Help a First-Timer Plan for Animal Kingdom

[First_Timer_1]

Please help!
I’m hoping the wisdom of this board can help me plan an enjoyable visit to Animal Kingdom.

Here are some vital statistics:
- Two adults (mom & dad) and two kids (age 4 & 6)
- One-day park visit on Wednesday, June 6th 2018
- Will arrive for rope-drop and stay until evening
- Are NOT staying onsite at a Disney property

Our current plans:
- Will NOT be riding Flight of Passage, Na’vi River Journey, Kali River Rapids or Rafiki's Planet Watch
- We ARE interested in all other rides/attractions, including the animal trails
- Would like to do Kilimanjaro Safaris first
- For lunch, we are bringing packed meals - For dinner, we will eat at Flame Tree BBQ

Our questions:
- What should we use our Fast Passes on, and at what times?
- How should we plan our itinerary to minimize excess walking/backtracking?
- Any attractions that we should avoid/skip?

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[sharonabe]

I'll get the ball rolling.

Head to Safari at rope drop and then begin to make your way around clockwise with a small jig at the beginning. Hit the gorilla trail right off the Safari, and then hopefully, the first Lion King after that. After Lion King, start your clockwise journey. Do the other animal trail, Maharaja Jungle. I think the new bird show will be running by then, so see that. Make a FP+ for EE for around 11:30 or 11:45, that gives you a full 3 1/2 hrs from opening to make your way there. Find a place for your picnic. FP+ for Dinosaur for around 2:00 should give you some flexibility in when to see Nemo and maybe do some of the other things in Dinoland. Primevil Whirl gets little love on this board, but my family loved it!! Perhaps watch a YouTube to see what you think. You might want to use your last FP for Rivers of Light if you plan to stay that late.

You've got lots of time to walk slowly, see everything, stop for street shows, get some Character meets in too.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

Since you’re avoiding Pandora, you’ll find the rest of the park almost empty for much of the morning. Do your must-dos then, there should be no wait. And Finding Nemo is the greatest show IMO, not to be missed. And FYI, It’s Tough to be a Bug terrifies many small children, but it’s very cute.

 

[mshanson3121]

Please help!
I’m hoping the wisdom of this board can help me plan an enjoyable visit to Animal Kingdom.

Here are some vital statistics:
- Two adults (mom & dad) and two kids (age 4 & 6)
- One-day park visit on Wednesday, June 6th 2018
- Will arrive for rope-drop and stay until evening
- Are NOT staying onsite at a Disney property

Our current plans:
- Will NOT be riding Flight of Passage, Na’vi River Journey, Kali River Rapids or Rafiki's Planet Watch
- We ARE interested in all other rides/attractions, including the animal trails
- Would like to do Kilimanjaro Safaris first
- For lunch, we are bringing packed meals - For dinner, we will eat at Flame Tree BBQ

Our questions:
- What should we use our Fast Passes on, and at what times?
- How should we plan our itinerary to minimize excess walking/backtracking?
- Any attractions that we should avoid/skip?

Thanks in advance for your help!

- Use your FP+ on Safari, Everest, and Festival of Lion King, Primeval Whirl or Rivers of Light if you're staying to watch that. Myself, I like to minimize walking, so I would head straight back for the safari first. Then do the Gorilla trail. Then, catch the Festival of Lion King show.
- Head up to the rest of the park, going through the Discovery Island trail. Catch the revamped bird show (formerly Flights of Wonder).
- Enter Asia. Use your FP+ for Everest if desired. Definitely check out the Maharajah Jungle Trek (allow ample time, we spent well over an hour here, it fascinated my children).
- Check out Nemo show.
- Head to DinoLand. Do the rides, let the kids have ample time to play at the playground there (a good 20-30 minutes, they're the perfect ages!) while you guys take a break. You could try Dinosaur, but again, YouTube it first. It's dark, loud and can be very scary.
- Head back towards Discovery Island for your supper and It's Tough to Be a Bug (if they kids can do it).
- Even if you're not going on the rides, definitely at least walk through Pandora.
- Finish your day with Rivers of Light

 

[Aggiedoug02]

Some of it depends on the kids height and ride preferences, and also Mom/Dad's interest in riding something alone. Everest and Primeval Whirl are 44" height requirement and Dinosaur is 40". Dinosaur can be pretty rough and is very dark, so keep that in mind. Without Pandora, Everest and Dinosaur are probably the only two FP needs.

Starting with the Safari is a great idea, especially with skipping Pandora. We didn't get a lot of mileage out of the trails with our boys (5 & 7) or the Flights of Wonder (bird show). If the new version with Up characters is out when you go, that would be worth a shot. Festival of the Lion King is a must do for us and like an earlier poster said, catch the first show if you can - crowds will be better. Nemo is good - more of a play than the Lion King show. The Boneyard in Dinoland is a big playground/digging area - we always end up spending more time there than I expect. Its a good break for the kids to just be able to run around, though it feels easy to lose them in the main area. Younger kids might like Triceratops Spin - basically Dumbo with very short waits. We enjoy Its Tough to be a Bug, but there's always at least one terrified, crying kid in each show.

We always enjoy meeting characters. There are a few unique to the park, Timon, Russell/Dug(?). I've read Flik and Baloo/King Louie are leaving to be replaced by Duck Tales. Your older one might enjoy Wilderness Explorers - stations set up around the park with short conservation messages.

At night, we found Rivers of Light just OK, but usually enjoy watching a few of the tree awakenings before leaving.

For us, Animal Kingdom barely makes it as a full day park, even working in Pandora (or Rafiki's Planet Watch in previous years), but that's not always a bad thing with younger kids.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

Also, remember lots of water and sunscreen, for some reason AK is always much hotter then any other park, and in June it’ll be like standing on the surface of the sun.

 

[TravelingTotMom]

With kids those ages, you might want to consider using a FP+ for Adventurers Outpost, where you meet Mickey and Minnie together.

My almost four year old could spend hours at the Boneyard, so plan time for that. Make sure you go up and across the bridge (that goes over the main park walkway). On that side there’s a big fossil themed digging area that’s a hit with kids. It’s also semi-shaded and will have misters on when it’s hot.

Also, if neither of your kids will ride Everest, use the single rider line for the adults. It moves quickly and you would have to take turns anyway. If only the six year old will ride, get a FP+ for them and one adult, and use rider swap (everyone in the group goes to the line entrance and asks for it. One adult and the six year old ride while the other parent waits with the four year old). The first parent will be given essentially a paper fast pass at the second FP+ check point, which the waiting parent can then use when the first two are done riding. Using the pass the six year old can ride again with the second parent. If all four want to ride/meet the height requirement, then get FP+ for everyone.