The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World and Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, in the United States, near the cities of Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, the resort is owned and operated by Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, a division of The Walt Disney Company. It was first operated by Walt Disney World Company. The property covers nearly 25,000 acres, of which half has been used. The resort comprises four theme parks, two water parks, 27 themed resort hotels, nine non-Disney hotels, several golf courses, a camping resort, and other entertainment venues, including the outdoor shopping center Disney Springs.
Rainforest Cafe is a jungle themed restaurant chain owned by Landry's, Inc. of Houston. It was founded by Steven Schussler. The first location opened in the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, on February 3, 1994. By 1997, the chain consisted of six restaurants, all in the United States. The first international location opened in London, England in June 1997. In 1998, it was planned to build 12 additional restaurants in the United States, seven in Mexico, and five in the UK, for a total of 22 restaurants by 2008.
Disney's Animal Kingdom is a zoological theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando. Owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division, it is the largest theme park in the world, covering 580 acres (230 ha). The park opened on Earth Day, April 22, 1998, and was the fourth theme park built at the resort. The park is dedicated and themed entirely around the natural environment and animal conservation, a philosophy once pioneered by Walt Disney himself.
Chessington World of Adventures Resort is a theme park, zoo and hotel complex in Chessington, Greater London, England, around 12 miles (19 km) southwest of Central London. The complex opened as Chessington Zoo in 1931, with the theme park being developed alongside the zoo by The Tussauds Group and opening on 7 July 1987, as one of the first themed amusement parks in Britain. The theme park, which features over 40 rides, is now owned by Merlin Entertainments, following its merger with The Tussauds Group in 2007. Under Merlin, Chessington has been increasingly developed into a resort tourist destination, including two on-site hotels, a high ropes course and camp site.
Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge is an African-themed deluxe resort at the Walt Disney World Resort. It opened on April 16, 2001. The resort is owned and operated by Disney Parks, Experiences and Products.
The Jungle Cruise is a river boat attraction located in Adventureland at four Disney theme parks worldwide: Disneyland, Magic Kingdom, Tokyo Disneyland, and Hong Kong Disneyland. Disneyland Paris and Shanghai Disneyland are the only Magic Kingdom-style Disney parks that do not have the Jungle Cruise in their attraction rosters.
Kilimanjaro Safaris is a safari attraction at Disney's Animal Kingdom on the Walt Disney World Resort property in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. It simulates an open-sided safari ride through the savanna of East Africa.
Safari Off Road Adventure is a safari attraction currently operating at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson Township, New Jersey. It replaced the former Six Flags Wild Safari drive-through safari park, which closed on September 30, 2012 in order for it to become its own standalone ride experience.
Discovery River Boats was an attraction at Walt Disney World's Disney's Animal Kingdom in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, near Orlando.
The Tree of Life is a 145-foot (44 m) sculpture of a baobab tree at Disney's Animal Kingdom, Walt Disney World Resort. It has over 8,000 branches of very different sizes and about 102,000 artificial leaves. It debuted when the attraction opened on April 22, 1998. Inspired by the mythological concept, the Tree of Life features 325 carvings of existing and extinct animal species on its trunk and surrounding roots; after Jane Goodall's visit, her famous subject David Graybeard was carved into the tree. The sculpture took 18 months to create. Animal Kingdom has millions of trees and greens; The Tree of Life is one of the park's few artificial trees.
There have been seven theme park live adaptations of The Lion King at Disney parks since the animated film The Lion King was released by Walt Disney Animation Studios in 1994. These have included a parade, two theater-in-the-round shows, and four stage shows.
Africam Safari is a Mexican safari park that was established in 1972 by Captain Carlos Camacho Espíritu. It is located about 17 kilometres (11 mi) from the city of Puebla, Mexico.
The Wildlife Express Train is a 3 ft narrow gauge heritage railroad at Disney's Animal Kingdom in Walt Disney World. Its route is 1.2 miles (1.9 km) long and takes guests from Harambe Station in the Africa section to Conservation Station in the Rafiki's Planet Watch section. During the ride, portions of the Animal Kingdom backlot can be seen, including animal holding buildings for rhinos and elephants, among other animals, as well as the roundhouse where the trains are stored. It takes about twelve minutes for each train to complete a round trip on the line: seven minutes from Harambe Station to Conservation Station, and five minutes from Conservation Station to Harambe Station. The railway is built to a 3 ft narrow gauge, which is smaller than the 1,000 mmmetre gauge currently used on East African railways. The full journey is a 1.2-mile (1.9 km) round trip.
Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas is a Disney Vacation Club resort located at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge at the Walt Disney World Resort.
Rhino Rally was a safari-themed attraction located at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, an African-themed park located in Tampa, Florida. The ride was opened on May 23, 2001 in the Nairobi section of the park and lasts between 5 and 6 minutes. The ride was closed on September 1st, 2014 due to consistent maintenance issues. The pretense of the attraction was that guests are going on a normal safari ride which turns into a search for a lost driver named Scooter Roberts.
Djuan Rivers was the Vice President of Disney's Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World from 2014 until May of 2021. He previously served as Vice President for Hotels and Business Solutions at Disneyland Paris after having been General Manager of the Disney Aulani Resort & Spa in Hawaii. He was one of the most senior African Americans in the Walt Disney Company during his tenure.
Zufari: Ride into Africa is an off-road safari trail jeep ride at Chessington World of Adventures, a zoo and theme park in London. The ride is located in the theme-park section called Zufari, a 22-acre site landscaped to look like an African reserve, it is home to animals such as giraffes, white rhinos, ostriches, blesbok, nile lechwe and more.
Rivers of Light was a nighttime show at Disney's Animal Kingdom in the Walt Disney World Resort. Located in the park's Discovery River lagoon between Discovery Island and Expedition Everest, the show featured water fountains, mist screens, floating lanterns, fire effects, lasers, lights, fog, projection mapping, and until September 2018, live performers. Lakeside seating areas were able to accommodate 5,000 guests.
This is a pay-per-use attraction