Disney World June 2021 Trip Report - Animal Kingdom

 

Splits Stays, Bell Services

Besides being the day we visited Animal Kingdom, today was also the day we changed hotels from Pop Century to Grand Floridian as part of our split stay. In fact, I put Animal Kingdom on this day specifically because we were changing hotels.

 

Pop Century has good access to Epcot and Hollywood Studios via Skyliner. Grand Floridian has good access to Magic Kingdom via walking / monorail / boat. Neither—and indeed, no hotel—has particularly good access to Animal Kingdom. Since we’re going to be taking the bus to and from Animal Kingdom anyways, Animal Kingdom day is a good day to change hotels.

 

Packing to have your luggage moved for a split stay is easier than packing for your flights. You probably have a park bag that contains some of your stuff, and if you need to pack and extra bag or two for the transfer, it’s no problem because Disney bell services will transport your bags between their hotels!

Now, we’ve had a few problems with getting our bags transferred during split stays in the past, but mostly just short delays, never anything awful like a lost bag.

 

We left the room at 6:39AM and headed to the front of Pop Century, where bell services and the bus stops are located. Emily got in line while I dropped the bags off. First there was no one at bell services and a sign said to go the front desk. Then the front desk walked me back to bell services, where someone now was working (the sign was still there, so I didn’t look like a liar), but the line was three people deep with only one guy working.

 

The attendant moved pretty quickly and let me fill out some of my own tags to speed things up. To transfer the bags to Grand Floridian he tagged them with special tags. I was done by 6:50AM.

 

An Aside About Getting to Magic Kingdom

The line to Animal Kingdom—where we were headed—was long, but the line to Magic Kingdom was unreal. You can count us among the chorus that continues to think Disney’s bus operations are horrendous—there’s simply no reason a bus line should be that long. At that point they should at least be loading two buses at a time, and we should have seen a constant stream of buses, which we didn’t. Even while we were waiting in line I told Emily that while I hoped the next bus was for us, it really should go to Magic Kingdom.

This isn’t a Magic Kingdom day post, but it’s worth an aside here to point out there no good way to get to Magic Kingdom in the morning except from the monorail resorts. The bus lines are huge, and other methods (driving, Uber) drop you off at Transportation and Ticket Center, requiring extra transit to get you to the park.

 

Now, if you had a breakfast at Contemporary, or you had a hankering for some of that delicious Contemporary Grounds coffee, or maybe a mobile order at Contempo Cafe, it might be appropriate to take an Uber to Contemporary, grab your meal / coffee, and walk over, but Disney is apt to cut off that option at a moment’s notice.

 

At one point there were Minnie Vans, which took you directly to the park gate, and if they’re running early enough then I think they can be a good—albeit very expensive—option to save on your transportation time.

 

Based on what we saw, I’d say to be in line for Magic Kingdom buses at least 90 minutes before the park opens. On the plus side, you’ll usually be on a ride before the park is schedule to open, so it’s not like you’re just sitting around for 90 minutes.

 

Heading to Animal Kingdom

Back to our day. The bus queue for Animal Kingdom had all three rows filled when Emily got in line at 6:43AM. We were on the third bus (while we were waiting, there were probably some before we got there) at 7:10AM and at the park gate at 7:27AM.

The park gate had already opened (official open was 8AM), and we walked straight to Flight of Passage, snagging a rider switch at the ride entrance. I boarded the ride at 8:02AM. Emily tried to get on Navi River Journey with Zoe, but it wasn’t running early.

 

Once I was off Flight of Passage we decided to head straight to Kilimanjaro Safaris. This was one of those time where we decided using the rider switch pass (for Flight of Passage) immediately would have cost us too much time.

 

We got in line for Kilimanjaro Safaris at 8:24AM with a posted wait of 25 minutes, and we were on at 8:51AM (actual wait 27 minutes).

 

It’s a pretty standard “pro tip” these days to try and get on the safari early because the animals are more active, and that seemed to be the case today as Zoe’s first ride was filled with some great action. Zoe seemed a little more interested in the safari than in most other rides.

Kilimanjaro Safaris is a long ride—we were off at 9:15AM, so 24 minutes—which means other waits are going to go up a little bit while you’re on it. This is why we usually get two or three rides done before going on it, though today worked out just fine.

 

We headed to Expedition Everest next, waiting 19 minutes for a posted 20-minute wait and being done with our rider switch there at 9:57AM.

 

A few notes. First, Expedition Everest has a single rider line that is now reopened (it wasn’t on this day). Since we were riding solo anyways, this would have been a faster way for the two of us to get on. Second, the rider switch booth for Everest is not a part of the regular queue. Before you get in line you visit the Cast Member posted opposite the ride (near the entrance to the grandstands, sorry for not grabbing a picture) to get your rider switch pass. Here’s the approximate location on the map:

Third, the grandstands opposite the ride are one of our favorite spots to escape the crowds and the were great for Zoe to climb around. I should say all these outdoor spots we let Zoe climb around are at least damn and a little grubby. In Florida theme parks if you want a cleaner, dry spot you’ll need to be indoors.

