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Disney Animal Kingdom Resorts Guide

May 27, 2026 By Lindsay Leave a Comment

Today, I am continuing my look at the Walt Disney World hotels with the Animal Kingdom Resorts!

Animal Kingdom Resorts

Having already posted the Magic Kingdom Resorts Guide, Epcot Resorts Guide, and Disney Hollywood Studios Resorts Guide, this is my last resort guide for the four theme parks at Walt Disney World! Once again, I am going by Disney World’s website for this list of hotels as this is how they designate these resorts. Unfortunately, there’s no special transportation connecting these resorts. There’s just bus transportation to take you the parks here.

All Star Resorts

Disney has three All Star Resorts – All Star Sports, All Star Movies, and All Star Music. Each of them is considered a value resort and offer the lowest priced rooms on property. All of them also feature giant statues that fit the resort’s theme to designate different areas of the resort. I wrote a Disney’s All Star Resorts Overview post a couple of years ago if you would like a closer look at these three resorts. I’ve also posted a separate Disney All Star Sports Review from my solo Christmas stay in December 2024.

Animal Kingdom Lodge

Animal Kingdom Lodge is a deluxe/DVC resort. I’ve stayed here only once and it was almost a decade ago. That’s why I haven’t posted a separate review of it. If I ever return, I will post a review of it. However, it is typically one of the cheaper Deluxe options at Disney. It can still be pricey, especially those Savannah view rooms. It’s just typically cheaper than most of the other Deluxe resorts. This resort is built around an artificial savannah that has real animals! It’s the perfect location for animal lovers as you don’t need a park ticket to enjoy the animals here! Also, the food is pretty good here too!

Coronado Springs

Lastly, there’s Coronado Springs! This is another sprawling moderate resort that I’ve covered a few times: Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort Review and Gran Destino Tower – Disney Coronado Springs Resort Review. It also has the distinction of being the very first Disney World resort I stayed at! It has several good food options as well! I would stay here more frequently if it didn’t have so many bus stops.

Disney Animal Kingdom Resorts

So, there you have the Walt Disney World Animal Kingdom Resorts! Which one are you staying at? Do you have a favorite?

The Best Things in Animal Kingdom at Disney World

April 22, 2025 By Lindsay Leave a Comment

Seeing as how it’s Earth Day today, I thought it would be neat to take a look at the best things in Animal Kingdom theme park at Walt Disney World!

The Best Things in Animal Kingdom

Similar to my best things in Magic Kingdom post, I wanted to move over to Animal Kingdom in honor of Earth Day! Did you know that Animal Kingdom opened on Earth Day in 1998? So, today is also the park’s birthday/anniversary! Given the large number of animals that live here, it makes sense to think of the earth and its resources so we can take care of these animals.

Without further ado, here’s my own personal list of favorite things to enjoy at Animal Kingdom theme park!

The Best Ride

It’s entirely possible the best ride in this park will change in a few years. However, for now, I’m going to say Avatar Flight of Passage. It’s such a beautiful ride and a unique experience! It can make some folks motion sick though. I also really like the Na’vi River Journey as it’s peaceful and pretty too.

Best Place for a Break

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the Kilimanjaro Safaris as another favorite attraction in this park. It’s always different as you never know which animals will be out or what they will be doing. Although, I highly recommend catching a showing of the Festival of the Lion King too. It’s a great show in a dark, cool place!

Best Quick Service Restaurant

Personally, I really enjoy two quick service restaurants here: Satu’li Canteen and Flametree BBQ. I say go with the one that has a better menu for your mood and crew. My family is always happy with BBQ. Plus, it’s a great use of dining credit. So, we’ve eaten Flametree several times. Although, Satu’li is a great option for healthier and more unique meals.

Best Table Service Restaurant

It’s sad that I’ve been to my favorite table service in this park only once and it wasn’t recent. Nonetheless, my favorite table service restaurant here is Yak & Yeti. My husband and I ate here one trip and we still talk about it from time to time. Those Fried Wontons were tasty! Although, I think the Rainforest Cafe Breakfast is fun too as is the Tusker House Character meal.

What are the best things in Animal Kingdom?

So, those are my favorite things in Animal Kingdom. What are some of yours?

Rainforest Cafe Breakfast at Animal Kingdom Review

June 5, 2024 By Lindsay Leave a Comment

Back in December, my mom and I visited Walt Disney World to celebrate the holidays. On our Animal Kingdom day we decided to try the Rainforest Cafe breakfast for the first time! Here’s a review of that experience.

