Animal Kingdom | Helping You with Your Disney World Vacation

Today’s topic will be on Animal Kingdom Fastpass+ recommendations. Animal Kingdom is not to be missed. It is way more than a zoo like many people assume. My sons absolutely love being Wilderness Explorers (based on Russell from the movie UP) and completing the parks’ scavenger hunt/adventure game throughout the park. Recently Disney has seen fit to extend Animal Kingdom’s hours of operation in preparation for the new Avatar land (opening in 2017). This makes seeing everything this park has to offer a lot easier. Just like Magic Kingdom this park has no Tier system. You can choose 3 Fastpass+ selections for this park.

Below is a listing of all Animal Kingdom Fastpass+ offerings. The times I have listed next to the main attractions are the peak average wait times. For the Fastpass+ shows I have listed the duration times.

Expedition Everest (35 min)
Kilimanjaro Safaris (2nd choice) (45 min)
Finding Nemo – The Musical (Duration 35 min)
It’s Tough to Be a Bug! (8 min)
Festival of the Lion King (Duration 30 min)
Kali River Rapids (1st choice) (45 min)
DINOSAUR (3rd choice – option 1) (35 min)
Character Meet and Greet Disney Pals at Adventurers Outpost (3rd choice – option 2) (20 min)
Primeval Whirl (30 min)

Kali River Rapids is my first choice for FastPass+ because USUALLY nobody wants to ride this first thing in the morning and get soaked (and trust me you WILL get soaked). This means that most park visitors wait until late afternoon to ride this causing a big bottleneck and wait time. I recommend selecting this for a later time in your park day to avoid being miserable and wet during your park touring.

My second choice is for Kilimanjaro Safari. It is one of the headliner attractions of the park and an amazing experience and definitely a must-see when you visit. Tip! Have the most able bodied photographer in your group sit on the end of the row in the car. That way you don’t have a bunch of random heads in your pictures of the animals.

For my third choice pick I’m going with either DINOSAUR OR meeting Mickeys and his pals at the Character Meet and Greet at Adventurers Outpost. This all depends on who you’re visiting with. In my opinion DINOSAUR is awesome and can make any adult jump the first time they visit. But with that being said I don’t think it’s appropriate for smaller children. If you’ve got smaller ones in tow then head for Mickey!

So now you are wondering, what about Expedition Everest? I still think this is a must see BUT I recommend making a bee line for the mountain when the park opens. This way you can by-pass lines and still save your FASTPASS+ reservations for other things. Of course this won’t work out if you sleep in but I’m a firm believer in being at the parks when they open. Sure you lose a little sleep but you’ll be thanking yourself when you see what the lines look like in the afternoon!

What not to use your FASTPASS+ Reservations on….

Finding Nemo – The Musical
It’s Tough to Be a Bug
The Festival of the Lion King

These are wonderful shows ESPECIALLY Nemo and Lion King (It’s Tough to be a Bug can be a little too much for little kiddos). I highly recommend them BUT they don’t need FASTPASS+ reservations. Most of the time if you arrive 15 min before the showing then you are usually getting a seat.

Remember, Disney lets you pick 3 Fastpasses for Animal Kingdom BUT there can’t be any duplicates. They must all be for different rides. Also, once your original 3 Fastpass reservations are used then a 4th can be selected at a kiosk and used, then a 5th, then a 6th, you get the idea.

FASTPASS+ Kiosks – Below is a listing of Kiosk locations at Animal Kingdom. Remember that these kiosks are mobile. So if you don’t see them then ask a cast member!