Easter at Animal Kingdom Lodge: Painting Ostrich Eggs!
Animal Kingdom Lodge is a one-of-a-kind resort, and you can always count on them to provide incredibly unique ways to celebrate every holiday! Their long-standing Easter tradition allows guests to paint real ostrich eggs for Easter, and I was lucky enough to join in this year! Ostrich Egg Painting was scheduled for Saturday, April 16, 2022, which was the day before Easter Sunday. This was exclusively advertised in the Kidani Village Community Hall and wasn’t listed on the monthly Recreation Calendar, so I recommend that anyone wanting to participate next year should call the Community Hall at 407-938-6950 to find out when it’s scheduled. Reservations were not accepted for this activity, and guests are able to take part on a first-come, first-served basis only.
Ostrich Egg Painting was available at both the Community Hall at Kidani Village and Simba’s Cubhouse at Jambo House from 3:00-5:00 PM. The Cast Members explained that the activity doesn’t actually have a firm end time - it’ll be available until they run out of ostrich eggs, which could happen before or after 5:00 PM, depending on how many guests are interested. It costs $25.00 per egg, and all proceeds go to the Disney Conservation Fund.
I went to the Kidani Village Community Hall around 3:10 PM for this activity and found the door closed and the Community Hall already at maximum capacity. Good to know for next year - painting ostrich eggs is very popular and fills up quickly, so it’s best to arrive early! A kind Cast Member was manning the door and had started a waitlist, so she added my name to the list and said they would give me a call as soon as a table opened up for me. I went outside to a nearby balcony and watched the animals on the savanna while I waited, and got a call about 20 minutes later letting me know that it was my turn to paint!
When I arrived, the Cast Members already had a table ready for me, with napkins, paintbrushes, a plastic paint palette, and a water cup to rinse the paintbrushes. I paid for my ostrich egg, and then a Cast Member came over with a basket of paint. I was able to choose up to 6 colors to start with, and they were happy to give paint refills or additional colors anytime during the activity. The ostrich egg came with a paper bowl that helped hold it steady while I painted.
I decided to paint my ostrich egg with a giraffe pattern. The eggs are a little challenging to paint because they have a naturally glossy surface, so the paint didn’t adhere very well and took a long time to dry. It was especially tricky once I needed to take the egg out of the bowl to paint the bottom - there really was no way to do this without smudging everything I had already painted, so a design that doesn’t cover the entire egg would probably be a better idea next time.
During the activity, Cast Members came around to everyone’s tables and shared some interesting ostrich facts. They said that these eggs are real ostrich eggs that came from the 4 female ostriches that live on the Animal Kingdom Lodge savannas. Their eggs are collected, yolks drained out, and then the eggs are saved up all year specifically for this activity. Did you know that one ostrich egg is equal to 24 chicken eggs?
While everyone was painting, the Cast Members surprised everybody with free bags of Easter candy! I spent about 30 minutes painting, and the paint was still wet when finished up. Unfortunately, the Community Hall was not able to store the eggs for us until the paint dried (they said their normal storage area was packed full of Easter candy for the next day!) Because of this, this is really an activity best suited for Animal Kingdom Lodge guests who can safely take their eggs directly up to their hotel room to dry. If you’re not staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge but still want to participate, then you should come prepared with a plan to transport the egg without damaging the paint, or plan to spend a few hours hanging around Animal Kingdom Lodge until the paint dries.
The egg was really pretty sturdy (definitely not as fragile as a chicken egg), and easily made it home in my suitcase without breaking. However, the paint didn’t stick to the egg’s shiny surface too well, so even after it dried, the paint scratched off with the slightest pressure. The egg needed a few paint touch-ups once I got home, but then became a really interesting piece of art to display. This was such a memorable Easter activity, and something I look forward to doing again next year!
