1-Day Animal Kingdom Itinerary
Our 1-day Animal Kingdom itinerary offers step-by-step strategy for low wait times without Lightning Lanes, avoiding crowds at the theme park’s most popular rides & shows, including Avatar Flight of Passage, Expedition Everest, Kilimanjaro Safaris, Zootopia & more. This Walt Disney World touring plan covers attractions, restaurants, zoo exhibits, and more.
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 and fine-tuning our strategy as crowds have increased and decreased. This is the revised Animal Kingdom itinerary for Winter 2026 that we’ve devised as a result, accounting for changing crowd levels.
Most notably, there’s the closure of Dino-Rama and opening of Zootopia: Better Zoogether, with more on the horizon this winter. DINOSAUR and what’s left of Dinoland USA go extinct on February 2, 2026. At that point, Animal Kingdom will have even fewer rides than it already does and be down one full land until Tropical Americas opens in 2027. Our expectation is that crowds will be even lower as a result.
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, stage shows, and walkthroughs. Pandora – World of Avatar helps better achieve this balance, but there are still too few rides. You can spend a full day in Animal Kingdom, but you have to pace yourself to avoid the aforementioned animal fatigue.
Animal Kingdom is also 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 Animal Kingdom Afternoon Arrival Strategy. The same general principles apply when arriving during Early Entry at Animal Kingdom–you essentially just reverse the order of attractions, knocking out the two Avatar attractions and then doing everything else.
Again, this itinerary assumes you will not be buying Lightning Lanes–it works around those, as spending extra on line-skipping is NOT necessary at Animal Kingdom. If you want to use the Lightning Lanes, consult our Animal Kingdom Lightning Lane Multi-Pass Ride Ranks.
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 sufficient value in buying Lightning Lane Multi-Pass for Animal Kingdom at all, even on days you’re Park Hopping to or from another park.
We’ve stressed this in other recent planning resources, but 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 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 (Maybe) — If you’re doing Early Entry, you start in Pandora: World of Avatar. Even if you’re not at Animal Kingdom for the Early Entry extended a.m. hours, consider starting with the Avatar rides if official park opening time is 8 a.m. and you’re there for that. It’s early enough that you can beat the crowds and longest wait times for Avatar Flight of Passage.
If you’re arriving after 8 am on a busy day, head elsewhere. Over 90% of guests (literally) will start in Pandora, 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 crowds, so zig when others zag.
Animal Kingdom’s other headliners all should be near-walk ons for the first hour (if not 90 minutes) of the day—you don’t even have to arrive at rope drop for anything other than Avatar. Sleeping in and showing up 30 minutes late is fine for Kilimanjaro Safaris, Expedition Everest, etc.
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.
It’s slower in the morning and wait times are significantly longer between 10 am and 3 pm. Meet & greets with no wait can be knocked out very quickly, it’s on your way into the park, and it’s nice to get photos before the Florida heat & humidity do their thing to your hair and general appearance/demeanor/etc.
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 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.
Maharajah Jungle Trek – This is an animal trail that you could do whenever. There are a couple of things we want to bring to your attention, though.
First, we strongly recommend that you don’t skip Maharajah Jungle Trek. There are a lot of animal trails and exhibits at Animal Kingdom, and they all start to blur together after a while. This shouldn’t be one you skip–you need to prioritize it. Maharajah Jungle Trek is an under-appreciated Animal Kingdom attraction; it has beautifully Imagineered environments that make it far and away the best trail.
Second, you can currently catch a glimpse of Bakso, the adorable Sumatran tiger cub, and his mom, Sohni. Mother and cub playfully pounce and prowl together in their lush habitat filled with cascading waterfalls, trees, hills and logs. Maharajah Jungle Trek provides ample opportunities for the big cats to play, and their behavior is heartwarming and familiar to any parent.
