Only at Walt Disney World can you get up close and personal with animals like zebras and lions at Animal Kingdom through attractions like the Kilimanjaro Safari and Habitat Habit! and the savannah at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge. And soon, through a new dining option offered at the park, guests will have the opportunity to eat among the animals for a wild dining experience with an ambience no other restaurant can provide.

With Picnic in the Park, guests can turn any meal at Animal Kingdom into an adventure – and there’s no planning or sandwich-making required. All guests have to do is pre-order their picnic at a guest relations office or the Tusker House Restaurant in the Harambe Village in the Africa area. Guests can then come back to pick up their picnic at a time of their choosing (so long as it’s no earlier than two hours after the order is placed) at the Kusafiri Coffee Shop & Bakery next to the Tusker House. Once they do, it’s time to chow down as guests can take their picnic to one of 14 designated picnic spots around the park.

Guests can choose from various picnic options, including rotisserie chicken or ham and sandwiches like Turkey Focaccia, Chicken Wrap, Ham Grinder, or Tuna Pita. The feast also comes complete with various side options, like chips, coleslaw, corn, green beans, mac & cheese, orza pasta, and various kinds of potatoes and salad dishes. Rounding off the wild meal are desserts like brownies, cookies, cornbread, crisped rice treats, and fruits.

Each picnic comes in a reusable bag with plates, utensils, and a map marked with the picnic locations, and guests can order their picnics for a minimum of three people and a maximum of six. Picnic orders have to be placed between the hours of the park opening and 1:30 pm; if you’re on a Disney dining plan, a Picnic in the Park can be used as a Quick Service Meal.

Since Animal Kingdom doesn’t have as many eateries as other parks in Walt Disney World, picnicking is a much needed and unique new option, in addition to being affordable – a picnic for three costs between .99 and .99, and a picnic for six costs between .99 and .99. And afterwards, guests can digest at a comfortable and fun indoor Animal Kingdom show like It’s Tough to Be a Bug! or Finding Nemo The Musical.

To go on an animal adventure and dine within the exotic environments of Animal Kingdom, check out Walt Disney World tickets today at DWTickets.com. Picnicking in the Park will definitely add a whole new level of fun to your Animal Kingdom visit, not to mention give you an extra burst of energy for seeing and experiencing the park.

Imagine being able to see all of Walt Disney World and beyond from high up in the sky, and you don’t even have to climb to the top of Cinderella’s Castle. That’s the experience now being offered with Characters in Flight at Downtown Disney, a new attraction that gives guests a bird’s eye view of Disney by taking them up in a giant tethered balloon. Guests will soar to new heights on this flight, which began taking riders up on Wednesday, April 1.

The giant yellow balloon, which is operated by Aerophile, reaches heights of 300 feet every ten minutes, depending on the weather. Decorated with airborne Disney characters such as Mary Poppins, Peter Pan and company, Dumbo, and Aladdin, it offers sweeping, 360-degree 10-mile panoramas of Lake Buena Vista and the surrounding environments, and it can even be seen from as far away as SeaWorld’s Sky Tower.

The balloon begins its ascent from the Downtown Disney West Side waterfront, carrying up to 30 guests at a time. Flights last six minutes long and can take place by day or night. At nighttime, the balloon lights up internally, a bright glowing orb as it hovers over Downtown Disney.

Adults can take the flight for , while kids ages 3 to 9 pay only , tax included. Tickets can be purchased at the new Characters in Flight Booth, formerly an Information Booth located near DisneyQuest.

Here are a few fun facts about the balloon – developed by Aerophile, the world leader in captive balloons, the Character in Flight orb is the newest and largest of the company’s models. It boasts a volume of 210,000 cubic feet, a 72-foot diameter, a circumference of 240 feet, and a height of 105 feet, and it lands on a platform designed especially for Downtown Disney.

A unique opportunity to experience some thrills and ascend to the skies over Walt Disney World, Characters in Flight is great fun for the whole family and a new way to make a day at Downtown Disney special. And while you’re there, don’t forget to check out the other new additions to the area, including TrenD, Disney Design-a-Tee, and T-Rex: A Prehistoric Family Adventure. And since it’s an excellent way to cap off an evening after visiting the other Disney parks, be sure to stop by Downtown Disney after enjoying Epcot, Animal Kingdom, Magic Kingdom, or Disney’s Hollywood Studios. You’ll have more money to spend on fun at Downtown Disney, too, when you save on Walt Disney World tickets from DWTickets.com.

If primates are your favorite animals in the whole world, you might have a new reason to visit Walt Disney World this season. Disney’s Animal Kingdom recently welcomed a black and white colobus monkey – the first of its species born at the park – among its animal ranks. This cute little fella was born February 17 after a six-month gestation and can be now seen along the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail with a group of five other colobus monkeys.
Though the weight, size, and gender of the monkey are still unknown, the baby monkey is being well-cared-for by first-time mother Kabibi.

