Visiting The Animal Kingdom at Night!

Disney

Animal Kingdom After Dark

We recently traveled to Orlando on business, and on the first night we arrived I snuck over to the Animal Kingdom and met my Disney Blogger Pal Keri from flipflopweekend.com for about an hour of mischief and fun! You’d be surprised how much you can accomplish in just a short period of time!

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Must-Do One

We entered the park about 1-hour before closing and headed straight to ride Everest! This is one of my all-time favorite rides at Walt Disney World, and my Number 1 MUST-DO inside the Animal Kingdom at night. We did have a FP+ reservation, but to be honest, there was no wait for this ride.

There is something a little more exciting about riding roller coasters at night. I’ve always preferred it – can anyone else relate?

Must-Do Two

My second MUST-DO inside the Animal Kingdom at night is the Kilimanjaro Safari! This ride is fun for the whole family and in the evening, there are animals to be seen at every turn! Like these cute Bongos!

We happened to be on one of the last trucks of the evening, and our tour guide was so fun and informative. I highly recommend the Kilimanjaro Safari at night!

Must-Do Three

The third MUST-DO inside the Animal Kingdom at night is to enjoy the ambiance. The park has such a unique vibe after dark. I’d been wanting to find this instagram famous wall, and Keri was so gracious to help me find it!

If you want to find it yourself, look inside the Harambe Village – If you’re hungry I recommend any of the food stands in the village they are excellent! Our favorite menu item is the Grilled Chicken Skewer!

See the full menu here!

There are no fireworks inside the Animal Kingdom, but you can see some while on the Safari if you time it right. You can also watch the Rivers of Light show, or the watch the Tree of life sparkle and shine with a beautiful show set to music.

Personally, I have not watched either show from start to finish. However, the parts I’ve seen are so beautifully done.

Must-Do Bonus!

This list wouldn’t be complete without mentioning Pandora. Pandora – the world of Avatar opened in summer of 2017 and has been dazzling guests daily ever since! One of my favorite things about this new section of the park is the way that it seems to sparkle as you walk through it during the evening.

While in Pandora, head over to Pongu Pongu for a night blossom. This beverage was all over instagram, and I was a little skeptical of how good it really was. Well, in February my family decided to give it a try and we LOVED it! This ice cold beverage is layers of frozen apple, desert pair, and lime topped with passion fruit boba balls! It can be purchased for 5.99 or by using one snack credit on the Disney dining plan!

There are so many fun things to do inside the Animal Kingdom during the night, I hope you won’t skip it on your next trip!

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Here’s a family vlog from Fall of 2017 when we celebrated our youngest daughter’s 1st birthday!

The Ultimate Little Mermaid (Ariel) Experience!

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Disney

The Ultimate Little Mermaid Experience

Do you have an Ariel fan in your life? Perhaps you are the mermaid fan! My youngest daughter is completely obsessed with The Little Mermaid. At around 1-year old she started to show a huge interest in this particular princess, and her love has only grown. If you are looking to build the ultimate Little Mermaid experience at Walt Disney World, this post is for you!

Finding Ariel – Without a Park Ticket

It’s true, you can find the Little Mermaid without a park ticket!

Art of Animation Resort

Walt Disney’s Art of Animation has an entire section dedicated to The Little Mermaid. In this resort, you can stay in a Little Mermaid themed room, swim in the pool or explore the props throughout the resort.

Electric Water Pagent

Find a spot on the seven seas lagoon between 9-10 p.m. and watch the Electic Water Pagent. You will find Dolphins, King Triton, and other Little Mermaid inspired friends. My first memory of this parade is from when I was a girl scout and we’d go camping at Fort Wilderness campground. We’d find a spot on the beach each night to watch the parade!

Meet Ariel at the Bon Voyage Adventure Breakfast

If you want to meet Ariel and Prince Eric, book a breakfast at the Bon Voyage Adventure Breakfast! We dined at Trattoria al Forno in February and had the best character interactions. The food was also delicious!

The Magic Kingdom

There are many places inside the Magic Kingdom to find Ariel. Depending on your budget and the type of experience you want, here are a few recommendations!

Meet Ariel

Ariel’s Grotto

If you want to meet Ariel, I recommend booking at FP+ reservation for Ariel’s Grotto. Ariel is very friendly and loves to talk with all her friends. This makes for great memories, but long lines. If you aren’t able to score a FP+ reservation, you might want to go meet her in the first hour that the park is open.