The reason for doing Maharajah Jungle Trek early is because that’s when the tigers are most active. If you really enjoy them (or see them sleeping), ask a Cast Member when they’re likely going in for the evening. They’re also very active around (their) dinner time.
See the Awesomest Animals – Everyone knows dinosaurs are the best animals ever. Despite this unassailable truth, Dinoland USA will go extinct as of February 2, 2026.
While it’s still around, you need to make a point to see DINOSAUR before it’s reimagined into Indiana Jones Adventure.
We don’t recommend dining at Restaurantosaurus, but it could be worth popping in to see some of the kitschy and fun themed design. (Also going extinct February 2nd.)
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 show 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 Tamu Tamu Refreshments or Anandapur Ice Cream Truck. Ice cream options vary by season, but they’re all excellent. (One of these locations should soon serve homemade ice cream sandwiches previously found at Dino-Bites Snacks.)
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.
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 – This is a bird show aimed at families with small children, but it works well for guests of all ages now that the Up characters have been removed. It’s worth seeing if you have time and appetite for another show; but it’s not a must-do.
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!
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–it’s a must-do.
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.
Zootopia: Better Zoogether – As our review of the new show suggests, this is Walt Disney World’s zoorst (get it?) addition in ages. It’s a chaotic production aimed squarely at children and others with short attention spans, unlike the film franchise itself, which works on several levels and offers something for kids and adults.
Nevertheless, it’s indoors and air-conditioned. Not only that, but the Clawhauser Audio Animatronics figure is cool. The visuals are crisp, too. Maybe you’ll like the ‘best of’ format that bounces around Zootopia’s biomes offering glimpses of each. It’s worth checking out for yourself, especially later in the day when the line is short or nonexistent.
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 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!
Hello,
Your assessment is spot on in my opinion. We were just there last week and I had to impress my DL die-hard sis that WDW is magical as well, on her FIRST ever visit, while not being able to do the parks at night. She’s a believer now. On our last day we had to board a plane by 5:20 and I had to choose between AK and Diagon Alley. We did everything but Dinosaurs easily, even hit up Nomads Lounge for a bit and she absolutely loved Pandora and wants to go back at night. It was fun for me too since I have always done fastpass on FOP, and got to wander through the displays in stand by. Animals on Safari were fully active, no strollers knocking us in the heels, didn’t miss Dino ride since Indiana Jones is better anyway. Great trip, really.
How would rider swap work with jumping in line just before park closing? Would they allow both parents a turn or should we seek another strategy with kids in tow?
So the email said sleep in but then you mentioned doing Everest in the first hour of opening. I feel cheated haha. SO – How late could you arrive and still get everything done on a weekend day now?
It really depends on what you want to do–if it’s just the rides (no shows or trails), you could conceivably arrive at or after lunch and get the headliners done by closing. In fact, we’re testing such a strategy soon, so stay tuned for a report on that!
My family will be at AK on Sunday 10/17 when the park opens at 8:00 AM. (We can’t stay til closing). If we get there before 8:00 then would running to FoP in Pandora work well? Then would we head to Everest after FoP or save Everest for later in afternoon? Thanks!
In that scenario, I would arrive before park opening, start with Flight of Passage, then Navi River Journey, and then the rest of this itinerary in order. It should work roughly the same with the earlier opening time.
When we were at AK two Sunday’s ago, it was tough to ignore the short wait times on the eastern side of the park (Everest, Dino, Rapids, etc) since everything was a <5 minute walk on from 8-10 am. We did Flight of Passage straight away and then walked onto Everest and Rapids before having an early lunch at Yak n Yeti (air conditioned mask breaks are UNDERRATED during these trips so I HIGHLY recommend booking one sit down meal per day – usually not my jam). It worked out well, but I probably would've done the east side first, since after lunch, DINOSAUR was 45 minutes – tough pill to swallow when it was 5-10 for hours.
