Full day at Animal Kingdom Theme park

A lot of people ask me “Do I need a full day at Animal Kingdom?”. Actually I get that question about Hollywood Studios as well. I am going to fill in you on both parks one at a time. Short answer is Yes!! Long answer… it depends. It depends on your travel party and what you’re interested in. I do believe these theme parks deserve a full day. And here is how I plan my full day at Animal Kingdom theme park-

I like to start my day bright and early here, I always try to take advantage of the early park entry which will be a half hour before the official park opening. This is a benefit for Disney resort guests. The trick to this is getting to the parks 45 minutes to an hour before the park opening time. This will give you time to get through security, scan your magic band and make your way to the most important stop of the day Starbucks.

After I have grabbed my coffee and maybe a breakfast sandwich I am off to avoid the crowds heading into the World of Pandora. This land is amazing and totally worth checking out, but first thing in the morning it can be busy. If I want to avoid the crowds and walk on a ride I go right to Dinoland. The Dinosaur ride is a fun one to check out and usually will have no wait in the morning.

Then I am off to Everest (when open). They are currently under refurbishment and no it isn’t the Yeti, at least I am pretty sure that is not what they are working on at the moment. We love this ride and will most definitely hit it or try to hit it more than once a day.

One thing to note is showtimes, always check them for when you’re visiting. Even if you’re not a big show person the Lion King and when Nemo comes back are wonderful shows to catch. I like to enjoy them after lunch when the sun is hot and we could all use a little ac break. But if the show times don’t work after lunch I would go before, always check your app for when and where they are happening!

Now after a couple rides a show and walking around a bit it is lunch time!! Animal Kingdom has some of the best places to eat, I am afraid the word is getting out there becuase some of these places have been hard to get reservations at lately. When looking for a character meal Tusker House is one of the best, in my opinion. I have always loved the character interaction and the food… the food is fantastic here. It is not your typical theme park fast fried food. If you’re looking for something a little different and a little healthy this is the place to be. Just note it might be hard with a picky eater, like I have, so if he is with us we do brunch here, best of both worlds! A quick service restaurant I love is Satu’li Canteen in the World of Pandora. They also have different food here. Their menu is bowls all customizable, I just love them. If you don’t want characters and want a sit down meal check out Yak & Yeti. I like the theming and delicious food here.

Animal Kingdom is underrated when it comes to their dining options. I feel like you can not go wrong anywhere here. After lunch it is safari time. Once again you can do this ride any time of the day and go multiple times in one day and it will be a different experience each time. Depending on the time of the year and the weather can change this experience through out the day.

After the Safari it is a great time to check out the Tiger Trek & Gorilla Falls. These two walking paths are great places to see more animals and explore. You will see more than just tigers and gorillas on these two walking paths, have fun and take your time checking out the amazing animals here.

At this point of the day if I have done all the shows and rides I wanted to, it is time to finally head to the World of Pandora. This is an absolutely amazing section of the park. There are two rides here; Navi River & Flight of Passage. Both are worth it, Flight of Passage will have a much longer wait and yeah you need to do this ride! If you do not want to purchase the Genie+ for this ride wait for it towards the end of the day. It is jaw droppingly cool. Navi River is a very calm boat ride it is a great option for the entire family.

As your day winds down and you’re ready to head out of the park the one last thing is the gift shops. Make sure you check them out! Animal Kingdom has some fun themed merchandise!

What do you think about a fun full day at Animal Kingdom? Have you been there before? Would you spend a full day here? I would love to hear from you!