How to Do Animal Kingdom in One Day Itinerary

Animal Kingdom is Walt Disney World’s largest park. And yet with over 300 acres of land, this park can be done in one day. However, with popular rides, restaurants, and attractions as well as an early close time, you may still find yourself unable to get it all done. Here are our best tips on where you should spend your time during your one day at Animal Kingdom park.

Animal Kingdom Details

As the largest Disney Theme Park, Animal Kingdom spans large amounts of space, due to the sprawling animal habitats, and takes a while to walk it. As such, it’s hard to rush around this park. Luckily, you can check out our Top 10 Things to Do in Animal Kingdom post to get a handle on the most important things. 

And finally, everything we chat here, can be seen on our easy Animal Kingdom Checklist PRINTABLE. So, if you already know what you want to add to your one day at Animal Kingdom, you can print the List of Attractions at Animal Kingdom, and shows, and restaurants, and check your favorites to start building your day. 

With Avatar Flight of Passage continually seeing long line waits, how can you strategically plan your day? From deciding your top rides, to where you’re going to eat and which restaurants will need reservations, there is a lot to plan. Thankfully you can make a  few decisions up front which can make your One day in Animal Kingdom easy, fun, and manageable! Get ready to plan!

Hours

• Early Entry Hours ( when offered): 7:30 AM to 8:00 AM
• Animal Kingdom Daytime Hours: 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM
• Extended Evening Hours ( when offered): Varies

When does Animal Kingdom Open? Animal Kingdom is typically open from 8:00 am- 8:00 pm, but hours vary. There are, however, some times throughout the year when Animal Kingdom closes by 5:30 pm, so keep an eye on park hours during your vacation.

Location

If you’re staying at a Disney Resort, then you can simply take a Disney Bus to Animal Kingdom. Of course if you’re driving to Animal Kingdom, then you can simply park in the parking lot, located just outside the front gates. Here is the Animal Kingdom Parking Lot Address: 2901 Osceola Parkway, Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830.

Transportation

If you’re staying at a Disney Resort, then you can simply take the Animal Kingdom Bus. Check out all the  Disney Transportation  options at Walt Disney World. 

How long does Animal Kingdom Take?

Getting through Animal Kingdom takes one full day, from open to close. Animal Kingdom does close earlier than the other parks, typically at 5:30pm, so be sure to check park hours before you visit. 

Is Animal Kingdom a Full Day Park?

Yes, Animal Kingdom is a full day park. as Disney’s largest park, Animal Kingdom takes a while to get across. The walking distance between attractions, shows, and through the animal habitat trails, take a full day to experience. 

Animal Kingdom Early Entry

If you’re hoping to maximize the day or rope drop Flight of Passage, arrive at least 30 minutes prior to opening. If you’re staying at a Disney Resort you’ll have access to both Early Theme Park Entry and Extra Evening Hours throughout your stay. Check the 5-day Disney Calendar for the schedule. Few people want to be out of their resort at 6:30 AM during vacation, which is necessary if you’re hoping to arrive at Animal Kingdom 30 minutes ahead at 7:00 AM, for a 7:30 AM Early Entry start time. Or if the park opens at 9 AM, that early entry start time is 8:30 AM, allowing you a little extra sleep time. 

Animal Kingdom Rides

Do you need Lightning Lane at Animal Kingdom? For our money, we’d say No. Even if you are fitting this park into one day, there aren’t enough rides to justify the cost. Instead we’d recommend being strategic about timing. Flight of Passage, Animal Kingdom’s most popular ride, is a ride you should aim for in the morning. And even rope drop it if possible. All other rides, like Expedition Everest and Kilimanjaro Safari rarely see high waits, and it’s easy to just wait in line. Keep an eye on the My Disney Experience App for ride wait times throughout the day. 

Keep in mind that if you’re only there for the rides, then planning a shorter day is fine. The main rides to prioritize are Flight of Passage, Navi River, Kilimanjaro Safari, Kali River Rapids, Dinosaur and Expedition Everest. 