So instead of sleeping in on your expensive trip, I'd recommend hitting all of the rides on the east side of the park first (honestly takes 30-45 minutes) and doing favorite rides multiple times. After crossing those off, hop over to Safari before the Avator crowd disperses to the other corners of the park. After lunch, hit Pandora like Tom has suggested. I think you'd crush a day at AK like that and can even ride Flight/River multiple times if you make a full day of it.
Well, our “sleep in” recommendation is only arriving ~30 minutes after rope drop–so it’s not truly sleeping in (at least, not for most people). The salient point is really that it’s counterproductive to arrive before park opening in an effort to beat the crowds in Pandora, especially if that will prevent you from staying until park closing.
Even showing up 30 minutes late still allows plenty of time to do Expedition Everest, Dinosaur, and Kali River Rapids–potentially twice each–before wait times actually build.
Tom…
Does this plan hold true on weekends now as well as the less crowded weekdays? Are you seeing the same capacity issues in AK as with MK/HS/EP?
John B
If (and only if) Animal Kingdom opens at 8 am, there can be some advantage to arriving early–you can beat the crowd to Flight of Passage in that first half hour or so. (At least, that’s been the case the last couple of weeks.)
However, the end of the data still sees the lowest wait times and unless you’re doing multiple meals or repeatedly riding things, it’s tough to do both park opening and park closing.
Does anyone know when the shows will reopen?
I think this itinerary is good unless fop is a must for you. Otherwise your plan risks missing it altogether. If fop is a must do getting to the park 30 min early and rope dropping fop is a better plan bc you’ll be done and off to other rides while the line grows for fop. Just my opinion.
What we’ve observed in tracking wait time data for September & October 2020 (so far) is the longest wait of the day for Avatar Flight of Passage right *at* rope drop. Meaning that the line is not growing as the day goes on, it’s getting shorter.
Obviously, that could change as so much is in flux right now. But if Flight of Passage is a priority, the best bet currently is doing it at literally any time other than rope drop. Even the middle of the day is better–but the end of the day is best.
We were at Animal Kingdom 2 weeks ago. We arrived at 9, but took a slow walk in and started in the back with the Safari since Pandora was already busy. We ended up getting to Pandora around 11 and FOP was less than a 30 minute wait (advertised 45). This was our first visit and we loved FOP so much, we got off and got back in line (rode it twice within an hour span). We rode Expedition Everest twice that afternoon waiting about 20 mins both times. We skipped Dinosaur land since it was so hot and that area has zero shade. Park closed at 6 that day, and we headed back to Pandora for the Navi River Journey and to ride FOP again. We rode both of those within the 5-6p window. We didn’t have any dining reservations this day, but had enough time to take plenty of breaks, for the kids to enjoy the Wilderness Explorer stations, see the Tough to be a Bug show and see many of the animals. It was our favorite day at the parks that week and we rode FOP 3 times! Animal kingdom is a beautiful park and we enjoyed what seems to be a slower, more relaxed park day.
Your itineraries are SO helpful. 1st time disney trip as an adult with young children, 4 & 7. We’re staying off property and have 2 days. After reading many of your blogs, I’m thinking 1 whole day at Magic Kingdom, and split the second day between Universal (AM) and Animal Kingdom. Thoughts or suggestions??
I think you mean HS (Hollywood Studios) and Animal Kingdom. It really depends on what you want to do. I think both HS and AK can be a full day park. If you are only going 1/2 day for each of them, you’ll have to pick and choose which attractions you want. You will not be able to get through the entire park in 1/2 day.
This is a great site, and very helpful. My fiancé and I are going to be at Disney for a few days in a couple of weeks. Usually, we skip Animal Kingdom, but we ended up getting 1 park pass and 1 hopper. We’ll be at the AK resort, and have 2.5 days to see at least 3 parks. One day we set aside for Universal Studios.
