With construction equipment digging in Dinoland and multiple attractions closed, many Walt Disney World vacation planners are questioning whether they should skip Animal Kingdom on their trips between now and sometime in 2027 when Tropical Americas opens. This post covers what’s happening, when projects will be completed, and how they’ll impact your experience on upcoming visits.
When it comes to radical Walt Disney World overhauls, there are two existing ‘templates’ based upon recent projects: EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Both of these park reimaginings significantly impacted guests, albeit in markedly different ways. Animal Kingdom’s overhaul will likewise no doubt weigh on the park experience for the next couple of years. The question thus becomes, should you skip Animal Kingdom?
Most fans will likely be familiar with the Giant EPCOT Dirt Pit, which involved several years of so-called progress walls to replace a fountain, flex building, and dated design elements with some planters and trees, flex building, and slightly less dated design elements. The cost in guest burden, time or dollars was not “worth it” for the end result–which is mostly a lateral change with slightly improved placemaking. But we’re not here to relitigate the half-baked EPCOT overhaul.
Then there was the Disney’s Hollywood Studios expansion. During that, several attractions closed in order for construction to occur, including flagship and opening day experiences that defined the park, along with other less-popular offerings. There were fewer attractions to experience, but the construction at DHS didn’t significantly impact the atmosphere or guest experience.
Most construction occurred within buildings or out of the way, with walls up at dead-ends but not in main thoroughfares or places creating visual blight. You could see the construction as you walked around Disney’s Hollywood Studios, but for the most part, it was not truly detrimental to the guest experience. Even the attraction capacity that was lost was more or less offset by fewer guests voluntarily visiting the park during construction.
The end result was well worth it at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, as we got Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, Toy Story Land, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, and some improved placemaking. We did lose a couple of OG attractions that old-timers (like me!) loved, and I still lament the lack of the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights at Christmas. But on balance, I recognize that the overhaul was objectively a major net positive for Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
For the record, we never advised guests avoid DHS during the construction. We brought it to readers’ attention in a “do with this information what you will” manner, but still recommended the park. By contrast, we previously had a full article devoted to whether you should skip EPCOT. The answer was always “it depends,” but earlier iterations suggested that maybe yes was the correct answer for some guests.
This brings us to the Animal Kingdom construction project, which is like Disney’s Hollywood Studios in guest impact but has (obviously) resulted in a similar ‘should you skip?’ article. And since I don’t have a habit of writing posts for zero reason whatsoever, you might surmise that (spoiler alert) the answer is not going to be “definitely not–everyone should do DAK.”
This article ending in anything but a full-throated, unequivocal endorsement of Disney’s Animal Kingdom is going to anger some Walt Disney World fans. Now that old school EPCOT Center has been gone for a couple of decades, those purists (my people!) have been replaced by DAK diehards.
The key distinction between the Animal Kingdom and EPCOT enthusiasts is simple: cynicism. Or rather, a lack thereof. The latter are critical of almost every change, whereas the Animal Kingdom advocates could be dubbed DAK defenders. And understandably so, as the park has been the subject of scorn, unfair ridicule and criticism. In a word, Animal Kingdom is misunderstood.
If this describes you, that’s fine–fantastic, even! But you should also understand that the target audience of this post is not people who already love Animal Kingdom. If it’s your favorite park at Walt Disney World, you should not skip Animal Kingdom. If you think it’s an exemplar of themed design, you should not skip Animal Kingdom. Not today and not when construction is as its crescendo in 2026. But you already knew that.
For everyone else, Animal Kingdom already was highly skippable even before the construction began.
According to Themed Entertainment Association data (the gold standard for measuring annual attendance), Animal Kingdom is the worst performing park at Walt Disney World. During the last year for which data is available, it was the only park at Walt Disney World not in the top 10 for worldwide theme park attendance.
