Animal Kingdom Afternoon Arrival Strategy
It’s time to head over to Animal Kingdom for updated late arrival strategy. In this Walt Disney World photo report, we’ll look at crowds, posted vs. actual wait times, strategy for Avatar Flight of Passage, and share our step-by-step afternoon and early evening at Animal Kingdom.
Before we get started, I want to explain the discrepancy between planning posts for Animal Kingdom and every other park. Regular readers might notice that Disney’s Hollywood Studios receives more updates than anywhere else, and Animal Kingdom gets far and away the fewest.
This isn’t because DHS owns a special place in our hearts and we hate visiting DAK. Rather, it’s because Disney’s Hollywood Studios is Walt Disney World’s most frustrating park, and Animal Kingdom is the simplest. With that said, it’s worth reiterating this from time to time, for a couple of important reasons…
First, if the optimal approaches to Animal Kingdom were obvious and easy, they wouldn’t exist. Meaning that if everyone knew how simple it is to beat the crowds at Animal Kingdom…it would stop being so easy to beat the crowds at Animal Kingdom. More people would adjust their itineraries, changing their arrival and/or departure times.
Second, it’s always good to revisit plans to see if they still work. This has been our ideal approach to Animal Kingdom for a couple of years now, even as strategy has shifted elsewhere with the debut of Genie+ and Lightning Lanes. This post also serves as a confirmation or reminder that said plans and strategy still work, as it’s easy to forget or miss things with the non-stop changes at Walt Disney World.
To all of those points, this post was actually directly inspired by something we saw on social media recently. Many Walt Disney World fans took to “dunking” on an overzealous spread-sheeter who meticulously planned every stop of their morning at Animal Kingdom.
Now, there’s a reason you won’t see spreadsheets on this blog. I hate them, think they don’t allow for sufficient spontaneity, and set people up for disappointment when things inevitably go awry. I could rant further, but that’s just my personal perspective–I know many WDW diehards love making spreadsheets. To each their own when it comes to that sort of thing. If you get your kicks by making and following spreadsheets, that’s certainly your prerogative. I enjoy doing laundry. We all have our weird little things.
Getting back to the point, fans doing the dunking were criticizing the Animal Kingdom spreadsheet as being an unrealistic itinerary. These were seasoned Walt Disney World veterans, many of whom have been dozens of times. The thing is: they were wrong. Setting aside some dubious durations here and there, the totality of the spreadsheet was accurate and completely doable.
That’s more or less a summation of strategy for Animal Kingdom: efficiently accomplishing a lot is possible because even many diehard Walt Disney World fans don’t realize that it’s possible to efficiently accomplish a lot in the mornings and afternoons.
What time you should get to Animal Kingdom for an afternoon arrival plan largely depends on your attitude towards entertainment.
In order to see all of the stage shows and worthwhile atmospheric entertainment, you really need to get to Animal Kingdom by 4 pm. Even then, you’ll be missing some characters and animal acts. If this is your only visit to Animal Kingdom and you’d like to do a variety of attractions and animal trails, arriving shortly after 2 pm is probably ideal. That’s when the mass exodus of Park Hoppers really gets going.
We arrived at Animal Kingdom around 4 pm to make sure we’d catch the free-roaming Kevin from Up.
I’ve gushed about this before, but Kevin is magical, really and truly. She is hilarious, engaging, and adds real personality to Discovery Island. This wandering bird is deceptively simple but surprisingly effective at causing guests to suspend disbelief. Kevin mesmerizes guests as they interact with the bird, having pure and wholesome fun.
Kevin makes lasting memories and has an outsized impact on guests. She is a little thing that makes a big difference–and that’s no disrespect to Kevin–it’s the little things that leave the lasting impressions at Walt Disney World. Entertainment like this showcases how Walt Disney World can do something special without that being a blockbuster new attraction that cost hundreds of millions of dollars and almost a decade to build.
We killed some time after that, before heading to the day’s final performance of Festival of the Lion King.
The iconic stage show is back in full form, featuring tumble monkeys, aerial bird acrobats, and more. It’s one of two spectacular stage shows at Animal Kingdom, with the other being Finding Nemo: The Big Blue…and Beyond! (Formerly Finding Nemo: The Musical.)
After Festival of the Lion King, it was time for Kilimanjaro Safaris.
The posted wait time was 10 minutes; our actual wait was…however long it took to walk through the empty queue. This was a true walk-on, with vehicles being dispatched about half-full.
Even though this was a tad earlier than we like to ride Kilimanjaro Safaris, animal activity was solid. Hippos were out and about and lots of animals that we don’t regularly see made appearances.
