Rope Drop and Lightning Lane Tips at Animal Kingdom
We’ve previously discussed the best current Rope Drop strategies at three Walt Disney World theme parks.
Now, we’re left with just one, and it’s by far the easiest of the bunch.
Animal Kingdom entrance
Let’s discuss Rope Drop and Lightning Lane tips at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
An Evolving Park
Animal Kingdom
The first thing you should know about Animal Kingdom is that it’s undergoing a kind of evolution right now.
In Pokemon Go terms, Disney is feeding the park lots of Rare Candy so that it’ll become a more powerful entity.
Sadly, as all Pokemon players know, evolutions don’t occur overnight, and the waiting is the hardest part.
Since Animal Kingdom hasn’t technically even started the main part of its transformation, the park will be like this for a while.
Photo: Yesterland
In the interim, guests can still do some things at DinoLand USA, at least through the end of 2025.
Several experiences have closed, though, and this reality should alter your plans a bit.
Largely, you should anticipate prioritizing the zoo elements of the park more than the rides.
Since that’s the spiritual core of Animal Kingdom anyway, I’d like to think you’d planned to do this stuff even without the current construction happening.
Still, you’ll have the time of your life at Animal Kingdom anyway. It remains one of Disney’s greatest accomplishments.
Who else could create a theme park with S-tier thrill rides like Expedition Everest and Avatar Flight of Passage in the same place as a zoo?
Photo: Disney
Dozens of specials of animals live in their natural habitats within 100 acres of Pandora – The World of Avatar.
Soon, the Tropical Americas will enrich the parks more, but I’m getting ahead of myself. For now, we want to focus on 2025 park visits.
Rope Drop at Animal Kingdom
I fervently believe that there’s no One True Way to approach a Disney theme park visit.
Your family should do whatever feels natural and organic to you. Having said that, Rope Drop at Animal Kingdom is binary.
Pongu Pongu closed
You’re either starting your day at Pandora, or you’re going against the grain.
As someone who has Rope Dropped this park many times since Pandora opened, I’m telling you that the herd mentality is real.
Photo: Christy Weinberg
Most of the people entering the park when it opens are heading to Pandora. There’s a catch, though.
Due to Early Theme Park Entry, every guest staying at an official Disney resort has already beaten you to the punch.
Crowds at Animal Kingdom
These tourists gain a competitive advantage, which explains why I’m always telling you to stay onsite at Disney.
You’ll maximize every park visit by utilizing Early Theme Park Entry.
An Ilm can be spotted on Avatar: Flight of Passage
Thanks to this amenity, you could be done with Avatar Flight of Passage before the park officially opens to guests. I know because I’ve done it.
Let’s say that you don’t have Early Theme Park Entry access, though. You’ll still want to follow the herd to Pandora.
Even with the half-hour disadvantage, you still stand a decent chance of cutting your wait time for this attraction.
Even though Avatar Flight of Passage is eight years old now, it still averages a wait of 80+ minutes on many dates.
Photo: Facebook/Imagineer Podcast
You want to shave that down as much as possible, and Rope Drop remains your best bet.
Alternatively, you could switch to Na’vi River Journey, the ride I prefer at Pandora.
Flight of Passage
By taking this approach, you’d still need to wait the full time for Avatar Flight of Passage later, though.
Na’vi River Journey maxes out at an hourlong wait on most dates. So, it’s the less effective tactic.
The Daring Rope Drop Approach
Kilimanjaro Safaris at Disney’s Animal Kingdom
You could take a different approach, though. If you’re feeling bold or are just not that into Avatar, you could visit Africa instead.
Here, you’ll find Kilimanjaro Safaris, which is secretly one of the best morning rides at Disney.
The lines will be MUCH shorter, giving you a chance to save yourself an hour of standing in line, which would happen later in the day.
Even better, you’ll witness the animals at a different time of the day. Many of these creatures share the same sleep schedule as you.
So, they’ll be waking up right around the time your Jeep rolls up into their habitat.
Expect lots of yawning and some excited baby animals ready to explore their new world. It’s pretty magical.
Conversely, you can borrow my strategy. Sometimes, when I’m in the mood for a thrill ride, I’ll head straight to Expedition Everest.
Few people are daring/foolhardy enough to start their day this way. It’s not unusual for me to ride three times during its first hour in operation.
Expedition Everest
I’ll stand in the regular line at Rope Drop. Then, I’ll enter the Single Rider line, which can be a borderline walk-on at this time of day.
Another suggestion I’ll offer is that you may prefer a Rope Drop at DINOSAUR to savor it one last time.
This isn’t the best strategy to maximize your time – honestly, it’s pretty much the worst one – but if you’re sentimental, it’s still fun to do.
You won’t have this option next year. So, this visit reflects your final opportunity to Rope Drop the most memorable ride at DinoLand USA.
About Lightning Lane
I’m overdue for a summer Lightning Lane recommendations article, but I’ll spoil one part of it.
You don’t need to waste your money on a Lightning Lane Multi Pass (LLMP) at Animal Kingdom unless you intend to Park Hop.
Should you switch parks at mid-day, LLMP becomes a brilliant tactical gambit, as you can use it at your next destination.
When you’re spending all day at Animal Kingdom, you’ll have more than enough time to stand in line for everything.
Photo: Disney
The only reason to purchase LLMP is if you’re impatient and just don’t want to wait as long for each attraction.
In that case, the Lightning Lane you should target first is Na’vi River Journey. Then, try to get Kilimanjaro Safaris.
Kali River Rapids
After that, I’d argue that Festival of the Lion King is the most important booking, although Kali River Rapids is better on hot days when the line grows longer.
Generally speaking, Animal Kingdom only offers five rides on LLMP. So, even though the Lightning Lane is cheaper here, it’s still not worth the money.
Really, your primary decision at Animal Kingdom involves the Lightning Lane Single Pass for Avatar Flight of Passage.
As you can probably guess from my previous comments, I’d suggest yes on this one, especially to people who don’t like to stand in line much.
However, you absolutely do NOT need it, as you’ll have plenty of time to do all the rides at Animal Kingdom.
The trick involves finding the right balance so that you can interact with the animals and maybe catch a show or two.
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Feature Photo: Disney
