Here is our list of Animal Kingdom’s Top 10 Tips and Secrets. Use this to help plan out your perfect day at Animal Kingdom! Even if you don’t follow our recommendations exactly, have a great trip!
Animal Kingdom is definitely an amazing park that sometimes is underrated. In our opinion and with talking to a lot of Disney Parks guests, Animal Kingdom is usually only a one time visit during people’s vacations. Most people find it hard to visit and stay at Animal Kingdom all day. Read our Animal Kingdom Itinerary post to see how to maximize your day and time at Animal Kingdom.
Top Tips and Secrets for Animal Kingdom:
Tip 1: Entering the Park Through a Secret Entrance – So when walking into Animal Kingdom, before going through the turnstiles, take a slight detour into the Rainforest Cafe Gift shop!
Shop if you want, but if you go out of the exit at the gift shop there is a special two turnstile entrance into the park!
Tip 2: Ride the Safari in the Morning or Evening. Morning is best but if you can’t make it do the evening. The reason for a morning safari is the animals will be just waking up and more active due to it being cooler out.
The evening is also a good time to come as, hopefully, it cools down some in the evening. Every ride on the safari is different due to the animals you encounter.
Tip 3: Don’t Miss the Shows – Animal Kingdom has a lot of shows if you include some of the animal encounters. You CANNOT miss Festival of the Lion King and Finding Nemo: Big Blue and Beyond.
These are Broadway quality shows of classic Disney movies. You should also check out the Feathered Friends in Flight bird show!
Tip 4: Skip the Lines – Expedition Everest has a single rider line. This allows you to possibly skip the longer wait time it may have.
Also, if you are in smaller parties’ rides like Flight of Passage, Soaring, and Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind the cast members will ask for parties of 1 or 2 to fill the cars if needed. So make sure to listen to them call this out so you can get on the ride sooner!
Tip 5: Get a Dole Whip – Most people think you can only get a Dole Whip from Magic Kingdom and Polynesian Resort at Pineapple Lanai.
Well, great news, you can also get a classic Dole Whip and some cool variations at Tamu Tamu Refreshments in Africa at Animal Kingdom.
Tip 6: Visit Pandora at Night – We cannot express how much we love Pandora at night. The land glows in the bioluminescent light that adorns the walkways and plant life at Pandora – World of Avatar.
We recommend riding Na’vi River Journey and Flight of Passage in the evening as well, because that is when Animal Kingdom crowds are at its lowest.
Tip 7: Learn to Draw a Disney Character from a Real Artist – Travel over to Rafiki’s Planet watch and learn how to draw a beloved Disney Character from a Disney Imagineer at the Conservation Station!
Tip 8: Get the Best Picture in Front of the Tree of Life Without People – Don’t try to get one in the front of the tree where it’s crowed. Instead enter the trails on the left hand side of the tree right across from creature comforts. Then walk towards the tree for the perfect picture.
Tip 9: Meet characters – Animal Kingdom is the only place you can meet Mickey and Minnie together. We highly recommend this meet and greet at Adventure Outpost.
You can also meet a rarer character Divine usually walking around near the entrance to Animal Kingdom. Kevin from Disney’s Up also walks around Discovery Island randomly as well.
Animal Kingdom also has the only place where you can meet Moana!
- Become a Wilderness Explorer – Following in Russell’s footsteps, you can become a Wilderness Explorer at Animal Kingdom. Grab a passport and visit 25 different animal experts all over Animal Kingdom and get your badges.
Check Out Some Of Our Other Posts On Disney’s Animal Kingdom:
Rides and Attractions at Animal Kingdom – When planning a trip to Disney’s Animal Kingdom knowing the Rides at Animal Kingdom is helpful in making plans for your trip! In this post we will list and describe all the rides at Animal Kingdom!
Restaurants at Animal Kingdom – The complete guide to all the Restaurants at Animal Kingdom. This will feature everything from the food carts to the character dining in this Animal Kingdom Restaurant Roundup!
Animal Kingdom Itinerary – This is our ideal Animal Kingdom Itinerary. We have always found it hard to spend a full day at Animal Kingdom until recently. I honestly has become one of our favorite parks to visit and spend time at. Use this itinerary to help plan your day at Animal Kingdom.
We hope you are enjoying sharing our Disney adventures and tips with you. We want you to have the best trip ever! Be sure to check out our other social media channels for more fun videos and posts FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, YOUTUBE, TWITTER.
Also, our Facebook Group Disney World Insider Info and Tips is a great place to meet and chat with other Disney World fans like us!