About the only disappointment was a lack of giraffes. I guess those rumors about Toys R Us making a comeback are true, after all.
All of the big cats were up and about, most notably, several cheetah.
Unfortunately, the truck went over a bump while I was capturing this photo, and the full weight of my DSLR and 70-200mm lens smacked me squarely in the mouth. Probably should’ve been upset about the fat lip, but missing more shots of the cheetah in action was the worst part.
This dude cheered me up.
Just an objectively hilarious looking creature. Reminds me of Nick Nolte’s famous mug shot–just put an aloha shirt on the little critter!
After this, we bounced to the complete other side of the park to do Expedition Everest.
In hindsight, it would’ve been faster and easier to start over on this side of the park and circle Animal Kingdom in a logical fashion. Sometimes we forget that others don’t like to backtrack, or can’t do it as easily as us. (There were also a lot of photo stops, so it’s not like we were actually racing around or doing anything efficiently.)
Posted wait time for Expedition Everest was 10 minutes; in actuality, it was a walk-on.
With no wait whatsoever, I did Expedition Everest a second time. My goal was to finally capture a clean photo of the Disco Yet. I did not succeed.
Next up was DINOSAUR, with a posted wait time of 10 minutes; the actual wait time was 11 minutes, but only because we just missed a pre-show cycle. (My bad for stopping to get a photo of the empty atrium.)
It could’ve been a walk-on with better timing. Time rovers were being dispatched with only a handful of guests in them.
At this point, we still had 2 hours until park closing and could’ve easily accomplished Kali River Rapids (which closes an hour before the rest of the park) or It’s Tough to Be a Bug if we so desired. We did not so desire.
Instead, we wandered around and took more photos before making our way back to the front of the park.
I took the above photo of the Riverside Depot clocks to illustrate the time as we made our way over to Pandora – World of Avatar.
I’m just now noticing that they’re each displaying different times. Also, if you’re anything like me (a millennial raised in the era of digital clocks), you probably can’t read that, anyway. C’mon, I can’t be the only one who has the Mickey Mouse Apple Watch face, but also has the digital clock programmed into the corner…can I?!
Na’vi River Journey was the second-to-last stop. Just over 30 minutes until park closing, the posted wait time was 55 minutes.
The actual wait time was less than 5 minutes. There was a brief wait at merge for a handful of Genie+ guests; otherwise, it would’ve been a walk-on.
I mentioned this in Disney’s Hollywood Studios Afternoon Arrival Strategy, but the discrepancy between posted and actual wait times is sometimes quite pronounced. It makes us wonder if maybe the goal is comforting Genie+ buyers over their purchase or encouraging future sales of the line-skipping service. Sorta like inflated menu prices for the sake of the Disney Dining Plan.
It’s also possible that wait times are less predictable late in the day because the “abandonment rate” for Lightning Lane reservations is higher. If you use Genie+ to book Na’vi River Journey at 9 am, but get an 8 pm return time…there’s a good chance you’ll be long gone from Animal Kingdom by then. Given that all of the other posted wait times were in the 5 to 15 minute range, I’m inclined to give Walt Disney World the benefit of the doubt here. Not everything was overly-inflated, as is often the case at DHS.
After this, it was time for Avatar Flight of Passage. As you can see, that had a 55 minute posted wait time at exactly 15 minutes before park closing. (It was 70 minutes in My Disney Experience while exiting Na’vi River Journey.)
The actual wait time here ended up being 40 minutes, and almost all of that was quickly moving due to no Lightning Lane returns after park closing.
I was actually somewhat surprised that the actual wait time for Avatar Flight of Passage was so close to the posted wait time.
That that the actual wait time was bad by any means, I was just expecting it to be even lower given how literally everything else in Animal Kingdom over the course of the previous couple hours had been a walk-on. Avatar Flight of Passage is still worth the wait!
By the time we exited Avatar Flight of Passage, it was nighttime in Pandora.
As cool as this land is during the day, it’s so much better at night–serene, spooky, and with its own orchestra of insects. The bioluminescent pavement is once again looking good–I just wish there were more of it!
Whether you’re able to see Animal Kingdom after dark depends upon park hours and the time of year you follow this strategy. From roughly November until March, you should have no issue staying in Animal Kingdom until nightfall thanks to Daylight Saving Time. During DST, you’ll want to make a point of checking out the Tree of Life Awakenings on your way out, too.
