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Disney’s Animal Kingdom Behind-The-Scenes Tours: Reviews, Breakdowns, and Know-Before-You-Go

Animal Kingdom has a number of behind-the-scenes tours available, all of which give you private, up-close experiences with a select set of animals. In this article, you’ll find a breakdown of each of the four tours, as well as general information on how the tours work, what you can expect, and important items to know before you go!

Important Information

To start with the basics: All of the tours offered require separate theme park admission and until January 2024, a park pass reservation for Animal Kingdom (or a park hopper for the later tours). All tours occur rain or shine, but may be cancelled or adjusted in the event of thunderstorms. And all tours do not technically guarantee that you’ll see animals, since animals are never forced to do anything or go anywhere at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. It would be extremely unlikely (we’d say borderline impossible) that you are unable to see any animals during your tour, but that is a disclaimer that Disney gives!

Tour check-in is at the Curiosity Animal Tours kiosk, located across from the entrance to Kilimanjaro Safaris. Be sure to arrive early, as late arrivals typically cannot be accommodated and you’ll usually need to fill out a waiver before heading out!

Different tours have different levels of “backstage” viewing. For Wild Africa Trek and Savor the Savanna, you go into areas of Kilimanjaro Safari that most guests can’t see, but you’re still onstage. For Caring for Giants and Up Close with Rhinos, you do go into a fully backstage area, so just something to keep in mind with little ones! Note that when you are in a backstage area, no photos or videos are allowed.

All tours typically have discounts available for Annual Passholders and/or DVC members and are available to book 60 days before the start of your trip. This means that if you’re staying from Friday to Tuesday at an on-property resort, you can book for your entire stay starting 60 days from Friday, even though Tuesday is 64 days out. If nothing is available, keep checking back – sometimes, tours aren’t posted until 30-45 days out!

Savor the Savanna and Wild Africa Trek both have food components. They are able to accommodate any dietary restrictions, you’ll just let them know at check-in. Alcoholic beverages are also provided for anyone over the age of 21.

Now let’s go over key info for each of the individual tours:

Caring For Giants

Availability: Daily, typically at 9:00AM, 10:00AM, 1:00PM, and 2:00PM

Length: 1 hour

Cost: $35 per person

Restrictions: Guests must be 4 years of age or older and guests under 18 must be accompanied by an adult

On this tour, you’ll hop on a bus and take a quick 10 minute drive to a viewing area in the back of the African Elephant enclosure, where you’ll be able to view the herd from 80-100 feet away. Throughout the tour, the guide will provide information about the elephants and their care at Animal Kingdom. The tour is extremely freeform and is heavily based around the questions asked, so definitely come prepared with a few!

Elephant seen during Caring For Giants tour

Up Close With Rhinos

Availability: Daily, typically at 11:00AM

Cost: $45 per person

Similar to Caring for Giants, on this tour, you’ll take a quick 10-minute bus ride to a backstage viewing area for the White Rhinos. During the tour, the guide will provide information about the White Rhinos and their care at Animal Kingdom, focused primarily on answering your questions (so be sure to bring some!) While most of the tour will be from a distance, the tour does end with getting to touch a rhino in their enclosure!

Two important things to note about this tour: 1. Since it only runs once per day, it is typically the hardest to book 2. The tour takes place entirely backstage, so no photos and videos are allowed at all throughout the tour.

Savor the Savanna

Availability: Daily, typically at 3:15PM and 4:30PM

Length: 2 hours

Cost: $174 per person

Restrictions: Guests must be 8 years of age or older and guests under 18 must be accompanied by an adult

This tour is the most relaxing of the four! You’ll hop on a special Kilimanjaro Safari truck and take a special safari tour, stopping part of the way to meet with a keeper who will tell you about how they care for the animals on the savanna. Then, you’ll make your way to a pavilion at the top of the savanna, where you’ll have food from Tusker House and Tiffins waiting for you, as well as alcoholic beverages. You’ll get to sit and enjoy your refreshments while you learn about the animals and their care (including asking questions!), before finishing off the safari at the end.

Wild Africa Trek

Availability: Daily, typically at 8:45AM, 10:15AM, 11:45AM, and 12:30PM

Length: 3 hours

Cost: $199 per person

Restrictions: Guests must be 8 years of age or older and at least 48 inches tall. Guests under 18 must be accompanied by an adult. All participants must be between 45 and 300 pounds with the harness gear on.

This tour involves many parts! You’ll receive a harness and everything will need to be strapped to you – if your cell phone as a case, you can get a phone holder to bring and they’ll provide a new water bottle that you can keep at the end of the tour. Small cameras that hang around the neck are also allowed, as are hats, ears, and sunglasses. Anything else will need to be stored in a locker!

During the tour, you’ll watch a hippo feeding, cross two suspended bridges over a hippo enclosure and a crocodile enclosure, and get a special crocodile viewing. The guides have lots of prepared information to share, but are also happy to answer any questions! You’ll then finish by going to the same pavilion as Savor the Savanna to enjoy food from Tusker House and Tiffins, as well as alcoholic beverages.

Hippo encounter during the Wild Africa Trek tour

All of the tours at Animal Kingdom are incredible – we’ve done all except Up Close with Rhinos, and plan to do that soon as well! It’s hard to say which is “best”, as it really depends on what you’re looking for. Our recommendation for someone just starting out with tours would be Caring For Giants, and if you’re a huge Animal Kingdom-lover, Wild Africa Trek!

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Disney’s Animal Kingdom Park | Walt Disney World

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Disney’s Animal Kingdom Park is the most unique and beautiful of the 4 Walt Disney World theme parks . Get ready to explore African savannas, Asian jungles, and even other planets all with breathtaking landscapes and immersive stories and without ever leaving Orlando!

Disney World’s most unique and certainly most ambitious park, the Animal Kingdom is a wonderful mix of exotic wildlife, thrilling attractions, and some of the most realistic details you will ever find.

The research and care that went into developing Disney’s Animal Kingdom are unmatched and because of that, it is a place where your imagination can run as wild as the more than 1,700 animals the park is home to.

In this post, we’ll cover everything you need to know about Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park, including all the rides and attractions, entertainment, and restaurants you have to experience when you visit.

Though the Animal Kingdom has had its share of criticism in the past, it has made many improvements over the years and has quickly risen on our list of best Disney Parks. It has one of Disney World’s best attractions (Flight of Passage) and is a place the entire family will enjoy.

We’ll also share with you the history of Animal Kingdom at Disney World, how the park was created, explore each one of its themed areas, and share some of our favorite tips and tricks we’ve learned in the decades we’ve been visiting.

Before we get started make sure to read these other useful resources we’ve put together on Disney’s Hollywood Studios to help you plan your visit:

• Best Animal Kingdom Rides
• Visiting Disney’s Animal Kingdom After Reopening (What’s Changed?)

Also, don’t forget to sign up for our FREE Weekly E-Mail Newsletter. There we bring you the latest updates on Disney’s Animal Kingdom as well as vacation planning tips. You can sign up here: Join our E-Mail Newsletter!

Table of Contents

• Location: Walt Disney World, Bay Lake, Florida, United States
• Opened: April 22, 1998
• Attractions: 19
• Restaurants: 34
• Status: Operating
• Operated By: Walt Disney World Resort
• Park Capacity: 60,000

What is the Animal Kingdom?

Disney’s Animal Kingdom is the fourth theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake near Orlando, Florida, USA. The park is themed to the environment and animal conservation.

The park was known as “Disney’s Wild Animal Kingdom” during its development stage.

It is home to 6 unique lands that explore real-world locations and the wildlife located there such as Africa and Asia, as well as fictional places with dinosaurs and alien plant life and animals. It is a hybrid combination of zoological exhibits and theme park rides.

It is definitely not your everyday theme park and whatever you do, just don’t call it a zoo!

The Animal Kingdom at Disney World opened on April 22, 1998, and was designed and brought to life by Disney Imagineer Joe Rohde who took the lead on the project.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom is also Disney World’s biggest theme park at 580 acres, roughly 5 times the size of Disney’s Magic Kingdom.

Walt Disney World is one of the world’s most popular vacation destinations and the Animal Kingdom is one of the most visited parks annually. In 2019 it was home to 13+ million guests, making it the third-most visited theme park in North America and sixth overall in the world.

Where is Animal Kingdom Located?

Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Florida is just one of the 4 Disney theme parks in the Walt Disney World Resort in the Orlando, Florida area. It can be confusing, but the park is part of a larger complex of other parks and hotels.

The official address of Disney’s Animal Kingdom park is 2901 W Osceola Pkwy, Orlando, FL 32830 .

When looking at a map of Walt Disney World, Animal Kingdom park is on the far west of the property. It’s definitely the most isolated of all the Disney World theme parks.

To the immediate South West is Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge, the closest resort to the park. To the East are Disney’s Blizzard Beach water park and Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort. To the southeast are the All-Star Resort Hotels.

What is Disney’s Animal Kingdom Known for?

When you think of the Animal Kingdom, the first thing that comes to mind are animals and wildlife of course. Going along with that, the most famous attraction in the park is Kilimanjaro Safaris, the perfect way to see those animals.

The park icon is The Tree of Life, located in the center of the park on Discovery Island. It is recognized as the symbol of the park and you will see it listed on all advertisements, brochures, etc.

In recent years, the most popular attraction has been Avatar Flight of Passage, which brings in thousands of guests each day who come to ride a banshee.

Animal Kingdom Logo

If you’ve seen the logo for Disney’s Animal Kingdom Park, you might have noticed the Tree of Life, the animals, which include a dragon in the middle of them.

Why is there a dragon in the Animal Kingdom logo if there are no dragons in the park itself?

When the Animal Kingdom was designed, it was decided that it would focus on animals that exist today, animals that did exist at one time but are now extinct and fictional animals brought about through legend and fantasy.

The Yeti from Expedition Everest is a good example of this.

The dragon was included in the Animal Kingdom logo due to its presence in one of the originally planned lands, Beastly Kingdom. This area would have included many creatures of legend and mythology, like dragons.

Even though this land never was built, the dragon has stayed in the Animal Kingdom logo down to this day.

Getting Tickets

If you want to go to Disney’s Animal Kingdom, the first thing you need to do is get your park admission . To do that, you need to decide how many days you will be going.

If you want to see everything the Animal Kingdom has to offer, you will need a full day at the park. There are many must-do rides and plenty of animal exhibits you will want to take your time visiting.

Getting a ticket with a Park Hopper option is always a good idea, as it allows you to visit multiple parks on the same day. That way you can always come back for at least part of a second day if you don’t see it all the first time, without having to spend a full day there.

If you go a second day, make sure it’s the morning, that’s when the animals are the most active.

Both Single and Multi-Day tickets to Disney’s Animal Kingdom are available to purchase dates for 2024. Tickets are available right now through December 31, 2024.

Disney World park tickets use dynamic pricing which means the cost changes depending on the date you go. If you are trying to get the lowest-priced tickets, go in the off-season when ticket prices are cheaper. The closer to a holiday you visit, the higher ticket prices will be.

Make sure you buy Walt Disney World tickets from the official Disney World website or a trusted reseller. Don’t waste your time with offers on a third-party website that look “too good to be true,” they probably are. Some resellers even try to sell unusable tickets, so be careful. Our Discount Disney World Tickets Guide explains what to look for and how much you can save.

Our favorite place to get discounted tickets is Orlando Vacation .  Readers of this site will find they usually have the best deals and will save you the most money, which is never a bad thing! We also highly recommend Undercover Tourist for discounted tickets.

For more info on Disney tickets in general, ticket types, prices, and tips read our Disney World Tickets Guide .

How Much Does Animal Kingdom cost?

Spending the day at the Animal Kingdom park at Disney World is not cheap, especially if you have a big family.

Again, depending on what time of year you plan on going, a 1-Day ticket to Disney’s Animal Kingdom can cost anywhere from $109 to $164.

There are also other costs you also must consider. Food is expensive in all the Disney parks, and it will vary depending on whether you eat at sit-down table service restaurants or counter service.

The cost of food at Disney’s Animal Kingdom can be anywhere between $40-$100 per person, per day, so budget accordingly.

If you are taking your vehicle, parking is another expense to factor in. Standard parking costs $30 per vehicle, per day for cars and motorcycles.

The bottom line is all these expenses add up, so figure on spending between $180-$250 per person for one day at the parks, again depending on when you go.

For more info on all expenses during your trip, read our post on How Much Does it Cost to Go to Disney World?

Park Pass Reservations

At this time, visiting Animal Kingdom Park requires not just a regular park ticket, but also a Disney Park Pass Reservation. (UPDATE: Starting January 9th, 2024 Park Pass Reservations will no longer be necessary for most ticket types).

The Disney Park Pass Reservation System was implemented recently due to the new safety guidelines as a way to limit the number of people that can visit the parks each day and help manage the crowds.

Park reservations can be made on the Disney World website , but again, you’ll need to have a valid park admission before making a park reservation. (There are some exceptions for Annual Passholders ).

Read our Disney World Park Reservations Guide for a detailed walkthrough of the new system.

Operating hours at all 4 Disney World theme parks can vary depending on when you visit and the events happening at that time. Make sure you check park hours before making your day-to-day touring schedule.

You can get more detailed info in our Animal Kingdom Park Hours Guide , but here is a short overview below.

2024 Hours – Park hours in all the parks are basically back to normal now, and it’s rare to see reduced hours for the parks anymore, and this includes the Animal Kingdom.

Here are the typical Animal Kingdom Park Hours right now:

Normal Schedule – When Walt Disney is operating normally, on most days, the Animal Kingdom opens at 8:00 am and closes between 5:00 pm and 8:00 pm. Occasionally it has earlier or later closings depending on the season.

These times will vary greatly in the coming months, so make sure to check the Walt Disney World Park calendar on the official website for the most updated hours .

Holidays and Busy Days – Animal Kingdom park hours can vary during the holidays and the busy season with earlier openings and later closings than usual.

Early Theme Park Entry – This lets guests who are staying at a Walt Disney World Resort hotel gain access to the theme parks 30 minutes before the general public each day. This includes all 4 Disney World theme parks, 7 days a week.

Extended Evening Hours – This lets guests of select Walt Disney World Resort hotels stay in the theme parks for 2 hours after the normal park closing. Right now, Disney’s Animal Kingdom does not offer Extended Evening Hours and it’s only running at the Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, and Hollywood Studios. We’ll let you know if it eventually comes here too.

Special Events – Hours also vary when Animal Kingdom Park is running a Disney After Hours event or another special event.

What Time do the Gates Open? – Guests showing up at Disney’s Animal Kingdom will be let in before the official park opening time. Usually, they start letting guests through the gates 30 minutes ahead of time. This is mostly for people going to Pandora and the line for Flight of Passage starts forming at that time.

Check the official Walt Disney World park schedule for the latest Animal Kingdom park hours.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom is divided into 6 uniquely themed lands each with its own look and feel, as well as attractions based on that theme.

Here are the 6 themed lands at Disney’s Animal Kingdom:

Discovery Island

• Dinoland U.S.A.

