Hello and welcome to The WDW Radio Show – Your Walt Disney World Information Station. I am your host, Lou Mongello, and this is show #321 for the week of April 21, 2013.

To celebrate the 15 year anniversary of Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and hopefully help you enjoy, explore and appreciate this beautiful park with a message and a mission even more, this week we’re going to take a very close look not at its history, but the experiences you can enjoy, and may have even overlooked – today. So we are going to share our favorite Secrets of Disney’s Animal Kingdom – Things You Didn’t Know You Could Find, Do and Learn (and Eat) in the park.

I’ll have the answer to our last Walt Disney World Trivia Question of the Week, and pose a new challenge for your chance to win a Disney prize package.

Stay tuned as I’ll announce the date and details of our WDW Radio On the Road Event coming to the NY/NJ area this summer, as well as some more updates at the end of the show. So sit back, relax, and enjoy this week’s episode of the WDW Radio Show.

Thanks for listening! Be sure to tune in next week!

- Lou Mongello
http://LouMongello.com

Information and Links from This Week’s Show

QUESTION OF THE WEEK: What is YOUR favorite secret of Disney’s Animal Kingdom? Leave your answer in the comments section below!

• Ryan Wilson’s Main Street Gazette blog
• Listen to this week’s episode for the Walt Disney World Trivia Question of the Week for a chance to win a Disney prize package!
• Disney Meets and WDW Radio Meets of the Month in Walt Disney World – Get dates and locations on our Events page
• Watch & chat during our LIVE WDW NewsCast Wednesdays at 7:30pm ET at WDWRadioLIVE.com
• For more videos, subscribe to our WDW Radio channel on YouTube or the show in iTunes
• Get Celebrations Magazine on your iPad/iPhone in iTunes App Store

The post WDW Radio # 321 – Secrets of Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Contest, Event Info! – Apr. 21, 2013 appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.

So here is the list of my favorite drinks in WDW!

Lapu Lapu – Taking the number one spot is my favorite drink which can be found at Kona Café at the Polynesian Resort. While it is a little pricy at around $13, this drink is strong, presented in a fabulous way, and tastes amazing! The Lapu Lapu features Meyer’s original dark rum and tropical fruit juices served in a fresh pineapple and topped with Bacardi 151. I fist tried this drink several trips ago after being enthralled by a picture I found of it online. While I usually dislike pineapple and rum, I decided to at least try the drink and was more than pleasantly surprised! Plus, I can’t get enough of the presentation in a fresh pineapple!

Mezzacorona Pinot Grigio – This is actually my favorite wine to drink at any time, not only when visiting WDW. Last year, I was able to purchase a glass from the Italy booth at the Epcot Food & Wine Festival. The glass was reasonably priced around $6 and was as always, delicious. If you are a fan of Pinot Grigio, I encourage you to try this one as it is my favorite not only for taste, but also price. (You can find it in New York at Stew Leonard’s Liquor Stores for around $12 a bottle on sale!) I really hope they will be featuring Mezzacorona again at this year’s Food & Wine Festival!

Safari Amber – This beer is offered in essentially every dining location throughout the Animal Kingdom. It’s brewed by Anheuser-Busch specifically for the Animal Kingdom and is reasonably priced around $6. It offers a relatively mild taste, not too hoppy and not too bitter, and is pretty refreshing with a lot of the offerings in the park (especially the food at Flame Tree Barbeque.) The best part- the awesome giraffe tap that each dining location features! Doesn’t it look delicious in the picture on the right!

Blood Orange Margarita – If you love margaritas, then a stop at Cava del Tequila is a necessity during your WDW vacation. Offering tons of delicious options, the Blood Orange Margarita is my favorite, and usually offered at around $12. The drink features EL Mayor Premium Silver tequila, Triple Sec, blood orange juice, and hibiscus syrup and is rimmed with Himalayan salt. This drink is a wonderful balance of flavors and is a favorite of mine because the offering is so unique. I would definitely recommend stopping by Cava del Tequila one day and sampling it!

Neige Premiere Apple Ice Wine – This ice wine was another offering at last year’s Epcot Food & Wine Festival. Located at the Canada booth, this ice wine was pricey ($5.25 for a relatively small glass) but it made more than made up for the price in taste. You can see the size of the glass in comparison to Food & Wine offerings in the picture on the left. It was sweet, strong in apple flavor, and overall absolutely delicious. It was also a nice treat as ice wine in general can be very pricey, so this was a great opportunity to be able to sample it without having to commit to an expensive bottle.

