THE LARGEST PLANNING RESOURCE FOR UK VISITORS TO ORLANDO

The Busiest And Quietest Times To Visit Animal Kingdom

Animal Kingdom Crowd Calendar

My Animal Kingdom crowd calendar page projects crowd levels for Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park in Florida for the next few months based on historical data and known busy periods such as public and school holidays. As well as projected crowds I also list the main US holidays that typically bumps attendance in the parks and may affect your plans. Animal Kingdom is light on special events, Disney prefers to center them around Magic Kingdom and EPCOT.

Guests line up in one of Expedition Everest's queue areas. Use my Animal Kingdom crowd calendar to manage expectations on your next visit.

How To Use

Using My Animal Kingdom Crowd Calendar

My Animal Kingdom crowd calendar has been simplified grading each day into one of 4 colours. There is an explanation of the colours under each month for ease of reference.

Scanning the month overviews you may notice there are no longer many “quiet” days. Disney done a great job of spreading crowds out so there really is no such thing as a quiet day anymore.  But don’t fret, with a little planning you can still have a great day on even a moderate crowded day in the world’s busiest theme park.

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Monthly events & holidays

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FAQ's

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Animal Kingdom Crowds

Crowds At A Glance

If you are basing your visit purely on when the quietest month is versus the busiest months below are the top 3 best and worst months to visit based purely on crowd levels.

ANIMAL KINGDOM

Quietest Months

The 3 quietest months to visit Animal Kingdom are:

  • August
  • September
  • October

ANIMAL KINGDOM

Busiest Months

The 3 busiest months to visit Animal Kingdom are:

  • June
  • July
  • December

Animal Kingdom Crowds

Crowd Calendar Yearly Overview Downloads

Click on an image below to download the current year’s crowd calendar forecast in either an image or a pdf format.

Animal Kingdom Crowds

Month By Month Breakdown

Each month is split into two sections. The first half details key holidays and events that will increase attendance in the park followed by a short monthly overview with screenshot so you can see at a glance the predicted crowd levels.

Animal Kingdom Key Dates

January

ANIMAL KINGDOM

January Holidays

Notable holiday dates in January are:

  • Jan 1st – New Years Day

ANIMAL KINGDOM

January Events

Animal Kingdom’s events in January are:

  • Jan 8th – 12th – runDisney Marathon Weekend
  • Jan 17th – 20th – MLK Junior Weekend

Animal Kingdom Crowd Calendar

January 2025

Aside from the first week which remains busy thanks to the ending of the holiday decorations, and runDisney’s first marathon weekend of the year, weekdays in January are typically a lovely time to visit Animal Kingdom with average or just below average crowds.

Crowds will decrease as the month goes on and peak season Christmas holiday crowds dissipate.

Large parts of Dinoland USA will be closed as the area begins it’s reimagining in the Tropical Americas that will bring Indiana Jones and Casa Madrigal to thrilling life.

January 2025 Animal Kingdom Crowd Calendar

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
1 2 3 4 5
6 7 8 9 10 11 12
13 14 15 16 17 18 19
20 21 22 23 24 25 26
27 28 29 30 31
LIGHT MODERATE BUSY PEAK
Light Crowds: 45 minutes or less for most attractions. Moderate Crowds: Busier but bearable. 45-90 minutes for popular attractions. Heavy Crowds: 1-2 hours for popular attractions. Peak Crowds: Very heavy crowds; 2 hours+ for popular attractions.

Animal Kingdom Key Dates

February

ANIMAL KINGDOM

February Holidays

Notable holiday dates in February are:

  • Feb 19th – Super Bowl
  • Feb 14th – Valentines Day
  • Feb 17th – Presidents Day

ANIMAL KINGDOM

February Events

Animal Kingdom’s events in February are:

  • Feb 20th to 24th – runDisney Princess Half Marathon Weekend

Animal Kingdom Crowd Calendar

February 2025

February in Animal Kingdom largely mirrors January with quieter week days and busier weekends although weekdays can be slightly busier when comparing them to January.

The first public holiday of the year, Presidents Day (every third Monday in February), brings the first opportunity for people to get away for a break.