Pandora: The World of Avatar

The Animal Kingdom is built on a similar “wheel and spoke” layout to what is found at the Magic Kingdom. Instead of a castle as the central focal point, The Tree of Life acts as the hub, and the other lands branch off from there.

Located on Discovery Island, the Tree of Life is visible from many areas of the park and helps people to know where they are going, acting as an orientation point for guests.

Set up this way, the park is easy to navigate, while at the same time giving guests control over their adventures and letting them decide where they want to go.

If you are wondering why we didn’t include Rafiki’s Planet Watch as one of the themed lands, that’s because it technically isn’t one of the park’s lands and it belongs to Africa.

Let’s take a look at each of the 6 themed lands…

This is the first land you go through at the Animal Kingdom and is connected to the park’s entrance. This is the introduction area to the park. Think of it as the Animal Kingdom’s version of Main Street U.S.A. only without any buildings and in the middle of the jungle.

The Oasis is the most overlooked area of the park as people just run through it on their way to one of the park’s E-Ticket attractions when they arrive or skip over it on their way out of the park. That’s really a shame because it offers some interesting areas to explore and sets the mood for upcoming adventures.

You’ll immediately notice the thick vegetation and plant life that helps create the transition from the parking lot. Stop by the Oasis Exhibits when you are here, the first animals visible in the park.

At the end of The Oasis, cross the bridge and head to the park’s central hub, Discovery Island.

Discovery Island is the center of Animal Kingdom Park and it’s where your journey begins. From here you can reach any of the other major lands, you only need to decide where to go.

In the center of Discovery Island and standing at 145 feet tall is the Tree of Life . No, the Tree of Life is not a real tree. It is a sculpture of a Baobob tree and carries over 8,000 artificial branches and 102,000 leaves.

The tree also features 325 carvings of animal species, both existing and extinct. Some of the animals you will find include: elephant, tiger, hippo, kangaroo, moose, horse, lion, turtle, lobster, shrimp, alligator, frog, rabbits, cougar, shark, and many more.

Inside the tree, don’t miss “It’s Tough to be a Bug,” a fun 3D show based on the 1998 Pixar animated classic “A Bug’s Life.”

If you are looking for a quiet place away from the crowds, make sure to spend some time wandering the Discovery Island Trails where you can get a good look at the hundreds of animals on the Tree of Life.

Africa is one of the original Animal Kingdom lands and home to the fictional East-African village of Harambe. It’s the biggest land in the park and the jumping-off point to see many of the most popular animals.

Even though Harambe is a fictional place, it’s a very realistic representation of a real-life modern-day African village. Nothing here is glamorous, many of the buildings are falling apart, and the details were taken by Disney Imagineers on their many trips to the real Africa.

Of course, since Harambe is a port town, it caters to tourists, many of whom have come for the famous Kilimanjaro Safari . This is a very realistic imitation of an actual African safari, and the closest you will get to one without leaving the continent.

This is only the beginning of the animal exhibits in Africa. Make sure to spend some time at the Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail where you can get up close to these amazing creatures.

The Festival of the Lion King is a popular stage show based on Disney’s 1994 animated hit. Africa is also home to one of the best buffets in Disney World ( Tusker House Restaurant ) and various quick service options like the Harambe Market, Kusafiri Coffee Shop and Bakery, and Tamu Tamu Refreshments.

Rafiki’s Planet Watch , while technically not a separate land, is a huge area separate from the rest of Africa, accessible only by train. Here you can learn about Disney’s commitment to animal care and conservation in the various exhibits and attractions.

To get to Rafiki’s Planet Watch, you’ll need to take the Wildlife Express Train , an attraction in its own right.

Once you get off, you are led down paths until you get to Conservation Station . This is where most of the exhibits are located.

Outside, this area has a petting zoo called “Affection Station” where you can get up close to some of the furriest animals in the park.

Inside there are various displays and many species of snakes, insects, lizards, spiders, and more. You might even get to see the veterinarians doing a procedure on one of the park’s animals like a lion, ostrich, or gazelle.

Lastly, see how live animals help inspire Disney artists and animators at “The Animation Experience at Conservation Station.”

To the right of Africa and over the bridge coming from Discovery Island is the continent of Asia. This was the first expansion land at the Animal Kingdom and it opened in 1999.

Asia is set in the fictional village of Anandapur, which means “Place of many delights” in Sanskrit. Anandapur was inspired by and is a mix of real-life locations such as Thailand, Mongolia, Cambodia, Nepal, India, and Indonesia.

Anandapur was founded as a hunting preserve in 1544. Since then, the village has turned back to focusing on the beauty and nature found here and it has changed into a public nature reserve focused on the conservation of local species.

You can’t miss Everest as it’s visible throughout most areas of Asia. It holds the Expedition Everest: Legend of the Hidden Mountain roller coaster where guests ride through the Himalayas and encounter the legendary Yeti along the way.

Other attractions include the raft ride, Kali River Rapids , and the Maharajah Jungle Trek where you will run into Komodo dragons, orangutans, and Sumatran tigers.

There are a few interesting dining locations like Drinkwallah , Caravan Road , and Yak & Yeti Restaurant.

DinoLand U.S.A.

Think about what a fossil dig site would look like if combined with a Route 66 tourist trap, and that’s Dinoland U.S.A. Originally founded as a small highway town where dinosaur bones were found, Dinoland U.S.A. is themed to the study of dinosaurs and prehistoric life.

A fictitious paleontological facility known as the Dino Institute runs the area, where scientists, researchers, and other volunteers have been trying to find more answers about dinosaurs.

Dinoland U.S.A. is currently home to 2 main attractions ( DINOSAUR and TriceraTop Spin ), as well as a carnival-like game area called Chester and Hester’s Dino-Rama. Kids can play the Fossil Fun Games or over at The Boneyard Playground.

Over on the eastern edge of Dinoland is the Theater in the Wild which is home to “ Finding Nemo: The Big Blue… and Beyond “ , an intricate live-action musical show based on the 2003 Pixar classic “Finding Nemo.”

The Animal Kingdom’s 6th and newest land is Pandora: The World of Avatar. It’s based on the fictional planetary moon of Pandora, from James Cameron’s blockbuster “Avatar.” It was the site originally planned for the Beastly Kingdom.

When it opened in 2017, Pandora: The World of Avatar quickly became the biggest “must-see” place in Walt Disney World. Whether you love, hate, or have never seen the movie “Avatar,” you will be blown away by this one-of-a-kind theme park destination.

The Valley of Mo’ara is the setting for Pandora and is based after the events of the Avatar film. Alpha Centauri Expeditions, or ACE for short, is an eco-tourism group educating guests about the planet of Pandora and the Na’vi culture.

The first thing you will notice is the land’s thick and lush alien flora and fauna. The soundtrack is amazing as dozens of native species can be heard throughout. The Floating Mountains are the land’s focal point and a true marvel of Disney Imagineering.

Pandora is home to 2 attractions, Avatar: Flight of Passage and the Na’vi River Journey . Both are great rides, but Flight of Passage is arguably the best attraction at Walt Disney World and shouldn’t be missed.

It also is home to the best quick service restaurant at the Animal Kingdom, Satu’li Canteen , which serves hearty portions of protein and vegetable bowls.

Rides & Attractions

Here is a list of all the attractions at Disney’s Animal Kingdom by Land:

• Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail
• Kilimanjaro Safaris
• Affection Section
• The Animation Experience at Conservation Station
• Wildlife Express
• Expedition Everest – Legend of the Forbidden Mountain
• Kali River Rapids
• Maharajah Jungle Trek

Dino land U.S.A.

• The Boneyard
• Finding Nemo: The Big Blue… and Beyond!
• Fossil Fun Games
• Primeval Whirl (Permanently Closed)
• TriceraTop Spin
• Discovery Island Trails
• It’s Tough to be a Bug!
• Wilderness Explorers
• The Oasis Exhibits
• Avatar Flight of Passage
• Na’vi River Journey

Disney’s Animal Kingdom has often been criticized as being only a half-day park. While this may have been true when the park opened in 1998, that is no longer the case as many new attractions and shows have been added over the years.

The park now has 19 attractions and it’s going to take the better part of a day to visit them all. There is a mix between thrill attractions, kid’s rides, and attractions good for the whole family.

Most of the lands are pretty balanced, but some of the best attractions at the Animal Kingdom are the thrill rides such as Flight of Passage, Expedition Everest, and Dinosaur.

Animal Kingdom Must-Do’s

While it can’t compete with parks like the Magic Kingdom on sheer numbers alone, Disney’s Animal Kingdom does make up for it with quality, and some of the most visually stunning attractions in any park.

Here are the must-see attractions when visiting the Animal Kingdom:

Avatar Flight of Passage – If there is one ride you must try at the Animal Kingdom, this is it. Feel what it’s like to fly over Pandora on the back of a banshee. Think of it as Soarin’ taken to the next level.

This 3D attraction is full of surprises, including the realistic “breathing” by the banshee you can feel in-between your legs. From the gorgeous visuals to the thrill of soaring over an alien planet, Flight of Passage has it all!

Kilimanjaro Safaris – While Flight of Passage is the park’s most thrilling ride, Kilimanjaro Safaris is its most iconic. If you have ever wanted to take a real safari but haven’t had the chance to go to Africa, this is the next best thing.

Your safari vehicle takes you through a created African savanna, simulating a real safari. Expect to see animals such as giraffes, lions, elephants, crocodiles, zebras, gazelles, water buffalo, wildebeest, rhinos, and many more.

Expedition Everest – Arguably Disney World’s top roller coaster and the best of the Disney mountains. Expedition Everest is a steel roller coaster, and at 199.5 feet, the tallest coaster in any Disney park.

The ride takes you on a journey through the Himalayan mountains in search of the mythical Yeti. There are no inversions, but plenty of twists and turns, and it’s not for the faint of heart.

Na’vi River Journey – This is the second, more tame ride in Pandora: The World of Avatar. The Na’vi River Journey is a dark boat ride taking guests through a bioluminescent forest and showing off one of the best audio-animatronic figures ever created.

Dinosaur – Go back in time on this dark ride EMV attraction to bring back a dinosaur. If you’ve been on the Indiana Jones Adventure at Disneyland, this attraction is built on the ride system. There are plenty of audio-animatronic dinosaurs and riders have to hang on through evasive maneuvers to avoid the incoming asteroids.

Kali River Rapids – This is a river rapids ride along the Chakranadi River. Guests are loaded in giant 12-person rafts and sent on a tour and coming dangerously close to illegal loggers. You will get wet on this ride, so save it for when the weather is hot.

Rafiki’s Planet Watch – If you like learning about animals and how they are cared for, you will love Rafiki’s Planet Watch. This huge area separate from the rest of the park has a petting zoo, animal exhibits and gives guests a glimpse into the behind-the-scenes care for the animals in the park.

Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail – This self-guided tour is one of our favorite areas at the Animal Kingdom, and a place you can just get lost in amazement at all the wildlife here. While there are many different species, you come for the gorillas. There are multiple viewing spots and if you are lucky, they will be in a playful mood.

Maharajah Jungle Trek – Another self-guided tour, only this one takes you to former hunting grounds turned into a nature preserve. You’ll find water buffalo, Komodo dragons, gibbons, and the star of the attraction, Sumatran tigers. A great place to wander and take pictures of the animals.

Make sure to look up the Disney World Height Requirements so you know ahead of time which rides your children can go on.

Genie+ and Lightning Lane

You may have heard that Disney permanently eliminated the FastPass+ system and replaced it with a paid line-skipping service called Genie+. This has completely changed the way guests tour all the Disney World theme parks.

In fact, there are actually 3 new related services you need to be aware of.

• Disney Genie is a free service in the My Disney Experience app that helps you plan out your day.
• Genie+ is a paid version of FastPass+ that lets you make attraction reservations and skip the lines for $15-$39 per person, per day.
• Individual Lightning Lane selections let you pay to skip the line on a specific ride for one time only and not the whole day

The big difference between Genie+ and its predecessor FastPass+ is that you now have to pay to skip the queue instead of it being free. Some guests will want to use and some won’t, but it’s important for you to understand how it works because it will have an impact on your day either way.

To make Genie+ or Lightning Lane reservations, first, you need to link your ticket purchase to your My Disney Experience account. You can then use the My Disney Experience app on your smartphone to make reservations throughout the day.

Reservations open up starting at 7:00 am each morning and the most popular attractions go quickly, so make sure to be ready bright and early. Before your trip to the park, you should have a list of your “must-do” attractions and prioritize your favorites first.

Guests must wait 120 minutes between reservations unless they use a current selection before the 120 minutes are up. Just remember to use your selections of the best rides and don’t waste them on ones with a low wait time.

Once your reservation time arrives, head to the attraction and enter the Lightning Lane to bypass the majority of guests.

Even though Genie+ can be useful, it’s probably not necessary at the Animal Kingdom due to a limited number of attractions. We think you get the most value from it at Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom since they are the ones with the most rides.

The one time it could be worth it at the Animal Kingdom is if you are park hopping to another on the same day. In that case, it may come in handy. We know it’s not free and not in everyone’s budget, but if you use it here, it can be a big time-saver. Read more in our post: “Is Disney Genie+ Worth It?”

The best choices for your Genie+ selections at Disney’s Animal Kingdoms are any of the following:

• Expedition Everest

Any of those attractions are good choices for Genie Plus, the rest of them usually have short lines and you should prioritize Genie+ selections on the above-listed attractions first.

Avatar Flight of Passage & Expedition Everest are part of the Individual Lightning Lane , so if you want to skip the lines there, you need to pay à la carte.

Guests are not obliged to pay for either Genie+ or Individual Lightning Lane selections and they can still wait in a traditional standby queue, it will just take a bit longer.

Make sure to check out our in-depth guide to Genie+ and Lightning Lanes at Disney World where we explain every question you have about this new service. We are currently working on a specific guide to Genie+ and Lightning Lanes at Disney’s Animal Kingdom , so be on the lookout for that soon.

What’s New Coming to Animal Kingdom?

There isn’t much new coming to Disney’s Animal Kingdom at the moment, or at least nothing certain. The park had its big expansion in 2017 when Pandora: The World of Avatar opened up. Disney has since focused its attention on the other theme parks which are in more need of upgrades.

We did however get some exciting news in 2023 as Disney confirmed Rumors of Dinoland U.S.A. eventually being replaced by a completely new land. In fact, we got some blue-sky concept art of a Encanto and Indiana Jones land with 3 new attractions.

We don’t have a ton of details yet, but what we know so far you can read in our Dinoland USA Replacement Land article.

We’ll let you know as soon as we hear of any new attractions that are coming to the Animal Kingdom.

In the meantime, here are a few links if you are interested in knowing what new attractions are coming to the rest of Walt Disney World soon:

• New Disney World Rides – Everything Coming in the Next Few Years
• Walt Disney World Construction Updates

Animal Kingdom Animals

While the attractions are extremely popular at the Animal Kingdom, the animals themselves are the real stars here and they are what separates this from being just another theme park.

The Animal Kingdom’s 500+ acres of land are sprawling with over 1,700 animals and 250 individual species . They can be found in all 6 of the park’s themed lands and can be seen on walking trails, safaris, exhibits, and private tours.

