I live near Disney (I know, I'm so lucky. Yes, my life is better than yours... just kidding.), so when Animal Kingdom was in the works, I remember the Tree of Life becoming a thing. It's as if one day it was just fields and trees, and the next, POOF. Giant tree, right there. Obviously, it took time to get it put up and everything, but it didn't take very long at all.
The Tree of Life is 145 feet tall, or 14 stories. It's 50 feet wide and its trunk is intricately 'carved' with animals from all over the world. (It also has a Hidden Mickey, but I won't spoil it and tell you were it is. Yes, I do know.) The tree wasn't the first choice for a park icon; others included a three-tier carousel (animals of the ground, see, and sky) and Noah's Ark. Personally, I like the tree best, but, meh.
Since we have so many hurricanes, the tree had to, you know, not fall over and squish people. Also, the leaves are placed individually, and blow in the wind- all 103,000+ of them. Inside the tree is the A Bug's Life show, not my favorite but good to watch at least once.
My favorite trivia is that my daughter thought they'd flown in a real tree. Disney Magic, ladies and gents.
Since we have so many hurricanes, the tree had to, you know, not fall over and squish people. Also, the leaves are placed individually, and blow in the wind- all 103,000+ of them. Inside the tree is the A Bug's Life show, not my favorite but good to watch at least once.
My favorite trivia is that my daughter thought they'd flown in a real tree. Disney Magic, ladies and gents.