Seeing as how our flight doesn’t arrive until the afternoon, we’re trying to figure out how to plan our trip. Do you have any suggestions? My main thing is being at MK on the 21st b/c it closes at 11PM that day, meaning we could potentially do 2 parks that day, and it will probably be Epcot in the morning. We’ve decided to leave out Hollywood Studios, so it’s really a matter of which days to do what parks, and it’s driving me crazy!
I’m really racking my brain on how to make the most of this trip and making sure we get our money’s worth, but just trying to plan this is nerve-racking!
Any tips would be a world of help!
The most important tip–get to Animal Kingdom an hour or more before official opening time on a non-EMH morning and hightail it to FOP. The ride is amazing and warrants the ridiculous wait times that develop. If you do this successfully, you’ll be ahead of the pack the first hours of the day and will breeze thru popular rides with significantly reduced lines. If you’re an Avatar junkie or simply need to do all rides, do Pandora river ride next; otherwise, skip it. I love Disney, but that is a bore and a major nothing.
Next biggest AK tip–you have to see The Lion King show and Nemo Musical. Our family of four are split evenly on which is better, but we unanimously agree they are the best two shows in all of WDW (excluding the nighttime spectaculars).
Lastly, something far too few people do is Rafiki’s Planet Watch. Take the train there and do the Animation experience to create an amazing, personal souvenir by drawing an animal from The Lion King.
Creature Comforts no longer has the giant animal-themed cupcakes, BTW.
I am a complete Disney newbie. I have a few questions. Are the early morning EMG for Magic Bands only or can anyone come early? If so, how can I do so. What are the 2 attractions at Pandora? If we can arrive for EMG or before the rope drop, where should we go first?
The EMH are for anyone staying at a disney hotel or affiliate (it includes many non-disney properties). Just google EMH and which hotels are part of it. I was surprised to see a Hilton property on the list for example. Avatar Flight of Passage is the ride where you ride a banshee (kind of like a dragon) and Navi River Journey which is a slow dark boat ride. Most people will say run to FOP is you don’t have a fastpass or Navi if you have a FOP fastpass. But really its up to you-what attraction is a must -do that you don’t have fastpass for.
We are visiting April 30th 2019. Our two kids are ages 10 and 12. We have not been to Animal Kingdom for 4 years. The day we are going the park closes at 8:30pm, with Rivers of Light at 8:45pm. The sun sets around 8pm. I am torn on how to plan. Should we choose a sunset safari, dusk in Avatar Land and then to Everest for a night ride, or Tree of Life and Rivers of Light? (Our last visit was Christmas time and we ended with a night Everest ride in foggy weather which was awesome.) We are staying on Disney property. We can rope drop and ride Flight of Passage first and a second time with a fast pass. I could use another fast pass for Rivers of Light? Could anyone weigh in on their recent experiences? I know we can get a morning safari in. As of now, the day we visit isn’t expected to be super busy. (Famous last words)
I would skip navi river and ride the dinosaur ride or go to rafeki train ride or just about anything else that has been the most disappointing ride i have ever rode in Disney world or land . A new parade would be nice for mid day or a scavenger hunt at night in pandora.
In what world are you living where FOP would ever have a manageable line AFTER a ride on River Journey?? If you ride River Journey first there’s a 99.9% chance that FOP is at least 60 minutes at that point and the absolute worse thing you could do with your time between 8:30 and 10am.
The world of…. FASTPASS+
We visited Animal Kingdom for 1 day on Saturday, Feb 2nd, 2019. We are Florida residents and bought the discounted 4 day pass. We picked this weekend for my daughter’s birthday, the weather is usually nice and this was supposed to be a lower crowd weekend.
We stayed at a Disney Resort and did Magic Kingdom on Friday. We missed the extra Magic hours from 8-9am, but did make it about opening time at 9am. It was already soo crowded. We headed over to Fight of Passage just after opening and the line was already 240 minutes!!!!!! By the time we got to the Safari in the morning, the line was already 60 minutes.
