We had our best ever Theme Park day at Animal Kingdom in 2016 thanks to a little bit of Disney Magic, but even without Disney Magic, it is a great park with what I think is currently Walt Disney World's best ride - Flight of Passage.
You enter the park and are in the Oasis area where you can see a selection of animals, this leads you to Discovery Island, the central hub of Animal Kingdom and you are drawn towards the parks icon - The Tree of Life which is an amazing sight.
From Discovery Island you can get to each of the main areas of the park, if you are there at rope drop, you will find the majority of people heading left to:
Pandora - The World of Avatar
This is an amazing land with many photo opportunities, especially at night when this world comes alive, the landscaping is brilliant. As for the rides, there are two; Avatar Flight of Passage and Na'vi River Journey. Flight of Passage usually has the longest queue anywhere in Walt Disney World, but with good reason, it is a great ride that really makes it feel like you are flying on the back of a Banshee. The River Journey is a bit of an anticlimax after Flight of Passage, but is a good enough boat ride, definitely worth doing once to see it.
Africa
Here there are four attractions:
A Celebration of Festival of the Lion King
Kilimanjaro Safaris
Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail
Wildlife Express Train to Rafiki's Planet Watch
The Festival of the Lion King is a great show, so make sure you see it. The Safari is also a must do, the Trail is nice to wander round at your own pace, if the Gorilla's are active you can spend quite some time watching them. The Wildlife Express Train takes you to Rafiki's Planet Watch.
Rafiki's Planet Watch
This area is very much about looking after animals. Sometimes you can even see the Vets operating on animals here. At Affection Section you can get up close to Goats, Sheep and Pigs that you can even give a brush. Inside the Conservation Station there are some exhibits and you can learn to draw a Disney character at The Animation Experience.
Asia
This area has a large variety of attractions:
Feathered Friends in Flight!
Maharajah Jungle Trek
Kali River Rapids
Expedition Everest - Legend of the Forbidden Mountain
My favourite of these has to be Expedition Everest, but I won't ruin the surprise for anyone. You will likely get very wet on the rapids, so you may wish to wear a poncho. On the Trek, my favourite animals have to be the Tigers who can be great if they are moving around.
DinoLand U.S.A.
A fun carnival based area with some extra attractions thrown in, it is the least cohesive of the areas, but you can still have lots of fun here. The attractions are:
DINOSAUR
The Boneyard
TriceraTop Spin
Fossil Fun Games
Finding Nemo: The Big Blue... and Beyond!
DINOSAUR is good, but very jumpy and some will not find it very comfortable. If you want to wear the kids out, let them have a run around The Boneyard play area. TriceraTop Spin goes round and round and up and down, the younger kids love it. The Finding Nemo show is really good and some of the songs are great, it has recently been updated with new scenery and a tweak to the storyline.
Discovery Island
There are a lot of things to see on the island, all around the Tree of Life are paths (Discovery Island Trails) which enable you to see some animals and also get closer to the tree so you can see the amazing carved animals all around the trunk of the tree. There are of-course the obligatory shops and eateries (Tip - Flame Tree Barbecue - Smoked Pulled Pork Sandwich), but there are also some other attractions:
It's Tough to be a Bug!
Wilderness Explorers
Beacon of Magic (at nightfall)
It's Tough to be a Bug is a 4D film and show, it can be scary for the little ones as it is dark, loud and a little scary.
Finally, be sure to read about becoming a Wilderness Explorer on my Useful Stuff page of the Tip, Tricks & Info section of this site.
For a map of Animal Kingdom click here
You enter the park and are in the Oasis area where you can see a selection of animals, this leads you to Discovery Island, the central hub of Animal Kingdom and you are drawn towards the parks icon - The Tree of Life which is an amazing sight.
From Discovery Island you can get to each of the main areas of the park, if you are there at rope drop, you will find the majority of people heading left to:
Pandora - The World of Avatar
This is an amazing land with many photo opportunities, especially at night when this world comes alive, the landscaping is brilliant. As for the rides, there are two; Avatar Flight of Passage and Na'vi River Journey. Flight of Passage usually has the longest queue anywhere in Walt Disney World, but with good reason, it is a great ride that really makes it feel like you are flying on the back of a Banshee. The River Journey is a bit of an anticlimax after Flight of Passage, but is a good enough boat ride, definitely worth doing once to see it.
Africa
Here there are four attractions:
A Celebration of Festival of the Lion King
Kilimanjaro Safaris
Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail
Wildlife Express Train to Rafiki's Planet Watch
The Festival of the Lion King is a great show, so make sure you see it. The Safari is also a must do, the Trail is nice to wander round at your own pace, if the Gorilla's are active you can spend quite some time watching them. The Wildlife Express Train takes you to Rafiki's Planet Watch.
Rafiki's Planet Watch
This area is very much about looking after animals. Sometimes you can even see the Vets operating on animals here. At Affection Section you can get up close to Goats, Sheep and Pigs that you can even give a brush. Inside the Conservation Station there are some exhibits and you can learn to draw a Disney character at The Animation Experience.
Asia
This area has a large variety of attractions:
Feathered Friends in Flight!
Maharajah Jungle Trek
Kali River Rapids
Expedition Everest - Legend of the Forbidden Mountain
My favourite of these has to be Expedition Everest, but I won't ruin the surprise for anyone. You will likely get very wet on the rapids, so you may wish to wear a poncho. On the Trek, my favourite animals have to be the Tigers who can be great if they are moving around.
DinoLand U.S.A.
A fun carnival based area with some extra attractions thrown in, it is the least cohesive of the areas, but you can still have lots of fun here. The attractions are:
DINOSAUR
The Boneyard
TriceraTop Spin
Fossil Fun Games
Finding Nemo: The Big Blue... and Beyond!
DINOSAUR is good, but very jumpy and some will not find it very comfortable. If you want to wear the kids out, let them have a run around The Boneyard play area. TriceraTop Spin goes round and round and up and down, the younger kids love it. The Finding Nemo show is really good and some of the songs are great, it has recently been updated with new scenery and a tweak to the storyline.
Discovery Island
There are a lot of things to see on the island, all around the Tree of Life are paths (Discovery Island Trails) which enable you to see some animals and also get closer to the tree so you can see the amazing carved animals all around the trunk of the tree. There are of-course the obligatory shops and eateries (Tip - Flame Tree Barbecue - Smoked Pulled Pork Sandwich), but there are also some other attractions:
It's Tough to be a Bug!
Wilderness Explorers
Beacon of Magic (at nightfall)
It's Tough to be a Bug is a 4D film and show, it can be scary for the little ones as it is dark, loud and a little scary.
Finally, be sure to read about becoming a Wilderness Explorer on my Useful Stuff page of the Tip, Tricks & Info section of this site.
For a map of Animal Kingdom click here