We are Florida parents and now we are the grandparents in Florida, so we have lost count of how many visits to Disney’s Animal Kingdom we have made in the last forty plus years. Magic Kingdom is the best and first choice for a park for grandchildren, and might be worth two days to cover, but the best thing about Animal Kingdom is that it is a one day park. Seeing Disney World anew in from each grandchild’s eyes and seeing their joy makes another visit worthwhile. Although, since we are on our youngest, we do count how many more times we have before us!
If you have toddlers or preschoolers, see blog post “Disney World for Toddlers and Preschoolers: Do’s and Don’ts.”
Disney’s Animal Kingdom is a different kind of park than Magic Kingdom. The shows at Animal Kingdom take on a greater significance, and wandering around the different continents represented is more a zoo like experience than an amusement park experience.
Here are the best tips for 2017 and beyond.
PRICING
Disney’s prices are going up again. The best tip, if you are a Florida resident, is to buy the $139 three day pass for use between January and September, even if you do not intend to use three days. We recently found the resident pass the best price for two days, significantly cheaper than buying two individual days. You need one day in Animal Kingdom. You can use the second day and third for Magic Kingdom or Epcot. See the new post on Magic Kingdom. See post: “Epcot at Disney World in Orlando.”
And, if you are a Florida resident grandparent taking out of state grandchildren, if you purchase their park admission tickets, which we invariably always do, you can purchase Florida resident tickets for the grandchildren!
HOTEL
If your vacation primarily is about visiting Animal Kingdom, or animals are your grandchildren’s favorite thing in the world, definitely book Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge, or Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas – Jambo House and Kidani Village. Some rooms provide early morning and late afternoon animal viewing, and best of all, there are some safari experiences that are only available to those staying on property. See below.
See my previous Magic Kingdom post for more details on hotels.
PARKING AND UBER
If staying off property, parking is now being raised to $40 a day. If you are not staying at a Disney resort and are staying within 15 minutes of the Animal Kingdom, consider taking Uber. They drop you off and pick you up at the transportation center, entrance to the monorail. No trams necessary. We waited only five to ten minutes for Uber to arrive each way, and it was much more convenient and much less than $40 roundtrip. If you need a car seat in your Uber, be prepared to wait 10-20 minutes and pay a bit more.
FASTPASS+, MY DISNEY EXPERIENCE APP, AND SELECTIONS
If you have not been to Disney in a while, you may not know that you can reserve FastPass+ on rides and shows on line long before you arrive at the park. You should absolutely do this.
There are many blogs and websites about FastPass+, My Disney Experience app and selections, and all they did was confuse me and make me apprehensive about going on the Disney website and app. The FastPass directions on line on the Disney website are a breeze to follow, so skip the blog posts about how to use FastPass+.
You can make FastPass+ selections on My Disney Experience app or Disney website in advance of an Animal Kingdom visit, or via in-park kiosks for guests who don’t have smart phones or who don’t purchase tickets in advance. The FastPass+ is then stored on the MagicBand or your park tickets. (Magic Bands are not required to use FastPass+.) You get a MagicBand if you stay at a Disney Resort or can purchase one. We did not have one this trip and we did not miss it.
You are able to select 3 rides or shows for FastPass+ in a day, on the My Disney Experience app or website in advance of visits, or via in-park kiosks for guests who don’t have smart phones or who don’t purchase tickets in advance. With downloading the Disney App, you can change those during the day, add others, and monitor the wait time on rides during the day. However, it is easy to note that first thing after opening is the best time to go on the most popular rides and in the afternoon, you are even looking at a 120 minute wait for Expedition Everest-Legend of the Forbidden Mountain roller coaster ride.
The availability of selections of rides and shows for FastPass+ at Animal Kingdom depend how far in advance you are able to make the selections, but seem to be less difficult to reserve than Magic Kingdom, except for the top three rides, Dinosaur, Kilimanjaro Safari and Expedition Everest. Buy your tickets on line early and immediately select FastPast+ rides. Blog posts recommend against using the FastPass+ to book shows, and we found the shows were easier to get into, but if Lion King is a must see at a specific time, go for it.
Second, select rides for Fast Pass+ on the age of the child and the popularity of the ride. We split the fast passes in this park, one of us taking the younger grandchild to meet the Disney Pals at Adventurers Outpost while the older grandchild went on Everest. The most popular fast pass rides for the young grandchildren are Kilimanjaro Safari (22 minute ride) and Meeting Favorite Disney Pals at Adventurers Outpost and Lion King. The most popular fast pass rides for older grandchildren are Dinosaur (40” height requirement), Kilimanjaro Safari and Expedition Everest (44” height requirement). When to select rides during the day and spacing is also the subject of many blog posts, but this Grandma found the advice conflicting and confusing. I found it best to do one late morning before lunch, and two in the afternoon, when wait times increase. I put one near 5 pm, about when the youngest would have had enough of waiting on lines and might be ready to leave.
Yes, if you do not get a FastPass+ for Expedition Everest, run there as soon as the park opens. In the afternoon, there was an 120 minute wait! We saw the older children using the app to scope rides and move quickly around the park, gathering more FastPass+ rides as they used ones they had.
