Disney has been through a lot of major changes recently, including replacing Bob Chapek with the new(ish) CEO Bob Iger. But there are lots of smaller changes happening every day in the Disney World theme parks!

Come along with us to Disney’s Animal Kingdom to see what’s changed in this park since our last visit.

Animal Kingdom Merchandise Updates

Wind Traders

This gift shop is located in Pandora: World of Avatar, near the exit of the Avatar: Flight of Passage ride. It’s getting in on the festive fun with a couple of new ornaments. We spotted a wooden Direhorse ornament for $22.99…

…and a wooden banshee ornament, also for $22.99.

You can head in now to buy these ornaments for your Christmas tree.

Discovery Trading Company

There were lots of new items at the Discovery Trading Co., including a Little Mermaid ornament for $24.99…

…a Minnie Mouse wallet for $16.99…

…a set of earrings that look like Disney snacks for $19.99…

…and an entire collection of Princess Jasmine bathroom accessories. There’s a shower curtain for $44.99…

…a jewelry tray for $17.99…

…a toothbrush holder for $29.99…

…and a Rajah rug for $34.99.

Your entire bathroom could be themed to Aladdin with these new items.

Island Mercantile

Haunted Mansion fans will want to check out this vault collection Haunted Mansion t-shirt, which has an image of the hitchhiking ghosts on it!

The tee is $34.99.

Click here to see NEW Minnie ears that are in Disney World AND online!

Animal Kingdom Ride Updates

Thanksgiving crowds have arrived in full force at Animal Kingdom, and the ride wait times are showing it! Avatar: Flight of Passage (the most popular ride in this park) was showing a wait time of 195 minutes on Monday afternoon, which is over 3 HOURS 😳. DINOSAUR (which usually has a wait time of under 45 minutes) was up to 65 minutes.

Na’vi River Journey, which is also in Pandora: World of Avatar, had a wait of 95 minutes, and TriceraTop Spin (a kids’ ride in DinoLand U.S.A.) was up to 40 minutes.

The popular Kilimanjaro Safaris ride was almost at 2 hours (115 minutes, to be exact), and the Mickey and Minnie meet-and-greet at Adventurer’s Outpost had a 75-minute wait.

The It’s Tough to be a Bug! show in the Tree of Life had a wait of 35 minutes, and Kali River Rapids got up to 60 minutes. It might be wintertime, but it was still 75+ degrees in Orlando today, so a water ride where you could get soaked might not be a bad idea.

Rounding out the list, Expedition Everest had a wait of 60 minutes.

All of the rides had wait times that are a bit longer than we’re used to seeing, likely because of holiday crowds in the park. If you want the best chance of getting on your favorite rides without a super long wait, make sure you’re at the parks early in the morning! And you might consider purchasing Genie+ (although keep in mind that the price went up BIG TIME today).

Click here to check out more holiday crowds in Disney World.

This is a lot of news to take in, right? We’ve got a little fun break for you now – check out all the new, fun Disney-themed graphic tees and more in our merch store by clicking here!

Stay tuned to DFB for more updates on all the latest Disney news.

Click here to see what’s new at Disney’s Hollywood Studios!

What’s your favorite thing to do in Disney’s Animal Kingdom? Let us know in the comments.