The BEST of Animal Kingdom!
Animal Kingdom theme park is one of Walt Disney World’s 4 theme parks and resorts. It is located in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
The park opened in 1998, and is owned and operated by the Walt Disney Company. The park covers over 580 acres and is divided into five sections.
The unique aspect about Animal Kingdom theme park is that it has live animals in addition to rides, attractions, restaurants, and shopping.
I will explore each of these topics in much greater detail in related posts, but for now here is a brief summary of what I feel is the best that Animal Kingdom theme park has to offer.
Must-do attractions in Disney’s Animal Kingdom!
There’s plenty to see and do in Animal Kingdom. Here are the most popular, and/or most kid-friendly recommendations based on the areas they can be found.
The rides and attractions are organized by park themed areas.
- Oasis is the area past the entrance where you first enter the park. This area near the entrance/exit has many exotic animal exhibits, and it leads you to the main hub.
- Discovery Island is the center or hub of the park. The Tree of Life is the main feature of Discovery Island. Inside the large and beautiful tree with intricate carvings, you can experience It’s Tough to Be a Bug. Little ones may be scared of the darkness and noises, but it is definitely a fun experience I will post about in a related post.
These four areas are positioned around the Tree of Life:
Pandora-The World of Avatar
- The Navi River Journey-a slow-moving boat ride down the beautiful Navi River river at night!
Navi River Journey at Disney’s Animal Kingdom
- Avatar Flight of Passage– (44″+ to ride) A must-do ride! It is a 3D flight simulator that makes you feel like you’re riding on the back of a live Banshee. It may cause motion-sickness in some people. Both of these are amazing experiences. You don’t need to have seen the movie Pandora to enjoy this section of Animal Kingdom.
Africa
- Festival of The Lion King-amazing must-see Broadway-style show inside an air-conditioned theater.
- Kilimanjaro Safaris-see live animals in their ‘natural’ habitats.
- Rafiki’s Planet Watch-board a train that takes you to their conservation station where you can watch veterinarians behind the glass performing procedures on injured or sick animals.
- Affection Section-part of Rafiki’s Planet Watch is an outdoor petting yard with live animals that you can get up close to and brush/pet. There is a hand-washing station as you exit this area.
Asia
- Jungle Trek-walk through and look at the animals.
- Up! A Great Bird Adventure is an outdoor show based on the movie Up!
- Kali River Rapids– (38″+ to ride) ride is another must-do rapids ride, but prepare to get wet! I recommend doing this one early in the day when you have time to walk around and dry off on a hot day.
- Expedition Everest– (44″+ to ride) A very popular roller coaster through the Himalayan Mountains that even goes backwards, and includes a Yeti encounter!
Dinoland U.S.A.
- Finding Nemo Show– inside a theater, and is very entertaining with puppeteers.
- The Boneyard-a fun area for the children to play in, but I recommend going here after dark as it gets very hot here during the day.
- Dinosaur!-(40″+ to ride) A very popular ride! This ride can be too dark and scary for younger children though.
Best kid-friendly restaurants in Animal Kingdom!
- Oasis has The Rainforest Cafe, but is not inside the park. It is near the entrance. In order to eat here you need to stop in first prior to entering the park, or just after you exit the park. This is a chain-restaurant, and the kids do like the atmosphere, but the food is just ok.
The following food items can be found inside Animal Kingdom park in the following areas:
- Discovery Island has two popular quick/counter service restaurants: Flame Tree BBQ and Pizzafari. Flame Tree Barbecue has an outdoor-only seating area, so the weather is a big factor in eating here. It gets very high reviews, but has always been too hot for us to eat here. Pizzafari has decent pizza that the kids enjoy, and the salads are not bad either. The two table-service restaurants are: Tiffins, and Nomad Lounge, which appear more upscale. They may be very good, but we felt we should skip these until our children are older.
- Pandora-The World of Avatar has Pongu Pongu snacks, and Satu’li Canteen is a counter service serving lunch/dinner.
- Africa has Donald’s Dining Safari Tusker House which is a table-service character meal with Donald and friends dressed in Safari gear. The kids really like this one too. Tamu Tamu serves the popular Dole Whip snack if you are looking for a cool, refreshing frozen treat.
- Asia has one of our favorite table-service restaurants, Yak & Yeti. We have eaten here, and enjoy the pan-Asian feast. We also enjoyed custard from the Ananadapur Ice Cream Truck on the way to Rivers of Light.
- Dinoland U.S.A. offers a quick/counter service dinosaur-themed cafe called Restaurantosaurus that the kids enjoy.
Which Disney Resort hotels are closest to Animal Kingdom?
There are five Disney resort hotels in the Animal Kingdom area. I have sorted them by category.
- Deluxe Resort: Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge (Jambo House/ Kidani Village) is based on the Animal Kingdom theme. It is the closest hotel.
- Moderate Resort: Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort is a blend of Spanish, Mexican, and Southwest American cultures.
- Value Resorts: Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort is themed after popular competitive sports. Disney’s All-Star Music Resort is themed after the world’s most popular music genres, and Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort is themed after popular Disney movies.
How do I get to Animal Kingdom?
- Bus transportation to/from Disney Resort hotels-FREE!
- Rental car or Taxi at your own expense-$!
Final Thoughts:
In closing, you can see there’s so much that Animal Kingdom has to offer that it is no longer a half-day park as it was many years ago.
I love Animal Kingdom! They are continuing to expand, and add new attractions here. There is plenty to see and do for people of all ages to enjoy.
I will expand on many of these subjects in related posts. Thoughts? What is your favorite must-do in Animal Kingdom?
Note: Some attractions and restaurants mentioned in this post were closed during Covid-19, and may not have reopened yet.
