An Afternoon at Animal Kingdom with a Toddler

Before I had my daughter I was really not a big fan of Animal Kingdom. Ask me which park I wanted to go to on any given day and Animal Kingdom would've been my last choice. After Alyssa came along, however, all of that changed. When she was a baby we spent countless hours strolling around looking at the animals. If she (or I) needed a little break they have the best baby care center on property. It was always fun to wander around and people watch and see what the animals were up to.

Now that she is a toddler we still really enjoy Animal Kingdom! Surprisingly, I find it to be even more toddler friendly than Magic Kingdom is. This post details what we did when we spent half a day there. (Had it been a full day I would've added in a few shows, watched the parade, taken the train to Rafiki's Planet Watch, met a few more characters, and done all of the animal trails but we will save that for another day.)
When we arrived at the Park it was 3:45 so the parking lot was already half empty. I was able to find a spot up front, a great bonus when you are traveling with a toddler and a stroller by yourself because the lot is small enough that if you are parked up front you can just walk to the front gate vs messing with the tram. More and more people were trickling out as the parade passed by them and their day was complete, which meant there would be less people in the Park for us to deal with. This is an added bonus to going to Animal Kingdom in the afternoon. Most of the time if you go after the afternoon parade it really isn't very busy and wait times for everything are minimal.

After we went through bag check we wandered slowly through the Oasis area towards the main area of the Park. There are lots of animals scattered throughout this area and Alyssa enjoys wandering along the paths and seeing them all, especially the macaws that she always tries to get to talk back to her. Just before you reach the end of the Oasis there is a path with a bridge that is semi-hidden from the two main paths and Alyssa always seeks it out. She loves running across the bridge and into the small cave at the end of it.

Once we exited the cave the Tree of Life was in full view of us. We walked to the bottom of the path and at this point I had to make the decision to go left or right. Going left takes you to where Camp Minnie Mickey, the Baby Care Center, and eventually the safari are. Going right takes you to where Dinoland is with its huge Boneyard Playground, the spinning triceratops ride, etc. (See, most of this Park is very baby/toddler friendly!) We've come to the Park so often since Alyssa was an infant she already knows her general way around and on this particular day she told me she wanted to go to the playground so we headed right towards Dinoland. (Note: You can also go straight and go inside the Tree of Life to view the Bug's Life show. I STRONGLY advise against this if you have a little one. It is not baby or toddler friendly at all!)
On the way to Dinoland we stopped at the Boat Dock to see the Winnie the Pooh characters since they are leaving this location very soon and possibly being replaced by Donald and Daisy. The Boat Dock is somewhat hidden on your left side just before you get to the bridge that will take you towards Dinoland. We like this character location because since it is somewhat hidden, the wait ti see the characters is usually minimal. You do not know which characters you will see until you get to the actual Boat Dock and to get to it you have to walk down a fairly long path. Once you get to the bottom, however, you are rewarded by the chance to see multiple characters by waiting in only one (usually not too long) line. today we got to see Pooh, Tigger, and Eeyore and Alyssa gave them plenty of hugs!

When we finished saying hello to the Pooh characters we walked back up the path and headed across the bridge towards Dinoland. As soon as you get to Dinoland you are greeted by a huge dinosaur skeleton and the bridge that connects the slide area of the playground to the sandbox area. Alyssa knows what this bridge is for and immediately started pointing and whining that she wanted to go to the "dinosaur playground" but I wanted to check on the wait for Triceratops Spin (the spinning dinosaur ride that is very much like Dumbo) first. Instead of heading directly to Triceratops Spin though I decided to wander through the plant lined paths.

Hidden on this path is a dinosaur statue you can climb on and take pictures with. My toddler jumped right out of her stroller and started climbing up his back. She  then spent the next fifteen minutes climbing up his back and sliding down his tail. This is a great meeting spot if anyone in your party wants to ride the nearby Dinosaur ride (another thing I would not recommend subjecting a toddler to even if they meet the height requirement...it is very loud, dark, and scary!) It will keep your toddler occupied for a little while and it is a lot easier to keep track of them (and have somebody find you) than it is inside the big Boneyard playground.