Animal Kingdom ranked #16, with 8.8 million annual visitors. It’s the only Walt Disney World park that didn’t hit the 10 million mark, and it had less than half the annual visitors of Magic Kingdom, the #1 theme park in the world. So even pre-construction, Animal Kingdom was the most-skipped park at Walt Disney World, with half of guests who opted to visit the flagship castle park opting to skip DAK.
Our expectation is that this gap will continue to grow. Animal Kingdom is the park most removed from its last development cycle, and it has lost more than it has gained since March 2020. It will be hurt by its own lack of offerings and construction, and is the park far and away most likely to lose attendance to Epic Universe at Universal. The next few years will be tough for DAK, which very well could end up in the 7 million range before it starts rebounding with Tropical Americas in 2027-2028.
This is precisely why we’ve been advocating for additions at Animal Kingdom for the last several years and a greater sense of urgency from Walt Disney World leadership to make DAK a compelling destination. The writing has been on the wall since March 2021 when Epic Universe resumed construction. At that point, Disney should have started working to create new nighttime entertainment and develop attractions that could open by this year, not 2027. That they didn’t is borderline dereliction of duty.
Point being, Walt Disney World guests are already voting with their wallets and feet and skipping Animal Kingdom. If you simply want the consensus answer and not my opinion, it’s yes, Animal Kingdom is skippable–and increasingly so. But you’ve read this far, so hopefully you’re after commentary, and not just statistics.
I’ve had conflicted feelings about Animal Kingdom since the park opened. My family went opening year, and it was our least favorite park at Walt Disney World. When Sarah and I returned during college, Animal Kingdom had improved, but it was still the park we visited least often in the aughts.
At some point, Animal Kingdom started to “click” for us. As we visited Walt Disney World more often, we had time to slow down and take the parks at a more leisurely pace. We became more interested in Imagineering, design and details, which is where Animal Kingdom truly shines. That led to the post, “I Was Wrong About Disney’s Animal Kingdom” back in 2013 (since updated to account for Pandora – World of Avatar).
A strong argument can be made that Disney’s Animal Kingdom is the best theme park in Florida. When you emphasize the theme in theme park, we’d rank it #1 at Walt Disney World. Animal Kingdom is an exemplar of themed design, and arguably Disney’s most “pure” park when it comes to coherent storytelling. This is true even after the Avatar addition, which was weaved into the park’s overarching ideas masterfully.
The problem, as it’s ever been, is a lack of rides. Walt Disney World embarked on an infamous Nahtazu marketing initiative following the debut of Animal Kingdom. For those unfamiliar with that, it was pronounced “not a zoo” and I’m sure you can surmise from that what it entailed.
Guests were skipping Animal Kingdom because they viewed it as not too dissimilar from their local zoos–why pay Disney’s prices and spend limited vacation time to experience something they could at home? The thing is, the ad campaign was tacit admission of the issue. Guests were right, there were too few rides and not enough daylight between Animal Kingdom and a really nice zoo.
This isn’t to say guests were completely right. Again, Animal Kingdom is miles above the average zoo, or even a standout one like the San Diego Safari Park. Nevertheless, the ride count was way too low and the park leaned too heavily on animal exhibits and walk-through trails. Those were (and are) great enhancements, but they were (and are) called on to carry too much of the load. We’ve warned guests to space these experiences out to avoid “animal fatigue,” and this is one of the reasons why there’s an early afternoon exodus from Animal Kingdom.
Animal Kingdom’s lack of rides problem has never been fully addressed. Attractions have been added over the years, with Expedition Everest and Pandora – World of Avatar being huge assets, among the best rides in all of Walt Disney World.
Even after those additions, Animal Kingdom has by far the lightest ride roster of any park at Walt Disney World. And that has only gotten worse in 2025, with the closure of two traditional theme park style attractions. The park is now down to 6 rides that post wait times. Expand that to include major shows and the attraction count is 9 or 10.
