Bakso — the first Sumatran tiger cub born at Disney's Animal Kingdom in seven years (September 2024, to mother Sohni) — makes his public debut on the Maharajah Jungle Trek.
Everything that changed here
across the land, newest first- 2026
Now over 18 months old, Bakso roams the trek on his own, no longer shadowing his mother.
- 2025
Crowds hoping to glimpse the cub push the trek past hour-long waits; Disney temporarily reverses the walking route to manage the lines.
- 2025
- 2022
Reopened as a reimagined show, Finding Nemo: The Big Blue… and Beyond! — trimmed to 25 minutes with a new Tank Gang narration framing device tying into Finding Dory, a massive LED video wall extending the physical sets (including a 32-ft submarine), while retaining the Lopez songs and Michael Curry puppets.
40-min Finding Nemo – The Musical→25-min Finding Nemo: The Big Blue… and Beyond! - 2022
Closed January 4, 2022 for a 3-plus-month refurbishment with ride-system and software updates, reopening April 16, 2022; the yeti was not repaired and remained in B-mode.
- 2020
Retooled and renamed Feathered Friends in Flight!, dropping the Pixar Up IP and characters in favor of birds presented by animal-behavior specialists; UP! A Great Bird Adventure had closed Mar 12, 2020 and did not return.
UP! A Great Bird Adventure→Feathered Friends in Flight! - 2020
Finding Nemo – The Musical gave its final performance as Walt Disney World shut down for COVID-19; the original 13-year run never resumed and the Theater in the Wild stayed dark until the reimagined show replaced it.
- 2019
Changedat Feathered Friends in Flight!
Reworked UP! A Great Bird Adventure: the cultured Anandapur host was replaced by a bumbling Wilderness Explorer, Troop Leader Jones, and the script was simplified and made more comedic.
- 2018
Rethemed to UP! A Great Bird Adventure, a Disney-Pixar Up overlay starring Russell and Dug; Flights of Wonder had given its final performance Dec 31, 2017.
Flights of Wonder→UP! A Great Bird Adventure - 2015
Buffat Maharajah Jungle Trek
A mixed-species yard across from the tiger habitat was renovated with a new water pool to introduce three water buffalo to the trek.
- 2007
Finding Nemo – The Musical opened at the Theater in the Wild in DinoLand U.S.A. — a 40-minute stage adaptation using Michael Curry puppets and original songs by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez.
- 2006
Expedition Everest – Legend of the Forbidden Mountain held its grand opening in the Asia area of Disney's Animal Kingdom; the Vekoma-built coaster featured a forward-and-backward layout and a roughly 25-foot yeti Audio-Animatronics figure.
-
The ride's signature yeti Audio-Animatronics figure was taken out of full-motion 'A-mode' within months of opening after its support framing cracked, and has run only in a static, strobe-lit 'B-mode' (nicknamed the 'Disco Yeti') ever since.
full-motion 'A-mode'→static strobe-lit 'B-mode' - 1999
Kali River Rapids opened in the Asia section of Disney's Animal Kingdom as the park's first whitewater river-rafting attraction, themed to a journey down the fictional Chakranadi River with an anti-deforestation conservation story.
- 1999
Maharajah Jungle Trek opened as a self-guided walking trail in the new Asia section of Disney's Animal Kingdom, featuring tigers, a free-flight bird aviary, Komodo dragons, fruit bats and Anandapur royal-ruins theming.
- 1998
Opened with Disney's Animal Kingdom as Flights of Wonder, a live exotic-bird show staged at Asia's Caravan/Anandapur stage.