“The baby was born looking healthy and vigorous,” said Rebecca Phillips, a primate manager at Animal Kingdom. “We’re encouraged that the mother and baby seem to be adapting well.”

As we’ve mentioned before, in addition to being a great Orlando theme park, Animal Kingdom is dedicated to animal conservation and is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). The baby colobus monkey’s mother came to Animal Kingdom in 2008 as part of the AZA Species Survival Plan, which manages genetic diversity among species through detailed records of individual animals. Disney’s Animal Kingdom also participates in AZA Species Survival Plans for several other animals, including elephants, cotton-top tamarins, and okapi.

Here are some more fun colobus monkey facts: at birth, the monkeys are covered in white fur that’s gradually replaced with black hair as they grow older. The monkeys are distinguished by their black body and white shoulders, backs, and beards, and they stand 18 to 27 inches tall, weighing between 12 to 32 pounds. Unlike most primates, the colobus monkey doesn’t have thumbs, but they do have long tails that help them navigate the forest quickly. Currently, about 65 colobus monkeys exist in AZA-accredited facilities around the US.

In addition to the colobus monkeys, the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail is also home to a group of Lowland gorillas, whose DNA is 98% identical to that of humans. There’s also a majestic silverback gorilla and his family, in addition to other animals like hippos, okapi, naked mole rats, meerkats, and many species of exotic birds. And if you didn’t get enough primate sightings there, the Habitat Habit! Trail in Rafiki’s Planet Watch area features some of the most endangered primates in the world, the cotton-top tamarins. Native to South America, these small animals are named for their long, flowing white hair.

With so many animal encounters that you’d have to travel the world to experience otherwise, Animal Kingdom is a must-see theme park in Orlando. So go pay a visit to the adorable baby colobus monkey and check out all the wonders of the animal world; no passport is needed, just a Walt Disney World ticket from DWTickets.com.

Walt Disney World is without a doubt one of the most mysterious and magical places in the world. The four parks manage to create so many dream experiences and fun adventures that fans have often sought to uncover the science behind the magic. And though all the secrets can’t be revealed, there is a way that Disney fans can learn a bit more about how their favorite parks operate – through special Disney-offered tours.

For example, guests can opt to go on a Backstage Magic tour, a 7-hour adventure across Disney World that provides a detailed look at the workings of Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Magic Kingdom. This fascinating tour provides an in-depth look at the parks’ creative and technical operations that bring to life your favorite special effects and attractions. You’ll get to see Disney’s massive Florist facilities (all those flowers didn’t just pop out of nowhere, you know) along with the incredibly designed North Service area. By the end of the tour, guests will have a better idea of just how much magic it takes to make the parks work.

And if you love Animal Kingdom, there’s a tour for you too – the Backstage Safari, which provides a 3-hour look at the ways that Disney Cast Members care for the park’s 1,700+ animal residents. On this behind-the-scenes walking tour, guest will get up close to a variety of incredible animals in their backstage habitats and talk to the folks that keep them happy and healthy in the Animal Nutrition Center. They’ll also visit Animal Kingdom’s state-of-the-art veterinary hospital and other facilities and learn interesting facts, like how three tons of food is prepared, distributed, and fed to the critters of Animal Kingdom every day.

Another naturally fabulous tour is Behind the Seeds at Epcot, which takes guests backstage on a one-hour indoor walking tour of the greenhouses seen at the Living with the Land pavilion. An actual working greenhouse, The Land grows delicious produce indoors, and guests will be able to learn all about the advanced and sometimes-experimental techniques it uses. Described as an extended version of the Living with the Land ride, the tour gives guests the chance to go alligator gazing, release ladybugs, and see the future of agriculture.

Around the World at Epcot is another great tour if you love the futuristic park and want to see all it has to offer without all the walking. This fun tour takes guests around the World Showcase while riding board a 2-wheel Segway Personal Transporter. For those who have never ridden one before, the first hour of the 2-hour tour consists of a fun training session so that you don’t fall flat on your face. Once you’re ready, you and your group will head out to the World (Showcase, that is), and visit each of the 11 international pavilions it consists of. Meanwhile, your guide will point out interesting details and facts about the design of each pavilion.

All of the tours can be booked through Disney, and all of them, with the exception of the Backstage Magic Tour, still require separate Disney admission. So if you’re burning to know some of the mystery behind the magic at your favorite Disney theme park, get your Walt Disney World tickets at DWTickets.com and then give Disney a call to schedule a fascinating and one-of-a-kind tour.