This massively understates the totality of the guest experience at Animal Kingdom, as it doesn’t count several major animal exhibits (like Maharajah Jungle Trek or Gorilla Falls) that will be among the highlights of a visit. It also doesn’t take into consideration characters, atmospheric entertainment, or numerous other things that Animal Kingdom does so, so well.
We can spend a full day at Animal Kingdom and have an immensely satisfying and well-rounded experience on par with any of the parks at Walt Disney World. You can too, so long as you go in with the right expectations, know where to look for the park’s hidden gems, and pace yourself so as to avoid “animal fatigue.”
Personally, I do not think the the attraction closures thus far in 2025–a spinner and a 3D show–move the needle on that. When it goes extinct in early 2026, DINOSAUR will be the much bigger blow. But by the time DINOSAUR closes, Zootopia: Better Zoogether will open. That’s definitely not a 1:1 replacement, but the new 3D show will help. And hopefully there’s more entertainment on tap for 2026 to help ease the growing pains.
When it comes to construction impact in terms of visual blight or navigational issues, there really isn’t much of one. Dino-Rama is the area that’s walled off, and the tacky roadside carnival contributed just as much visual blight when it was open, if not more. The walls are less of an eyesore, if you ask me.
Even so, we would continue recommending Animal Kingdom to anyone with 4 or more days at Walt Disney World that enjoys wildlife and wants an immersive theme park experience that involves exploration and savoring the little things, and not just bouncing from ride to ride.
The fact that most guests treat Animal Kingdom like a half-day park and attendance will further decrease through 2027 could be viewed as an asset to savvy guests, especially those with Park Hopper tickets. Go first thing in the morning or in late afternoon, and you’ll be able to enjoy low to moderate crowd levels ~300 days of the year. No need for Lightning Lanes!
You can also easily spend a full day at DAK. In fact, the argument could be made that Animal Kingdom is a lot like World Showcase–light on rides but heavy on environment and atmosphere–and guests rarely complain about World Showcase. Most everyone views that area of EPCOT as an asset, and enjoys making their way around the world. Animal Kingdom is very similar to that, but grittier and less romanticized…plus animals!
Ironically enough, there are actually several selling points of visiting Animal Kingdom soon…all of which are animals!
The undeniable all-star of Animal Kingdom right now is Bakso, the park’s adorable Sumatran tiger cub. Watch in awe as the cub and his mother, Sohni, playfully pounce and prowl together in their lush habitat filled with cascading waterfalls, trees, hills and logs. Maharajah Jungle Trek provides ample opportunities for the big cats to behavior naturally–communicating, resting, hiding, and exploring. Above all else, the duo likes to play, and their behavior is heartwarming and familiar to any parent.
More recently, Kilimanjaro Safaris welcomed a towering addition to its family as Mara, the park’s beloved Masai giraffe, gave birth to a beautiful baby boy named Tucker! Mara, who joined the savanna in 2015, has proudly expanded her family three times now! It seems like just yesterday Walt Disney World was celebrating the birth of her first calf, Jabari, in 2019. (In actuality, this is the first giraffe calf birth at Walt Disney World since 2021.) As with Bakso the tiger cub, Tucker is also adorable.
Rounding out the trio is a trio: Butternut, Biscuit, and Potato (yes, Potato) are the newest Asian small-clawed otter babies to debut at Animal Kingdom! These otters and their parents, Kevin and Mae, are now appearing in the Otter Grotto habitat on the Discovery Island Trails. Personally, I cannot wait to see Potato the Otter. (Seriously, do not miss Otter Grotto–it’s another of the fantastic animal trails that’s often overlooked!)
Not to disparage adorable animals, but none of this is really that notable. It’s heartwarming, but not a marketable draw for tourists. Animals are born regularly at Animal Kingdom.
