The Pride Lands (or Kiburi Ardhi in Swahili) are a fictional location from the film The Lion King (1994) which is referenced in the Jungle Cruise's successor attraction, Kilimanjaro Safaris
Description[]
The Pride Lands are an African Savannah located around South Kenya and North Tanzania. The region is ruled over by an animal monarchy of lions who guard over the Circle of Life and consider, "Everything the light touches" seen from Pride Rock to be part of the Pride Lands.
Features[]
- Ancient tree: This is an ancient baobab tree that was home to the mandrill Rafiki, Royal Mjuzi of the Pride Lands.
- Gorge:
- Pride Rock: Pride Rock was the effective capital of the Pride Lands which housed the lion pride who ruled over the land.
- Mount Kilimanjaro: This dormant volcano is either located within the Pride Lands or in its near vicinity.
- Water Hole:
History[]
Background[]
Jungle Cruise appearances[]
Africa (Disney's Animal Kingdom)[]
The Pride Lands and its inhabitants are often referenced in the Port of Harambe.
Festival of the Lion King[]
The Pride Lands are referenced in this show which is themed to being a travelling performance, celebrating the reign of King Simba and which stops in the Harambe Theatre. The four human performers in the show are accompanied by Simba, Timon, Pumbaa and assorted animals from the Pride Lands.
Kilimanjaro Safaris[]
The feature of, "Pride Rock" in the Harambe Wildlife Reserve is named for the rock formation of the same name in the Pride Lands with tour-guides of Kilimanjaro Safaris sometimes referencing the Pride Lands while passing it. Additionally, the main jeep of the attraction is called the SIMBA-1 for the Pride Lands' king, Simba. Incidentally, the Kilimanjaro Safaris company logo is the real-world Mount Kilimanjaro, seen in the vicinity of the Pride Lands in the film.
The Lion King Scavenger Hunt[]
This attraction involved wooden-sculptures of Simba, Nala, Kiara, Timon, Pumbaa, Zazu and Scar being placed around Harambe.
Rafiki's Planet Watch[]
The namesake and central-character of the Conservation Station outside of Harambe is Rafiki
Wild Africa Trek[]
Posters for this service imitate the Pride Lands.[1]
Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom[]
The Pride Lands are referenced in the Lion King/Jungle Cruise mission where guests fight Scar following his resurrection by Hades and attempts to destroy Adventureland via a stampede of elephants before being defeated.
Other connections[]
Jungle Cruise[]
A removed shield from the headhunter camp in Disneyland showed the logo for the Lion King musical.[2]
Skipper Canteen[]
In the Skipper Canteen's library there is a book titled Hamlet: A Lion's Tale by Shakes Speare. This references the Lion King and its origins as an adaptation of William Shakespeare's Hamlet. Also in the library is a book titled A New Way to Manage Birds by I & Z Management Publications. This book references the attraction The Enchanted Tiki Room (Under New Management) with, "I & Z" referencing the birds Iago and Zazu, Zazu having been majordomo of the Pride Lands. Both of these books are inconsistent with the main attraction integrations of the Lion King placing its events around the 1990s as the books would have been written by 1938.
Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room[]
In the Enchanted Tiki Room attraction The Enchanted Tiki Room (Under New Management), the Pride Lands' majordomo Zazu became co-owner of the Enchanted Tiki Room alongside the bird Iago from Aladdin after obtaining the property from Hollywood executives.
Other appearances[]
Mickey's PhilharMagic[]
Donald Duck is transported to the Pride Lands in this attraction by the magic of Yen Sid's sorcerer hat.
Trivia[]
- As the Lion King is loosely based on William Shakespeare's play The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, the Pride Lands are the film's analogue to the Kingdom of Denmark.
- In the 2003 DVD release of the Lion King, Rafiki's ancient baobab tree was given the name, "The Tree of Life" due to its resemblance to the icon of Disney's Animal Kingdom.
- In The Enchanted Tiki Room (Under New Management), the Pride Lands are paralleled by Agrabah, a location from Aladdin which is closer tied to Adventureland.
Gallery[]
