Tiffins Restaurant and Nomad Lounge to Open at Disney’s Animal Kingdom This Spring

WDWNT on January 27, 2016

A few months ago, Disney announced Tiffins, a new signature restaurant located adjacent to Pizzafari at Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park. Toady, we have a few more details on the new restaurant, as well as a new lounge that will be a part of the experience.

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Tiffins will celebrate the art of traveling, featuring a diverse menu drawing from places that inspired the creation of Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Open for both lunch and dinner, Tiffins will also include waterfront views from comfortable indoor and outdoor seating areas. And if you’re wondering about the story behind the name, “tiffin” is an Indian English word for a midday meal or a type of container used to carry food while traveling.

Adjacent to Tiffins, Nomad Lounge will feature hand-crafted cocktails using the art of mixology with African, Asian and South American flavors, beers and wines from those regions, and a selection of specialty non-alcoholic beverages in addition to small bites.

Both Tiffns and Nomad Lounge will open Spring 2016.

“The Lion Guard” Interactive Experience Debuts 2/7/16 at Disney’s Animal Kingdom

WDWNT on January 27, 2016

Soon guests will be able to become honorary members of the Lion Guard in a brand new Animal Kingdom experience called The Lion Guard Adventure.

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This interactive experience, beginning February 7th, will allow young guests to explore the park in search of five main characters from “The Lion Guard” – Kion, Bunga, Fuli, Beshte, and Ono, who are represented as colorful statues that are perfect for photo-ops. The self-guided experience begins at select merchandise locations and culminates at Rafiki’s Planet Watch. Like the movie, the experience encourages interest in protecting animals and caring for nature. Once they complete the adventure, each child can take a special pledge to become an honorary member of “The Lion Guard” and receive a special button.

The experience will be offered in Disney’s Animal Kingdom through late March, as one of many activities celebrating the debut of “The Lion Guard” series on Disney Channel and Disney Junior.

Tom Corless’ 1/12/16 Animal Kingdom Photo Report (AVATAR, Rivers of Lights, Riverside Depot, Where’s Dinosaur?, ETC.)

WDWNT on January 27, 2016

I recently visited Disney’s Animal Kingdom to check out the progress on all of the new projects in the park, so here are some newsworthy photos of what’s happening at Disney’s “wildest” theme park:

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The floating mountains of Pandora: The World of AVATAR visible from the parking lot

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Riverside Depot opened on Discovery Island recently

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New Monstro and Figment ceramic figures on sale

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Some of the little details in the store are really cool

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The store sells mostly pins, toys, home-goods, and smaller souvenirs

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What was the Art of Disney a few years ago is now just filled with toys, mostly Star Wars

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Disney Outfitters next door has now closed for remodeling

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SPOILER ALERT

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The construction walls for AVATAR don’t say anything, but at least they show something now

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Work continues on Tiffins on the backside of Pizzafari

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The spotted dogs are now out on Kilimanjaro Safaris

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They were very active, running around and being playful

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Construction continues on Rivers of Light, debuting this spring

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Here we see moving lights with waterproof domes have been installed

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The Thirsty River Bar opened recently, replacing the old FastPass distribution for Everest

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The bar serves a number of pre-made food and drink items

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My camera didn’t want to focus for some reason…

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Lots of stickers decorate the bar

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The Ole Elephant Foot IPA was quite good

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The Himalayan Ghost was nothing special, had very little flavor

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The Khumbu Icefall might be my new favorite drink at Disney World. Very sweet and just the right amount of alcohol, not bad for pre-made.

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I also got one of the pre-packaged turkey sandwiches…

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It was cut in half the wrong way and barely stayed together, but it was good. Why was I in Dino-Rama? Because there is nowhere to sit and eat and drink at the Thirsty River Bar…

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It’s still Christmas here…

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Guests apparently are having a hard time finding Dinosaur, there are several of these signs up in Dinoland

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The speakers for the Rivers of Light seating area are being installed now

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Peep holes were put in the construction walls, yet the walls still don’t tell guests what is coming…

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Not sure if this is new, but all of the food stands on Discovery Island were named and received menu updates at some point…

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With Disney Outfitters gone, Island Mercantile is now selling just apparel

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The store’s selection has been pretty much the same since 1998, so this is a bit of an adjustment

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We have to wonder what exactly will happen to Disney Outfitters during the remodel if all of their merchandise is now here.

PHOTO REPORT: Animal Kingdom 1/19/16 (AVATAR, Rivers of Light Construction, ETC.)

