It’s time to celebrate the 10th birthday of Disney’s Animal Kingdom! Fellow animal lovers, please welcome Diane @MouseFanDiane to 15 Days to 15 Years 2008.
This is one of my most favorite parks at Walt Disney World because, I’m a big animal lover, so it’s great to see so many animals close up. I can’t believe it’s been 15 years since it opened, feels like yesterday it was just introduced to us. The year I will be talking about today is “2008” and some of the things that happened at Animal Kingdom during this year.
In the Camp Minnie-Mickey area there was a great show I had seen many times and my kids really enjoyed it too. It was called Pocahontas and Her Forest Friends, and it was based on the 1995 Disney animated film Pocohontas. It was a live-stage performance which ran until September 27, 2008. This was a great show filled with live animals and Grandmother Willow from the movie. The kids actually had reserved seating in the front of the outdoor theater and got to see the action close-up. It had a great theme too, teaching us conservation and understanding of our Earth and all it’s creatures. I will miss this show, I was sorry to hear it was closing and wish it would come back perhaps even in another form.
Being a zoological park, Disney’s Animal Kingdom invests a big part into it’s research and
conservation efforts involving its animal species. Since the park’s
opening in 1998, the resident elephant herd has produced six calves,
with births in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2010,
and 2011. Tsavo, the youngest male, joined the herd in 2008. All remain on the savannah at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
Another great birth came also in 2008 , the park’s giraffe herd produced four
newborns, raising the total number of giraffe births since opening to
eleven. Yeah Disney !
Hope you have enjoyed this look back at a most wonderous year. I want to thank Donna and Beth for having me in this great series.
No one enjoys these personal tales and glimpses into Disney history more than Beth and me! We have been privileged to showcase Diane’s writing during 40 Days to 40 Years (Walt Disney World), 30 Days to 30 Years (Epcot), AND 20 Days to 20 Years (Disneyland Paris); how lucky are we! You can find the CanDoItMom aka Mouse Fan Diane on Facebook, and Pinterest.
The second decade of Disney’s Animal Kingdom begins tomorrow, and Jennifer @DisneyBabiesBlg takes us there.
Your pictures just bring the entire show to life-just like being in the front row! Thanks~
That was a great show. I remember watching it – must have been our 2005 trip because we didn't go back again until 2009 and it would have been over by then. Excellent pictures! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Heidi – I agree it was a great show for the whole family to enjoy ..
Diane, we were lucky enough to see the show in 2005 (I think) and we all loved it! Like you, I was sorry to see it go, it was a great show and Pocahontas is one of the most beautiful of Disney Princesses around! I've got a picture of her and Sophie that is one of my favorites! Thanks for writing this today!
Thanks Mike, It was my pleasure. It was such an awesome show, my whole family loved it. I'm hoping maybe they will bring it back. She is a great princess …
Thank you Gayle, it was a great show.
We were huge fans of Pocahontas and Her Forest Friends; I thought it melded with the theme of this park perfectly. We loved seeing live animals "acting" with live actors. Your photos are amazing Diane, and bring us right back to 2008. Thank you!!!