Yay, you’re going to Animal Kingdom! And double yay, no catering to toddlers! 🙂
Animal Kingdom, the newest of the Disney World theme parks, often falls lower on the priority list for many visitors. It tends to feel less “Disney” compared to the other parks, which is why it can be mistakenly overlooked. And honestly, that’s not such a bad thing.
But if you skip out on Animal Kingdom, you’re missing an experience that goes far beyond animal exhibits.
Yes, it’s easy to think of it as a big zoo, but this park offers so much more than that. With world-class thrill rides, Broadway-caliber shows, immersive interactive experiences, and some of the most beautiful trails and landscapes in any theme park, Animal Kingdom stands out in its own unique way. Plus, the food scene here is worth mentioning – from savory snacks to sweet treats, there’s something for every craving.
In our opinion, Animal Kingdom is one of the most underrated parks at Walt Disney World. While some suggest it’s only a half-day park, we believe it deserves a full day of exploration to truly appreciate all it has to offer. If you’re the type who likes to dive into immersive lands and take your time experiencing a park, this one is a must.
And while you might not always need Lightning Lanes here, they can come in handy – especially during busier times of the year. The good news is that Animal Kingdom’s Multi-Pass option is typically the most affordable compared to the other parks, so if you’re thinking about it, we say go for it!
But if you’re looking at trying to save some money on the Lightning Lane Multi Pass, Animal Kingdom is the park you can usually skip it at. If it’s a super busy time of year, it can be helpful—but if you’re willing to put in some effort, you can get by without it more easily than any other park.
Of course, you also want a strategy. The park can have short operating hours, and many attractions close even before that, so it’s crucial to walk in with a game plan. We got’chu covered.
Our itineraries are not just a labor of love; they are also research-backed and tested – thanks to Thrill-Data and our decades’ worth of Disney World experience!
This itinerary focuses on school-aged kids, teens, and adults visiting Animal Kingdom for one day.
This means we’ll cover park-visiting basics AND dive into the best headliners, thrill rides, and entertainment geared toward all ages (but mostly grown-up kids and higher).
Note: Things are constantly changing at Disney. For instance, a big refurbishment of Dinoland USA that’s becoming “Tropical Americas” will be going on through 2027. We always try to update itineraries as fast as our tiny team can, but please be patient with us as we do!
Animal Kingdom Basics
For Animal Kingdom, planning your visit requires a bit of a different strategy compared to the other Disney parks. While it may not have as many rides as, say, Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom offers a unique blend of rides, shows, animal exhibits, and interactive & cultural experiences.
The next best thing is knowing what you want to get out of your visit ahead of time because while some experiences cannot be missed, others can be saved or skipped.
Rides
Whether you’re into escaping the yeti on a certain expedition on Everest, looking for a tranquil boat ride through Pandora, down for an exciting – and soaking wet! – spin down the rapids, or sightseeing across the savannah, Animal Kingdom has some pretty incredible attractions.
Although home to what is arguably Disney World’s most intense coaster, the attractions offered at Animal Kingdom are the perfect balance between thrills, theming, and immersion. For all ages!
Following this itinerary, you’ll be able to cross all of the best attractions at Animal Kingdom off your list.
Entertainment
Ranging from Broadway-style to animal-centric to culturally unique, there are various show options to keep you entertained on your visit to the Animal Kingdom.
Our number one recommendation for an adults-only trip is Festival of the Lion King. No, the goosebumps you get from watching this show are not just from the immaculate AC.
Festival of the Lion King is an incredible performance featuring puppeteers, aerial acts, and elite vocal performances. It is the best show, especially for first-time visitors!
Note: We’ll discuss other great shows at Animal Kingdom, but this one should be the priority!
Food
Animal Kingdom is one of our favorite parks for savory snacks; it probably has the best and most unique lineup.
We love the combo of a sit-down meal, quick-service, and snack(s) on our park day. Not to mention the adult beverages at our favorite lounge (we’ll get to it!) and even around the park. That all makes for the perfect visit to Animal Kingdom—for us, anyway!
Of course, we can’t cover all of our favorites in this itinerary alone, but no worries! We’re going to tell you the absolute do-not-miss eats and places that should be on your list.
Lightning Lanes and Virtual Queues
Lightning Lanes, Multi Passes, Single Passes, Virtual Queues… what the heck is going on?
There is a definite art to making the most of the Lightning Lane Multi Pass (LLMP) system, but for the sake of this itinerary (and if you’re using this itinerary, you’re purchasing and using LLMP!), let’s review the basics:
- Lightning Lane Multi Pass: As we mentioned before, the LLMP is a paid addition to your park ticket that allows you to bypass the regular standby line for participating attractions.
