Knowing the attractions directly affects your travel planning. And of course, we couldn't help but help you get to know all the attractions of Animal Kingdom.
On this post
We will start by listing those that we consider to be the best attractions in the park, then we will talk about the others.
Well, again it is worth mentioning that this list of the best attractions (and shows) of Animal Kingdom is not official and has not been released by any American agency or by disney or by anyone.
This list is OURS! So, we chose the best Animal Kingdom attractions and shows based on our experiences and taste with them!
If you are doing your travel research, be sure to also visit our posts about all the other attractions Disney parks like:
The best attractions at Hollywood Studios
Magic Kingdom's Top Attractions
Epcot's Top Attractions
Tips for Enjoying the Best Attractions in Animal Kingdom
Definitely buy your tickets before you go.
This will save you the lines when you arrive at the park and will also allow you to reserve your Disney Park Pass before you go.
You can buy your tickets directly on the Disney website or through authorized and discounted agencies.
The Lightning Lane is not always worth it.
Bring a raincoat.
give preference to buy online at amazon discount or in supermarkets, such as walmart. Anyway, before you arrive, definitely be prepared and bring one.
Rains in Florida can happen every day depending on the season.
In addition to the rains, another climatic factor that will disturb you a lot is the heat.
If you go outside of winter, you can be sure that you will feel hot in the park.
To soften up, we recommend that you bring a Cooling Towel. Just wet it, it will be chilled and will help immensely to be less uncomfortable in the heat.
If you want to save money, avoid eating in the park, we recommend that you bring snacks in your backpack.
Definitely buy your tickets before you go.
This will save you the lines when you arrive at the park and will also allow you to reserve your Disney Park Pass before you go.
You can buy your tickets directly on the Disney website or through authorized and discounted agencies.
The Lightning Lane is not always worth it.
Bring a raincoat.
give preference to buy online at amazon discount or in supermarkets, such as walmart. Anyway, before you arrive, definitely be prepared and bring one.
Rains in Florida can happen every day depending on the season.
Rains usually only last for a short time, but it's much better to have a raincoat than to be caught off guard and have to walk around in soggy clothes all day.
In addition to the rains, another climatic factor that will disturb you a lot is the heat.
If you go outside of winter, you can be sure that you will feel hot in the park.
To soften up, we recommend that you bring a Cooling Towel. Just wet it, it will be chilled and will help immensely to be less uncomfortable in the heat.
We recommend this Cooling Towel here.
If you want to save money, avoid eating in the park, we recommend that you bring snacks in your backpack.
Another element that can make you spend a lot of money is buying water or soda around the park, so we recommend taking a thermal cup and fill in the water fountains around the park.
Without further ado, let's go through the list in order of attractions from “worst” to best.
Best Animal Kingdom Rides
In this post we will talk about all the attractions in the park, but for the purposes of organization and how to present these attractions to you.
Therefore, we will first list those that we consider to be the best attractions in Animal Kingdom, at least so far.
Flight of Passage Avatar
If you already know me a little, you know that I couldn't start this list with anything other than the best attraction in Animal Kingdom.
In fact, the best Disney attraction so far!
We've talked a lot about Flight of Passage here on the blog and honestly I think we talk little, close to what this attraction really is.
In my humble opinion, this is not only the best attraction at Animal Kingdom, but the best attraction in ALL of Walt Disney World.
She is just amazing.
We cried the first time we walked on the attraction, so perfect and incredible is the experience.
There are basically three ways to ride the Flight of Passage.
– You can wait for hours in line depending on the day.
– You can buy the Lightning Lane.
– When staying at a Disney hotel you can enter the park 30 minutes before other visitors, which will allow you to do this attraction with a much shorter line!
Expedition Everest – Legend of the Forbidden Mountain (Yeti Roller Coaster))
Expedition Everest is a roller coaster unlike any other.
Many people believe that this ride starts during your queue. But the first positive impact of this attraction is before you even get in line.