Avocado Margarita – For the final drink on my list, we are returning once again to Cava del Tequila! I’m such a fan of margaritas and the drinks there are just so delicious I couldn’t help but include it twice on my list. The Avocado Margarita is definitely the most unique drink on the list and perhaps one of the most unique ones on property and is priced around $13. It features El Mayor Premium Silver tequila, melon liqueur, fresh avocado, agave nectar, and fresh lime juice and is rimmed in hibiscus Himalayan salt. I personally love avocados, and this drink does a wonderful job of balancing the flavor of both margaritas and fresh avocados in a way in which neither are overpowering, but rather perfectly balanced to offer a delicious and unique drink. If you love avocados or are feeling adventurous, I would definitely recommend this drink!

So there you have it, my favorite drinks in all of WDW! As I said, I am frolicking in Disney as we speak (and probably drinking something listed above!), so I would love to hear from you with some recommendations of other drinks to try!

Cheers!

What’s your favorite drink in WDW? What drink should I try next? Let me know in the comments below, I would love to hear from you!

Caitlin Corsello was born and raised in New York. She graduated from Adelphi University with a Masters in Mental Health Counseling in 2012. Her love for Disney started as an infant and has continued to grow with family vacations to Disney parks almost every year since. She holds a particular interest in WDW’s parks and attractions, never passing up an opportunity to visit. She looks forward to continuing to explore and learn about all things Disney and to share that passion with readers.

The post Disney From The Twenty-Something: The Best Drinks in WDW appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.

The first time I experienced Dinosaur, I remember immediately thinking of how it reminded me in a way of the extinct (pun intended) Magic Kingdom attraction Alien Encounter. My basis for this theory is rooted in the attractions both being psychological thrillers. From the complete darkness at times to strange noises, sights, and smells, both attractions disorient the senses in order to create not only a physical thrill, but also a psychological one. Despite riding Dinosaur countless times, I always find myself surprised at what comes with each twist and turn and it’s that that keeps me coming back for more.

Dinosaur initially opened with Animal Kingdom in 1998 with the different name “Countdown to Extinction.” The attraction remained untouched until the Disney feature film Dinosaur premiered in 2000. At this point, the name of the attraction was changed to reflect the film, as many of the dinosaurs featured along your journey are also showcased in the film. Despite the change of name, there are still some small details which pay homage to the original title of the attraction. Be sure to keep your eyes open for several references including the letters “CTX” which stand for Countdown to Extinction. My favorite reference features the text “SECTOR CTX-WDI-AK98” which stands for Countdown to Extinction Walt Disney Imagineering Animal Kingdom and the park’s opening year of 1998. See if you can spot this great detail as you make your way through the pre-show and queue.

While you are waiting in the queue, take your time as you pass through the room featuring the full size T-Rex. Does that voice sound familiar? It belongs to none other than Bill Nye the Science Guy making his second appearance on property as he is also featured in Ellen’s Energy Adventure over in Epcot’s Future World. Nye narrates the sequence of how the dinosaurs came to become extinct with a great little demonstration of the meteor impact. As you circle this room and listen to the narration, look at the walls around you and notice the color difference in the soil depicted on the walls. That color difference represents the K-T Boundary which is the marked point in the Earth’s soil of distinguishing dinosaurs and mammals. This is just another great example of how Imagineers take great measures to create tons of details that many guests might not even notice.

When you finally enter into the pre-show room, you are introduced to the head of the Dino Institute, Dr. Marsh, who informs you that you will be traveling to the Cretaceous period. You are also introduced to (groan with me here) Dr. Seeker, Dr. Grant Seeker who seems to have other plans for you up his sleeve. Instead of traveling to the normal period, you will be headed back dangerously close to the impact of the asteroid in order to bring back with you a dinosaur which Seeker has tagged on a previous trip. As you take in the pre-show, you are also introduced to the ride vehicles, or Time Rovers. These vehicles are called Enhanced Motion Vehicles (EMVs) and were developed for the Indiana Jones Adventure attraction in Disneyland. They allow the vehicle itself to smoothly move along a path in the attraction, while simultaneously moving the section containing guests to create the sensations of bumping, turning, tilting, and pretty much any other movement possible.

