Welcome to Disney's Animal Kingdom! It's a beautiful afternoon in 2003. The park is alive with excitement since the recent opening of the thrilling Expedition: Everest.
Although the park has changed somewhat since then, there are a few attractions here that are now extinct. The most famous might be the entire section of Camp Minnie-Mickey, a land quickly thrown together before opening when the budget had long been spent. The quiet forest hosted the popular Festival of the Lion King, an attraction that finally moved to Africa where it belonged from the beginning.
The show Pocahontas and her Forest Friends has also gone away. This animal show has departed along with Tarzan Rocks! It's a very popular opening day attraction, a high energy, acrobatic theater show starring the swinging Lord of the Jungle.
The boats circling the river have also departed. So has the name Countdown to Extinction from the incredible ride back into the time of the dinosaurs. That attraction has been renamed by the suits who felt the need for a synergistic tie in to Disney's movie Dinosaur. Such imagination!
Regardless of the changes, Imagineer Joe Rohde and team created a beautiful park, one of the most stunning ever built. Very short on attractions but a lovely way to relax. A mega Adventureland come to life!
(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)
