How To Get The Most Out Of Disney's Animal Kingdom

Nahtazu

Sometimes I hear people talk negatively about Animal Kingdom. To many, it is their least favorite park on Disney World property, some claim that it is only a “half-day park”. Pandora, the World of Avatar, will be opening in a few days; yet as exciting as that is going to be, with only two “attractions” to offer, the mindset of many concerning this park is not going to change. This is really disappointing, because Animal Kingdom is my second most favorite park (second only to, of course, Magic Kingdom). Animal Kingdom deserves to be given a whole day, if not more. I would like to give you some info on how you can best enjoy Animal Kingdom.

Slow Down

This is the main problem that a lot of Disney World vacationers have with Animal Kingdom: There are not a lot of major rides (in disney speak, attractions). To a certain degree, they are right. The difference between Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom is huge. Magic Kingdom has 27 ride based attractions whereas Animal Kingdom has 9 (including the two that will soon open in Pandora).So people that try to approach Animal Kingdom with the same gusto that they treat Magic Kingdom are going to be disappointed. At Magic Kingdom, you can go from one ride to the next ride to the next ride and practically do that all day, but Animal Kingdom is different than Magic Kingdom, and it was built to be that way. When going to Animal Kingdom, you need to slow down. There is so much to do at Animal Kingdom beyond riding on rides. When my family goes to Animal Kingdom, we always try to go the day before Magic Kingdom to ease ourselves into the exhausting experience that we are going to go through the next day. Animal Kingdom is serene, it is lush and beautiful, it is meant to be slowly savored rather than gulped down. Every point under this will be a variation of this main point to slow down.

Learn Something New

I don’t know if Disney came up with this word on their own or if they adopted it, but Animal Kingdom is all about “edutainment” (education and entertainment together). Animal Kingdom was built so that you could learn something about animals and conservation. I love the Kilimanjaro Safari, I love seeing the animals and the lush world they live in. But whenever I ride on the safari, I am amazed by how many people are not listening to the safari guide. Last time my family went to Animal Kingdom, we rode the safari twice, and on both of those occasions I learned something new. The same can be said about the often overlooked Conservation Station, the cast members all over the park that are giving demonstrations on certain animals, the live animal show, Flights of Wonder, exhibits all throughout the park, and the beautiful walking trails. If you do not learn something new while at Animal Kingdom, it is because you are going way to fast or purposefully trying to not learn. Write down in the comments something that you learned the last time you were at Animal Kingdom!

Watch Street Performances

As you walk around Animal Kingdom, you will come face to face with live street performers…Everywhere! Do not rush by the men in Africa who are singing, dancing, and playing drums, in fact, join them! They ask for people to dance with them. If you aren’t able to at least smile at this live performance, there is something wrong with you! At night, when we finished our final safari ride, we walked the “back street” of Africa to leave the park, and we encountered two women singing next to the Harambe Market. In Asia there are dancers and singers. One of my best memories of Animal Kingdom as a kid is when a man with a guitar came up to my sisters and asked what their names were, when they told him their names he created a song about the two of them right on the spot, he went around to a bunch of people and did that. When you are rushing around to get to the next attraction, you will not have a real chance to enjoy the live street entertainment, and boy, you are missing out!

A Few Special Tips

• Do the Kilimanjaro Safari first thing in the morning. The animals are more active early in the morning, so your best safari experience is then.
• Do not skip the Affection Section and Rafiki’s Planet Watch. There is a lot to learn and do there. Special hint, there is often a character meet and greet near the Conservation Station, because it takes a train ride to get to this area most people ignore it, but you will find sometimes that you will have a character interaction all to yourself. Extra magical!
• The stage shows at Animal Kingdom are the best on property. I make it a point to at least see the Finding Nemo Musical every time I go, and yes, I cry every time.
• Do you want a delicious meal that you can share with a partner and still get full? Try Flame Tree Barbecue. Delicious food, large servings, good price, MUST TRY!
• Best attractions to use Fastpasses on: Anything in Pandora, Expedition Everest, Kilimanjaro Safari, Dinosaur, Kali River Rapids.
• If there is a long line to get into the park, there is a secret entrance through the Rainforest Cafe. If you walk through the gift shop there will be a door leading outside. If you walk on that path a little bit, there will be an entrance to the park. Every time my family has used this entrance there has been no one ahead of us and we walked right in after scanning our MagicBands.

Any other special tips for Animal Kingdom? Any special stories about your time at Animal Kingdom? Let me know in the comments!

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