As you enter into the loading area and are about to embark on your adventure, look for a set of tri-colored pipes that I mentioned in last week’s post. These pipes are red, yellow, and white and feature the chemical formulas for ketchup, mustard, and mayonnaise. These pipes remain as homage to McDonald’s which sponsored the attraction from 1998 until 2008. They are yet another great little detail to point out to your friends and family. As your vehicle begins moving and enters into the tunnel which transports you back in time, check out the metal structures on the walls. When Imagineers were designing this part of the ride, they drew inspiration from the inside of a toaster! After this room, you are thrust into the world of the dinosaurs with darkness, sounds, sights, and smells that are all foreign to our world today. While at first you encounter dinosaurs that seem pretty tame, you will soon find your adventure taking a more ominous turn as you run into the menacing Carnotarus Robustus Floridana. This charging dinosaur was actually created by Disney and his name roughly translates to “meatbull.”

When you emerge from your adventure (hopefully in one piece!) double back to the small courtyard near the Fast Pass Distribution area and look up at the T-Rex hovering over your head. He is actually over 40 feet long and 20 feet tall and is an exact replica of Sue, the largest and most complete T-Rex ever discovered. Sue was found by Susan Hendrickson in South Dakota in 1990 and currently resides at the Chicago Field Museum; however she once made her temporary home in the Animal Kingdom. When the park opened in 1998, the Chicago Field Museum sent some of Sue’s bones to be cleaned by their scientists while on public display. While I visited the Animal Kingdom in 1998, this is one detail I am really bummed that I missed out on!

No matter how many times I encounter the thrilling dinosaurs and adventure on this attraction, Dinosaur will never get old to me as its thrills and surprises will always keep me coming back for more. I would recommend either visiting early in the morning or obtaining Fast Passes when you want to experience the attraction, as its lines can become quite lengthy in the more crowded times of the year!

Do you love Dinosaur? Does it kind of remind you of Alien Encounter as well? Have a favorite dino inside? Let me know in the comments below, I would love to hear from you!

Caitlin Corsello was born and raised in New York. She graduated from Adelphi University with a Masters in Mental Health Counseling in 2012. Her love for Disney started as an infant and has continued to grow with family vacations to Disney parks almost every year since. She holds a particular interest in WDW’s parks and attractions, never passing up an opportunity to visit. She looks forward to continuing to explore and learn about all things Disney and to share that passion with readers.

The post Disney From The Twenty-Something: DINOSAUR! appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.

Topics in this week’s Disney news include:

- Adventurers Outpost on Discovery Island in Disney’s Animal Kingdom
- Oz: The Great and Powerful in Epcot
- Joffrey’s coffee in Walt Disney World and Disneyland
- Disney TRYit in Epcot during Flower and Garden Festival
- And more!

Thanks for watching! Be sure to tune in next week!

- Lou Mongello

The post Video: WDW NewsCast – Oz in Epcot, Adventurers Outpost, Joffrey’s, Disney TRYit at Flower and Garden – Feb. 20, 2013 appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.

Hello and welcome to The WDW Radio Show – Your Walt Disney World Information Station. I am your host, Lou Mongello, and this is show #312 for the week of February 10, 2013.

I’m here to help you have the best possible Disney vacation experience, and bring you some Disney magic to to wherever you by talking about the things that make us happy about Walt Disney World on this podcast, as well as my videos, blog, live broadcasts, events, trivia books, CDs and more. You can find it all at WDWRadio.com.

This week we’re going to take a closer look at an attraction that, believe it or not, has ties to Walt Disney. The Kilimanjaro Safaris in Disney’s Animal Kingdom is an attraction replete with story, details, and important messages. In this week’s DSI: Disney Scene Investigation, we’ll look at it’s very early beginnings, development, changes, and secrets.

I’ll have the answer to our last Walt Disney World Trivia Question of the Week, and pose a new challenge for your chance to win a Disney prize package.

I’ll also recap the WDW Radio Event announcements made during our 6 Year Anniversary Celebration this weekend before playing some of your voicemails at the end of the show so sit back, relax, and enjoy this week’s episode of the WDW Radio Show

Thanks for listening! Be sure to tune in next week!