When it comes to other additions that’ll draw guests, Animal Kingdom is the only park with nothing planned in Summer 2025. Disney’s Hollywood Studios is getting the Villains and Little Mermaid stage shows. Magic Kingdom is getting Disney Starlight Night Parade. EPCOT is getting Test Track 3.0, GEO-82 Lounge Inside Spaceship Earth, and Goofy’s Takeover of CommuniCore Hall.
The park that needs the most is getting the least. It’s still absolutely baffling that Animal Kingdom isn’t getting a drone show, as the park badly needs to give guests a reason to stay late. The whole reason why I waited until after Walt Disney World announced its summer slate is because I hoped DAK drone show was the ace up its sleeve–that a blockbuster nighttime spectacular would put this whole conversation to rest.
While we very much would love for everyone to appreciate Animal Kingdom as much as we do, we’re also realists. There’s a reason why the the park has lower attendance, an afternoon exodus, and gives guests “animal fatigue.” It’s also true that you can routinely finish every ride in Animal Kingdom before 11 am! There’s a divergence between how hardcore fans and casual guests each perceive Animal Kingdom, and this is worth discussing, rather than just pretending the overwhelming majority of casual visitors are “doing it wrong.”
Then there’s the elephant in the room: Epic Universe. After having had the chance to experience this brand-new theme park, I’m now of the belief that ride-oriented guests with limited vacation time wanting to “make room” for Universal Orlando’s new theme park might want to cut Animal Kingdom from the plans. (See We’re Live Inside Epic Universe for Paid Previews: Photos & Video for more–plus lots more coverage to come.)
On opening day, Epic Universe will have 11 rides and two major shows, plus atmospheric entertainment, play areas, and more. For those keeping score at home, this is more rides than Animal Kingdom. Once you expand that to all attractions and compelling offerings (minus animal exhibits), the rosters are arguably comparable. I’m nevertheless convinced that the average guest will prefer the attraction slate at Epic Universe to that of Animal Kingdom.
Basically, the type of person who felt the need to read this post (and not hate read, but for planning purposes) will probably be better suited by Epic Universe. Both parks have high points and are incredibly compelling in their own ways, but there are more major rides that are must-dos at Epic Universe. And while I recognize recency bias could be coloring my opinion, I’d certainly rather spend time at Epic Universe in the next couple of years over Animal Kingdom. It has several heavy-hitters with endless re-rideability.
Ironically enough, that is the outcome-determinative factor. Not anything about Animal Kingdom itself. From our perspective, the construction walls aren’t particularly impactful, and the attractions that have closed also are not the straw that breaks the camel’s back. The difference-maker isn’t anything happening at Animal Kingdom. In a vacuum, the park is more or less as worthwhile of a draw today as it was during any of the last few years.
It’s actually an externality that gave rise to this post and also makes the answer “yes” for some guests. That externality is Epic Universe, a new theme park that competes for the limited vacation dollars and time of tourists. And while this type of comparison has long been possible with Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure–which probably at least partially explains why DAK has lower attendance than the other Walt Disney World parks–it’s much more pronounced now with Epic Universe.
Again, it didn’t have to be this way. Walt Disney World could have launched a new nighttime spectacular featuring drones, added entertainment, fun ride overlays or seasonal events–anything to help buoy Animal Kingdom and make it more competitive for the next couple of years. That wouldn’t have made the answer to this post an across-the-board “no,” but it would’ve made “no” a more common answer. Staying on-site and visiting all 4 of the Walt Disney World theme parks is the cheaper and easier option–the path of least resistance. Puncturing the Disney Bubble is more of a hassle that increases costs and logistics–but it’s an option that’s worthy of consideration for many guests in 2025 through 2027 for the sake of seeing Epic Universe.
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
Your Thoughts
Will you be visiting Animal Kingdom in the next couple of years? If you’re skipping DAK, are you doing so to avoid construction and closed attractions, and waiting until new rides and Tropical Americas opens? Or are you taking your limited vacation time and reallocating the day from DAK to Epic Universe? Any other feedback on upcoming changes and how they’ll impact the experience? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