Consequently, the week following Presidents Day is busy in Animal Kingdom as people take the opportunity to get away without having to use as much annual leave.

February 2025 Animal Kingdom Crowd Calendar

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28
LIGHT MODERATE BUSY PEAK
Light Crowds: 45 minutes or less for most attractions. Moderate Crowds: Busier but bearable. 45-90 minutes for popular attractions. Heavy Crowds: 1-2 hours for popular attractions. Peak Crowds: Very heavy crowds; 2 hours+ for popular attractions.

Animal Kingdom Key Dates

March

ANIMAL KINGDOM

March Holidays

Notable holiday dates in March are:

  • Mar 8th – Spring Break
  • Mar 17th – St. Patrick’s Day

ANIMAL KINGDOM

March Events

Animal Kingdoms’s events in March are:

  • There are no special events scheduled for March

Animal Kingdom Crowd Calendar

March 2025

Spring Break in 2025 begins for some on the 8th March running through most of the rest of the month with some into April. Expect heaver crowds at weekends throughout the month.

If you are looking for a quiet time in the parks you might want to give late March (and April) a bit of a wide berth especially as the first 4 months of the year are busy in Disney World with dance championships bumping attendance at the hotels and theme parks over many weekends.

March 2025 Animal Kingdom Crowd Calendar

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31
LIGHT MODERATE BUSY PEAK
Light Crowds: 45 minutes or less for most attractions. Moderate Crowds: Busier but bearable. 45-90 minutes for popular attractions. Heavy Crowds: 1-2 hours for popular attractions. Peak Crowds: Very heavy crowds; 2 hours+ for popular attractions.

Animal Kingdom Key Dates

April

ANIMAL KINGDOM

April Holidays

Notable holiday dates in April are:

  • Apr 21st – Easter Monday
  • Apr 18th – Good Friday

ANIMAL KINGDOM

April Events

Animal Kingdom’s events in April are:

  • Apr 3rd to 6th – runDisney Springtime Surprise Marathon Weekend

Magic Kingdom Crowd Calendar

April 2025

With a later Easter weekends in Disney world will continue to be busy in Animal Kingdom.

Avoiding the peak Spring Break crowds, late April is still a great time to visit for warm weather without the humidity of the summer months.

April 2025 Animal Kingdom Crowd Calendar

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
1 2 3 4 5 6
7 8 9 10 11 12 13
14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27
28 29 30 31
LIGHT MODERATE BUSY PEAK
Light Crowds: 45 minutes or less for most attractions. Moderate Crowds: Busier but bearable. 45-90 minutes for popular attractions. Heavy Crowds: 1-2 hours for popular attractions. Peak Crowds: Very heavy crowds; 2 hours+ for popular attractions.

Animal Kingdom Key Dates

May

ANIMAL KINGDOM

May Holidays

Notable holiday dates in May are:

  • May 11th – Mother’s Day
  • May 26th – Memorial Day

ANIMAL KINGDOM

May Events

Animal Kingdom’s events in May are:

  • There are currently no special events scheduled for Animal Kingdom in May

Animal Kingdom Crowd Calendar

May 2025

Low to moderate crowds coupled with fantastic weather and no significant public holidays until the end of the month make May a brilliant time to visit Orlando if you want to avoid peak crowds but still have the weather.

Also with most cheerleading championships being concluded, May is the first month of the year not to have a packed calendar somewhere on resort that may artificially bump up your accommodation pricing.

Weekends remain busy, particularly the last weekend because of Memorial Day but many weekdays are average or just above average.

May 2025 Animal Kingdom Crowd Calendar

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8 9 10 11
12 13 14 15 16 17 18
19 20 21 22 23 24 25
26 27 28 29 30 31
LIGHT MODERATE BUSY PEAK
Light Crowds: 45 minutes or less for most attractions. Moderate Crowds: Busier but bearable. 45-90 minutes for popular attractions. Heavy Crowds: 1-2 hours for popular attractions. Peak Crowds: Very heavy crowds; 2 hours+ for popular attractions.