Information and Links from This Week’s Show

QUESTION OF THE WEEK: What is your favorite part of the Kilimanjaro Safaris? Leave your answer in the comments section below!

• Listen to this week’s episode for the Walt Disney World Trivia Question of the Week for a chance to win a Disney prize package!
• Disney Meets and WDW Radio Meets of the Month in Walt Disney World – Get dates and locations on our Events page
• Watch & chat during our LIVE WDW NewsCast Wednesdays at 7:30pm ET at WDWRadioLIVE.com
• For more videos, subscribe to our WDW Radio channel on YouTube or the show in iTunes
• Get Celebrations Magazine on your iPad/iPhone in iTunes App Store

The post WDW Radio # 312 – Kilimanjaro Safaris appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.

Topics in this week’s Disney news include:

- New Guides at Disney’s Animal Kingdom
- Wreck-It Ralph at Downtown Disney and Disney’s Hollywood Studios
- Whispering Canyon menu changes and review
- Frankenweenie Weekend
- And more!

QUESTION OF THE WEEK - Since we are excited for Epcot’s 30th anniversary this weekend – If you could go back in time and visit EPCOT Center on Oct. 1, 1982, what would be the first thing you do (or eat?)

You can also download the audio version by subscribing to WDW Radio FREE in iTunes

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Join us every Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. ET at WDWRadioLIVE.com for a LIVE interactive video news show covering Walt Disney World. Be a part of the broadcast and discussion and discuss the news real-time in the chat room.

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Thanks for listening! Be sure to tune in next week!

- Lou Mongello

The post WDW Radio LIVE NewsCast – September 26, 2012 – Disney’s Animal Kingdom Guides, Wreck-It Ralph, Whispering Canyon changes, Frankenweenie, and more! appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.

by Lindsay Diamond

Many families choose to vacation to Walt Disney World during the school year to avoid the summer crowds and summer heat, but one shouldn’t fret about missing classes. The Walt Disney World Resort has an array of educational attractions, resorts, and dining locations that make filling out an educational trip request form a breeze.

Here are the most educational attractions found at the Walt Disney World Resort. Next to each attraction, you will see corresponding subjects in parentheses.

Magic Kingdom:

“it’s a small world” (World Literature, Geography)

The Hall of Presidents (American History)

Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse (World Literature)

Tom Sawyer Island (American Literature)

Carousel of Progress (American History)

Epcot:

Spaceship Earth (World History, Linguistics, Science, Foreign Languages- remember that you choose which language to experience the attraction in)

Mission: Space (Earth & Space Science)

Circle of Life (Environmental Science)

Ellen’s Energy Adventure (Science)

Living with the Land (Biology, Botany)

World Showcase (World Literature, World History, Foreign Languages)

The American Adventure (American History)

Disney’s Hollywood Studios:

The Magic of Disney Animation (Art)

Disney’s Animal Kingdom:

Conservation Station (Biology, Zoology)

Resort:

If you’re looking for an educational resort as well, the best choices would be Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge and Disney’s Art of Animation Resort. At Animal Kingdom Lodge, guests can spend the whole day watching and learning about the animals on the savanna, and at Art of Animation, guests can look at sketches and other artwork from some of Disney’s animated masterpieces or watch a real Disney artist draw beloved characters. For an educational dining experience, book a meal at Sanaa to dine with an animal specialist or at The Hollywood Brown Derby to meet a Disney Imagineer.

Extra Opportunities:

Depending on the time of year you visit, other educational opportunities may be available. Fall hosts the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival. There are culinary demonstrations and tastings, as well as other events. The spring is also a great time to visit to see the Epcot Flower & Garden Festival. Tours at the Walt Disney World resort offer educational fun that range in topics from Disney history to botany to marine biology and more.

I always leave Walt Disney World smarter because of all of the educational opportunities they have there. I can name numerous occasions when information from attractions like Spaceship Earth or Living with Land came in handy on tests and essays. I also learned lots of helpful vocabulary by picking up guide maps in the foreign languages that I’m studying. I hope you learn something new on your next trip to the Walt Disney World Resort, and if you do, please comment below, share it with me @MickeyWaffle71 on Twitter or email me at MickeyWaffle71@gmail.com.