Do yourself a favor and don’t rush through the park only going from ride to ride. Take some time to observe and learn more about the animals, and use the many photo spots to bring home lasting memories.

Some of the animal species you will find at Disney’s Animal Kingdom include Lions, giraffes, tigers, elephants, zebras, wildebeest, water buffaloes, black rhinoceroses, white rhinoceroses, cheetahs, Nile crocodiles, ducks, storks, flamingoes, kangaroos, macaws, gorillas, monkeys, antelope, ostriches, pythons, and many, many more.

Entertainment

While not having quite as many as the other parks, there are many fantastic entertainment options at Animal Kingdom Orlando for guests of all ages.

Some of the entertainment types include stage shows, street performers, character greets, and nighttime spectaculars. Many of these are done by native performers from Africa and Asia.

Nighttime Spectaculars

Nighttime shows are always some of the most popular in the Disney Parks, but the Animal Kingdom only started having them in recent years. There are no fireworks shows here since the loud noises would disturb the animals, but Disney has created alternative nighttime spectaculars.

Tree of Life Awakenings – In 2016, Disney introduced a new nighttime projection-mapping show that takes place on the Tree of Life itself. This is an amazing show as luminous fireflies come to life on the tree to celebrate the beauty of nature found in animals.

Rivers of Light: We Are One (Permanently Closed) – This nighttime show opened in 2017, and took place on Discovery River lagoon, in-between Everest and Discovery Island. Guests could watch the many colored fountains, lasers, lights, projection mapping, and water barges from the nearby amphitheater.

The show never really caught on and quickly ran into various production and directional issues throughout its short history. It was then canceled in 2020 after the Animal Kingdom Park reopened.

Shows & Performers

• Animal Encounters: Winged Encounters – The Kingdom Takes Flight – An incredible display near the Tree of Life of 6 South American Macaw species. Learn from bird experts and watch as they take off and swoop down over the on-looking guests.
• Bollywood Beats – Fun and energetic Bollywood-style dance show.
• DJ Anaan – Street dance party in Asia including a DJ.
• Donald’s Dino Bash! – Lively celebration in Dinoland that includes character meets, and a nightly dance party featuring a DJ.
• Festival of the Lion King – This Broadway-style show is based on the Disney Animation classic “The Lion King.” Talented performers dress in extravagant costumes, perform incredible acrobats and dance to musical favorites from the film. Classic songs include: “Hakuna Matata,” “The Circle of Life,” and “Can You Feel the Love Tonight?”
• Finding Nemo: The Big Blue… and Beyond – An elaborate musical retelling of the Pixar classic “Finding Nemo.” This show has extraordinary special effects, digital backgrounds, and uses human performers who act as giant puppets in the roles of the show’s characters. One of the best stage shows at Disney World.
• Pandora Drummers – Also known as the Swotu Wayä, these drummers perform a traditional Na’vi drum ceremony.
• Pandora Rangers – Equipped in a 10-foot-tall Exo-Carrier Utility Suit, these rangers wander the Mo’ara Valley to study the local wildlife and offer some comedic relief in the meantime.
• Tam Tam Drummers of Harambe – These guys get the entire Harambe village dancing with high-energy African music and rhythms.
• Feathered Friends in Flight – Join the animal behavior specialists for a live behind-the-scenes look at the birds of Animal Kingdom.
• Viva Gaia Street Band! – A lively group of musicians leading a Caribbean Street Party on Discovery Island.

Character Cavalcades

During the height of the pandemic in 2020, Disney introduced Character Cavalcades as a way for guests to still be able to see and interact with their favorite Disney personalities, without getting too close.

Character Cavalcades are processions of Disney characters that walk, ride or float by guests in an organized way (very similar to parades) and greet guests from a distance. The Animal Kingdom has character cruises that float down the Discovery River on boats and greet guests on the shore.

And while there aren’t as many Character Cavalcades as there was a couple years ago, Animal Kingdom still DOES have a few.

Here are the current Character Cavalcades at Animal Kingdom Park:

• Discovery River Character Cruise – Here you’ll see either Pocahontas or Rafiki and Timon.
• Adventurer’s Flotilla – Wave to Launchpad AMcQuack and Scrooge McDuck or the characters from UP!
• Discovery Island Drummers – Listen to the Discovery island Drummers play their music on the River as they float by.
• Dino-Bash Flotilla – Wave to Goofy and Pluto as they go sailing by.

There are also special Christmas Character Cavalcades (“Festive Flotillas”) going on during the holiday season with characters in their holiday outfits:

• Donald’s DinoBash Festive Flotilla (Chip, Dale & Goofy)
• Mickey and Friends Festive Flotilla (Mickey, Minnie & Pluto)
• Timon & Rafiki
• Santa Claus Festive Flotilla (Santa Claus & Reindeer)
• Discovery Island Drummers Festive Flotilla

Check out our complete guide to Character Cavalcades at Disney World for more details on them in all the parks.

• Baloo (Discovery Island)
• Chip & Dale (Dinoland U.S.A.)
• Divine (The Oasis)
• Donald Duck & Daisy Duck (Dinoland U.S.A.)
• Goofy (Dinoland U.S.A.)
• Kevin (Discovery Island)
• LaunchPad McQuack (Dinoland U.S.A.)
• Mickey Mouse & Minnie Mouse (Discovery Island)
• Moana (Discovery Island)
• Pocahontas (Discovery Island)
• Pluto (Dinoland U.S.A.)
• Russell & Dug (Discovery Island)
• Scrooge McDuck (Dinoland U.S.A.)
• Timon & Rafiki (Discovery Island)

The characters in Disney’s Animal Kingdom Orlando are extremely popular with guests and there are daily character meets available with the above characters, in just about all areas of the park.

For many, (including us) dining in the Disney World theme parks is just as fun as the attractions themselves. Naturally, you’ll want to try as many different things as the parks have to offer.

While other parks like EPCOT may get more recognition when it comes to food, the Animal Kingdom is the hidden gem of Disney theme park dining, with loads of great options.

There aren’t many table service restaurants since the park closes early most of the time, but the quick service options are arguably the best at Disney World and have lots of interesting options you can’t get in the other parks.

If you aren’t in the mood for a full meal, check our Animal Kingdom best snacks list for all the can’t-miss options.

Here are lists of all the restaurants, food stands, snack carts, bars, and lounges at Animal Kingdom park.

Quick Service Dining

• Anandapur Ice Cream Truck
• Caravan Road
• Creature Comforts
• Dino-Bite Snacks
• Drinkwallah
• Eight Spoon Cafe
• Flame Tree Barbecue
• Harambe Fruit Market
• Harambe Market
• Isle of Java
• Joffrey’s Coffee & Tea Company
• Kusafiri Coffee Shop & Bakery
• Mr. Kamal’s
• Pongu Pongu
• Restaurantosaurus
• Restaurantasaurus Burger & Sundaes
• Satu’li Canteen
• The Smiling Crocodile
• Tamu Tamu Refreshments
• Terra Treats
• Trek Snacks
• Trilo-Bites
• Yak & Yeti™ Local Food Cafes

The variety of quick service dining options in the Animal Kingdom is arguably the strongest of any park. While you can still find the classic theme park fare (burgers, pizza, fries), there are so many other dishes that you can’t get anywhere else, and that at least make you think you are eating healthily.

There are currently 23 counter service restaurants at the Animal Kingdom and a very small number of them that I would ignore. The quick service options got even better when Pandora: The World of Avatar opened, and the park hasn’t looked back since.

Our favorite quick service restaurants in Animal Kingdom are:

Of the above-listed restaurants, we think Satu’li Canteen is hand-down the best, and should be your #1 choice when visiting. The protein bowls are amazing, and there are so many awesome combos to choose from.

Make sure to take advantage of Disney’s Mobile Ordering service which allows you to order your food ahead and skip the lines at quick service restaurants.

Table Service Dining

• Rainforest Cafe® at Disney’s Animal Kingdom
• Tiffins Restaurant
• Tusker House
• Yak & Yeti™ Restaurant

Even though the Animal Kingdom only has 4 table service restaurants , it definitely makes up for that with high quality.

Tusker House is one of the best Disney buffets with unique and high-quality offerings, not to mention a great selection of characters including Mickey Mouse.

Tiffins is a signature dining location, designed for more adventurous eaters, but for sure one of the highest quality meals you will have in any of the 4 theme parks.

If you like Asian food as much as we do, then Yak & Yeti Restaurant is another great choice with great egg rolls, potstickers, lo mein, and some amazing shrimp and duck dishes.

Whenever you decide to eat at a table service restaurant, make sure you make advanced dining reservations ahead of time, especially for Tusker House and Yak & Yeti. They are the most popular and should be booked as soon as possible.

For more info, read our post on the Best Animal Kingdom Restaurants to see where and what to eat when you visit.

Dining reservations can be made only 60 days in advance right now which we highly recommend. Read our guide to Disney Advanced Dining Reservations for more info.

Bars & Lounges

• Nomad Lounge
• Thirsty River Bar & Trek Snacks
• Warung Outpost

Drinking Alcohol

Finding alcohol at Disney’s Animal Kingdom is not a problem, and it is served at all table service restaurants, quick service restaurants, and bars and lounges in the park. Depending on where you go you will find beer, wines, and cocktails, many having an African or Asian twist to them.

The Dawa Bar is located in Harambe village and has some good mixed drinks like the African Margarita, Ngumu Jungle Juice, and Lost on Safari as well as a selection of African beers.

If you are in the mood for frozen drinks, head to Pongu Pongu in Pandora, and get the Mo’ara Margarita and thank me later.

There is no better spot at the Animal Kingdom than just chilling on the back porch at Nomad Lounge and looking over the Discovery River with a cold drink in your hand. I’m just saying. Plus the food here comes from the Tiffins kitchen, so it’s incredible.

READ: Best Bars & Lounges at Disney World

Special Events & Experiences

Disney’s Animal Kingdom doesn’t have very many regular special events throughout the year like other parks, but there are still some you should know about that might be worth your time.

Disney After Hours – This is a hard-ticket event that allows guests to visit the Animal Kingdom with a VIP-like experience. You can enjoy the park when most of the other guests have gone home. It’s great if you’ve ever wanted to go on Flight of Passage over and over again with a minimal wait.

All-you-can-eat snacks and drinks are also provided to offset the extra cost.

Like all of the theme parks, you can find some behind-the-scenes tours at the Animal Kingdom. They are especially interesting for Animal-lovers as many bring you behind the scenes to share with you how Disney cares for these wonderful creatures.

A Path Less Traveled – A 2-hour walking tour where you will discover what it takes to bring the magic of animals, culture, and conservation to life. You will also meet with animal care experts to learn how the animals in the park are cared for.

Caring for Giants – If you are an elephant fan, this tour is for you. You will get 60 minutes to see the African elephants at the Animal Kingdom and find out how they are cared for here. You’ll even get within 80-100 feet of these majestic creatures.

Savor the Savanna: Evening Safari Experience – This is the most unique dining experience at the Animal Kingdom and is great for a special occasion. You head out on a private safari and then at sunset a table is prepared for you in the open-air on the savanna under the stars.

The meal is a sampling of African-inspired cuisine too, paired with a selection of regional beer and wine offerings.

Up Close with Rhinos – Get up close to the White Rhinoceros, the second-largest land animal on the planet. On this 60-minute tour, you will go backstage and learn about a rhino’s behavior and the challenges these animals face in the wild.

Ultimate Nights of Adventure VIP Tour – If you are looking for a true VIP experience, this is it. On this 4-hour tour, a private guide gives you a tour of the safaris and all the major Animal Kingdom park attractions.

Wild Africa Trek – Of all the tours at the Animal Kingdom, this one is our favorite. For 3 hours you will discover more about the animals in their natural habitats. Head out on foot through the jungle, cross rope bridges above crocodiles, and take a private safari vehicle out onto the savanna.

You stop and take time to enjoy first-class African snacks and throughout the experience, you get your very own photoshoot to remember your day.

Whether it’s your first time at the Animal Kingdom or your 100th, here are a few tips that you should keep in mind when planning your trip.

Best Days to Visit Animal Kingdom

Any day is a good day to visit the Animal Kingdom, but some days certainly are better than others, especially if you don’t want to deal with the crowds.

Traditionally, early in the week is the best time to visit the Animal Kingdom. The best days are Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday with many guests going to the other parks those days.

The worst days to visit the Animal Kingdom are at the end of the week, Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. Avoid these if possible for the lowest wait times and best experience overall.

If you can, avoid the parks altogether on the weekend, as they are always more crowded with local guests coming on their days off. We recommend spending those days by the pool at your resort for the least-stressful time.

Make sure to read our post on The Best Times to Visit Disney World which takes into consideration all the factors and breaks it down month by month.

Have a Plan

Having a good plan is key no matter which Disney theme park you are going to, and the Animal Kingdom is no exception. You need to have a good plan in place well before you go so you know which rides, shows, and characters you want to see, and where you want to eat.

We recommend making a list of your top priority attractions at the Animal Kingdom and then plan your day around those activities.

Then, make sure to do them early on in the day. That way if rides break down or bad weather spoils your day, you already got done what you wanted to most.

Look at the list of restaurants and read the menus too. This will help you to pick out which restaurants you want to eat at and save you valuable time when you are there. Don’t forget to make reservations for any table service restaurants you want to go to.

We always recommend getting an early start when visiting the Disney Parks, and we think that it is especially important at the Animal Kingdom.

For one thing, the animals are much more active in the morning. When you do the safari or go to the various animal exhibits throughout the park, they are much more likely to be visible and interacting in the morning, before the sun gets too hot.

Going early is also a good idea as it will help you get more attractions done in a shorter period of time. If you are only going to Disney’s Animal Kingdom for one day during your trip, make it a FULL day. If you get there before the park opens, you will be able to get everything done in one day.

Go at Night

Wait, didn’t we just say to go during the morning? Let’s clarify that a bit, what we mean is to still go early, but also stay until nighttime.

Like all the Disney World parks, we love the Animal Kingdom at night. Yes, it’s fun to visit the parks during the day, but the real magic happens when the sun goes down. And with lesser nighttime hours than the other parks, getting a night at Animal Kingdom is rare.

For one thing, it’s better since many of the guests will leave the park in the afternoon and go back to their hotel or to another park. That means shorter wait times later on. It’s also less hot at night, and trust us, you’ll need that advantage at the Animal Kingdom.

Plus, it’s just fun to see the park all lit up as it takes on a completely different look and feel than during the day. This is especially true in Pandora. All the bioluminescent lights turn on when the sun goes down, and it lights up into a truly magical environment. You absolutely MUST visit Pandora at night!

Animal Kingdom is the Hottest Park

While ALL The Walt Disney World Theme Parks are extremely hot most of the year, somehow, the Animal Kingdom takes things to an entirely new level of scorching heat.

I don’t know why, but this park just is always hotter than the others. There is a lack of shade, which definitely doesn’t help, and you also end up walking more than the others since there is a lot of backtracking your steps.

I know Disney was going for the most realistic authenticity when they designed the Animal Kingdom, but I think they actually made it HOTTER than the real Africa!

