The Golden Character Statues at Animal Kingdom Are *GASP* Disney Animals!

There are 50 golden character statues coming to Disney World as part of the 50th Anniversary Celebration that starts on October 1st, 2021.

EARidescent Gold Statues

We’ve seen lots of them around Magic Kingdom, including classic characters like Mickey and Minnie Mouse and some really fun statues of Stitch and Orange Bird. They appeared this morning in EPCOT as well, with some of the most detailed statues we’ve seen so far. And now more of them have arrived — this time in Disney’s Animal Kingdom!

You might’ve guessed that the golden character statues in the Animal Kingdom are all Disney animal characters! We found all of these statues near the Tree of Life, but some of them are hiding a little bit, so you’ve gotta keep your eyes peeled. First, we found Bambi and Thumper, plus a gold butterfly that landed on Bambi’s tail.

Bambi and Thumper

The curious deer and his goofy friend are on an EARidescent pedestal that’s half hidden in the bushes in front of the Tree of Life.

A closer look at Bambi and Thumper

We’ve seen a lot of cute Disney duos today on these character statues, but if you’re counting the butterfly, this is the first trio!

Bambi & Thumper! ❤️ pic.twitter.com/eQFsuLhYLP

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) September 15, 2021

Next up we saw some friends from Disney’s The Lion King, also located near the Tree of Life.

Timon, Pumbaa, and Simba

Timon and Pumbaa are sharing an EARidescent pedestal…

Timon and Pumbaa

…and right beside them is Simba.

Simba

Even if they’re not all on the same stand, we’re glad this group stuck together!

Simba! 🌅 pic.twitter.com/aehzKMJ3c0

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) September 15, 2021

Timon and Pumbaa look so happy to see us!

Timon & Pumba! 🍃 pic.twitter.com/0Anl7uRVsb

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) September 15, 2021

The last statue we saw in Animal Kingdom is one of the toughest to find, and it kind of makes sense when you think about the movie they’re in — it’s Nemo and Dory from Pixar’s Finding Nemo.

Nemo and Dory

To find these fish, you’ll look to the right of the Tree of Life — they’re hiding in some bushes nearby.

Nemo and Dory in Animal Kingdom! 🐠 pic.twitter.com/Icyz4NiEwR

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) September 15, 2021

Can you spot Nemo’s lucky fin?

Nemo and Dory’s Statues

That’s all of the character statues we’ve seen so far in Disney’s Animal Kingdom! Disney has said that guests will be able to interact with these statues in some way, but we haven’t heard anything about how that works, and none of the statues have responded to our attempts to befriend them yet. 😂 Keep following DFB for more updates on Disney World’s 50th Anniversary celebrations.