What ideas do you have for making your Disney vacation an educational experience?  Post your thoughts in the comments below!

Lindsay is a passionate writer and hopes to one day become a Show Writer for Walt Disney Imagineering or write scripts for Disney Animation Studios / Pixar.  In addition to being a WDW Radio Running Team member, she has launched with her best friends Enchanted Rose Entertainment, which provides authentic character entertainment in her community for birthday parties, public events, and charity organizations.

The post What an INTERESTing Disney Vacation? Make it Educational! appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.

When Joe Rohde, executive designer and vice president at Walt Disney Imagineering, was put in charge of Walt Disney World’s newest theme park in the 1990s, he decided the Animal Kingdom needed to stand out immediately for park guests. That is why a number of different concepts were tossed around for the entrance to the park. Yes, The Oasis wasn’t the only choice for the Animal Kingdom park. In fact, I would say The Oasis is by far the most boring of these ideas. One of the more impressive ideas for the entrance was to built a giant Noah’s Ark that people would walk through into the first land which was Genesis Gardens.

The ark itself would have a number of animal displays when first entering the park, moving the story of the kingdom right along. The ark, and essentially its biblical tie-in, would state that animals are important, and were saved by Noah. Just an early reminder that animals still need to be saved, tying in with the overall conservation message that Disney always wanted for the park. From an architectural point, this boat sitting at the front of Animal Kingdom would be absolutely massive. It would be big enough for several hundred people to walk through at one time, hiding all of the lush forest and landscape that sat behind it, making the reveal of the lands a grand surprise.

The Genesis Gardens would be the first land you would encounter, like The Oasis. The Gardens would lack in  animal displays, but would be a very lush and tropical land, similar to that of Eden. (Again, another biblical tie-in.) The land may have had several experts showing off smaller animals, much like they have now, but for the most part, Genesis Gardens would be a great spot to stop and smell some tropical flowers. No doubt, it would have been a great spot for pictures at the beginning or ending of your day. It is unclear if Genesis Garden would lead to Discovery Island, or if this concept was long before the Tree of Life idea. It could have led right over to Dinoland U.S.A or Beastly Kingdom. I prefer the entrance land as it is now, to lead to Discovery Island. I like that this land of Eden would reveal a much larger picture in Discovery Island, plus I can’t imagine the biblical tales of Eden blending into either dark lands with dragons or dinosaurs.

There were other ideas for the entrance to Animal Kingdom as well including a wastleland area, with a large pterosaur perched up on a rock overlooking guests as they walked in; however the dinosaur tie-in seemed a bit too early for guests expecting tigers and lions. Another concept was to have a more caged-zoo type of feel, although the conservation message wouldn’t have flown over as well, and this was a very early concept before Imagineers recognized that they wanted more natural habitats for Animal Kingdom. The Noah’s Ark story made it quite far incorporating a large portion of land, making up the entrance way and the first land you come across as you enter the park. It was grand and unconventional just as Joe Rohde wanted, so why was it never built?

Despite the lack of excitement the Oasis and typical entrance have to offer, they are the least offensive to the general public.  Sure, some people would absolutely love the Noah’s Ark and Eden themes, and those who do not believe in Noah would likely understand and recognize the overall message they would get when entering the park; however, as the biggest tourist destination in the world, Disney has to look out for the masses and their feelings. It is quite possible some guests would never even visit the park based on religious beliefs, and they would miss out on everything the park had to offer, not just the entrance area and accompanying land. So, what we got was The Oasis. Nothing overly exciting, but it does its job to unveil the Tree of Life as you come to the end of the land.

What are your thoughts on Genesis Gardens and the Noah’s Ark entrance? Do you agree with Disney’s choice not to add it to its newest park at Walt Disney World? Do you have any other ideas for the entrance to the park that would be grand in nature? Leave your thoughts and let me know?

The post The World that Never Was: Genesis Gardens of Animal Kingdom appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.

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Reported healthy after her first wellness exam, Nafuna, whose name means delivered feet first, was born on June 21^st following a 14-month gestation period.

Guests will be able to catch a glimpse of Nafuna and first-time mom Zawadi a few months from now at Disney’s Animal Kingdom’s Ituri Forest. Father Akili currently lives on the savannah at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge.