- Lightning Lane Single Pass: Single Passes are designated to certain rides (usually high-priority attractions) as a paid “à la carte” option for guests regardless of whether or not they’ve purchased LLMP, allowing you to bypass the regular standby line.
Lightning Lane Multi Pass Must-Knows
Animal Kingdom is a trickier park as far as “needing” the Lightning Lane Multi Pass goes.
As we’ve mentioned here, you can usually go WITHOUT the Lightning Lane pass if:
- You’re using Early Entry.
You can hit almost ALL of the major rides with barely any waits in the morning if you do it in a strategic order—and then most other standby lines should be less than 20 minutes if you get them done before noon or in the last few hours of park close (Animal Kingdom slows down a lot in the evenings).
If you don’t have Early Entry, you can still knock out quite a few attractions without long waits if you’re there at opening and it’s not a super packed time of year.
- You don’t mind skipping Na’vi River Journey.
It seems weird to mention this one ride, but it consistently holds long lines. If you don’t use Lightning Lanes and hit it early in the morning when lines are short, you are likely to wait at least 30 minutes (if not much longer) at some point in the day. If this is not a priority ride for you and you’re using a good strategy, then going without the Multi Pass is easy.
If you don’t want to do either of the above, you’re visiting during a busy season, budget isn’t a concern, or you’d rather not worry, LLMP will make things much easier.
Note: If it’s a busy time of year or you want to make your day easier, buy the Lightning Lane Multi Pass! We personally purchase it almost every Animal Kingdom visit because we like to sleep in and not deal with lines for rides like Na’vi River and Kilimanjaro Safaris.
And since this itinerary includes Lightning Lanes, let’s dig in!
Ideally, you’re pre-booking your first three LL selections at 7 am EST when your pre-book window opens (3 or 7 days in advance).
Luckily, Animal Kingdom is THE easiest park for Lightning Lanes, and there are no Tiers (categories of LLs) forcing you to pick and give up certain rides. For adults only, we highly recommend these priorities and these times to reduce backtracking:
- Kilimanjaro Safaris (Book 1st in AM)
- Expedition Everest (Book 2nd in late morning)
- Na’vi River Journey (Book 3rd in late afternoon)
Alternatives: Kali River Rapids
At the time of writing, these are the top priority attractions we recommend. Since Lightning Lane return times on the day of sell out earlier for River Journey, that should be in your prebooking selection.
Most other rides are easier to get day of once you start churning through LLs.
Note: If Lightning Lane sounds like a lot, we feel you. The system can be confusing, especially at first glance. But learning it is half the battle and puts you ahead of the 90% of Disney World visitors who do no research! If you want to visit Disney like a pro and skip waiting in long lines, check out the Lightning Lane Masterclass.
Lightning Lane Single Pass Must-Knows
Currently, there is one Single Pass option at Animal Kingdom and it’s Avatar Flight of Passage.
Your day is definitely easier if you can buy the Single Pass since you will get to bypass the longest standby in the park (which can get up to an average 75-90 minute wait during moderate to busy season, and sometimes terrifyingly longer).
If you decide to purchase the LLSP, we like to purchase a return time between 11 am – 12 pm or after 4 pm. This way, we can get through other attractions in the morning and then ride this at lunch, OR we save it for the evening. We’re fans of hitting Pandora at the end of the day (especially if you’re there when it gets dark early—it’s incredible).
Itinerary: Start Here
For the record, this is not a step-by-step itinerary. We will be breaking your day down into sections and you’re going to sketch out your plan from there.
Don’t worry; you’ll still know what to do and when, and this will put you ahead of other guests (who don’t do any research or follow proven itineraries!)
- Morning
- When to arrive
- Early Entry
- Rope Drop
- The Lightning Lane Situation
- Morning Must-Knows
- Setting up the rest of your day
- Midday: Explore & More
- Lunch
- Touring in the Afternoon
- Evening
- Dinner
- Nighttime at the park
- End of Night Strategy
Morning Strategy
Animal Kingdom opens at the crack of dawn most days, so if you can be here that early, you will be rewarded. Just know we’re talking a wakeup time of 6 am-something for the typical 7 am-ish Early Entry, so no worries if you can’t do it. We won’t be “starting” this itinerary at that time.
And if you’re using the LLMP, you really don’t need to use Early Entry/Rope Drop or even arrive super early. You’ll be able to easily skip the lines on almost every attraction with the LLMP. We’ll get into this more, though.
If you’re not using LLMP, you SHOULD try to use Early Entry/Rope Drop or arrive within 2 hours of opening. You’ll be able to easily skip the lines on a handful of attractions if you do that.
