Wilderness Explorers (attraction)

## Wilderness Explorers

**The Wilderness Explorers** is an attraction in *Disney's Animal Kingdom*. It is themed around the group known as the Wilderness Explorers from the film *Up*.

## Summary

Guests join the ranks of the Wilderness Explorers and are given a *Wilderness Explorers Guidebook* and are sent out to earn badges through studying and learning from the land and its people. It takes guests all across Disney's Animal Kingdom with its different missions being tied to its respective, "lands" and attractions.

### Africa

In this area, Wilderness Explorers due tasks in the East-African port of Harambe where they learn about animal conservation in regards to the Harambe Wildlife Reserve, and learning about the local African culture.

### Asia

In the Asia area, the Wilderness Explorers are based in the kingdom of Anandapur along the Himalayas, namely in the city of Anandapur and village of Serka Zong at the foothills of the Forbidden Mountain.

### DinoLand, U.S.A.

Here, the Wilderness Explorers operate in Diggs County, Florida in the tourist-trap of, "DinoLand, U.S.A.". In this Floridian county, Wilderness Explorers study excavation, palaeontology, prehistoric life, and extinction while also being shown to be affiliated with the advanced *Dino Institute*.

### Discovery Island

The headquarters of the Wilderness Explorers is in this area and its respective area of The Oasis/Safari Village. It is where new recruits are brought in and on Discovery Island itself, they learn about the isle's mythical history as-well as entomology in-theme with the bugs living under the Tree of Life.

### Pandora: The World of Avatar

The Wilderness Explorers are here shown to have operations in the Valley of Mo'ara on the alien moon of Pandora. Missions here revolve around the unique ecology of the moon, conservation efforts, and the valley's history of colonialism.

### Rafiki's Planet Watch

Rafiki's Planet Watch is themed to being a conservation outpost in Africa, connected to the railways of Harambe.

## Connections

Several of the badges, teachings and missions in the attraction are connected to the stories of the different, "Lands" and attractions of Disney's Animal Kingdom.

### Avatar

The Valley of Mo'ara is the setting for Pandora: The World of Avatar which is themed to the 2009 James Cameron film *Avatar*. Along with being set on the moon of Pandora, the guidebooks depict several missions which involve having to study Pandora's wildlife and learn about the history of the valley.

### Dinosaur (Countdown to Extinction)

Diggs County is the setting for this attraction and its respective attraction of DinoLand, U.S.A.. Several of the missions pertain to the *Dino Institute* which is the organization responsible for the attraction. Of note there is the Dinosaur Badge has guests assisting in excavation within Diggs County's, "Boneyard".

### Grizzly Peak

The Wilderness Explorers are also featured in Disney's California Adventure's Redwood Creek Challenge Trail, a walkthrough and playground attraction in the Grizzly Peak section of Disney's California Adventure is themed to being a place of discovery and exploration for the Wilderness Explorers. It is set in the region of Grizzly Peak in Northern California's forests.

### Expedition Everest

The Asia sections of the Wilderness Explorers Guidebook contains several allusions to, depictions of, and missions regarding the Himalayas, the Forbidden Mountain, and the Yeti. This includes using a telescope to note the height of the Forbidden Mountain and differentiate it from Mt. Everest, taking one of Himalayan Escapes' train-tours of the mountains, and studying the folklore and anthropology of the yeti outside of the Yeti Museum. As previously stated, the Wilderness Explorers are connected to the history of Anandapur, namely in the Anandapur Royal Forest. In the Maharajah Jungle Trek there is a plaque which commemorates the Wilderness Explorers as having visited Anandapur's Royal Forests in 1912.

### Kilimanjaro Safaris

The Wilderness Explorers had outposts in Harambe and the Harambe Wildlife Reserve, both the settings for Kilimanjaro Safaris. Some of the missions in the Wilderness Explorers guidebook are also connected to the group of Kilimanjaro Safaris and its conservation efforts. Notably is the Safari Badge which has guests taking a safari from Kilimanjaro Safaris and writing the name of the jeep SIMBA-1. It also mentions Harambe Wildlife Reserve by name and has participants document the animals which they observed.

### Matterhorn Bobsleds

The depictions of the yeti in the Wilderness Explorers Guidebook are modelled after the Matterhorn's yeti from the Disney attraction *Matterhorn Bobsleds* rather than the Yeti of Expedition Everest.

### Up

The Wilderness Explorers are a group from the film Up and missions contain several references to the characters of the film.

## References

1. ↑ https://mickeyblog.com/2019/01/22/ultimate-guide-wilderness-explorers-animal-kingdom/
2. ↑ https://schmirfle.blogspot.com/2016/09/the-wilderness-explorers-handbook.html