Animal Kingdom Wait Times

The one-minute version: be at the gate 30–45 minutes before opening and ride Avatar Flight of Passage first. Waits peak from late morning to mid-afternoon — do shows and meals then. The final hour is often as quiet as rope drop. There is no headline evening show, so the final operating hour is usually the quietest time to ride.

Usually not worth it: Save your money.

4 rides open, 17 closed · average posted wait 0 min.

Closed right now: Animal Care at Conservation Station, Avatar Flight of Passage, Bluey's Wild World at Conservation Station, Discovery Island Trails, Expedition Everest - Legend of the Forbidden Mountain, Expedition Everest - Legend of the Forbidden Mountain Single Rider, Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail, Jumping Junction, Kali River Rapids, Kilimanjaro Safaris, Meet Favorite Disney Pals at Adventurers Outpost, Meet Moana at Character Landing, Na'vi River Journey, The Oasis Exhibits, Wilderness Explorers, Wildlife Express Train, Zootopia: Better Zoogether!.

Posted waits as of 1:55 AM park time, refreshed every few minutes. Posted waits are the park’s own figures via Queue-Times.com. Plan around them in the app →

From the park’s published schedule. Hours change, and evening events can close the park to day guests early — check with the park before you go.

Queues here follow a predictable daily shape. Lines are shortest in the first hour and the last, and peak 12 PM–2 PM — that is the window to spend on shows, meals or indoor attractions rather than headliners.

Typical shape of a Animal Kingdom day, shown as each hour's share of that day's own peak wait. Actual minutes vary by season and day of week — check today's live waits.

Be at the gate 30–45 minutes before opening and ride in this order. Flight of Passage is the only genuinely brutal line here, and the safari is a better ride in the first two hours while the animals are still active.

1. Avatar Flight of Passage
2. Expedition Everest
3. Kilimanjaro Safaris
4. Na'vi River Journey

The first hour is the cheapest capacity of the day — no pass, no fee, and typically the shortest waits you will see.

Red = busiest, green = quietest, grey = moderate.

Busiest: March, April, June, July and December

Expect the year's longest waits during spring break, summer and the Christmas holidays.

Quietest: January, February, May and September

The best value for short lines is January, February, May weekdays and September.

Usually not worth it

Save your money. Animal Kingdom has one attraction that builds a punishing line and a short operating day; rope drop Flight of Passage and the rest of the park is comfortable without paying. This is the day to skip Lightning Lane on a Walt Disney World trip.

Price: roughly $15–$30 per person/day · usually the least needed at WDW. Prices change often and by date — treat this as a range, not a quote.

Maben Parks shows every wait live with a "vs typical" marker, and your magical fairy will run the numbers for your party and date — including telling you to keep your money when the answer is no.

Typical midday standby waits on a moderate day. See today's live waits →

• Rope drop: at the gate 30–45 minutes early, straight to Avatar Flight of Passage.
• The last hour: often the day's shortest waits — if you are in line at close, you ride.
• Show windows: evening hours thin out steadily after dinner.
• Live data: a wait 15+ minutes below its typical level is a "go now" signal — Maben Parks flags these automatically.

We detect long closures automatically from the live feed — a ride reporting closed all day, for three operating days running, is down for something structural. This park's archive is still filling; the list appears here as soon as there is enough history to be sure.

Planning more than one day? These share the resort — and usually the crowd calendar. All Disney World wait times on one page →