Outside of DST, it really depends upon park hours and sunset times. During the middle of summer, it’s highly unlikely you’ll see the park after dark. In the late spring and fall, it’s possible–but usually only during peak weeks. As huge fans of DAK after dark, we think it’s disappointing that the park isn’t regularly open at night, but we get it. Heck, look no further than this post–there isn’t much demand for Animal Kingdom in the evening!
Ultimately, an awesome afternoon at Animal Kingdom. We did every ride that we wanted to do in only a few hours, saw some atmospheric entertainment plus Festival of the Lion King, and did some animal watching as well. Another couple of hours would have sufficed had we wanted to do more of the trails, making this a workable Park Hopper plan even for those who want to do more.
While the asterisk needs to be added that your mileage may vary depending on crowds, this has been our repeated experience with an early or late arrival at Animal Kingdom in the last year-plus. Don’t expect similar results during the week of Independence Day or Thanksgiving, but on an average 7/10 or 8/10 day, this is perfectly doable. You can expect even better results if you get up at the crack of dawn to take advantage of 7 am Early Entry at Animal Kingdom. (See our Animal Kingdom Park Opening & Early Entry Ride Strategy for how to knock out every ride in the park before lunch!)
As a reminder, this is something we’ve stressed in other recent planning resources. If you want to know which approach is currently best for every park, see our recent Genie+ v. Savvy Standby Strategy 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!)
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. That is, unless you’ll be doing Animal Kingdom exactly when everyone else is, during that 10 to 3 window. Arrive early or late, and you will literally be better off without it!
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
Have you visited Animal Kingdom recently? Did you do Early Entry, rope drop, or a later arrival? Stay until park closing? Agree or disagree that you’re better off without Genie+ at Animal Kingdom so long as you avoid the middle of the day? What has been your experience with crowds and actual v. posted wait times at DAK? Thoughts on any topic discussed here? Do you have any questions about the current modified Animal Kingdom experience? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
SIMILAR QUESTION: We are planning (first time ever) doing a park on arrival day (Friday) / President’s Day Weekend.
Land at MCO around lunchtime, then check in at Contemporary.
Parks should be open 8a/8p
Will plan to just buy FoP (LL+) to save time. Never done it before!
Mostly want to do Everest, Dinosaur, Navi, Safari
– Do I need to buy G+?
– What’s the best order? I assume finish at Pandora?
– Can I start stacking before I leave my home airport? If not, when exactly?
– What happens if I buy 3-day pass, and my flight is REALLY delayed? Can I just plan to do this on our departure day (Monday)?
– Has anyone done this on a departure day? Seems like a really long day if rope dropping at 8am, and then taking 4pm MCO flight, that lands at 6pm EST
Hi, thanks for this post. I am planning on an afternoon arrival at AK this December 2023, although before the peak Christmas time. When I visited last year March 2022, I got in line for Flight of Passage at around 6 PM, and I waited a full 90 minutes. My husband and I did rider swap after this and I was in on in 20 minutes. We almost walked on to the Safari ride at 5 PM, but I’m surprised Everest or Dinosaur ever have a super short/no line.
Do you foresee this working on a date in June? It brings up a wonderful point that it is a half day park for many. Would definitely consider a later arrival but typically being a rope dropper this makes me nervous even thinking about a later arrival
IMO, this park is amazing and totally worth a whole day. It’s an amazing, well-taken care of zoo, which people seem to forget. Avatar Land is SO beautiful at night, and I would just hang out there if I could. The rides are fun, but this park has so much more to offer than that.
Do shops close in Disney world at park closing? And are there any restaurants/bars in animal kingdom that stay open when it’s dark ?
Our favorite time of year where it gets dark early so we can head over at 4-5 and ride Everest eat at Yak and Yeti and end with FOP!
We are going to be a DAK November 15th. Can you recommend evening/lights activities. Is there a show to replace Rivers of Light and what time is it at?
Interesting! I can see how crowds would drop in the afternoon. I always find DAK to be the hottest park in the summer and my family is always ready for a break after lunch. I have already pre- purchased genie + for our 3 day trip and since we are taking advantage of rope drop, I think I may stack rides for the park we plan to hop to (Epcot) rather than use it in DAK. How easy is it to stack rides with late afternoon time slots at Epcot?
No shame in liking laundry 😉 Great tips in this post!
This is great strategy, but more importantly – what do you enjoy about doing laundry?!
Honestly not totally sure. Maybe it’s the sense of accomplishing a task?
(Also, it’s one of the few household tasks that I haven’t been “banned” from doing. Yet. It’s been a while since I’ve ruined anyone else’s clothes with the wrong wash cycle, so knock on wood there.)
