5 Best Uses of Fastpasses at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park

January 22, 2018

For those following along earlier this week, we provided you with a few suggestions to help you make the most of your FastPass selections at the Magic Kingdom. Tonight we thought we’d tackle another park, Disney’s Animal Kingdom. For those new to the Disney planning game, guests visiting Walt Disney World are eligible for 3 FastPasses for each day that you are visiting the theme parks. These can only be used at one theme park per day and allow you to avoid the lines and head to the front of the queues. Offsite guests are able to book these 30 days in advance and those staying onsite at a Walt Disney World resort can book them 60 days in advance. However, not all Fastpasses are created equal. To truly maximize this privilege, it pays to save your FastPasses for attractions that boast some of the longest wait times each day.

Just a quick note before we get started: Like Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom has only one Fastpass group from which you can pick three Fastpasses. However, when it comes to the Pandora: The World of Avatar attractions (Flight of Passage and Na’vi River Journey) you can only choose one of these attractions per day to get a FastPass for. The other attraction you will either need to wait in a stand-by line for or get a Fastpass for it if you are visiting the Animal Kingdom again on another day.

1. Avatar Flight of Passage – Either of the attractions in Pandora are pretty much an essential use of FastPass. However, Flight of Passage is definitely the much more popular of the two with stand-by lines still snaking past the two-hour mark quite regularly. However, the big obstacle here is actually getting a Flight of Passage FastPass. Even at 7am at the 60-day mark, you might not see any availability. If that’s the case then definitely default to Na’vi River Journey and keep checking daily to see if anything else opens up.

2. Na’vi River Journey – Make this your preferred option in this category if you aren’t up for the intensity of Flight of Passage or if you simply can’t get a FastPass for that attraction. The Na’vi River Journey is still Pandora at its best and is a wonderful way to explore this new land. Lines for River Journey can still get quite long especially mid-day which makes this a great FastPass option.

3. Kilimanjaro Safaris – Families with smaller children tend to head to this attraction as soon as they enter Animal Kingdom. This means lines fill up really quickly from about an hour after park opening and remain steady throughout the day. Use a FastPass and spend the time you’ve saved to enjoy some of the amazing walkthrough animal exhibitions which are incredible but often overlooked.

4. Expedition Everest – This is Animal Kingdom’s big coaster and it certainly has big lines to suit. Wait times will easily reach the 60-minute mark and stay there pretty consistently throughout the day. Best to use your FastPass.

5. Festival of the Lion King – This is one of the best live Disney’s stage shows at the parks. Take some time out from the midday Animal Kingdom heat and enjoy this delightful combination of Broadway-style show meets African-themed circus. Crowds start to swell come the middle of the day so use a FastPass. You’ll still need to arrive early to enter the theater but you’re guaranteed a seat!

Please bear in mind that this list is not exhaustive. We here at Disney Addicts handpicked the attractions that tend to have the longest wait times throughout the day. However, depending on your family, you may easily want to swap out one or two of these for FastPasses that will work well for the ages and interests of those in your group.

Quick Tip: If you plan on arriving at Animal Kingdom early, with the exception of the Pandora rides, avoid using your Fastpasses in the first couple of hours after the park opens. During this time you’ll usually find the shortest lines of the day. Standy-by lines for rides normally sit at 30-minutes or less, meaning that it’s worth waiting in line to enjoy some of the attractions not on our list and save those FastPasses for when lines peak in the afternoon. With the heavy crowds heading either to Flight of Passage or Expedition Everest, my family always heads straight to Dinoland U.S.A which is pretty empty and rides DINOSAUR without the heavy crowds.

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If you find tips like these helpful, why not consider working with an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner? As an agent with MickeyTravels, I can help you find your perfect package, nab those hard to get dining and FastPass reservations and share my tips and tricks for helping you plan out your days at the parks. Best of all my services are absolutely FREE. There are no hidden costs and you’d pay the same as if you were to book through Disney. Get in touch at 1.800.801.4025, via email at mroden@mickeytravels.com or follow along on Facebook.

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5 Best Uses of Fastpasses at Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park 4

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