Jambo Rochelle, and welcome to planDisney! I love
Animal Kingdom’s spirit of adventure and learning, so I was excited to research your question and find out more about the
Tree of Life.
This majestic park icon stands
145 feet tall and features 337 sculpted animals throughout the trunk. But let’s dig a little deeper and figure out what’s inside! If you watch
The Imagineering Story on Disney+, Episode 4 of the first season talks briefly about what the tree is made of. But if you want to learn about everything from research and development to how the animals were sculpted, I recommend reading The Making of Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park by Melody Malmberg. This book has several pages devoted just to the Tree of Life’s design and construction!
So it turns out the inside structure is made of steel (sometimes referred to as an oil rig frame) and metal lath, while the outside of the trunk is largely made of concrete. In the book, senior production designer and chief sculptor Zsolt Hormay talks about how this medium is ideal for creating the incredible range of textures you see on the tree.
Imagineering’s Research and Development team was tasked with exploring new materials for this project. Concrete would be too heavy for the branches, so they ended up making those from a flexible, injection-molded fiberglass with joints so the branches could move in the wind. It was no small feat to create a tree that could withstand Florida hurricanes while still looking so natural, and I’ll never look at the Tree of Life the same way ever again!
Since it sounds like you have an appreciation for the little details, I wanted to tell you about the behind-the-scenes tours at Animal Kingdom. My favorite is
Wild Africa Trek because it’s such a fun way to experience
Kilimanjaro Safaris from a different perspective. On my 3-hour tour, we got to see a hippo feeding, walk across a rope bridge high above the crocodiles, and enjoy delicious small bites overlooking the savanna. We also took a more leisurely ride through Harambe Wildlife Reserve to learn about the design and, of course, the animals.
For something shorter, I also liked the 1-hour
Caring for Giants and
Up Close with Rhinos tours. You get a closer look at these amazing animals and meet the Cast Members who care for them. If the stars align, you might even get to pet one of the rhinos!
Even if you don’t have another trip planned anytime soon, you can always check out the
Magic of Disney's Animal Kingdom on Disney+. It’s a great way to learn about the Cast Members and animals behind this special place.
I hope this gave you a greater appreciation for Walt Disney Imagineering and the design behind everything in the parks! And if you have any other questions, we’d love to have you back at planDisney.
JoAnna