Animal Kingdom is a developing park at Walt Disney World, with more and more exciting new rides opening up each year. But which are the best rides to Fastpass at Animal Kingdom? Today we break down the rides and look at how Fastpass works at Animal Kingdom and which rides you should prioritise for those fast passes.
How does Fastpass work at Animal Kingdom?
Fastpass allows you to ‘skip the lines’ by booking an hour window for a certain ride, then queuing in a much smaller fast pass ride within that window. This means you can skip waiting in those multiple-hour queues and experience as much of the park as you can.
Similarly to the other Disney World parks, you can book fastpass+ up to 30 days before your visit, or if you are staying at a Disney hotel, you can book your fastpass+ 60 days in advance, giving you a bigger chance of getting that ride you desperately want to ride. This can be booked on the My Disney Experience app or online at the Disney website.
Animal Kingdom Fastpass tiers
In the Animal Kingdom, the rules are a bit different to other parks around the world and Magic Kingdom. You are still able to book three rides each day (and book additional rides once you have used a fast pass that day), however, the rides you book are sorted by Tiers. So you can book one ride from the Tier 1 list and two rides from Tier 2. Generally, if Tier 1 doesn’t book out 60 days in advance then it will in 30 days but you can find the odd one pop up here and there when people are cancelling or modifying their bookings.
Animal Kingdom Fastpass Tier 1 attractions: There are currently only two Tier 1 attractions – Avatar Flight of Passage and Na’vi River Journey.
Best fast passes for Animal Kingdom
Tier 1
- Flight of Passage – If you can get a Fastpass for this ride, book it! It is the best ride in the park and often referred to as the best ride in the whole of Walt Disney World. Lines tend to be around 3 hours whilst rope drop lines often exceed 2 hours.
- Na’vi River Journey – Obviously, if you can’t get a Fastpass for Flight of Passage then get one for Na’vi River Journey. We recommend you book this Fastpass from 10.30 am – 2 pm and arrive at least an hour before rope drop to queue and ride the Flight of Passage.
Tier 2
1. Kilimanjaro Safari – This is one of the best rides in Animal Kingdom other than those in Tier 1. Reservations go quickly for this and lines can get long. We recommend booking this for later in the day – yes, as the day gets hotter, the animals are less active and can be seen relaxing in the heat. However, this attraction is a 20-30 minute ride, so using this in the morning when you could be making the most out of the shorter lines for other rides seems counterproductive.
2. Expedition Everest – This is another popular ride and should be booked up for your Fastpass. The queues can get long for this ride and it is a particularly great roller coaster. However, if you don’t manage to book Fastpass for Everest, they now have a single rider line for those looking to save a bit of time queuing, especially during the early hours of the day.
3. DINOSAUR – this is another popular ride but the queue time really does vary for this ride. It is a great ride and on-the-day fast passes are rare for this ride.
4. Kali River Rapids – This is actually one of our favourite rides and we often book a fast pass for it but it is not always necessary. If you visit in the early hours of the morning, you can experience a very short waiting time for the rapids – remember, a lot of visitors are heading straight to Pandora.
Animal Kingdom attractions that do not need a FastPass:
- Primaeval Whirl
- It’s tough to be a bug!
- Festival of the Lion King
- Finding Nemo – the musical
Animal Kingdom Fastpass tips
- It is best to book your on-the-day FastPass rides from the app on your phone but you can use the physical kiosks at Island Mercantile near the Tree of Life, outside Dawa Bar between Africa and Discovery Island and outside Kali River Rapids.
- Head to the park early and target the rides outside of Pandora to make the most out of the shorter queues.
- Plan your Kilimanjaro safari ride for the afternoon, when you may enjoy a chance to sit down in the shade.
- If you plan on queuing for Flight of Passage after rope drop, do not reserve a Fastpass for at least two hours park opening.
- If you are travelling with young children, you may think about booking a fast pass for Meet Disney Pals at the Adventurer’s Outpost – this is a meet and greet and queues for this are generally longer than they are for any other child-friendly attraction or ride.
Have a great time in Animal Kingdom and tell us which ride you want a FastPass to in the comments below!
Read our guide to the best Magic Kingdom Fastpass rides and plan your Disney World trip!
One comment