The Everest roller coaster stands out as you walk through the park, crossing bridges and catching sight of it in the distance.
The Yeti's Forbidden Mountain is large even from a distance.
And then comes your queue, which is filled with a series of artifacts that reflect Nepali and Tibetan relationships with the Yeti (big foot).
And after all that comes the attraction itself.
It is without a doubt one of the most incredible attractions at Disney.
Not for the faint of heart, highly recommended for those with an adventurous spirit despite not being turned upside down.
If you want to know a little more, we've already talked about Expedition Everest here on the Blog.
Festival of the Lion King
The Festival of the Lion King is a spectacular lion king concert.
The show is full of acrobatics, dancing and singing and lasts 30 minutes.
We love this show, not only because of our nostalgic connection to The Lion King, but also because of the great stunts and beautiful choreography the show offers.
It's a Disney classic and definitely deserves its place at the top of the Animal Kingdom's Best Attractions list.
DINOSAUR
Dinosaur is an attraction that generates a lot of controversy when we post on our social networks!
We particularly like it a lot, but yes, we understand that it is an attraction that is falling behind technologically speaking.
Animatronics are often not well synced or in some cases even stopped.
But come on, it's still a fun ride, we love Disney's Dinosaur movie.
Also, the ride of the attraction is a little bit exhilarating. If you haven't been there yet, it's worth a visit!
Kilimanjaro Safaris
The Kilimanjaro Safaris it is a truly unique tour. You will pass through diverse landscapes of Africa with many real animals along the way.
The chance to walk among the animals in their natural habitats is not to be missed.
Also, this is a tour that is different each time.
One of Disney's unique attractions and easily deserves to be on our list of best Animal Kingdom attractions!
It's Tough To Be A Bug.
An incredible attraction for the whole family, it is located in Discovery island right under the tree of life.
It's a 3D show with Flick, the movie's main character It's Tough to be a Bug.
The show has some surprises that might scare younger children.
The intention of the show is not to scare, but that could be due to the movie's villain appearing right in front of everyone during the show.
Also, the show usually has a short wait of 20 minutes or less.
Show time is 8 minutes, and your actual wait is rarely longer than 10 minutes.
It doesn't usually have long lines, and it's worth putting it in the middle of your day.
Kali River Rapids
That was a difficult attraction to place here.
The queue is great and lays the groundwork for a story that kind of paves the way for the attraction itself, but other than that there's little to say.
The tour itself is short, especially for the two-hour wait time you occasionally see (not worth it).
Under no circumstances do we recommend waiting more than 30 minutes for this attraction.
A tip here is to take dry clothes, or even towels to dry off after this attraction.
If you want to save money, be sure to buy it at the park as all products are naturally more expensive there.
Buy in advance at a discount on amazon before your trip to the park!
Tree of Life Awakenings
Disney has always been well known for their closing shows at the parks, and no wonder they are truly amazing.
Animal Kingdom does not have a fireworks show so as not to scare or disturb the animals that are in the park.
But that doesn't mean that the closing show of this park leaves something to be desired, on the contrary, it's very beautiful and you shouldn't miss it!
The iconic symbol of Disney's Animal Kingdom park (The Tree of Life) comes to life in this hypnotic after-dark experience, accompanied by an original soundtrack inspired by the Lion King.
Mystical fireflies, passionate hummingbirds and a stealthy fox all play roles in the luminous visual display.
Na?vi River Journey
This is the second attraction that is on Pandora, the Avatar area.
The highlight here are the effects, especially the Na'vi (people who live on Pandora) who appear at the end of the attraction.
Unlike Flight of Passage, it's not a super amazing attraction in terms of emotion.
But it's very beautiful and cool to look at, mainly because of the animatronic that sings at the end, it's just amazing to see.
It's especially cool for kids who don't like extreme attractions like some already listed on this list.
We've already shown a little bit of it on our youtube channel!
