Happy Lunar New Year!
The Lunar New Year is a 15-day celebration of the arrival of spring, and marks the start of the new year on the lunisolar calendar. It is a holiday of great importance to China, South Korea, and Vietnam, as well as other countries with a significant population of Chinese ex-pats. Each year corresponds to one of the 12 animals of the Zodiac.
This year is the year of the Dragon. It begins today, February 10th, 2024 and will end on January 28th, 2025.
In honor of the New Year, here is a guide to all of the places you can find dragons in Disney World.
1. Journey into Imagination with Figment
I would be remiss if I didn't start us off with the most well-known dragon on the list,
Figment! Figment has been with us since the opening of Journey into Imagination, alongside the rest of EPCOT Center, on October 1st, 1982. He's a lovable, mischievous purple dragon with a wild imagination, the literal embodiment of the phrase, "a figment of the imagination". When the ride was renovated into Journey into Your Imagination in 1999, Figment was nowhere to be seen. Fans complained, and when the re-re-vamped ride opened on June 2nd, 2002, Figment had been returned to a much larger role (his human companion from the original ride, the Dreamfinder, was still conspicuously missing).
Figment can currently be found on his ride, Journey into Imagination with Figment, in the World Celebration area of Epcot; meeting guests in Imageworks (the exit area of his ride); and across various pieces of merchandise throughout the Disney parks.
2. Festival of Fantasy Parade - Maleficent
At Magic Kingdom, the daily parade since March 9th, 2014 (with a brief pause for COVID)
has been the Festival of Fantasy Parade. The parade features a princess float, a Tangled section, a Little Mermaid section, a Peter Pan float, a Brave section, and a Sleeping Beauty area. It is in this portion of the parade where our next dragon can be found. The magnificent, fire-breathing Maleficent dragon is perhaps the most recognizable feature of the Festival of Fantasy Parade. It is an impressive 53 feet long and 26 feet tall. On May 11th, 2018 the dragon caught fire as it passed through Liberty Square. The fire was put out with no injuries, but the head of the dragon was destroyed. It returned to the parade on January 25th, 2019 with new coloring and non-flammable materials.
The Festival of Fantasy Parade currently runs daily in Magic Kingdom. It begins its route at 3:00 pm (EST) in Frontierland, next to the former Splash Mountain/upcoming Tiana's Bayou Adventure and ends on Main Street between the barber shop and fire house.
3. Saint George and the Dragon Statue
In the Germany pavilion in Epcot's World Showcase, there is a statue depicting the myth of Saint George and the Dragon. As the legend goes, a dragon living just outside a village was extorting its inhabitants. The villagers gave the dragon everything they could, until they started running out things--and starting giving human sacrifices instead. One year, a princess was set to be sacrificed. Saint George, however, saved the day by rescuing the princess and slaying the dragon, freeing the town from its reign. This particular statue is inspired by the āSaint George and the Dragonā statue in the medieval Bavarian town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber. The statue lives atop a fountain as a reference to the dragon's having lived in a pond in the myth.
This statue can be found in the middle of the Germany pavilion, in front of the restaurant.
4. The Entrance to Animal Kingdom
At Animal Kingdom, after you go through security but before you have your ticket scanned, you will see the ticketing booths. These are arranged in three sets, with the one in the middle featuring the iconic Animal Kingdom name and an elephant bust. If you look at the one to the left, closer to the Rainforest Cafe, you will see a very similar ticket booth, this one featuring the bust of a dragon. This is a remnant from the early days of Animal Kingdom.
Early in its development, one of the planned lands for Animal Kingdom was Beastly Kingdom, the realm of mythical creatures. The "good" side of the land would feature an attraction based on unicorns and a Fantasia-themed dark ride. The "evil" side of the land would have been home to an attraction called Dragon's Tower, a dark roller coaster ride featuring a fire-breathing dragon. This land would have been placed in what is now Pandora-The World of Avatar. You may have also seen a dragon in the Animal Kingdom logo. This is also a reference to the now-defunct Beastly Kingdom.
5. Komodo Dragons in Animal Kingdom
And, finally, the only real dragons on our list--Animal Kingdom's Komodo Dragons! Okay, so they're not actually dragons. These scaly friends are actually lizards. At an average of 8 feet long, they are the largest breed of lizard in the world. They hail from 5 distinct islands in the Indonesian Lesser Sunda Island chain. Komodo dragons are classified as an endangered species due to human-caused habitat loss, illegal hunting, and climate change.
At their home away from home in Animal Kingdom, their habitats feature naturalistic landscaping, perches for sunbathing and tunnels for cooling, and consistent monitoring from a veterinary team.
The Komodo Dragon is located along the Maharajah Jungle Trek in the Asia portion of Disney's Animal Kingdom.
So there you have it! Five dragons that you can currently find throughout Walt Disney World. There have been other dragons in the past that are not on this list--RIP Elliott and the Main Street Electrical Parade--these are ones you will be able to find today. Which dragon is your favorite? Is there a dragon that used to be in the parks that you particularly miss?
Ready to see some dragons for yourself? The New Year is the perfect reason to make your Disney dreams a reality. Contact me today to start planning your Disney vacation!
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