Animal Kingdom is arguably the most intricate park in America, with some of Disney World’s best and most unique rides. But what are the best days to visit Animal Kingdom? When you plan out your Disney World vacation, which days of the week should you make Park Pass reservations for? And what days should you avoid because the crowds will make the Flight of Passage line even longer than usual?
In our Animal Kingdom crowd guide, we’ll let you know which days have the longest lines, so you know the best times to visit.
Using wait time data from Thrill-Data.com, we’ve compared the average wait time at Animal Kingdom based on day of the week for the past three and a half years. We’ve also broken down crowd patterns by month. Our recommendations put an emphasis on the past 12 months, as visiting habits have greatly changed since 2020 and the introduction of the Park Pass system.
Update July 7, 2023 – We now have data for all of 2022, which gives us a much clearer picture of new crowd patterns with Genie+ and Lightning Lane included. This new data affected our recommended days to visit Animal Kingdom. We’ve updated this guide so you can better plan your 2023 Disney World vacation.
I also made a video version of this article for Guide2WDW’s YouTube channel, which you can watch below so you can better plan your 2023 Disney World vacation.
Read on to find out the best days of the week to visit Animal Kingdom, as well as which days to avoid.
The Best and Worst Days to Visit Animal Kingdom in 2023 – Video
This video gives an overview of all the findings in this article: the best days to visit Animal Kingdom and the days you’ll want to avoid. Be sure to subscribe to the Guide2WDW YouTube Channel for more Disney World tips, tricks, and advice, but read on for more in-depth analysis.
Average Wait Time by Day of the Week at Animal Kingdom
From January 1, 2019 through December 31, 2022, here is the average wait time at Animal Kingdom for each day of the week.
- Monday: 43 Minutes
- Tuesday: 41 Minutes
- Wednesday: 39 Minutes (Shortest)
- Thursday: 40 Minutes
- Friday: 41 Minutes
- Saturday: 44 Minutes (Longest)
- Sunday: 43 Minutes
Now let’s look at more recent crowd patterns. Here are the wait times for Animal Kingdom in 2022:
- Monday: 47 Minutes (Longest)
- Tuesday: 46 Minutes
- Wednesday: 43 Minutes (Shortest)
- Thursday: 44 Minutes
- Friday: 46 Minutes
- Saturday: 43 Minutes (Shortest)
- Sunday: 44 Minutes
The Best Day to Visit Animal Kingdom in 2023: Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday
The best day of the week to visit Animal Kingdom is usually Wednesday. Both over the past four years and since Lightning Lane was introduced, Wednesdays at Animal Kingdom have had the shortest wait times. Wednesdays have had the shortest wait times five out of the last twelve months. The only month Wednesdays had the longest wait time in 2022 was July.
Looking at historical data, you’re most likely to encounter shorter wait times at Animal Kingdom on Wednesdays.
While Saturdays had the longest wait times over the past four years, they’ve become great days to visit the park in very recent history. Saturdays have had the shortest wait time at Animal Kingdom four out of the last twelve months. The first day of the weekend also tied Wednesday for the shortest wait times in 2022. Saturdays are a good day to consider making a park pass for Animal Kingdom.
While Sundays used to be a bad pick, very recent data bucks that trend. In the last six months, Sunday had the shortest waits twice, while having the longest wait times once. Sunday had the second shortest wait times in 2022.
Although it’s counterintuitive looking at the data, Monday could be a good pick for Animal Kingdom despite having longer wait times than other days of the week. Mondays are the worst day of the week at Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, and Hollywood Studios as well. At Animal Kingdom, the difference isn’t quite as pronounced on Mondays and the rest of the week. Mondays at Animal Kingdom are probably your least bad option, other than not going into the parks.
The Worst Days to Visit Animal Kingdom in 2023: Monday, Tuesday, and Friday
Mondays have the longest wait times in recent history at Animal Kingdom. Like I mentioned above, Mondays aren’t as bad at Animal Kingdom compared to the three other parks. If you have wiggle room in your vacation planning, Monday may be a good day to enjoy your resort or go to Disney Springs, as it currently has the longest wait times across the board at Disney World.
Tuesday and Friday had the second longest wait times at Animal Kingdom in the past year. Friday had the longest wait times three months during 2022, and during the busiest month of the year, Tuesday had the longest wait times at Animal Kingdom.
Animal Kingdom Day of the Week – Average Wait Time Based on Month
Our recommendations are based on an average of recent history. Crowd patterns shift based on time of the year. Below are the last twelve months of average wait time at Animal Kingdom, broken out by day of the week.