When I felt she's spent enough time climbing on the dinosaur we headed towards Triceratops Spin. The wait was listed as ten minutes but we walked right on and rode not once, not twice, but three times before I told Alyssa I'd had enough and we'd find another fun activity. (Note: If you have a younger toddler you will probably have to help them move the triceratops since the control is a bit out of their reach. The control to go up and down is in the back seat but if you are in the front you can easily reach behind you with one hand to control it.)This is another advantage to going to Animal Kingdom in the afternoon after nap time...the rides usually have little to no wait, especially this one.

We stopped to watch a few carnival games and take some pictures at a photo op where my toddler loves to pretend to "drive" the dinosaur car before we headed towards my toddler's absolute favorite area of the entire Park, the Boneyard.

The Boneyard is a toddler's dream. Plenty of places to run, climb, slide, and even a tiny spot that has water if you'd like to get wet. There is a little area with two smaller slides off to the side if you have a smaller toddler (just be sure to test them to make sure they are not too hot befroe sending your little one down!). Off to the side of it is a jeep you can climb on and some dinosaur footprints that roar when you stomp on them. Some smaller toddlers might be a little afraid of the roaring noises but Alyssa has loved them since she was a baby.

The main attraction at this playground for my toddler, however, is the slides. There are lots and lots to choose from. Three colorful slides are off in a side area and then there are lots of slides on the main climbing area. I wish the stairs to the three colorful slides were more visible from the bottom of the slides but unfortunately they aren't so until Alyssa is a little older I will continue following her up the stairs and sliding down after her (if you have more than one adult with you one can stay at the bottom of the slides and the other can stay at the top of the stairs so your toddler can do the slides more independently).

 The main climbing structure in the Boneyard is a little bit more difficult to keep track of a toddler in. There are lots of different stairs to climb, slides to go down, and ropes to climb up. One section leads to a bridge, which you can cross to find a huge sand pit. I try to encourage my toddler to stay in the area with the colorful slides for as long as possible for this reason. She loves the main climbing structure too but it is a lot harder to keep up with her and keep track of her when she is playing on it. If you choose to stay on the bottom and let your child tackle the structure on their own they could potentially cross the bridge and be completely out of your sight and my toddler definitely isn't independent enough to do that on her own and find her way back to where mom is waiting.

After chasing her around on the main structure for a little while I do bring her across the bridge to the sand pit. The sand pit is actually a huge pit of tiny pieces of gravel with large dinosaur bones (attached to the ground, they can not be picked up and thrown!) hidden in it. There are plenty of pails and shovels and sometimes also some paintbrushes for several children to play in this Dinosaur Dig area at the same time. Even more importantly, there are plenty of ledges for a tired mom or dad to sit on while their toddler plays in the Dinosaur Dig area.

The way the Dinosaur Dig area is set up your child will always be in your sight and it will probably keep them occupied for a long time. If you have a very young toddler or older infant there are two smaller holes/areas off to the side that you can stick your very little one in to play alone so you don't have to worry about them getting trampled (you will, however, have to worry about them eating the gravel!). I used to stick Alyssa in these two areas all the time when she was younger and she loved it!

There is no exit to the Boneyard on the Dinosaur Dig/sand pit side so be aware that when you finally decide to drag your toddler out you will have to walk back over the bridge and past the main climbing structure. (The Boneyard only has one entrance and exit for safety reasons...you wouldn't want your unattended toddler wandering out!) Allow plenty of time to walk back to the exit if you know your toddler is going to want to play a little longer in the main area instead of dealing with an epic meltdown when you wait until the last possible minute to leave and have to carry a screaming child past all of the fun stuff.
After our time in the Boneyard I decide to head back to the safari. You can go either left or right after leaving Dinoland to get to the safari but either way it is going to be a pretty long hike. I usually go left so I can stop at the baby care center along the way to see if my little one needs a new diaper or just a minute to sit and relax. We wander along some of the paths that are around the Tree of Life on the way there. These paths are always pretty quiet and my toddler enjoys looking for the animals along each path. You can also get a better view of all the animals on the Tree of Life and sometimes you might even come across an activity set up like this one to measure your wingspan,

 Animal Kingdom's Baby Care Center is the best one on Disney property right now. It is located just before you cross the bridge into Africa (assuming you are coming from the front of the Park) and is set somewhat back from the main path next to the First Aid station. The Baby Care Center sells all kinds of things you could possibly need to make it through the day in the Park with a little one if you ever find yourself in need of more diapers or a bib or infant or children's medicine (just expect to pay slightly higher prices than you would at the drugstore!).

