** This post about Animal Kingdom contains affiliate links. Floradise is compensated for purchases made through these links at no additional cost to you. Thanks for supporting Floradise!
Animal Kingdom was the perfect way to celebrate our 8th wedding anniversary. We thoroughly enjoyed the park when we last visited in 2017, so we knew we wanted to go back.
This time, we visited Animal Kingdom with 2 kids, but it was just as fun.
Of course, we timed our arrival for park opening. It was easy to get to the park from Disney’s All Star Sports Resort using the shuttle bus.
In September, when we visited, it was hot and humid in Florida, so we dressed in shorts, tank tops or T-shirts, and comfortable shoes. We also brought along the misting fan and small handheld fans for the girls. These are a must! If you have a souvenir cup from the resort or a reusable cup, bring that, too.
The Disney My Experience app was helpful in making sure we were able to go on all the rides and see all the shows we wanted. The Lion King show was high on my list because we hadn’t seen it the last time we visited, and we were able to secure a spot in one of the shows with a Fast Pass, which meant no wait.
We began the day by riding the Kali River Rapids ride, which was fun and thrilling but maybe could have waited until later in the day. I recommend bringing a poncho if you want to do this ride early so that you don’t have to walk around in wet clothing. There are lockers near the ride where you can store your belongings. (We paid $4 to store our things.)
The Disney app was also helpful when it comes to ordering food. We had no wait for lunch at one of the restaurants. For dinner, we went to Rainforest Cafe, which is actually not inside the park. We parked our stroller outside the restaurant and discovered it was missing when we left. We had to go back to guest services to get a new stroller, which was a hassle, so I recommend figuring out where to park ahead of time, or visiting another restaurant that is inside the park instead.
Pandora was amazing. My husband and daughter enjoyed the 3D ride experience, and I thought the Na’Vi River Journey was lovely for the whole family. Pandora has amazing backdrops for photos. The Lightning Lane for the Avatar Flight of Passage is an additional $10 per person, though, but the wait times without that pass are beyond 70 minutes, according to the app.
The safari is our favorite experience, and it was no different on this visit. We love seeing the animals.
We also stopped by the Animation Experience, which was a nice way to spend some time. We were guided in a drawing class by an expert in which we drew the shark from “Finding Nemo.” I thought it was a pleasant experience, though I wish we could have met Rafiki there as well. During our previous visit, Rafiki had a meet and greet at the Conservation Station, but apparently that ended years ago.
Overall, Animal Kingdom was just as fun with two kids as it was with one. The smaller crowds make it easier to get around as well.
