Complete guide to Animal Kingdom characters & cavalcades

Animal Kingdom Flotillas

Since the news was announced that Disney would be bringing cavalcades to all the parks, we were very excited to see what that would mean for Animal Kingdom. 

Unlike the other 3 parks, at Animal Kingdom there really isn’t any great space for a parade – no matter how small. At least not on the land, that is.

While Animal Kingdom may be lacking wide pathways fit for a cavalcade, they do have a river: Discovery River, to be exact.

And that means that in Animal Kingdom the characters have taken to the water in fun character cruises or flotillas.

There are quite a few flotillas at Animal Kingdom. Let’s take a look!

Goofy And Pals Set Sail (No Longer Running)

Characters: Goofy and other friends from Donald’s Dino Bash (most frequently Chip and Dale)
Where: Discovery River

Mickey & Friends Flotilla (No Longer Running)

Characters: Mickey, Minnie, and Pluto
Where: Discovery River

Discovery Island Drummers

Characters: Discovery Island Drummers take their music to the water 
Where: Discovery River

Donald’s Dino Bash Flotilla (No Longer Running)

Characters: Donald, Daisy, Launchpad McQuack
Where: Discovery River

Discovery River Character Cruise

Characters: Pocahontas and Meeko (Meeko isn’t always included) OR Rafiki and Timon
Where: Discovery River

Adventurer’s Flotilla — Disney Ducks

Characters: Launchpad McQuack and Scrooge McDuck
Where: Discovery River

Adventurer’s Flotilla — Up

Characters: Russell and Dug
Where: Discovery River

Best Places To Catch The Flotillas

Anywhere you can see Discovery River is a great spot, but here’s a few of our favorite places:

• Bleachers near Expedition Everest. The seating from the Discovery River Amphitheater is a great place to catch the Character Cruises, but they can get quite hot during the middle of the day. And, unfortunately, Disney KiteTails is no longer running, but you can still catch the flotillas here.
• Near the Caravan Stage Theater. Across from where Feathered Friends in Flight! takes place, there’s a seating area that offers a good view of the river and the cavalcades.
• Flame Tree Barbecue. The Quick Service spot in Discovery Island has some great food and an even more amazing view of Expedition Everest and the river, meaning you have the perfect spot for the cavalcades.
• Bridges. Most of the bridges will give you a unique angle to shoot photographs as the characters pass below.

Traditional Character Meet & Greets

You can hug the following characters, take photos, and have them sign autographs (unless otherwise noted).

Meet Favorite Disney Pals at Adventurers Outpost (Available With Genie+)

Characters: Mickey and Minnie (automated PhotoPass available)
Where: In Discovery Island across from Eight Spoon Cafe

Donald’s Dino Bash

Characters: Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, and Chip ‘n’ Dale (PhotoPass available)
Where: DinoLand U.S.A.

Moana

Characters: Moana
Where: Discovery Island (down the path across from Isle of Java and near the bridge that leads to DinoLand, U.S.A.)

Other Character Opportunities & “Sightings”

Even with character meet and greets back to normal, there are still some character “sightings” for guests to enjoy.

You can actually have 1-on-1 time with select characters — but at a distance. This means no hugging or autographs.

Most of these experiences don’t have PhotoPass photographers, so you’ll need to take photos/selfies with your own camera and/or mobile device.

You can check appearance times for in the My Disney Experience app.

Kevin from Up

Characters: Kevin from Pixar’s Up
Where: She roams around Discovery Island

Live Entertainment

There are several opportunities to see characters and enjoy a show all at the time time. You can always check the My Disney Experience app for the daily live entertainment schedule.

Finding Nemo: The Big Blue… and Beyond! (Available with Genie+)

Characters: Nemo, Dory, and more from Finding Nemo and Finding Dory (a reimagined version of original show Finding Nemo: The Musical and set during the timeline of the movie Finding Dory)
Where: Theater in the Wild in DinoLand, U.S.A.

Animal Kingdom Character Dining

Animal Kingdom has one character meal that you can find in Africa at Tusker House Restaurant, which is buffet style.

You can meet Safari Donald, Goofy, Mickey and Daisy, while can also enjoying African-inspired foods.

This character dining experience offers traditional character meet and greets, meaning you can hug the characters and have them sign autographs.

Holiday Flotillas

In 2022, you’ll see get to see the Santa Claus Festive Flotilla, along with the Discovery Island Drummers Festive Flotilla.

Usually, you can find Santa cruising around the Discovery River in his sleigh themed boat through December 24.