Animal Kingdom Key Dates

June

ANIMAL KINGDOM

June Holidays

Notable holiday dates in June are:

  • Jun 3rd – US School Holidays Start
  • Jun 15th – Father’s Day

ANIMAL KINGDOM

June Events

Animal Kingdom’s events in June are:

  • There are currently no special events scheduled for Animal Kingdom in June

    Animal Kingdom Calendar

    June 2025

    June heralds the start of the US School holidays in many US States running through to the first week of August. Dates vary by state and region so some schools follow our system of holidays returning in early September. As a general rule expect some schools to be off from late May through Late August with the peak in late June through early August.

    Expect very busy crowds and turbulent weather, especially in the afternoons, and long lines for popular attractions. The park may feel that it is packed to bursting, especially with one area largely out of action for the next few years but Disney maintains they have limited capacity by 20% during June and July.

    June 2025 Animal Kingdom Crowd Calendar

    Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
    1
    2 3 4 5 6 7 8
    9 10 11 12 13 14 15
    16 17 18 19 20 21 22
    23 24 25 26 27 28 29
    30
    LIGHT MODERATE BUSY PEAK
    Light Crowds: 45 minutes or less for most attractions. Moderate Crowds: Busier but bearable. 45-90 minutes for popular attractions. Heavy Crowds: 1-2 hours for popular attractions. Peak Crowds: Very heavy crowds; 2 hours+ for popular attractions.

    Animal Kingdom Key Dates

    July

    ANIMAL KINGDOM

    July Holidays

    Notable holiday dates in July are:

    • Jul 4th – Independence Day

    ANIMAL KINGDOM

    July Events

    Animal Kingdom’s events in July are:

    • Jul 1st to 6th – Fourth Of July Weekend

    Animal Kingdom Crowd Calendar

    July 2025

    Now every US state school is guaranteed to be off you can expect crowds to be uniformly busy throughout the whole month with weekdays just as busy as weekends.

    The last week of July can be marginally busier once international schools are also on their summer holidays but there really is very little difference between the beginning or the end of the month.

    If you want to guarantee your attraction is going to be operating your best months to visit are June and July to coincide with the US School holiday system.

    July 2025 Animal Kingdom Crowd Calendar

    Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
    1 2 3 4 5 6
    7 8 9 10 11 12 13
    14 15 16 17 18 19 20
    21 22 23 24 25 26 27
    28 29 30 31
    LIGHT MODERATE BUSY PEAK
    Light Crowds: 45 minutes or less for most attractions. Moderate Crowds: Busier but bearable. 45-90 minutes for popular attractions. Heavy Crowds: 1-2 hours for popular attractions. Peak Crowds: Very heavy crowds; 2 hours+ for popular attractions.

    Animal Kingdom Key Dates

    August

    ANIMAL KINGDOM

    August Holidays

    Notable holiday dates in August are:

    • Aug 4th – US School holidays end

    ANIMAL KINGDOM

    August Events

    Animal Kingdom’s events in August are:

    • There are currently no special events scheduled for Animal Kingdom in August

    Animal Kingdom Crowd Calendar

    August 2025

    August is a quiet month to visit the parks if you need to visit during UK school summer holidays.

    Remember that hurricane season in Florida runs from June through September and even without a hurricane the afternoon can be wet, very wet! Plan around the showers to maximise your time and enjoyment in the park and don’t be afraid to have a half day and some relaxation by the pool in the hotel.

    August 2025 Animal Kingdom Crowd Calendar

    Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
    1 2 3
    4 5 6 7 8 9 10
    11 12 13 14 15 16 17
    18 19 20 21 22 23 24
    25 26 27 28 29 30 31
    LIGHT MODERATE BUSY PEAK
    Light Crowds: 45 minutes or less for most attractions. Moderate Crowds: Busier but bearable. 45-90 minutes for popular attractions. Heavy Crowds: 1-2 hours for popular attractions. Peak Crowds: Very heavy crowds; 2 hours+ for popular attractions.

