Disney World Day One Itinerary – Animal Kingdom
Since we had only half a day at the parks on Sunday, we opted to visit Animal Kingdom. Hakuna Matata!
We arrived to Animal Kingdom at 1:30pm and our first stop was the It’s Tough to Be a Bug! ride.
Next up, the Dinosaur ride. Would you believe, the ride did stop, and we actually had to be escorted off. A great start.
From there we made our way to Kali River Rapids which was a perfect choice because it allowed us to cool off from the intense heat of the afternoon sun.
Wes and I then walked around Maharajah Jungle Trek while Zach headed off to explore Avatar Flight of Passage. Riders must be 44″ or taller for this one, and Wesleigh is not quite there yet.
We met back up at the Na’vi River Journey which was a very tranquil ride, with illuminated flora and fauna from the Avatar series. Definitely a pretty experience.
By then we were starting to get hungry and ready to rest our feet, so we sat for dinner at Tiffins Restaurant. The food was fine, the service was very good. This was pretty consistent across all dining experiences during our trip; the service was friendly and eager, and the food was as you would expect it to be when catering to the masses. I will point out, the iced tea here was delicious. Zach and I each had about 3 refills!
Our last stop at Animal Kingdom was Kilimanjaro Safaris, an 18 minute guided tour through the Harambe Wildlife Reserve. We were able to see lions, giraffes, elephants as well as hippos and more.
Then, we decided to keep the Disney World party going and made our way to Epcot to squeeze in two more rides (Soarin and Ratatouille) and watch the fireworks.
Key Takeaways
- Rent a stroller – store belongings and save your arms from carrying your child around all day.
- If you want to eat anything healthy, bring it with you. Many families had Target groceries delivered to the hotel.
- Genie Lightning Lane is 100% worth it. We used it strategically on the popular rides, which I’ve identified with * symbols.
- Shop for Disney gear in advance. This saved time, money and space in our luggage purchasing Disney branded clothing in advance of the trip. Somehow we were able to steer clear of the shops and she was proud to be wearing her character clothing each day. I’ve shared my tot-friendly finds here and ones for mom here.
For more of my day guides for traveling with kids, be sure to check out my Hamptons suggestions.
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