Animal Kingdom Itinerary With Small Kids- Best Rides, Characters, Dining

If you’re starting to feel like your day at Animal Kingdom with your small child is going to be a little too wild, don’t worry. There’s plenty of offerings at the park for your little one to enjoy, making it a great place to have a fun and magical day.

As a frequent visitor of Walt Disney World, and a mother of two, I’ve taken many trips to Animal Kingdom with little ones in tow. Today, I’m going to help you plan an itinerary that’s going to lead to a fantastic day for you and your child.

Follow along for tips, ride strategies, dining suggestions, and insight on the best activities to do with little ones at Animal Kingdom.

Getting Ready for Your Trip

One of the best things about planning a Walt Disney World vacation is that many things can be done in advance. By taking care of the following tasks ahead of time, you can set yourself up for a successful day at Animal Kingdom with your little one.

• In order to enter the park, you’ll need valid theme park tickets. We recommend purchasing your Walt Disney World tickets from Get Away Today. When buying from Get Away Today, you’ll be met with wonderful customer service and tickets at the best price possible. Tickets are only required for Guests ages 3 and over. If your child is 2 years or younger, they can visit Animal Kingdom for free!
• After you’ve purchased tickets, you’ll want to download the My Disney Experience app. This app has an abundance of tools that will help make your vacation go as smoothly as possible. On the app, you’ll be able to access your tickets, manage reservations, mobile order food, checkout your own merchandise, check wait times, view PhotoPass photos,  and manage Lightning Lane Passes.
• It’s also a great idea to familiarize yourself with the park ahead of time. Park hours, maps, entertainment schedules, menus, and information about the different rides and attractions can be found on the Walt Disney World website and on the My Disney Experience app.
• Advanced reservations can also be made on the app and are highly recommended. Reservations can be made for dining, Enchanting Extras, and rides. Dining reservations and most Enchanting Extras can be booked 60 days in advance. Rides can be booked ahead of time by purchasing Lightning Lane Passes. Guests staying at Walt Disney World Resort hotels can make Lightning Lane Pass selections 7 days in advance. All other Guests can purchase their Lightning Lane Passes 3 days in advance.

Starting Your Day

When visiting Animal Kingdom with your little one, you’re going to want to take advantage of the early morning hours for a number of reasons. Firstly, small children generally wake up energized and ready for the day. Don’t waste this energy! Kids tend to do their best at Disney in the morning, since the day eventually catches up to them, resulting in the need for naps and breaks.

I always like to feed my children breakfast before we get to the park. By doing so, we don’t take up valuable park time to eat and can start having fun as soon as we arrive. Your child can eat breakfast in the hotel room while everyone is getting ready for the day, at a Walt Disney World Resort hotel restaurant, or while you’re on your way to the park.

Food is something that you’re going to want to keep track of throughout the day. The heat and activities of the day are sure to wear your little ones out quicker than normal. It’s important to have snacks on hand to help keep tummies full and cranky attitudes away. Before you head out for the day, make sure that you pack plenty of snacks in your park bag.

Another reason to get an early start on your day is the park hours. Unlike the other Walt Disney World theme parks, Animal Kingdom isn’t open late into the night. Generally, Animal Kingdom is only open until 6:00pm. Occasionally, the park will remain open until 8:00pm. Since you won’t be at the park late into the night, it’s a great idea to get as much done as possible with the time that’s available.

Get to the Park Early

After your little one is all set and ready for the day, it’s time to head to Animal Kingdom! Since you’re wanting to get as much done as possible, you’re going to want to get into the park as early as you can. We call this rope dropping. To rope drop, you’ll arrive at the park right before park opening, so you can enter as soon as it opens up for the day.

Guests staying on property at a Walt Disney World Resort hotel have the additional perk of Early Theme Park Entry. This means that Hotel Guests can enter the park 30 minutes before it opens up to the general public. While this doesn’t seem like a lot of time, it is a great way to get some popular rides and attractions done before long lines start forming. If you and your little one are staying on property, I highly recommend taking advantage of this great hotel perk.

