What's New in Disney's Animal Kingdom: Closed Arcade Games and a Rare Character Sighting

DISCLOSURE: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning when you click the links and make a purchase, we receive a commission.

If you haven’t been to Disney’s Animal Kingdom lately, you might notice that quite a bit has changed!

Animal Kingdom

Holiday decorations are up, they’ve got new merchandise, and a couple of rides are looking very different. We’re heading around the park today to get you updates of what’s new in terms of merchandise, food, construction projects, and more!

We’ll start out with an exciting new collection of 50th Anniversary souvenirs that we found very recently!

Animal Kingdom Merchandise Updates

If you head into the Riverside Depot or Discovery Trading gift shops in the Animal Kingdom, you can find the newest Dooney & Bourke purse collection, which has a 50th Anniversary theme.

The new bags!

These bags are black with a pattern of iridescent “50th” logos. Although they’re leather bags, the material felt a little strange to us. It might just be a different finish on the outside, though! And the pattern itself looked sort of distressed, which isn’t something you usually see on these designer handbags.

Satchel

But you can get a tote bag, domed satchel, or crossbody bag in this collection, both in the parks and online! And if you’re in Disney World, look out for the Annual Passholder bag that’s part of this collection as well.

Annual Passholder Bag

The tote was $348, the satchel was $318, and the crossbody bag was $268. If you’re buying the Annual Passholder bag (which is similar to the tote bag but with different handles), it’ll cost $318.

Click Here to Shop the Dooney & Bourke 50th Anniversary Collection Online

Animal Kingdom Food Updates

We’ve been on the lookout for the holiday refillable popcorn buckets and sippers, but we haven’t found them yet in any of the Disney World parks. The good news is that there seem to be plenty of Mickey Mouse 50th Anniversary popcorn buckets available!

Mickey popcorn buckets

You can get these buckets at most snack stands in the Animal Kingdom. The bucket is $18.99, and then any popcorn refills after you buy it are $2 each.

Plenty of these available!

Over in the Africa section of Animal Kingdom, we stopped into Zuri’s Sweets Shop to see if there were any new goodies there.

Zuri’s Sweets Shop

We found some Lion King-themed gummi candies that you can get shaped like animals or creepy crawlies (slimy…yet satisfying!).

Slimy yet satisfying!

And there were also some trail snacks with new packaging, like Mountain Mambo Seed & Fruit Mix…

Donald Duck granola bar

…and Cinnamon Swirl Mini Rice Crisps.

Mickey snacks

You can also check out the display case here to see holiday treats like caramel apples, Mickey rice krispie treats, fudge, and more!

Click Here to See Reviews and Photos of All the 2021 Holiday Treats in Disney World

Animal Kingdom Construction Updates

You might already know that the Kali River Rapids attraction is closed right now, and it’s not scheduled to reopen until January 1st of next year.

Closed for now!

We saw some construction over in this area as Cast Members complete some routine maintenance and updates on the ride.

Construction walls at Kali River Rapids

DinoLand U.S.A. also had a bit of construction going on. We’ve already taken a look at the demolished Primeval Whirl attraction…

Primeval Whirl is gone

…but this time we noticed that a lot of the arcade games in Dino-Rama were also closed even though there were plenty of guests in the area.

Closed arcade games

Other Animal Kingdom Updates

If you’re a major Animal Kingdom fan, then you already know who DiVine is. The character is camouflaged in vines and other plants, but if you’re lucky then you can spot her walking around the park sometimes. We saw her recently playing with bubbles and greeting guests on the walkways!

DiVine

That’s it for our Animal Kingdom updates! Keep following DFB for more news on the latest additions in Disney World.

Click Here to See What’s New at the Disney World Hotels

Join the DFB Newsletter to get all the breaking news right in your inbox! Click here to Subscribe!

Don't Miss Out on Any Disney Fun!

Order Your Copy of the 2022 DFB Guide to Walt Disney World Dining Today!

With more than 750 pages, the 2022 DFB Guide to Walt Disney World Dining is full of tips and planning tools developed by Disney World experts over 30+ years of visits. We've done the research for you, so you'll know just which spots will uniquely suit your family's needs!

With mini-reviews of every single restaurant, bar, lounge, kiosk and more; an entire chapter on the best snacks in Disney World; full Disney Dining Plan analysis (and how to get FREE dining); and a full chapter on discounts and deals; you'll have everything you need to plan your best vacation yet.

Click here to order your copy of the 2022 DFB Guide to Walt Disney World Dining E-book with code WDW2022 to save 25% off the cover price today!