And if you want to do rides multiple times (like riding Everest 3x in a row with no wait), definitely get there early!
When to arrive
If you’re on Disney property, transportation (buses only to Animal Kingdom!) will start about ~80-90 minutes before Early Entry. If you want to be first, be at your resort transportation stop then. But you don’t have to be!
Once you work through the itinerary, you can decide the best time to arrive. There really isn’t a huge sense of urgency here, so again, feel free to not roll up until later in the morning.
There are also some pro ways to approach Animal Kingdom touring that are different from the other parks: focusing on staying until the park closes. The park really slows down at night, and it’s absolutely beautiful, so we really like this approach, especially for an adults-only trip.
Early Entry
Early Entry, a perk reserved for those staying on Disney resort property, grants visitors access to the parks 30 minutes before the official opening. It helps to know that the park opens a bit before that, and you can line up then.
Some attractions even start operating a few minutes before the official Early Entry starts! It’s never anything crazy early, but sometimes 5-10 minutes in advance. You might as well be there if you’re going to be up early.
Early Entry can be helpful at Animal Kingdom if you want to ride Avatar Flight of Passage without purchasing the Single Lightning Lane Pass. However, you can also jump in line for that using our “End of Night Strategy,” which we’ll get into!
Rope Drop (A.K.A. Park Opening)
After Early Entry, you’ve got the regular park opening when all of Animal Kingdom opens and all guests will be let in. Whether you’re using EE or not, it’s important to know what you’re doing around this time!
By the time the park officially opens, you do need to know that lines for Flight of Passage will have grown to an unreasonable wait. Unless you hit it (early) during Early Entry, it’s just not feasible.
Most other rides are still good options at regular park opening, as it’s usually still quite early.
Kilimanjaro Safaris opens at the regular opening time and is a great option.
Another adult/big kid favorite is to head to Expedition Everest and ride on repeat a few times (if your stomach can handle it!).
If you’re arriving at the park after Early Entry has started, the best thing to do is check wait times for the attraction you want to ride.
The Lightning Lane Situation
If you’re using the LLMP for Animal Kingdom, it couldn’t be any easier as long as you’re prebooking your selections.
You really will only use a Lightning Lane for the following attractions:
- Expedition Everest
- Kali River Rapids
- Kilimanjaro Safaris
- Naʻvi River Journey
If it’s a really busy time of year, we do recommend reserving a LL for Festival of the Lion King. Otherwise, you can see that outside of your three pre-booked attractions, you only have two more to book, which is easily done.
We can’t say it enough: if you’re using Multi Pass at AK, it’s an easy day.
Ideally, we like to use our first LL for Kilimanjaro Safaris and then see one of the first few showings of Festival of the Lion King. You can also grab a breakfast treat, your Starbucks fix, and/or do some other attractions in Africa to reduce backtracking later in the day, if you prefer.
Morning Must-Knows
Once 11 am rolls around, standby lines for most rides will grow, and the park will begin to feel more crowded. Hopefully, by now, you have used a few Lightning Lanes and aren’t having trouble continuing to book them, or you’ve got a few rides done with short waits.
Using Lightning Lane Multi Pass at Animal Kingdom?
Here is our recommended order of touring WITH Lightning Lanes during the first few hours of the morning/lunchtime to help minimize backtracking:
- Kilimanjaro Safaris
- Festival of the Lion King (ONLY needed if it’s a busy school holiday)
- Book Kali River Rapids as your next LL (for at least an hour out)
- Book Expedition Everest as your fifth LL (if you haven’t already used or pre-booked)
When you start redeeming and booking new Lightning Lanes, you don’t necessarily have to book them for immediate use. While it’s strategic to do this for other parks (to get as many LLs as possible), you really don’t have to at Animal Kingdom since you’ll only use Lightning Lanes for a handful of rides.
Advice for the morning WITHOUT Lightning Lane Multi Pass
If you’re heading to Animal Kingdom in the morning doing standby only, here is our recommended order of attractions, assuming you can arrive by ~9 am-ish:
- For Early Entry: If you can be there at least 30 minutes before Early Entry officially starts, consider riding Flight of Passage. If you don’t want to deal with the crowds or be up this early, just skip this step.
- If you’re there before 9 am, check the wait times for Na’vi River Journey first. If it’s posted 30 minutes or less, get in line!
- Head to Asia and ride Expedition Everest (a few times if you’d like—the line typically won’t get unreasonably long for a little while!).
- If you need a snack break, we like to grab donuts and coffee from the Joffrey’s in Asia, or a savory breakfast from Yak & Yeti Local Foods Cafe.