    Animal Kingdom Key Dates

    September

    ANIMAL KINGDOM

    September Holidays

    Notable holiday dates in September are:

    • Sep 1st – Labor Day

    ANIMAL KINGDOM

    September Events

    Animal Kingdom’s events in September are:

    • There are currently no special events scheduled for Animal Kingdom in September

    Animal Kingdom Crowd Calendar

    September 2025

    September is largely a buffer month between summer holiday madness and Halloween celebrations which actually start in some parks around the middle of the month. 

    With animal welfare at the heart of Animal Kingdom you won’t find typical Halloween celebrations here nor any fireworks at any point in the year.

    If you want to pack your day full, a chilled out day in Animal Kingdom before a visit to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Celebration is a great way of seeing everything Disney has to offer without burning out.

    September 2025 Animal Kingdom Crowd Calendar

    Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7
    8 9 10 11 12 13 14
    15 16 17 18 19 20 21
    22 23 24 25 26 27 28
    29 30
    LIGHT MODERATE BUSY PEAK
    Light Crowds: 45 minutes or less for most attractions. Moderate Crowds: Busier but bearable. 45-90 minutes for popular attractions. Heavy Crowds: 1-2 hours for popular attractions. Peak Crowds: Very heavy crowds; 2 hours+ for popular attractions.

    Animal Kingdom Key Dates

    October

    ANIMAL KINGDOM

    October Holidays

    Notable holiday dates in October are:

    • Oct 13th – Columbus Day
    • Oct 31st – Halloween

    ANIMAL KINGDOM

    October Events

    Animal Kingdom’s events in October are:

    • Oct 23rd – 26th – runDinsey Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend

    Animal Kingdom Crowd Calendar

    October 2025

    October has always been a popular time for people to visit Orlando because of separate ticketed events at Universal and Seaworld as well as at the Magic Kingdom in Disney World.

    While the Halloween celebrations continue into the nights in Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom’s muted celebrations aren’t quite so in-your-face. 

    October 2025 Animal Kingdom Crowd Calendar

    Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
    1 2 3 4 5
    6 7 8 9 10 11 12
    13 14 15 16 17 18 19
    20 21 22 23 24 25 26
    27 28 29 30 31
    LIGHT MODERATE BUSY PEAK
    Light Crowds: 45 minutes or less for most attractions. Moderate Crowds: Busier but bearable. 45-90 minutes for popular attractions. Heavy Crowds: 1-2 hours for popular attractions. Peak Crowds: Very heavy crowds; 2 hours+ for popular attractions.

    Animal Kingdom Key Dates

    November

    ANIMAL KINGDOM

    November Holidays

    Notable holiday dates in November are:

    • Nov 11th – Veteren’s Day
    • Nov 28th – Thanksgiving

    ANIMAL KINGDOM

    November Events

    Animal Kingdom’s events in November are:

    • There are currently no special events scheduled for Animal Kingdom in November

    Animal Kingdom Crowd Calendar

    November 2025

    November in Orlando is largely another buffer month in between two popular holiday celebrations. As soon as Halloween ends you will see parks preparing and launching Christmas celebrations soon after.

    Weekends are typically moderately busy as locals flock to the parks outside of work for some Christmas cheer. Thanksgiving, a hugely popular public holiday in America, packs all the parks to bursting for one weekend and many days the preceding week after so try to avoid this week if you can.

    November 2025 Animal Kingdom Crowd Calendar

    Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
    1 2
    3 4 5 6 7 8 9
    10 11 12 13 14 15 16
    17 18 19 20 21 22 23
    24 25 26 27 28 29 30
    LIGHT MODERATE BUSY PEAK
    Light Crowds: 45 minutes or less for most attractions. Moderate Crowds: Busier but bearable. 45-90 minutes for popular attractions. Heavy Crowds: 1-2 hours for popular attractions. Peak Crowds: Very heavy crowds; 2 hours+ for popular attractions.

    Animal Kingdom Key Dates

    December

    ANIMAL KINGDOM

    December Holidays

    Notable holiday dates in December are:

    • Dec 24th – Christmas Eve
    • Dec 25th – Christmas Day
    • Dec 31st – New Year’s Eve

    ANIMAL KINGDOM

    December Events

    Animal Kingdom’s events in December are:

    • There are currently no special events scheduled for Animal Kingdom in December

    Animal Kingdom Crowd Calendar

    December 2025

    The first fortnight is a great time to visit to see the Animal Kingdom in full on Christmas mode without the crowds of the last fortnight but even these two weeks aren’t as quiet as they used to be.

