How Disney’s Animal Kingdom will celebrate the holidays

New entertainment and holiday decorations are coming this year to Animal Kingdom, the park that typically features the least holiday cheer at Disney World.

While a post on the Disney Parks Blog from communications manager Shawn Slater is light on details, it did make clear that the park’s central hub, Discovery Island, will be the focal point for the new holiday offerings.

“The village is filled with sparkling white holiday decorations,” Slater wrote. “Colorful, animal-inspired luminaries line the rooftops, and wireframe lanterns in the shape of beautiful birds can be found perched throughout the area.A holiday gathering of winter animals – realized in the form of life-size, artisan-sculpted puppets – frolics on Discovery Island during the day. Reindeer, foxes, polar bears, penguins and more interact with guests, accompanied by serenading musicians as they create a playful atmosphere of festive fun.”

At night, park icon the Tree of Life will feature new projections with “a series of wintry tales, complemented by a familiar and heartwarming holiday-inspired musical score,” — a holiday version of the nightly Tree of Awakenings.

In addition to the holiday happenings on Discovery Island, Disney said each land of the park will feature seasonal decorations, including Pandora — The World of Avatar.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom has not featured holiday theming to the same level as Disney World’s other parks in recent years. In 2018, the live show “Up! A Great Bird Adventure” touched on elements of Diwali, the festival of lights considered to be India’s biggest holiday, nothing was on the level of Sunset Season Greetings at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, International Festival of Holidays at Epcot, or Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party at Magic Kingdom.

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