Animal Kingdom Grown-Up Tour
Thrill rides, a hilarious 3-D film, and two Broadway-style shows can fill a memorable day.
Adventure Seekers Wanted
The park's most popular thrill ride is Avatar Flight of Passage in Pandora, which puts you aboard a mountain banshee for a heart-stopping 3-D experience that takes you soaring above floating islands and plummeting down cliffs.
Next, make a beeline for Asia and Expedition Everest. If there's a wait for the attraction's high-speed train ride, the queue snakes through authentic rammed-earth and stacked-stone buildings of a Himalayan village. While in Asia, pile into a Kali River Rapids raft for a whitewater ride on the park's Chakranadi River (take off your shoes so they don't get wet).
Time-travel back to DinoLand U.S.A. for a DINOSAUR journey through a primeval forest and white-knuckle encounters with carnivorous creatures like the razor-toothed carnotaurus and other menacing creatures of prehistoric doom.
If it's a cool day, the park's animals should be active, so head to Africa. Your Kilimanjaro Safaris open-air journey is a bumpy 20-minute quest to sight exotic animals, and you won't be disappointed. Adventurous guests with dollars to spare should sign up for the park's Wild Africa Trek, one of Disney's most thrilling guided tours.
Eat, Shop, Laugh
Animal Kingdom has some of the best food at Walt Disney World. Tusker House Restaurant, in Africa, offers a colorful buffet of vegetables and carved meats enhanced with African-inspired chutneys, hummus, spiced tandoori tofu, and couscous salad.
At Tiffins, on Discovery Island at the bridge to Pandora, the cuisine (it deserves the term) is inspired by adventure travel, and the globetrotting menu is served with style. It might very well be the best restaurant in all of Walt Disney World.
Burn the calories during a shopping excursion to Mombasa Marketplace, where you can buy a bottle of South African wine or pick up hand-painted dishes from Zimbabwe. Onward to Discovery Island for a stroll along Discovery Island Trails into the Tree of Life show It's Tough to Be a Bug! Expect to laugh a lot.
Discover Animal Attraction
Along the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail, you can view families of mountain gorillas through a glassed-in area or from a bridge. It's inspiring to see these magnificent primates move among the rocks and lush greenery.
Although you feel safe from Bengal tigers on the Maharajah Jungle Trek, several raised viewing spots offer clear views with no glass or fence to mar your photos. Backdrops like the Maharajah palace ruins create scenic props.
If you can squeeze in only one live show, make it Festival of the Lion King.
