On Earth Day last year, Walt Disney World’s fourth theme park turned 20 years old. Disney’s Animal Kingdom is a Disney park like no other. Home to 300 different species, this park is wild about all things in the animal kingdom. Ready to celebrate this lush and beautiful park? Here are nine things you probably didn’t know about Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

Disney’s Largest Park

To make room for so many animals, Disney’s Animal Kingdom required some serious space. This unique theme park spans 580 acres of Walt Disney World property. It’s hard to imagine that this park is five times the size of Magic Kingdom park.

Tree of Life

Disney’s Animal Kingdom park icon is the Tree of Life, and despite its name, there is nothing live about it. Instead, this stunning baobab tree-inspired park icon is built from a retrofitted 14-foot tall oil rig. The outside of the tree is covered in over 300 different animals, and is home to the “It’s Tough To Be A Bug” attraction.

No Straws

Although the No Straw initiative has recently made its way around the Walt Disney World Resort, this system was always in place at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. With the animals in mind, Walt Disney World’s youngest theme park does not sell plastic straws or drink lids anywhere within the park. Instead, guests can use paper straws provided at all food locations.

Room to Roam

The Kilimanjaro Safaris is an 18-minute attraction filled with animal encounters of all sorts. This experience takes up over one-fifth of the land in Disney’s Animal Kingdom park. At 110 acres, Kilimanjaro Safaris is so large that Magic Kingdom’s entire 107-acre park could fit inside.

Beastly Kingdom

If you take a look at the logo for Disney’s Animal Kingdom, you may notice that one animal is not like the rest. A dragon is featured on the logo, because there was an area dedicated to mythological creatures planned for Phase II of this animal-inspired park. The land was to be called Beastly Kingdom, and unfortunately the land will never come to be. In May of 2017, Pandora – World of Avatar opened on the land that was originally intended to by occupied by Beastly Kingdom.

Expensive Everest

Expedition Everest is a pretty outstanding Disney attraction. In addition to being the tallest attraction in all of Walt Disney World, at 199.5 feet, this ride also holds the title of most expensive roller coaster in the world. Requiring over $100 million to create, Expedition Everest lives up to its hefty price tag as one of the most exhilarating attractions in all of Walt Disney World.

Tons of Trees

When it comes to Disney parks, it’s all in the details. Disney’s Animal Kingdom features over 4 million plants, trees, shrubs, vines, grasses and ground-coverings from every continent on the planet, except Antarctica.

Egged On

With so many species, how does Disney control repopulation? Older birds are given fake eggs to sit on, which makes them believe that they don’t need to repopulate. In turn, the younger birds see those birds “laying eggs” and understand that they should be laying eggs.

Hungry, Hungry Animals

Around 2,000 animals roam Disney’s Animal Kingdom, so how much food is required to feed all of these species? Disney Dieticians order 80,000 crickets per month, and feed animals more than 40,000 worms each week. The animals of Disney’s Animal Kingdom feed on more than 2000 pounds of vegetation each day.

As you can see, Walt Disney World’s youngest theme park is a pretty wild place to be. This unique Disney park is full of rich culture and thoughtful details that are worth looking into. So next time you visit Walt Disney World, don’t forget to stop by Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

Ready to plan your vacation to the Most Magical Place on Earth? Click here to fill out a form to receive a free no obligation quote from The Vacationeer, an official travel partner for Kait Around The Kingdom.  The Vacationeer specializes in vacation planning for Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Universal Studios, Adventures by Disney, and beyond! The best part about their services is that they are absolutely FREE. Fill out this form to start planning your dream Disney vacation today!