Highest Waits

• Avatar Flight of Passage
• Na’vi River Journey
• Expedition Everest

Average Waits

• Kali River Rapids
• Kilimanjaro Safaris

Low Waits

• Celebration of the Festival of the Lion King
• Feathered Friends in Flight!
• It’s Tough to Be a Bug!
• The Animation Experience at Conservation Station

Animal Kingdom Lightning Lane Selections

If choosing to get Lightning Lane for your Animal Kingdom day, you can stack your rides to easily ride as many as you like, as long as you’re choosing the earliest times for each. Remember, you can only hold one reservation at a time, so be sure to book your rides one after another as you ride them throughout the day. 

• Kilimanjaro Safaris
• Na’vi River Journey
• Expedition Everest
• Kali River Rapids

The rest of the rides on the Lightning Lane, typically have lower or average waits and don’t warrant using a Disney  selection. Festival of the Lion King, Feathered Friends in Flight and Finding Nemo are all shows, and have regular showtimes, and adequate seating space. 

Of course, Flight of Passage is the Individual Lightning Lane selection and is a MUST DO. so if you don’t add this to your Early Entry goals, consider checking waits throughout the day or grabbing the Single Pass. 

Lightning Lane Details

• Lightning Lane is a service you pay for, daily, for each person in your party, Priced between $15- $30, per person, per day. 
• Lightning Lane Passes only include certain rides. 
• You can only hold one Lightning Lane reservation at a time. So as soon as you complete one, you can add another to the app. This is called stacking, and how you make the most of your day. 
• If you are a Disney Resort guest then you can make Lightning Lane reservations 7 days ahead of time. 

Is getting Lightning Lane at Animal Kingdom worth it?

For our time and money and we say NO. Unless you are visiting in the middle of the busy summer months, Lightning Lane may not be worth your money. Especially since most rides at Animal Kingdom, with the exception of the Pandora rides, are lower waits, than others across Walt Disney World. If there are top rides for you and you are a Disney Resort Guest, able to reserve your selections early, then buy the service. Otherwise, we’d recommend heading for popular rides in the mornings, and during meal times for the lowest waits. 

Animal Kingdom Characters

If you’re adding characters to your day in the park, the main characters to visit are Mickey and Minnie, Tarzan, Rafiki, Timon and Pumba, Russell and Dug, Pocahontas, and Kevin, Scrooge McDuck, and Launchpad McQuack. Disney Character meet and greets generally have low waits. If you’re looking to meet Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, and Goofy, then booking a meal at Tusker House is your best bet for seeing these characters with ease. You can also see Animal Kingdom Flotillas with your favorite characters floating down Discovery River. 

• Mickey and Friends Flotilla: Mickey and his friends set sail on the Discovery River.
• Discovery Island Drummers Flotilla: Discovery Island Drummers take their music to the water, performing live as they sail around the Discovery River.
• Discovery River Character Cruise: Catch a glimpse of Characters from Disney’s Pocahontas or Disney’s The Lion King as they float along the Discovery River.
• Donald’s Dino-Bash Flotilla: This float features Donald, Daisy, Scrooge, Launchpad, and sometimes Chip and Dale too. 
• Goofy and Pals Set Sail: Leaving their posts at Donald’s Dino-Bash, Goofy and his Pals cruise down the Discovery River.

Animal Kingdom Shows

As the park that closes the earliest, typically 5 or 6 PM, the single evening show time varies. Sometimes the park is open later and sometimes not, so be sure to check park hours ahead of time. 

Afternoon Shows and Parades at Animal Kingdom

Character Flotillas at Animal Kingdom happen intermittently throughout the day on Discovery River. Pocahontas and Meeko, the Discovery Island Drummers, Mickey and Minnie and more can be seen from the riverbank in their best style. 

Evening Shows at Animal Kingdom

On evenings when Animal Kingdom is open later than 6:00 PM, you can see the Tree of Life Awakenings show. This show adds lights and scenes to the facade of the Animal Kingdom Tree, and typically starts at dusk, playing on a loop. 

Animal Kingdom Meals

We are big fans of the Disney Dining Plan layout; the best of which is 2 quick service meals and 1 table service meal per day. This setup gives you the treat of having a special meal and is a good way to stick to your Disney Dining Budget.  If getting the Disney Dining Plan as part of your Disney Vacation Package this will be built in for you as meal credits. But you can easily implement this strategy on your own, by choosing a special restaurant ( table service) to book ahead of time, and then choosing 2 quick service places for your 2 other meals.