Cinderella’s Royal Table

Inside Cinderella’s Royal table is another place to meet Ariel. This dining experience is 2-table service credits on the dining plan and reservations are recommended 180 days prior to your visit.

Themed Ride

Under the Sea, The Journey of the Little Mermaid. Located inside New Fantasy Land this ride is a must-do for all Little Mermaid Fans! This ride is designed so that it never stops moving, making the line for this move very quickly. Our experience has been that we don’t need a FP+ reservation for the ride. Pay attention to the beautiful details inside the line, there are lots of hidden treasures that the true Little Mermaid Fan won’t want to miss.

Interested to know what the ride is like? Watch this video put together by Nicole from Happilyeverdisney.com!

Mickey’s Philharmagic

This adorable show featuring Donald Duck and all your friends has a slight peak under the sea during the show. We enjoy heading into the Philharmagic show on a particularly hot day or when it rains.

The Festival of Fantasy

See your favorite characters from Under the Sea during the afternoon Parade. I like to watch the parade from Frontier Land, but many others enjoy the main street view. The parade begins in Frontier Land and ends on Mainstreet. I find it best to consider my next fast pass before choosing a parade viewing location.

Epcot

Ariel isn’t very well represented inside Epcot, but she can be seen in Akershus Royal Table. Our family really enjoyed this dining experience. The breakfast was very filling, and we loved that we could book the dining 1 hour before the park even opened.

Hollywood Studios

Hollywood Studios has quite a few ways to soak in all the fun of the Little Mermaid. You can’t currently meet Ariel inside this park, but there are a few great experiences you won’t want to miss.

The Voyage of the Little Mermaid (show)

This 17-minute show is a fun way to get out of the sun and beat the heat during the summer. It also takes you on a musical journey through the movie, ending with the iconic transformation of Ariel as a mermaid into a human.

Fantasmic

Ariel and her prince can also be seen during the Fantasmic Show.

Animal Kingdom

There are currently no Little Mermaid experiences inside Animal Kingdom at this time.

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Oh My Disney: We are flipping our fins over a new collection featuring a Sebastian pool float, mermaid leggings and more!

Dining at the Whispering Canyon Cafe

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Disney

Do you Love Mickey Waffles and a refillable skillet full of delicious Breakfast foods? You might want to check out the Whispering Canyon Cafe in Disney’s Wilderness Lodge!

Whispering Canyon Cafe, Location

The Whispering Canyon Cafe is located inside the Disney Wilderness Lodge. Since you are just a boat ride away from the Magic Kingdom, it is perfect for breakfast before hitting the parks. If you decided to visit the Magic Kingdom, be sure to look for these little secret spots for some added Magic to your day. We were not going to the parks on the day we ate in the Whispering Canyon, so we took some time to walk around and explore the resort.

What to Expect at the Whispering Canyon Cafe

Prior to eating in this restaurant, I asked a group of Disney Moms, and overwhelmingly they all recommended it. Instead of doing some personal research, I just booked a brunch.

When you check in for your meal there is an adorable little table with Lincoln Logs for the kids to play with. My kids loved building little cabins and making friends with other guests.

The cast members are loud, rambunctious and a have a little attitude. It’s all in good fun, and there is a cute little prank with the ketchup. Be sure to ask for some ketchup and even your kids will have the opportunity to get involved.

The food is an all-you-can-eat family style buffet. If you can’t get enough Mickey Waffles, this dining experience is for you! My favorite thing at this restaurant was the bottomless Chocolate Milkshake.

Cost

Dining at the Whispering Canyon Cafe is 1-table service credit on the Disney Dining Plan.

You can expect to pay between 15-25 dollars per person during breakfast.

Whispering Canyon Cafe wasn’t for us…

Despite all the great things this restaurant has to offer, and the playful atmosphere it wasn’t a good fit for our family.

My girls are quite shy and don’t like too much attention drawn to them. The charm of this restaurant is the rambunctious behavior, and little practical jokes the cast members play. From the moment we approached the counter my girls were on edge and clingy. This made it almost impossible for us to actually eat our meal. My husband and I each traded having the kids on our laps while we tried to eat our meal.

From now on, I think we will stick with Trails End. They serve similar food and a less rowdy experience.

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