![]() ![]() The park’s guide map went so far as to tell guests that “additional Asia adventures will open in early 1999” and showed sketches of construction equipment on the map.Īt the time, the Tree of Life, the park’s stunning icon, dominated the horizon as guests approached the park along Osceola Parkway. To give you an idea of how sparse things were on Animal Kingdom’s opening day, the land devoted to Asia consisted of just one attraction – a bird show called Flights of Wonder. To that end, the Imagineering team traveled the world in the early to mid-1990s, taking extensive field trips to Africa and Asia, to learn about animals in their natural habitats, as well as to interact with native people and visit the exotic locales where they lived. There would be a strong emphasis on conservation, with the hope that guests would return to their homes after visiting and take up the conservationist cause. It would be a park where animals – real, imagined and extinct – would be celebrated. As it was, it took almost 10 years from the time then-Disney CEO Michael Eisner announced plans in the late 1980s for what was originally called Wild Animal Kingdom until this new species of theme park swung open its gates for the first time.ĭuring that time frame, a small team of Disney Imagineers worked tirelessly to craft a park the likes of which had never been attempted before. Like a freshly planted seed, Animal Kingdom needed time to grow and flourish.Īn early map of Disney’s Animal Kingdom illustrates the many changes the park has seen during its 21-year existence. Much like every Disney park that came before and after it, Disney’s ambitious Animal Kingdom theme park was far from completed when it debuted on April 22, 1998. Since Opening in 1998, Animal Kingdom Has Seen Some Wild Changes The Animation Experience at Conservation Station. ![]()
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