Disney’s Animal Kingdom blends a wildlife setting with a theme park. In this post I share the best way to plan your day at Animal Kingdom and my tested Animal Kingdom itinerary.
Animal Kingdom is located at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. It is one of the four Disney World parks.
It is a unique theme park because it has rides and attractions, as well as animal exhibits. These exhibits are woven throughout the park making it a good mix of exciting rides and animal encounters.
After reading this itinerary check out my full guide to Animal Kingdom park to help plan your visit.
Planning Your Day at Animal Kingdom (Before You Arrive)
Before you arrive be sure to purchase tickets, purchase Lightning Lane if you choose to, and take a look at dining reservations and show times you may want to plan your day around.
Lightning Lane is Disney World’s paid line skipping reservation system. It is not really necessary at Animal Kingdom at the moment because there are a small number of attractions.
If you rope drop, arrive before park open, you will stay ahead of the crowds and be able to do most attractions with minimal wait times. This does depend on crowd levels but my general recommendations is that you do not need Lightning Lane.
What to Know
You will want to arrive at Animal Kingdom 30-40 minutes before official park opening or early entry if you are staying on-site.
The most popular area at Animal Kingdom is Pandora: The World of Avatar. This is where most of the guests will start their day. Guests will be directed by cast members to Flight of Passage (the busiest ride at the park).
Currently there are only 7 rides at Animal Kingdom. There is a big construction project: Tropical Americas taking over the Dino USA land. Dinosaur is currently the only attraction left and open. This will close February 2, 2026.
Plan on riding all the attractions in the first few hours of park open and then explore the animal exhibits and watch the shows.
If you are not planning on visiting the Pandora area you should start with Kilimanjaro Safari. After that we will typically walk to Asia to ride Expedition Everest and then stop for lunch.
We always experience our must ride attractions before lunch, even if it means a little more walking.
We do this to limit our time waiting in long lines. If you would rather do less walking you can explore each land before moving on to the next.
1-Day Animal Kingdom Itinerary
This is an example of our most recent Animal Kingdom Itinerary.
6:30am: Arrive at bus station at resort. We stayed at Disney’s Pop Century Resort.
6:45am: Bus arrives to take us to Animal Kingdom.
7:00am: Arrive at Animal Kingdom.
7:20am: Enter Animal Kingdom. Walk to Pandora Entrance and through the queue for the attraction. We are on and off the ride by 8:03am.
8:07am: Ride Navi’ River, off by 8:25am. At this point I check the My Disney Experience app to see what wait times are.
8:40am: In line for Expedition Everest, off by 9:00am.
9:00am: Ride Kali River Rapids, this is a water ride but our visit was in the summer and it was already hot.
9:40am: Ride Dinosaur. You may want to ride this 2x if it is still open during your visit. We rode multiple times during the day because it will be our last visit before it closes.
After this we ended up having an early lunch at Satuli Canteen in Pandora. We were hoping to get breakfast but missed it by 5 minutes.
At this point you may want to pick up a free Wilderness Explorer Guide to go through the park with. This is a great activity with kids.
The Wilderness Explorer Guide book can be picked up at multiple locations through the park and we find it easiest to do it as we go through our day.
11:02am: Rode the Wildlife Express to the Conservation Station to do the Animation Experience. This is where animators teach you how to draw popular Disney characters. There is also a petting zoo and other areas to explore.
12:30pm After our drawing session we took the train back and started walking back to the front of the park. On the way we walked through the Tree of Life Trail which gives you an up close view of the carvings on the tree of life.
We picked up Starbucks and headed back to our resort for a break.
If you do not take a break you should see a show. The Festival of the Lion King and Finding Nemo: The Big Blue and Beyond! are really popular and worth including in your day.
Zootopia: Better Zoogether is the new show located inside the Tree of Life. This is a continuously running 3d show. Check the app for latest wait times.
Animal Kingdom really allows for a flexible schedule after you visit Pandora. Keep an eye on the My Disney Experience app for wait times.
If rides are a priority do all of them before lunch and then explore the animal exhibits and shows. This requires more walking and back tracking though the park.
If rides are not a priority take your time in each area to explore, grab a snack, and see a show.
4:00pm: Animal Kingdom crowds drop significantly in the late afternoons making it a perfect time to ride our favorite attractions again. Rode Kilimanjaro Safari.
5:00pm: Dinner at Yak & Yeti Quick Service
5:30pm: Rode Dinosaur and walked around the park until close around 7:00pm.
My Final Thoughts
We really enjoy Animal Kingdom! Some people are split on how they feel about it because it can feel like a half day park, and they are right in some respects, but there is a lot to appreciate about Animal Kingdom.
If you can take your time to explore and really appreciate the work and creativity that has gone into creating the immersive lands and attractions, you will understand why Animal Kingdom is loved by Disney fans.
Animal Kingdom is an incredible park that offers so much for the entire family. The best part is every visit is different because it is always changing and there is so much to see. T
his Animal Kingdom itinerary will help you plan the best day for your group during your Disney vacation.
The best part about this Animal Kingdom itinerary is it can be customized to your travel group and is worth visiting during your Disney World vacation.
Leah has been a Disney fan her entire life. From growing up with the movies to planning amazing Disney trips. She loves sharing her passion for Disney and helping others plan amazing Disney trips.