 

While we hung out on the grandstands we saw a few of the character flotillas—Animal Kingdom’s version of the new cavalcades—go by.

After Everest, we made our first attempt to see Festival of the Lion King. When we got in line at 10:16AM for the 10:30 show the line was to about the Club 33 building (it’s the only building back there that isn’t the bathrooms, and it’s opposite the bathrooms).

 

We didn’t make it into this show. We’d later conclude that to get into a showtime we needed to be in line about 45 minutes before the show or 60 minutes to be safe.

 

Our general strategy for shows with multiple showtimes is to show up relatively “late” for an early show and hope we get in. If not, we’ll arrive a little earlier for a subsequent show. If we still don’t get in and we have to see the show, we’ll arrive really early for a later show (though if the last show is at, say, 6PM, you usually don’t have to arrive too early).

 

As we’ll mention below, we wound up just not making it into Festival of the Lion King today. It was a tough thing to miss, but we also don’t know that Zoe would have enjoyed being in the theater for 30 minutes.

 

Even though it was only 10:30AM, we decided it was a good time for lunch, so we mobile ordered at Satuli Canteen, our favorite quick service spot at Animal Kingdom.

After lunch we had just enough time to walk over to Discovery Island to watch Winged Encounters. The app will typically list Winged Encounters as occurring sometime like 9:15AM to 3:15PM, which really means it occurs hourly on the 15 during most (sometimes not all) of those hours.

 

In the past this was a longer show where the Cast Members talked about the birds and gave you time to prepare your cameras. Now, you should have you camera ready as soon as the birds land because they depart very quickly (this could change by the time of your trip, though).

 

Zoe was due for a nap, so I got Zoe to nap in an area over by Dino-Bites Snacks while Emily waited in line for DINOSAUR. As with Everest, we talked to a Cast Member outside the line, before we got in line to get the rider switch pass. Emily waited 23 minutes (posted 30), boarding at 11:46AM. Since we had no further rider switch plans (we had no plans to ride Kali River Rapids, particularly), we decided just to hold onto mine until later in the day.

We made our second attempt at seeing Festival of the Lion King, arriving around 12PM for the 12:30 show. We were in roughly the same location as last time, and at this point in the day (and the heat) we just decided to try again later and to get on with our day.

 

We stopped at Creature Comforts, the Animal Kingdom Starbucks location, for coffee and took some pictures at the nearby entrance to Harambe. Then we decided to go use Emily’s rider switch for Flight of Passage—she was in line at 12:31PM and boarded at 12:43. I hung out with Zoe on the path between Harambe and Pandora, and we snacked on a strawberry parfait.

When she returned, Emily reminded me that we wanted to go to Rafiki’s Planet Watch, so we headed straight there. Rafiki’s is separated from the rest of the park by a short train ride from Africa. It usually closes before the rest of the park, and it’s easy to forget because it doesn’t have any major rides.

 

At Rafiki’s you’ll find three main attractions. Affection Section is a petting zoo and the main reason we wanted to go. Conservation Station is the wildlife conservation center. It has some informative displays, and sometimes you’ll get to see animals undergoing surgery. Finally, Animation Experience is a character drawing class inside Conservation Station occuring at scheduled times throughout the day.

 

The train ride (with some time waiting at the station as people boarded) came to about 9 minutes, and we arrived around 1:21PM. It was nice to give Zoe some interactive time with the animals at Affection Section. With some nursing time at Rafiki’s, we spent just over 30 minutes there and were back in Harambe by 2:05.

From there we visited the Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail and the Maharajah Jungle Trek, spending about 15-20 minutes at each. These are great zoological walks, and we’ll sometimes spend longer at them (maybe around 30 minutes each). We were sort of following Zoe’s lead, though, so we moved pretty quickly this visit.

 

By around 2:50PM it was time to start putting the finishing touches on our day. We headed back to Dinoland, USA where we rode TriceraTop Spin at 3:07 (posted 10, actual 11) and I used my DINOSAUR rider switch (the ride was a walk-on in any case and I was done at 3:25PM).

 

We made a final attempt to see Festival of the Lion King, getting in line about 30 minutes early and getting about 10 groups from being inside the theater when they started only letting in single viewers. In hindsight we’d pick a showtime and arrive 45 minutes early if we had to see the show, but I’m honestly not sure we’d want to put Zoe through 45 minutes of waiting and then 30 minutes inside the theater.

 

Emily really wanted to make it to Nomad Lounge and had been checking the bar’s “Walk-Up List” throughout the day. While earlier, say 11AM to 2PM there was no availability or a longer wait (30 minutes or more), by mid-afternoon the list was pretty much wide open (5 minute waits). We joined the list at 3:53PM and were in the bar by 4PM. We were given a table with two chairs and a padded bench, all of which were great for Zoe to climb around.

We’re big fans of Nomad Lounge. It’s a travel themed bar, and we’re former and future world travelers. It also has good vegetarian options, including impossible sliders and Tiffins bread service (which, while good, is not comparable to the legendary Sanaa bread service).

 

We made a $1 donation (I believe to the Disney Conservation Fund) to fill out a travel memory banner for Zoe and hang it above the bar.

