Chasing EverAfter

Ranking the Disney World Parks

We have had the pleasure of visiting all four Disney World parks in a year’s span, and with that thought what better time to share our ranking of each one, what to expect if you’re visiting anytime soon, some planning tips, and our overall experience!

Now to begin, we want to disclose that these rankings are based off of the parks from when we went, not necessarily how they are today or what changes will be coming soon. More so these rankings are meant to reflect our overall experiences and thoughts on what made one park maybe a little more enjoyable than another, and we tried to be as unbiased as we could in taking a fair viewpoint of each ranking. With that being said, we are starting things off with our fourth ranked Disney park, Animal Kingdom!

Here’s the thing – we actually LOVED Animal Kingdom and could have easily ranked it number two, if not number one. We had an incredible time here, and we truly left thinking it was an extremely underrated park and deserving of more love. This was our first time ever visiting Animal Kingdom, and going in we heard a lot about it being the fourth ranked park, a glorified zoo, not a whole day park, yada yada. We left thinking those reviews were crazy, and that we could easily see this being one of our absolute favorites for years to come, and we still fully feel that way. But, with some of the things taking place when we visited, and after much discussion, we decided to rank Animal Kingdom last out of the four parks. This review will explain why we feel that way but also why we feel it can (and likely) will be jumping rank in the very near future.

Starting off with what we loved about this park, the easiest thing to jump to is theming. While Animal Kingdom truly is “not a zoo” (shout out to the 1998 commercial) it certainly does provide plenty of beautiful animals to observe. From giraffes, elephants, and hippos, to lions, tigers, and goats you could pet (oh my!) Animal Kingdom lives up to its name and then some. Right when you walk in, you feel like you’ve stepped into the wild, and the adventure grows and grows as you walk through the different lands. You start off in Oasis, which offers several animal viewing areas, as well as a chance you could meet Pocahontas to start your day. Then as you continue into the center of the park, you arrive in Discovery Island, home of the incredible Tree of Life, Animal Kingdom’s signature landmark. This man made tree towers in the center of the land, and offers walking trails where you can get up close looks of the many carved animals that are on display. It’s a really fun way to get great pictures and to challenge yourself or your party as to who can spot the most animals.

Discovery Island also has several animal viewing areas, including Winged Encounters – The Kingdom Takes Flight exhibit where you can see different types of South American macaws show off their beauty. This area is also home to some of the best character meet and greets the Animal Kingdom offers, including of course Mickey and Minnie (in their safari gear,) Dug and Russell from Pixar’s Up, Moana of Montunui, and occasionally you may even meet Kevin in all of her glorious tallness (this was a super fun and surprising meet and greet right after we stepped out from getting pictures with Mickey and Minnie, that our kids absolutely soaked up.)

Beyond that, Discovery Island also offers several dining options, including Creature Comforts, where coffee addicts can access their morning Starbucks fix. The island also connects you to all of the other lands in the park, including Pandora: the World of Avatar, Africa, Asia, and what was formerly DinoLand U.S.A. but sadly is no more (more on that later.) After spending our morning getting breakfast, meeting characters, and observing different animals, we then made our way up to Africa for some really special experiences.

Africa was a beautiful portion of the park, showing off excellent themes, some fun and exotic dining, and some great options for families or adults alike. Africa is also home to Tusker House, Animal Kingdoms character meet and greet dining option. After taking pictures and discovering the area a bit, we headed over to the theater to take in the Festival of the Lion King. This is a truly unique and adventurous stage-show, starring the characters from Lion King and some new pals who celebrate the music of the movie through puppetry, acrobatics, dancing, and more. You’re invited to sing, cheer, and be amazed as they jump, flip, spin, and twirl on the ground and in the air, putting on a performance that will captivate you and make you feel immersed in the fun. Our four year old, who happens to be a massive Lion King fan, was focused on it all for the length of the show (no easy feat) and was especially excited when Simba came out on Pride Rock to observe and sway his head to the music in approval.

Africa also offers the Kilimanjaro Safari ride, which takes you on a guided tour through Animal Kingdom’s safari while educating you about the different forms of wildlife that call Animal Kingdom home. This is a great opportunity to see the many animals that inhabit the park, and both a fun and informative way to spend a hot afternoon or early morning seeing these incredible creatures.

Heading over to Asia, you will immediately notice the effort and detail that goes into making each land unique and accurate to the culture it represents. Asia offers some delicious dining options, including Yak & Yeti and Anandapur Ice Cream Truck, where you can get a Yeti Sundae to cool off with something sweet. And speaking of the Yeti, Asia also offers several fun rides including the Kali River Rapids, a raft ride through the jungle, and Expedition Everest, a thrilling trek through the Himalayas while you escape the Yeti of legend in the mountains.

