Campside Circle

While Mickey and the gang may be at the heart of Camp Minnie-Mickey, the biggest draw in this corner of Disney's Animal Kingdom has got to be Festival of the Lion King. The show was cobbled together from assets left over from the Lion King Celebration parade, which had run at Disneyland from 1994-97. Although it may have been a last-minute addition to give visitors to the new park something more to do, Festival of the Lion King quickly became a Guest favorite.

Audiences for the show gather around within Campside Circle, Camp Minnie-Mickey's assembly hall, to hear a tale spun by a band of travelers. As the tale unfolds through music and song, the story magically comes to life, filling the arena with animals and imagery. (photo below ©Disney)

The temporary show, built from recycled parade floats to fill an immediate need, has become an enduring classic. In fact, a new version of Festival of the Lion King was an opening day attraction in Adventureland at Hong Kong Disneyland.

Character Camp

Camp Minnie-Mickey isn't just a nostalgic reminder of the summer camps of our youth, it's also a place where the Disney characters love to go for hiking, fishing and all sorts of other outdoorsy fun. Just look around, and you're sure to spot some of them. Down by the stream, that's Daisy Duck leading the nephews along a nature trail. Huey, Dewey and Louie are no doubt working on another Junior Woodchuck badge.

Around the bend, Mickey and Pluto have cast a line into the pond hoping to catch some fish, while Goofy is more interested in catching some Zs! As for Donald, well... he got the boot. That's okay, pal. One time when I was a kid, I went fishing with my Grandpa and didn't catch anything but the motor of his boat!

When the characters aren't engaged in activities, they're happy to stop by one of the camp's Greeting Trails to say, "Hi!" and make some new friends.

Look closely, and you'll notice the kiosks at the end of each of the trails sport different designs. The original intent was that Mickey and the gang would appear under the Adirondack kiosk (where Minnie is pictured above). The woodland kiosk would be home to Pocahontas and Meeko. Characters from the "Winnie the Pooh" films would appear under the storybook kiosk, and the jungle-style kiosk (below) would be the place to meet characters from The Lion King or The Jungle Book.

Over the years, those other characters have found their own homes around the park, allowing Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Chip and Dale to spread out a bit. Of course, if one of them isn't around when you stop by, they're probably just out getting some well-deserved R&R.

Off to Camp We Go

Camp Minnie-Mickey was a late addition to the menu at Disney's Animal Kingdom, conceived just six months before the park's April 1998 opening as a solution for where to place the famous Disney characters Guests would be expecting to see. While it may have been a bit last-minute, the area's design received the same sort of attention to detail in its storytelling as the other sections of the park.

Camp Minnie-Mickey is the place where the Disney characters go for summer camp. Here, it's summer all the time! The path to the camp takes us over a river and through the woods, along a babbling brook. It's a gentle glade that seems a million miles away from the hustle and bustle of Harambe (or Downtown Disney, for that matter).

Complementing Animal Kingdom's representations of Africa and Asia, Camp Minnie-Mickey brings a bit of North America to the park. The rockwork and animal motifs have been inspired by the Adirondack Mountains region of upstate New York.

The Adirondacks also provided inspiration for the architecture and ornamentation used throughout Camp Minnie-Mickey. It's a distinctive style unique to that part of the country, using rough-hewn elements such as stone and natural wood in the fabrication of everything from the community well (a cleverly-integrated drinking fountain) to a nearby snack shack.

The benches in particular were crafted in this Adirondack style. Each one is different and a work of art, using the natural curvature of the branches used to make them.

Camp Minnie-Mickey is a lovingly hand-crafted tribute to the Adirondack region and the golden summer camp memories of youth. Even in the more realistic camp details, though, you can find a bit of that hidden Disney. It's the finial atop the flagpole, the opening in the side of a birdhouse and the branching logo on the face of the trash cans. This camp may have its foundation in reality, but it's definitely a place where Mickey and the gang can feel at home.

Wild Animal Kingdom

When ground was broken for the fourth theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort, the project was announced as Disney's Wild Animal Kingdom. The park was to be a tribute to mankind's fascination with all animals that ever or never existed. From the beginning, the logo of the park represented this philosophy with graphic depictions of a lion, elephant and antelope, alongside a triceratops and a dragon.

As with any project, the Disney's Animal Kingdom park was tweaked and adjusted on its way from concept to reality. One of the first changes was the shortening of the name to something more compact. Other changes came with the addition of Camp Minnie-Mickey (not part of the original plans) and the decision to delay development of the section of the park devoted to mythological creatures.

That's not to say that fantasy animals have been excluded from Disney's Animal Kingdom. They're represented in the form of the Disney characters and at one time were at least suggested along the path of the Discovery River Boats (the rumbling of a "sea serpent" under the boat, flames from an unseen fire-breathing dragon spewing forth from a cave). There's also now a significant nod to animals of legend with the mysterious Yeti who guards the Forbidden Mountain.

Rumors have persisted almost since the opening of the park that the official logo would be changed to remove the dragon. This has yet to happen after more than eleven years. In fact, dragon motifs can be found elsewhere in the park, including on one of the Vacation Planning booths at the Main Entrance.

A dragon may yet show its face somewhere in Disney's wildest theme park. Until then, there are many creatures to discover here and many stories to be told. We'll be exploring some of them this week. Meanwhile, click the links down the right side of this page for previous stories of Disney's Animal Kingdom.

Now Leaving Discovery Island

Since not all Disney's Animal Kingdom Guests have an appreciation for the sense of adventure and exploration built into the park, all manner of signs and way finding markers have been added over the years. Among them are the signs shown here. Designed to point the way from Discovery Island toward the park's various realms, the signs are done in styles that both evoke the design aesthetic of Discovery Island's folk artists, as well as hint at the cultural influence of the land to which you are headed.