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Disney’s Animal Kingdom is an amazing park with tons of detail in each land and some of the best theming in Disney World.

If you haven’t visited this park in a hot minute, you might need a little refresher on what’s going on at the moment. Last week, we took a look at the price increases, some Disney princess Wishables, and a mask update. Now, we’ve got some NEW updates for you about food, souvenirs, construction projects, crowds, and more! Check out these changes so that you’re not caught off-guard during your upcoming trip.

We’ll start out with our favorite updates — the ones about food!

Animal Kingdom Food Updates

Joffrey’s Coffee & Tea

There are a couple of new additions to the Joffrey’s Coffee and Tea cart just outside of Animal Kingdom’s main entrance.

First, you can now find Valentine’s Day offerings at this spot, even though the Christmas drinks are still on the menu as well. The seasonal Fairytale Love Latte has returned, and it’s made with espresso, milk, dark chocolate sauce, and caramel and coconut syrups for $6.09 (which is an increase from the 2021 price of $5.69).

The second addition here is not a drink or snack — it’s a bee trap! Behind this stand, you can spot a bug trap, which is likely there due to the problems that Joffrey’s kiosks have had in the past with unwelcome visitors. Since these open-air stands have sugary syrups, bees are attracted to the locations.

We’ve seen the problem addressed with little sealed syrup bottles given to guests to add to their own drinks, but it seems that the latest solution is traps for the bees.

Breakfast Sandwiches

Inside the park, we spotted a few different locations selling breakfast sandwiches for $7.50, which is one of the many price increases that we’ve seen over the last week or so.

Some locations listed the price at $6.99…

…but keep in mind that this price is before taxes. According to the signs, the $7.50 price includes taxes.

Click Here to See 15 Non-Negotiable Disney World Snacks

Animal Kingdom Merchandise Updates

There were a lot of new souvenirs in Animal Kingdom when we stopped by today!

Chester & Hester’s

At Chester & Hester’s (in DinoLand U.S.A.), we found a couple of new magnets.

One was red with Mickey Mouse in sunglasses on it, for $9.99. Another magnet was blue and had Mickey and the gang on it, for $7.99.

Note that this gift shop will sometimes close earlier than the park. During one of our visits, the store was closed by 5:30PM.

Island Mercantile and Riverside Depot

Island Mercantile is located on Discovery Island. This gift shop had the 50th Anniversary Mystery Pin Boxes in stock, which have been sold out at many locations recently.

Other 50th Anniversary items that might be difficult to find right now are the reusable bags. We saw these bags in most gift shops when they first came out last year, but recently they’ve been a little scarce. You can still get them at Island Mercantile and Riverside Depot in Animal Kingdom, though!

Some 50th Anniversary items are even hard to find in Animal Kingdom. During our last visit to Riverside Depot, there was only one 50th Anniversary Train Set left on the shelves. These items could be re-stocked at any point, so keep an eye out during your visit!

We also spotted some lingering holiday merchandise at Island Mercantile, including a Christmas Yoda Plush and Star Wars Cookie ornaments. Many gift shops still have holiday merchandise (and even some Halloween merchandise), which may be due to supply issues. Some of the souvenirs probably arrived to Disney World late, so they’re just now coming out on the shelves.

At Riverside Depot, we spotted a couple of new baseball jersey-style shirts. We’ve seen these over in Disneyland already, but now they’ve arrived in Disney World.

There was one for Hercules that has the hero on both the front (with the number 97) and the back.

You can also find a baseball shirt themed after Mike Wazowski from Monsters, Inc., or go classic with a Walt Disney World one. Each shirt was $59.99.

Weighted Plushes were back at Riverside Depot. These stuffed animals have removable 2.5 pound bags inside them, so they’re similar to weighted blankets.

We’ve seen several characters at Disney World in the past, but right now the only options available are Pua (from Moana) and Pluto.

A Cast Member told us that other Weighted Plush characters were delayed in shipping, but they should be arriving to the parks in a couple of months.

Since Valentine’s Day is coming up, you can find the new collection of Dooney & Bourke bags in Riverside Depot.

There are tote bags, satchels, crossbody bags, and wallets in this collection.

