What's New at Animal Kingdom: A DFB Favorite Treat Returns, NEW Starbucks Flavors, and a SURPRISE Brookie!

Are you ready to sweet what’s WILD and new at Disney’s Animal Kingdom??

Disney Conservation Button

We took an adventurous trek to the park this week. We expected to find a few updates since Christmas has ended. What we found were a LOAD of new snacks, new merchandise, and a few menu updates. Come see what’s new and poppin’ at Animal Kingdom!

Animal Kingdom Food Update

Creature Comforts

The Starbucks location had packed the treat case with a few new sweets! First up, we tried the new Cheetah Brownie. The brownie surprised us and ended up having a surprise cookie inside! We were pleasantly surprised by the hidden brookie, mocha mousse, and crispy pearls tucked inside.

Cheetah Brownie

You can purchase the brookie for $5.49.

**See more photos and a review of the Cheetah Brookie ahem Brownie right here!**

Then we tried the returning Cotton Top Tamarin Cupcake. This cupcake comes with an adorable monkey face and has different flavors from the previous versions.

Cotton-Top Tamarin Cupcake

The cupcake is now made with caramel filling and caramel buttercream and costs $5.99. You can find the cupcake at Flame Tree Barbecue and Restaurantosaurus too.

Check out the full Cotton Top Tamarin Cupcake review here!

We washed our sweets down with the new Pistachio Frappuccino! The coffee is made with sweet pistachio flavor blended with milk, and ice, then finished with whipped cream and a rich, salted brown-buttery topping.

Pistachio Frappaccino

The Pistachio drink is also available as a warm latte. The frappuccino costs $5.99.

Read our full review of the Starbucks drink here!

Dino-Bite Snacks

The Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream Sandwich has returned for Valentine’s Day! The crowd-favorite sweet treat looks a little different this year. It’s now made with sugar cookies and rolled in a lot of red sprinkles. We loved the strawberry ice cream and real strawberries too!

Strawberry Shortcake ice Cream Sandwich

You can try the ice cream sandwich for $6.99.

Read our full review of the ice cream sandwich here!

Harambe Fruit Market

One more sweet caught our eye on our adventure. The market is selling a Double Chocolate Butterscotch Banana Muffin. What a name! You can probably guess what’s in this muffin. Chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, with a banana and chocolate muffin.

Double Chocolate Butterscotch Banana Muffin

This muffin was heavy on the chocolate and light on the butterscotch. Chocolate lovers will like it! It costs $6.99 and can also be found at Trek Snacks and the Pandora snack cart.

Read our review of the muffin here!

Menu Updates

A few quick updates! Some Christmas specials were removed from the menus. The limited-time Peppermint Cream Cheese Mousse was removed from Satu’li Canteen and the Peppermint Ice Cream from Anandapur Ice Cream Truck as well.

Peppermint Cream Cheese Mousse

The new Golden Margarita was still available at Trilo-Bites.

Golden Margarita

And, the fresh popcorn stands were not open during our visit. It’s unclear why they were closed, but it could be due to low crowds.

Mahindi Popcorn Stand

We’ll keep an eye out for more menu updates!

Animal Kingdom Attraction Updates

Kali River Rapids

The water tubing ride is officially closed for refurbishment. The closure was scheduled by Disney and is most likely due to the cooler weather.

Kali River Rapids Closed

The attraction is scheduled to reopen on April 1st, 2021.

Learn more about the Kali River Rapids refurbishment here!

Animal Kingdom Merchandise Update

Island Mercantile

New Pandora pins have appeared in Animal Kingdom! We spotted the new Avatar pins in Pin Traders and Island Mercantile. The large pin on top is $19.99, featuring the banshees and mountains. The bottom two are $9.99 each and feature the Avatar “A” logo and the Floating Mountains.

Pandora Pins

You can also purchase the Pandora Mystery Pin box for $15.99.

Mystery Pin Set

We also spotted NEW pressed penny designs. You can now get your pennies pressed with the 2021 imprint. Goodbye, 2021!

Pressed Penny Designs

Riverside Depot

Disney has released a new solid colored MagicBand to add to your growing collection! The new band features a Navy Blue color.

Navy Blue MagicBand

The new band is $14.99.

Check out more photos of the MagicBand here!

Lastly, you can now pick up a Conservation Button by donating to the Disney Conservation Fund. You can choose to donate any amount you want and Disney will match your donation. Ask a Cast Member about the buttons and they will help you donate and receive your button!

Disney Conservation Button

That’s all for now! We’ll be back at Disney’s Animal Kingdom real soon for more food, merchandise, and attraction updates!

See our first look at Everglazed Donuts and Cold Brew in Disney Springs!

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