Walt Disney World is trying to reverse a long period of benign neglect and creative stagnation at its Florida resort by pouring billions into new attractions over the next decade or two.
But to do that, the company has torn down large areas of some of its four Florida theme parks.
As a result, one of them is no longer worth an entire day right now. And you can save considerable cash by taking that day out of your schedule.
Since 2020, Disney's Animal Kingdom has deleted three rides and its big lagoon shows from its lineup, and hasn't hosted a parade since 2014. Animal Kingdom also closes before dark, even though its Avatar-themed land is wired to glow with beautiful lights and the park once stayed open late enough to show them off.
Animal Kingdom is now operating just four rides plus its safari route. Even if you elect to see a show or two, that's simply not enough to justify what Disney charges for a full day.
And so, given all that Animal Kingdom has quietly lost, Frommer's does not currently recommend budgeting an entire day to visit the park.
Disney is aware that there's much less appeal to Animal Kingdom than its other venues. A strong indicator: those curtailed operating hours, with closure before dark. Additionally, the company typically charges about $20 less to enter Animal Kingdom for a day than to go to Magic Kingdom.
Considering Magic Kingdom has more than 20 rides to choose from versus Animal Kingdom's 4, that puny $20 discount is not deep enough.
The company charges in the range of $154–$159 per person for single-day entry to Animal Kingdom—way too much for what you currently get.
Scheduling a half-day at Disney's Animal Kingdom
Other Disney parks have previously lost Frommer's full-day recommendation but earned it back later.
In 2017 and 2018, Frommer's warned vacationers that Disney's Hollywood Studios had diminished offerings because of construction, thus failing to warrant the cost of a full day's ticket. Following the opening of new attractions, our recommendation was restored.
If visitors to Walt Disney World still want to go to Animal Kingdom, we advise adding Disney's Hollywood Studios or EPCOT on the same day.
The right to visit two or more Disney parks on the same day comes with the Park Hopper ticket option, which typically costs $70 to $105 more per ticket, depending on how long you're at the resort. That's obviously less than spending in the $150s for a day ticket to a park with markedly less to do than the others.
Buying Lightning Lane queue access for Disney's Animal Kingdom isn't worth the added $15 to $32 per person, either. You'd get quicker lines at only three rides with a Multi Pass, and you won't need to pay for extra help getting into the shows at the park, even though the company lists those as perks of the pass.
Disney's Animal Kingdom is not likely to be worthy of a full day or Lightning Lane again until sometime in 2027, when a renovation brings vacationers a new indoor ride based on Encanto, a re-skin of the old Dinosaur ride into an Indiana Jones one, and a new children's carousel.
Families planning Walt Disney World vacations should also be aware that after Sept. 9, 2026, only one of the resort's water parks, Blizzard Beach, will be available.
Since the Covid-19 pandemic, the resort has alternated operation of its two water parks to save money, and it returns to that arrangement at summer's end.
Jason Cochran is the author of the award-winning Frommer's guidebook to Orlando. The next edition will go on sale in early August and can be preordered now.
