Showing posts with label Africa. Show all posts
Don't Miss Harambe Markets at Disney's Animal Kingdom!
The newest dining location at the Walt Disney World Resort can be found in Disney's Animal Kingdom. In the African village of Harambe there is now a collections of wonderful Quick Service dining locations called: Harambe Markets that you definitely want to check out for yourself.
Harambe Market Dining
Disney's Animal Kingdom does the best job of creating incredibly themed shopping and dining locations that absolutely look like they belong in the area that they are found. At Harambe Market you will find authentic African dishes that you can enjoy.
The Harambe Markets area is broken up into four areas that provide different types of dining experiences that Disney World guests can enjoy.
Wanjohi Refreshments
The first area that you encounter is the Wanjohi Refreshments stand that provides a wide variety of liquid refreshments to cool you off in a hot Florida sun. There are three different serving windows that sum up the variety of offerings: Cold Beer, Iced Soda, & Frozen Alcoholic Drinks.
Kitamu Grill Shop
The Kitamu Grill Shop offers a variety of foods to sample including Beef Kabob Flatbread, Chicken Skewers, African Milk Tart dessert, as well as, beers, wines, and sodas.
Famous Sausages
Famous Sausages is the place to enjoy sausages or corn dog with a boerewors sausage fried in curried corn batter. Enjoy yours with a side of roasted broccoli and tomato salad, and paired with an Orlando Brewing I-4 IPA draft beer.
Chef Mwanga's Rib Shop
This is the place to enjoy a zesty serving of spice rubbed Karubi ribs. Each order is served with a side of green papaya-carrot slaw—as well as a chickpea, cucumber and tomato salad—and can be paired with a specially selected South African wine.
The Harambe Markets fully embody the essence of Disney's Animal Kingdom and the meticulous level of detail that is put into all that is placed there. The results are amazing and the Harambe Markets do not disappoint. This is a great place to enjoy a wide variety of food and drink choices in a highly themed atmosphere.
Only WDWorld highly recommends that you add the Harambe Markets to your list of places to visit during your next Disney World Vacation.
Festival Of The Lion King Returns To Disney's Animal Kingdom In June!
One of the best shows in all of Disney World has been closed recently due to the construction in Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park. As construction has begun for the new AVATAR themed land, the Festival of Lion show had stopped since it's theater was going to be destroyed.
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| New Harambe Theater (picture from the Disney Parks Blog) |
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| Harambe Theater Construction |
Recently the Harambe Theater looked like the picture above as construction continued. The new theater is located behind the Tusker House Restaurant.. If you are traveling from Discovery Island into Africa and Harambe it will be on your left as soon as you cross the bridge.
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| Festival Of The Lion King Show at Disney's Animal Kingdom |
The Festival Of The Lion King Show has been a Must Do attraction since Disney's Animal Kingdom opened on April 22, 1998. This 30 minute live performance features singers, dancers, acrobats, aerial performers, audio animatronic characters and much more. It has been a fan favorite and fortunately will continue in it's new home.
Welcome To Harambe!
We welcome the Festival Of The Lion King to its new home the Harambe Theater! We are looking forward to the show restarting in June 2014 and continuing on for many years to come, as it delights new and returning Disney World guests to this spectacular show!Welcome To Harambe
As guests at Disney's Animal Kingdom journey to Africa they encounter the East African village of Harambe. This town that to many only provides the backdrop to Kilimanjaro Safaris, holds many details for the observant visitor.
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| Tamu Tamu Refreshments |
Welcome To Harambe
There is much to learn about the story of Harambe as you make your way through this authentic looking town. It tells the story of a town who's roots go back nearly 700 years. As you look closer you will also see a town that struggles to fit in with the modern connected world.
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| Harambe Fort Erected in 1420 |
The Harambe Fort displays a sign that says it was erected in 1420, letting you know that this area has been settled for nearly 700 years. One side of the Fort is were you will find the Tamu Tamu Refreshment stand.
Elsewhere you will see that the year 1961 is prominently displayed. This date is significant in the story of Harambe. This is the year that it gained its independence and let the citizens take charge of setting their own direction.
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| Mombasa Marketplace |
The architecture of the town is varied as you look across the shops, restaurants, and hotels that line its main street.
The entertainment in the center of town displays some of the cultural heritage of the region. This shows how old traditions are still interwoven with this town struggling to enter into the modern world.
Signs of progress are evident on this building advertisement for Vivuko Computer Training Centre.
