In this post, we discuss the best rides (and attractions) for toddlers at Animal Kingdom. Similar to Epcot, Animal Kingdom has limited ride selection for toddlers but plenty of other good attractions and activities that we also cover—so don’t stop reading at the list! We close with a discussion of Genie+ and Lightning Lanes with toddlers at Animal Kingdom.
None of the commentary on this page has to do with how we personally feel about the overall quality of the rides—we keep any commentary focused on whether attractions are suitable for toddlers (informed in part by our experiences with our own toddler). We have a ranking of all the rides at Disney World if you’d like to see our personal assessments.
Recommended Reading
Here are some other posts you might be interested in reading:
We’ve also got a post looking at some of these issues from the other side. Read about the Scariest Rides for Little Kids at Disney World.
Is Animal Kingdom good for toddlers?
For animal-loving toddlers, Animal Kingdom should be quite enjoyable. For a kid who doesn’t enjoy a day at the zoo, there’s still fun to be found but it’s maybe not going to be as great a day.
Kilimanjaro Safaris highlights the ride lineup for toddlers. The ride is an amazing journey, usually with a few close encounters with animals. The zoological trails are likewise fun for kids who get a kick out of seeing real life animals, and most kids will probably enjoy the Tree of Life trails for a few minutes.
After that…it’s tougher. The ride lineup doesn’t go deep for younger kids, and there are only a few pieces of entertainment (Festival of the Lion King, It’s Tough To Be A Bug, and the Finding Nemo show) likely to entertain.
Of course, the Boneyard is a big plus for us at Animal Kingdom. Our toddler absolutely loves it. It’s a bit tough to know how much weight to give this—it’s basically a big playground, and Zoe doesn’t really care how much we’re spending to be in the park. So if they want to spend all morning at Boneyard…I guess that’s a win?
Best Rides for Toddlers at Animal Kingdom
Animal Kingdom has four rides without height requirements. If you’d like to read more about these—and all the rides, attractions, and entertainment at Animal Kingdom—check out our Guide to the Rides and Entertainment of Animal Kingdom. After this list, we’ll go more into other attractions and activities for toddlers at Animal Kingdom.
Here are the best rides for toddlers at Animal Kingdom:
Kilimanjaro Safaris
Na’vi River Journey
TriceraTop Spin
Wildlife Express Train
Kali River Rapids (38” Height Requirement)
1. Kilimanjaro Safaris
While most people (including us) hold Avatar Flight of Passage to higher esteem, there’s a really good argument to be made that Kilimanjaro Safaris is the best ride at Animal Kingdom. So it’s really awesome that it has no height requirement.
Kilimanjaro Safaris is a roughly 20-minute long safari ride through the Animal Kingdom’s African savanna, featuring a wide range of real live animals. Every safari is different, but you’re sure to see a number of animals, and if you’re lucky they will come basically right up to your vehicle (no touching, obviously).
Our toddler isn’t the most patient, but we’ve never had any trouble making it through a ride on Kilimanjaro Safaris. The animals are just such a delight and Zoe really enjoys seeing all of them.
2. Na’vi River Journey
Of the remaining rides without height requirements, Na’vi River Journey definitely ranks highest. It’s a stunning boat ride featuring a variety of fictional plants and animals. Toddlers might not appreciate the design that goes into creating all these fictional creatures, but the bioluminescence should impress them enough.
3. TriceraTop Spin
TriceraTop Spin is an aerial carousel located in the Dino-Rama area of the park. It’s an average aerial carousel, unfortunately offering little by way of views.
4. Wildlife Express Train
The Wildlife Express Train is technically a ride, and it has no height requirement, but it mostly serves to transport guests to Rafiki’s Planet Watch, discussed more below. Of course, with options limited, we’ve taken a few rides on it just for fun when visiting with Zoe.
5. Kali River Rapids (38” height requirement)
Kali River Rapids is a water raft ride where you typically will get wet as you ride down the fictional river, encountering twists, turns, and drops along the way. It has a 38” height requirement, which puts it out of the reach of younger toddlers.
