Welcome back, DFB friends! We’re here with another What’s New at Disney’s Animal Kingdom!

And, we’ve got plenty of updates to share with you! So, what are you waiting for? Let’s dive right on in!

Disney’s Animal Kingdom Food Update

Anandapur Ice Cream Truck

As we celebrate Asian Pacific Heritage Month, the Anandapur Ice Cream Truck has brought back one of the many Raya and the Last Dragon treats we recently saw!

Instead of hosting the Yeti Sundae as per usual, the menu has been swapped to feature the Mighty-Mist Soft-Serve with strawberry and vanilla ice cream swirled together in a blue-tinted white chocolate waffle cone!

You can pick it up for $5.49 now, but you might want to hurry since we don’t know how long it will be around!

Read our review of the Mighty Mist Soft-Serve here!

Disney’s Animal Kingdom Merchandise Update

Dino Institute

After taking a blast to the past aboard Dinosaur, we popped into the neighboring Dino Institute store to find the sweetest Mickey Mouse Otterbox Phone Case!

The light blue background makes Mickey’s red shorts pop, along with his black and white silhouette…

…and you can use the case on your phone for $59.99 to snap all those photos around Disney’s Animal Kingdom or use My Disney Experience!

Island Mercantile

We couldn’t resist scoping out more merchandise in Disney’s Animal Kingdom! So, we made our way over to the Island Mercantile to find that it was FULLY stocked with all the new tropical items that just debuted!

You can take home new tees, bags, a pair of ears, home goods, and MORE to add a bit of an island vibe to your home or wardrobe.

Which item are you totally taking home with you first??

Take a look at the full tropical collection here!

Speaking of new collections, even the brand new Rainbow Collection has arrived on the scene at Island Mercantile in time for Pride Month this June! You can take home a colorful Mickey Ear Hat…

…a new vibrant face mask that will POP in all your pictures…

…and so much more! We can’t wait to see all the rest of the items that continue to debut in time for the Pride Month celebrations soon.

Check out all the items in the Rainbow Collection here!

Disney’s Animal Kingdom Entertainment Update

The Festival of the Lion King

It was the best day EVER in Disney’s Animal Kingdom because Festival of the Lion King had a soft reopening, welcoming everyone back to the show! There were a lot of laughs, tears, and (of course) excited squeals over the return of the live show. BUT, there also some major modifications in order to follow health and safety guidelines!

Now called “A Celebration of The Festival of the Lion King,” there have been alterations made to both the staging and the seating in the theatre. Disney is promoting distancing still, so there is limited capacity for the show. That means you MUST have your whole group together and you MUST stay together before you enter the theatre and when you’re inside.

There are four people maximum per sticker as you wait in line as four people can be seated in most sections once inside the theatre. That means larger parties will get split up. Every other row is closed as certain sections are blocked off too.

When the show began, we noticed that the choreography was different in order to allow performers to stay distanced from one another.

The part of the show with four different sections of animals has been removed, and kids are no longer able to come out for the parade portion like before.

Guests are asked not to sing along, but to wave and clap instead (which is still fun)!

Regardless of the changes, Festival of the Lion King was still just as magical as ever! And, we’re SO happy to see it back once again!

So happy to see the Festival of the Lion King is back in Animal Kingdom! pic.twitter.com/zxIhxvqwZC

— AJ Wolfe (@DisneyFoodBlog) May 8, 2021

Festival of the Lion King will have its official opening on May 15th as guests and performers celebrate the return of live entertainment in Disney World together!

Here are all the changes we saw at The Festival of the Lion King!

Disney’s Animal Kingdom Construction Update

Na’vi River Journey

There’s usually some sort of construction happening around the Disney Parks whenever we visit. And, Disney’s Animal Kingdom is no different as more work is done around the Na’vi River Journey exit.

The painting on the ground is receiving touch-ups and a few extra details, like more bioluminescent features so you really feel like you’re in the Valley of Mo’ara!

We’ll be sure to give you a FULL look once it’s completed, of course! So, keep checking back for additional updates!

Disney’s Animal Kingdom Crowd Update

Rainy Weather

We experienced another round of rainy Florida days when we popped over to Disney’s Animal Kingdom. When it was raining for around half an hour straight at one point, many people were either huddled in gift shops or leaving the park entirely to avoid the weather!

Wait Times

There was a flux of wait times around the park with a few lower wait times at spots like Expedition Everest with 20 minutes…

…Kilimanjaro Safaris with 25 minutes…

…and Dinosaur with 35 minutes.

However, popular attractions around the park had some longer waits with the Kali River Rapids hitting 50 minutes…

…and Pandora’s attractions with the Na’vi River Journey at 30 minutes and Avatar Flight of Passage at 65 minutes!

Well, that’s all for this What’s New at Disney’s Animal Kingdom! We’ll catch you next time for more updates. And, if you have any questions about your upcoming Disney vacation, let us know so we can help you find the answers!

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What are you looking forward to seeing the most in Disney’s Animal Kingdom? Let us know in the comments below!

The post What’s New inAnimal Kingdom: Festival of the Lion King Returns and Rainbow Masks Arrive first appeared on the disney food blog.