You are allowed to bring your stroller into this Baby Care Center or you can leave it outside. Once you get inside there is the main area with the reception desk (staffed by a friendly Cast Member) and a single bathroom large enough to fit a stroller into. This main area leads to two rooms, one for feeding and diaper changes and a second room with some tables, a tv that constantly shows Disney movies, and plenty of carpeted space for older infants/young toddlers to toddle around or crawl. I have seen several families with little ones bring their lunch into this room to eat. It is quiet, air conditioned, and usually not crowded. It is a great place to just sit and recharge your batteries and take a little break from the heat or a great air conditioned spot to hang out with a baby or toddler napping in their stroller.
The second room in Baby Care is located in the back and this is the area for changing and feeding. There are several large changing tables available to use and a row of high chairs lining one wall. The other wall has doors leading to private nursing rooms with comfy chairs and changing tables in them. This room also has a place to warm a bottle and a water cooler to help you stay hydrated (Cast Members have often encouraged me to refill me water bottle before I leave), sinks to wash hands and help with clean-up, and many products for sale. I like this Baby Care Center so much I have visited it with my little one many, many times since she was born, especially when she was still nursing. She has always loved the colorful animal border that lines the wall and having this Baby Care Center to go to when she is hot, tired, or overstimulated makes visiting Animal Kingdom with a baby or toddler that much easier.

After we leave the Baby Care Center we head back to the Safari Ride. Since it is getting close to closing time the wait time for the safari is listed as only ten minutes (Note: that is not always the case and the safari sometimes closes an hour or two before the rest of the Park but I find just before closing to be a great time to ride the safari when it is open since wait times are often a lot shorter and temps have cooled down so more animals are usually roaming about). You can take your stroller part way down the safari entrance path so don't worry about parking it before you enter the line. A Cast Member will stop you when you get to the stroller parking area and it is very easy to retrieve it after you leave the ride because the stroller parking area is located in between the entrance and exit paths.

Alyssa loves the Safari! It can be very bumpy (especially in the back) so you may want to keep an arm around your toddler or hold them on your lap. (This is also one reason they warn expectant moms not to ride.) Alyssa prefers to sit on the seat and get bumped all around but if it is just us sitting in the row I have to be very careful she doesn't go flying across the row and bump her head. Yes, it can get that bumpy at times (especially in the back)! She likes seeing all of the animals but my little daredevil likes being bumped out of her seat. If you think your toddler (or you) would enjoy a slightly less bumpy safari experience I find sitting in the front of the truck to be a little more mild.

When we exit the safari ride we wander the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail for a few minutes. Usually we do the whole trail because my toddler loves seeing the animals and it is one of those places in Animal Kingdom where she can walk and/or run without me having to worry about her getting lost in a mob of people, but it appears she is getting tired so we wander back to the beginning and go to retrieve our stroller so we can head out of the Park.
As we are leaving Africa a band is playing and Cast Members are dancing around. Before I had Alyssa I would walk right past these impromptu dance parties but my toddler loves them. If you see a band playing and/or a dance party going on it's often a great way for your toddler to get some of their energy out. If the dance party is crowded my toddler is perfectly happy dancing on the sidelines or in a more secluded area but if it is not too busy often a Cast Member will notice her and bring her to dance right along with them.
After tiring herself out dancing to a song (yeah right!) Alyssa climbs back into her stroller and we head back towards the entrance to the Park. We make one final stop in Camp Minnie Mickey to say good-bye to a few characters before we leave. There is a Lion King Show going on and it is just before Park closing time so Alyssa has the characters virtually to herself. If we had gotten to Camp minnie Mickey earlier we might have chosen to see the Lion King Show instead of doing character meet and greets. Lion King is a very colorful, fast paced show and it is one of the few that actually hold my toddler's attention for the entire duration. As an added bonus it is held indoors so it is a nice break on a hot day. If you are planning to see the characters in Camp Minnie Mickey, try to do it while the Lion King Show is going on. Do not plan on seeing the characters as soon as you exit the show because that is when the lines are usually the longest!

After she plays with the characters for a little while and gets lots of hugs and kisses I tell my toddler it is time to go. We meander slowly out of the Park, stopping to see the fish and otters at play and some of the other animal exhibits on our way out. Alyssa insists on running through the "secret" cave and "hidden" bridge in the Oasis and says good-bye to the anteater and some ducks (the macaws have already gone in for the night).

Once we reach the Park exit I head to the car with one happy, tired toddler.