Not sure which hotel to stay at with your kiddo? Take a look at our article “Top 5 Disney World Hotels for Kids” to find out our recommendations. In it, we discuss things such as the pools, theming, transportation, dining, and why these hotels are great for little ones!

Making a Plan

Each family’s Animal Kingdom itinerary may vary, since multiple factors are considered. When planning out the day for you and your kiddo, you’ll want to think about your child’s interests, their height, and the popularity of the ride. I also like to consider the location of the rides and attractions when planning out my day. It saves time if you can do multiple activities that are in close proximity to each other, rather than taking the time to go back and forth across the park.

That being said, there are only a select number of rides that little ones are able to ride at Animal Kingdom. However, this doesn’t mean that they can’t have a fantastic day at Animal Kingdom. There are many activities, animal encounters, entertainment options, and character experiences that children love as well. We’ll take a look at all of Animal Kingdom’s offerings to help you plan the best itinerary for you and your child.

Morning Itinerary – Top Priorities

Currently, there are only three rides that small children can ride at Animal Kingdom – Na’vi River Journey, Kilimanjaro Safaris, and DINOSAUR. Since there are very few selections available for children, I wouldn’t recommend purchasing Lightning Lane Passes for your day at Animal Kingdom. Instead, I would simply strategize the order that you do things in.

Out of these three rides, Na’vi River Journey and Kilimanjaro Safaris are the most popular. I would personally choose Kilimanjaro Safaris as your rope drop ride. That means, this is the first ride that you should head to upon entering the park.

The Most Popular Rides for Kids

On Kilimanjaro Safaris, Guests are taken out in an open-aired vehicle for a guided tour of the African savanna. As you venture through the 110 acres of land on this 18 minute expedition, you’ll have the opportunity to see over 30 species of live animals. While on your safari, you may see giraffes, lions, elephants, rhinos, hippos, zebras, painted dogs, crocodiles, cheetahs, and more!

Another reason that I recommend making this your first ride of the day is because the animals are more active during two parts of the day – early morning and late afternoon. During the later morning and afternoon hours, the animals often retreat to their habitats or are seen napping as they avoid the Florida heat. Since you’ll want to ride this ride before it accumulates long lines, it’s best to see the animals first thing in the morning.

After you’ve finished Kilimanjaro Safaris, you’ll want to head over to Pandora – The World of Avatar. Here, you’ll take a luminous boat ride on Na’vi River Journey. While this ride is breathtakingly beautiful and great for kids, it’s not one that I consider worth standing in a long line for. That being said, it does accumulate extremely long lines. Therefore, it’s important that you get it done early in the morning before the crowds of the day start to fill up the queue.

DINOSAUR

The other ride that children may be able to ride at Animal Kingdom is DINOSAUR. There is a 40” height requirement for this ride, so not all children will be able to ride. If your child is tall enough and wants to go on this exciting adventure back in time, make sure this is a ride that’s suitable for them.

DINOSAUR is a fast-paced ride that is known to be rough and jerky. It can also be scary for some kids since it’s very dark, loud, and features large, ferocious looking dinosaur animatronics. If your child is easily frightened, I would recommend skipping the ride.

However, if your kiddo doesn’t shy away from these kinds of things, this can be an extremely fun ride for them. Both of my children have been riding DINOSAUR from a very young age and have had no issues with it at all.

Animal Kingdom Lunch for Small Children

Since there’s more fun to be had at Animal Kingdom, I suggest heading to a quick service restaurant at lunchtime. By doing so, you’ll have more time to enjoy the park. There are two quick service restaurants at Animal Kingdom where children can easily find food to suit their taste buds – Pizzafari and Restaurantosaurus.

At Pizzafari, little ones can sink their teeth into Cheese or Pepperoni Pizza, Pasta with Turkey Marinara Sauce, a PB&J Uncrustable, or Macaroni & Cheese. At Restaurantosaurus, they can enjoy an Impossible Burger, a Cheeseburger, Chicken Strips, or Macaroni & Cheese.

For dessert, both restaurants serve cupcakes. Delicious milkshakes are also available at Restaurantosaurus.