Other Attractions and Activities for Toddlers at Animal Kingdom
With the rides out of the way, let’s talk about the wealth of other activities at Animal Kingdom that are good for toddlers.
The Boneyard
The Boneyard, in Dinoland USA, is an outdoor play area themed to a dinosaur excavation. It’s one of our toddler’s favorite places in Disney World and maybe just one of their favorite places anywhere.
One side of the Boneyard is basically a giant playground, complete with several slides. The other side is for digging—it’s basically a sandbox of small pebbles instead of sand.
Typically we visit the Boneyard as part of a visit to TriceraTop Spin (with our toddler) and DINOSAUR (each riding separately, without the toddler).
It’s Tough To Be a Bug
It’s Tough to be a Bug is a 10-minute long 3D show inside/underneath the Tree of Life, hosted by Flik from A Bug’s Life. While it’s mostly a standard 3D show, we want to mention that it has some very loud, scary, and surprising moments.
If your kid is at all easily frightened and this worries you, we really recommend you either (1) research it more online or (2) just find the time to send one parent to watch it first. We took Zoe to it at around 3 years old. There were some jumps and such, but nothing too bad.
The Zoological Trails
The Oasis Exhibits (at the very front of the park), Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail (in Africa), and the Maharajah Jungle Trek (in Asia) are three zoological trails where kids will have the chance to see different animals in a zoo-like setting.
Rafiki’s Planet Watch
Rafiki’s Planet Watch is a land accessible via the Wildlife Express Train. It is a heavily zoological / conservation focused area with exhibits like the Veterinary Treatment Room and small animal exhibits. It also has a petting zoo, which most kids love.
Stage Shows at Animal Kingdom
There are three stage shows at Animal Kingdom. Festival of the Lion King is an acrobatic Lion King performance. Finding Nemo - The Big Blue and Beyond is a musical performance of Finding Nemo. Feathered Friends in Flight is a bird show. All three shows are a good use of time at Animal Kingdom with a toddler.
Streetmosphere at Animal Kingdom
Check the Times Guide or Entertainment section of the My Disney Experience app to find the times for streetmosphere in Animal Kingdom. Shows like the Tam Tam Drummers in Harambe can be entertaining for guests of all ages.
Characters
Character greetings aren’t as big a thing at the other parks as they are at Magic Kingdom, but there are still a few to be found in Animal Kingdom. We have a few other posts explaining how to meet characters:
Booking Lightning Lanes With Toddlers at Animal Kingdom
Our separate Animal Kingdom Lightning Lanes guide and Walt Disney World Genie+ Strategy don’t really cover planning specifically for small children, so we wanted to add a section here.
Keep in mind that these rankings only apply if you’re not planning on using rider switch for adults to ride the rides with height requirements. If you are planning to rider swap, then we still recommend the adults stick to our regular Genie+ plan (links above).
The individual Lightning Lane at Animal Kingdom—Flight of Passage—have height requirements, so toddlers won’t be riding that. Purchasing it can be a good way for parents to get through them quickly, though. An alternative is to use rider swap and have one parent have lunch with the toddler while the other waits in line for the ride.
Here are the Animal Kingdom attractions we’d consider using Genie+ on when traveling with a small child:
Na’vi River Journey
Kilimanjaro Safaris
Kali River Rapids (38” Requirement)
Festival of the Lion King
The last of these is a show—Festival of the Lion King is multiple times a day and often has available last-minute seating. You only need a Lightning Lane if you really want to be sure you visit at a specific time.
You should be able to count on walking onto either Na’vi River Journey or Kilimanjaro Safaris (sometimes both) with a short wait to start your day (again, if you aren’t using rider switch to ride Flight of Passage). So overall, you don’t need to stress too much about your Genie+
What’s your favorite activity for toddlers at Animal Kingdom?
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Know what to ride with our guides to: Magic Kingdom rides, Hollywood Studios rides, Epcot rides, and Animal Kingdom rides! Plus learn about the water parks with our guide to Blizzard Beach and our guide to Typhoon Lagoon! And for some some fun prep, check out our Ranking of Every Ride at Walt Disney World.
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