The Top 5 Most Educational Attractions in Walt Disney World–Pick #3
The number three pick is…a tie! I know, I know, that seems like cheating, but they are both in the same park, so it’s almost fair.
#3–Kilimanjaro Safari and Expedition Everest, Animal Kingdom–
It really is a draw for spot number three, as three attractions in Animal Kingdom are equally educational–Kilimanjaro Safari, Expedition Everest, and Dinosaur.
While Dinosaur does offer up a lot of information about, well, dinosaurs, it was edged out of the number three spot based only on sheer scare factor. Let’s face it–we’re trying to education children, not scare the pants off of them, and I’m not sure that most elementary age kids would have the ability to learn while simultaneously dodging an impending asteroid.
But I just can’t pick a winner between ‘Safari’ and ‘Everest’. On the one hand, ‘Safari’ does feature many interesting tidbits about animal life–and depending upon the day, those tidbits change, so one could ride again and again and learn something new each time.
Where else can you see a baobab tree, without buying a really expensive plane ticket and taking malaria pills?
On the other hand, ‘Everest’ is an entirely immersive experience that starts long before the ride begins. Just walking through the Asia portion of Animal Kingdom is a scholarly journey in and of itself–prayer flags and ancient temples lead to discussions on world religion, warnings offer an opportunity to discuss altitude issues and hiking safety, ‘outfitter’ shops open up a world of wilderness and survival skills…the list literally goes on and on.
Add to this the fact that the ‘Everest’ queue is like walking through a museum–a great introduction to the idea of a museums in general–rife with Nepalese ‘artifacts’ and signs to read…well, I just don’t know which one I should pick. So I’m picking them both!
Beyond these three attractions, Animal Kingdom is full of educational adventures. But more on all of that later…
Up next–my number two pick takes us back to Epcot, the nerdiest theme park of them all!
I’d have to go with Kilimanjaro. There’s nothing like seeing exotic animals in their natural habitats, and the commentary is usually both interesting and funny, so bonus. You think Everest isn’t as scary as Dinosaur? I’ve never been as scared on a ride as I was Everest. Moving at such high speeds going both forward and backward so high up? Not my cup of tea. (Still, I’d ride it again.) Maybe kids are more scared of dinosaurs than they are heights? In any case, I agree that the level of detail in the queue leading to EE is quite good.
Yes–I thought of the fact that Everest is scary, too–but it’s not scary during the educational part. The queue is really the best part of the ride, and even if you are too scared to ride, you can always walk through the queue!
That’s true, you do always have the choice to opt out of a ride at the last minute, don’t you? I was tempted to do that on Tower of Terror…. 🙂