Animal Kingdom

Purpose of our park coverage

This book’s coverage of the Animal Kingdom should be treated like a “with little kids” supplement to a guide book covering the park. There is so much you need to know about the Animal Kingdom that this book doesn’t cover.

But other guides neglect many of the questions parents with little kids have and this chapter zooms in on those questions.

Short Overview

The Animal Kingdom is like a Disney zoo plus rides. The center is giant man-made tree

Attractions

The major attractions are broken up into 3 sections:

  1. Good for little kids
  2. Borderline for little kids
  3. Bad for little kids

Good for Little Kids

Kilimanjaro Safari

Truck tour of African animals. A little bumpy. The wait without a Fastpass might be long.

Triceratop Spin

Dumbo-like ride. If it would be scary for your child, they’ll probably know by just looking at it.

Flights of Wonder

Bird show, no worries.

Pangini Forest Exploration Trail

Self guided zoo trail, no worries.

Maharajah Jungle Trek

Self guided zoo trail, no worries.

Rafiki’s Planet Watch

Train ride to Conservation Station to learn about caring for the animals. Also a petting zoo.

Only concern might be that this area is isolated and you have to ride a train to get back to the rest of the park.

The Boneyard

Kid’s playground, no worries.

Finding Nemo: The Musical

Seated performance, no worries.

Festival of the Lion King

Seated performance. Audience members asked for volunteers.

Borderline for Little Kids

Kali River Rapids

38 inch height requirement.

Circular raft ride in a river. Expect to get totally soaked.

Adults can rider switch1

Bad for Little Kids

A Bug’s life

Theater show with intense effects of bugs crawling on/around. This could easily terrify little kids, and it can be difficult to leave because of the crowded seating.

Dinosaur

40 inch height requirement.

Dark ride with very scary for little kids dinosaur effects. It’s also a jerky ride.

You can wait in line with your kids then do rider switch on this ride.

Adults can rider switch2

Expedition Everest

44 inch height requirement.

Roller coaster with a scary Yeti theme. If somehow your kid is tall enough, it’s still too scary for them.

Adults can rider switch3

Primeval Whirl

48 inch height requirement.

  1. Rider switch allows parents to wait in line with their kids and swap which parent watches the kid while the other parent rides the ride.↩
  2. Rider switch allows parents to wait in line with their kids and swap which parent watches the kid while the other parent rides the ride.↩
  3. Rider switch allows parents to wait in line with their kids and swap which parent watches the kid while the other parent rides the ride.↩