Why I Go To Disney's Animal Kingdom in the Late Afternoon (And You Should Too!)

People often ask the best time to visit Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Like most things with Disney, that answer depends largely on your situation. If you’re visiting Walt Disney World on a once-in-a-lifetime trip or a random pilgrimage that you only make once every five years, this article might not be for you. You’ll probably do better to spend an entire day at the park to see and do everything.

But if you visit regularly, live nearby, or feel like you’re at a place where you’ve done almost everything, you might want to consider this strategy, if you can even call it that. I am so laid back when it comes to touring these days that I find myself visiting the parks to soak it all in, even if I don’t experience a single attraction. However, when I visit Disney’s Animal Kingdom, I usually go for these three reasons: food, walking the trails, and riding Kilimanjaro Safaris. I rarely visit the park without going on a safari.

Since relocating to the area, I often sneak over to the Animal Kingdom a few hours before closing. I might work from home all day and then leave at 4:00 p.m. when the park closes at 6:00 or 7:00 p.m. That will give me just enough time to ride the safari once or twice, walk around a little bit, and have dinner. If I’m not having dinner, I might even get in line to ride Flight of Passage a few minutes before closing.

As it gets later, the parking attendants usually fill in empty spaces toward the front of the park. On this visit, I literally parked in the front row. I couldn’t believe my luck. So, I grabbed my bag and headed straight inside. It was about 3:00 p.m. when I arrived. Usually, I don’t get there this early, but I needed to check out the new bird-watching Goofy character meet-and-greet. His last time was at 5:00 p.m., and I wasn’t sure how long I would have to wait. Thankfully, it was only 10 minutes.

When I finished meeting Goofy, it wasn’t even 3:30 p.m., which was earlier than I anticipated. So, I decided to walk around the park and grab a bite to eat. This is always the tough part for me. Animal Kingdom has so many quality dining options. The other parks? Not even close! I scrolled through the roll call in the My Disney Experience app, hoping to land on something I haven’t tried or done in a long time. It occurred to me that I had never tried the chicken fried rice that everyone raves about at Yak and Yeti Local Food Cafe (the quick service, not the table-service restaurant). So I walked to the Asia section of the park and picked up an order. It was delicious. I was a little embarrassed that I gluttonously devoured the entire thing.

chicken fried rice order from Animal Kingdom

By this time, it was a little after 4:00 p.m., and I still had three hours of park time left. I decided to walk to Africa and check out the wait for Kilimanjaro Safaris. It was only 30 minutes, which was great! However, I felt I could do better, and since I had some extra time, I decided to take a few photos of the park. We’ll try to get those updates in the next week.

The next hour and a half was spent taking photos and enjoying a leisurely walk around the park. At 5:48 p.m., I returned to the entrance of Kilimanjaro Safaris and found exactly what I was hoping to find. A five-minute wait was posted outside the entrance.

a five minute stand-by wait at the end of the day for Kilimanjaro Safaris

Whether you’re visiting the park for an entire day or just the afternoon, it’s important to know that sometimes the safari closes earlier than the rest of the park. This is typical for most of the attractions that feature animals. However, on this afternoon, Kilimanjaro Safaris closed at 7:00 p.m. If you ride earlier in the day, you might take note of this sign posted near the entrance. It always shows how late the ride is open. So you want to make sure you get in line before it closes.

a sign that says how late Kilimanjaro Safaris will be open

Here is a photo of the almost non-existent line. It was a little backed up when we got to the loading area. Several animals were blocking the paths. I had set a timer to keep up with the wait, and it was 11 minutes before we boarded. I would wait 11 minutes any day to ride the safari!

Here are a few photos of the animals we saw along the way.

rhinoceros on first part of safari at Animal Kingdom — Rhinos

a crocodile on a late afternoon safari — Nile Crocodile

an elephant at Disney's Animal Kingdom — An elephant with a reflection.

Okay, this has got to be the best vacation-ruined shot I have ever taken. It is fairly rare to see the lions up and about, and they currently have this netting that makes it even more challenging to see them. As our safari driver started to pull away, I saw some movement, and the male lion appeared! Unfortunately, he had not climbed high enough to get a good picture. If only the netting hadn’t been there, right?

the Warden Post thematic element at Kilimanjaro Safaris

After the safari, I could have ridden again. The wait was still only five minutes. Or I could have gotten in line to ride anything else in the park (that was still open), like Flight of Passage, Na’vi River Journey, Expedition Everest, or even DINOSAUR! But I wanted to take a few more photos on the way out and pick up a slice of fudge to snack on when I got home.

After picking up my chocolate treat, I crossed the bridge from Africa to Discovery Island. With 30 minutes until the park closed, I decided to walk the Discovery Island Trails as I made my way to the exit. One path runs between the Discovery River and the back of the Tree of Life, and the other, the Tree of Life Garden Trail, runs directly in front of the tree.

You can get an up-close look at the animal carvings and see a few animal habitats.

If you want to see more carvings, we have a photo post of the Tree of Life.

After both paths, I stopped in the gift shop to browse a bit before leaving the park. I left a few minutes after 7:00 p.m. All in all, it was a simple afternoon where I met a character, took a few photos, rode one of my favorite attractions, and enjoyed the beauty of the park.

So, whether you are an annual passholder or just looking for a peaceful park hop, a short afternoon at Disney’s Animal Kingdom is worth your consideration. You don’t have to do everything or pack it all in to have a good time. Value is based on whatever you decide. There isn’t much I would trade for these relaxing afternoons in the park. My only complaint–I wish they would stay open a little later. It’s so pretty at night.

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Do you ever spend days like this in the parks? Would you be interested in spending a short afternoon exploring Disney’s Animal Kingdom with minimal rides? Leave a comment below and let us know.

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