Rainforest Cafe Breakfast

Walt Disney World has two Rainforest Cafe locations on property. There’s the one at Disney Springs with the erupting volcano outside. However, it’s only open for lunch and dinner. Then, there’s this one at Animal Kingdom. It’s technically situated just outside the park but can be accessed from either outside or inside the park. It serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner!

The Theme

For those who don’t know, this is a chain restaurant that is highly themed to a rainforest. It has lots of animatronic animals around every corner. Since we ate here during the holiday season, I thought it was cute that they had put Santa Claus hats on some of the animals. It made it feel more jolly.

The real draw here is the thunderstorm that darkens the entire restaurant and has lots of loud storm/animal noises every 20-30 minutes! Personally, I think it fits right in at Animal Kingdom. It’s a fun theme that is perfect for any animal lover. Plus, it’s significantly cheaper than eating the character breakfast at Tusker House in the park. However, it’s still not exactly cheap or quiet. So, just know that going in.

The Food

My mom ordered the Tonga Toast meal. I was expecting something more akin to the Tonga Toast at Kona Cafe or Captain Cook’s at the Polynesian Resort. However, this was a basic cinnamon French toast. It is served with fruit and your choice of breakfast meat. Considering it costs $6 more than the quick service Captain Cook’s, I was personally disappointed in this dish. They really should call it something else to lower expectations. Overall, it was a fine breakfast dish but not what we expected.

I chose the Banana Fosters Pancakes. The pancakes come with caramelized bananas and pecans. It was delicious! You don’t need any syrup here! It also came with some potatoes and eggs. Unfortunately, the potatoes were overdone and hard. The eggs were fine. I definitely left this meal with a sugar rush.

Is Rainforest Cafe worth it?

I think my mom really enjoyed the animals and the theme was neat. The thunderstorm was added entertainment. However, the food was just ok and overpriced. It gave us a nice place to sit in the dark, out of the hot sun. I think for the price, I’d rather eat quick service breakfast at a resort. This might be a one and done for us. It was a cool experience, but not necessarily worth repeating.

Have you ever eaten Rainforest Cafe breakfast?

Orlando Theme Parks Guide

April 24, 2024 By Lindsay Leave a Comment

I know that it can be difficult to narrow down where to go on vacation. So, I thought I would make an Orlando Theme Parks Guide to help people figure out which park is right for their trip.

Orlando Theme Parks Guide

When planning a family vacation to Florida, it can be difficult to know which destinations are worth your hard earned money and limited time. Having visited most of the area’s parks, I thought I would do a quick overview of each park and who it’s ideal for.

Magic Kingdom

First up, I’ll start with the busiest one – Magic Kingdom. It’s the OG, the first theme park in Orlando. It’s the one with the big castle. Ha! It’s located at the Walt Disney World resort and typically costs the most to visit on a single day. I think it has a reputation for being for children (given it has Fantasyland) but I think it’s great for everyone. It seemingly has the most to do for laid back types. The food in the park is a little lacking, but I can recommend Crystal Palace Character Breakfast. This park is great for those who are young at heart.

Epcot

Epcot, also at WDW, is seen as an adults park. It’s a food mecca with a plethora of options! There’s also lots of drinks to be had, if you are of age and into that. I love visiting when there’s a festival going on for even more food and drink options! This park also has some cool stuff for kids including the Frozen and Remy rides. It is great for history buffs to learn about different countries. Kids would probably enjoy Akershus Princess Breakfast or Garden Grill Character Dinner. Adults can just pick any restaurant in the World Showcase!

Hollywood Studios

This was originally similar to visiting the big studios in Hollywood. When it opened in 1989, it was supposed to give you a behind the scenes look at movies. It doesn’t do that anymore, but it’s still fun. It’s obviously great for Star Wars and Toy Story fans. Plus, the Fantasmic Dining Package is lots of fun for all ages. It has similar vibes to Disney’s California Adventure Park, if you are familiar with it.

Animal Kingdom

Opened in the 90’s, it’s WDW newest theme park. As its name implies, it’s perfect for animal lovers! You have to ride the Kilimanjaro Safari ride! The Caring for Giants Tour is also great for elephant fans. This park has several good food options: Yak and Yeti for adults or Tusker House Character Meal are just two good places.