- Ride Kali River Rapids (38″) (skip or wear ponchos if you don’t want to get wet—you can get soaked on this ride). This ride typically opens a few hours after the park opens, so the line should still be manageable in the morning.
- Hit the Maharajah Jungle Trek and watch Feathered Friends in Flight while still in Asia. We recommend Feathered Friends if the timing suits your itinerary; otherwise, it’s not a total “must-do” (unless you’re a bird lover).
As the park gets busier and we get closer to noon, you’ll want to take the time to focus on refueling (with snacks or food!), checking out the entertainment options, or “anytime attractions” that are perfect for filling in downtime.
Outside of the rides listed above, here are a handful of other Animal Kingdom favorites that fall into the “adult” or older kids category:
- Experience the official animal attractions: The Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail (Africa) and/or The Maharajah Jungle Trek (Asia). You can do these anytime, and there is no wait, so do it when it’s convenient, you need a shaded break, or you have downtime.
- See Zootopia: Better Zoogether! in the Tree of Life.
- Grabbing drinks at Dawa Bar or Nomad Lounge, our two favorite spots for adult bevs in the park. We’re pretty partial to Nomad Lounge (more later!).
- Take the train to Rafiki’s Planet Watch and do The Animation Experience! It’s super fun and relaxing. This can be tough to time right and we don’t consider it a must-do, so no worries if the schedule doesn’t work out.
Setting up the rest of your day
Hopefully, everything has gone to plan and you’ve knocked out or booked most rides with your Lightning Lanes, plus gotten to experience some of the animal exhibits or entertainment.
We haven’t mentioned exploring Pandora much yet because we prefer to save it for later in the afternoon or the last few hours before the park closes. The entire land glows with bioluminescence (i.e., blacklights) that is absolutely EPIC at night, so if it’s going to be dark in the park before it closes (usually only in the winter, unfortunately), you want to be there then.
Midday: Explore & More
Lunch
If you’re like us, food is probably one of the most important parts of your vacation. And Animal Kingdom is a great park, especially for some of the more savory snacks you can’t find at other parks.
Our Favorite Lunch Options
If you’ve done any research, you’ll know there are tons of options for food at Animal Kingdom. For adults, here are our favorite (and tastiest) lunch recommendations:
- Satu’li Canteen (Pandora): This is one of the best quick-service restaurants in Disney World. It’s REAL food, not standard theme park fare. Most of the menu is built around constructing your own bowls – think meats and grains. They’re all quite tasty, and the Cheeseburger Pods always rank in the Top 10 Foods around WDW, FYI.
- Flame Tree Barbecue (Discovery Island): It’s pretty good for theme park barbecue, and the portions are huge. The Baked Mac & Cheese is a delicious (if you get a fresh batch) and popular option.
- Yak & Yeti (Asia): With an Asian-fusion menu, this is one of the top-rated cuisines in Disney World. Most of the menu is delicious, the options are endless, and the portions are huge. It’s got something for everyone, plus it’s a nice sit-down break to take on a hot day.
- Skip the meal and snack it up! Here are our favorite savory options:
- Buffalo Chicken Chips from Trilo-Bites
- Dumplings & fries from Mr. Kamal’s
- Grilled Curry Corn on the Cob from Harambe Market
- Baked Mac & Cheese from Eight Spoon Cafe
- Pretzel & Beer Cheese from Pongu Pongu
- Cheeseburger Pods from Satu’li Canteen
Touring in the Afternoon
We find that a solid Animal Kingdom itinerary includes a mix of rides, entertainment, and eating that also reduces zig-zagging and backtracking all over the (enormous) map. Don’t worry if you’re not riding rides back-to-back—it’s not that kind of park.
Live Entertainment
You’ll want to check out the My Disney Experience app to see what kind of live entertainment is happening on your Animal Kingdom day.
Entertainment mostly falls into two categories:
- Ongoing Shows: These shows are officially available continuously year-round, just check the app for times.
- Feathered Friends in Flight is entertaining if you’re into animal tricks…or birds (lol)
- The Finding Nemo: The Big Blue…and Beyond! stage show is pretty epic. These are ongoing and official on the map and app, so just check the times.
- Feathered Friends in Flight is entertaining if you’re into animal tricks…or birds (lol)
- Pop-Up Entertainment: There are other live experiences throughout the day at the park, both official and unofficial such as live music, dancing, bird and animal shows, and more. Winged Encounters at the front of the park is awesome, and we’re also big fans of any shows happening in Africa (and watching from Dawa Bar with a cocktail in hand!).