To that end, make sure you drink LOTS of water when visiting here. You can get free cups of tap ice water from any quick service restaurant, so stop by one wherever you are.

Also, try to avoid going in the Summer months when it’s at its hottest.

What Can I Bring With Me Into Animal Kingdom?

When visiting Disney’s Animal Kingdom, guests are allowed to bring their own food and non-alcoholic drinks into the park, but with certain restrictions. All food and drink must be for personal consumption and must not require heating, refrigeration, or be stored in a glass container.

If you are trying to save money, we think it’s a good idea to bring some small snacks with you like chips, nuts, protein bars, candy, etc. You also can bring bottles of water which will save you a ton too.

We recommend bringing a small backpack with you to put any necessary items like your snacks, fans, small towels, etc.

Be sure to wear comfortable shoes. The Animal Kingdom is Disney World’s largest theme park, so you will be doing more walking here than anywhere else and you will be on your feet all day.

Take It Easy

Disney’s Animal Kingdom is not your typical theme park. A huge mistake is thinking you should just run from one attraction to the next. You need to stop and take time to experience this park for what it really is.

Thousands of hours of real-world research by Disney Imagineers went into the creation of the Animal Kingdom, and it deserves to be slowly digested, not run through at high speed.

Look at the crumbling buildings, the rusted metalwork, even the haphazardly way that the chairs are set up in Harambe village are all done on purpose and to create an environment that comes as close as possible to these exotic locations.

If you do that, we are sure you will have a fantastic time during your visit!

READ: For more tips about the Animal Kingdom as well as the other parks, check out 150+ Best Disney World Tips .

Transportation

Transportation to Disney’s Animal Kingdom is limited and there aren’t nearly as many options to get here as there are for the other 3 theme parks.

Your options include:

• Ride Sharing (Uber or Lyft)

If you are staying at a Walt Disney World Resort Hotel, free transportation is provided to Disney theme parks for all guests. This is one of the best reasons to stay at a Disney World hotel. No matter which transportation you take, they are all complimentary.

Buses – The Walt Disney World bus system operates from all Resort Hotels, with service to the theme parks, including the Animal Kingdom. If you are looking for free transportation to Animal Kingdom Park, the bus system is your only option as there are no monorails, Skyliner, or boats to bring you there.

The Animal Kingdom is the most remote park at Disney World, so when taking the bus, make sure to allow for enough transit time. Depending on where you are coming from, give yourself 30-60 minutes to be safe.

Car – If you have your own car or another vehicle, you can take it to the Animal Kingdom, and park in the parking lot. Read our Guide to Renting a Car at Disney World for all the pros and cons.

Ride-Sharing – Uber, and Lyft are both options to bring you to the Animal Kingdom, and this is often a much faster solution than waiting for the bus. Guests are brought to the designated ride-sharing drop-off point near the front entrance.

Where do you Park for Animal Kingdom? – Finding a parking spot is not an issue here. There is a huge parking lot to leave your car or motorcycle and it very rarely fills up.

The Animal Kingdom parking lot usually opens approximately 60 minutes before the scheduled park opening time. That should give you time to get to the gate for the rope drop.

How much does it Cost to Park at Animal Kingdom? – Parking in Disney World is not cheap.

• Standard parking for a car or motorcycle costs $30 per day.
• Preferred parking for car or motorcycle costs $45 per day in off-peak seasons and $55 during peak season.

Once you leave the car, trams are available to bring guests from their car to the front entrance. We recommend reading our Disney World Parking Guide for prices and more in-depth info.

Best Hotels to Stay at Near Animal Kingdom

It’s possible to stay anywhere on property and still get to the Animal Kingdom, but since it is located pretty far away, the closer you can stay, the less time you will spend in transit to get there.

Resorts close to the Animal Kingdom include:

• Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge (Jambo House & Kidani Village)
• Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort
• Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort

If you are planning on spending a significant amount of time at the Animal Kingdom park, staying at one of the above resorts will end up saving you time traveling back and forth. It’s also more convenient if you like to go back to your room to take a nap in the middle of the day.

Of all the Disney World resorts, Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge is the closest one to the Animal Kingdom theme park. It also happens to be one of our favorite overall Disney World resorts.

The Animal Kingdom Lodge has similar theming as the park itself, and its own savanna where you can watch the animals, sometimes even from your hotel room. It also has great dining options for all budgets and tastebuds.

Our ranking of the Best Disney World Resorts will help you understand the pros and cons of each resort and make the best choice for your family.

After Disney finished building MGM Studios in 1989, then-CEO Michael was still obsessed with more expansion of the theme parks. During the 1990s, Eisner declared that this period would be called the “Disney Decade,” and the company would continue its expansion as it had never before experienced.

Disney moved directly onto brainstorming for a 4th theme park at The Walt Disney World Resort and up-and-coming Disney Imagineer Joe Rohde was put in charge of the project.

It was decided that while MGM Studios was Disney’s answer to Universal Studios Orlando, there was nothing Disney was doing that could compete with Busch Gardens over in Tampa Bay.

Rohde and the Disney Imagineers settled on animals as the theme of the 4th theme park. To convince the Board of Directors of their idea, Joe Rohde famously brought a 400-pound Bengal tiger into the conference room with the executives.

From that, Disney’s Wild Animal Kingdom was born. Yes, during the construction phase of the project, the park was known as Disney’s Wild Kingdom.

Construction got underway in 1996, including building the animal holding structures and excavation of the land in order to make the savanna and other animal habitats.

The park was to be different from your classic theme park. It would have fewer traditional attractions and include many animal exhibits. The themed lands of Africa and Asia were chosen for the park as well as a land of mythical creatures (more on that later).

After many months of research abroad, Disney Imagineers were able to recreate authentic and realistic imitations of African and Asian buildings and towns. The buildings were created to look aged with fading paint, rust, and crumbling bricks all part of the act.

The animals for the park were secured in 1997 and were sent to a rented holding facility until the park was ready. Disney made sure to hire animal experts and zoo staff from around the world to make sure the animals were well taken care of.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom opened on Earth Day, April 22, 1998.

Even though initially it didn’t have many thrill rides, since its opening, the Animal Kingdom has had several expansions and has added more attractions. Expedition Everest opened in 2006, and Pandora: The World of Avatar, with two more attractions opened in 2017.

Beastly Kingdom

Beastly Kingdom was a land based on mythical creatures such as dragons and unicorns. It was supposed to have a dragon-themed roller coaster, a unicorn-themed walk-through attraction, and an enchanted Scottish restaurant.

The original plan was for Beastly Kingdom to open with the park in 1998, but as with all Disney Parks, the project went over budget and cuts had to be made. Disney was forced to choose between Beastly Kingdom and Dinoland U.S.A.

Ultimately they went with Dinoland because the existing ride system from Indiana Jones Adventure in Disneyland was going to be used on the E-Ticket attraction Countdown to Extinction. Multi-million dollar investment agreements in Dinoland with McDonald’s also was a big determining factor.

Unfortunately, Beastly Kingdom was never built, and former Disney Imagineers used similar ideas to create the Lost Continent land at Universal’s Islands of Adventure theme park.

The land designated for Beastly Kingdom was eventually used for Pandora: The World of Avatar, which then became the Animal Kingdom’s land of mythical creatures. It seems highly unlikely that we will ever see Beastly Kingdom built at the Animal Kingdom or any other park for that matter.

Facts & Trivia

Here are some trivia and fun facts you may not know about Disney’s Animal Kingdom:

• At 500 acres, Disney’s Animal Kingdom is the largest theme park at The Walt Disney World Resort. It could fit 4 Magic Kingdom parks inside its area.
• There are over 1,700 animals living here including 250 different species.
• To feed all those animals, it takes over 4 tons of food each day, enough food to feed the average human for 4 1/2 years.
• It cost over $800 million to build the Animal Kingdom
• To build Disney’s Animal Kingdom, 60 dump trucks of dirt  were delivered every day, for 2 years straight, for a total of 4.4 million cubic yards of dirt.
• This is the only Disney Park in Florida to not feature a nighttime fireworks show for the safety of the animals.
• There are 27 million gallons of water in Discovery River, enough water to fill 1,800 average-sized backyard swimming pools.
• When on research trips for the Animal Kingdom, a team of 7 Disney Imagineers traveled more than 500,000 total miles, that would be like going around the entire Earth 20 times
• The Tree of Life is not a real tree and actually made from an oil rig. It has 102,583 artificial leaves and holds more than 300 animal carvings.
• At 199.5 feet, Expedition Everest is just 6 inches shy of the Federal Aviation Guideline’s limit which would require a flashing red light on top of it.
• Dinoland U.S.A has a replica of the world’s most complete T. Rex skeleton, nicknamed Sue. The statue is 13 feet tall and 40 feet long.

It opened on Earth Day, April 22, 1998.

Very rarely does Disney’s Animal Kingdom close due to capacity, however, it has an even more limited capacity during the Disney World reopening phase.

Yes, the Animal Kingdom Park is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company and is part of the larger Walt Disney World Resort complex.

If you are going to any of the other Walt Disney World Resort Theme Parks , read our full guides to those below:

• Disney’s Magic Kingdom Park Guide
• EPCOT Park Guide
• Disney’s Hollywood Studios Park Guide

If you are planning a trip make sure to read our Disney World Crowd Calendar which will explain when the least crowded time of the year is to visit.

Your Thoughts

I want to know what you think about Disney’s Animal Kingdom…

• What is your favorite thing to do at the Animal Kingdom?
• Which is your favorite Land?
• What is your favorite attraction?

Let us know in the comments section below!

If you enjoyed this article, as always I appreciate it if you’d share it with others via social media.  I work hard at making this website into a useful resource for you and your family to plan your visit to the Disney Parks and I hope it can help you! Thanks 🙂

1-Day Animal Kingdom Itinerary

Our 1-day Animal Kingdom itinerary details step-by-step strategy for minimizing wait times & avoiding crowds at the theme park’s most popular rides & shows, including Avatar Flight of Passage, Expedition Everest, Kilimanjaro Safaris, and more. This Walt Disney World touring plan covers attractions, restaurants, zoo exhibits, and more.

This single day Disney’s Animal Kingdom (DAK) itinerary has been updated again due to the return of more entertainment and meet & greets, as well as increased crowd levels. We’ve also made seasonal tweaks and accounted for changes in popularity and wait times due to Genie+ and Lightning Lanes. However, this itinerary assumes you will not be buying those line-skipping services–it instead works around them. If you do plan on spending the extra, consult our 1-Day Animal Kingdom Itinerary with Genie+ and Lightning Lanes .

We visit Animal Kingdom frequently “for the sake of research” (and to watch our otter homies hanging out in their grotto), monitoring wait times, testing various approaches, and fine-tuning our strategy as crowds have increased and decreased during that time. This is the revised Animal Kingdom itinerary for 2024 that we’ve devised as a result.

This post continues our series of Walt Disney World Park Itineraries & Touring Plans designed to answer the frequently asked question, “ what would you do if you only had one day in ____ Disney park? ” Animal Kingdom is an interesting mix of zoological offerings and traditional theme park attractions requiring a balanced approach that juggles the park’s various types of attractions.

It’s possible to experience what we call “animal fatigue” in this park, which is exactly what it sounds like–losing interest in the surplus of animal exhibits and walking trails. To combat this, we recommend scattering these throughout your day, doing a healthy mix of rides and walkthroughs.

Pandora – World of Avatar helps better achieve this balance, and most people will want spend more time in the rest of Animal Kingdom as a result of that land. Consequently, you  can  spend a full day in Animal Kingdom if you pace yourself to avoid the aforementioned animal fatigue.

Nevertheless, Animal Kingdom is the easiest park to accomplish in a partial day; you can either arrive early or stay late at Animal Kingdom and do the entire park with relative ease. See our recent post: Animal Kingdom Afternoon Arrival Strategy . The same general principles apply when arriving during Early Entry–you essentially just reverse the order of attractions.

So long as you can do major attractions outside of the window between 10 am and 3 pm, Animal Kingdom is pretty easy on normal days at Walt Disney World. It’s gotten to the point that I don’t really see much value in buying Genie+ for Animal Kingdom  at all , even on days you’re Park Hopping to or from another park.

This is less about Animal Kingdom not having enough to fill an entire day and more about the aforementioned animal fatigue and poor pacing. The end result is the same; there’s a mass exodus around 3 pm and the park is relatively quiet during the last two hours of the day.

We’ve stressed this in other recent planning resources, but figured it was worth reiterating as there’s a huge difference between early/late wait times and those during the middle of the day. If you want to know which approach is currently best for every park, see our recent Best Time-Saving Strategies at Walt Disney World . That details the best and worst ways to save time in lines, and is really useful if you’re overwhelmed and don’t want to read a dozen others!

Now, on with the 1-day Animal Kingdom itinerary…

Zig When They Zag — There’s going to be a lot of temptation to do Pandora — World of Avatar first thing in the morning, but resist that–unless you’re an on-site guest arriving for Early Entry, in which case, you should absolutely do Pandora first.

Even if you’re not at Animal Kingdom for those extended a.m. hours, consider starting with the Avatar rides if official park opening time is 7:30 a.m. and you’re there for that. It’s still early enough that you can beat the crowds and longest wait times for Avatar Flight of Passage.

However, if you’re rolling up at 8 am on a busy day, head elsewhere. Over 90% of guests (literally) will make a beeline for Pandora in the morning, resulting in the longest lines and wait times of the day at Avatar Flight of Passage in the morning hours. At that point, you’re not going to beat the Pandora crowds, so zig when others zag.

Animal Kingdom’s other headliners all should be near-walk ons for the first hour of the day—you don’t even have to arrive at rope drop for this. Sleeping in and showing up 30 minutes late is fine.

Start Your Adventure at the Outpost –  If you’re arriving “too late” to start in Avatar land, begin with Adventurers Outpost, which is the Minnie & Mickey Mouse meet & greet in Animal Kingdom. It might seem silly to start here, but this is the 4th longest line in Animal Kingdom on average, and very few people think to do it first. Consequently, it’s slower in the morning and wait times are significantly longer between around 10 am and 3 pm.

There’s also a Lightning Lane to Meet Favorite Disney Pals at Adventurers Outpost, and once users of that paid FastPass system start using that in large numbers–which usually happens around 9 am–the standby line slows to a crawl. That alone can be unpleasant, which is why we strongly recommend knocking this out in the first hour of the morning. You can be in and out quickly, and on your way to the second stop of the day. (If it’s more convenient, you probably can do this second so long as you’re not visiting on a peak season day.)

Two-Week Safari — This is a great option both from a time-savings perspective and for the best possible experience.

The reason we recommend Kilimanjaro Safaris in the morning is because it’s great for animal activity and also for photographing the animals with nice, soft light. From 11 a.m. until around 3 p.m., Kilimanjaro Safaris isn’t nearly as fun, unless you like watching big cats and other creatures sleeping. Late afternoon is also good in terms of light, and has a decent amount of animal activity as everyone on the savanna starts getting hyped for dinner.

