Worried about long waits for Animal Kingdom attractions, especially with the addition of Pandora – World of Avatar?
Having well-organized touring plans that make good use of FastPasses is key to avoiding long line waits during your Disney World trip, including at Animal Kingdom.
Below, find an Animal Kingdom touring plan that fits your group, along with FastPass+ suggestions to make sure you’re maximizing your time.
Let’s take a look…
In this article
Update: FastPass+ Unavailable
Important Update:
Disney Genie to replace FastPass & FastPass+
FastPass+ (at Walt Disney World) and FastPass (at Disneyland) have been discontinued. A new system, called Disney Genie (free) and Disney Genie+ (pay-to-use) will debut later this year at both parks.
- Disney Genie –> Complimentary in-app service that helps you plan your day.
- Disney Genie+ –> Basically, it is a paid FastPass that costs $15 per ticket, per day (Walt Disney World) & $20 per ticket, per day (Disneyland). This service replaces the old FastPass service and allows you to choose the next available time to arrive at a variety of attractions. It works very similar to MaxPass at Disneyland.
- Lightning Lane –> New name for FastPass line. You use this with Genie+.
- Lightning Lane Select Experiences –> The most high-demand attractions are not available in Genie+; however, you can select up to 2 of these high-demand attractions per day to ride via an individual Lightning Lane selection. These selections will cost you extra (they aren’t included with the price of Genie+), and the prices are dynamic, meaning they will vary based upon the time of the year and attraction.
- Read more about the new Disney Genie system.
FastPass+ basics
New to making FastPass+ reservations? Check out how to use FastPass+ at Disney World to get you started.
Animal Kingdom FastPass+ options and priorities
You can make 1-3 FastPass+ reservations ahead of time.
Here are your FastPass+ options at Animal Kingdom.
Top priority (visit early in the day or with a FP+) | Second priority (great bonus FP+ options) | Low priority (using FP+ not recommended) |
|---|---|---|
Expedition Everest Kilimanjaro Safaris Rivers of Light Na’vi River Journey OR Avatar Flight of Passage (can only have 1 of these at a time) | Festival of the Lion King Kali River Rapids DINOSAUR Primeval Whirl | It’s Tough to Be a Bug Meet Favorite Disney Pals at Adventurers Outpost UP! A Great Bird Adventure Finding Nemo – The Musical Animation Experience |
For more information on FastPass+ options and strategies at Animal Kingdom, check out our Guide for FastPass+ at Animal Kingdom.
FastPass+ suggestions to save to your phone
Want to have the FastPass+ suggestions on your camera roll? Press the image below from your phone to save to your camera roll.
Arrive before park opening
To make the best use of your time, arrive about 75 – 90 minutes before park opening (closer to the 90 minute mark if you do NOT have a FastPass+ for Flight of Passage).
Animal Kingdom usually allows people in up to 45 minutes before the official opening time. Guests are stopped in front of the Tree of Life until the park opens.
Between the time you enter and the time the park opens, you can get PhotoPass pics taken, shop, or see DiVine.
What times should you make reservations?
The general idea is to start touring early and ride in the standby lines, and then use FastPass+ a bit later in the day.
In the touring plans below, we’ve given suggestions on what time you might want to make your FastPass+ reservations.
Single rider option
Expedition Everest also has a single rider option. Here’s how single rider lines work.
Animal Kingdom touring plans
We like to organize our touring plans by hour because minute-by-minute touring plans can make you feel like you’re running from place to place without any flexibility, but grouping them by hour can give you some sense of timing as you plan.
Here are some example Animal Kingdom touring plans.
General 1 Day Animal Kingdom touring plan
Get FP+ for Na’vi River Journey OR Flight of Passage (44″ height req.), Expedition Everest(44″ height req.), Kilimanjaro Safaris. Flight of Passage sees the longer lines, so try for that one first.
Arrive to the park 75-90 minutes before opening.
First hour:
- 1. Na’vi River Journey OR Flight of Passage (44″ height req., whichever one you don’t have a FastPass+ for)
- 2. Primeval Whirl (48″ height req.)
Second hour:
- 3. DINOSAUR (40″ height req.)
