Disney’s Animal Kingdom – our first Walt Disney World trip from Australia
Day 4 of our very first trip to Walt Disney World – from Australia! Plus – use our discount ticket promo code
Disney’s Animal Kingdom
We recently explored all four of the major Walt Disney World theme parks in Florida for the very first time.
Our first theme park was the stunning Magic Kingdom , then Disney’s Hollywood Studios and EPCOT. In this article we’ll be turning our attention to our fourth Walt Disney World park choice of our USA trip – the totally wild Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park!
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Where can I buy discounted Walt Disney World tickets online?
Firstly, if you’re planning your own Aussie family holiday trip to Walt Disney World, we have a tickets discount promocode for you!
Australia and New Zealand new Klook purchases booking tickets online to Walt Disney World in Orlando can use our LETSGOMUM20 promocode at checkout and save *USD$20! (you must click on the following link for the promocode to work!):
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The Tree of Life at Disney’s Animal Kingdom
What is Disney’s Animal Kingdom?
Disney’s Animal Kingdom is a zoological Disney theme park located in Orlando, Florida. It features animal-themed displays, rides and attractions. Part amusement park, part zoo, Disney’s Animal Kingdom has a special focus on Asia and Africa, plus the movie themed Pandora – the World of Avatar and DinoLand USA.
Disney’s Animal Kingdom
Whilst there isn’t as many rides as you will find in the other Walt Disney World parks, the quality animal attractions more than make up for it. Plus several of the rides they have are pretty amazing! Disney’s Animal Kingdom is a really unique and fun Disney park to include in your Walt Disney World vacation plans!
Collect stickers as you learn about animals
Which is the biggest Disney Park in the world?
Disney’s Animal Kingdom is the biggest Disney park in the world. Indeed, Disney’s Animal Kingdom also takes the title of the largest theme park in the world too! Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park covers a massive 580 acres. It was the fourth park to be opened at Walt Disney World in 1998, and is the most recent of the four big Walt Disney World theme parks.
Walt Disney World’s Africa
What are the best rides in Disney’s Animal Kingdom?
Everyone has their favourite Disney rides but as this was our first visit to Disney’s Animal Kingdom so we tried them all for the very first time! Our pick for the four top Disney’s Animal Kingdom rides were:
1. Avatar Flight of Passage
The Avatar Flight of Passage ride
Avatar Flight of Passage has to be one of my personal top Disney ride favourites of all time – climb aboard your very own breathing Banshee and soar across the land of Pandora.
This flight ride is as realistic as it gets, and is stunningly beautiful to boot! With the breeze in your face and the seemingly endless Pandora landscape stretching out in front of you, it’s hard not to want to just continue on and explore more with your diving, dodging Banshee.
Avoid the long queues in the middle of the day as this is the most popular ride at Animal Kingdom. You can buy a Lightning Lane pass if you’re short on time, but whatever you do, don’t miss the Avatar Flight of Passage ride.
2. Expedition Everest – Legend of the Forbidden Mountain
Expedition Everest – Legend of the Forbidden Mountain
Expedition Everest – Legend of the Forbidden Mountain is a steep, fast roller coaster that kind of got me by surprise. It had broken down and we almost missed it, but luckily decided to circle back just as it came back online (I may or may not have noticed them sending a test carriage run through!). We got to board straight away, letting the first ride go so that we could sit in the front row – it didn’t disappoint!
Expedition Everest – Legend of the Forbidden Mountain
Expedition Everest – Legend of the Forbidden Mountain is a really fun, strongly themed thrill ride. Your runaway train is high up on a mountain dodging a massive Yeti – will you escape?! With a few fun surprises along the way including a big drop to scream down, this top Disney roller coaster experience is easy to fall in love with. That said, it’s certainly not for the little ones – or the faint hearted!
3. Dinosaur
The Dinosaur ride
If you love the Disney Indiana Jones Adventure ride then you’ll love Dinosaur – because it’s a similar ride with a different theme! The Dinosaur ride originally opened with the park in 1998. I was sorry to hear rumours that it is to be replaced soon because it really is an epic ride with a fun story plot, if a little more dated than your average ride.
DinoLand USA
The Dinosaur ride theme is an engaging one – you’re a paleontologist trying to save a dinosaur before the big meteor hits – hang on tight to your jeep because it’s going to be a bumpy, sometimes scary, dark ride!