Kali River Soaking – This rapids rafting ride is a crowd-pleaser that is worth doing if you haven’t done it before. It’s fun and goes through cool environments (albeit lacking show scenes) with a conservationist message.

The potential for getting soaked is incredibly high, so don’t do it if that’s going to be a problem. Conversely, because you’ll get soaked on Kali River Rapids, it’s less popular when the weather is cooler. Heading into the winter, its popularity is dropping again–but it’s still easiest to knock out Kali River Rapids en route to the next stop.

Peak XV Summit –  After you’ve gone through the wash cycle on Kali River Rapids, it’s time to air dry on one of Walt Disney World’s best roller coasters. Even an hour or more after official park opening time, Expedition Everest should still have a relatively reasonable wait time. If it’s posted time is under 45 minutes (or you’re fine going in the Single Rider line) do it now. Otherwise, save it for closer to sunset.

Expedition Everest offers fantastic thematic details, one of the best queues, and sweeping views of the park (and beyond). You might want to do it again towards the end of the day, when wait times will be nearly non-existent.

See the Awesomest Animals – Everyone knows dinosaurs are the best animals ever. Unfortunately, Dinoland/Dino-rama are unquestionably the most disappointing theme park lands anywhere, ever. The backstory might be good ( debatable ), but unless your preferred way to experience a theme park is “reading,” then the actual land will disappoint you.

However, DINOSAUR is actually a pretty good attraction. Do it, then act like the rest of this blighted area is extinct to you.

Start Seeing Shows  – When it comes to a day at DAK, pacing is paramount (that should be the park’s mantra). At this point, you’ve already done several rides, so it’s time for some shows. Since you’re in the neighborhood, it’s a good time to watching the newly-reimagined “Finding Nemo: The Big Blue and Beyond!” musical. You should be able to catch the first performance at this point, but if you’re late for it, grab a snack and do the second showing.

In this reimagined stage show, fish tell Nemo’s story in this updated 25-minute show, incorporating live performers, puppets, and screen-based visuals. The refreshed production takes place in the Finding Dory  timeline and features beloved songs and numbers from the original Finding Nemo: The Musical, including “In the Big Blue World” and “Go With the Flow.”

Snack Time  – If you’re getting hungry, it’s a good time for a pit stop at Dino-Bite Snacks. This location serves a variety of, as the name suggests, snacks. Without a doubt, the highlight is their ice cream sandwiches. The options vary by season, but the shared commonality is that they use freshly-baked, house-made cookies. As a result, they’re all excellent.

If you find yourself on the other side of the park, Creature Comforts Coffee Shop and Bakery is Animal Kingdom’s Starbucks location, and they also have some crazy animal cupcakes. They have a rotating lineup of Lion Cub, Zebra, White Chocolate Elephant or Cotton Top Tamarin cupcakes that are each like 3 feet tall (slight exaggeration) .

Otter Odyssey – At this point, you can reasonably slow down and start enjoy walk-through trails and animal-centric attractions while “waiting out” the crowds.

One we’d direct your attention to that’s easily overlooked is Otter Grotto (near the aforementioned Starbucks). It’s just around the corner from Creature Comforts and features some of Animal Kingdom’s most fun and rambunctious critters.

Strategically, there is no good or bad time for any of the various animal trails and exhibits, but you’ll want to space them throughout your day at Animal Kingdom to avoid fatigue of the park’s zoological features.

Lunch – Animal Kingdom really brings it when it comes to dining. For lunch, we recommend slowing down and having a table service meal. Animal Kingdom gets pretty hot midday, and this is a great time to escape that heat with a longer, relaxing meal. Currently, our #1 pick for those wanting an exceptional, fine dining caliber (in a realized setting) meal is Tiffins . The best meal at Animal Kingdom, and one of the best overall at Walt Disney World.

If you don’t want something fancy, opt for the excellent Yak & Yeti instead . You can’t go wrong with either of these for table service dining in Animal Kingdom. If you want a character meal, Tusker House has also returned as a family-style meal, although our experience there was not the best .

Flights of Fancy – Previously known as UP! A Great Bird Adventure, this show is now called Feathered Friends in Flight and has mercifully cut Russel and Dug from Up . It’s still a bird show targeted towards families with small children, but it no longer feels dumbed down to a 3 year old level. No offense to the characters from Up –a movie we love–but this show is much better without them.

Before or after the bird show, explore trails or watch various animals in the park. From fully-fledged attractions like Pangani Forest Exploration Trail to smaller exhibits around the Oasis, Animal Kingdom has a lot to see that’s often overlooked. Slow down and take the time to explore, discovering various animals and details tucked away in quiet corners. Stumbling upon these hidden gems is very rewarding!

Maharajah Jungle Trek – This is another animal trail that you could really do whenever. Regardless of when you choose to do it, we strongly recommend that you don’t skip this one.

Maharajah Jungle Trek is another under-appreciated Animal Kingdom attraction, as this walk-through exhibit has some beautifully imagineered environments. Definitely don’t skip it, but you also don’t necessarily need to do it in this spot.

Festival of the Lion King – Acrobats, singers, and other performers in tribal attire and vibrant costumes, plus parade floats with Lion King characters and other creatures enact scenes inspired by the Lion King in a very lively theatrical show. There’s a lot of stuff going on, in what basically amounts to a lot of audio-visual stimulation. The show just flat out works, and the almost abstract nature allows the audience to just sit back and enjoy the wow-inducing performers.

Festival of the Lion King is an exceptional show–a relaxing, indoor way to break up the day. It’s now entirely back to normal, which means the tumble monkeys and aerial acrobats have returned. For lower crowds and shorter waits, we recommend one of the late afternoon shows.

Winged Encounters – Periodically, there’s a show directly in front of Tree of Life called “Animal Kingdom: Winged Encounters – The Kingdom Takes Flight.” If you can’t find showtimes for this, ask a Cast Member around the Tree of Life when it’s scheduled to occur.

This is not a major show, but it’s a magical one that is absolutely worth seeing. Try weaving it into your itinerary as you head back towards the front of the park. Also make an effort to see the other birds and critters around the Oasis, which are otherwise easily overlooked.

Insect Interlude – It’s Tough to Be a Bug is a good option to round out the middle of the afternoon here. It’s a fun 3D show housed inside the park’s iconic Tree of Life, which is arguably the coolest thing about the experience.

With that said, you can truly do It’s Tough to Be a Bug whenever. No strategy required for this one, so slot it in whenever is convenient for you.

Two-Week Sunset Safari – We’ve already gone to different corners of the globe, scaled the Earth’s highest mountain (a couple of times), and now, we’re going to do a few weeks worth of safaris. That’s more impressive than going around the world at Epcot in a day!

For this ride aboard Kilimanjaro Safaris, we recommend waiting until late afternoon, getting closer to sunset time. Along with the early morning, the animals are most active in mid to late afternoon, so this experience should be different from the first but equally eventful.

Unwind at Dinner Time – One of the biggest “problems” you’ll have with visiting Animal Kingdom is that there are too many good places to eat. I guess that’s a good problem to have. On the one hand, there’s Satu’li Canteen in Pandora – World of Avatar . This counter service restaurant has inventive, high-quality, and even healthy cuisine that is excellent.

On the other hand, Flame Tree BBQ is a good option if you’re looking for something unhealthy and distinctly carnivorous. One of the things this brings to the table is stunning views of Everest from the seating area. The food is also really good at Flame Tree BBQ , but we think it’s gone downhill in recent years with higher portion sizes.

Travel 4.4 Light Years Away… – The final stop of your day needs to be Pandora – World of Avatar. Right now, we recommend arriving to the land around 90 minutes before park closing. At that point, Na’vi River Journey should have a posted wait time of 55 minutes or less, with an actual wait time usually around 30 minutes. (Adjust your arrival accordingly based on the wait time in My Disney Experience.)

That should be a sufficient buffer to finish the boat ride and make your way to the park’s headliner, Avatar Flight of Passage, with 15-30 minutes left in the day. At this point, the posted wait for Flight of Passage will likely be over an hour (it might even be triple digits!), but the actual wait time will be significantly lower than that. If you don’t arrive within the first 30 minutes Animal Kingdom is open, these will be the shortest waits of the day at both Pandora attractions.

On your way out, be sure to watch the Tree of Life Awakenings , which are brief montages that play on the Animal Kingdom park icon. That should mark the conclusion to a satisfying day at Animal Kingdom. While the park is still relatively relaxed and less stressful of a touring experience than Magic Kingdom or Disney’s Hollywood Studios (especially after the 3 pm mass exodus), you should still follow this strategy to avoid the few headaches that do exist at Animal Kingdom.

Even a few years after Pandora – World of Avatar opened, wait times for both Avatar attractions can still be quite long, especially at rope drop, so pack your patience! If you want to experience other attractions besides those we’ve listed, make sure to check out our Animal Kingdom Park & Attractions Guide , which rates and reviews all attractions.

Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews . To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!

Your Thoughts

What would you include in your ideal day in Disney’s Animal Kingdom? If you’ve been back to DAK since Genie+ and Lightning Lanes launched, what was your experience with crowd patterns and wait times? Did you do Na’vi River Journey and Avatar Flight of Passage first, last, or somewhere in between? What did you think of Pandora – World of Avatar? If you haven’t visited Walt Disney World, what do you plan on doing during your day in Animal Kingdom? Any questions? Share your questions and thoughts in the comments!

Written by Tom Bricker

my wife and I will be visiting Orlando in April for a couple of weeks. She loves animals and this is on our list of things to. Unfortunately, because she had a stroke some years ago, she can’t tolerate rides and I was wondering if there’s enough to do for a day here without having to do rides? She should be fine on one the tour buses or river boats as long as they’re slow and gentle. I’d appreciate any advice from those of you whom have already been.

Hi Peter, yes there is plenty to do aside from rides. Kilimanjaro Safari is amazing, it’s a slow bus tour of the Safari but its a little jerky in places so not sure if it would be OK for your wife. Ask the Cast Members, they are all amazing and helpful. Animal Kingdom has lots of Animal exhibits, walk through attractions and shows so I think you will love it. Have fun!

BEST PLAN EVER!!! I went on a super crowded day and was able to do every activity without genie pass. I just purchased the lightning pass for avatar as I went on new year… which was one of the busiest day in the park. Thanks a ton!!!!

Ellen, All roller coaster and rides and motion-based rides have a motion sickness warning. That’s just common sense and you should know better. The parents that complain about their children being scared or “freaking out” are just bottom line poor parents who blame others for not knowing what their own kids are and are not capable of handling. Try to take accountability for being a parent, please?

As for the itinerary, nicely explained. Thanks!

Has more “smaller” entertainment returned to Animal Kingdom, or is it mainly the large shows at this point that have returned?

Oh, this is helpful for my trip planning, although I’m sorry it happened to you. Can I ask what time of day this happened to you during?

Not getting the Genie+ at AK was a big mistake. Wait times at Avatar and safari far exceeded the posted times and at the safari line, the Genie+ holders kept streaming past us while we literally didn’t move. I had never experienced that on any of the attractions at Magic Kingdom. Wait times at Everest and DINOSAUR were also really long and we would have loved to have been able to skip those lines. We were also really disappointed that at Avatar, there was no mention, until we were literally getting on the “ride” that if you have a fear of heights or inclination to motion sickness that you may want to skip it. My daughter started freaking out after she got strapped in due to a fear of heights)but they quickly closed the door and there was nothing we could do. The simulation was amazingly beautiful but i quickly had to close my eyes as I was getting nauseous.

Oh, this is helpful for my trip planning, although I’m sorry it happened to you. Can I ask what time of day this happened to you during and for what attractions?

I’m pretty sure there is a sign posted at the entrance of the line about motion sickness.

This was my experience as well. I closed my eyes and waited for the Avatar experience to be over. It was also very loud. Vertigo and Nausea prone people, please skip this adventure.

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The Complete Guide to Disney’s Animal Kingdom

© Walt Disney World

The fourth park to open at the massive Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, Disney’s Animal Kingdom is perhaps the most unique among Disney’s worldwide portfolio of theme parks. Part zoo, it is the company’s only park to showcase live animals. Zebras, giraffes, lions, and a wide variety of other species roam freely on the park’s 110-acre safari site. You can come (nearly) face-to-face with tigers, water buffalo, gorillas, and more along walking trails. There is also an area where guests can pet and interact with animals and discover a veterinary care center.

But Disney’s Animal Kingdom is so much more than a zoo. The park also features e-ticket rides , engaging shows, and wonderful dining options. And it is home to Pandora – The World of Avatar, a highly-themed (and highly popular) land based on James Cameron's “Avatar.” The land brings the films’ mythical animals and flora to life and includes one of Disney’s best attractions. If it’s thrills you seek, Animal Kingdom delivers those as well .

In addition to Pandora, Animal Kingdom’s other lands include Africa, which features one of the park’s highlights, Kilimanjaro Safaris; Asia, where a towering mountain houses Expedition Everest; the whimsical DinoLand U.S.A.; Discovery Island, home to the iconic Tree of Life; and Rafiki's Planet Watch, which is accessible via train and offers animal encounters and Conservation Station.

Animal Kingdom Ride and Attraction Highlights

• Live animals and the natural world may be the park‘s heart and soul, but with the opening of Pandora – The World of Avatar in 2017, much of Animal Kingdom’s focus shifted to the fictional planet of Pandora and its curious creatures. The headline attraction, Avatar Flight of Passage , is a next-gen "flying theater” experience (a concept Disney developed for Soarin’ ) that places passengers on the backs of winged banshees and sends them on a giddy airborne journey above Pandora. It is one of Disney World's best rides –and one of the best rides on this (or any other) planet.
• Pandora’s other attraction, Na’vi River Journey , is a much gentler, almost serene boat ride through a lush jungle glowing with bioluminescent plants and critters. For the finale, passengers encounter the Shaman of Songs, one of Disney’s most complex animatronic characters.
• The most thrilling attraction at Animal Kingdom is Expedition Everest . It's near the upper end of what is considered a "family coaster,” with a top speed of 50 mph, a section that reverses direction and sends the train racing backwards (in total darkness no less), and some potent G-forces, the ride pushes the boundaries. The story and effects are very well done, however the giant animatronic Yeti that lives inside the mountain broke down soon after Expedition Everest opened, and it’s never been repaired.
• The park’s signature attraction, Kilimanjaro Safaris , brings guests through the “Harambe Wildlife Reserve” on open-air vehicles to ogle the herds of animals that live there.
• Dinosaur transports visitors to prehistoric times where its namesake animals lurk in the darkness. It uses the same trackless ride vehicles Disney pioneered for Indiana Jones Adventure  at California's Disneyland.
• On the raft ride, Kali River Rapids , passengers get soaked as they brave the rapids and a 30-foot finale drop.
• The 4-D movie attraction, It's Tough to be a Bug , which is located inside the base of the Tree of Life, features characters from the Pixar movie, "A Bug’s Life." Beware the stink bug!