BREAKFAST, LUNCH AND CHARACTER OPPORTUNITIES
Rainforest Café is right before you enter the gates at Animal Kingdom. It starts serving breakfast at 8:30 am, but the adjacent shopping area opens at 8 am, and has a crafts table with paper and crayons, and play animals to pretend play with. It is a great way to start the day at Animal Kingdom. The children’s breakfast menu is reasonable and so is the adult breakfast menu. Service could be faster, but we entered the park just fifteen minutes after opening, and avoided lots of crowds. They do make special arrangements for allergies.
If any in your group have allergies or food needs, the best place for lunch in Animal Kingdom is Donald’s Dining Safari Lunch at Tusker House Restaurant. Even if you have to make late lunch reservations, as we could only get 2 pm, we arrived at 1:30 pm and were immediately accommodated. The chef comes by and makes special accommodations with each guest who needs such. As a matter of fact, this is the best place to have lunch inside the entire Animal Kingdom park for more reasons than just this. The food is fresh and edible, and plentiful in variety and amount, and tastier than other places. There is a child station with the typical kids fare, but more from which even children can choose. Best of all, it affords an easy way to have character interaction with Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Donald and Daisy Duck and Goofy. There is ample time for pictures and signing of autographs. It is located in Africa and it is a good idea to see the Festival of the Lion King show right before lunch as it is next door.
SHOWS ARE THE HIT AT ANIMAL KINGDOM
Blogs on Animal Kingdom recommend not using FastPass+ for the shows. We found that it was not difficult to get into even the best show, Festival of the Lion King. Just remember that Festival of the Lion King is thirty minutes long when planning your day. Finding Nemo-
The Musical is forty minutes long and we missed it because we ran out of time when we realized how long it was before our next FastPass+. The best advice is to plan your FastPass+ at Animal Kingdom considering the length of these wonderful shows.
We always love the Lion King show. You sit in bleachers looking at an empty arena, and the action begins and never ends. It has characteristics of a circus show, with audience participation, singing and dancing. The thirty minutes flies by.
We skipped “It’s tough to Be A Bug,” but heard this 3D film is good for older children. We did not skip “Flights of Wonder,” which most people seem to skip. Definitely go see it. Before it starts there is a preshow, where a zookeeper brings out a bird to describe and talk about in detail. The show is 25 minutes long and goes by quickly as exotic birds fly above and perform tricks with the help of zookeepers. At the end of the show, there is an opportunity to get up close to some of the birds. Our grandchildren loved it and so did we.
A WORD ABOUT DINOLAND
Most bloggers say that this area of the park is not worthwhile, other than hitting DINOSAUR and Finding Nemo. However, if your grandchild loves rides, they will like Primeval Whirl (48” height requirement). When they would not let the younger grandchild on, they gave him a free ticket to play a game. This snowballed though, and both children wanted to play more games. The prizes were great though.
SOME SPLURGES FOR GRANDCHILDREN
There are some special safari tours at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. For booking any special safari tour, you call (407) WDW-TOUR or (407) 939-8687. Guests under 18 years of age must have parent or guardian permission to call.
A few years ago, there was a safari experience that was less expensive than those listed at Animal Kingdom now, on which we took our grandchildren. We and they loved it, and we got to feed giraffes from an open safari vehicle. Now, that safari experience for children eight and older is limited to those staying at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge, as well as Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas – Jambo House and Kidani Village.
The $70 tour, Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge Night Safari, at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge runs daily and lasts one hour for ages 8 and up. Minors must be accompanied by an adult; no theme park admission required. You set out for an after-dark adventure on a safari experience, exclusively for those staying at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge, as well as Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas – Jambo House and Kidani Village.
There is a $90 Backstage Tales at Animal Kingdom that runs daily and lasts four hours for those ages 12 and up. You get an insider’s look at the innovative ways Disney is meeting challenge in areas such as conservation, animal nutrition and medicine, animal care and behavioral studies. Disney’s Animal Kingdom admission required.
There are some additional private safari experiences that are pricey but also look wonderful:
Wanyama Safari and Dinner. It used to be only for guests of Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge, now available to all guests, age 10 and older. You go out on a private safari with animal encounters and then eat a multi-course meal at Jiko – The Cooking Place. The safari package at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge is available for $209 per Guest (ages 10 and older; tax not included). You meet at 3:30 pm at Jiko for a 4 pm departure.
Wild Africa Trek. This is for 12 and older and ranges between $189.00 – 249.00. You view Animal Kingdom’s wild animals in their natural habitat on the 3-hour Wild Africa Trek. On this privately priced tour, discover animals of nearly every variety living in the Safi River Valley-an uninhibited environment that resembles their home turf in Africa. You walk along a grassland path, cross a rope bridge and ride in a rugged safari vehicle over an open savanna-with a chance to view African creatures including towering giraffes, powerful rhinos, hippos and crocodiles. You have a guide who will tell you about the animals, operation of Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and about the park’s dedication to animal conservation. At the end, you receive a complimentary souvenir.
Savor the Savanna: Evening Safari Experience. This is for 12 and older and costs $169.00. It is a premium safari tour through the Harambe Wildlife Reserve. You are taken to a secluded and private viewing area, with a guide to tells you about the animals and their care at the park. You are served African-inspired tapas too, paired with a selection of regional beer and wine offerings, on the safari. At the end, you receive a complimentary souvenir.
Definitely spend a day at Animal Kingdom. You will love watching your grandchildren love the animals in an environment that clearly shows the Disney magic.
Joy,
Mema
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