Finding Nemo – The Musical
Everyone talks about the Lion King show at Animal Kingdom, but almost no one talks about the Nemo Show, does that mean it's bad?
Not at all! We love this show and I find it surprising it doesn't generate more hype.
Especially for those families who like Nemo movies, this is a show not to be missed! it's very dynamic, fun and the way the animals from the Nemo movie are presented is very interesting!
Characters like Marlin, Nemo and Dory are represented by live performers who operate animated puppets.
Other characters are featured by a variety of puppet styles, including stick, bunraku, and shadow.
The story is very similar to that of the movie, a clownfish, Marlin, and his son, Nemo, each on a separate journey that ultimately teaches them to love and understand each other.
Were the two separated? and Marlin won't stop until he finds his son, taking on underwater challenges with his new friend Dory, who swim with the sharks, go through jellyfish and swim in the current with Crush the turtle.
Animal Kingdom attractions for kids
Kilimanjaro Safaris
Na?vi River Journey
TriceraTop Spin
Kali River Rapids (Minimum height 96 cm / 38? )
The Primeval Whirl (Closed)
Wildlife Express Train to Rafiki's Planet Watch
Rafiki's Planet Watch
the boneyard
Festival of the Lion King (Show)
Finding Nemo : The Musical (Show)
Up! A Great Bird Adventure (Show)
As you can probably see, some attractions here were not on our previous list.
Like TriceraTop Spin for example, just because it is a primarily children's attraction, very similar to the Dumbo attraction in Magic Kingdom.
However, for small children it is a super option!
So we'll talk a little bit about those attractions that we haven't listed yet.
TriceraTop Spin
TriceraTop Spin is a “flying carousel” ride in the carnival-themed Chester and Hester Dino-rama section of Dinoland USA.
It is located in front of the Primeval Whirl.
Her lines are not usually the worst, but they can get long in high seasons.
Highly recommended for those traveling with small children.
Wildlife Express Train to Rafiki's Planet Watch
The Wildlife Express Train is located in Harambe, Africa area of Disney's Animal Kingdom and is the shuttle to Rafiki's Planet Watch (Conservation Station).
Climb aboard the “Eastern Star Railway” locomotive for a journey of about 7 minutes to your only destination, Rafiki's Planet Watch.
On this short train ride, you'll experience some behind-the-scenes areas of Disney's Animal Kingdom, including where some of the animals rest for the night.
This train's unique seats allow everyone to see how the seats face left, unlike the Walt Disney World Railroad at Magic Kingdom, which face forward.
Once you're done experiencing Rafiki's Planet Watch (Conservation Station), you'll head back to the station and board the train once more for your 5-minute return trip.
There are some sights and sounds as you go behind the scenes in Asia before returning to Harambe Station in Africa.
The total trip is just over 1 mile. The Wildlife Express Train is the only way to visit Rafiki's Planet Watch.
Rafiki's Planet Watch
Here, visitors can find animals being cared for by park professionals, as well as having a lot of fun in activities along the tour.
Rafiki's Planet Watch raises awareness of the importance of animal care and conservation through activities that appeal to visitors of all ages.
The area has laboratories, exhibitions and other incredible places, in addition to providing the meeting with the characters Rafiki and Doutora Brinquedos.
At Rafiki's Planet Watch, the first place visitors see is covered in large, spectacularly colored murals of the animals.
Inside, you'll find viewing areas where exams and surgical procedures can be observed.
In addition to veterinary facilities, experts are on hand to educate you on care and meal preparation for the many animals found at Disney's Animal Kingdom.
There are many interactive screens with environmental information and tips for preserving our natural resources, including sound booths with the sounds of the rainforest.
Touchscreens allow you to check cameras that monitor animals throughout the park.
the boneyard
This children's and educational playground is a replica of an excavation site with rope ladders, tunnels and slides, on multiple levels for you to explore as much as you like.