Breakfast at Animal Kingdom 

Breakfast at Animal Kingdom is easiest when it’s simple. We typically head to Creature Comforts, just to the left of Tree of Life on the way to Africa. This Starbucks location in Animal Kingdom offers up breakfast sandwiches, coffee, parfaits, and anything you need for breakfast. It’s budget-friendly and coffee and a sandwich are about 12 bucks per person. Other options for breakfast include the Colossal Cinnamon Roll at Kusafiri Bakery and Character Dining at Tusker House. 

Lunch at Animal Kingdom

Lunch at Animal Kingdom is easy. With a selection of non-dessert Disney snacks throughout the park, you can easily grab lunch for under 10 dollars a person if needed. Eight Spoon Cafe serves loaded mac and cheese, and Trilo-Bites Cafe has buffalo chicken nachos. Nomad Lounge is fantastic for small plates and a break on the porch. But you can also grab our favorite lunch in Pandora. Satu’li Canteen offers up power bowls of fun flavors and is by far one of the best meals at Animal Kingdom. This quick-service restaurant is budget-friendly and also offers mobile orders. 

Dinner at Animal Kingdom

Finding dinner at Animal Kingdom may or may not be necessary depending on when the park closes. If the park is open later, then good dinner options include Yak and Yeti Cafe, Satuli Canteen, Tusker House, Nomad Lounge, and Flame Tree Barbecue. All of these have different options when it comes to flavors and food. So check menus before you go, to find your favorite. If Animal Kingdom closes early and you’re looking for somewhere to eat, we highly recommend Sanaa over at Animal Kingdom Lodge- Kidani Village. It’s a 10-minute bus ride and well worth it, with African dishes, and views of the animals on the savanna. 

Animal Kingdom 1-Day Itinerary

Getting through Animal Kingdom in One Day sometimes proves difficult due to limited park hours and the mere vastness of the park. With animal trails and winding pathways, this is a large park to cover, especially if you hope to see the animal habitats.

Morning Rides

When figuring out what to do at Animal Kingdom it’s best if you organize your day so that your most important things are done early. That way you can spend the rest of the day simply enjoying the park and meandering the trails. For this reason, we recommend trying to tackle the big things first. A reminder that Pandora rides will have high waits throughout the day, so getting them out of the way early is a good idea. 

8- 9 AM

Animal Kingdom typically opens at 8 am, making 7:30 am the Early Theme Park Entry time. That said, plan to arrive at 7 am if you’re hoping to be through the gates as soon as they open. 

Ride lines will automatically start to fill, so be prepared to wait in a bit of a line. Decide when you’re heading to Breakfast, and then moving on to average wait rides. Try working any or all of these into your morning rides.

• Avatar Flight of Passage
• Na’vi River Journey
• Kilimanjaro Safari
• Expedition Everest

9 – 11 AM

As soon as rope drop happens, everyone will head to Pandora. As such, if you were able to arrive during Early Entry you have a head start. Check wait times for Flight of Passage and decide to wait or head to the other end of the park instead, towards Expedition Everest. Since everybody goes to Pandora first, the back of the park has the lowest waits in the morning. 

11- 12 PM

If you didn’t get to Pandora early, now is the time. Morning lines would haev died down, and many people will be considering that they can’t wait in a long line that interuppts lunch. As  such, the 11- 12 hour usually sees lower waits for the Pandora Rides. 

12- 1 PM

Anything you were unable to get to in the morning should be checked for wait times between 12:30-and 1:30 pm. This time of day has people either eating lunch or park hopping to their next park. 

1- 2 PM

There are a bunch of places to eat lunch at Animal Kingdom, for whatever dining experience you’re up for. Whether it’s a quick snack or a table-service meal. Check out all the Best Restaurants at Animal Kingdom to get a handle on where to eat.

2- 5 PM

The best part about Animal Kingdom is the range of rides, shows, and walks. Thankfully, this is the only Walt Disney World park that offers so much shade! And options for getting out of the sun. For the afternoon hours at Animal Kingdom, we recommend the following. 

