My family has the day at Animal Kingdom, likely staying till 8pm or so. I have to work and land in Orlando at 5pm, no checked bags. As a fast walking, adventurous person, who can reserve fastpasses for 60 days in advance (Pandora), Everest single rider, etc. and then meet up with family and help get them home, does trying to go straight to Animal Kingdom from the airport and try to do the most I can make any sense at all? Let’s assume that the cost difference of the extra day is not that significant; its more that is it possible to do a few rides and get something out of it, or are the logistics too difficult?
How are you planning to get from the airport to Animal Kingdom? Depending on your choice, I would imagine you could get into the park by 6:30, or an hour and a half of travel time. Things could go pear-shaped, and it will take longer if you plan to rent a car, but if you take an Uber/taxi straight to the park, you could get there pretty quickly. It will be rush hour, so I might be totally off on the driving time! It’s usually 45 minutes of driving minimum. For perspective, the general rule of thumb is to allow 3 hours when you’re trying to get from the airport to a park using Disney Magical Express and going to a resort along the way. If you have any sort of carry-on suitcase you’ll have to do something with it when you get to Animal Kingdom. There are lockers.
I’d plug your 6:30 to 8:00 (or park closing time) itinerary into a personalized touring plan to double-check the logistics, wait times, and walking times. It seems like you could make 3 FastPasses, maybe for 6-7, 7-8 and 8-9. You might miss the first one, and squeezing the third one in will be tight if you really want to leave at 8, so make the one you care most about for 7-8.
It’s not a lot of time, but you could certainly do a few things if you hustle. I would go for it!
Thanks Sally (my daughters name is Sally!). I was thinking uber/taxi so unless my flight is late hoping I can hightail it and get there 6:15 to 6:30.
I would think of this as a potential plan, if this makes sense. Also I am not sure how “hard closing” the 8pm is?
Your Plan Steps (drag to reorder)
STEP ARRIVAL WAIT DURATION FREE TIME WALK TIME
Expedition Everest - Legend of the Forbidden Mountain Edit X 6:24pm 3 4 0 6
Minimum Height: 44 in
Uses FastPass+ for 5:30pm‑6:30pm
Move Down
DINOSAUR Edit X 6:37pm 5 4 0 11
Minimum Height: 40 in
Move Up | Move Down
Avatar Flight of Passage Edit X 6:57pm 25 6 0 7
Minimum Height: 44 in
Uses FastPass+ for 6:30pm‑7:30pm
Move Up | Move Down
Kilimanjaro Safaris Edit X 7:35pm 7 20 0 9
This type of arrival would stress me out and be too hectic of a start to my trip. I think what you are proposing is doable, but is it worth the hassle for an hour and a half to two hours in the park? How close out are you from your trip? It is very possible that the hours will be extended (I’ve never taken a trip where they didn’t extend hours in some direction than what was originally posted) and then you will have more time to work with. The one thing that would cause me to put up with the madness would be seeing Pandora at night. It is truly beautiful and a sight to see. I could see going into the park for an hour just to see Pandora.
Yes, I know what you mean, and I think Pandora is the real attraction for me.
As far as stress/hectic, I am a very high energy person, and this allows me also to help get the kids to the hotel from the park also, so I think this is less of a worry, but I understand your point.
The day would be March 20, I will strive to get my 60day (staying at Port Orleans Riverside) fast passes to lock in that time. If I do not get Flight of Passage, it doesnt seem worth it.
First and maybe only visit for a long time, and yes, the only chance to do Flight of Passage this trip, and maybe for at least a few years…Missing the EE wouldn’t be that big a deal but good point…
It looks like on the only one who thinks that it is very unrealistic to think you’ll be there by 630 or 7 PM.
I recently flew solo into MCO and rented a car. I expected this will get me to the parks faster than taking magical express, but between retrieving my bags and then waiting in line to get the rental car still took me over two hours to get from wheels down to Magic Kingdom. I was aiming to arrive in time for happily ever after – I did but with only 10 minutes to spare (the show was at 9pm). This was with an arrival time of 6:20 PM, after the main rush-hour was over; I encountered very little traffic along the way.
I don’t want to be a buzz kill here, but having just done basically what you’re doing although headed to a different part I thought I had some perspective to share that you might appreciate.
Hooray! Let us know how it turns out. It will be fun, even if you just do FOP and see Pandora at night. Your plan to use an Uber/taxi is going to make a huge difference. The drop off point at AK is very near the entrance. It will be WAY faster than driving and parking, in my opinion.