By Lisa Green
A visit to Animal Kingdom just wouldn’t be complete for me without a walk along both of the two fantastic animal trails there.
These trails boast a wide array of exhibits that allow guests
unforgettable opportunities for some close-up animal viewing in
gorgeous, highly detailed settings. The trail in Animal Kingdom’s
Africa section is the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail. The trail in Asia is called the Maharajah Jungle Trek – that’s the one I want to talk about today.
The trail’s backstory sets the mood and an
impressive (spectacular, unbelievable,
insert favorite-adjective-of-wonder here) number of amazing Disney
details make a visit to the Maharajah’s jungle into a mysterious,
magical experience. As I tend to like to do, allow me to give you…
Five Great Things about the Maharajah Jungle Trek
From the Walt Disney World web site, “Venture into the mystical
Anandapur Royal Forest, a tropical paradise of trees, ruins and wild
animals. Legend has it the area was at one time the hunting ground of
wealthy maharajahs; today, it exists as a preserve that you can
explore.”
1. Komodo Dragon – Yep, a giant lizard! What else
do you need? Seeing this guy is like looking at a living
dinosaur and Komodo Dragons are the largest
living lizards on earth. As he sits there with his tongue darting in
and out to “smell” the air while basking in the sun,
it’s incredible to think about the fact that Komodo Dragons are venomous
and capable of taking down large prey. An adult Komodo Dragon can
consume up to 80% of its own body weight in a single meal! Go here for some other cool Komodo Dragon fun facts.
2. Rodrigues Fruit Bats and Malayan Flying Foxes –
The way this section of the trail is designed is genius! The bats are
on display (sleepily hanging around) in a wide-open viewing area – which
makes it seem as if there is absolutely nothing separating you from the
bats! Those Flying Foxes are enormous and so cool! (Read all about
them here.) I like to imagine
what it would be like if the sun set and they got to go free all
night – Those huge bats with their leathery wings flying overhead would
be quite a scary sight! Hands down, this is one of my all time favorite
exhibits.
3. Asian Tigers – Usually we get here too late to
see the tigers doing anything besides napping, but they’re huge and
beautiful to see – even if they are asleep. Because windows are used in
this area instead of bars, it seems as if you could practically reach
out and pet one of these big cats! Even snoozing, they’re amazing.
4. The Aviary and Birdhouses – I never know which gets more of my attention in the aviary – the
colorful and unusual birds- or the equally beautiful bird houses.
Spotting guides help visitors identify a variety of different bird
species and the Asian bird houses located every few feet throughout the
aviary are as beautiful as the birds!
If you’re afraid of birds, this probably isn’t the best place for
you…especially since they’re kind of friendly and will walk right up to
you sometimes when you’re not paying attention and make you jump. Not
that I’d know from personal experience or anything. I’m not afraid of
birds at all.
5. The Ruins – I know, weird that I’m such an
animal lover and I’ve named decaying walls as one of the five best
things about the Maharajah’s jungle, but it’s true. And I make it a
point to be honest with you here at the Living a Disney Life blog.
So….in all honesty – you won’t find a better example of the wonder and
genius, the unique artestry of Disney imagineering than among the ruins
of Anandapur.
Because of the location of the Maharajah Jungle Trek,
this trail is almost always less crowded than the Pangani Forest
trail. There are also plenty of Hidden Mickey’s to find along the way!
We try to hit this trail in the morning before the day heats up too
much. Our touring plan at Animal Kingdom usually starts with
Expedition Everest, then Kilimanjaro Safari, then the Pangani Forest
Nature Trail, and finally the Maharajah Jungle Trek.
Do you enjoy the trails at Animal Kingdom? Which is your favorite? What animals do you find the most fascinating?
This article was originally posted on Lisa's Living a Disney Life Blog.
She can be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/LivingaDisLife and on Twitter at@life_of_green
Please check out Lisa along with me and David Hodges on the Disney Exchange Podcast! -Nick
She can be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/LivingaDisLife and on Twitter at
Please check out Lisa along with me and David Hodges on the Disney Exchange Podcast! -Nick
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