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!
We rope dropped AK two weeks ago (12 July) – arrived on the first bus leaving our resort and speed-walked along with the rest of the early crowd to the Pandora bridge (where cast members escorted us to the FoP queue, with the ride up and running around 30 min prior to park opening). On and off FoP in under 30 minutes, which left us time to do Navi River Journey and Kilimanjaro Safaris in quick succession with <20 min wait times each. That order worked well for us.
Crowds surged quickly about 60-90 min after park opening (we managed to get into line for Dinosaur just as before it jumped from 20 to 45 min), so we spent the rest of the morning on no-wait animal trails (Gorilla Falls + Rafiki's Conservation Station), then had an early lunch at Flame Tree BBQ (fully second Tom's comments – delicious ribs and pulled pork sandwich, plenty of shady outdoor seating with magnificent views of "Everest" and the lake).
Since Kali River Rapids opened late that day (technical difficulties), we decided to hop in line for Lion King 10 min before the 12.30 show and were relieved to still get seats.
Afternoon showers/storms temporarily closed several attractions, so we kept a close eye on the app for re-opening while checking out Maharaja Jungle Trek and It's Tough to Be A Bug, and then managed to get in line quickly for short waits for both Kali River Rapids and Expedition Everest (for the latter, you can hear when it re-opens even before the app tells you from the cheering/screaming of those riding!)
We kept checking lines in Pandora with a tentative plan to head back there in case wait times dropped…they didn't, and we were tired, but went home very happy with our day. Tom's recommendations pretty much spot on from what we saw. Just one small point in the updated article: I think the final section ("Travel back 4.4 light years away") has not been edited to reflect that Pandora is now recommended as first stop of the day?
Thanks Tom and Sarah for the great updates.
Last month we arrived about 30 minutes after park opening, so we skipped Pandora (we rode Flight of Passage in 2019 with FP+) and rode Everest (twice) and then Kali Rapids without any wait, then proceeded to the Safari with probably a 30-minute wait, followed by Tough to be a Bug, all before 1:00 pm. I agree with you about DinoLand — the whole area should go — the fabricated backstory and carnival-like rides and games just don’t fit in and is truly bizarre.
I was just at Animal Kingdom yesterday (June 30, 2021) and I disregarded this advice and went to Flight right away at Rope Drop. It was consistently at 90 min waits all day after that first wave and even at 630PM it was at 65 min wait time. If you have sincere hopes of doing Flight without waiting more than an hour, I’d disregard this advice and plan to go at rope drop. I arrived at 645AM and was the 5th car in line at my station. By the time I got in, I had a lot of people ahead of me and they all ran to Flight. I waited about 30-45 minutes despite getting there so early. I say 30 min because we were a group of 2 and they were looking for a pair to fill out their group and we skipped at least 2 groups because of that.
Tom, do you have or can you have a link or access to your plans for a normal (Pre-Covid) Itineraries? You should of course let people know that it what worked in the past and that updated versions of your itineraries are available for current conditions. However, I’m trying to plan a trip for Fall 2021 and I want to make a plan for a normal visit and have a back up plan for if it’s not.
Hello,
I am planning my sister’s 60th birthday, June 12-20; in just a few short weeks.
She had a stroke last year.
She is now living with me. We moved her from Memphis, TN to Raleigh, NC.
She has never been to Animal Kingdom. She was born with cerebral palsy and will need a wheelchair to get around. She is an extreme animal lover. She wants to get on those safari jeeps; 3 stories; and experience Animal Kingdom.
She always travels alone. She is not married and has no children.
If I purchase tickets to Animal Kingdom will she be able to enjoy the PARK?
She can’t ride on rides; but are their shows and or events for her to watch via
a mobile scooter. Will there be attendants who could navigate her through the park?
Tom, do you think your “zig while others zag” concept (which I’ve seen you mention here and on some of your other one-day plans) will hold true once early entry starts?
In that case, I’m wondering if on-site guests are better off going ahead and “zigging” to FOP with the on-site, early entry crowd or if your “zag” plan would still be better.
Any thoughts?! (And, Tom, love your blog!)
“Tom, do you think your ‘zig while others zag’ concept (which I’ve seen you mention here and on some of your other one-day plans) will hold true once early entry starts?”
It’s hard to say. In the past, yes. However, the difference before was that Extra Magic Hours pushed all on-site guests to the same park. Now, on-site guests will be diluted across 4 parks, which could be enough to make a difference. We’ll be testing and updating all of these itineraries yet again whenever that starts.
are there vip behind the scenes tours at animal kingdom to make the experience stretch out over a few days???
Now that masks are not required, can they bring back Finding Nemo the Musical. It is so sad not seeing fish are friends in the tank. Any idea of it’s return date?