Animal Kingdom Shows

• The park is home to what may be Disney World’s best stage show, Finding Nemo - The Musical . Based on the popular Pixar film, it features wonderful puppetry (with the puppeteers fully visible and part of the performance), grand-scale sets, and a lovely, engaging score specially composed for the production.
• Animal Kingdom’s other major show is Festival of the Lion King . The spectacle features songs from the landmark movie and also offers a hint of Cirque de Soleil with scenes that present acrobatics and other feats of derring-do.
• UP! A Great Bird Adventure incorporates characters from the Pixar movie into a show starring trained, exotic birds.

Where to Eat

Through the years, Disney Word has really upped its culinary game, and Animal Kingdom is no exception. Sure, you can find burgers, pizza, ice cream, and other fare typically associated with parks. But there are some unique and outstanding choices as well, including the following:

• Tiffins Restaurant makes our list of Disney World’s best table service eateries , and for good reason. The menu, inspired by African, Asian, and South American cuisines, include adventurous dishes such as Ethiopian coffee butter-infused venison loin and grilled octopus with squid ink aioli. The funky dining rooms are decorated with artifacts gathered by the Imagineers that helped design Animal Kingdom. Tiffins is a great way to cap a day at the park as well as a wonderful place to celebrate a special occasion.
• At Satu'li Canteen , you can dine like a Pandoran. Enjoy “native” food, including bao buns and scrumptious grain bowls that you can custom-order with your favorite ingredients. This is one of Disney World’s best quick-service restaurants .
• Another Animal Kingdom quick-service eatery that earns kudos is Flame Tree Barbecue . The aroma of the smoked ribs, pork, and chicken is intoxicating.
• Delicious African dishes such as curry chicken, black-eyed pea salad, peri peri whole salmon, and fruit chutney are available buffet-style at Tusker House Restaurant .
• For some out-of-this-world beverages, including a Night Blossom that glows in the dark, head to Pongu Pongu in Pandora.

Admission Information

To enter Animal Kingdom, you’ll need a valid ticket (or season pass). You could purchase a single-day pass or a multi-day pass with or without park-hopping privileges (that allow holders to visit more than one theme park per day). We have a feature about Disney World tickets to help you wade through all of the options and determine the best choice and value for you and your park posse.

Best Time to Visit

As far as when to visit Disney World, a lot depends on your preferences and needs. Do you want to try to avoid crowds? Or would you want to plan a family trip to celebrate the holidays? (The busiest time at Disney World is traditionally the week between Christmas and New Year’s.) We have a separate article that addresses these and other issues to help you determine when might be the best time for you and your gang to visit the resort .

Getting There & Where to Stay

Unlike Disney World’s other three theme parks, which offer monorail service, ferries, water taxies, and aerial gondolas, there are only a few ways to get to Disney’s Animal Kingdom: Take the resort’s complimentary bus transportation; drive your own car; or take a cab or ride sharing service (including Disney Minnie Van that is operated by Lyft.)

All of the on-property hotels offer bus service to Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Note that there are no walking paths to the park. But if you want to stay the closest to the park and enjoy its theme even when you leave the gates, consider booking a room at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge . You might be able to see giraffes and other animals roaming the savannas from your balcony at the lovely Deluxe category hotel. It also offers four of Disney World’s best restaurants.

Tips for Visiting

• With Pandora’s two popular attractions, it is virtually a requirement to make advance Fastpass+ reservations . Really, it’s necessary to become fluent and to take full advantage of the  My Disney Experience  website and app for your entire Disney World stay.
• For Kilimanjaro Safaris, the ideal time to see the animals bright-eyed and bushy-tailed is generally early in the morning. Later in the day, many of them tend to doze and escape the Florida sun.
• For many years, Disney’s Animal Kingdom used to close fairly early–often before sunset. Now, however, the park frequently remains open into the evening. Consider visiting at night to enjoy features such as the bioluminescent plants that come to life after dusk in Pandora, special nighttime journeys aboard Kilimanjaro Safaris, and "Tree of Life Awakenings,” projection-mapped vignettes that animate the centerpiece tree.
• For Tiffins and other table-service restaurants, it is important to plan ahead. Learn how to make Disney World dining reservations with our complete guide.
• You can dine with Mickey and his friends for breakfast, lunch, and dinner at the Tusker House Restaurant inside the park.
• Are you wondering whether you or your park companions can handle the thrills of Expedition Everest or some of Animal Kingdom’s more toned-down attractions such as Dinosaur? Wonder no more! We break it down for you in our feature, Walt Disney World for Wimps .

Walt Disney World Guide: Planning Your Trip

The 10 Coolest Things to Do at Pandora - The World of Avatar

Top 10 Attractions at Disney World's Animal Kingdom

Best Walt Disney World Resort Hotels in Orlando

Disney World Vs. Universal Orlando

Your Guide to Visiting Walt Disney World During the Pandemic

Best of Disney's Animal Kingdom for Tweens and Teens

What to Know About Visiting Disney’s Animal Kingdom During the Pandemic

The 10 Best Things to Do at Disney World

July at Disney World: Weather, What to Pack, and What to See

The Ultimate Guide to Character Experiences at Disney World

10 Best Walt Disney World Rides

Visiting Disney World With Preschoolers

Why It Pays to Be an Early Bird at Disney World

Best New Theme Park Attractions for Little Kids

Disneyland vs. Disney World: Which Is Better?

Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park

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I paid $185 for a private safari at Disney World. Up-close interactions with wildlife weren't even the best part.

• I paid $185 to go on a private safari tour in Animal Kingdom at Disney World. 
• The ticket included a two-hour safari, African-inspired food, drinks, and a souvenir at the end.
• The experience was top-notch and worth it for the up-close interactions with the animals and guides.

I live 10 minutes away from Disney World and visit the parks frequently, but I'm always learning about new offerings. I recently discovered Savor the Savanna — a two-hour private safari tour at Animal Kingdom.

Although I've experienced the park's 18-minute Kilimanjaro Safaris attraction, I wanted to see what the add-on experience was all about.

Here's what the private safari tour was like.

The Savor the Savanna tickets are limited, so they have to be bought in advance.

There are only 12 tickets available for each Savor the Savanna tour, so they must be booked in advance via the My Disney Experience app or Disney World's website.

The two-hour tour is held at 3:15 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. every day, weather depending.

I booked a ticket two days in advance for the earlier time and paid $174 before tax. The tour ticket doesn't include park admission, which is required to access this event. Fortunately, I didn't need to buy a park ticket because I had an annual pass. 

I checked in at the Curiosity Animal Tours kiosk.

I entered Animal Kingdom and made my way over to the Curiosity Animal Tours kiosk just in time for the 3 p.m. check-in.

Upon arrival, I was asked to sign a waiver.

I had to sign a waiver before the tour that covered topics including medical treatment, insurance, and assumption of risk.

I received a personalized name tag.

I wasn't expecting to receive a name tag when I checked in for the tour, but I was glad I did as I could keep it as a souvenir .

Our safari vehicle was different from the standard Animal Kingdom attraction.

The Kilimanjaro Safaris ride vehicles have seats in horizontal rows, but our private tour vehicle had wooden benches lining the perimeter.

I enjoyed the seating style because it created a welcoming environment.

The vehicle's seating layout created an intimate atmosphere.

Our tour guide , Emma, was friendly and knowledgeable — she encouraged questions and ensured everyone could capture photos.

I liked that we were all able to face each other throughout the experience. It made the tour more intimate. 

We had extra time to speak with a park employee working with the giraffes.

At the beginning of our tour, we met John, a park employee who works closely with the giraffes in the savanna.

He shared fun facts about the animals and answered questions in great detail.

Since the vehicle was stopped, people could also stand up and take photos of the giraffes and other nearby animals. 

We stopped at the Boma Platform for refreshments and great views of the savanna.

We arrived at the Boma Platform, an enclosure-inspired stop, about 40 minutes into the tour.

Boma is a popular restaurant at Animal Kingdom Lodge, and we were welcomed with a table of similar African-inspired cuisine, including various cheeses , fruits, breads, and salads — the chicken salad was my favorite. 

The stop also offered a raised view of the savanna with binoculars for an even closer look at the animals. 

Various regional wines were also available to sip on.

Although I don't drink, there was a selection of regional wines available for guests 21 and over. 

We could also have complimentary POG juice (pineapple, orange, and guava).

A glass of the fan-favorite POG juice at Disney restaurants can cost upwards of $6, but we were able to have as much as we wanted during the rest stop.

I found the unlimited supply of juice to be a bonus, especially since I don't drink alcohol.

Dessert was my favorite part of the meal.

There were three desserts available at the Boma stop, and the fudge pop was the best dessert I've ever had at Animal Kingdom.

Toward the end of the tour, we had the opportunity to see rhinos up close.

This was my first time seeing a rhino in person, so it was a unique and fun experience .

The tour ended with everyone getting a small souvenir.

In exchange for the lanyard that held my name tag (I could keep the paper part with my name on it), I was gifted a wooden coaster with Savor the Savanna engraved on the front.

Although this tour was pricey, I found it to be worth the value.

Kilimanjaro Safaris is about a 20-minute attraction, but Savor the Savanna is nearly two hours, so I deemed the $185 ticket to be worth it .

I was able to ask many questions and had access to delicious food and unlimited POG juice.

Although the ticket is pretty pricey — especially since it doesn't include park admission — I'd definitely do the tour again for a special occasion.

• Main content

What To Know: A First-Timers Guide to Animal Kingdom

Planning for and taking a trip to Walt Disney World can be stressful – especially if it’s your first visit . You want to stretch your vacation budget, and make sure that everyone enjoys their time. Animal Kingdom, the newest and largest Walt Disney World theme park, is its own unique puzzle. Only a few attractions have long lines – you’ll need to know how to fill your day with characters and rides and shows and animals.

So what is important to know when you visit Animal Kingdom for the first time? There are lots of resources to help you with that (The Unofficial Guide  is one of our favorites). But here we’ll share some special tips and tricks that I wish  I knew on my very first trip to Animal Kingdom. You might also give it a skim if you’ve visited before, but haven’t been back in 5 or 10 years.

Animal Kingdom Geography 101

Animal Kingdom is divided into six “lands” (themed areas) spread throughout the park. Similar to Magic Kingdom, most of the lands are arranged around a park hub that houses the park’s icon. In this case, the hub is Discovery Island, and the park icon is the 145-foot-tall Tree of Life. Leading from the park entrance to Discovery Island is the Oasis, a series of meandering pathways with animal exhibits. It’s the anti-Main Street that gets you in the mood for exploring and wandering.

Clockwise around Discovery Island, you’ll first find Pandora – World of Avatar. Home to Flight of Passage and Na’vi River Journey and floating mountains, this is absolutely the first land you should explore in the morning when you arrive in the park. Continuing clockwise, you’ll find Africa. Within Africa you’ll find Kilimanjaro Safaris, Gorilla Falls Trek, Festival of the Lion King, as well as dining and entertainment options. You’ll also find the gateway to Rafiki’s Planet Watch, with a train ride to Affection Section and Conservation Station.

Further along our clockwise tour of the park is Asia, anchored by Expedition Everest, along with more entertainment, animals, and attractions. Finally, you’ll find Dinoland USA. Shockingly, no live animals are in this area. But there are two attractions, roadside games, characters, and another show.

It’s Nahtazu

Back when Animal Kingdom first opened, there was a large marketing campaign all about how it was “Not a Zoo.” And, truthfully, it  is  so much more than a zoo. But now over two decades later, what you may most appreciate about Animal Kingdom is that out of all of the crowded and line-filled Walt Disney World theme parks, it is the least zoo-like. From a crush of humanity perspective.

Days at Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios, especially, have to be planned and executed carefully so that you don’t wind up in hours-long queues for popular attractions. At Animal Kingdom, the emphasis is more on exploring and discovering than planning and waiting. Does this mean you should show up without any prior knowledge? No. But good news, you’re already reading this, so you’re ahead of the curve. There are a few key things to know, but otherwise, Animal Kingdom is yours to enjoy.

Starting the Day Right

If you make good use of the very beginning of your Animal Kingdom day, everything else will fall into place smoothly. If you show up late or head in the wrong direction in the morning, you could be setting yourself up for some ugly waits for attractions (or less active animals) later in the day.

Frequently, Animal Kingdom is the park that opens the earliest. If you have access to early entry, you should arrive with the other (relatively) few early birds at least 45 minutes before official park opening – which is at least 15 minutes before early entry begins. Give yourself time to get through security and be lined up at the tapstiles. Once the park opens, hustle through the Oasis, onto Discovery Island, and take the left toward Pandora. If you don’t know where you’re going – just follow almost everybody else.

If you want to ride Flight of Passage, this is the time to do it. Go immediately to the queue. Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200. Line up. And, uh, fly. If the park still hasn’t officially opened when you get off the ride, try Na’vi River Journey next. It gets long waits, and opinions vary on whether it’s worth waiting more than 20 minutes for.

Then, as close to actual park opening as possible, make your way back to Africa to ride Kilimanjaro Safaris. Lines will be shortest this early in the day, and the animals will be at their most active. After the Safari, the rest of your day should be smooth sailing.

Starting Your Day … Late

Because most people at this point know that starting early is the key to enjoying a Disney theme park, and because Animal Kingdom doesn’t have as many “rides” as other parks, a lot of the crowds don’t stick around for a full day exploring everything that Animal Kingdom has to offer. That means that wait times start decreasing here earlier than they do at any other park.

Animal Kingdom also typically closes much earlier than any other park, so plenty of people will take the opportunity to go back to their resort midday before hitting another park, or hop away early in the afternoon instead. That gives you the opportunity to go against the flow and not show up until the afternoon. You won’t have as much time to experience everything, but wait times may start going down by around 2 pm. And if you take one of the very last Safaris of the day, that’s when the carnivores start getting more active, so you’ll have a very different experience than the morning rides do.

Alternatively, you could make Flight of Passage your very last ride of the day, entering the queue about 5 minutes before the park closes. The posted wait time will be high to try to scare people out of joining the line, but you’ll have one of the shortest waits of the day.

To Genie+ or Not to Genie+

Animal Kingdom is the park where Genie+ is always the least expensive. So many people are tempted to purchase it as a “good value” for skipping lines. Unfortunately, there really that many attractions where Genie+ is going to save you a decent amount of time compared to waiting in the Standby queue. Na’vi River Journey and Kilimanjaro Safaris are the big wins. But because the Safaris don’t open until regular park opening anyway, it’s possible to “rope drop” both of them – Na’vi River Journey during early entry and Kilimanjaro Safaris at regular opening time. If you are willing and able to take advantage of early entry, that eliminates the need for Genie+ at the two attractions where it saves a lot of time compared to standby.

The other available attractions, like Expedition Everest, Kali River Rapids, and DINOSAUR can be helpful – but typically only on the very most crowded days of the year. Otherwise, if you just stay ahead of “the pack” by working your way through these attractions after taking a Safari in the morning, you still won’t have much of a wait at any of them. And you certainly don’t need to use Genie+ at any of the shows in Animal Kingdom.

Flight of Passage isn’t included in Genie+ – instead, it’s only available via an Individual Lightning Lane purchase. If you don’t have early entry, or don’t want to wake up early, and you don’t want to stay late and get in line at the last minute, this is one of the most worthwhile Individual Lightning Lane purchases that you could make during your Walt Disney World vacation. It can save an incredible amount of time during peak hours.

