As many of you likely already know — especially if you’ve visited Disney’s Animal Kingdom — Disney is very committed to supporting wildlife conservation efforts.
Special Edition Simba and Nala Plush
And with the new version of The Lion King officially coming to theaters NEXT MONTH (I’m literally jumping with excitement), Disney is focusing their conservation efforts even more.
Sadly, since the original version of The Lion King was released 25 years ago, Africa has lost half the population of its lions. This brings Africa’s number of lions to about 20,000.
As part of the “Protect the Pride” campaign — which we chatted about a few weeks ago — Disney has teamed up with the Wildlife Conservation Network’s Lion Recovery Fund (LRF). With this campaign, Disney has already donated a whopping $1.5 million to save the lions. With the help of others, they hope to double that number and bring the total to $3 million. Ultimately, the goal is to double the lion population by 2050.
Kilimanjaro Safaris
So, how can you help? Well, Disney has shared that their conservation fund will donate $2 (up to $350,000) for every person who rides Kilimanjaro Safaris at Disney’s Animal Kingdom during the opening week of The Lion King. So if you find yourself in Walt Disney World from July 19 – 25, 2019, make sure you hop on the Safari!
Learn more about the “Protect the Pride” campaign here!
Disney also shared this inspiring video, which literally gave me goosebumps.
It will be such a joy to ride one of my favorite attractions while contributing to a wonderful cause!
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Are the plushes limited edition? Really want one but not going to Disney until next May! Glad Disney is making a conscious effort to protect wildlife and reduce waste from their parks.
Lauren, the signage says Special Edition, but we haven’t heard how long these will be sold. They are available on ShopDisney. Nala is here. Simba is here. ShopDisney does indicate that they will donate from the plush sold globally, so even the online purchase appears to include the donation.