“My bad for stopping to get a photo of the empty atrium.” Come on, the only reason you didn’t use it in this post is because Universal thought it was too marvelous. (Seriously, go check out the updated Refurbishments page because it shows how well Tom captured Imagineering capturing an “old school” museum feel.)
As of today, May 25, sunset will not hit Orlando before 8PM until mid-August. If at all possible, try Afternoon in the Animal Kingdom this summer on an overcast day, maybe after it’s rained but without thunder and lightning.
We have been many times but never seen Pandora at night. My family will be there mid July. I’m thinking it won’t be dark enough at 8 pm to make it worthwhile to stay until close. Is it possible to see it after dark mid July with an 8 pm closing? I wasn’t sure what time it actually got dark.
It’s been a while since we were there in July, but I don’t remember it being dark at 8 p.m. Maybe get in line for Flight of Passage right before closing, so it’ll be 8:30 or later when you come out? Hoping you get to see Pandora in the dark – it is absolutely worth it!
My 15 year old and I will be doing an Animal Kingdom afternoon / evening on July 5th. I had been wondering what time we should arrive in order to check off our “must do’s”. Thanks for this post! Very helpful information
Thanks Tom. Once again some great advice. I have been wanting to do Animal Kingdom in the afternoon to evening and you now have given me the reason to try it. Granted we are going to be a Disney for 2 weeks but still we have guests arriving and they are only there for a week. We have always been the “get there in the morning” couple but now I think we might want to hold back a bit on the time for this one. DHS is definitely going to be the challenge. Crossing my fingers that after labor day will be not too busy.
Our next trip in September won’t allow us this strategy (we’re doing a shortened day before flying home), but early morning is excellent as well when following your “zig when they zag” tips! Last time, we rope dropped and did Kilimanjaro Safaris, Everest three times (!!), and Dinosaur with virtually no wait! At that point, we did everything else at our leisure, then hit up Safaris again in the evening before going back to Pandora in the dark, again with almost no waiting. Thanks again for all you do to help visitors like us!
This may be irrelevant in September, but I wanted to point out something regarding rope dropping Kilimanjaro Safaris. On May 13, we took advantage of early entry at 7am, rode Flight of Passage, then made our way over to the Safaris. We knew the Safaris did not start operating until 8am, but decided to go ahead and get in line after Flight of Passage (about 7:45am. We were in the first group of the day, but with Flight of Passage being a long attraction and AK not opening before the 7am posted time, it was 7:45am before we arrived at the Safaris.) They started boarding vehicles at 8am, and we were on our way about 8:05am. I just wanted to let you know to check the opening time of the Safaris on MDE if you plan to rope drop.
Hillary – thanks for the heads-up! When we last went in March of last year, there was no early entry. So the safaris were open and running as soon as we got back there. I will keep an eye on the operating hours this trip!
Intriguing… We were planning to do an Animal Kingdom day, then swim and dine at our resort, and head to Deluxe extended hours at MK.
Maybe I’ll let my kids sleep in and swim FIRST, then close down DAK before the Deluxe hours.
Going for Early Entry works just as well as this, with the caveat that you’ll be done with the rides well before the shows start. Plenty of animal watching and trail time, though!
We did this exact strategy last Tuesday 5/17. Arrived at AK around 6:30A for 7:00A early entry. We headed straight to Flight of Passage…there were so many people – we were probably in the first 1/3 of the massive crowd – by no means the front and we were still off by 7:40A. Basically didn’t stop moving until we got to the waiting room with the long ramps. Then went to Everest, Dino, then to Starbucks (longest lines of the whole trip!), we did have a G+ for Safari (i only used one for AK and started stacking for MK evening after that) and then took our time doing Kali and trails. We were done by 10:45A – rope dropped Nomad Lounge at 11 for drinks then to Yak and Yeti for lunch at noon. It worked perfectly. We took a long break and headed to MK around 7:30p (Deluxe hours were from 11-1A) and between the G+ stacks and the short lines, we had no problem getting on everything we wanted to do there. We actually even left before 1A…there was a downpour during fireworks that may have contributed to the lighter crowds, but we had plenty of time to eat, drink and be merry!
My family was at WDW the last week in April and we had this exact scenario happen. We hopped over to AK around 4pm with the intent of seeing Pandora at night. Safari was a walk-on, as was Dinosaur. Everest was maybe 10 minutes? Then finished up with Navi and Flight of Passage. By the time we exited, everything was dark and Pandora was gorgeous. Cannot recommend this strategy enough
It’s a real shame that so few people see Pandora at night. Even fewer come the summer, when everyone but the very last guests getting off Avatar Flight of Passage will be gone before sunset.