Considered rare in the wild, okapis are often thought as being related to the zebra because of their stripes. But okapis are in fact, related to the giraffe. Their natural habitat is the Ituri Forest, a dense rain forest in central Africa, which is often threatened by loggers, hunters and human settlements.  Currently, guests can see okapis when they ride the Kilimanjaro Safaris and when traveling along the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail.

Disney’s commitment to conservation and okapis extend beyond breeding. The Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund provides support for wildlife study, the protection of habitats and the development of community conservation and education programs in critical ecosystems around the world.  For more information visit Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund.

Okapi fun facts:

• Okapi newborns can stand up within 30 minutes of birth and will nurse for the first time within an hour of birth. They have the same coloring as an adult but have a short fringe of hair along the spine, which generally disappears by the time they are 12 to 14 months old.
• Okapi are typically solitary animals, living alone or in mother-offspring pairs.
• Okapi’s stripes work as camouflage when hiding in the partial sunlight that filters through the forest canopies of Africa.
• They are extremely wary and secretive, making okapi very difficult to observe in the lowland rainforest of central Africa where they make their home.
• Adult okapi can reach weights of 550-720 pounds with females typically being larger than males. They can live over 30 years in zoological facilities.
• Normally silent, female okapi vocalize with a soft “chuff” during courtship and when calling to their calves. There are infrasonic qualities to their call, which are below the frequency that the human ear can detect.

Can’t wait to see this new addition in the Kilimanjaro Safari!!  When do you like to ride Kilimanjaro Safaris?  First thing when you arrive?  After lunch?  In the evening?  Tell us in the poll below!

The post Kilimajaro Safari Poll and Disney’s Animal Kingdom News! appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.

In celebration of the Animal Kingdom’s anniversary and Earth Day, which just passed us, I figured now would be a better time than ever to talk about the Animal Kingdom that never was, specifically an entire “land” that went to the wayside. When Disney’s Animal Kingdom was built, it was the largest theme park outing for Disney and at a cost of nearly $1 billion to create, was a leap of faith for the company. On top of that, Disney also had plans for a grand scale luxury hotel right off to the side of the Animal Kingdom park, so the project in whole was a large stretch for Disney, but as it turns out, a good one.

One of the original plans for the $1 billion Animal Kingdom park and lodge project was a section of the park called Beastly Kingdom, or “Beastley Kingdomme” as some concept art spells it. This part of the park would have, without a doubt, been very popular and crowded had it come to fruition. The Beastly Kingdom would have dealt with the animals and creatures of mythology and folklore and would have had three major attractions in the area.

The Dragon Tower was to be a major thrill ride experience. As in most fairy tales, there are good and evil sides to the section of the park. The Dragon Tower would be a part of the darker side of the land taking guests on a roller coaster ride around the tower and past a deadly dragon. The detail going into the Tower itself would be incredible, as the castle would look half ruined and burnt down by the dragon, still in tact enough for guests to go inside.

On the good side of Beastly Kingdom would be Fantasia Gardens, a boat ride based on Fantasia, a movie that doesn’t get enough recognition in my opinion. This slow moving boat ride, similar to Pirates of the Caribbean or It’s a Small World, would take you past several scenes from the film including the “Dance of the Hours” scenes with the hippos and crocodiles and Beethoven’s “Pastoral” which features more centaurs, fauns, and Pegasus.

Beastly Kingdom’s good side would also feature a maze that leads to a secret grotto called Quest of the Unicorn. As guests would travel through the maze, they would run into several medieval and mythological creatures before finding the Unicorn in his grotto either in the middle of the maze or at the end of the maze.

So why did the Beastly Kingdom never get built? It’s simple economics my Dear Watson! (sorry, random non-sensicle Sherlock Holmes reference) With the rest of the park already over budget, it would be difficult to cut out Africa, Asia, or even Dinoland U.S.A. from the park to fit in the Beastly Kingdom. Truthfully, it makes the least sense of all the lands to be there. Can you imagine Animal Kingdom without a safari ride, jungle trek, or bone yard? IT would definitely be a wonderful addition to add in mythological creatures, but not a necessary component to the story of conservation and the history and beauty of animals.

Be sure to follow Josh Taylor on Twitter at @kidredo. You can read more from Josh at www.disneyparkhistory.wordpress.com

The post The World that Never Was: Beastly Kingdom appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.