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This summer, you and your family can take part in an Animal Kingdom Lion King anniversary celebration! In honor of The Lion King’s 30th Anniversary, there are some very special experiences at Animal Kingdom in Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. In this guide, you’ll find out about the fun ways you can celebrate this classic Disney animated movie at the park.
Character Meet and Greets
Who wouldn’t want to meet Rafiki and Timon from The Lion King?
This character experience takes place at Conservation Station at Rafiki’s Planet Watch. You can get there by boarding the Wildlife Express Train to Conservation Station. The entrance to the train is located near the exit of Kilimanjaro Safaris. (You can check the My Disney Experience app to see the times you can meet Timon and Rafiki).
Throughout the year, Conservation Station is also home to a number of fun activities, like seeing experts at work in the Science Center, Nutrition Center, and Veterinary Treatment Room. You can also view snakes, scorpions, tarantulas and millipedes in the Amphibian, Reptile and Invertebrate Windows.
And there’s another special Lion King activity that’s only available this summer!
Learn to Draw Lion King Characters
While at Conservation Station, you can also learn how to draw other favorite Lion King characters at Animation Experience.
You can take a 25 minute class led by a Disney animator. And you’ll get to make your own sketch of one of the Lion King characters!
Please note that it’s recommended you board the Wildlife Express Train to get to Raifiki’s Planet Watch 40 minutes before the class is scheduled to start. And you can find those scheduled class times in the My Disney Experience app. (You can also book a Genie Plus Lightning Lane reservation for it, if you’ve purchased Genie Plus for the day.)
This class, like much of the celebration, will only be featured this summer, through September 6, 2024.
Lion King Merchandise
You’ll find a special Lion King merch collection available at Island Mercantile in Animal Kingdom.
This includes clothes (like a shirt and short set for baby or child), adult sweatshirts, youth zip hoodie, and fanny pack, all featuring Lion King characters.
Lion King Food
What would a Disney World celebration be without specialty food offerings?
Here at Green Vacation Deals, we’ve previously gone over the delicious Lion King Anniversary treats and drinks at Animal Kingdom.
And if you enjoy themed popcorn buckets like I do, you’ll be happy to know that a special Pumbaa popcorn bucket will be available at the park.
Festival of the Lion King
The Festival of the Lion King show has always been one of our family’s favorite attractions at Animal Kingdom. And this summer, you have another reason to attend this fun show, in addition to the spectacular live entertainment.
If you have a Magic Band Plus, you can enjoy lights and vibrations synchronized to some of the key moments of the show!
Discounted Disney Tickets
If you want to enjoy the Lion King anniversary celebration at Animal Kingdom park, you’ll need admission to Walt Disney World. If you haven’t bought your park tickets yet, we absolutely recommend you use one of these ways to get cheaper Disney World tickets. Don’t pay more than you have to for tickets!