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10 Facts About Animal Kingdom |
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Monday, April 21, 2008 |
In celebration of Disney's Animal Kingdom's 10 year anniversary, here are 10 fun facts about the park.
- The very first inhabitants of Disney's Animal Kingdom were four giraffes and three gorillas.
- The park reportedly cost nearly $800 MILLION. It covers 500 ACRES, 5 times the size of Magic Kingdom. More than 40,000 mature trees were planted before the opening.
- It's all about tree. The internal structure of the park's iconic Tree of Life is based on the design for an oil rig. The Tree is covered with images of 325 animals carved into its "bark," and it has more than 100,000 leaves.
- On opening day, Disney World ticket prices went up. One-day, one-park admission rose to $44.52 (tax included) for adults, $36.04 for children age 3-9. Today's prices: $75.62 and $63.90, respectively.
- Animal Kingdom was the first Disney World park to open after the company purchased the ABC television network. Sabrina the Teenage Witch were taped there.
- Early plans for the park touted an area known as Beastly Kingdom, set to feature mythical beasts such as griffins and fire-breathing dragons. For the most part, Disney has kept things in the realistic realm. Two exceptions would be the menacing yeti inside the Expedition Everest roller coaster and the Unicorn section of the parking lot.
- When the park opened, it had only one thrill ride, Countdown to Extinction. That attraction underwent a name change to Dinosaur in conjunction with Disney's 2000 film of the same name. Now adventurous guests can turn to the Everest coaster, Primeval Whirl and Kali River Rapids for excitement.
- The popular Kilimanjaro Safaris attraction mixes open-air vehicles and wildlife -- zebras, elephants, rhinos, lions and more -- over a 110-acre Savannah. The grazing animals help with maintenance costs: That part of the park has never been mowed by machine (although it was almost needed after one particularly rainy season).
- The original announced name for the park was Disney's Wild Animal Kingdom, but the Wild was dropped two years before it even opened. Other names tested: Disney's Wild World, Disney's Animal Adventure, Disney's Animal Encounter and Disney's Wild Territorium.
- When the whistle blows. An audio cue signals animals that it's time to come in for the night. Most birds stay in the park, but most mammals go to their shelters at the end of the day. If they want to stay out, they can.
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