Asia also offers the Feathered Friends in Flight show and the Maharaja Jungle Trek, where you can see trained exotic birds, or walk the trails to spot Tigers, Komodo Dragons, Malayan Flying Foxes, and a variety of other animals native to Asia.

Animal Kingdom also offers Pandora: The World of Avatar, and let us just say, this part of the park is a wonder to behold. With floating islands, unique theming, and impressive rides (as well as dining,) you will feel like you’ve stepped directly into this world for yourself and become fully immersed. The land itself is beautiful all day, but is especially impressive in the evening as it becomes lit up against the night sky and leaves you with memories that won’t soon be forgotten. For dining options, Pandora stands out as a truly unique experience, where you can head over to Pongu Pongu or grab a bite at the mess hall that is the Satu’li Canteen. Offering one of a kind options such as the cheeseburger pods or the customizable bowls, and the Night Blossom, a boba concoction that comes non-alcoholic but can have rum added for those who wish for a little extra grown-up kick, Pandora makes sure that even dining here makes you feel like you’re on another world.

Pandora offers two fun ride experiences, including the Navi River Journey, a slow boat ride through a stunning visual river that is great for all ages, and Flight of Passage, one of the funnest rides I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing and one that my oldest daughter, who is newer to riding roller coasters and “big” rides, absolutely loved. From walking through the ride queue, to enjoying the pre-show that turns you into an Avatar, to flying through the incredible world of Pandora, Flight of Passage is an experience that will stick with you and leave you wanting to ride again and again.

Now one portion of the park that is (and was) undergoing major changes is what was formerly DinoLand U.S.A. This part of the park was previously dinosaur themed, but has been under construction as it gets reimagined into the Tropical Americas: Pueblo Esperanza, where it will feature a new animal themed carousel, an Indian Jones ride, and an Encanto themed ride (which we are psyched for) but none of that was fully ready yet. Instead we experienced a land on its way out, which was unfortunate as our youngest loves dinosaurs and much of what was available had already been shut down. That is the risk though when you plan a vacation far in advance, and while it was disappointing, we still enjoyed seeing the overall theme that remained and meeting Donald Duck in his archeologist attire.

The projects and construction taking place when we visited were part of the reason Animal Kingdom was selected to come in fourth place, but truly this was an amazing experience and one of our personal favorites when it comes to the parks. We missed out on seeing the Finding Nemo show due to time, and when we were there, the It’s Tough to be a Bug show had just closed but not yet been replaced by the new Zootopia experience. Since our last visit, not only has Animal Kingdom made headway on the Tropical Americas and added Zootopia: Better Zoogether!, but they have also added a new Bluey and Bingo meet and greet, replacing Rafiki’s Planet Watch (where you could meet Rafiki, Timone, and pet goats) with Conservation Station and Bluey’s Wild World, where beyond the aforementioned meet and greets with everyone’s favorite blue dog, you can also play keepy uppy (incredible, we know) and learn all about the care for wildlife, such as the Jumping Junction where you can learn about Kangaroos and Wallabies.

Even with the changes being made and those yet still to come, we would one hundred percent recommend this park to anyone and everyone. If you have littles, or even if you don’t honestly, we would also highly recommend becoming a wilderness explorer (does everyone love Up as much as we do?!) where you can get your wilderness explorer badge for going to different stations around the park and learning all about the wildlife and wilderness that makes Animal Kingdom (and the wild in general) such an incredible place.

Ranking any Disney park is like choosing between your kids or your pets – the reality is we love them all and they’re all first place in our hearts. The difference between the parks is like a 1A, 1B situation more so than an actual ranking, as they all offer unique reasons for why they are worth experiencing multiple times. But since we have to rank them in some order, and since Animal Kingdom was undergoing a LOT of changes during our visit, it comes in fourth place in our initial rankings. Could that change? Absolutely. Do we think that is likely to change? (With Bluey here now, a Zootopia experience, and an Encanto ride on the way?!) Absolutely. For the time being however, Animal Kingdom comes roaring in at number four on this list, but maintains a special place in our hearts for our family. So if you’re thinking of including Animal Kingdom in your next Disney trip, we think that would be a smart idea and lead to plenty of excitement. Just keep in mind that if you want the full experience, Tropical Americas won’t be up and running until 2027, so if you did have to miss one of the parks, we could understand choosing Animal Kingdom to be the park on the chopping block. But if you’re an animal lover, a Pandora fan, or determined to earn your Wilderness Explorer badge, then go find the adventure out there that is the Animal Kingdom!

Want to know who comes in third place for our Disney park rankings? Stay tuned to hear all about what makes our third place park a showcase of Disney World; you won’t want to be ‘COT missing it!