Animal Kingdom Fastpass Guide

Deciding what Fastpasses to get can be one of the more difficult decisions while planning a Walt Disney World vacation. There are absolutely rides that should take priority over others. There are rides that are going to have a line every day from the second the park opens until when it is closed. It is important to know which ones you should focus on. Here is your guide to Animal Kingdom Fastpass.

Don’t forget to check out the fastpass guides for the other parks:

Animal Kingdom functions on a tier system. This means you can pick 1 fastpass from tier 1, and then 2 from tier 2.

Animal Kingdom Tier 1 Fastpass Attractions:

- Avatar Flight of Passage
- Na’vi River Journey

Animal Kingdom Tier 2 Fastpass Attractions:

- Kilimanjaro Safaris
- Expedition Everest: Legend of the Foribben Mountain
- DINOSAUR
- Kali River Rapids
- It’s Tough to Be A Bug!
- Primeval Whirl
- Finding Nemo – The Musical
- Festival of the Lion King
- Meet Favorite Disney Pals at Adventurers Outpost
- Up! A Great Bird Adventure
- Rivers of Light

Which Tier 1 Fastpasses should I get at Animal Kingdom?

You should always select a tier 1 fastpass. The order for what to select at Animal Kingdom is:

1. Avatar Flight of Passage
2. Na’vi River Journey

Avatar Flight of Passage has, on average a three hour wait or more. The ride itself is incredible and unlike any other attraction. While you can only pick one of the two rides in Pandora to fastpass in advance, I would make it a high priority not to miss Avatar Flight of Passage.

Which Tier 2 Fastpasses should I get at Animal Kingdom?

Tier 2 choices are a bit different. There are a few that take priority and others that rarely need a fastpass ever. Those that rarely need a fastpass should never be reserved in advanced. You are wasting an advanced fastpass reservation on those rides. Attractions worth reserving in advance are:

1. Expedition Everest
2. Kilimanjaro Safaris
3. Rivers of Light
4. DINOSAUR
5. Kali River Rapids
6. Meet Favorite Disney Pals at Adventurers Outpost
7. Primeval Whirl

I listed these in order from the most recommended to least recommended.

Which rides at Animal Kingdom never need Fastpass?

This is one of those “never say never” situations, but 99% of the time, you won’t need a fastpass for the following attractions:

1. Festival of the Lion King
2. Finding Nemo – The Musical
3. It’s Tough to Be A Bug!

There are a few exceptions to when you might consider using a Fastpass for these rides:

1. The week between Christmas and New Years. Everything is crowded and busy, even rides that are typically walk on attractions such as It’s Tough to Be A Bug! can get a line.
2. Kali River Rapids could be added to this list during the colder months. No one is waiting for a water ride in January when the high for the day is 50 degrees.

Where are the FastPass+ Kiosk Locations at Animal Kingdom?

While most prefer to use My Disney Experience, you do not need a smartphone to make fastpass reservations in the park. You can sometimes make selections at the kiosks quicker and simpler than on your phone too! At the end of the park day, the app usually times out reservations, but more than once we have gone to a kiosk and were able to get a last minute fastpass! You’ll find the kiosks in Animal Kingdom at:

- Discovery Island, on the left near Island Mercantile store
- Asia, by Mandala Gifts, across from Yak & Yeti Bhaktapur Market
- Africa, by Dawa bar and Tusker House, across from Tamu Tamu Refreshments

Tips for Animal Kingdom

Every Disney theme park operates slightly differently as far as finding the best “hacks” to make the most of your day. Here are some of the best tips and tricks for Animal Kingdom:

- Kali River Rapids provides free lockers to use while you are on the ride. This way you can store any items you don’t want to get wet. It is timed and is only meant to be used while on the ride, not for the entire day.
- If you are fastpassing Kali River Rapids, try to plan it for later in the day. This way it is a refreshing break in the hot sun.
- Kilimanjaro Safaris is a unique attraction because it changes every time you are on it. You will see different animals at different points of the day. This makes it a great ride to go on multiple times.
- Expedition Everest has a single rider line. If you are okay with your party being split up, this is typically faster than the standby line and means you can save a fastpass for a different attraction.
- DINOSAUR can be quite scary for young children. It is a thrill ride and takes place in the dark. There are also a lot of scary surprises that might be to much for some kids. The inside rows tend to shake a little less, so put anyone who might be a bit scared in the middle. Check out the Animal Kingdom Ride Guide for a better idea of who should ride.
- Try to rope drop any Pandora attractions you did not get a fastpass for. The order of difficulty for Pandora rides is Avatar Flight of Passage then Na’vi river Journey. That is the order you should attempt to ride the rides in.
- Don’t forget to schedule Avatar Flight of Passage is currently the one of the most difficult fastpasses to get in any of the four theme parks. It will be easier to get a fastpass the later it is into your trip. This means, try and schedule your Animal Kingdom day toward the end of your trip, but schedule those fastpasses first.
- If you don’t get Avatar Flight of Passage you should either rope drop it or add it to the end of your day. Waiting until park closing time means you will miss Rivers of Light so you’ll have to decide which is more important to your family. The wait for this ride can be over 3 hours long on any given day.
- Pandora during the day is beautiful. Pandora at night is breathtaking. There are quite a few things that you will see at different times of the day that you won’t see at other times. If you are planning on spending an entire day at Animal Kingdom, be sure to check out Pandora both during the day and at night.
- If you want to see Rivers of Light and want a guaranteed seat, but don’t want to use a fastpass on it, you can book a Rivers of Light Dining Package instead. This is offered at Tusker House and Tiffins. The other option is to book the Rivers of Light Dessert Party which will give you a special seating area and treats for the show!
- Animal Kingdom has the a lot of thrill rides which means they also have height restrictions. Be sure to review the height requirements before you making fastpass reservations for your family.
- Animal Kingdom is a large park. Normally I suggest having somewhat of a plan for fastpasses so you aren’t running from one end of the park to another. However, Animal Kingdom is spread out so chances are you will end of walking a lot from one attraction to another, regardless of the order of your fastpasses.