Waymark
Attraction Orlando — Walt Disney World, USA

Disney's Animal Kingdom: Half Zoo, Half Theme Park, Entirely Its Own Thing

A day in the largest theme park in the world — a real African safari, the floating mountains of Pandora, an Everest coaster and animal trails that reward slowing down.

Disney's Animal Kingdom: Half Zoo, Half Theme Park, Entirely Its Own Thing
Photo: Jedi94 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Duration
1 day
Distance
10 km
Difficulty
Easy
Best season
Year-round (best October–April)
Print day cards

Animal Kingdom is the largest theme park in the world by area, and the strangest of Disney’s four Orlando gates in the best way: it is half accredited zoo, half theme park, and fully committed to both. Real lions, gorillas, tigers and a savanna full of giraffes live here alongside a flight over an alien planet and a coaster through the Himalayas, and the whole park is built around a conservation message it actually means.

The rhythm of this park is different, and fighting it is the classic first-timer mistake. The animals are most active in the cool of the morning, so the day runs opposite to instinct: animals early, rides and shows in the heat.

How the day flows. Arrive at opening and go one of two ways: sprint to Pandora for Avatar Flight of Passage — the park’s biggest queue — or head straight to Kilimanjaro Safaris while the savanna is awake and moving. Either way, do the other before noon. Spend the hot middle of the day in the walking trails, the shows and the shaded paths around the Tree of Life — the park’s 44-meter icon, carved with hundreds of animals. Asia’s thrills fill the afternoon: Expedition Everest for the coaster, Kali River Rapids when getting soaked is a feature. Save a slow lap of Pandora for late in the day, when the landscape begins to glow.

Good to know:

Tips & Insights for this route Planning this route? Read our practical tips before you go — 12 tips. Read the tips
Download waypoints (GPX) Points of interest in walking order — not a trail trace.

Day by day

DayDistanceAscentDescentWalking time
Day 1 Hardest daySavanna, alien moon, mountain, jungle
Distance10 kmAscentNot recordedDescentNot recordedWalking timeNot recorded

Flights on Kayak Car rental on Localrent Travel eSIM on Airalo

Day 1

Savanna, alien moon, mountain, jungle

Discovery Island, at the Tree of Life → DinoLand U.S.A. 10 km
Navigate this day Print day

From Discovery Island out to Pandora, then Africa while the savanna is active, Asia for the afternoon thrills, and the Dinosaur corner to finish.

Segments

  1. Discovery Island
    Discovery Island 1.5 km Map

    Park entrance through The Oasis → Tree of Life gardens

    Paved park paths and shaded trails

    The hub of the park is an island around the Tree of Life, a 44-meter sculpted tree with around 300 animals carved into its trunk and roots — walk the quiet trails at its base to find them, and duck inside for the It's Tough to be a Bug 3D show. Every land radiates from here, so you will cross this island all day; the discovery is in doing it slowly at least once.

    About this place

    Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park is a zoological theme park at Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando. Owned and operated by the Walt Disney Company through its Experiences division, it was the largest theme park in the world upon opening, covering 580 acres (230 ha). The park is themed around the natural world through both real-life and imagined representations of animals and locations.

    Read more on Wikipedia Photo: Jedi94 · CC BY-SA 4.0
  2. Pandora — The World of Avatar
    Pandora — The World of Avatar 2 km Map

    Discovery Island bridge → Valley of Mo'ara

    Paved themed-land paths

    The valley from the Avatar films, rendered with floating mountains overhead and plants that glow after dark. Avatar Flight of Passage is the anchor — a flight on the back of a banshee that regularly tops best-ride lists and queues accordingly — while Na'vi River Journey is a gentle glowing boat ride the whole family boards. Walk it in daylight, then return at night for the bioluminescence.

    About this place

    Pandora – The World of Avatar is a themed area inspired by James Cameron's Avatar located within Disney's Animal Kingdom theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando. Set generations into the future after the events of the Avatar films, the area is based upon the fictional habitable exomoon, Pandora, and features Pandora's floating mountains, alien wildlife, and bioluminescent plants. Spanning 12 acres (4.9 ha), Pandora – The World of Avatar includes two major attractions, Avatar Flight of Passage and Na'vi River Journey, as well as retail and dining outlets.

    Read more on Wikipedia Photo: elisfkc from Orlando, FL, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0
  3. Africa
    Africa 2.5 km Map

    Pandora → Harambe village

    Paved paths and unpaved walking trails

    Built around the East African port town of Harambe, this is the zoo half of the park at full power. Kilimanjaro Safaris drives open-sided trucks through a genuine savanna of giraffes, elephants, lions and rhinos — go early, when the animals move. The Gorilla Falls trail walks you past silverbacks at close range, and Festival of the Lion King is the best stage show on Disney property.

    About this place

    Kilimanjaro Safaris is a safari attraction at Disney's Animal Kingdom on the Walt Disney World Resort property in Bay Lake, Florida. It simulates an open-sided safari ride through the savanna of East Africa.

    Read more on Wikipedia Photo: Michael Lowin · CC BY-SA 3.0
  4. Asia
    Asia 2.5 km Map

    Harambe village → Anandapur riverside

    Paved paths and unpaved walking trails

    The kingdom of Anandapur holds the park's thrill anchor: Expedition Everest, a coaster into the mountain that runs backward through the dark after the Yeti breaks the track. Kali River Rapids is a whitewater raft ride that soaks someone on every raft, and the Maharajah Jungle Trek wanders past tigers, gibbons and a bat house through crumbling palace ruins.

    About this place

    Expedition Everest – Legend of the Forbidden Mountain, also known as Expedition Everest, is a steel roller coaster built by Vekoma at Disney's Animal Kingdom at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida. The ride is themed around the Yeti protecting the Forbidden Mountain next to Mount Everest. It is the only roller coaster at Disney's Animal Kingdom, and the tallest roller coaster at any Disney theme park.

    Read more on Wikipedia Photo: HarshLight from San Jose, CA, USA · CC BY 2.0
  5. DinoLand U.S.A. & Dinosaur
    DinoLand U.S.A. & Dinosaur 1.5 km Map

    Anandapur riverside → DinoLand U.S.A.

    Paved park paths

    The park's roadside-Americana dinosaur corner, anchored by Dinosaur — a rough-and-tumble dark ride in the dark that is scarier than its cartoon exterior suggests. Disney has announced plans to re-theme this area, so treat it as a land in transition and check what is operating when you visit; if the classic ride is still running, it is worth one last trip back to the Cretaceous.

    About this place

    Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park is a zoological theme park at Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando. Owned and operated by the Walt Disney Company through its Experiences division, it was the largest theme park in the world upon opening, covering 580 acres (230 ha). The park is themed around the natural world through both real-life and imagined representations of animals and locations.

    Read more on Wikipedia Photo: Jedi94 · CC BY-SA 4.0

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