Changes IV: Animal Kingdom

The great thing about Animal Kingdom restrooms is that they are visually very interesting to babies and toddlers. I was trying to remember any particular time when I had to change my daughter and she was fussy about it, but I can't. The walls themselves in most of the facilities provide a lot of entertainment and distraction. I have never needed reinforcements and therefore never had to use a Companion Assisted Restroom in this park

The restrooms tend to be less conveniently placed compared to Hollywood Studios, but many of them are larger. Located in the Safari Village in Africa, the Baby Care Center is a bit of a pain to get to from the rest of the park. Mostly because, even though the distance is short, the uneven grounds and hills of Animal Kingdom make it more difficult to push a stroller around than in the three flatter parks. And unlike Magic Kingdom, there are fewer avenues to each section of the park, so many times there's no way to get to the other side of the park, except the long way around.

The best place to change, if the Baby Care Center is too far, is right before the entrance to Dinoland USA. The changing area there is in a quiet isolated alcove and the restroom is generously sized. Which is lucky, because Dinoland is as far from the Africa part of the park as you can get. There is a Companion Assisted Restroom located there should you end up needing it. The rest of the CARs are located at the Affection Section, the Mombasa Marketplace, Dinosaur Treasures, inside and close to the Maharajah Jungle Trek.

The restrooms in Animal Kingdom do tend to be crowded despite the lower attendance in the park. That's due to this park having fewer air conditioned indoor areas and rides compared to other parks. Many people tend to go into one during the hot Florida days just for some respite from the heat. A good idea if you have a little one.

Just be warned: one feature of many of the Animal Kingdom restrooms are the super strong power dryers in them. They are extremely loud, powerful machines that may initially startle even an adult. Which is what makes any isolated changing areas such as at the Dinoland USA entrance a must. Unfortunately, most baby change stations are located close to the sinks and the dryers. If at all possible, try to go to a less crowded facility in order to decrease the number of times a dryer will be used during the changing. Finding the butterflies scattered across the tiles will only go so far in baby distraction.