The Green Parent

If you’re looking for Disney World attractions that teach your kids about conservation, then you are headed to Animal Kingdom.  At over 500 acres, Animal Kingdom is the largest of all of Disney’s “kingdoms.”  In fact, all of the other parks combined could fit in to Animal Kingdom.  The park offers silly, playful, and sometimes scary, encounters with animals, both real and pretend, but overall, the main theme is conservation and the protection of animals.

Here are some of the top choices for eco-fun:

Kilimanjaro Safari: If you and your kids like to see animals, you will definitely want to check out this attraction.  You’ll see antelopes and zebras and everything in between.  The “ride” gets a little corny when the tour guide receives word that poachers have taken a baby elephant from its mother and your truck takes off on a chase to help save the infant animal from harm.  But overall, it is very cool and a great way to learn a bit about animals you may have never seen before.

Mahrajah Jungle Trek and Pangani Forest Exploration Trail: These are two self-guided nature trails that offer great views and information about all kinds of Asian and African animals…gorillas, meerkats, hippos, giant bats, tapirs, and even an okapi!

Discovery Clubs: Be on the lookout for these activity stations all throughout Animal Kingdom.  There are 6 of them located throughout the park and at each one kids can try hands-on activities such as constructing a dinosaur from a pile of bones, going on a scavenger hunt, becoming a wildlife detective, and viewing the world from a bug’s point of view.  After completing each activity, kids receive a stamp and if they do all 6 they can get a special bonus (my littlest one pooped out so we didn’t make it to all 6, but the girls loved the 3 that they tried.) To find the Discovery Clubs locations, look for the red squares with a “K” symbol in your park map.

Rafiki’s Planet Watch: This is a great spot for learning more about the conservation projects that Disney takes part in (in-depth info on that tomorrow.)  You can get an up-close look at the inner workings of Disney’s Animal Kingdom and learn even more about animal conservation and preservation.  Rafiki’s Planet Watch is also home to “Affection Station” a petting zoo where kids can brush, pet, and feed, goats, sheep, chickens, and llamas.

I was also pretty impressed to learn that conservation is a general theme on many of the Disney World attractions.  For instance, their public relations rep explained to me that the basic theme behind “Expedition Everest” (Animal Kingdom’s giant, nail-biting, high-speed, darkness-plunging, thrill ride) is that we need to be respectful of the mountain…and taking shortcuts to the top might get you into trouble.  I asked my husband if he picked up on this when he came weak-kneed and white-knuckled through the ride’s exit gate.  “Hmm, I might have missed that.” was all that he would say.
Photo by shutterproof