• Celebration of the Festival of the Lion King Show
• Kali River Rapids
• Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail
• Feathered Friends in Flight Show
• Maharajah Jungle Trek
• Wilderness Explorers Game

5- 6 PM

Animal Kingdom park is a fairly easy day and atmosphere, so by dinner time, while you won’t be exhausted, you may be worn out from all the walking! That said, any place for dinner will do. Maybe head to Harambe Market to see what’s on the menu at these counter-service windows, or book dinner at Yak and Yeti. If you’re ready to leave the park and will not be staying late, you can grab dinner back at your resort, or anywhere else you fancy. 

Evening Entertainment

When Animal Kingdom is open later, there is a nature projection show on the Tree of Life called Awakenings. Well worth the watch if you’re staying until park closes. 

Animal Kingdom Tips

In addition to all the things we shared in this point, keep in mind that there are always more ways to maximize your money and time. Here are a few extra tips to help you make the most of your Animal Kingdom day. 

Early Theme Park Entry

Reserved for Disney Resort Guests only, Early Theme Park Entry allows you to get into the park 30 minutes before other guests. This is most worth it for riding Avatar Flight of Passage. If this is not a high priority for you, feel free to sleep in. Other rides, won’t have long enough waits throughout the day to warrant arriving early.

Choose a Day with Extra Evening Hours

Extra Evening Hours are reserved for Disney Guests, staying at SELECT Disney Resorts. Typically, Disney Deluxe Hotels are included. This allows you the opportunity to stay later than park closing on certain days. Often on a 9 pm-close, extra evening hours are extended to 11 pm. This gives you two more hours to ride what you didn’t during the day. Check the Disney Calendar to see when your Animal Kingdom day falls, and if these hours are offered. 

Take Breaks When You Can

While this may feel counterintuitive, remember you are still on vacation! So, it should feel like a vacation, and less like a checklist. That said, we like grabbing one of the best Animal Kingdom Snacks sometime throughout the day and just relaxing. There are hidden areas with tables near Mr. Kamal’s Cart, and Harambe Market, Shaded trails to explore. And Nomad Lounge also offers up a great spot to take a break. 

Only Save 1 Popular Ride for the Evening

A rule of thumb in any Disney park is not to save important rides for late in the evening. At Animal Kingdom this applies most to Flight of Passage as not getting to this ride earlier in the day means you may miss out. While other rides do see high waits throughout the day, we’d recommend reserving the evening hours for the shows, walks, and relaxation. 

Mobile Order your Meals

An easy way to keep out of lines, be sure to check out Animal Kingdom Quick-Service Restaurants that offer Mobile Order. This means you can select and purchase your meals in your My Disney Experience App. Quick Service Restaurants we like, that offer Mobile Order, are Satu’li Canteen and Harambe Market. 

Ride popular rides during the 12-2 pm hour

Between 12-2 pm most people are either eating lunch or heading to their next park for the day via the park hopper. This means between 1-2 pm many people are traveling to their next park, leaving parks across Walt Disney World a little emptier as people travel between parks. As a result, 12-2 pm is an IDEAL time to try and finish up your morning batch of high-priority rides. 

While You’re Waiting for Your Lightning Lane

If purchasing Lightning Lane passes you want to make the most of the time while you’re waiting. Since the times given for these scheduled rides has a cushion of waiting, we recommend you fill this time with browsing the giftshops, seeing a show, or riding the low-wait rides. That way your Animal Kingdom day is filled with fun, even when it’s not scheduled. 

One Day at Animal Kingdom

Luckily, one day at Animal Kingdom is all you need. Hopefully, this one-day itinerary has helped you see some options for filling your day. As Disney’s largest park, it may feel overwhelming to walk it all. But know that with the fewest rides, and mostly just animal trails, you can pace yourself throughout your day and still see most everything on your must-do list. Happy Planning! 

Check out our other One Day at Walt Disney World Itinerary Guides for Each Park.

• Hollywood Studios in One Day
• EPCOT Park in One Day
• Magic Kingdom in One Day