It was so crowded that my kids couldn’t take 2 steps to the right before they were getting lost in the crowd. You couldn’t walk in a straight line. There were lines for food and even for the bathroom. Most of the people I talked to were from up north. There were also huge groups of teenagers from other countries.
Our only saving grace was I was able to get a Fast pass for Everest. And we watched it’s Hard to be a bug. The last time we went to Animal Kingdom was about 10 years ago, and it was nothing like this. We left around 3pm because we were just so tired, and we hardly did any rides.
I’m glad we were able to go just because it gave the Kids the experience. But I don’t think we will go again. For all the money you spend, you hardly get to enjoy any rides without waiting 1 hour. I do appreciate the blog, because it helped me plan as much as I can control, but there is no way of knowing how crowded it will be. I cannot believe this was supposed to be a less crowded weekend. Fortunately, we had a good weather and it was cool, so that was a plus.
That was a low crowd weekend. Unfortunately, If you can’t be at the EMH park at least 15 minutes prior to opening (ie 7:45am) then you should not go to that park on that day.
We were there late Feb 2019 and we arrived an hour prior to opening to get on FOP, total time from gates to ride was right at 90 minutes; 15 minutes of that waiting to get through the main turnstile before opening. I am not surprised that it was long at opening.
It was SO worth it, BUT, we missed out on the Safari because the line never dropped below 90 minutes in the day and there were no FP to get 🙁
n.
Hi Tom, it’s been awhile since I’ve been to Animal Kingdom and this year it’s on the list of parks we are going to hit. I am a HUGE planner when it comes to family vacations and I keep a binder full of tips, ideas, lists, etc. to help. One thing I’ve noticed, though I LOVE your articles, they aren’t very printer friendly…is there any way to get them to be printer friendly?
I just copy and paste the most relevant points into my own digital note elsewhere. Bullet points will make it easier to read quickly later.
We are visiting Disney World Florida for the first time and staying for 7 nights, and staying onsite Disney resort.
Planning to spend 1day in each of the parks including 2 water parks and 1 day at Universal studio. Is this the right planning as we are here first time we aren’t sure if its too much or too less.
Also need some insight on the Extra Magic Hours. Is this covered within the usual ticket price or do we need to buy this in addition?
Magic hours are a perk for everyone staying at the parks. You can plan ahead for magic hours by looking at the park schedules on the disney website. I recommend downloading the app as well.
I have never been to the water parks, I maybe would a half day in each and add another day in your favorite Disney Park. Most likely you would want 2 days in Magic Kingdom.
I’m researching for our trip in April and your site is the best I’ve found for laying out a step by step plan, without locking the plan into place and allowing it to move with the person using it.
that having been said I wish there were some timeframes on here to give me an idea of how long some of this stuff should take. (I get wait times vary) I’ve never been to DW or really any major theme park so I feel like I know the words, but don’t really understand the concepts. Lol. You say run over to such and such, or then head straight to this and ride it, and I can’t even fathom the time frames needed for me to plan it. So maybe a Rough estimate of at least the times u take ur breaks would give me an idea of the amount of time I should spend in one area before heading to the next even if I don’t get it all done. Also you planned “nap time” into the magic kingdom itenirary but not the other three? Do you have suggestions like with the hall of presidents?
But honestly I’ve been reading Disney non stop for days now and this is the best most comprehensive site I have found so THANK YOU for taking the time to put it together and keep it updated!!
This is hard to judge as it really kind of depends on your family and how accustomed you are to walking. We easoly walk 8-10 miles a day in the parks and our son was 6 the last trip and actuslly really kept up so we were able to book it between attractions when we wanted. But when we had a stroller, maneuvering it and finding a parking spot for it took more time. And if you have family members not accustomed to lots of exercise, it will probably be a bit slower as well. And obviously, if the crowd levels are high, it’s just slower going in general. The MyDisney app is great for seeing what attractions are in the same area, though!