Changes

{{Template:Infobox amusement park

| image=TreeOfLifeday.jpg

| icon=The Tree of Life

}}

==Conception <ref name= "book"> Malmberg, Melody. The Making of Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park. New York: Hyperion, 1998. Print. </ref>==

A theme park about animals was not high on Disney’s list of ideas, but surveys showed that Disney and animals tested well, and Disney had a lot of intellectual properties that showcased animals. Because of this, Michael Eisner sent the idea for an animal theme park to Imagineering. In 1990, Imagineer Joe Rohde met with Eisner to discuss the new park. Rohde’s vision for the park was threefold, it would feature traditional theme park components, an Epcot Center syle pavilion, and a nontraditional zoo.

Eisner agreed to the basic premise of the park, commenting that like the Magic Kingdom, Disney should also have an Animal Kingdom. With this objective in mind, Rohde and his team of six Imagineers (Kevin Brown, Zofia Kostyrko, Kevin Brown, Christopher West, Tony Marando and Patsy Tillisch) set out to create a basic outline for the new park.

As plans for the park continued to develop, Michael Eisner wondered if simply encountering animals would be a big enough draw for guests. To prove that this was not the case, Joe Rohde brought a 400 pound Bengal tiger into a meeting he was having with Eisner and Frank Wells. As Rohde gave his presentation, the tiger sauntered around the room. After feeling the effect of being so close to a tiger, Eisner and Wells relented and live animal encounters would be the focal point of Animal Kingdom.

Finally, after years of development on June 21, 1995 Disney’s Wild Animal Kingdom was officially announced. When discussing the new park, Michael Eisner stated:

==Construction==

Construction on Disney's Animal began in August of 1995. Like other Disney theme parks, Animal Kingdom was to be made up of various "lands". When designing the park, the lands in Disney's Animal Kingdom were going to be: The Oasis, Safari Village, Africa, Asia, Conservation Station, DinoLand USA and Beastly Kingdom. Through these lands Animal Kingdom was to represent three groups of animals: current living animals, extinct animals, and mythological animals.

Construction on Disney's Animal Kingdom began in August of 1995. Four million cubic yards of dirt were moved and nearly 40,000 plants were added during the parks construction <ref name= "trivia"/>. During this process it was decided that the plants in Animal Kingdom would need to be in the ground for two growing seasons before the animals arrived. This meant that the horticulture team led by Disney Legend Bill Evans had until the spring of 1996 to get all the plants in place <ref> http://allears.net/ae/issue863.htm </ref>. This deadline was met, and the fall of 1997 the animals were brought in to the park <ref> http://land.allears.net/blogs/jackspence/2011/01/kilimanjaro_safaris_at_animal_1.html </ref>. They came from various zoo's or wildlife preserves around the world. A few animals were also from the wild, but were too injured to be re-released. In total Animal Kingdom is home to over 1,700 animals.

Phase II was planned to be the completion of Asia, along with the construction of Beastly Kingdom. Due to the park not being completed on opening day, Camp Minnie-Mickey, a place where guests could meet various Disney characters, was created as a temporary land. Camp Minnie-Mickey was to be essentially a place holder until Beastly Kingdom could be built <ref> http://www.yesterland.com/campmm.html </ref>.

==History After Opening Day==

Although relatively young compared to the other Disney Parks, Animal Kingdom has gone through several changes. The first major expansion of the park came in 1999 when Asia was finally completed <ref> http://allears.net/tp/ak/ak_asia.htm </ref>.Added at this time were the popular attractions [[Maharajah Jungle Trek]] <ref> https://touringplans.com/animal-kingdom/attractions/maharajah-jungle-trek </ref> and the [[Kali River Rapids]]. The [[Discovery River Boats]] (which were located in Asia) closed with the opening of the new attractions <ref>http://waltdatedworld.com/id55.htm</ref>.

2001 also saw another expansion in Disney's Animal Kingdom. At this time, Chester and Hester’s Dino-Rama was added to DinoLand USA. This mini land housed Midway Games (later renamed [[Fossil Fun Games]]) and the [[TriceraTop Spin]] <ref name= "d23"> https://d23.com/a-to-z/chester-hesters/ </ref>. The following year on March 31, 2002, [[Primeval Whirl]] was added to the area <ref name= "d23"/>.

The next set of majorchanges came to Animal Kingdom in 2006. In DinoLand USA, Finding Nemo- the Musical replaced Tarzan Rocks, which had been there since 1999 <ref> http://allears.net/tp/ak/nemo.htm </ref>. Also in 2006, the “E-Ticket” roller coaster [[Expedition Everest]] was built in Asia. The attraction is a roller coaster set in the Himalayas, and it includes a close encounter with the fabled Yeti. By including the Yeti in the attraction, Disney's Animal Kingdom finally featured a mythical creature (which had been promised since the park’s dedication).

In 2014 Camp Minnie-Mickey was closed in order to make way for a new area of the park based on James Cameron's 2009 film “Avatar” <ref name= "attractions"> https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=Festival+of+Lion+King+closed+Avatar </ref>. Following the land's closure the [[Festival of the Lion King]] attraction was relocated to a new section of Africa called “New Harambe” <ref> https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2013/07/a-new-home-for-festival-of-the-lion-king-at-disneys-animal-kingdom/ </ref>. In 2015 the Harambe Marketplace opened to guests. The new area was themed around a “Colonial-era train depot design complete with a 1960s water tower”. Inside the Harambe Marketplace guests can visit various food vendors who sell African inspired quinine <ref> https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2015/04/fun-new-tastes-at-harambe-market-at-disneys-animal-kingdom/ </ref>.

===Beastly Kingdomme===

==Current Lands==

===Oasis===

Located at the front of the park, the Oasis is the first land that guests encounter. Guest services and the Rain Forest Cafe are located here. The Oasis leads to the park's hub, “Discovery Island”.

'''[[Oasis Exhibits]]'''- This walking trail allows guests to see many animals including: the giant anteater, wallabies, exotic boar and more.

Home to the popular Kilimanjaro Safaris, the Africa section of the park takes place in the fictional village of Harambe. According to the land's backstory, Harambe was once a colony before gaining its freedom in 1961 after a peaceful revolution. Harambe is currently home to a wildlife reserve, where tourists can see some of Africa's most interesting animals. In 2014 the Africa section of the park was expanded to house the relocated Festival of the Lion King.

==Former Lands==

===Camp Minnie-Mickey===

Initially intended to be a temporary land, Camp Minnie-Mickey was located where Beastly Kingdom was originally supposed to be built. Here, guests could meet their favorite Disney characters including Mickey, Minnie, and Donald. The main attraction located in Camp Minnie-Mickey was the Broadway style show [[Festival of the Lion King]]. In 2014 Camp Minnie-Mickey closed in order to make room for a new land based on James Cameron's Avatar. Following Camp Minnie-Mickey's closure, Festival of the Lion King was relocated to the Africa section of the park.

==Fun Facts and Trivia==