The textures and details put into the buildings and signage are simply amazing. Here you can notice the pitch for "Best Food In East Africa" next to the Kusafiri Coffee Shop and Bakery. Few People take the time to check out all of the amazing details that surround them as they stroll through Harambe. The resulting effect is so good, they people just accept the story and believe that they have been transported into this bustling East African Town with the ancient roots.
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| Kilimanjaro Safaris - Harambe Wildlife Reserve |
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| Hoteli Burudika |
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| Sausage Tree in Harambe |
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| Tusker House Restaurant |
Harambe means "Working Together" in Swahili and you definitely get the sense that a community exists here. The different disparate elements have been brought together to form a "real" village that will leave quite an impression on you if you take the time to explore.
Not Just Simple Okapi Exhibit At Disney's Animal Kingdom
Disney World is about entertainment, which is why you shouldn't confuse Disney's Animal Kingdom with a zoo. Disney has created a theme park full of stories around a central theme of animals and uses live animals and their habitats to help make the stories real and believable.
The animal based attractions are not merely animals in a cage or small habitat, they are there as characters in the story that is being told. When you encounter them you become part of this interactive story. As is often the case, you can enjoy the attraction for merely the entertainment value at the surface, or you can choose to look more closely at all of the details and get a deeper understanding of the story. Those that take the time to see all of the detail usually come away with a more rewarding experience.
This example of the okapi is one of many that you may have passed by without realizing all of the details and elements of the story that existed for those who wished to look a little closer.
Okapi
The okapi is an animal that is only found in the Congo Basin "Ituri Rainforest." In order to include the okapi as part of the story, the Disney Imagineers have created a back story that has the Ituri Wildlife Preserve in Zaire, Africa sending 3 okapi to the Harambe Wildlife Reserve so that they can be studied in this new habitat.
As a Disney World Park guest you are immersed in the research station and can see the work of the researchers of the okapi. If you are so inclined you can read some of their research that is posted and gain a further understanding of this seldom seen species that has been on the protected list since 1933.
The closest relative to the okapi is the giraffe. Some of the similarities that they share are:
- both have very long tongues for grasping leaves.
- both lack true horns, but have head knobs that are skin covered bones.
- both lack upper incisors or canines.
- both have basically the same body shape.
The theory is that the giraffe developed the longer neck in order to reach food in the sparse Savannah Grasslands. The okapi reside in the dense rainforest, so plentiful food is within easier reach, not requiring the long neck.
The okapi are shy creatures that prefer to be by themselves as opposed to large groups. They primarily use the sense of sound to detect predators, which is why they have such large ears. Interestingly they have scent glands in their hoofs and use them to mark their territories in the forest.
They have striping on their rump that helps camouflage them in the forest.
The detail that the Disney Imagineers go to create the backgrounds for their stories is amazing. The bulletin board pictured above is a prime example. Each paper or article on the board was created to substantiate the story.
The "article" from The Weekly Journal details the arrival of the 3 okapis at the Harambe Wildlife Reserve from their home at the Ituri Wildlife Preserve. There is also a "letter" from the director of the Ituri Wildlife Preserve passing along helpful information about the habits and needs of the okapi to the director of the Harambe Wildlife Reserve. There is even a "flyer" for an upcoming presentation by "K Kolunda - the Director of the Harambe Wildlife Reserve" announcing the Sunday Lecture entitled "The Natural History Of A Forest Ghost."
The Disney World Guest that takes the time to check out the information posted on the bulletin boards learns about the okapi through the telling of the "story" of their arrival from Zaire and the work of the researchers. This technique provides an entertaining story for the guest and they come away learning something in the process.
The habits and traits of the okapi are further explained through the use of research and observation logs of each of the 3 okapi. By glancing at these logs, you learn more about these interesting creatures.
Using the research logs is a much more effective way to pass along information about the habits and traits of the okapi than just having a list of okapi facts.
The okapi themselves are beautiful creatures that reside in natural habitats and have the top notch Disney Animal Care staff looking out for their well-being.
The above picture is a close-up of the "letter" from the bulletin board from the Director of the Ituri Okapi Project discussing the eating habits and traits of the okapi. By clicking on the picture it will enlarge so you can read it for yourself.
Become Part Of The Disney World Stories
Disney World is so much more than a typical theme park. Through the creation of highly themed attractions and back stories that tie them together the Disney Imagineers create an experience that draws people back again and again.
Although the Disney World attractions are still enjoyable when you rush through them, they take on a whole new level of enjoyment and satisfaction when you take the time to see the detail that is surrounding you. By paying attention to the detail you learn more about the story that you are immersed in and come away with a more complete experience.
At Disney's Animal Kingdom, there is not just a simple exhibit of a couple of okapis in a natural looking habitat. There is a story waiting for you to become a part of it!