4. Na’vi River Journey
Na’vi River Journey
A completely different pace to all of the other rides, Na’vi River Journey is a gentle drift down a river that feels like a scene straight out of Avatar – the peaceful scenes, that is! Surrounded by floating neon spores and bioluminescent rainforest, it’s a lovely experience. Unfortunately on the day we rode it the main attraction, the animatronic Shaman of Songs near the end, was broken down. It was replaced with the Plan B video screen version – but you can’t win them all! This is a lovely family-friendly ride that everyone will enjoy.
Special Mention…
An extra mention here goes to Kilimanjaro Safaris. Not exactly a ride so much as a safari tour, I love the way Disney has themed this real animal tour to feel like an adventure expedition into Africa.
Kilimanjaro Safaris truck
You’ll get to see lots of different wild animals as your large truck conveys you along a dirt track. It’s an exciting, if a little bumpy tour of the African Savannah that’s really enjoyable.
Kilimanjaro Safaris was lots of fun!
I’m not still not quite sure how they got the two rhinos to have a face off in front of our truck though! We recommend Kilimanjaro Safaris as a must-do at Animal Kingdom.
A rhino on Kilimanjaro Safaris
Disney’s Animal Kingdom Genie+ & Lightning Lane pass
Disney’s Animal Kingdom Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail
What are Genie+ and Lightning Lane passes?
These extra-cost digital fast passes use a separate ride entry with a shorter path to by-pass the normal stand-by lines. This will fast-track you to the head of the standby ride queue. Download the My Disney Experience app for free in the Apple Store or on Google Play to buy fast passes.
How early can I buy Disney’s Animal Kingdom fast passes?
Genie+ passes – All guests can buy Genie+ on the Walt Disney World My Disney Experience app from 7am on the morning of your visit. You don’t have to be at the actual parks to buy it.
Lightning Lane pay to ride (only currently available for Avatar Flight of Passage) – If you are a Disney hotel guest then you get early access from 7am on the morning of your visit to buy individual Lightning Lane Entrance on the Walt Disney World My Disney Experience app. Other guests must wait until the park opens to buy them.
This boat is carrying Disney characters!
How much is Animal Kingdom’s Genie+?
Disney’s Animal Kingdom’s Genie+ was USD$25 per person the day we visited – a Friday on the 2nd of June 2023.
How much is Avatar Flight of Passage Lightning Lane?
It costs about USD$20 per person to buy Lightning Lane access for Avatar Flight of Passage which is currently the only pay-to-ride ride at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
Pandora – the World of Avatar
Is there a fireworks show at Disney’s Animal Kingdom?
No, there is not a fireworks show at Disney’s Animal Kingdom so as not to frighten the animals. There was a Tree of Life Awakenings projection show however that seems to have closed around February of 2023. There is currently no night show listed on the Disney Website for Disney’s Animal Kingdom, however you can view the beautifully lit, colourful Pandora area, and the Tree of Life is also lit at night.
How do I buy Walt Disney World tickets online?
Klook sells Walt Disney World tickets
Purchase your Walt Disney World tickets on Klook. Klook is a registered Walt Disney World ticket reseller who offer discounted tickets.
Quick, easy and cheap, Klook is the best way to buy Walt Disney World tickets online, and you can do it all from your armchair at home or work!
Is there a Walt Disney World promo code?
Yes! Australian and New Zealand purchases get *USD$20 off Walt Disney World tickets if you’re new to Klook by using our promocode: LETSGOMUM20 at checkout!
Book tickets online to Walt Disney World in Orlando
*$200 minimum purchase
We loved visiting Disney’s Animal Kingdom
We really enjoyed visiting Disney’s Animal Kingdom. There was so much to do we actually ran out of time doing all the fun activities there! Disney’s Animal Kingdom is a fantastic Disney theme park that is totally unique and well-worth a visit.
If you enjoyed reading this article, please consider giving it a Facebook “Like”, share or we’d love to hear about your own Disney experiences in the comments below!
You may also like to read these other Walt Disney World blogs:
How buy Walt Disney World tickets from Australia
Our Australian family Walt Disney World trip – Magic Kingdom
Our Australian family Walt Disney World trip – Disney’s Hollywood Studios
Our Australian family Walt Disney World trip – EPCOT
3 Walt Disney World theme park hacks for your Australian family holiday
Disclaimers: Let’s Go Mum may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you with bookings made with Klook
The Let’s Go Mum family partnered with Disney & Klook for this Walt Disney World trip. As always, all opinions are our own.
All prices and times quoted were correct at September 2023, the time of publishing this article, but can change frequently. Please always re-check for current prices.
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