Animal Kingdom is Disney World’s wildest park. But sometimes it can be too wild for guests who suffer from motion sickness. If you’re planning on taking a safari at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, this guide will help you avoid nausea-inducing rides.
As I’ve noted in our other Disney World Motion Sickness Guides, motion sickness is an extremely personal and subjective topic. You may be able to go on the fastest roller coaster, but one spin in a tea cup and your day is done. That’s why I will describe the type of motion for every Animal Kingdom attraction, and I will categorize them based on intensity and how likely they are to cause motion sickness.
- High Risk: These attractions have the biggest chance of making guests feel nausea. These rides will feature the most intense movement.
- Medium Risk: These rides have some sort of pronounced movement that could trigger motion sickness. Most guests will be find the intensity of these rides tolerable, but if you’re sensitive to the attraction type, you may want to skip it.
- Low Risk: The vast, vast majority of guests will have no problem on these rides, but there’s still a small chance it could make some guests feel woozy.
- (Almost) No Risk: Almost every guest should have no issues with the type of movement on these rides. However, I say this with a caveat that sometimes I get lightheaded standing up after tying my shoes, so I know that there’s still a chance some guests could feel sick from these.
Table of Contents
ToggleHigh Risk
Expedition Everest – Risk Factors: Roller Coaster with Drops, Banked Turns, and Backwards Section. While not quite as intense as Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster, Expedition Everest still packs some Yeti-sized thrills. This ride is basically a much bigger version of Big Thunder Mountain, with faster speeds and steeper drops. The ride is smoother, thanks to this being a newer coaster. However, the part that gets most guests is the backwards banked drop. You pull some serious G-Forces as you plunge backwards into darkness. It’s disorienting, and it will almost always make me feel dizzy for a few seconds.
Medium Risk
Avatar Flight of Passage – Risk Factors: 3D Motion Simulator. You can think of this ride as Soarin’ Over Pandora. It has almost an identical ride system as Soarin’, except you sit on motorbike-style seats rather than in a “glider” that rises above the ground. The sense of speed and motion is much more pronounced in Flight of Passage than Soarin’, and the 3D imagery can give some guests motion sickness. If you’re on the fence, you can read a more in-depth analysis in our article Will Flight of Passage Give You Motion Sickness?
Dinosaur – Risk Factors: Rough Motion, Darkness. Similar to Indiana Jones Adventure at Disneyland, Dinosaur puts you on a small motion simulator that moves on a track through the attraction. Think of this as a mini-Star Tours vehicle on wheels, with the car tilting and pitching as it moves from scene to scene. While not as rough as when it opened, Dinosaur can still shake you up a decent amount. The ride is also very dark, which can add to a disorienting feeling.
Kali River Rapids – Risk Factors: Spinning, Drops. While your biggest concern on Kali River Rapids will most likely be if you get soaked, motion sickness is also another possibility. The circular rafts will spin and rotate as you go down the river. Sometimes you’ll be moving forward, sometimes you’ll be moving backwards, sometimes you’ll be moving side to side. Sometimes you’ll spin as you go down a drop. While this feeling of spinning isn’t nearly as pronounced as the Mad Tea Party at Magic Kingdom, it’s still there.
Low Risk
TriceraTop Spin – Risk Factors: Spinning. This aerial spinner is similar to Dumbo at Magic Kingdom. It slowly moves you in a wide circle. If you have issues with any sort of spinning, this ride could make you feel dizzy, although most guests should be fine.
It’s Tough to Be A Bug – Risk Factors: 3D. This movie inside the Tree of Life has a ton of different effects meant to startle you, including an inexplicable simulation of a bee sting. Not that it adds to motion sickness, but you may feel jumpy while watching this show. The movie itself is in 3D, which can cause nausea in some guests.
(Almost) No Risk
Kilimanjaro Safaris – While there are some rough sections of road that get bumpy, this is a relatively slow moving car ride through a massive savanna. The cars are open air, and it’s very easy to look out onto the horizon.
Navi River Journey – This slow moving boat ride through a glowing forest at night should give guests no issues in terms of motion sickness.
Wildlife Express Train – This is the only way to get to Rafiki’s Planet Watch and Conservation Station, which are educational and hands-on exhibits. It’s a slow moving, open air train ride.
Festival of the Lion King – This live stage show has some high-flying acrobatics, but audience members shouldn’t feel any motion sickness.
Finding Nemo: The Big Blue and Beyond – When this show returns, it will feature a massive screen as part of the theatrical presentation. Other than that, it will be a live stage show with puppets.
Feathered Friends in Flight – This live show will feature birds flying overhead, but nothing to cause nausea.
Animal Trails – The animal trails throughout Animal Kingdom let guests walk at their own pace to see creatures from Tigers to Gorillas.
The Boneyard – Could a kid get dizzy while running around this playground? Yes, but that could happen at any playground. Overall this is just a well-themed play area.
Wilderness Explorers – This interactive scavenger hunt will send you all across the park to collect Wilderness Explorer badges. It shouldn’t give guests any issues whatsoever.
Disney World Motion Sickness Guides
I’m currently working on more park motion sickness guides. In the meantime, if you’re curious how intense other Disney World rides are and if they can cause motion sickness, check out our in-depth guides:
- Magic Kingdom Motion Sickness Guide
- EPCOT Motion Sickness Guide
- Hollywood Studios Motion Sickness Guide
- Tron Lightcycle Run Motion Sickness and Accessibility Guide
- Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind Motion Sickness Guide
- Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance Motion Sickness Guide
- Avatar: Flight of Passage Motion Sickness Guide
- Soarin’ Motion Sickness Guide
We want to hear from you!
Is there anything that we got wrong in this guide? Do you have any tips for avoiding motion sickness at Animal Kingdom? Let me know in the comments below, and I’ll update the article with your input!
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James Grosch
James is a lifelong Disney Parks fan. While at the parks, he loves finding new details, learning more about Disney World history, and taking pictures. His favorite WDW attractions include Rise of the Resistance, Spaceship Earth, and Tower of Terror.
James is a filmmaker and writer based in Atlanta, GA.