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Park Queue TimesPQT

Adventureland
vs
Animal Kingdom

On a typical day Animal Kingdom queues less: about 26 minutes a ride against 29 at Adventureland, a difference of roughly 3 minutes on every queue you join.

01 · On a typical day

What you would normally queue.

Averages across recent weeks, so one broken ride or one wet Tuesday cannot decide it. This is the comparison to plan a trip on; the live figures below are the one to act on today.

Adventureland and Animal Kingdom compared on their typical recorded queue times
TypicallyAdventurelandUnited StatesAnimal KingdomUnited States
Average wait per ride 29 min26 min (best of the two)
Rides with recorded waits 66
Longest typical queue Phoenix36 minAvatar Flight of Passage44 min
Shortest typical queue Storm Chaser18 minWildlife Express Train8 min
Average ride uptime Share of opening hours a ride is runningNot recorded98%

Averaged across every ride at each park with recorded waits. A ride that never opened is left out, so a park is not flattered by counting a shut ride as a queue of zero.

02 · Right now

Both parks, this minute.

Live queue times at both parks. These fill in as soon as the page loads, and keep updating while you are here.

Adventureland and Animal Kingdom compared on live queue times
Right nowAdventurelandUnited StatesAnimal KingdomUnited States
Average wait right now --
Rides open --
Opening hours today --
Longest queue --
Shortest queue --

These keep refreshing while this page is open. A closed park posts no waits, so its rows read as dashes rather than zeroes.

Verdict, on a typical day On a typical day Animal Kingdom queues less: about 26 minutes a ride against 29 at Adventureland, a difference of roughly 3 minutes on every queue you join.

03 · Choosing

Which one is your day out.

Every line here is earned by one of the figures above - nothing is a generic sentence with a park name dropped into it.

Pick Adventureland if…

  • You will accept a longer queue - 29 minutes a ride here against 26 at Animal Kingdom - for what Adventureland has that Animal Kingdom does not
  • Phoenix is on your list - it is Adventureland's longest typical queue at about 36 minutes, so it is the one to do first
  • You want Adventureland's own character - the rides, theming and atmosphere described below

Pick Animal Kingdom if…

  • You want shorter queues: Animal Kingdom averages 26 minutes a ride against 29 at Adventureland
  • Avatar Flight of Passage is on your list - it is Animal Kingdom's longest typical queue at about 44 minutes, so it is the one to do first
  • You want Animal Kingdom's own character - the rides, theming and atmosphere described below

04 · The parks

What each one is.

Adventureland

Adventureland in Altoona, just outside Des Moines, has been open since 1974 and is Iowa's largest amusement park. Monster is the steel coaster with the beyond-vertical drop, Outlaw and Tornado are the wooden coasters, and Phoenix, Storm Chaser and Draken Falls add more variety, with a large section of family rides. In the autumn it runs Halloween haunts on select dates.

Summer weekends and the weeks around the Fourth of July are the busiest. Weekdays early and late in the season are usually much quieter. Check the live queue times before you go and use the crowd calendar to find a good day.

Adventureland live queue times

Animal Kingdom

Disney's Animal Kingdom blends a full theme park with a working zoo. The park sits at Walt Disney World and is the largest of the four by area. Signature attractions include Avatar Flight of Passage, Na'vi River Journey, Expedition Everest, Kilimanjaro Safaris, and the Festival of the Lion King show. Pandora – The World of Avatar regularly posts the longest wait times in the park.

Animal Kingdom is usually less crowded than Magic Kingdom or Hollywood Studios, but Avatar Flight of Passage still routinely exceeds 60-minute queue times. Early mornings are best for the safaris when animals are most active. Check live wait times on arrival and head to Pandora first. Use our crowd calendar to pick a quieter date outside US school holidays for a more relaxed visit.

Animal Kingdom live queue times

05 · Questions

Adventureland or Animal Kingdom?

Which is better, Adventureland or Animal Kingdom?

If you are judging on queues, Animal Kingdom: it averages about 26 minutes a ride on a typical day against 29 at Adventureland, roughly 3 minutes back on every queue you join. Adventureland has 6 rides with recorded waits against 6 at Animal Kingdom.

Which has shorter queues, Adventureland or Animal Kingdom?

Animal Kingdom, by about 3 minutes a ride. On a typical day Animal Kingdom averages 26 minutes against 29 at Adventureland. Queues still move hour by hour, and a midweek day outside school holidays beats the gap at either park. See Adventureland best time to visit and Animal Kingdom best time to visit to pick a quiet day.

Can I visit Adventureland and Animal Kingdom in the same trip?

Yes - both parks are in United States, so a two-park trip is realistic over a long weekend. Split the days so you start at whichever opens earliest and drive to the other in the evening.

How many rides does each park have?

See the tables above for ride counts - or jump to Adventureland and Animal Kingdom for the full ride lists.

Is Adventureland bigger than Animal Kingdom?

They track the same number of rides here - 6 each. Acreage matters less than how many of those you can actually get on in a day, which comes down to queues and opening hours, and there Animal Kingdom is ahead.

Then pick
the quiet day.

Both parks have a crowd calendar with six weeks of forecast and the best day left to go.