A ection Section
Conservation Station
Wildlife Express Ra ki’s Train Planet Watch Habitat Habit
First Hour / Last Hour Attractions Attraction Entrance First 2 Hours / Last 2 Hours of Operation Restrooms Anytime Attractions Dining Location Table Service Dining Snack Location Quick Service Dining Attractions labelled in ALL CAPS are FASTPASS enabled.
Pangani Maharajah Forest Jungle Trek Trail
Wildlife Express Train KALI RIVER KILIMANJARO SAFARIS Harambe RAPIDS Kusafari Fruit Flights of Co ee Tusker Tamu Wonder Tamu Yak House & Yeti Refresh TS QS Dawa Bar EXPEDITION EVEREST
Baby Tree Care of Life and Flame Tree It’s Tough BBQ to be a Bug Finding Nemo Musical Pizzafari The Boneyard
PRIMEVAL WHIRL Restaurant- Tricera Greeting Oasis asaurus -Top Trails Spin
Festival of the Lion King Camp Fire Guest Treats Services
MAIN ENTRANCE DINOSAUR Rainforest Cafe
Resort Bus Stop Animal Kingdom Cheat Sheet Rope Drop: Animal Kingdom usually begins letting guests inside the Park 15 minutes prior to official open. Guests are held at the Tree of Life until official open, at which point they will be walked slowly toward Kilimanjaro Safaris to the left and Expedition Everest to the right. General Touring Philosophy: With the fewest number of attractions, touring Animal Kingdom is fairly straightforward. I like to begin at Kilimanjaro Safaris in the upper left hand corner and then work my way right through Asia and then DinoLand. You’ll find short to nonexistent waits through lunch if you follow the Ideal Morning below. After lunch, relax and visit the low key attractions and stage shows when temperatures and humidity peak. Depending on crowds, plan to arrive 10 to 20 minutes early for Festival of the Lion King and Finding Nemo the Musical. Flights of Wonder is a charming, funny, and informative show that should not be skipped. More so than any other theme park, Animal Kingdom empties out after the 3:45pm Parade because there’s no nighttime entertainment to keep guests at the Park. Stay through close and you’ll find low crowds in the last 60 to 120 minutes of operation. Characters: The character priorities are Mickey and Minnie, currently located in Camp Minnie- Mickey, but expected to move to the old Beastly Bazaar in mid-May. Try to visit in the last hour they meet to avoid long waits. If you’re skipping Everest, DINOSAUR, and Primeval Whirl, consider heading over to Camp Minnie-Mickey about five minutes before they’re scheduled to appear. Festival of the Lion King lets 1,000+ people out into that area about once per hour. Arrive in Camp Minnie-Mickey about five minutes before a Lion King show begins to avoid those crowds for as long as possible. Other characters typically have short, 5 to 15 minute waits. FASTPASS Priority: 1. Kali River Rapids (when highs are 80+ degrees) 2. Expedition Everest 3. Kilimanjaro Safaris 4. Kali River Rapids (when highs are less than 80 degrees) 5. Primeval Whirl 6. DINOSAUR Ideal Morning Touring Plan: 1. Ride Kilimanjaro Safaris: 9:05am – 9:30am 2. Collect FASTPASSes for Kali River Rapids – Return time of 10:20am – 11:20am 3. Ride Expedition Everest: 9:45am – 10am 4. Ride Primeval Whirl: 10:05am – 10:15am 5. Ride TriceraTop Spin: 10:17am – 10:25am 6. Ride DINOSAUR: 10:30am – 10:50am 7. Collect FASTPASSes for Expedition Everest or Kali River Rapids if desired 8. Ride Kali River Rapids: 11am – 11:20am 9. Have lunch. Flame Tree Barbecue and Yak & Yeti are nearby, very good, and a little different. Pizzafari and Restaurantosaurus offer ample air-conditioned seating. Tusker House is a character meal in Africa that offers a wide variety of options, most familiar and a few exotic. It’s usually much more relaxed than other character buffets. 