These are the Mistakes to Avoid at Animal Kingdom. Just some helpful tips to make your day the best at Animal Kingdom.
Mistake 1: Arriving Late to the Park
Animal Kingdom closes earlier than any other park. If you want to make the most of your day you want to make sure to arrive to the park early.
Since Florida gets really hot in the afternoon most the animals will go into hiding. If you want to see the animals while visiting, getting their early is a must.
We suggest heading to the Kilimanjaro Safaris first if you want to see lots of animals on your ride, as they are most active in the morning hours.
Mistake 2: Riding the Safari in the Afternoon
As we mentioned above with the warm weather in Florida riding the safari in the afternoon means most of the animals are going to be hiding or sleeping.
Even though the wait times will be low during the afternoon it’s just not worth it and better to get this ride first thing in the morning or during or after some rain when the weather is cool. The evening is also a good time for the Safari, but we prefer being in Pandora in the evening.
Mistake 3: Buying Genie+
Genie+ is a great way to maximize your time in Disney World but Animal Kingdom doesn’t have as many rides as other parks, and you don’t have as much need for Genie+.
Animal Kingdom only has a few rides that have long lines, and we think you can get it all done without using Genie+. Check out our 1 Day Itinerary for Animal Kingdom to learn how we do Animal Kingdom in one day.
If you want to really maximize your time, we suggest buying an individual lighting lane for Avatars Flight of Passage. This ride has the longest wait and will take up most of your time.
If you chose to use Genie+ at Animal Kingdom, check out our post to learn more about it.
Mistake 4: Leaving Before Seeing Pandora at Night
Pandora holds the most popular ride in all of Animal Kingdom. Avatar Flight of Passage is usually where everyone will rope drop early in the morning.
Pandora at night is beautiful and it’s a chance to see this land without the morning crowd.
We also suggest using this time to ride Flight of Passage since the lowest wait times for this ride are usually right before closing. Don’t forget the Na’vi River Journey as well, while over here.
Mistake 5: Skipping the Conservation Station
When we are trying to get all the rides in on one day the Conservation Station was usually the first thing we would skip.
But this has become one of our favorite parts and if you can make time for it, we highly suggest you check it out.
It’s so much more than just a petting zoo. You will also find The Animation Experience. Where you can take a class and learn to draw a Disney character from a real Disney Animator. And this is all included in your ticket price for the day.
Keep in mind that the last train will go out 4:30pm. This is the perfect place to go to before dinner if you plan on waiting to see Pandora at night like we suggested above.
Mistake 6: Walking to much!
Animal Kingdom is 580 acres which makes it the largest Disney Park in the world!
Not planning your day can cause a lot of extra walking from one side of the park to the other and you really don’t want to do that in this park.
When planning your day make sure to check out how far each ride is from the other. Our Animal Kingdom 1 Day Itinerary has you starting in the back of the park, but the rest are in order, so you aren’t walking all over the park.
Mistake 7: Skipping the Shows
You are not going to find your run of the mill theme park shows here in Animal Kingdom.
Here you are going to find Broadway style shows with incredible costumes, music, and an outstanding cast. Shows like Festival of the Lion King and Finding Nemo: The Big Blue… and Beyond are must watch shows and some of my favorite things to do at Animal Kingdom.
Mistake 8: Missing out on Character Meet and Greets.
While most people visit Magic Kingdom for the characters you can find some pretty popular and sought after meet and greets here at Animal Kingdom.
Moana is a popular character, and you can only meet her here! She is a relatively new character meet and greet that just opened this summer.
Everyone wants to meet Mickey when visiting Disney World! Animal Kingdom has the only meet and greet where you can meet Mickey and Minnie together in Disney World.
Mistake 9: Only Planning Half a Day
A lot of people skip over Animal Kingdom or only see it as a half day park. We would disagree with that.
While Animal Kingdom does have a lot less rides than other parks it still has so much to explore and do. From shows to interactive experiences we think you can plan a full day (or even more) here at Animal Kingdom.
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.
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