We’ve been checking out everything that’s new in Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and also nearby at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort.

We noticed some construction updates over at Kilimanjaro Safaris and some pretty big crowds over at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. We got to experience a nice holiday ambiance at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort, and some sweet holiday treats!

Disney’s Animal Kingdom

Construction Updates

We took a ride out to the savannah on the Kilimanjaro Safaris. We were hoping to sneak a peek at the baby giraffes now roaming the plains, but we also wanted to check on the mysterious little building that started being constructed over the summer. Unfortunately, we didn’t see any babies, but we did see a fully constructed building!

Construction has progressed significantly over the last month or so. This little building looks pretty complete from the outside, at least! There’s now a truck outside it, a trough, and a table.

We’re still not totally certain what the purpose of this building is, but cast members have been calling it a “warden headquarters,” and the sign posted out front suggests something to do with the wardens, too! We’ll be sure to let you know when we find out!

Learn more about this project over on our weekly construction update!

Crowd Updates

We noticed a bit more crowding this week. We also experienced more “pinch points” than normal, and these areas really weren’t upholding social distancing guidelines. Large crowds were spotted on our way into the park, heading towards Discovery Island.

As we continued to Africa, we continued to experience pretty crowded areas.

Some areas were still maintaining social distancing…

…while others basically weren’t. Crowd levels were especially high in Asia as well.

Groups were a little more spread out in Pandora while we were there, but we continued to notice higher crowd levels.

The line for the Na’vi River Journey stretched allll the way back to Island Mercantile! Over at Island Mercantile, we noticed that Cast Members weren’t monitoring the entrances and exits. Guests were entering and exiting through whichever doors they wanted.

Things were a little bit different over at Riverside Depot, the other big merch spot in Animal Kingdom. Only one entrance door was available and Cast Members in this location were in charge of the entrances and exits.

That’s what’s new over at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, now let’s take a trip over to Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort!

Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort

Food Updates

Café Rix

Some brightly decorated cupcakes caught our eye over at Cafe Rix, the grab-and-go spot at this resort.

This icy-blue cupcake decorated with snowflake sprinkles looks perfect for the holiday season! This cupcake has a chocolate cake base and costs $5.50.

We also spotted Christmas Tree Rice Krispie Treats here!

Café Rix had both white…

…and green Christmas Tree Rice Krispie Treats. They cost $4.99 each.

And of course, we stopped to appreciate this beautiful wall art of Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse (happy belated birthday, Walt!).

And that’s everything new that we noticed in these spots! We’ll be keeping an eye out for more holiday treats and keeping you updated about crowd levels at Disney as we get closer to the holidays!

Check out what’s new at Disney’s monorail resorts!

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What’s your favorite thing to do in Disney’s Animal Kingdom? Tell us in the comments!

The post What’s New at Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Coronado Springs Resort: High Crowd Levels and Holiday Cupcakes! first appeared on the disney food blog.