WDWNT on January 27, 2016

WDWNT Reporter Dirk Wallen was on the scene at Disney’s Animal Kingdom earlier today and he has some great photos to share from his trip:

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Rivers of Light construction is picking up as they race to soft-open the show in March/April

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New islands conceal static show elements

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I applaud Disney on the viewing area, glad to see stone benches instead of the metal bleachers

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Here we see the control booth under construction

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A view from Everest allows us to look from the same direction the crowd will see the show

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Meanwhile, Pandora: The World of AVATAR races towards a 2017 opening, which may actually be sooner than we thought

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It may be very early in 2017 when we get to visit Pandora for the first time as apparently work on the attractions is going well

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Things are getting exciting at Animal Kingdom as we prepare for two incredible years of new offerings

PHOTOS: Another Floating Island Takes Shape in Pandora: The World of AVATAR at Animal Kingdom

WDWNT on January 27, 2016

WDWNT Reporter Dirk Wallen hit Animal Kingdom today and took some great new shots of the Pandora: The World of AVATAR construction to share with us:

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You can see a ton of construction workers out today working on the next floating island.

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From afar you can see this one is much bigger than the last.

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The rockwork is the land is now coming along quickly as Disney tries to reach a 2017 opening at the latest.

Dirk Wallen’s 6/8/15 Animal Kingdom Photo Report (Tree of Life, Lots of Construction, Nighttime Safari, ETC.)

WDWNT on December 7, 2015

WDWNT Reporter Dirk Wallen visited Disney’s Animal Kingdom this week and has some newsworthy photos to share with us from his trip:

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Work continues on the Tree of Life facade as they prepare for some nighttime lighting upgrades

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A strange new structure has appeared on the left side of Disney Outfitters

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Same for the right side where some sort of tower is going up next to a new building, possible a new guest relations location

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Work is still underway to bring hyenas to Kilimanjaro Safaris

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More walls, these for what should be a small seating area by the Starbucks location opening June 18th

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Not much to see outside of the Starbucks

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The Disney Vacation Club kiosk that used to be on the way to Camp Minnie-Mickey is getting an overhaul

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More Tree of Life work

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More walls outside of Island Mercantile

PHOTOS: Starbucks inside Creature Comforts Opens at Disney’s Animal Kingdom

WDWNT on December 7, 2015

Yesterday, the long-awaited Starbucks location at Disney’s Animal Kingdom opened to guests:

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The exterior got a nice new paint scheme

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The interior is quite different

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Yes, they have the Animal Kingdom mug

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Creature Comforts Starbucks Coffee is now open on Discovery Island in Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park.

PHOTOS BY BRIAN CAREY

Animal Kingdom Getting a New Table Service Restaurant in 2016:– “Tiffins”

WDWNT on November 13, 2015

We’ve been watching construction of a new restaurant at Animal Kingdom (just behind Pizzafari on the way to Pandora: The World of AVATAR) for quite a while now, but we now finally know what it will be…

Tiffins Concept Art

Tiffins Concept Art

The restaurant will be called Tiffins and it “will celebrate the art of traveling, featuring a diverse menu drawing from places that inspired the creation of Disney’s Animal Kingdom”. Serving lunch and dinner, Tiffins will also include waterfront views from indoor and outdoor seating areas. “Tiffin” is an Indian English word for a midday meal or a type of container used to carry food while traveling.

Tifins will open to guests in 2016 at Disney’s animal Kingdom theme park.

CONCEPT ART & VIDEO: Disney Previews “Rivers of Light” and the Tree of Life Nighttime Projections for Animal Kingdom

WDWNT on November 13, 2015

Today, Disney is finally sharing more about the Rivers of Light nighttime spectacular coming to Animal Kingdom in 2016:

In “Rivers of Light,” a pair of mystical hosts come to the river bearing gifts of light. During the show, the hosts set out from the shore on elaborate lantern vessels for a dramatic dance of water and light to summon animal spirits. With the storytellers as your guides, the wonders of “Rivers of Light” builds to a stunning crescendo.

In addition to the show, you’ll also notice the park’s iconic Tree of Life will undergo an amazing awakening as the animal spirits of the tree are brought to “light” by magical fireflies, revealing moments of wonder and enchantment.

To create “Rivers of Light,” Imagineers and Creative Entertainment partnered with the talents of master puppet designer Michael Curry, composer Mark Mancina and the filmmakers at Disneynature. According to Imagineer Joe Rohde, the addition of “Rivers of Light” to the park’s offerings will serve as that huge “wow” moment that ends a guest’s visit to the park.

 

Disney also released a video with Imagineer Joe Rhode discussing the project:

The “Na’vi River Journey” Formally Announced for Pandora: The World of AVATAR at Animal Kingdom

WDWNT on October 7, 2015

Pandora – The World of AVATAR’s boat ride has been mostly a mystery up until this point, but Disney is finally spilling the beans on this family-friendly Animal Kingdom attraction which will be called “Na’vi River Journey”.

The adventure begins as guests set out in canoes and venture down a mysterious, sacred river hidden within the bioluminescent rainforest. The full beauty of Pandora reveals itself as the canoes pass by exotic glowing plants and amazing creatures. The journey culminates in an encounter with a Na’vi shaman, who has a deep connection to the life force of Pandora and sends positive energy out into the forest through her music.

Na’vi River Journey will open along with the Flight of Passage attraction in Pandora – The World of AVATAR in 2017.