Visiting Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World
Animal Kingdom is the ‘newest’ Disney World park at 21 years old. It opened on Earth Day in 1998. It is unlike any other at Walt Disney World as it’s a mixture of theme park and zoo. It has a different feel than the other parks and is one of my favorites. With the addition of Pandora in 2017, it has one of the most popular rides in the park - Flight of Passage. Flight of Passage was first described to me as ‘Soarin’, but one thousand times better’ and I’d have to say that was an accurate description. Everyone else agrees as I’ve seen wait times get up to around 4 hours. While it’s amazing, it’s not worth that long of a wait especially in a park with so much else to do!
GETTING TO ANIMAL KINGDOM
Animal Kingdom is the park with the least amount of options for arrival - you either drive or take the bus. The buses are available to those staying on Disney property or at a Disney Springs Hotel. Once you get through the main entrance you still have a short walk to be fully in the park. Paths go to the right and left, it doesn’t matter which one you take. Both paths go by one or two animal exhibits and will then lead you to the Tree of Life. The Tree of Life area is the hub of the park - you’ll find almost all the shops and restaurants very close to this center area. Also keep an eye out for Kevin, the bird from Up! to make an appearance in this area. She loves to photobomb the Photopass pictures in front of the Tree of Life.
If you’re headed to Pandora, go left in front of the Tree of Life and then head straight. Behind the Tree of Life and to the left is the Africa section of the park which is where you’ll find the Safari ride and the Lion King show. To the right of the Tree of Life is DinoLand USA with the Dinosaur ride and the Finding Nemo musical. Behind the Tree of Life to the right is the Asia section with Expedition Everest and the Rivers of Light nighttime show.
In Pandora at Animal Kingdom, you’ll really feel like you’re on another planet.
FAVORITE ANIMAL KINGDOM ATTRACTIONS
Fast passes are the best way to maximize your time in the park because they allow you to bypass the standby line. You can read more about Fast Passes on the Disney website here. The hardest to get Fast Passes are the two in Pandora: Flight of Passage and the Na’vi River Ride. However, Flight of Passage is so popular they always run out first. Flight of Passage does have a height requirement and can be a bit intense. It’s the same visual concept as Soarin’ in Epcot - but in 3D - and you really feel as if you are flying through Pandora.
After the Pandora rides we always make sure to ride Kilimanjaro Safaris and Expedition Everest. The safari is different every time you go - no matter the time of day or weather, you will see lots of animals. And Everest is just a fun coaster period. When you’re at the highest point take in the views. All of Animal Kingdom will be to your right and to the left, all the other parks! Dinosaur and Kali River Rapids are also fun to experience (you WILL get wet on Kali River Rapids, they have lockers for storing gear).
In addition to seeing animals on the safari, there is the UP! Bird show as well as dozens of animal exhibits all around the park that include creatures like monkeys, otters, tigers and gorillas. Animal Kingdom has two other shows - the Finding Nemo Musical and the Lion King Show. Original music was written to go along with the Finding Nemo story and the Lion King is the best show in all of the parks. You’ll be awed by the acrobats, impressed by the dancers and singing along to one of the best Disney soundtracks.
Popular character interactions include the characters of Up!, Baloo & Louie from the Jungle Book and Flick from A Bug’s Life - expect a lot of animals. You can occasionally see Pocahontas and Tarzan - in only his loincloth. You’ll also find the Pandora Rangers in their 10 foot suits roaming around Pandora.
Animal Kingdom has a couple of things for nighttime entertainment. They do a short projection show on the Tree of Life called ‘Tree of Life Nighttime Awakenings.’ Each one starts about every 15 minutes, beginning around sunset. The only location for viewing is the area in front of the Tree of Life. The Rivers of Light show is held once or twice an evening and is best viewed in the amphitheater by Expedition Everest. You can get a Fast Pass for this which gives you a reserved seating area, not a specified seat. You can also do stand by entry. The show is on the water and uses boats, animal floats and lights projected onto streams of water. It was recently revamped to include more of a Disney theme, not just an animal theme.
Despite the awesome nighttime entertainment my favorite place to be in Animal Kingdom as the sun sets is in Pandora. That is a show in itself. The plants slowly light up and sounds change. Once the sun dips below the horizon, the area looks completely different than it did during the daytime. If you can’t be there at this time, be sure to visit during the daytime AND the nighttime to see the difference.
A full list of Animal Kingdom rides and attractions can be found here.
Expedition Everest with the amphitheater for the Rivers of Light show in the foreground.
FAVORITE ANIMAL KINGDOM RESTAURANTS
I think Animal Kingdom has some great restaurants but that may be because they aren’t your typical theme park food options. Yak & Yeti (sit down or counter service options) has really good Asian inspired cuisine. Satu’li Canteen is the counter service in Pandora and has customizable options for rice bowls and other relatively health choices. Pizzafari is another good quick service option, I especially like it because I can get gluten free pizza. If you want the animal theme but don’t necessarily want to come in to the park, the Rainforest Cafe is located at the park entrance. You can eat here without needing a park ticket. It’s also one of the few spots at the park that serves a full breakfast.
If you’re looking for some adult beverages, the Nomad Lounge is a great low key spot. It’s the bar attached to Tiffin’s, one of the nicer park restaurants. It’s first come first serve with seating (indoor and outdoor) and you can also get some appetizers. An alcohol must have at Animal Kingdom is the Dole Whip with Rum. It’s everyone’s favorite park treat amped up. You can get coconut rum or dark rum (the coconut is my favorite). You can find it at Tamu Tamu in Africa across from the Tusker House restaurant.
To help decide where to eat, I love using AllEars.net for their always updated park menus. If you or someone in your party has food allergies like me, you can also check out Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW for the places that offer allergy friendly menus. If you’re a passholder, be sure to ask for discounts in the restaurants!
Bar stools at the Rainforest Cafe at the Animal Kingdom entrance
MISC THINGS TO DO AT ANIMAL KINGDOM
If you didn’t know, #wallsofDisney is a thing. Disney has some colorful and creative walls in Magic Kingdom and Epcot that inadvertently started a trend on social media with selfies by the wall. Once Pandora opened, Animal Kingdom got their wall - the Moss Wall. It’s located near the exit of Flight of Passage. It’s not as popular as the ones in Magic Kingdom and Epcot and not found on the exit path of the ride so you may find other park visitors lounging around the area. The wall is big enough though that you can find a good spot for a photo and occasionally, unlike the other walls, there are actually Photopass photographers that set up there. There are also some unique walls in the Harambe Market area including the Fichwa! wall that has Mickey on it. Fichwa means ‘hidden’ in Swahili so it’s essentially a not-so-hidden Mickey.
Special activities at Animal Kingdom mostly revolve around unique animal encounters but one thing I don’t think people do enough of is explore the Tree of Life area. There is a maze of paths around the tree and they allow you to get up close to it to view the carvings in the tree. Every time you go you’ll see something you didn’t notice before! For the activities with an additional charge, if you are a passholder, be sure to ask if there are any discounts!
Tree of Life carvings