The Discovery Island Trails (originally named Tree of Life Gardens and then Discovery Island Gardens) are walkthrough exhibit trails located at the Discovery Island section at the Disney's Animal Kingdom theme park.
History[]
The Discovery Island Trails were originally called the Tree of Life Gardens and opened to guests on May 24, 1998[1], a few weeks after the Animal Kingdom theme park opened as "Discovery Island" was the name of a separate island located at the Walt Disney World at the city of Bay Lake in Orlando, Florida while the area itself opened as Safari Village. However, after Discovery Island closed on April 8, 1999, almost a year after Animal Kingdom opened, Safari Village was renamed to Discovery Island, resulting in the name of the Tree of Life Gardens to be renamed to Discovery Island Gardens before changing to its current name of Discovery Island Trails.
On April 18, 2019, the Asian small-clawed otter exhibit at the Discovery Island Trails was completely refurbished exactly one year after the exhibit closed on April 18, 2018 as part of Disney Animal Kingdom's 20th anniversary[2]. The refurbished otter exhibit, Otter Grotto, is sponsored by OtterBox, which helped contribute to the attraction's refurbishment. Following the refurbishment, guests can also arrive at a small cave where an underwater viewing section is at, due to the shade the cave provides as well as having the opportunity to take pictures of otters swimming underwater.
Summary[]
The Discovery Island Trails are walkthrough trails where guests can walk around Discovery Island near the Tree of Life. Throughout the attraction, guests are also able to explore unique exotic animals from around the world all across Discovery Island, such as lesser flamingos, white storks, red kangaroos, West African crowned cranes, African crested porcupines, and other animals they can find along the way. Just like in many zoos, the animal exhibits at the Discovery Island Trails have signs for guests to know about the species present in the exhibits as well as providing unique facts about the animals seen in their enclosures.
In addition to looking at the animals throughout the trails, guests can also explore across the Tree of Life where they can look at the artificial tree's unique designs featuring multiple animals carved all over it where guests have the opportunity to take pictures of the animals carved all over the Tree itself.
References[]
- ↑ "Everything You Need to Know About the Discovery Island Trails". Touring Plans (June 7, 2020).
- ↑ "Otter Grotto Finally Reopens at Disney's Animal Kingdom". Walt Disney World News Today (April 18, 2019).
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