Fast Passes make Walt Disney World easier, and more fun! The excitement of booking your Fast Passes in advance is great fun in itself! But, there is no point in using a Fast Pass on an attraction that has a low wait time or doesn’t require a queue, or on a celebration such as the fireworks where views are excellent around the parks. So which should you use your Fast Passes on in Animal Kingdom?
If you are not familiar with what Fast Passes are, make sure you read out post about Fast Passes in Walt Disney World first!
Animal Kingdom Fast Pass Tier System
There are two Animal Kingdom FastPass tiers. Tier 1 currently has two attractions,both in Pandora. Tier 2 has twelve attractions, based all over the rest of the park. When selecting your 3 Fast Passes for Animal Kingdom, you can only pick one of the Tier 1 attractions. These are:
- Avatar Flight of Passage
- Na’vi River Journey
All other rides in Animal Kingdom fall into Tier 2, and you can select any of these as you wish for your other two fast passes. Of course, you can select three Tier 2 Fast Passes instead.
What Fast Passes to get in Animal Kingdom
There are 14 attractions, rides and experiences at Animal Kingdom that utilise Fast Passes. While it is easier to pick them compared to Magic Kingdom, you are still limited to just three Fast Passes in a day (hint; you can book more once you use your first three!), picking the best to use them on is an experience in itself. The limited amount of rides in Animal Kingdom also reduces the chance of getting the Fast Pass you want. But, with that being said, here are our top picks.
Our Top three Fast Passes at Animal Kingdom:
- Flight Of Passage
- The most popular ride in the park, by far. In fact, this is amongst the most popular in all the parks, even with the opening of the new Star Wars Land at Hollywood Studios, this ride alone attracts people to Animal Kingdom. If you can get an Avatar Flight of Passage reservation, you should. Wait times for the stand by lines often are over 2 and 3 hours wait and sometimes even longer. The highest we have ever seen in person is 240 minutes (4 hours!!). No. We didnt queue.
- Expedition Everest
- This, in our opinion, is one of the best roller coasters at Walt Disney World with excellent theming, and a very well designed coaster, promising a very thrilling ride. The throughput of guests is quite good, and so the line does move much faster than you would expect, but stand by lines can still reach over 90 minutes as well. The highest we have ever seen is 180 minutes to ride. This does have a single rider line, where your party WILL be split up, but it moves quicker than the normal stand by line.
- Kilamanjaro Safari Adventure
- A ‘real’ safari right on property. Board a real safari truck and drive around the special secluded areas of Animal Kingdom with a whole host of animals. With a friendly guide telling you facts about the animals and opportunities to spot a huge variety of wildlife, this attraction brings the animals from around the world right to you. Don’t worry; the animals are extremely well taken care of. Top tip! Go early in the morning as possible, when the animals are all the most active, especially the lions! Many of the animals nap in the afternoon in the Florida heat, even in winter. Second tip! This is a VERY long ride, 30 minutes just on the ride itself, so be aware of that if you are booking other Fast Passes for around this time or have dining reservations!
Good Alternatives to our Top Three:
- Na’vi River Journey
- The problem with Na’vi River Journey, is that it competes with Flight of Passage for your only Tier 1 Fast Pass. Na’vi River Journey is fantastic, but if you go to Animal Kingdom and choose Na’vi River Journey ahead of Flight of Passage, then people will think you’re weird… However, if you are going to Animal Kingdom on more than one day, then definitely make this your Tier 1 Fast Pass for your second day. The ride itself is excellent, peaceful, and engrossing. When we went, our 9 month old loved the colours!
- Festival of the Lion King
- This is one of the most popular shows in the park. Although there are regular shows throughout the day, as well as plenty of space, it always seems to fill up. The show itself is very engrossing and authentic with African cast members telling the story of the Lion King. It’s definitely worth seeing.
Honourable Mentions:
- Dinosaur
- I’ll admit, this is not my favourite ride on property; it’s rough, it’s themed around ‘Dinosaur’ the movie, and has a lot of ‘scare’ moments. But its definitely worth doing at least once. Some people absolutely love it. Waits can get quite long as well, but it can be worth waiting for.
- Primeval Whirl
- This is a classic ‘Wild Mouse’ roller coaster, themed around dinosaurs, located in Dinoland USA. This can be a hit and miss ride for many as well, feeling that it is too short or nauseating. Personally I think its a great little roller coaster, but wouldn’t use a Fast Pass on it usually unless I had used my 3 from earlier in the day.
What not to use your Fast Pass on at Animal Kingdom:
We wouldn’t recommend using your Fast Passes on any of the other attractions at Animal Kingdom than what was listed above; the wait times or queues are generally quick moving or short, or have enough space or visibility to not require using on of your precious Fast Passes.
Should I use a Fast Pass on the Night Time Rivers of Light Show?
No – this is visible from pretty much anywhere in the Rivers of Light Section, and you can easily find a spot in the huge seating area at Discovery River. We have pitched up 2 minutes before the show started, and have a perfect view every time, even if we’re ‘a bit back’. It does not make a difference where you sit!
Disney From Ireland 