- 4. Use FP+ for Expedition Everest (44″ height req., suggested FP+ time: 9:30-10:30)
Third hour:
- 5. Kali River Rapids (38″ height req.)
- Lunch
Rest of the day:
- 6. UP! A Great Bird Adventure
- 7. Use FP+ to ride Kilimanjaro Safaris (suggested FP+ time: early afternoon)
- 8. Animation Experience (25 minute animation class that may be frustrating for little ones)
- 9. Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail
- 10. Festival of the Lion King
- 11. It’s Tough to Be a Bug
- 12. Maharajah Jungle Trek
- 13. Finding Nemo – The Musical
- 14. Use FP+ for either Avatar Flight of Passage (44″ height req.) or Na’vi River Journey (suggested FP+ time: afternoon)
- 15. Rivers of Light (at night)
Click for the full-sized PDF.
Animal Kingdom Touring Plan with Little Ones Under 40″ Tall (without Na’vi River Journey)
Get FP+ for Finding Nemo – The Musical, Festival of the Lion King, and Kali River Rapids (fyi – Kali has a 38″ height requirement)
First hour:
- 1. Kilimanjaro Safaris
- 2. Wildlife Express Train to Rafiki’s Planet Watch
Second hour:
- 3. Animation Experience (25 minute animation class that may be frustrating for little ones)
- 4. Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail
Third hour:
- Lunch
- 5. Use FP+ for Festival of the Lion King (suggested FP+ time: 11:30)
Rest of the day:
- 6. UP! A Great Bird Adventure
- 7. Use FP+ at Kali River Rapids (38″ height req., suggested FP+ time: early afternoon)
- 8. Maharajah Jungle Trek
- 9. Use FP+ at Finding Nemo – The Musical (suggested FP+ time: afternoon)
- 10. TriceraTop Spin
- 11. The Boneyard
- 12. Rivers of Light (at night)
Click for the full-sized PDF.
Animal Kingdom touring plan with Little Ones Under 40″ Tall (with FP+ for Na’vi River Journey)
Get FP+ for Na’vi River Journey, Festival of the Lion King, and Kali River Rapids (fyi – Kali has a 38″ height requirement)
First hour:
- 1. Kilimanjaro Safaris
- 2. Wildlife Express Train to Rafiki’s Planet Watch
Second hour:
- 3. Animation Experience (25 minute animation class that may be frustrating for little ones)
- 4. Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail
Third hour:
- Lunch
- 5. Use FP+ for Festival of the Lion King (suggested FP+ time: 11:30)
Rest of the day:
- 6. UP! A Great Bird Adventure
- 7. Use FP+ at Kali River Rapids (38″ height req., suggested FP+ time: early afternoon)
- 8. Maharajah Jungle Trek
- 9. Finding Nemo – The Musical
- 10. TriceraTop Spin
- 11. The Boneyard
- 12. Use FP+ for Na’vi River Journey (suggested FP+ time: afternoon)
- 13. Rivers of Light (at night)
Click for the full-sized PDF.
What about Rider Switch (sometimes called Child Swap)?
The Rider Switch system allows parents to take turns riding things that little ones can’t/won’t ride.
Please read our Rider Switch article so you can see how to use it and maximize your FastPass+ reservations.
Want to show up late or park hop?
Animal Kingdom used to be a super easy park to spend a half day and was a great candidate to park hop to or from, but with more attractions and a nighttime show, that’s not as true anymore.
If you do want to show up late, just make sure you have FastPass+ reservations for headliners like Kilimanjaro Safaris and one of the Pandora attractions, and know that Expedition Everest has a Single Rider Line to help you save wait time as well.
Looking for touring plans for the other parks?
Find them at the links below:
Epcot touring plans and FastPass+ suggestions
Hollywood Studios touring plans and FastPass+ suggestions
Magic Kingdom touring plans and FastPass+ suggestions
- Reimagined Finding Nemo Musical Will Debut In 2022 At Animal Kingdom
- Earth Month 2021 Celebrations Announced For Animal Kingdom
- ‘Raya and the Last Dragon’ Celebrations Coming To Animal Kingdom
- Animal Kingdom Adds Capture Your Moment Sessions Starting May 17
- Walt Disney World Posts Park Hours For Christmas Week & Extends Even More
