#57 - Dinobites

Category: Restaurants
Category Rank: 9

Park: Animal Kingdom
Park Rank: 4

For number 57, we hit my personal-favorite snack in the entire World, the ice cream sandwiches at Dino-Bites in Animal Kingdom.  Unlike the Starring Rolls Cafe however, Dino-Bites doesn't pretend to offer quick service entrees; it is all about the snacks there.

It goes without saying that the Dino-Bites are really big ice cream sandwiches and a relatively excellent deal when used as a snack credit (though you can get the same deal at the Plaza Ice Cream Shop in Magic Kingdom).  However, it used to be an even better deal, because they were downright ginormous at one point in time, as seen by our first visit (no, our kids are not midgets or the victims of trick photography).  With the amount of ice cream and cookie you got, it made this a must-do attraction within Animal Kingdom.

As mentioned in the post on Starring Rolls, we have our favorites when it comes to snacks, so it makes sense for our favorites to be on this list when other individuals probably do not think they rise to the level of beating out other notable attractions.  One thing that was difficult for me to consider is how they ranked in terms of nostalgia.

The ice-cream sandwiches are my favorite snack.  The cupcakes at Starring Rolls are typically considered the best snack, because you can only "gourmet" ice cream and cookie so much.  But both get ranked lower than the snack option from Epcot and Magic Kingdom.  What gives?

Part of this is the overall effect of the parks.  I consider Magic Kingdom to be the park that truly screams WDW, and Epcot a distant but respectable second.  Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom, while offering the better snack option, don't bring the same cachet when making one reminisce fondly about the World.  Ergo, they rank lower on the list.

Animal Kingdom, as you noticed, has only four items in the entire 60 (not counting World-wide things like the maps).  That's pretty low, compared to the 21 that Magic Kingdom has.  Part of this is because the park is smaller (in number of attractions that is... in size, it is a lot bigger actually).  Part is because it isn't quite as good.  A big part is because it has a disproportional number of thrill attractions compared to total ones.  Festival of the Lion King, Finding Nemo the Musical, Expedition Everest, Dinosaur, and Kali River Rapids are all ineligible for this list, and that doesn't leave you with much in the park.

Number 56 on our list is going to see us move outside the parks and look at a resort (hotel) for the first time, featuring an up-and-comer for our family.

#42 - Tree of Life

Category: Landmark
Category Rank: 3

Park: Animal Kingdom
Park Rank: 3

Our next item introduces a new category.  A category like "landmark" would be one of the top nostalgia categories of a place like Washington D.C., with its many famous monuments.  WDW, of course, has always built its parks with a central landmark, which serves both for symbolism as well as a point for navigation.  So it comes as no surprise that landmarks make this list.

The interesting thing is, Disney really doesn't have anything else that you would consider a "landmark".  Perhaps the statue of Walt and Mickey.  Maybe some of the structures within the World Showcase.  But those are not as significant to rise to the level of this list like the central landmarks do.

This will be a pretty anti-climactic category, as the Tree of Life sits at #3 in this category.  The top two are pretty obvious and will have much higher ranks.  Which, by process of elimination, means that the Sorcerer's Hat is not on this list.  Why not?

Well, for starters, the Hat is no more.  They have torn it down as part of some major park remodeling, which will take out several other attractions as well (Indiana Jones, Backlot Tours, maybe even the Muppets?).  It's hard to rank a nostalgic item that doesn't exist anymore.  The Hat actually was never supposed to be permanent and stayed long past its "freshness" date.  And, in terms of the nature of the landmark, that is the one that seemed the least unique and the most manufactured, as if they were just trying to find something to be that landmark.

We don't shed a tear for the Hat being gone, and this entry isn't truly about it.  It is about the Tree of Life, the central landmark in Animal Kingdom.  The tree was not the first choice; there was some talk about Noah's Ark or even some sort of 3-story carousel.  They ended up settling on the tree, but still had some debate about how to make it survive hurricane season.  So as most good things come to life, they decided to make the trunk out of an oil rig.

The tree itself is 145 feet tall and has carvings of over 300 animals on its trunk.  It makes for a great view from all the way around the park, for many great photo ops.  The tree doesn't have the years that the main two landmarks with WDW have, but it has garnered quite a bit of recognizability within its brief time.

We go to Magic Kingdom again for #41, looking at its first Park Ambience item, one that is home to Woody and Jessie.

#35 - Kilimanjaro Safaris

Category: Slow Rides
Category Rank: 7

Park: Animal Kingdom
Park Rank: 2

If you haven't noticed, we have had a string of interesting entries recently.  We started with some smaller minor items at the beginning of this list, and have now entered an area of items that are a bit more difficult to judge.  We continue this trend with #35.

The Kilimanjaro Safaris are journeys through the savannah regions of the Animal Kingdom, seeing real animals in their natural habitat (or the Disney-provided natural habitat).  The rides are on an open sided vehicle that can seat up to 30, and is narrated by the driver (who acts as a travel guide).  Unlike the Jungle Cruise, however, the scenery is the star attraction, and this is an educational event.

The journey includes looks at several animals, including your basics (lions, giraffes, elephants) as well as some rare ones (black rhinos, white rhinos, hippos), as well as many that you need the handy animal guidecard to help you distinguish (eland, okapi, kudu, addax, impala, oryx, bontebok, etc).  There is also quite a bit of natural beauty to see, including a close-up of a baobab tree, that looks like it is upside down, as well as close-ups of some termite mounds.

The ride has mellowed a bit over the years as it has become more about the animals themselves than the backstory.  However, there was a pretty interesting fictional backstory to this.  The Harambe Preserve is a fictional African location that "happens" to be magically located right next to the Animal Kingdom park.  There are many warnings about the possibility of poachers throughout the queue leading up to the ride, including some taped interviews with the head warden Wilson Mutua (a native Harambrean, if that is the correct expression for that fictional country).

