Merry Menagerie at Animal Kingdom

Imagine your arrival at the Animal Kingdom during the beginning of the holiday season—you’ve had the “ahh” moment of catching that first glimpse of the Tree of Life and watching families interact with the Wilderness Explorer cast members.

And as you single-mindedly try to head in the direction toward Kilimanjaro Safaris, you notice kids and adults alike surrounding what you can only describe as “puppets.”

“Can’t they do this someplace else?” you think to yourself as you try to maneuver around without getting into anyone’s photos.

But THEN you see the sweetest little fox laughing with a young girl, closing its eyes while she pets its head.  What on earth?  Why are they so adorable?  What are these things??

Magic Kingdom has a Merry Christmas Party, and Hollywood Studios has Jollywood Nights, and EPCOT celebrates the Festival of the Holidays, but my absolute favorite holiday experience has been the Merry Menagerie experience at Animal Kingdom Park.

The Disney World app describes this experience as a way to “delight in winter wonders as Discovery Island springs to life with artisan-sculpted puppets of arctic animals—like penguins, reindeer, foxes and polar bears.”

A Penguin Puppet

This is one of those times when a picture is worth a thousand words, because words do not do justice to the experience of interacting with these adorable animals and their puppeteers.

A few weeks ago I was trying to describe the magic and wonder of this experience to a friend of mine, and I did not do a very good job—her response was “okaayy” in that drawn out way that friends have of telling you they think you are nuts.  But just a few days later I was able to send some photos of my interactions with these life-like puppets and her attitude completely changed to “OMG, this is amazing!”

The puppets themselves are truly works of art but the deft handling by the puppeteers allows them to take on a life and personality of their own.  Many creatures open and close their eyes and mouths.  Some are so small they are held in their puppeteers’ arms, others have wheels that create a wobbly todder-like ambulation.  The biggest animals require two cast members, who work in tandem.  Somehow, the humans become part of the animals, lending their own charm to the animal’s interactions with park guests.

Polar Bear Puppets

For the past few years, I have observed older children and some young adults stay for hours to interact with these animals.  It is truly heartwarming to watch the cast members and the puppets create beautiful interactions while also including everyone else who wants to “talk” to the animals.

A Seal Puppet and its Handler

The combination of animals at any given time is unpredictable, but if you find a handler to talk to, they will usually give you an idea of what time your favorite is due to return on that particular day.

A nice touch is the live music that accompanies the animals.  I have heard a steel drum, and a violin.  Sometimes together, but mostly solo, accompanied by the music tracks playing in the area.

You can experience the Merry Menagerie in the morning from 9:45 am to 12:35 pm and again from 1:25 pm to 5:10 pm.  This is not like a character meet and greet where you form a line and wait.  No, this is just good-natured chaos as the animals catch your eye and engage your heart.