More Ways to Have Fun

When your little one needs to burn off some steam, head to The Boneyard for some fun outdoor play. This large play area, which is themed to a dinosaur dig, has rope bridges, slides, and caves. At The Boneyard, kids can run around, play, and even visit a dig site! There are plenty of Triceratops and T-Rex fossils for kiddos to excavate. While the children are playing, adults can relax and keep cool in the seating area that has large fans and plenty of shade.

For more fun, climb aboard the Wilderness Express Train and take an exciting behind-the-scenes ride to Rafiki’s Planet Watch. Here, little ones can get up close and personal with animals at the Affection Section petting zoo. While at Rafiki’s Planet Watch, you and your child can also take part in an art class. At The Animation Experience, a Disney animator gives Guests step-by-step instructions on how to draw a Disney character.

To see more exotic animals in their natural habitat, you can visit the Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail and the Maharajah Jungle Trek. Besides gorillas, during your walk through Gorilla Falls, you’ll also see animals such as hippos, zebras, and meerkats. On the Maharajah Jungle Trek, there are gibbons, Eld’s deer, blackbuck, Komodo dragons, water buffalo, flying fox, and over 50 species of birds.

Entertainment

At Animal Kingdom, there’s a variety of entertainment that small kids are sure to enjoy. You won’t want to miss out on the two stage shows that are based off of popular Disney and Pixar films.

Festival of the Lion King is a high energy show that retells the story of The Lion King. This show is filled with singing, dancing, acrobatics, pyro, and beautiful African-inspired costumes. During Festival of the Lion King, you’ll see familiar faces such as Timon, Pumbaa, and Simba!

During Finding Nemo: The Big Blue… and Beyond!, you go on an aquatic journey with the characters of Finding Nemo. The story is retold on stage with large puppets, animated backdrops, and songs. This recently renovated show includes songs from its previous version as well as brand new numbers. 

Besides these stage shows, your little one will be able to enjoy some “streetmosphere” with other live musicians. Stop by Africa to enjoy the infectious beat coming from the Tam Tam Drummers of Harambe. At Discovery Island, your little one can join in on a Caribbean street party as the Viva Gaia Street Band plays vibrant, upbeat tunes.

There’s also a fun cinematic experience for little ones to enjoy at Animal Kingdom. Located in the base of The Tree of Life is “It’s Tough to be a Bug!”. This 3D movie, which is inspired by A Bug’s Life, gives Guests an inside view of the life of a bug. Little is left to the imagination with the 3D visuals and special effects. Watch out! There may just be some other bug friends in the theater with you!

Animal Kingdom Dinner for Small Children

Now that your kiddo has had a day full of fun, it’s a great time to stop at one of Animal Kingdom’s full service restaurants for a relaxing dinner. Two restaurants that children love at Animal Kingdom are Rainforest Cafe and Tusker House.

Surrounded by lush plant life, animals, and an occasional rainstorm, you’ll feel as though you’ve been dropped in the middle of a rainforest when dining at Rainforest Cafe. The menu has 12 different entrées for kids, which includes offerings such as Grilled Chicken, Dinosaur-shaped Chicken Nuggets, Popcorn Shrimp, Breaded Fish, Mini Burgers, Pasta, a Chicken Quesadilla, and more. The Rainforest Cafe souvenir cup is also a huge hit with the little ones!

At Tusker House, you and your child can dine with some favorite pals! While you enjoy your meal, friends such as Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, Mickey, and Goofy will be around to visit with you. Food is served buffet style at Tusker House. With a multitude of options, little ones can enjoy foods such as Meatballs, Macaroni & Cheese, Chicken Strips, Broccoli, and Potatoes.

Character Experiences

Beyond the previously mentioned shows and dining experiences, Children can also find other characters throughout Animal Kingdom. Stop by Adventure Outpost to meet Mickey and Minnie in their cute safari gear. At Character Landing, you can meet one of the most adventurous leading ladies – Moana! Plus, Rafiki and Timon can both be met at Conservation Station.

You’ll also want to keep an eye on the waterways! Flotillas occasionally go by with favorite characters on board. In the past, we’ve seen Mickey, Pluto, Donald, Scrooge McDuck, Launchpad McQuack, Pocahontas, and Meeko on the flotillas!

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