Adventureland

Adventureland is an area inhabited by spirits, pirates, poachers, and who knows what else. You can ride on a Jungle Cruise with the Pirates of the Caribbean looking for the gods from the Tiki Room … Laugh it up Fuzzball (oops, wrong movie).

In Adventureland you can explore far away lands that are full of interesting characters that offer interesting adventures to kids of all ages. You can train to be a pirate, take a ride on a flying carpet, challenge the mighty Tiki gods, or even climb into a tropical tree house that has running water. Most of these attractions have been here since the park opened and are copies of Disneyland rides. These are timeless classics that get better with age.

Attractions

There is something for all ages in Adventureland. The small ones won’t want to miss –

• The Magic Carpets of Aladdin – a small carnival ride like Dumbo only this one has a spitting camel. The Carpet ride is much like Dumbo in Fantasyland.
• Swiss Family Robinson Tree House – Swiss Family Robinson was one of Uncle Walt’s first action adventure movies that featured real (not animated people). Hop in line and climb the tree and see how the Robinson family lived. It’s amazing. It even has running water.
• Enchanted Tiki Room – is back to the original show that Uncle Walt himself designed. The New Management that has run the place for 15 years is gone (Zazu and Iago) and the old show has returned.

The big rides in this area are some of Disney’s best. They appeal to kids of all ages. Here a a couple of blockbusters –

• Jungle Cruise – designed by Uncle Walt himself. It takes passengers into the depths of the jungles of the world. You get to see all the jungle life up close. The “captain” of the ship will regale you with stories (some of them are even funny) of past expeditions. It’s really a hoot and not to be missed. The Jungle Cruise does get a Holiday Makeover and turn into the Jingle Cruise. Different jokes, but still funny.
• Pirates of the Caribbean– is the attraction that spawned not one, not two, but three, and now five blockbuster movies, and one bigger than life hero. What little boy doesn’t want to be just like Captain Jack Sparrow.  Yo, Ho, Yo, Ho, a pirates life for me… It’s hard to believe that song has been around for over 30 years.

Shopping

Shopping is quite unique in Adventureland. The shops are more like you would see in the Indiana Jones movies only not nearly as dusty. Agara Bazaar, The House of Treasure, and The Pirates Bazaar are full of great nick-nacks that you can’t find everywhere.

Who doesn’t want a pirate’s eye patch or their own flying carpet (motor not included). At the Zanzibar Trading Company, you can get safari-themed clothing and hats.

Dining

Adventureland has really stepped up its dining game recently. Fast food is available at Tortuga Tavern (BBQ sandwiches, open seasonally). The Jungle Cruise Navigation Co. Skipper Canteen (what a mouthful!) is the only table service joint in the land, and it serves up some pretty exotic stuff for a theme park – with the bonus of Jungle Cruise style jokes from your “skipper” servers.

Snacks are where Adventureland shines – Sunshine Tree Terrace has snacks like the popular Citrus Swirl (vanilla soft serve and frozen orange juice) and drinks. Aloha Isle serves pineapple-like Dole Whips (the best snack anywhere) and drinks.

Entertainment

This is home to Captain Jack Sparrow’s Pirate Tutorial. Several times a day pirate lessons are given, sometimes led by Captain Jack Sparrow himself to children of all ages. Men and women, boys and girls who want to learn to be a proper pirate.  It’s a 30 minute lesson on pirate behavior and maybe even a tutorial on those “fuzzy pirate rules”.

Want to become a real pirate? At the Pirates League, you take the Pirate Oath and sign the book to join the crew of the Black Pearl. Be transformed into a swashbuckling first mate or girls can become an Empress worthy of Captain Jack himself.

Dad’s Pirates League page

During the day there is a steady stream of Disney characters that come around and sign autographs. You will find characters here that are from the movies that are represented in this area. Mickey and Minnie and some of the regulars show up too. Make sure you have a pen and camera handy.

Take a video tour of Adventureland

Crowds

This area tends to get late crowds. Why? Because they are all following Dad’s touring plan, that’s why. THE PLAN we use has Adventureland as our last stop of the day. It works for us.

See Dad’s Guide to Magic Kingdom Crowds

If you need some help to make your plan, you might check out my friends at Touringplans.com. They have over 100 touring plans for the Walt Disney World theme parks. These plans will save you hours as you go through your day.

Dad’s Touringplans.com page