It’s about to get wild, folks. Because we’re heading into Disney’s Animal Kingdom!

Animal Kingdom

We found a few updates for you to be aware of before you visit this Disney World park. There’s a returning snack that looks pretty gross, re-opened attraction, and some mysterious new fences. Let’s dive in!

We’ll start out with that gross snack we just mentioned. But don’t worry — it doesn’t taste nearly as bad as it looks!

Animal Kingdom Food Updates

When the Pandora section of Animal Kingdom first opened, they had a new treat called Vein Pods. These are basically rice krispie treats covered in green-colored white chocolate and decorated with milk chocolate “veins.”

Vein pods in Pandora

We recently saw these treats back in the park, at the Windtraders gift shop (just outside the exit to the Avatar: Flight of Passage ride).

Vein Pods are BACK

The snacks are meant to look like the vein pod plants that you can spot in this section of the park, which (according to the story) suck up methane on Pandora and smell super gross as a result. Sounds like an ideal snack, right?

Vein pod plant in Pandora

Vein Pods are pre-packaged, so the rice krispie won’t be quite as fresh as one you might find in the display cases at Zuri’s Sweets Shop over in the Africa section of Animal Kingdom. But we’ve got to give points for the dedication to theming!

Vein pod treat

You can grab a Vein Pod for $4.99.

Click Here to See a Holiday Cupcake That’s WAY Cuter Than This Snack

Animal Kingdom Merchandise Updates

At Discovery Trading, we saw a re-stock of a classic-looking corduroy Mickey Mouse hat.

Mickey hat

We’ve seen this hat in a couple of different spots now, and now it’s available again in Animal Kingdom. You can buy one for $29.99.

Cute!

At Island Mercantile, we saw the new Luxe Logo 50th Anniversary tracksuit that we originally found over in Disney’s Hollywood Studios!

Luxe Logo Tracksuit in Animal Kingdom

The tracksuit is a velvet-y corduroy material, and it has gold pinstripes all over it. Like the other Luxe Logo items, it’s pretty darn expensive. You can get the top for $149.99 and the bottoms for $129.99.

Click Here to Check Out the Luxe Logo Tracksuit

Animal Kingdom Construction Updates

We’ve got exciting news for thrill ride lovers: Kali River Rapids is finally open in Animal Kingdom!

Kali River Rapids

This attraction closed for a few weeks for refurbishments, but it reopened on December 16th. You can head in to ride it now!

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We also saw some new fences over in DinoLand, U.S.A. A Cast Member said this area might become a rest area for guests to hang out, take a break, and cool off, which would explain all the fans on top of the fences.

Rest area?

Right now, the area is fenced off and being used as stroller parking.

Stroller Parking for now

Disney hasn’t said officially what is happening in this area, though, so we’ll keep you updated as we learn more.

Click Here to See Another BIG Animal Kingdom Ride That Will Have a Long Closure Soon

Animal Kingdom Crowd Updates

When we visited Animal Kingdom, the crowds were BIG.

Woah

It’s pretty obvious that the holiday breaks have started, because there were a lot of people visiting this park (and all the Disney World parks).

Lots of people here!

We’re expecting the crowd levels to stay pretty high for the next couple of weeks as the holidays continue, so make sure to be at the parks early and get to your favorite attractions first, use Mobile Order to get your food, and take advantage of any perks for Disney World hotel guests if they apply to you! Keep following DFB for more tips on how to navigate the crowds in Disney World.

Click Here to See How You Can Avoid Holiday Crowd Burnout in Disney World