Animal Kingdom has some of the highest-rated dining of any Walt Disney World Theme Park – especially when it comes to counter-service food. There are still some places you should probably avoid, and locations that we recommend seeking out. But the foodie highlights at this park easily beat out those offered at Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom, and put Animal Kingdom up with EPCOT for best theme park dining.

Some reliably good options include:

Table Service

• Yak & Yeti (93%) – Asia
• Tiffins (92%) – Discovery Island
• Tusker House (91%) – Africa

Counter Service

• Satu’li Canteen (96%) – Pandora
• Harambe Market (94%) – Africa
• Flame Tree BBQ (94%) – Discovery Island
• Yak & Yeti Local Food Cafes (93%) – Asia

A special shout-out goes to Nomad Lounge , which serves a lot of the same food and drinks as the signature restaurant next door, Tiffins. There are also “secret” off-menu chicken nuggets that are probably the best chicken you’ll get in any park. The Lounge is available by walk-up only, and is popular. Your best bet for getting a seat is before noon and in the last hour before the park closes. You can read more about Nomad Lounge here .

The Wilderness Must Be Explored!

One of the best ways to explore the Animal Kingdom is by participating in the Wilderness Explorers program. This park-wide “scavenger hunt” is themed to the troop that Russell participates in during the move Up.

After signing up for the program at one of many marked kiosks throughout the park, you’ll visit specially-marked locations as you tour during the day and earn “badges” (stickers) for completing various activities.

Cast members that run these kiosks and special locations are some of the very best that Disney has to offer, and they’re trained to tweak their content to any age group. We’ve seen parties of adults all enjoy learning something new and collecting badges, and the tiniest little two-year-olds toddle up to a cast member who will kneel down to their level and get them excited about the topic at hand.

You can learn all about the Wilderness Explorers program here .

Let the Music Play

Animal Kingdom has some of the best entertainment of any park, whether musical or educational. Often both! Three big stage shows with their own theaters or amphitheaters headline the offerings:

• Festival of the Lion King – Africa
• Feathered Friends in Flight – Between Africa and Asia
• Finding Nemo: the Big Blue … and Beyond – Dinoland USA

Of these, Festival of the Lion King is undoubtedly the most popular. Make sure to line up for it at least 15-20 minutes early. Feathered Friends in Flight teaches all about birds and their behaviors, and Finding Nemo has some of the most impressive puppets you’ll see in any park.

Beyond the big shows, though, are other acts that you can find around the park. Many of these musical acts are some of the highest-rated “attractions” in the park. The musicians are truly talented:

• Viva Gaia Street Band! – Discovery Island
• Kora Tinga Tinga – Africa (I personally rate this one as do-not-miss)
• Tam Tam Drummers of Harambe – Africa
• Chakrandi – Asia

Having a Plan is Key

Most first-time visitors to Animal Kingdom will head into the park without any plan. They’ll wander about the Oasis and take pictures of the (admittedly impressive) Tree of Life before arriving at Flight of Passage and being shocked by its already-terrible wait, and then end up eating at the first place they come to without a long line to order. Probably Pizzafari, which has the worst satisfaction in the park.

A little research and a plan can make an Animal Kingdom day more relaxing and fulfilling than any other theme park day. Plus it can include a good meal or two and some great snacks! If you’re a TouringPlans subscriber, you can check out some of our pre-made Animal Kingdom Touring Plans . Or you can  create a personalized plan  of your own and see what the optimizer recommends. Either method will give you an idea of the best way to approach your day.

If you’re an Animal Kingdom veteran, what tip would you share with a rookie? And if you’re planning your first visit, what questions do you have?

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Becky Gandillon was trained in biomedical engineering, but is now a full-time data and analytics nerd. She loves problem solving and travelling. She and her husband, Jeff, live in St. Louis with their two daughters and they have Disney family movie night every Saturday. You can follow her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/becky-gandillon/ or instagram @raisingminniemes

One thought on “ What To Know: A First-Timers Guide to Animal Kingdom ”

In the second paragraph, you provide a link to the Unofficial Guide . . . 2023 version. Are you just being modest? I’ve noticed you are co-author of the 2025 Guide. Congratulations! For someone who just considers this your hobby, you are accomplishing a lot.

In the third sentence under the To Genie+ or Not to Genie+ section, you left out the verb. I suspect it should be really “aren’t.” although it would sure impact the meaning if it is really “are.”

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The Ultimate Guide to Magic Kingdom, According to Disney Experts

Here's everything you need to know to plan the perfect day in Magic Kingdom, including the best rides, restaurants, and more.

Jacqueline Dole is a freelance food and travel journalist based in Maine. A lifelong New Englander, her work has appeared in Travel + Leisure , Food & Wine, TimeOut, Insider, Thrillist, Eater, and more. With a background as a pastry chef, she’s always on the lookout for the next best snack. She is a theme park enthusiast and expert, and embroidered hotel robes, amazing pools, and hot dogs are some of her favorite things.

Planning Your Visit

• Getting to Magic Kingdom
• Best Rides and Attractions
• Entertainment

Best Restaurants

• Magic Kingdom Itinerary

Tips for a Magical Day at Magic Kingdom

Valerie de Leon/Travel + Leisure

When the Magic Kingdom opened its gates on Oct. 1, 1971, it became an iconic place to not only see favorite Disney characters but to experience innovative attractions and visit lands carefully crafted to transport guests to another time or place. No trip to Walt Disney World would be complete without a visit to the Magic Kingdom. The most popular park at the Florida resort is also the most-visited theme park in the entire world, with more than 17 million visitors in 2022, according to the Global Attractions Attendance Report .

With this popularity comes crowds, so knowing how to best navigate the park is vital to ensure a great experience. “Walt Disney World is complicated in a way that's different from almost any other vacation destination. There are far more people who want to ride Disney's best rides and eat at Disney's best restaurants than there is ride and restaurant capacity for them. You'll need to make reservations for the popular rides and restaurants or risk not getting to them,” says Len Testa, co-author of " The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World ."

Ready to plan your trip? Here's everything you need to know to plan a perfect day at Magic Kingdom.

Meet the Expert

Len Testa is the co-author of "The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World." 

Samantha Davis-Friedman is a theme park journalist and contributing writer of “Walt Disney World Hacks, Second Edition.”

Matt Stroshane/Walt Disney World

“The two things to consider when visiting Walt Disney World are crowds and weather,” says Testa. “Walt Disney World's crowds are typically lowest when public schools are in session. The best weather is generally between November and March, with daytime highs between 75 and 80 degrees.” 

Tickets can be purchased as either single or multi-day passes, and you can add the Park Hopper option to visit multiple parks a day. Single-day ticket prices are dynamic and vary depending on the day and park you’re looking to visit, ranging between $134 to $189 for 2024. While park hours vary throughout the year, currently Magic Kingdom is open from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. 

Guests staying at Disney hotels (and select other hotels) can take advantage of Early Entry to enter the park 30 minutes before it officially opens. Guests staying at a Disney Deluxe Resort or other select hotels can enjoy Extended Evening Hours after the park closes on select nights.

Getting to Magic Kingdom 

Valerie de Leon/Travel + Leisure

Guests cannot park outside of the gates of the Magic Kingdom and must park across the Seven Seas Lagoon at The Transportation and Ticket Center, otherwise known as the TTC. From there, guests can take a ferry or monorail to arrive at the park gates. “My motto is 'take the one that’s there' – sometimes that’s the monorail and sometimes it's the ferry. Either way, it’s nice to start the day without a wait (if possible) since there will certainly be plenty of waiting to come," says Samantha Davis-Friedman, theme park journalist and contributing writer of “Walt Disney World Hacks, Second Edition” .

Only Walt Disney World Resort buses and "Minnie Vans" (Lyft’s exclusive Walt Disney World car service offering select perks), can drop visitors off directly outside of the park. Third-party shuttles typically drop riders at the TTC. 

Standard parking is $30 per day, preferred parking varies seasonally between $45 and $55 per day, and oversized vehicle parking is $35 per day. If you’re park-hopping, good news: Guests only need to pay one fee for a parking pass that is good all day at all four theme parks. 

Guests staying at select Magic Kingdom area resorts can also take the monorail or a boat from their hotel.

Best Rides and Attractions 

Younger guests shouldn’t miss out on the rides in Fantasyland, like The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and Peter Pan’s Flight. Thrill-seeking visitors should make a point to ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Space Mountain, and Tron Lightcycle Run . For fans of classic Disney, no trip is complete without a stop at The Enchanted Tiki Room, a ride on the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover, and a spin through Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress, which originally debuted at the 1964 New York World's Fair. Pirates of the Caribbean and The Haunted Mansion are perennial favorites among guests of all ages. And Tiana's Bayou Adventure is bound to be an instant hit when it opens this summer.

The best way to optimize time within the parks is to utilize Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lanes , an update on the previously complimentary FastPass system. These benefits come at an additional cost, but time in the parks is valuable and sometimes, it’s best to spend extra money to avoid lost time in line. The cost varies by park and date, generally ranging between $16 to $35 per day. 

Testa recommends purchasing Individual Lightning Lanes (ILL) for sought-after attractions like Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.

Related: 58 Disney World Rides and Attractions, Ranked From Worst to Best

Entertainment 

Let the Magic Begin and Mickey’s Magical Friendship Faire are stage shows that run several times throughout the day and feature Mickey and his pals, Tiana and friends from "The Princess and the Frog," and more. 

The Disney Adventure Friends Cavalcade is an abbreviated parade that runs through the park and features characters from "Encanto," "Coco," and more. The Disney Festival of Fantasy Parade features incredible floats, a long list of characters, and a great soundtrack. 

Happily Ever After is the park's current nighttime spectacular featuring projections, lasers, special effects, and of course, fireworks. While finding a spot in front of the castle is key if you want to catch the projections, the show is still extremely enjoyable when viewed from other, often less crowded, spots. My favorites are Tomorrowland and Fantasyland (and it's a bonus if you are onboard the PeopleMover or Seven Dwarfs Mine Train while fireworks are exploding in the sky above you).

Walt Disney World

Visitors looking to maximize their time in the parks should opt to order from quick-serve locations, preferably with mobile orders. Sleepy Hollow is a great stop for breakfast, offering an extremely popular fresh fruit waffle sandwich. Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe is a reliable stop for burgers and chicken strips. It’s also home to Sonny Eclipse, a beloved animatronic performing lounge tunes all about his home planet Zork in the dining room. Casey’s Corner offers hot dogs, corn dog nuggets, and french fries. If you’re looking for non-fried choices, Columbia Harbor House serves New England-inspired seafood dishes.

Guests who want to get up close with their favorite friends can make a reservation for a character meal at Cinderella’s Royal Table to dine with princesses or The Crystal Palace for a meal with Pooh and friends. Other standout table-service restaurants are Be Our Guest, Jungle Navigation Co. LTD Skipper Canteen, and Tony’s Town Square Restaurant, thanks to a recent menu overhaul that makes it a fantastic place to enjoy a glass of wine on the patio, especially while a parade passes by.

Snack fiends, be prepared: there are a lot of can’t-miss Disney World foods , including pineapple upside-down cake topped with Dole Whip from Aloha Isle, cheeseburger spring rolls at The Spring Roll Cart, and the pepper jack pretzel from Cheshire Cafe.

Related: 30 Best Disney World Restaurants

Magic Kingdom Itinerary 

Be ready to book your first Genie+ selection and join the virtual queue for Tron Lightycle Run at 7 a.m. If you miss the 7 a.m. window, there is another chance to join the Tron virtual queue at 1 p.m. from inside the park. If you’re staying on property, be ready to enter the park when Early Entry begins. Otherwise, be prepared to rope drop as soon as the park opens. Head to the most popular rides first to take advantage of the shortest lines you’ll likely see all day. Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Peter Pan's Flight, Jungle Cruise, and Space Mountain develop some of the highest wait times as the day goes on. From there, tackle the park by land, and don’t forget to take your time and enjoy. Continue to utilize Genie+ to book return times for attractions — or if you’ve opted to pass on the additional purchase, keep an eye on wait times in the app to head to the shortest lines. Try to spot a parade along the way, and end your day with Happily Ever After.

• “Be at the park, admission in hand, 60 minutes before the official opening. On most days, Disney will let you into the park and allow you to line up for your first ride well before the park opens. This is a tremendous advantage over those who can't get up and out the door that early. You'll be well on your way to your second (or third) ride before most people have gone through the turnstiles,” says Testa.
• Be prepared for the weather. “No matter what time of year you go to Magic Kingdom, it will likely rain — and it’s always A LOT of rain. Because I have been caught unprepared for rain at Walt Disney World (more than once), I now carry a pair of inexpensive, lightweight flip-flops in my backpack. That way, I can quickly swap out my sneakers and socks to keep them dry (this works well on water rides too!),” says Davis-Friedman.
• If you plan on spending a lot of time at Magic Kingdom, consider splurging to stay at a neighboring hotel. Guests can walk directly to the park from Disney’s Contemporary Resort and Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort. This convenience will save you a lot of time and hassle if you plan on staying until the park closes.
• For those looking to avoid the post-fireworks crowds, consider watching them from the neighboring resorts. Diners at The California Grill located on the top floor of Disney’s Contemporary Resort have access to a viewing deck that pipes in the show’s sound, as does the beach at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort. 
• Some of the best parts of a day in Magic Kingdom aren’t just the moments of soaring through Big Thunder Mountain or passing by hitchhiking ghosts inside The Haunted Mansion; they’re the magical moments in between, like having a spontaneous dance party with The Country Bears or spotting the names of several key Imagineers on the windows along Main Street U.S.A. 

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Best Rides at Animal Kingdom: Ranking the Top Rides at Disney World

by David Lee | May 8, 2024 | Animal Kingdom , WDW Blog

Find out our ranking of the very best rides at Animal Kingdom, from the rides of Pandora – The World of Avatar to the more toddler-friendly TriceraTop Spin.

When you think of Disney World rides, Animal Kingdom probably isn’t the first park that comes to mind. That honor typically goes to Magic Kingdom, which has triple the amount of rides that Animal Kingdom has. Or perhaps Hollywood Studios comes to mind with the iconic Tower of Terror or the newer attractions in Galaxy’s Edge and Toy Story Land.

However, don’t sleep on the rides available at Animal Kingdom. While the diverse population of animals is the star of the show at this theme park, some of the best rides across all of Disney World are located here. 

In total, there are eight rides at Animal Kingdom that range from toddler-friendly to thrilling. And without further ado, here are my unofficially official rankings from worst to best:

What Are the Best Rides at Disney’s Animal Kingdom?

• Kilimanjaro Safaris
• Avatar Flight of Passage
• Expedition Everest – Legend of the Forbidden Mountain
• Kali River Rapids
• Na’vi River Journey
• Wildlife Express Train
• TriceraTop Spin

1. Kilimanjaro Safaris

Photo by Danny Shuster

• Location: Africa
• Opening Date: April 22, 1998
• Ride Duration: About 18 to 22 minutes
• Height Requirement: N/A

While Flight of Passage is a worthy challenger for #1, I gave the honor to Kilimanjaro Safaris. After all, this is the ride rankings for Animal Kingdom. And there is no other ride that truly captures the heart and soul of this park than Kilimanjaro Safaris.

