Here’s the thing — not every ride in Disney’s Animal Kingdom is great. In fact, there are a few rides that are kind of a waste of time if you’re looking to tackle all of the other awesome stuff there is to do in this park!
There’s no way to do absolutely everything in Animal Kingdom in a single day, so which rides do you SKIP to make room for everything else? We’ve got a list right here of four rides that almost every Disney World pro would skip in this park.
If you’re worried about missing something important on your next trip to Animal Kingdom, we can help. We have a complete checklist that covers EVERYTHING in this park! Click below, enter your email, and we’ll send the FREE list straight to your inbox.
One of the most important things you should do when planning your Disney World vacation is PRIORITIZE, and we can help you do that with this list of skippable rides.
Na’vi River Journey
Na’vi River Journey is a slow boat ride located in the Pandora land of Animal Kingdom. During the ride, you travel “deep into Pandora’s glowing bioluminescent rainforest.”
The only other ride in Pandora is Avatar: Flight of Passage, so some people assume that these two rides are comparable. They are not — Flight of Passage is much more thrilling, featuring an immersive-feeling experience that’s brought to life by a huge screen (kind of like the one used in Soarin’ in EPCOT) that makes you feel like you’re riding on the back of a banshee. Na’vi River Journey is fun, but it’s pretty short and definitely doesn’t have a thrill factor.
The cool thing about Na’vi River Journey is the impressive Shaman of Songs animatronic that you’ll see at the end of the ride. However, if you’re not interested in animatronics or a big Avatar fan, it’s probably not a must-see attraction.
Since this is one of only two rides in Pandora, the line can get super long — sometimes, we’re worried that people mistake this ride for Flight of Passage, wait over an hour, and then board the boats, only then realizing they’re not about to fly on a banshee.
Basically, Na’vi River Journey is an “it’s a small world”-type attraction that’s great for little kids if the wait time isn’t very long but is not essential and certainly not worth a long wait.
TriceraTop Spin
TriceraTop Spin is located in DinoLand U.S.A.! It’s a Dumbo-type attraction, where you board the little triceratops ride vehicles and then go around in the circle, with the option to go up and down as well.
This might be a really fun ride for the little ones, and the line isn’t usually very long at all, but if you’re looking for the most exciting things to do in Animal Kingdom…this isn’t it.
Although it’s not very exciting, it definitely serves a purpose! This is a great place to bring young kids while the older kiddos run off to ride the more thrilling DINOSAUR ride in the same section of the park.
Kali River Rapids
Whether you should skip Kali River Rapids is a little bit controversial. It all comes down to whether or not you want to get wet, because you WILL get wet on this ride! It’s a boat ride with additional water elements like waterfalls.
If it’s a chilly or rainy day, you’ll definitely want to skip the rapids — you don’t want to be freezing and miserable as you dry off! However, on a really hot or sunny day, this might be the perfect way to cool down.
Even if you do decide to ride Kali River Rapids, try not to go right before a dining reservation (especially if you’re going somewhere fancy, like Tiffins), as you won’t want to show up soaking wet.
The ride is pretty fun, but there aren’t as many big drops and thrilling parts as some people expect. The big water rides over at Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach are definitely more exciting.
It’s Tough To Be a Bug
So technically, “It’s Tough To Be a Bug” is a show, not a ride. However, we had to include it because this is, in our opinion, the most skippable attraction overall at Animal Kingdom.
Why? Because it’s terrifying. Seriously. TERRIFYING.
This show is located inside the Tree of Life, which means it should be really awesome and fun, right? It’s INSIDE a park icon! But if you take your children to this show, they might have nightmares (that huge Hopper animatronic is enough to give grown adults nightmares, too).
Disney’s own website admits that this show is “dark, scary, and loud.” During this 3D film inspired by Disney x Pixar’s A Bug’s Life, you learn more about what it’s like to be a bug. A tarantula will fling its quills at you, a soldier termite will spray you, and a disgusting “defense stench” from a stink bug will fill the room. It’s not super pleasant.
If you’re a big fan of bugs or specifically of the movie A Bug’s Life, this might be your thing! But most people (especially kids) don’t need to prioritize it.
This show is likely going to be replaced soon. At the recent Destination D23 event, Disney announced that a new Zootopia-themed show was coming to the Tree of Life! Although Disney didn’t specifically say that “It’s Tough To Be a Bug” was going away, it looks like that will probably be the case.
Stay tuned to DFB for more tips as you plan your upcoming Disney World vacation!
Click here to see which rides the pros skip in Magic Kingdom.
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Which rides do you typically skip in Disney’s Animal Kingdom? Let us know in the comments!
Donald Purney says
Can somebody please tell me what a “Disney World Pro” is?