    If visiting later in December, and its within your budget, purchasing Genie+ for everyone in your party could save you from some long queues but remember that you will still be queueing, just not for as long. Consider what you want to get done in your day, Genie+ may not be worthwhile. 

    December 2025 Animal Kingdom Crowd Calendar

    Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7
    8 9 10 11 12 13 14
    15 16 17 18 19 20 21
    22 23 24 25 26 27 28
    29 30 31
    LIGHT MODERATE BUSY PEAK
    Light Crowds: 45 minutes or less for most attractions. Moderate Crowds: Busier but bearable. 45-90 minutes for popular attractions. Heavy Crowds: 1-2 hours for popular attractions. Peak Crowds: Very heavy crowds; 2 hours+ for popular attractions.

    Animal Kingdom Crowd Calendar

    Frequently Asked Questions

    I hope you have found the Animal Kingdom crowd calendar useful. Here are some popular questions that people usually ask but please reach out on the button below if you have any further questions.

    Does Disney Publish A Crowd Calendar?

    No, there is no official Disney crowd calendar for any of their parks, in the US or in any other country.

    But using a crowd calendar combined with your own research will help you figure out the best time for you to go and, to a degree, manage your expectations.

    If your dates are set a crowd calendar will help you get the most out of your time and manage expectations about how much you think you will get done versus the reality.

    Overall when is the quietest month?

    There are now seldom few days where you will find the Animal Kingdom “empty” as you may have done a few years ago. You can thank Pandora – The World Of Avatar for that, but crowd-level patterns in Animal Kingdom follow many of the same general rules as other parks in the Orlando area.

    Early March and late April are good if you want to avoid the heat and humidity of summer but, conversely, late March and early April are very popular with university students on their Spring Break which changes dates every year.

    September is a good month to visit if you like the heat and don’t mind the possibility of a hurricane stopping your plans for a day or two.

    If you need to visit in the school holidays late August is actually a lot quieter than July as US schools start the autumn term in early August but there is humidity, heat and a lot of rain to deal with.

    Easter and May school holidays in the UK are good times to visit for decent weather (hot by our standards) without the crowds and peak rainfall. Remember this is the tropics and you should pack to expect rain any time of the year.

    Early December gets you the Christmas overlay without the crowds later in the month but even these days are not as quiet as they once were.

    How do you come to your scores?

    Parks don’t release official crowd data so my score is a combination of historical data, special event announcements, daily entrance pricing and a little educated guessing.

    The score is representative of this park only. Animal Kingdom is the least visited theme park gate in Disney World but that still equates to a few million visitors more than one of your local theme parks.

    Are premium queue options a necessity?

    That’s going to depend foremost on your budget and then the time of year you are visiting.

    Premium queue options are not cheap and please don’t ever get into debt because you feel pressured that you need to purchase it. You can still have a great holiday without purchasing up-charge experiences and add-ons.

    Disney’s Lightning Lane service is somewhat constrained in Animal Kingdom owing to a lack of ride capacity to soak up the thousands of visitors that potentially purchase it every day. What rides there are get booked up frustratingly fast, not helped by Animal Kingdoms early closing times.

    Is Animal Kingdom doable in a day without Lightning Lanes? Absolutely, but you will need a plan and using your early entry benefit if you stay on resort is a great way to start.

    How accurate is your crowd calendar?

    No crowd calendar is an exact science. Crowd calendars should only be used as part of your own research to manage expectations on a given day.

    Do crowd calendars help? Absolutely! But relying solely on a crowd calendar is nowhere near as effective as putting a little planning into your days in the parks. Knowing a little of the layout and top attractions to visit plus a not-visit list!

    I know you don’t necessarily want to plan your holidays but an Orlando holiday is not your typical beach holiday. Even a little planning will go a long way.

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