As you can see, the above recommendations would shift based on which month of the year you visit.
January 2022
- Monday: 44 Minutes (Longest)
- Tuesday: 40 Minutes
- Wednesday: 36 Minutes (Shortest)
- Thursday: 39 Minutes
- Friday: 39 Minutes
- Saturday: 42 Minutes
- Sunday: 42 Minutes
February 2022
- Monday: 52 Minutes (Longest)
- Tuesday: 40 Minutes (Shortest)
- Wednesday: 44 Minutes
- Thursday: 45 Minutes
- Friday: 47 Minutes
- Saturday: 51 Minutes
- Sunday: 50 Minutes
March 2022
- Monday: 51 Minutes
- Tuesday: 54 Minutes (Longest)
- Wednesday: 49 Minutes
- Thursday: 49 Minutes
- Friday: 51 Minutes
- Saturday: 42 Minutes (Shortest)
- Sunday: 48 Minutes
April 2022
- Monday: 51 Minutes (Longest)
- Tuesday: 50 Minutes
- Wednesday: 50 Minutes
- Thursday: 46 Minutes
- Friday: 45 Minutes (Shortest)
- Saturday: 45 Minutes (Shortest)
- Sunday: 48 Minutes
May 2022
- Monday: 48 Minutes (Longest)
- Tuesday: 43 Minutes
- Wednesday: 38 Minutes (Shortest)
- Thursday: 43 Minutes
- Friday: 41 Minutes
- Saturday: 40 Minutes
- Sunday: 44 Minutes
June 2022
- Monday: 52 Minutes
- Tuesday: 53 Minutes
- Wednesday: 53 Minutes
- Thursday: 50 Minutes
- Friday: 54 Minutes (Longest)
- Saturday: 45 Minutes (Shortest)
- Sunday: 46 Minutes
July 2022
- Monday: 46 Minutes
- Tuesday: 49 Minutes
- Wednesday: 51 Minutes (Longest)
- Thursday: 49 Minutes
- Friday: 47 Minutes
- Saturday: 44 Minutes
- Sunday: 41 Minutes (Shortest)
August 2022
- Monday: 37 Minutes
- Tuesday: 40 Minutes
- Wednesday: 37 Minutes
- Thursday: 43 Minutes
- Friday: 47 Minutes (Longest)
- Saturday: 39 Minutes
- Sunday: 36 Minutes (Shortest)
September 2022
- Monday: 32 Minutes
- Tuesday: 28 Minutes
- Wednesday: 23 Minutes (Shortest)
- Thursday: 24 Minutes
- Friday: 34 Minutes
- Saturday: 32 Minutes
- Sunday: 39 Minutes (Longest)
October 2022
- Monday: 46 Minutes
- Tuesday: 47 Minutes
- Wednesday: 40 Minutes (Shortest)
- Thursday: 48 Minutes
- Friday: 56 Minutes (Longest)
- Saturday: 46 Minutes
- Sunday: 46 Minutes
November 2022
- Monday: 49 Minutes (Longest)
- Tuesday: 47 Minutes
- Wednesday: 34 Minutes (Shortest)
- Thursday: 39 Minutes
- Friday: 44 Minutes
- Saturday: 43 Minutes
- Sunday: 38 Minutes
December 2022
- Monday: 54 Minutes
- Tuesday: 56 Minutes (Longest)
- Wednesday: 52 Minutes
- Thursday: 49 Minutes
- Friday: 50 Minutes
- Saturday: 45 Minutes (Shortest)
- Sunday: 46 Minutes
How to Plan an Amazing Animal Kingdom Day
Planning a trip to Disney World? Figuring out when to go is just the beginning. Get in touch with our friends at Vacationeer for free Disney World vacation planning. Their travel agents can help you plan your vacation for no extra cost, including helping get park reservations for the best days to visit Animal Kingdom. They’ll make sure you get the most out of your visit to every theme park at Disney World. Plus, they are Disney experts, so they’ll have their own recommendations and advice.
Don’t miss our Animal Kingdom Tips & Tricks so you can visit like an expert. We also have free Disney World guides, which help you learn the basics of planning a WDW vacation. Our Guide 2 Disney Genie and Animal Kingdom Lightning Lane Guide will help you spend less time waiting in line for Animal Kingdom’s best rides and attractions. Plus, we have an in-depth section on Animal Kingdom for Toddlers, an Animal Kingdom Character Guide, as well as Animal Kingdom Dining and Restaurants.
We want to hear from you!
What do you think the best day to visit Hollywood Studios is? Let me know in the comments below!
Don’t miss the other entries in our When to Visit Disney World Guide.
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