We used a modified version of the plan. We weren’t feeling up to riding an intense roller coaster first thing in the AM so we opted for the safari first thing this morning and it was fantastic. We had a 25 minute wait and very active animals. Elephants playing in water might be my new favorite thing!
We then hit Dinosaur with a short wait. Very disappointing ride overall but still kind of fun given the short wait. Then we went to Everest, which was awesome, and still had short waits. We did all of the animal exhibits, the bird show, It’s Tough To Be A Bug show, and had an EXTREMELY overpriced and VERY underwhelming lunch at Tiffans in the middle of the day. I respect and appreciate the bloggers opinion but we basically paid WELL over $150 for air conditioning and food that can be better found at an Aladdin’s Eatery.
We did Flight Of Passage at the end but the wait never dropped below 75 minutes and we waited every bit of 75, if not longer. We got in line at 6:15 with a closing time of 7PM. It was nearly 8:00 PM when we got off. Great ride but the lines are grueling. Didn’t do the river one because we just had other priorities.
A word of caution, if you plan on going to the Celebration of The Lion King show, get there at least 70-90 minutes early or you will not get in to ANY of the shows. We got on-line at 4:08 for the 5:00 PM show and weren’t even remotely close to getting in. We ended staying on-line for the 6 PM show. So…1 hour and 52 minutes of wait time for this show. It’s great but we blew a lot of time not being prepared for the demand for this show.
Overall, we had a great day and the blog was very helpful as a starting point for planning the day. Thanks for writing it!
Bridgett – If it’s only the reservation for T-rex that is limiting your plans, you might want to consider joining the Landry’s club. You don’t need a reservation for any restaurant in their company (including Yak and Yeti, Rainforest Cafe, and T-Rex). There is a cost involved but most of it is returned as a credit for future use. You can pick your own schedule this way! It’s been a lifesaver for us!
The bird show is not currently the normal UP bird show. It is the “Feathered friends of flight.” We have seen this multiple times (a couple times without kids) and actually prefer it to the other show.
Janet – we got there before rope drop and they didn’t do an early drop. It was still a successful day. See my separate reply
We followed this itinerary to the tee yesterday and it was awesome!!! Every single person through the gates went to the left, we went to the right. Rode expedition Everest twice, walking right on both times. We were able to catch the safari ride before 10 as suggested and saw every animal out there. By 11:45 we had done all the big rides except pandora area. Had an hour break for lunch, and headed over to Pandora. 20 min wait on the river ride. 80 min posted wait on flight of passage which actually ended up only being an hour. At rope drop, when we were riding expedition for the second time, the wait at flight of passage was 160 minutes!! Follow his plan, it is great! Watch for wait times on Pandora if it is getting near the end of the day. I can tell you we did the itinerary and were done by 3. So we walked some trails, rode expedition for the third time, grabbed some icy adult beverages and stood in line for flight a second time (80 min wait, would have been shorter, but they had to shut down one area). Left park at 5:45 and had seen everything on he itinerary but the UP! Show. (One in our party has a fear of birds). I will also say that the day’s reservations were sold out, it was Mother’s Day and they did NOT do an early rope drop… so we did it all even with three strikes against us. Also had a 79 and 76 year old with us, so we were going at a casual walking pace.
We are going in mid May and AK is open 8am-7pm. Do you still recommend not rope-dropping and coming a little later?
I love the blog–been following for years, although I rarely comment. I recommend the blog to all my friends! Anyway, my upper elementary kids love drawing. Between which two spots would you recommend adding The Animation Experience? Looks like the times are going to be 10, 10:45, and 11:30 AM.
Hi Tom,
We are heading to Disney in June. We want to take our 3 year old to TRex in DS but the only time we can get is at 3 during our AK day. Do you think it would work if we left AK around 2 and came back after we ate around 5 to do avatar? We have an 18 and 10 year old too that want to do everything! How would you do this if you only had one day?
I have been using your 1-day park strategies this week and they have worked well! I find your blog very helpful and informative. Thank you!
Hi! We are going to Animal Kingdom first and want to leave the park by 2-3pm to go to Magic Kingdom. Do you think we should start with Avatar Flight of Passage right at rope drop or should we do it around 12:30-1 and make it our last stop of the day? Any help is appreciated. Thank you!
Tom, we have to leave animal kingdom by 6:30 (when it closes at 8) on the day we will be going. The park that day is completely sold out and opens at 8 am. How would you recommend navigating flight of passage if we can’t stay the whole day to go right before the park closes as you recommended? Thanks!
Rope drop Animal Kingdom and do Flight of Passage first followed by Navi River Journey, then the rest of this itinerary. Expect longer wait times than what’s described here, but it should still be doable. Good luck and have fun!
Sounds great, but not so sure I’d want to ride Flight of Passage so shortly after eating a heavy meal at Flame Tree BBQ.