BREAKING: Flights of Wonder at Animal Kingdom to be Replaced with PIXAR “Up” Bird Show

WDWNT on December 21, 2017

Today, Disney is sharing the first details about an all-new show coming to Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Spring 2018 featuring Russell and Dug from Disney•Pixar’s “UP.”

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Beginning just in time for the 20th anniversary of Disney’s Animal Kingdom next year, this new experience will offer guests the chance to see Senior Wilderness Explorer Russell and his furry friend Dug as they discover species of birds from around the world in their newest adventure at the Caravan Theater in Anandapur village.

As previously reported here, December 31, 2017 will be the final showing of Flights of Wonder. Until the end of this month, you can still experience Flights of Wonder at the park.

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REVIEW: Cinnamon Cream Cheese Mousse Dessert from Satuli Canteen, Flame Tree Barbecue, & Pizzafari at Animal Kingdom

WDWNT on December 11, 2017

Disney’s Animal Kingdom is now offering a special cinnamon cream cheese mousse at a few counter service restaurants, just for the holiday season. This bright red dessert is coated in a red glaze, has chocolate cream cookie crumbles and apple-compote at its base and is topped with a green meringue kiss. You’ll find this mousse at Satu’li Canteen, Flame Tree Barbecue and Pizzafari.

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Cinnamon Cream Cheese Mousse ($5.29)

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It makes for a pretty picture.

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Merry Christmas from Pandora, where I guess it’s always a blue Christmas…

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So, how is it? It tastes like Christmas (kids, don’t try to eat decorations at home). There’s a subtle sweetness brought on from the glaze, which ends with a subdued cinnamon flavor that doesn’t linger, but is prominent enough to be the focal point of the dessert. Mixing the cookie and apple with each bite yields a fantastic mix, perfect for the holidays. Personally, we still enjoy the regular offering from Satuli more, but this is a nice diversion for the season (and better than any other dessert you’ll have at Flame Tree or Pizzafari).

PHOTOS: Pandora at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Prepares for Massive Thanksgiving Holiday Crowds

WDWNT on November 20, 2017

Pandora: The World of AVATAR at Disney’s Animal Kingdom has been quite popular since it opened back in May, but the wait times and crowd levels inside the park’s newest addition have certainly become more manageable since the Summer. However, the massive crowds expected at Walt Disney World for the Thanksgiving Holiday through Christmas have Disney expecting the return of those higher crowd levels in the new land.

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As you can see in the photo above, the barricade to seperate guests entering and leaving Pandora has returned. Should the crowds in the land reach its capacity, the space to the left can become a queue just to enter the area, nevermind to experience the two attractions or any other offerings inside it. Just two days ago we witnessed a 300 minute wait for Flight of Passage, so demand for Pandora attractions is clearly on the rise once again as many guests who haven’t been to Disney World since the land opened are now clamoring to visit during their holiday vacations.

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With lines expected to be quite long for the Windtraders store and the Banshee Rookery experience, a pop-up shop of some kind is being installed in some unused space outside. It will be interesting to see if this is used for express sales of the Banshee toys that won’t include the adoption experience.

If you are visiting Pandora: The World of AVATAR this week or during any of this holiday season, you should be prepared to battle some massive crowds based on these changes Disney is making.

RUMOR: Flights of Wonder at Disney’s Animal Kingdom to End Later This Year

WDWNT on November 2, 2017

Flights of Wonder, a guest favorite show in Asia since Disney’s Animal Kingdom opened in April 1998, is rumored to close at year’s end in 2017.

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The show features an entertaining and informative bird trainer who welcomes guests to a mystical place. With “help” from Guano Joe or Jane—the amusing explorer who fears birds more than a bit—the trainer goes over the fascinating natural behaviors and often humorous talents of at least 20 species of exotic birds over the course of the show.

If current talk around the park is to be believed, the final shows for Flights of Wonder will be performed on December 31st, 2017. No reason for the closure of the show has been given, but there is already rumors of a new show filling in at the Caravan Stage starting in April, just in time for the park’s 20th anniversary.

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Animal Kingdom’s “Pandora: The World of AVATAR” Banshees Now Available for Adoption Online

WDWNT on November 2, 2017

ShopDisney is now selling the Pandora – World of Avatar Interactive Banshees online! If you missed your chance to get them at the parks because they were sold out, here is your chance to get them now! Online, they are coupled with the perches to display them when not in use.

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Pandora – The World of Avatar Interactive Banshee Toy – Blue – $84.99

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Pandora – The World of Avatar Interactive Banshee Toy – Red – $84.99

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Pandora – The World of Avatar Interactive Banshee Toy – Purple – $84.99

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Pandora – The World of Avatar Interactive Banshee Toy – Green – $84.99

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Pandora – The World of Avatar Interactive Banshee Toy – Yellow – $84.99

 

To see what it’s like to adopt a Banshee in person at the park, check out our video below:

PHOTOS: New Disney’s Animal Kingdom Starbucks Ceramic Tumbler

WDWNT on October 13, 2017

We showed you the new Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and the Hollywood Studios tumblers, so now we’re completing the set by showing you photos of the Animal Kingdom Ceramic Starbucks tumbler. You can find this beauty over at Creature Comforts for $21.99.