Universal Studios Florida

Moving over to Universal Orlando Resort, there’s Universal Studios Florida. Opened in 1990, it’s an edgier park. I love the seasonal events held at this park. I highly recommend visiting during Mardi Gras. If you are into horror/Halloween, then Halloween Horror Nights is amazing as well! The rides here are more intense than the ones at Disney. However, they just added Minion Land in 2023 and DreamWorks Land is coming in 2024! My preferred meals here are at Minions Cafe and Today Cafe (unless the seasonal booths are an option).

Islands of Adventure

Almost a decade after opening USF, Universal opened Islands of Adventure. Personally, I spend way more time at USF than IoA. However, I make time to check out Grinchmas here during the Holidays. Lots of people like Jurassic Park here as well. I don’t have a go to food place here. I guess this one is best if you like the specific IPs represented here.

Epic Universe

The newest theme park in Orlando is Epic Universe! Opened in May 2025, it features another Harry Potter land, a Universal Monsters land, Super Nintendo World, Isle of Berk, and Celestial Park. I wrote a whole separate Universal Epic Universe Tips post with tips for visiting this park. As of August 2025, you still have to purchase a one day ticket to this park to visit it. However, it’s a great addition to the Orlando theme park space!

SeaWorld Orlando

If you have a big marine animal lover or a roller coaster enthusiast, then SeaWorld Orlando may be worth a day or two. My mom and I have done several animal add-on experiences here and loved each one! The Sharks Underwater Grill makes for a fun meal. They have lots of fun shows to watch and have been adding a new coaster about once a year for the past several years. In a few years, they will even have their own resort! So, this one is growing and will have even more to enjoy in a few years time.

Legoland Florida

Technically, Legoland Florida is in Cypress Gardens. However, it looks neat for the Lego fans in your life. I wish they were closer to an airport or provided a shuttle. You would probably need to rent a car to visit this one, but it looks fun. I’ve never visited, but I’m open to it.

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay

This is also technically not in Orlando. However, I know some people will rent a car to drive over to Tampa or ride a shuttle over. Busch Gardens Tampa is owned by the same company that owns SeaWorld. It is also great for animal lovers and coaster enthusiasts. My mom and I enjoyed our short visit here last year. You can read my Busch Gardens Tampa Animal Tours review for insight into some of their add-on experiences.

Orlando Theme Parks Guide

I attempted to cover the main “big” Orlando theme parks in this post, along with a few bonus parks. Which ones have you visited? Which one is your favorite?

Caring for Giants Tour Review at Animal Kingdom

September 13, 2023 By Lindsay Leave a Comment

Back in 2019 I was lucky enough to do the Caring for Giants Tour at Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World. It’s a short behind the scenes look at the elephants of the park. I thought it was a fun add-on activity that was worth doing a review of.

Caring for Giants Tour

The Caring for Giants tour is a 60 minute experience providing a look at the elephants of the Animal Kingdom theme park. Your guide will take you backstage and tell you all kinds of facts about these glorious creatures. You will also get to admire them from a backstage area 80 to 100 feet away. At the end, there is time to take lots of photos of the elephants.

At $35 a person, this is one of the cheaper add-on experiences at Walt Disney World. In fact, I think it may be a good starting point for someone looking to add on a tour at Disney. At an hour long, it is also a shorter experience (versus a more intense 5 hour tour at Magic Kingdom or the several hours long Universal Holiday Tour).

Tips

Reserve your spot early. There are a few small tours offered each day, so it can book up early. Reservations open up 60 days out, just like dining. So, decide early on if you want to book this experience and book it as soon as you can.
Best for animal lovers. While it is super neat to see stuff backstage as a theme park fan, I think someone who doesn’t like elephants or animals might get bored here.
Ask questions. The guides will give you tons of information on elephants as well as how they care for them. Feel free to ask questions. There was plenty of time for our group to ask questions, so take advantage of that time.
Bring your camera/phone. The last little bit of the tour is spent just observing the elephants and taking photos. It’s a peaceful and memorable experience.
Be prepared. This is a one hour outdoor walking tour. Dress appropriately.
Have fun. While this is a learning experience, it’s also a very calm one. So, relax and enjoy!

Is the Caring for Giants Tour worth it?

While I don’t know if children would enjoy this tour, I think most adults would. If you like elephants, then you will like this. At $35, it’s not a huge gamble of money. However, if you have a packed theme park day, it may be best to skip this one.