12pm – 3:30pm: Take it easy. Do It’s Tough to be a Bug, Maharajah Jungle Trek, Flights of Wonder, Finding Nemo Musical and/or Festival of the Lion King, Rafiki’s Planet Watch, and the Boneyard. FASTPASS one or more of the major attractions if you’d like to ride again in the afternoon. 3:45pm Parade Viewing: Parade viewing is easiest outside of Yak & Yeti in Asia or Tamu Ramu Refreshments in Africa. The Parade begins and ends to the right of Pizzafari in Discovery Island. Instead of the Parade: The Parade cuts off most traffic to the Africa section from 3:40pm – 4:15pm. If you don’t mind skipping the Parade, it’s an excellent time to walk Pangani Forest Exploration Trail from 3:30pm – 4pm or so. Then get in line for Kilimanjaro Safaris where the wait will be short. After the Parade: Crowds only diminish and wait times only shorten as Park close approaches. With a 6pm or later close, you’ll have two to three more excellent hours of Park touring with much shorter waits than the afternoon. Visit DinoLand with about two hours to Park close. Return to Asia for Kali River Rapids and Expedition Everest in the final hour of operation. Warnings: Depending on time of year (particularly November – February), Kilimanjaro Safaris and the animal exhibits may close early due to darkness (usually around 5pm). Check your Times Guide to verify. Most quick services close an hour before close. Restaurantosaurus, Pizzafari, and the sit-down restaurants should continue serving through close. Consider a dinner reservation right around Park close at Tusker House or Yak & Yeti and you’ll be able to walk out of the Park in the dark with very few other people around. Bottlenecks: Regardless of crowds, you’ll usually find a ton of people on the narrow path to/from Expedition Everest and Asia. There are often a lot of people outside the entrance to Everest as well. Crowds also loom large outside the entrance to Kilimanjaro Safaris. Late Arrival Alternative: Animal Kingdom is an excellent and underrated late arrival. You’ll basically want to tour in reverse of the plan above. Base your arrival time on what you want to do and when the Park closes. Fitting in the stage shows can prove difficult if you aren’t planning to arrive until 2pm or 3pm. Either FASTPASS Kilimanjaro Safaris when you arrive or plan to ride during the Parade. Visit the anytime attractions until about two hours to close. Hit DinoLand with about two hours to go – DINOSAUR, then TriceraTop Spin and then Primeval Whirl. Finish with Kali River Rapids and Everest in Asia.
Crowd Level 1 - 2; 5pm or 6pm close 9:30am 10am 11am 12pm 1pm 2pm 3pm 4pm 5pm 6pm DINOSAUR 10 10 10 15 15 15 10 10 5 5 Expedition Everest 10 10 15 15 20 20 20 15 10 5 It's Tough to be a Bug 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 Kali River Rapids (hot) 10 10 20 25 30 30 20 15 15 10 Kali River Rapids (cool) 5 5 10 15 15 15 15 10 5 5 Kilimanjaro Safaris 10 20 15 15 15 10 10 10 10 5 Primeval Whirl 10 10 10 15 15 10 10 10 5 5 TriceraTop Spin 5 5 10 10 10 10 10 5 5 5
Crowd Level 3 - 4 9:30am 10am 11am 12pm 1pm 2pm 3pm 4pm 5pm 6pm DINOSAUR 10 10 15 20 20 15 15 10 10 10 Expedition Everest 10 15 20 25 25 25 20 15 10 5 It's Tough to be a Bug 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 Kali River Rapids (hot) 10 15 30 35 40 40 30 30 20 15 Kali River Rapids (cool) 5 5 15 15 20 20 15 10 5 5 Kilimanjaro Safaris 15 20 20 20 20 20 20 15 10 5 Primeval Whirl 10 10 15 15 15 15 15 10 5 5 TriceraTop Spin 5 5 10 15 15 10 10 5 5 5