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The Animal Kingdom tumbler features some neat animal patterns, as well as logos belonging to attractions at Animal Kingdom like DINOSAUR, Kilimanjaro Safaris, and Expedition Everest.

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Disney’s Animal Kingdom Introducing $265 Tour That Skips Lines at Pandora Attractions and More

WDWNT on September 19, 2017

Today, Disney announced “The Ultimate Nights of Adventure VIP Tour” for Disney’s Animal Kingdom, a new way to experience the park in the evening. Bookings are now available now for dates beginning October 1st, 2017.

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Offered Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays, the tour will last up to 4.5 hours and has a maximum of 25 guests in each group. Tour times will vary based on sunset times and Rivers of Light show times.

Included in the tour is priority access at the following attractions:

  • Avatar Flight of Passage
  • Na’vi River Journey
  • Expedition Everest — Legend of the Forbidden Mountain
  • DINOSAUR
  • Kilimanjaro Safaris
  • Rivers of Light

The tour also includes a Satuli Canteen sampler, a beverage (adult or non- alcoholic available) and popcorn.

The cost is $265.19 inc tax per person. A 15% discount is available for Annual Passholders, Disney Vacation Club Members and Disney Visa cardholders. Theme park admission is required and not included. For more information, Guests can call 407-WDW-PLAY or visit disneyworld.com.

Mickey Ear Hat Embroidery Now Available at the Discovery Trading Company

WDWNT on September 19, 2017

Discovery trading Company at Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park now offers ear hat embroidery as of September 4th, 2017.

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Embroidery will be exclusive to ear hats at this time and will not extend to other items guests can customize at other locations.

Basic embroidery will be $3.99 for gold, black, or dark pink text in a traditional font. Premium embroidery will also be available for $7.99 per line (maximum two lines), including gold, white, or red text in a script or kid’s font.

REVIEW: Nomad Lounge at Animal Kingdom Adds Poutine, Pad Thai, and Beef Posole to the Menu

WDWNT on September 17, 2017

Nomad Lounge at Disney’s Animal Kingdom has shaken things up once again with a rather major menu change. For more information on this establishment and thoughts on the past and present items, please check out our previous reviews:

And now, on to the latest menu…

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So what has changed? New to the menu is the Snake River Farms Beef Posole, Vegetarian Pad Thai, and the House-Smoked Kobe-Style Brisket Poutine. For a review of the other items on the menu, please refer to the links above. The only loss was the Vegetarian Summer Rolls, which overall means the menu has grown by a couple of items, something that is always nice since “variety is the spice of life”.

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OK, so let’s talk about these three new dishes…

House-Smoked Kobe-Style Brisket Poutine ($12)

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Probably a little small for $12, this was still better than anything we had tried at The Daily Poutine at Disney Springs. I do wish there was more cheese to hold the meat to the fries, otherwise it was perfectly enjoyable as far as the quality of the ingredients. It doesn’t really fit in at Nomad Lounge as far as theme, so it is a bit of a head scratcher though. You can get a lot better here, so I would still skip this.

Snake River Farms Beef Posole ($15)

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The best of the three, the cheese, meat, and poblanos on the jalapeño cornbread was fantastic. I do wish there was more cornbread as it is all best combined with that, but the dish isn’t bad on its own either. The service ing size is nice as well as the dish is pretty heavy in the consistency and with the bread to boot. I highly recommend this dish as it may be the very best at Nomad Lounge.

Vegetarian Pad Thai ($11)

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The Vegetarian Pad Thai is a vast improvement over the summer rolls as far as vegetarian dishes go. It is very heavy on the peanut flavor, but it is a hearty portion, probably the only thing at Nomad Lounge that can pass for a meal on its own.. and it comes in an adorable ceramic take-out box with chopsticks.

OVERALL

Per my original review:

The food menu is really solid and may even improve as the days progress (our server was surprised to hear we did not like the wagyu beef). The drink menu might be second to none quite honestly. I can’t think of a specialty drink menu at Walt Disney World where I would have a more difficult time picking a beverage. There is a lot on this drink menu and a lot of it is absolutely phenomenal. Nomad Lounge will without a doubt will be a regular drink destination for us, and the bread service and ribs will likely be on the must-order short list overtime as we visit. The atmosphere alone is worth your money, never mind anything they will serve you. Kudos to all involved in the creation of Animal Kingdom’s latest masterpiece.

I still love Nomad Lounge, and nothing has changed my feelings on their stellar drink menu. These latest changes to the food menu are another improvement, adding some variety and more choices overall. There are now many more food choices that I would happily order again here, adding to what is already, in my opinion, the absolute best drink menu on Walt Disney World property (alcoholic and non-alcoholic).

Satuli Canteen in Pandora: The World of AVATAR Discontinuing Breakfast Service, Lunch Begins at 10AM

WDWNT on September 17, 2017

The breakfast service at Satuli Canteen in Pandora: The World of AVATAR at Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park will be coming to an end on Sunday, September 17th, 2017.

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Satuli will begin lunch service at 10am daily, but breakfast will return for “peak periods”, whenever those might be. Breakfast was previously only offered from 9am until 10am, so there was never very much time to enjoy it.

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