey's Wild World Opens May 26 at Disney's Animal Kingdom — Everything You Need to Know — Bluey, Bingo, and the Heeler family arrive at Disney's Animal Kingdom on May 26 as Bluey's Wild World at Conservation Station opens with a virtual queue, along…
• How to Plan a Food Expedition at Disney's Animal Kingdom: A Complete Foodie Guide — Disney's Animal Kingdom has quietly become Walt Disney World's most exciting park for foodies, with viral snacks, globally inspired entrees, and a beverage sce…
• Baby Giraffe, Nyala Calf, Red River Hog Piglets, and Rare Ankole Calf Debut at Disney's Animal Kingdom — Spring 2026 has brought a wave of new arrivals at Disney's Animal Kingdom and Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge, including a female Masai giraffe calf born to moth…
• Tropical Americas Research: Maya Carvers, Copan Stone, and Encanto's Colombia Shape Animal Kingdom's 2027 Land — Walt Disney Imagineering detailed the field research behind Tropical Americas, the land opening at Disney's Animal Kingdom in 2027. Imagineers met Maya carvers…
• Toy Story 5 Merchandise Round-Up: New Toys, Collectibles, Crocs, and Books Ahead of June 19 Release — Disney and Pixar's Toy Story 5 gallops into theaters June 19, and a sweeping wave of merchandise is rolling out from Mattel, LEGO, Hasbro, Funko, POP MART, Cro…
• Mobile Cast Compliments Surpass 3 Million: How to Thank a Disney Cast Member — Disney has marked World Compliment Day by announcing that guests at Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort have submitted more than 3 million Mobile Ca…
• Walt Disney World Bus Driver "Doc" Wins 2026 Bus Roadeo Competition — More than 40 Walt Disney World bus drivers competed in the annual Bus Roadeo, a timed precision-driving challenge that tests safety and skill on a custom obsta…
• Inside the Animal Care Teams Keeping Disney's Animal Kingdom Thriving This Earth Month — Disney's Animal Kingdom highlights the dedicated cast members behind its AZA-accredited animal care program during Earth Month, from the Animal Nutrition Cente…
• Inside Disney's The Lion King: The Real Animals Behind the Film — A behind-the-scenes trip to Disney's Animal Kingdom reveals how filmmakers used the park's lions, hyenas, and wildebeests to bring the 2019 Lion King to life.…
• runDisney and Blood Cancer United Honor Survivor Nikki at WDW Marathon — Walt Disney World cast member and blood cancer survivor Nikki cheered on her mother during her first runDisney 10K in support of Blood Cancer United, the Walt…