Todays Earth Day is also the 22nd birthday of Disney's Animal Kingdom

The park has a storied history; its roots in nature, animals, & conservation stretching back into some of Walts earliest projects and ideals

And it's also home to one of my favorite things that never existed

While the park was built well after his passing, nature and conservation were always important to Walt.

The companys first Academy Award was for the short Flowers and Trees

Bambi, a movie in which animals are the protagonists over man, inspired Walt to look further into nature

In the late 40's, he started the True Life Adventure documentary series, essentially the template that modern nature documentaries still follow today

The series was wildly successful, running for 12 years and winning another 8 Academy Awards in the process

"Conservation isn't just the business of a few people. It's a matter that concerns all of us... if we will use our riches wisely, if we protect our wildlife and preserve our lakes and streams, these things will last us for generations to come." - Walt Disney, 1950

It was something that he knew the importance of, and wanted to get people excited about and involved in.

I think this is best exemplified through the park itself

The Tree of Life stands as the central icon of the park

Built on the framework of an offshore oil platform, the tree stands at 145 feet tall, with over 100,000 artificial leaves

Imagineers and artists sculpted over 300 animals out of plaster & concrete into its trunk and limbs

The park itself, best I can tell, is the largest theme park in the world based on acreage, at between 500-580 acres

The park is so big, that the entirety of the Magic Kingdom (107a), can fit in just the space taken by Kilimanjaro Safaris (110a)

The park was designed as a celebration of animals; living, extinct, and imaginary.

Living and extinct animals were covered, but when the park opened, there were only hints at the third group.

A dragon in the logo and carved over a ticket booth, a unicorn in the parking lot.

These were winks towards the intended expansion of Beastly Kingdom. An area of the park that would be ruled by dragons and unicorns alike depending on if you chose the good or evil sides.

This idea was eventually scrapped, and I'll never really get over that

Camp Minnie Mickey was built in its place as an adorable placeholder & it would take almost 20 years until imaginary creatures would finally have a real home in the park with the opening of Pandora

But the lesson of living in balance with the planet is still not lost in the mix

They house an incredible number of animals; between the park the the Animal Kingdom Lodge, going through about 10,000 pounds of food a day.

And over the years they've had 8 white rhino births, 7 elephants, and 11 giraffes

I'm going to cap this thread here, not because I'm out of things to talk about, but because there are so many things I want to talk about, that I have to end it somewhere