 

We only had one ride left that we wanted to get on—Navi River Journey. We waited 28 minutes for a posted 30-minute wait, boarding our boat at 5:33PM. Zoe was pretty nervous the entire ride but seemed to be in awe of the shaman, which was fun.

 

We left the park at 5:53PM, boarding a bus at 6:19 (the rant about paying over $500 per night and having to still wait 26 minutes for a bus scheduled to run at least every 20 minutes writes itself, so I’ll spare you) and getting back during a downpour at 6:40PM.

Recapping Animal Kingdom

  • 6:43AM - Arrived at bus stop (Pop Century)

  • 7:10AM - Boarded bus

  • 7:24AM - Arrived at Animal Kingdom (gates open)

  • 8AM - Scheduled Park Open

  • 8:02AM - Flight of Passage

  • 8:51AM - Kilimanjaro Safaris (posted 25 actual 27)

  • 9:41AM - Expedition Everest (posted 20 actual 19)

  • 9:57AM - Off Expedition Everest via Rider Switch

  • 10:37AM - Lunch at Satuli Canteen

  • 11:15AM - Winged Encounters

  • 11:46AM - DINOSAUR (posted 30 actual 23)

  • 12:31PM - 12:43PM Flight of Passage via Rider Switch

  • 1:12PM - Rafiki’s Planet Watch

  • 2:15PM - Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail

  • 2:40PM - Maharajah Jungle Trek

  • 3:09PM - TriceraTop Spin (posted 10, actual 11)

  • 3:19PM DINOSAUR via Rider Switch

  • 4PM - Nomad Lounge

  • 5:33PM - Navi River (posted 30 actual 28)

  • 6:40 At hotel (Grand Floridian)

The biggest problem with this day was that we committed probably about 30-45 minutes to waiting for Festival of the Lion King and didn’t get to see it. We also didn’t see Feathered Friends In Flight, the bird show currently occupying Anandapour Theater.

 

It used to be that a full day at Animal Kingdom included all rides, three stage shows, and several pieces of streetmosphere. That could fill a 12-hour day. With Zoe and an 8AM park open we had about 10 hours, which was enough for all the rides except Kali River Rapids, a visit to Nomad Lounge, and some wasted time waiting for Festival of the Lion King.

 

The lesson here is that with an infant and without some of its core entertainment, Animal Kingdom still does pretty well at filling a full day. With three rides for Zoe, some excellent rides for mom and dad, and lots of animal spotting for Zoe, the park is actually quite good to visit with an infant.

 

Welcome to Grand Floridian

Our review of Grand Floridian and ranking of the hotel mostly speak for themselves (I say “mostly” because I should update things to reflect the new walking path). I don’t think highly of it because it costs an exorbitant amount without the service, theming, or room quality to justify that cost.

That said, there was nothing notably bad about this visit that was Disney’s fault, and, as we’ll discuss in future posts, the walking path to Magic Kingdom was a huge perk.

 

We arrived in the room at 6:45PM and suffered a series of small inconveniences. First, as with Pop Century, the Pack ‘n’ Play was not in our room yet. Again, this was resolved within 20 minutes by a phone call, but I really think they could just improve the workflow on this since the request was made prior to check-in.

Second, after a 10-minute hold on the phone I was told they couldn’t deliver my bags at the moment because of the lightning in the area. They can’t control the weather, I would have appreciated saving the 10 minutes just to be told bell services wasn’t operating anyways, but again, fine this is just a small problem. I retrieved our luggage—two backpacks, a carry on, and a car seat, and hauled it back to the room.

 

I think most honest reviewers struggle with Grand Floridian because at its price—the rack rate for our room was over $800 per night—it’s really our job to search for complaints. At that price we shouldn’t be able to find them if we try.

But they always can be found, whether it’s a delayed Pack ‘n’ Play and long phone hold, thin walls, or magic band problems so infuriating it becomes comical.

 

When we say these things, a lot of people think we’re just nitpicking. But so what? Grand Floridian is a fine hotel. It’s a good hotel, even. That doesn’t mean I think you should spend over $800 a night to stay in it. Even writing these paragraphs I think “wow I’m wasting everyone’s time”…but again, $800! Can you ever read too much commentary in deciding to spend that on a hotel?

Probably, so let’s move it along. I swung by Enchanted Rose, which is Grand Floridian’s nice but under-themed hotel bar. A bartender error resulted in me being given a second drink I hadn’t requested (still paid for it though).

 

Emily had just gotten Zoe to bed when the Electrical Water Pageant came by. I was around for it the following night and agree it is quite loud for that hour (about 8:45PM), but it didn’t wake Zoe and we all know I love a little nighttime energy in the resort.

 

I grabbed some burgers from Gasparilla Grill and we ate them on the balcony. This was the first big upside we noticed of changing hotels—now we had a place we could both hang out together while Zoe slept (the next night we discovered we couldn’t hear Zoe crying inside, so it might be best to crack the door or use a phone to listen in).

That’s it for today! Tomorrow morning we head to Magic Kingdom, bright and early!