No experience will truly replace an authentic African safari. But this attraction is the closest you will get without leaving the continent. On this safari, visitors will ride an open-air vehicle and observe all sorts of free-roaming animals, including hippos, elephants, zebras, giraffes, and more.

If I had to pick just one ride that is a must-do at Animal Kingdom, it’s this one, despite how amazing Flight of Passage is. Because of the unpredictability of the animals, every safari is different. So no matter how many times you go on it, you’ll be sure to have a unique experience every time!

2. Avatar Flight of Passage

Get ready for some spectacular views on this ride. Photo by Laurie Sapp

• Location: Pandora – The World of Avatar
• Opening Date: May 27, 2017
• Ride Duration: About 4 minutes
• Height Requirement: 44 inches

This was a tough one to put at #2. It could easily take the top spot and is definitely one of the best rides at Disney World. Some may argue it is the all-time best. From a technological standpoint, it is tough to beat. This ride puts you on the back of a banshee with 3D glasses, and it perfectly simulates flying across Pandora. From sudden drops to facing giant waves, you truly feel like you’re in the world of Avatar.

I’ve seen this ride have a wait time of longer than 4 hours. And while I personally would not spend an entire morning or afternoon waiting in line for any ride, I will say, yes, Flight of Passage is that good. Imagine Soarin’, but the next level.

3. Expedition Everest – Legend of the Forbidden Mountain

• Location: Asia
• Opening Date: April 7, 2006
• Ride Duration: About 3 minutes

Many guests consider Expedition Everest to be the best roller coaster in all of Disney World. And it makes a good case for why it should have that distinction. First is the excellent storytelling, not just in the queue, but on the ride itself. It’s a thrilling adventure that includes an encounter with the legendary Yeti! It is also a photographer’s delight with all the Tibetan details throughout the attraction.

Everest is of course famous for the backwards portion after you face a mangled damaged track at the top of the mountain. After the backwards drop, you then have another 80 foot drop flying forward down the side of the mountain. It’s a Disney coaster, so it’s not as intense as what you might find at other theme parks, but it’s definitely one of the top thrills for Disney’s standards!

4. Kali River Rapids

Photo by Judd Helms

• Opening Date: March 18, 1999
• Ride Duration: About 5 minutes
• Height Requirement: 38 inches

If I had to pick a ride that is overrated in Animal Kingdom, it would be this splashtastic raft ride. So why did I rank it as the 4th best ride? I f you’re expecting a super thrilling ride like I was, you may be disappointed. It was much tamer than I thought it would be (which might be a good thing for others!) 

However, it is still a very fun attraction. The scenery that you pass through is filled with details, like geysers and plants. And the anticipation of the final drop (which is much less intense than Splash Mountain) and the possibility of getting soaked will bring lots of excitement and laughter throughout the ride. Be sure to bring a poncho if you don’t want to get wet!

5. Na’vi River Journey

Photo by Cliff Wang

• Ride Duration: About 4 1/2 minutes

This is the gentler of the two Avatar-themed attractions. It is essentially a boat ride through a Pandora rainforest. Just like the movie, it is a feast for the senses with beautiful colors and captivating sounds. However, when you factor in long wait times that can easily top an hour, the ride is pretty underwhelming.

But overall, it is a solid immersive experience that is friendly for the whole family, from babies to grandparents.

6. DINOSAUR

The Iguanadon wades solo in the fountain outside DINOSAUR at Animal Kingdom. Photo by Cliff Wang

• Location: DinoLand U.S.A.
• Height Requirement: 40 inches

As you can see, the attractions in DinoLand U.S.A. fall towards the bottom of the rankings. Which is why it may not be surprising that Disney is planning to revamp the whole area around a new theme. DINOSAUR didn’t appear on many guests’ lists of favorites due to how rough the ride is. But despite it jerking you around a track in the dark, I will say DINOSAUR has a great story built around the attraction. Guests board a time-traveling rover to rescue a dinosaur during the final minutes before the giant meteor that caused the extinction of life hits the planet. 

In addition to the thrilling story, there are numerous dinosaurs that make appearances throughout the ride. I wouldn’t classify this as a scary ride, but some children may find it to be too much.

7. Wildlife Express Train

Hop aboard the Wildlife Express Train for a unique Animal Kingdom experience! Photo courtesy of Disney Parks Blog.

• Location: Afrida
• Ride Duration: About 12 minutes

The Wildlife Express Train is primarily a way to get to Rafiki’s Planet Watch, where you can learn more about how Animal Kingdom works towards the preservation and conservation of animals. It takes about 7 minutes to get here from the Africa station.

If you have a little one like me, it’s also just a fun train ride for kids. You can just get back on the train at the Planet Watch station without touring the attractions there for a quick round trip journey.  Animal Kingdom can also get really hot, so the train can be a great way to get some shelter from the sun. If you love trains, you’ll love this attraction. Otherwise, there’s really nothing else to bring it higher in the rankings.

8. TriceraTop Spin

Photo by Laurie Sapp

• Opening Date: March 31, 2002
• Ride Duration: About 90 seconds

Coming in at last place is TriceraTop Spin, which as you may have guessed, is located in the dinosaur-themed land of the park. It is a fun ride for young children (my 3-year-old loved it and we went on it twice in a row). But at its core, it is no different than any of the other spinning rides at Disney, such as Dumbo or Aladdin. 

You simply hop in the dinosaur and there’s levers to control movement (whether up or down or pitch forward or backward, depending on which row you sit in) as you go around in a circular pattern. It’s a good attraction if you’re visiting with little kiddos, but it’s pretty much what you’ll find in a typical carnival (hence its location in the carnival-themed Dino-Rama area).

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Decoding Disney’s Massive Animal Kingdom Expansion Announcement

There are some major CHANGES coming to Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park.

Disney confirmed a while back that DinoLand, U.S.A. will be converted to a Tropical Americas-themed land , and we’re intrigued. We’ve seen concept art for the new addition, and now we’re breaking down the announcements to see what’s coming soon!

What Has Been Confirmed

During the 2024 Shareholders Meeting, Disney confirmed that Animal Kingdom will be home to a new “Tropical Americas” land, replacing DinoLand. It was revealed that Disney Imagineers have been visiting the Tropical Americas for inspiration, checking out places like pyramids in Mexico.

At the time of the announcement, no specific IPs or attractions had been confirmed, though Disney has previously thrown out ideas like  Encanto  and  Indiana Jones  when the project was in its Blue Sky phase.

But even though we don’t have many details, there are some things we can infer from the concept art!

Breaking Down the Concept Art

When the announcement was made, Disney shared a look at the concept art for the new land. (Keep in mind that concept art can change!) Based on this artwork, we have some ideas about what could come to Animal Kingdom.

Let’s dig deeper!

Casita from  Encanto

The first thing that drew our eye in this concept art is the building in the top left of the picture — it looks an awful lot like Casita from  Encanto ! It’s unclear whether this would be a walkthrough or a ride, but the replica is uncanny.

Encanto  was incredibly popular when it premiered on Disney+, and additions themed to the movie have been well-received so far in the parks, so we wouldn’t be surprised if Disney added it to this land.

In the bottom left corner of the concept art, there’s what looks like a carousel-type ride. The round pavilion could also be something similar to Mad Tea Party — it’s hard to tell since we only see the top.

A smaller “kiddie” ride like a carousel or a spinner would be a fitting replacement for TriceraTop Spin , which is DinoLand’s current ride for little ones.

An  Indiana Jones  Ride

When Disney first mentioned  Indiana Jones  IP as a possibility for Animal Kingdom, most people’s immediate thought is that DINOSAUR will be made over to match Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye in Disneyland.

The two attractions share the same ride system, so Disney wouldn’t have to start from the ground up. The concept art for DINOSAUR’s current location looks similar to the  Indiana Jones  temple.

Rethemed Shops and Restaurants

And of course, the restaurants and shops will be rethemed to match Tropical Americas! Based on the concept art, it looks like we’ll get updates to Restaurantosaurus and Chester & Hester’s Dinosaur Treasures.

We can’t wait to see these updates in person, and to get more information between now and then! Stay tuned to AllEars for the latest.

Click Here to Learn More About the New Land!

What do you hope Disney puts in the Tropical Americas land? Tell us in the comments!

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4 Replies to “Decoding Disney’s Massive Animal Kingdom Expansion Announcement”

They should definitely lean into Indiana Jones more. Regardless if people are familiar with Indiana Jones or not, a great ride will get people to go over to the new land. It’s fine if they want to add Encanto as well, but that theme won’t move the needle much. I just took my family to Disney world, we love Animal Kingdom but we never go to Dino land, we walked past it and it looked like a ghost town. It’s a good move to retheme it and they should have plenty of room.

I’m disappointed we never got a fantasy creature land with dragons and unicorns. Kids love dragons and unicorns more than the Avatar movies. I know the Avatar movies were successful, but I don’t think they warrant a major attraction.

I’m incredibly disappointed that the Boneyard play area appears to be missing from this concept art. My kids LOVE that playground. It’s one of the few areas in all of Disney World that offers developmentally appropriate activities for kids-running, climbing, interacting, and exploring, as opposed to waiting in line for “curated experiences.”

Hoping Encanto is a Haunted Mansion style ride.

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What Going to Disney Taught Me About Disney Video Games Part 2 – Animal Kingdom and AVATAR: FRONTIERS OF PANDORA

Before joining us on Part 2 of our Level Up! journey through Walt Disney World and Disney video games, make sure you read Part 1 . It explains why Disney hosted us at the parks and began our trip at the Magic Kingdom to learn about Disney Dreamlight Valley .

Animal Kingdom and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora   is a first-person, open-world action-adventure game (with a co-op mode) that has you play as an abducted, RDA-trained Na’vi warrior rediscovering your heritage on Pandora. It also includes bringing fans into an all-new area, the Western Frontier. And yes, in the game you can ride a banshee , same as you can at one incredible Animal Kingdom ride.

Level Up! day two kicked off at Animal Kingdom, home to one of Walt Disney World’s best themed areas, Pandora – The World of Avatar . If, like so many, you walked out of James Cameron’s historic hit angry you had to bid farewell to that beautiful bioluminescent planet for our regular old world, this is where you’ll want to go. It’s like traveling to Pandora without a spaceship. From the moment you walk into this part of the park you’re surrounded by floating mountains, glowing plant life, and Na’vi culture.

Then things get really good. The World of Avatar is also home to Flight of Passage, one of Walt Disney World’s best attractions. After some immersive pre-ride storytelling and silly fun you’re strapped into your own seat for a wild 3D journey as Na’vi hunter atop a banshee. During the ride your mount takes you through Pandora high above the ground (with plenty of huge, exciting swoops near it). While the ride itself is a total blast, what makes it special is how much it makes you feel like you’re really exploring Pandora. The giant screen is so big and vivid you can’t possibly pick up on all the details you soar past. It’s a fully realized place, and it made me appreciate Avatar in a way I never have.

It’s not the only attraction that did that. The slow ride Na’vi River Journey is a peaceful trip through a bioluminescent Pandora jungle. It also features a full-sized Na’vi Shaman of Songs, my single favorite animatronic at Walt Disney World. The area also has some of the best restaurants and food options at any of the four parks. That includes Satu’li Canteen, where we had an Avatar themed-breakfast. It was so good I was slightly bummed out while eating because I didn’t know when I’d be able to come back.

And if all of that wasn’t enough, our hosts also brought us to Pandora’s very own store, Windtraders. It has every type of Avatar merch you’d want, but we went for something unique.

Windtraders can turn you into a physical (mini) Na’vi. The store is home to the ACE Avatar Maker. There a tech scans your face and has you make some style choices so you can be transformed into a Na’vi avatar. In less than an hour you walk away with a custom action figure of blue you. Mine doesn’t look like my twin or anything—in the same way Zoe Saldana’s Neytiri didn’t look like her—but I love my one-of-a-kind collectible. Especially because it perfectly captures my toned swimmer’s body. (Note to Editor’s: no need to fact check that we’re good.)

I’m not exactly the biggest fan of Cameron’s Avatar  movies. But my immersion in a real-life re-creation of Pandora still won me over. So much so I want to see how this experience might change my opinion of the films. And I want to play Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora . To paraphrase Ariel, I loved being a part of that world rather than a passive viewer of it. Until I go back to Animal Kingdom the only place that can send me back inside Pandora is a video game.

Not every thrill ride or action-packed game requires a giant blue body or a banshee. For the rest there’s a different high-octane game that will send you back into Disney.

Continue with us on our Level Up! journey through Walt Disney World and Disney video games with Part 3: EPCOT and the Disney Speedstorm video game.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist who really hopes you don’t look into his Na’vi swimmer’s body claim. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike . And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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Savor the Savanna

Valid admission required. A theme park reservation may be required based on admission type.

See the Savanna in a New Light

Immerse your senses during a privately guided journey and explore the sights and sounds—and tastes—of Africa. Welcome to Savor the Savanna, a premium tour where you can discover the wonders of the continent’s most amazing creatures… and so much more!

Special Access to the Savanna Your safari begins with a journey deep into the heart of the Harambe Wildlife Reserve. You’ll soon find yourself within one of the most secluded and breathtaking private viewing areas the savanna has to offer.

Listen along as your guide tells tales of the unique residents who inhabit the reserve. Don’t hesitate to ask questions as your guide shares insightful information about the wildlife and the special care they’re provided at Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park.

Premium Eats, Drinks and More While savoring the savanna scenery, you’re invited to indulge in a sampling of African-inspired cuisine too, paired with a selection of regional beer and wine offerings.

Pricing Prices range from $189 to $199—plus tax. Prices vary by date. Advanced reservations are required. Book your Savor the Savanna experience online today!

• Theme park admission is required, but not included in the price of this tour. Theme park reservations are also required.

Know Before You Go

• Savor the Savanna features a ride in a rugged safari vehicle over an open savanna teeming with wildlife.
• For your safety, you should be in good health and free from high blood pressure; heart, back or neck problems; motion sickness or other conditions that could be aggravated by this adventure. Expectant mothers should not participate.
• Guests must be at least 8 years of age to participate in this experience.
• Guests under 18 years of age must be accompanied by a participating adult (18 years of age or older).
• This experience requires Guests in ECVs to transfer into an available wheelchair to participate in the tour.
• Please check in 15 minutes prior to start of experience at the Curiosity Animal Tours kiosk, located across from the Kilimanjaro Safaris attraction entrance. Late arrivals will not be able to join the experience.
• This excursion occurs rain or shine, with the exception of severe weather or lightning.
• Tour itinerary, content, duration and availability are subject to change without notice.
• There is a 24-hour cancellation policy. Full price will be charged/forfeited if the Guest cancels within one day or fails to show up for the reservation.
• Guests must be at least 21 years of age or older to consume alcoholic beverages. Please keep a valid form of identification on hand at all times to verify your age.

Safety, Accessibility and Guest Policies

Times for savor the savanna.