Disney’s Animal Kingdom Guide- Everything to Know About the Park

Disney’s Animal Kingdom is a unique theme park that blends wildlife with thrilling attractions. In this post I share a full Animal Kingdom guide that tells you everything you need to know about visiting the park.

The cool thing about Disney’s Animal Kingdom is that it is unlike any other theme park in the world. It craftfully blends animal life and habitats with rides and attractions.

You can ride a thrilling roller coaster and then take a stroll to see tigers and hippos. It is a theme park that you can explore and slowly take your time to appreciate.

I like to plan our Animal Kingdom itinerary with a mix of fast paced rides with slower walk-thru attractions and shows. Let’s get into my full guide to Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom-The Basics

Before you arrive at Animal Kingdom you should know a few things about the park like hours, cost, and how to get there during your vacation.

Cost of Animal Kingdom

A one day ticket to Animal Kingdom starts at $119.00 a day. The daily cost is dependent on time of visit and can fluctuate. Standard parking starts at $35.00 a day.

When I look for tickets for Animal Kingdom I will shop a few websites and compare prices. I start with the Walt Disney World website to see what special offers are available. Then I compare to other Disney ticket deals and Undercover Tourist deals. If you want someone to do the planning for you reach out to our friend Nikki at Royal Treatment Travel for great deals.

Animal Kingdom Hours

Animal Kingdom is the earliest park to open and close at Walt Disney World. Typically the park is open from 8:00am-7:00pm. Hours can change and I highly recommend confirming your travel dates on the website.

Guests staying at a Disney World resort can enter the park 30 minutes before park opening by taking advantage of Early Entry. They would be able to enter Animal Kingdom at 7:30am.

If you are planning on arriving at park open be sure to arrive at least 30 minutes before the park opens. We usually arrive at Animal Kingdom around 6:45am.

How to Get to Animal Kingdom

Guests visiting Animal Kingdom will either drive themselves or take the bus from a Disney World resort. There are not resorts that are within walking distance to Animal Kingdom.

Animal Kingdom Layout & Map

Animal Kingdom has the Tree of Life as the centerpiece of the park with different lands leading out from it. There are actually a lot of pathways to get around Animal Kingdom and due to its lush ambiance it is easy to get lost and lose your way.

Even with signs I still find myself getting a bit turned around in the park. I try to embrace it and just enjoy the walk because it doesn’t fell like a traditional theme park.

Lightning Lane at Animal Kingdom

Lighting Lane is the ride reservations system at Animal Kingdom. It is an additional cost to your daily admission ticket.

Guests that purchase can reserve times to ride each attraction 7 days before check-in date if staying on-site or 3 days before park visit. Both are available at 7:00am on the My Disney Experience App.

There are three types of Lightning Lane Experiences available for purchase:

• Lightning Lane Multi-Pass: Allows guests to book 3 rides before you arrive. After you use 1 you can then book another. 1 reservation per ride per day and cost $19.00-$29.00 a day/per person.
• Lightning Lane Single Pass: A one time purchase for Avatar Flight of Passage. This cost $17.00-$19.00 per person/per day.
• Lightning Lane Premier Pass: Entry to each attraction one time without having to make reservations. Cost is $159.00 a day/per person.

Lighting Lane Attractions at Animal Kingdom

• DINOSAUR
• Expedition Everest – Legend of the Forbidden Mountain
• Feathered Friends in Flight!
• Festival of the Lion King
• Finding Nemo: The Big Blue… and Beyond!
• Kali River Rapids
• Kilimanjaro Safaris
• Naʻvi River Journey
• Zootopia: Better Zoogether!
• Avatar Flight of Passage is only available as a Single Pass and is not included in the Multi-Pass.

On busy days we will purchase the Lightning Lane Multi-Pass to save us time waiting in lines at the park. If you are visiting on a low crowd day and you plan to rope drop Avatar you may not need to purchase Lightning Lane. If you are trying to budget a bit consider skipping it for this park.

Animal Kingdom Guide- What to Expect

Animal Kingdom has different areas of the park that lean into different theme. They are: Oasis, Pandora: The World of Avatar, Africa, Rafiki’s Planet Watch, Discovery Island, Asia, and DinoLand U.S.A.

Each land offers attractions, animal encounters, dining, and shopping for guests. Animal Kingdom is a really unique park to experience because it is so immersive and provides excellent storytelling and ambiance for its guests.

A quick tip about characters. At times character meet and greets change and it is best to check the My Disney Experience App the day of your visit.

A few unique to Animal Kingdom characters are Judy & Nick from Zootopia, Dug & Russell from UP!, Pocahontas, Rafiki, Timon, and Moana.

Oasis

Oasis is really just the entrance way to the park. It is often overlooked in the rush to enter the park and get to your first attraction but you may want to take a little extra time exploring during the afternoon or as you exit the park.

Discovery Island

Discovery Island is the central hub of Animal Kingdom. As you enter the park you will have the “wow” moment of seeing the Tree of Life and how truly impressive the theming of this park is.

Pandora: The World of Avatar

Pandora is the most popular area of Animal Kingdom at the moment, there is a lot of construction going on

Africa

Asia

Asia is a large area that has the only roller coaster at Animal Kingdom, Expedition Everest. This is a thrilling coaster with a Yeti and is lots of fun.

DinoLand U.S.A.

DinoLand U.S.A. is under construction to be completely transformed to a new land at Animal Kingdom. This new land is Tropical Americas. This will include an Encanto and Indiana Jones area. I have listed below what is currently available as well as what is to come.

Tropical Americas will welcome guests to a lush village with a fountain in its center. This will include 3 new attractions, dining, and shopping.

My Final Thoughts

I really love Animal Kingdom and there are a few things I tell my friends to make sure they see and do during their visits to have a great day.

When it comes to dining Animal Kingdom has incredible quick service restaurants. For that reason we almost never book table service. They do have character dining at Tusker House if you are interested, but we’ve always stuck to quick service like Satuli Canteen and Yak & Yeti Local Food Cafes.

Animal Kingdom can be a half day park if you go into it ride focused. I love the rides but I also love walking around with an iced coffee and taking my time at Animal Kingdom.

We will arrive at early entry and get all the rides done before lunch. Then after lunch we have time to explore, see shows and animal exhibits, or even take a few hour break at our resort. I share full details in our Animal Kingdom Itinerary post.

However you approach the park be sure to take a slower approach once you do the most popular rides and really appreciate everything Animal Kingdom is.

If you are overwhelmed with planning or just want someone to make all the reservations for you consider using a travel agent. Our friend Nikki at Royal Treatment Travel is amazing and has helped us plan and book many of our trips. She finds the best deals and her service is complimentary for most theme park vacations! It is a win-win. Learn more here.

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