Once you were on the journey, in addition to the regular narration, the driver would occasionally receive "radio" communication from Wilson, warning of poachers in the area, which would perfectly set up the guide to talk about the dangers animals face from humans.  At the end of the ride, we would see a baby elephant (this one, an animatronic) having been placed in the back of a jeep.  We would then "race" our safari vehicle to chase away the poachers and save the mother (their names were "Big Red" and "Little Red").

Something I learned in the research for this post, there was a grimmer backstory originally.  When you would come to the conclusion of the ride, instead of a happy ending, you would see the slaughtered corpse of Big Red.  Yes, I'm not joking.  They tested this out with some cast review rides before opening it to the public, and a good thing too, as the cast suggested changing the ending (let that be a lesson to you that you should always test out your ideas completely before you release your multi-million dollar theme park attraction to the general public).

The Big Red-Little Red story was reduced to talk about animal preservation more in general (which was pretty confusing when you finally saw the elephant in the jeep), and then eliminated in 2012.  Now, it is all about the animals.  Well, not quite.  You can get some really good tour guides who can answer questions and interact with kids, making the ride quite enjoyable.

We have ridden this ride first on every visit to Animal Kingdom, and occasionally again in the afternoon.  Doing so right away in the morning helps with some animals that become lazy as it becomes warmer (such as the lions).  There seems to be more activity.  Plus, if you are there fairly close to the park opening, the lines are very short (but within an hour, they get very long).

Kilimanjaro Safaris is an interesting exhibit for this list.  You could easily consider this ride a thrill, since it is a headliner and a spectacle.  It also is something that isn't truly Disney-ish, as it has the feeling of Busch Gardens more than Disney (especially without the Little Red animatronics).  However, the ride loses its luster after the first two times you see it... it has reached the point where you know what is going to be there.  The ride has reached that point where you go on it because you always go on it; it is the nostalgia of the ride that is the attraction.  Plus, this ride is truly what Animal Kingdom is known for.  It is like Spaceship Earth for Epcot or Harry Potter's Forbidden Journey for Universal's Islands of Adventure.  When you shake everything out, this seems like the perfect place for this attraction on our list.

We return to Magic Kingdom for #34.  Like the Kilimanjaro Safaris, this highly interactive comedy show is one of the best thrills the first time you see it.  However, after multiple views, you realize that while there is a bit of improvisation, the act is the same every time, and thus the viewing becomes more of a nostalgic activity than a thrilling one.

#10 - Flame Tree BBQ Eating Area

Category: Park Ambience
Category Rank: 2

Park: Animal Kingdom
Park Rank: 1

This post will make a lot more sense if you have read the previous post on Mexico, since it is a bit odd of an entry.  This one definitely fits into the "nostalgic-for-me, not-for-everyone-else" category.

Our first entry in the top ten is our top item from Animal Kingdom.  Animal Kingdom as a park doesn't have much that screams "nostalgia!" in it, though it does have some thrilling attractions.  In fact, you might have been surprised it didn't top out with the Kilimanjaro Safaris way back at #35.

The first thing to say about it is that it isn't the restaurant that makes this list.  Flame Tree BBQ is a great counter-service restaurant.  In fact, we have eaten at it every time we have visited the park, and being that we have never eaten at a table service restaurant there, that makes it the only restaurant in Animal Kingdom we have eaten at.  This, in of itself, is fairly significant.  The restaurant features a pretty good BBQ ribs and chicken platter, which is one of the best deals to get when on the dining plan.  Plus, I'm a big fan of the key-lime-pie dessert.

If we were ranking the restaurant by itself, you might see it at around #40 on the list or so.  But much like the Mexican Pavilion in Epcot, it gets so much higher because of the respite and the view.

While the restaurant itself is on one of the busy walkways within the park (there are not too many paths to walk within the park, given its relative few features and wide expanses of natural habitat), the eating area for it sits behind the restaurant in a heavily shaded area.  There are many small pavilions here to choose from, each featuring their own condiment station.  Every time we eat (which admittedly is usually between 2:00-3:00), the place has never been that busy.  Which means, like in Mexico, we get a relaxing lunch to fill up on good food, away from all the other tourists.

You couple that with a truly Disney view.  The Discovery River goes right by this viewing area, though it looks more like a lake from this view than anything else.  Over on the left side of the view, you can see the Asia land within the park.  And straight forward is a majestic view of Expedition Everest.

I can't emphasize how strangely tranquil this area is.  It is truly a Disney experience.  You get a peaceful scene to look at, with the only sounds the occasional far-off screams from the roller coaster.  In addition to the shade and a nice breeze, you honestly could take a couple hours and rest to enjoy the view.   Given how much a respite during the busy day is enjoyable and refreshing, it serves as no surprise that this then becomes one of my favorite locations to fondly reminisce about.  Many a day at work I wish I was sitting at the pavilion looking out at the Discovery River.

As with the Mexico Pavilion, the area is frequented by many different birds, and even a squirrel or two.  One of the unique things are the different paintings and carvings within the pavilions, which all feature animals eating other animals.  Though none of them are gory, it is a bit odd to see within Disney (and it isn't exactly the most noticeable feature).  This is meant to tie in with the circle-of-life theme.  Not that this is the reason this appears in the top ten, but I thought it was unique enough to mention.

While we took a look at two park ambiences that have meaning more for me than others, serving as a relaxing place to eat lunch, we now will have two items that everyone will have on their list.  They are two of the biggest symbols within all of WDW.