Click Here to Shop for the Valentine’s Day Dooney & Bourke Bags Online

Popcorn Carts

In more 50th Anniversary news, you can find both the 50th Anniversary Mickey Mouse Popcorn Bucket and the 50th Anniversary Minnie Mouse Sipper at a few different popcorn carts around Animal Kingdom.

We spotted them at a popcorn stand in DinoLand U.S.A. as well as several other locations around the park. Just ask a Cast Member which stands have them in stock when you visit! The Mickey popcorn bucket was $20.25 (which is a $2.25 increase from when it first came out).

Several popcorn stands also had the Gold Christmas Tree Popcorn Buckets in stock.

So you can grab a shiny holiday bucket if you didn’t get the chance last year.

Discovery Trading

Discovery Trading also had the Valentine’s Day Dooney & Bourke bags.

We also noticed that this shop in particular had a lot of older merchandise on the shelves.

Right now, you can find the Disney Dogs Loungefly Backpack, which we haven’t seen back in the stores in a little while.

WindTraders

In Pandora, you can visit the WindTraders store, which is just outside the exit to the Avatar: Flight of Passage ride.

This spot has some fun and unique merchandise, including these “Air-Plants,” which are basically succulents that hang upside down.

You can buy one for $24.99, and make sure you follow the instructions to keep your Air-Plant healthy when you take it home!

Out of the Wild

Another gift shop in Disney World that’s struggling to keep merchandise on the shelves is Out of the Wild at Rafiki’s Planet Watch.

This spot is very low on souvenirs, and they even boarded up some of the shelves since there aren’t enough items available.

This is just the latest update when it comes to low merchandise availability in Disney World parks. Other gift shops are also low on stock, and one has even closed temporarily in Disney’s Hollywood Studios because of the supply problems.

Click Here to See ALL of the 50th Anniversary Merchandise You Can Get Online Right Now

Animal Kingdom Construction Updates

The last couple of times we’ve been to Riverside Depot (a gift shop on Discovery Island), there have been some construction walls up over one of the entrances.

Another entrance is still open, though, so you can head inside to check out the merchandise here!

Restaurantosaurus also has some construction going on. Half of the front porch area is blocked off, so there’s not quite as much seating available outside.

You can still head in to get some food and sit down inside, though.

Remember that Expedition Everest is closed right now. You can sometimes find Cast Members outside the entrance of this attraction playing games with guests.

And you can still get Everest-themed merchandise, either inside the attraction’s gift shop…

…or on stands outside if the weather is nice.

Expedition Everest is scheduled to re-open sometime in mid-April 2022.

Click Here to See the Progress on Three Roller Coasters and a MYSTERY Project

Other Animal Kingdom Updates

Festival of the Lion King Reduced Showtimes

The Festival of the Lion King show has reduced their showtimes due to limited staffing. When we stopped by, there were times for 1PM, 2PM, 4PM, and 5PM.

A couple of shows around Disney World have been experiencing problems with staffing, so there might be fewer options for showtimes during your visit.

Make sure to check the My Disney Experience app to see which showtimes are available during your trip.

More Live Entertainment Returns

More live entertainment returned to Animal Kingdom this week!

We spotted the Viva Gaia Street Band playing on Discovery Island.

Crowds and Ride Closures

The crowd levels were pretty low when we visited, with not too many guests around on the walkways.

But the ride wait times still looked high, especially for how empty this park felt in some areas.

This is likely because Expedition Everest is closed, and the DINOSAUR ride was also closed during one of our visits.

DINOSAUR wasn’t scheduled to be closed, but rides can close unexpectedly due to technical issues or other problems. Keep an eye on the My Disney Experience app to see which rides are and aren’t available.

Since two of the biggest rides were closed during our visit, a lot of guests were heading to the limited number of attractions left. Rides like Kilimanjaro Safaris and Na’vi River Journey got higher-than-normal wait times due to the limited rides available.

That’s it for our Animal Kingdom update today! Keep following DFB for all the latest news from the Disney World parks.

Click Here to Find Out What’s New at the Disney World Hotels (Including a Food Delivery CHANGE)