Crowd Level 5 - 6 9:30am 10am 11am 12pm 1pm 2pm 3pm 4pm 5pm 6pm DINOSAUR 10 10 15 20 20 15 15 10 10 10 Expedition Everest 10 15 20 30 30 25 25 20 10 5 It's Tough to be a Bug 5 5 5 10 10 10 10 5 5 5 Kali River Rapids (hot) 10 15 30 40 50 60 50 40 30 20 Kali River Rapids (cool) 5 10 15 20 20 20 15 15 10 5 Kilimanjaro Safaris 20 30 30 30 30 20 20 10 10 5 Primeval Whirl 10 10 15 15 15 15 15 10 5 5 TriceraTop Spin 5 10 10 20 20 15 15 10 5 5 Crowd Level 1 - 2; 7pm or 8pm close 9:30am 10am 11am 12pm 1pm 2pm 3pm 4pm 5pm 6pm 7pm 8pm DINOSAUR 10 10 10 15 15 15 10 10 10 10 10 10 Expedition Everest 10 10 15 15 20 20 20 15 10 5 5 5 It's Tough to be a Bug 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 Kali River Rapids (hot) 10 10 20 25 30 30 20 15 10 10 10 5 Kali River Rapids (cool) 5 5 10 15 15 15 15 10 5 5 5 5 Kilimanjaro Safaris 10 20 15 15 15 10 10 10 5 5 5 5 Primeval Whirl 10 10 10 15 15 10 10 10 5 5 5 5 TriceraTop Spin 5 5 10 10 10 10 10 5 5 5 5 5
Crowd Level 3 - 4 9:30am 10am 11am 12pm 1pm 2pm 3pm 4pm 5pm 6pm 7pm 8pm DINOSAUR 10 10 15 20 20 15 15 10 10 10 10 10 Expedition Everest 10 15 20 25 25 25 20 15 10 5 5 5 It's Tough to be a Bug 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 Kali River Rapids (hot) 10 15 30 35 40 40 30 30 20 15 10 5 Kali River Rapids (cool) 5 5 15 15 20 20 15 10 5 5 5 5 Kilimanjaro Safaris 15 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 10 5 5 5 Primeval Whirl 10 10 15 15 15 15 15 10 5 5 5 5 TriceraTop Spin 5 5 10 15 15 10 10 10 5 5 5 5
Crowd Level 5 - 6 9:30am 10am 11am 12pm 1pm 2pm 3pm 4pm 5pm 6pm 7pm 8pm DINOSAUR 10 10 15 20 20 15 15 10 10 10 10 10 Expedition Everest 10 15 20 30 30 25 25 20 10 5 5 5 It's Tough to be a Bug 5 5 5 10 10 10 10 5 5 5 5 5 Kali River Rapids (hot) 10 15 30 40 50 60 50 40 30 20 15 5 Kali River Rapids (cool) 5 10 15 20 20 20 15 15 10 5 5 5 Kilimanjaro Safaris 20 30 30 30 30 20 20 10 10 5 5 5 Primeval Whirl 10 10 15 15 15 15 15 10 5 5 5 5 TriceraTop Spin 5 10 10 20 20 15 15 10 10 5 5 5 Crowd Level 7 - 8 9:30am 10am 11am 12pm 1pm 2pm 3pm 4pm 5pm 6pm 7pm 8pm DINOSAUR 10 15 20 30 30 30 20 15 10 10 10 10 Expedition Everest 10 20 30 40 45 40 35 25 20 15 5 5 It's Tough to be a Bug 5 5 10 10 15 15 10 10 10 5 5 5 Kali River Rapids (hot) 10 20 40 50 70 70 60 40 30 25 15 5 Kali River Rapids (cool) 5 5 15 15 20 20 15 15 10 5 5 5 Kilimanjaro Safaris 20 30 40 45 60 50 40 20 20 15 5 5 Primeval Whirl 10 10 25 25 30 20 20 15 15 10 5 5 TriceraTop Spin 5 5 15 20 20 15 15 10 5 5 5 5
Crowd Level 9 9:30am 10am 11am 12pm 1pm 2pm 3pm 4pm 5pm 6pm 7pm 8pm DINOSAUR 10 20 20 30 40 30 30 20 20 15 10 5 Expedition Everest 10 20 40 50 60 50 45 35 25 20 10 5 It's Tough to be a Bug 5 5 15 15 15 15 15 15 10 10 5 5 Kali River Rapids (hot) 10 20 60 70 80 80 70 60 50 40 20 15 Kali River Rapids (cool) 5 10 20 20 20 20 20 20 15 10 5 5 Kilimanjaro Safaris 20 30 50 60 70 60 40 30 20 20 10 10 Primeval Whirl 10 15 25 35 30 30 25 20 15 15 10 5 TriceraTop Spin 5 10 20 20 25 20 15 15 10 10 10 5
Crowd Level 10 9:30am 10am 11am 12pm 1pm 2pm 3pm 4pm 5pm 6pm 7pm 8pm DINOSAUR 10 20 30 40 60 50 40 30 25 20 10 10 Expedition Everest 10 30 50 70 90 80 60 50 30 30 20 10 It's Tough to be a Bug 5 10 20 20 20 25 20 20 15 10 10 10 Kali River Rapids (hot) 20 30 80 90 100 100 80 70 60 40 25 15 Kali River Rapids (cool) 10 15 20 30 30 30 30 20 20 10 10 10 Kilimanjaro Safaris 20 40 70 80 90 90 70 40 40 30 30 20 Primeval Whirl 10 15 25 40 40 40 30 25 20 15 10 10 TriceraTop Spin 5 10 20 20 25 20 15 15 10 10 10 5