The soft, cushioned floor creates a safe play area for all ages.
There are also several interactive screens here.
Don't be afraid to open doors and box lids or step on dinosaur footprints, because you never know what you might find there.
There are excavation site notes and facts posted around the walls of the enclosed area and the fossils here are archaeologically correct.
It's a really fun place for kids!
Attractions that can be scary for kids but great for others
– Dinosaur
– It's Tough to be a Bug
The reason these attractions are here is quite simple.
Despite being attractions considered for children (especially It's Tough to be a Bug), there are some parts of these attractions that may scare some younger children.
In that case it really depends on each child.
We've seen very young children love it and have fun, but we've also seen some older ones get scared.
I recommend that parents watch video of the attractions on youtube, or talk to someone who has been and knows their children well to ensure that it will not be a traumatic experience for them.
Animal Kingdom shows
Festival of the Lion King
Finding Nemo: The Musical
Up! The Great Bird Adventure
Rivers of Light: We Are One (Definitely closed)
Tree of Live Awakening
Tam Tam The Drummers of Harambe
We didn't mention some of these shows in our previous list.
The reason is simple, they are cool shows, but not a must-see for most types of groups visiting Animal Kingdom.
But if you're going with kids or you're a big fan of live shows or interactions, prioritize all of them on this list!
Let's quickly talk about those we haven't mentioned above.
Up! The Great Bird Adventure
This show premiered at Animal Kingdom in 2018 so it's relatively recent.
In the interactive show UP! The Great Bird Adventure, you will discover everything about the world of birds together with Russell and Dug, two of the cute characters from the movie Up! High Adventures, and the explorer Anika.
Even if you haven't seen this one yet. movie, be sure to watch!
In addition, the presentation reserves some surprises for visitors.
You can't miss this exciting experience!
The show takes place every day, at different times, in the village of Anandapur, part of Asia park Disney Orlando's Animal Kingdom. So as soon as you arrive at the park, grab your map and see the best time for you!
Tam Tam The Drummers of Harambe
Get ready for lots of fun with this band of authentic African percussionists.
You will be moved by the sound of the drum beats.
You will learn dance steps during the performance and you will be able to practice them together with the artists in a moment of the show.
I hope you liked and agreed with most of the list, but if you don't, let us know, it will be a pleasure to hear from you and even change this order who knows.
This was a particularly difficult list to make.
Because Animal Kingdom does not have a diversity of attractions as great as the Magic Kingdom for example.
In addition, it has fantastic attractions and other very weak. So forgive us if the list was too far off the mark.
Before Finalizing, we are going to put together small very direct lists with only the list of the best attractions in Animal Kingdom aimed at certain audiences.
So you can know which ones you should fit in your script!
If your favorite attraction is not on the list? Tell us in the comments =)
I hope again that this post helped you in your research for your trip to Disney or Orlando.
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About the Author Carlos Braga:
Unparalleled experience in Orlando and Disney! As a former Universal Orlando team member and a passionate devotee of the magic of Disney, I have become a true Orlando travel expert. Before becoming a renowned travel consultant dedicated to Orlando, I had already made hundreds of visits to the parks, cultivating my knowledge and passion mainly over the last 7 years as a consultant and specialist in Disney travel.
My journey into this enchanted world began in 1995, when I took my first trip to Orlando. Since then, my love for Disney and the city has only grown. In 2023, we celebrate the sixth anniversary of 'Partiu Disney Parks', consolidating our role as one of the main sources of information about Disney and Orlando Parks.
During these six years of existence, we have continued to offer quality and updated content, being the reliable source for all those looking for essential information to plan their trip to Disney and Orlando. With my vast experience and passion for this magical destination, I am here to guide you every step of the way towards the most incredible Orlando and Disney experience!
good morning
I was wondering if you had a complete list of all the animals at animal kingdom.
Please and thank you ?
We currently don't, but we'll add it to this post shortly after a field research =)