Evenings at Animal Kingdom
Depending on the crowd level and how much you’ve gotten done, evenings are up to you! You should have finished most attractions by now, but we love to save Pandora for last as we mentioned.
Note: We also like to hit our favorite Nomad Lounge in the late afternoon right before going to Pandora. If you want to work it into your itinerary, this is our favorite time of day!
Nomad Lounge
This spot deserves its own section on the itinerary. Connected to the signature dining restaurant, Tiffins, this lounge serves delicious cocktails and small plates in a nice indoor space or on the beautiful waterfront porch.
It is first-come, first-served, but they do offer a waitlist within the MDE app (or you can walk up). For a party less than 5, you’re usually looking at a 30-minute wait or less during moderate to slower times of year. When it’s busier, or you have a large party, it can be an hour or more, so you will need to plan accordingly.
We HIGHLY recommend Nomad Lounge for any groups that are all about relaxing, imbibing, or both on vacation. As far as atmosphere and offerings go, it really doesn’t get better than this place.
If you’re looking to go, make sure to start eyeballing the estimated wait in the app and click join when it makes the most sense in your plans.
Dinner
There aren’t many restaurants here if you want to sit down, so we usually recommend working from the previous lunch list to figure out what to do for dinner. Yak & Yeti and Tiffins are more adult-focused, and we love them both; just note that Tiffins is on the pricey side.
If you’re open to dinner outside the park, frequent visitors to Disney love to use their Animal Kingdom day to have dinner at Disney Springs or a resort, since the park closes earlier than others.
We personally love visiting the nearby Animal Kingdom Lodge, an incredible resort with amazing restaurants that are worth the trip. Our ideal Animal Kingdom day ends with taking the bus to AKL and dining at either Sanaa or Jiko.
Note: If you opt for this and are using Disney transportation, just know you will need to figure out transport home (i.e., taxi, rideshare, or bus and connect at a park that’s still open).
Nighttime at the Park
The bummer about Animal Kingdom is it often closes early, sometimes as early as 5, 6, or 7 pm. That means that in the summer, you won’t get to experience the park after dark. Whomp whomp. But if it’s winter, hopefully, you’ll get some of that after-dark Pandora glow!
Evenings tend to slow way down at Animal Kingdom, and it’s our favorite time to be there. If we’re on an adults-only visit to AK, we tend to sleep in that day, arrive later to the park, casually tour and hit everything as we stroll along, chill for 1-2 hours at Nomad Lounge, then hit Pandora in the evening.
Other evening favorites include hitting Kilimanjaro Safaris for nighttime animal activity or riding Expedition Everest after dark for a totally different experience!
Note on Safaris: Be sure to check the closing time in the app! If it’s a time of year where it gets dark early, Safaris often close BEFORE the official park close.
End of Night Strategy
What you will almost always catch us doing if we’re at Animal Kingdom in the evening is getting in line for Flight of Passage RIGHT before the park closes—we’re talking within the last 10 minutes of the day.
If you haven’t seen from our other posts or itineraries yet, this is our favorite strategy for riding headlining attractions that hold long lines through the day, or that cost extra via a Single Lightning Lane.
With a little strategy, we can save ourselves some extra cash and the headache of arriving for Early Entry or waiting in a wildly long standby line.
But here’s the kicker: Disney falsely elevates the posted wait times for attractions near the end of the night before the park closes. This is done intentionally as a method of crowd control.
Typically, an ACTUAL wait for most rides in the last few minutes of the evening will be anywhere from 25-50% of the POSTED wait. Rarely have we experienced in all of our park testing a wait that is longer than half the posted time.
Flight of Passage will usually be posted anywhere from 30 to 90 minutes at the end of the day. We’ve waited as little as 5 minutes and waited as long as 45 minutes during a busy winter holiday/Spring Break time (honestly, pretty reasonable for that ride). On average, we usually end up waiting around 25 minutes.
Worth it!
In Conclusion, Class
If that felt like a lot, it’s because it is. However, know that Animal Kingdom is a MUCH more relaxed park than any of its other 3 sisters —especially if you’re using Lightning Lanes. There is a lot to know before you head into the parks, but don’t let that overwhelm you. This park is easy to figure out day of and you don’t need nearly as much strategy – but even a little helps!
Most people book their trips and don’t research anything, which equates to long lines, short tempers, and what is potentially a total waste of a very expensive trip. You’re already way ahead of the curve!
And if we’ve got you sold on strategy being the key to a line-skippin’, snack-eatin,’ magical visit to Walt Disney World, be sure to check out the Complete Parks Strategy Playbook for a run-down on the best way to visit all four Disney parks.