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What to Wear to Animal Kingdom

By: Author Wandermust Daddy

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What to Wear to Animal Kingdom

Want to know what to wear to Animal Kingdom at Disney World? In this guide we will cover everything from the best shoes, best themed outfits alongside tips for how to dress for the weather in Orlando. 

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Now you might think that what you wear to Disney World will not change from park to park. And while this is true to an extent, you will find that people who visit Animal Kingdom like to theme their outfits which affects what they wear.
 
Also some Disney World parks have water rides and others don’t which again affects what outfits you decide to wear. In this guide we will look in depth at what to wear to Animal Kingdom specifically to help you pick a practical but also if you want it a themed outfit for your day in this park.  
 
So now you know the factors to consider when putting together your Animal Kingdom outfit, here are the things we recommend putting on your Animal Kingdom packing list. 

Quick Dry Shorts

 

If you are visiting Animal Kingdom in the summer or warmer months then our number one pick for bottoms are quick dry shorts. 
 
Animal Kingdom has one of Disney World’s wettest water rides in the form of the Kali River Rapids. To enjoy this ride without having to stay soaked all day we recommend wearing quick dry shorts as this will dry faster if you do get wet on this ride. 
 
 
However if you are visiting in one of the cooler months we recommend wearing leggings for ladies or safari colored pants for men.
 
My husband opted for a pair of zippable walking trousers he used when gorilla trekking in Uganda to give his outfit a safari angle. 

T Shirts

T shirts are the perfect top to wear whatever Disney World park you are in. T shirts are also a great way of adding a theme to your Disney outfit. 
 
One of the ways to theme your outfit for Disney Kingdom is 
  • to select a film featured in the park
  • stick to safari and animal print clothes to reflect the safari theme of the park.

Films that are featured in the Animal Kingdom attractions are:

  • Lion King 
  • Finding Nemo
  • Up and 
  • Avatar. 

From our experience at Animal Kingdom, we found most people wore T Shirts with Lion King slogans on such as Hakuna Matata like the one below.

 

Note: Lion King Slogans also make great Animal Kingdom Instagram Captions. 

However you could also look to Pandora or Up for inspiration. Up is particularly great for couples t shirts for Animal Kingdom. 

Click here to shop best t shirts for Animal Kingdom.

Sunglasses

Sunglasses are a must when you are traveling to any Disney World Park as the sun is strong in Orlando. 

Layers

Although Orlando is a warm city, we recommend packing layers with you. 

Animal Kingdom often has the earliest park opening hours out of all the Disney World parks. And Early Magic Hours at Animal Kingdom can be as early as 7am. 

If you are in the park for opening it can still be quite chilly especially for families traveling with toddlers to Animal Kingdom. 

Best Shoes for Animal Kingdom 

For me the best type of shoe for theme parks in Orlando has to be a sneaker. Animal Kingdom is a really large park and any day at Animal Kingdom will involve a lot of walking. 

For this reason it is really important that you have the most comfortable shoes with you. I usually wear my All Bird Sneakers to Animal Kingdom, however you should pick the brand of sneakers that are most comfortable in. 

Top Tip: for men with large feet I recommend having a pair of sneaker socks with you. My husband has very large feet and had to remove his shoes to get his feet into the hold for Avatar Flight of Passage Ride. 

However it is worth noting that Animal Kingdom has one of the wettest water rides at Disney World in Kali River Rapids.. For this reason we recommend having a change of shoes with you. 

We normally carry a pair of flip flops with us in our backpack to change into for wearing on Kali River Rapids. 

Click here to shop Disney flip flops

How to Dress Kids for Animal Kingdom

Kids at Animal Kingdom - Best Age for Animal kingdom

Kids at Animal Kingdom – Best Age for Animal kingdom

For me there is no bad age to visit Animal Kingdom however depending on the age of your child will affect how you dress them. 
 
The important thing to remember at Animal Kingdom, as with any of the Disney World parks is that it can get hot and the sun is strong. Therefore above anything else make sure you have plenty of sun protection for you and your little ones.
 
For instance it is really important that you pack plenty of sunscreen as well as sunglasses and sun hats for your visit to Animal Kingdom. 
 
One of the things my toddler and little girl enjoys when we travel to Disney World is dressing up for their favorite character meet and greets. However it is worth noting there are limited meet and greets at Animal Kingdom. 
 
We met the classic characters in their safari outfits at Tusker’s House and saw some Up characters as we walked around the park. However there are no princesses or Pixar characters that certainly my kids like dressing up as. Therefore we usually don’t do Disney costumes at Animal Kingdom and opt for a family vacation t shirt or animal print instead. 
 

Disneybounding ideas for Animal Kingdom

Tusker's House - Animal Kingdom Character dining

Tusker’s House – Animal Kingdom Character dining

Although we don’t recommend kids dressing in costume for Animal Kingdom given the characters in the park and the hear, we do on the other hand recommend Disneybounding. 
 
For those of you who aren’t familiar Disney Bounding is essentially a way for teenagers and adults who can’t dress up as their favourite characters to pay homage to them through their outfit choices.
 
If you want to have a Disneybound for a character you can meet in the park your choices should be:
  • Lion King Charactetrs
  • Jungle Book Characters
  • Joy from Inside Out 
  • Up Characters 

FAQS About What to Pack for Animal Kingdom

Now we have gone through what to wear to in Animal Kingdom we thought it would be a good idea to answer any questions you have about what to wear to Animal Kingdom. 

While we have done our best to cover all of the questions you may have if you have a burning question that hasn’t been answered please leave us a comment and we will do out best to answer. 

Can I wear a dress to Animal Kingdom?

Although there are definitely Disney World dress codes, there are no rules against wearing a dress at Animal Kingdom. 

Also due to the nature of the rides at Animal Kingdom I found that you don’t really need to be concerned about entering and exiting rides in dresses of any length. 

Therefore if dresses are most comfortable for you then feel free to wear one to Animal Kingdom.