Animal Kingdom Nov 28–29, 2026: Crowd Levels and Best Hours

By Jenna R. · Dining & food festivals · Tampa, FL

Published October 30, 2026

Animal Kingdom is one of the two lightest parks on Walt Disney World’s post-Thanksgiving weekend, so it’s a good pick for Saturday or Sunday. What you need to plan around is the clock, not the crowd level. SupaPark’s wait data from the last 30 days shows Kilimanjaro Safaris with a median posted wait of 54 minutes at 10 AM, versus 10 minutes at 3 PM. That’s the same ride on the same kind of day, and the wait is more than five times longer in the morning.

Forecast as of October 30, 2026. Live numbers here: Animal Kingdom crowd calendar for November 2026. Holiday week: Thanksgiving week crowd forecast.

Here’s what the forecast says (as of Oct 30) and how to plan around it.

The verdict for Nov 28–29

SupaPark’s crowd forecast has Animal Kingdom averaging 3.5/10 across Nov 28–29, peaking at 4/10 on Saturday, Nov 28. For the Saturday and Sunday after Thanksgiving, that’s a pleasantly quiet number. EPCOT is the opposite. It’s the busiest park of the weekend at a 7.5/10 average, with an 8/10 peak on Saturday.

My take:

• Animal Kingdom is a strong choice on either day, and Sunday looks slightly better.
• Do the animals and rides in a different order than most guests. Most people head straight for the Safari in the morning. The recent data says that’s when it’s worst.
• Avoid EPCOT on Saturday if you can. It’s the outlier this weekend.

One caveat: these are forecasts made four weeks out. Holiday weekends can drift, so check the numbers again closer to the date.

Day by day

SupaPark crowd forecast, level out of 10:

Saturday, Nov 28: Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom tie at 4/10, Hollywood Studios sits at 5/10 and EPCOT jumps to 8/10. This is the busiest day of the window across the board, but Animal Kingdom stays comfortable.

Sunday, Nov 29: Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom both drop to 3/10. Hollywood Studios holds at 5/10 and EPCOT eases to 7/10. Magic Kingdom has a catch on Sunday: Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party is scheduled that night, so the park closes early to regular day guests. Part of that low 3/10 is simply fewer hours to be there.

If you’re choosing one day for Animal Kingdom, pick Sunday. It has the lowest forecast level, and you won’t lose any hours to a party closure the way you would at Magic Kingdom.

Best and worst hours (the recent pattern)

These numbers come from SupaPark’s measurements over the last 30 days (Oct 1–Oct 29). They show the median posted wait across each park’s five busiest rides. They describe how a typical recent day has played out, not a measurement of Nov 28–29, but daily patterns like this tend to hold.

Animal Kingdom, across its five busiest rides:

• 9 AM: 28 min
• 11 AM: 40 min (the daily peak)
• 2 PM: 30 min
• 5 PM: 15 min
• 6 PM: 10 min (the daily low)

This curve is different from the other parks. At EPCOT, Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom, waits stay high into the afternoon or evening. Animal Kingdom peaks late morning and then keeps falling all afternoon. Many guests come for the animals early, then head out or hop elsewhere, and the lines go with them.

The two headliners, best hour vs worst hour:

• Kilimanjaro Safaris: 10 min at 3 PM vs 54 min at 10 AM.
• Na’vi River Journey: 15 min at 8 AM vs 45 min at 11 AM.

Those two rides peak at different times, which gives you a simple plan:

1. Arrive early and go straight to Na’vi River Journey. Its best hour in the recent data is 8 AM, so ride it before the late-morning rush.
2. Skip the Safari in the morning. 10 AM is its worst hour at 54 minutes. Use mid-morning for walking trails, shows and anything with a short line.
3. Ride the Safari around 3 PM. A 10-minute median at that hour means you get the full drive-through for a fraction of the morning wait.
4. Use late afternoon to pick up anything you missed. By 5 PM the park’s top-ride median is down to 15 minutes. That falls to 10 at 6 PM, as long as the park is still open then. Check that day’s hours, because the data doesn’t tell you when the park closes.

One trade-off to know about: animal activity on the Safari can vary through the day. If seeing as many animals as possible matters more than the wait, a morning ride is a fair choice. Just know you’ll likely pay for it in time. If you’d rather skip a line than see a slightly more active lion, ride at 3 PM.

Which park to pick instead

If Animal Kingdom isn’t your plan, here’s how the other three compare:

• Magic Kingdom (3.5/10 average) is tied for the lightest park. Saturday is the better day because Sunday’s party closes the park early. The recent pattern rewards early arrivals: Jungle Cruise had a 5-minute median at 8 AM versus 40 minutes at noon. Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin had 5 minutes at 8 AM versus 39 minutes at 4 PM.
• Hollywood Studios (5.0/10 both days) is the middle option. Two numbers stand out. Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets went from a 15-minute median at 8 AM to 55 minutes at 11 AM. Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance had its lowest median at 9 PM, at 20 minutes, versus 55 at 11 AM. Ride the coaster first thing and leave Rise for the evening.
• EPCOT (7.5/10 average, 8/10 Saturday) is the one to avoid this weekend. If you have to go, Sunday’s 7/10 is the better day. Get there for the first hour: Test Track’s recent best was 30 minutes at 8 AM versus 75 at 4 PM, and Frozen Ever After’s was 20 minutes at 8 AM versus 65 at 1 PM. Across EPCOT’s five busiest rides, waits kept climbing from 45 minutes at 9 AM to 60 at 5 PM.

A good two-day plan: Magic Kingdom on Saturday and Animal Kingdom on Sunday. That puts you at two of the lightest parks on their best days and keeps you away from both EPCOT’s Saturday peak and Magic Kingdom’s early Sunday closing.

These hour-by-hour patterns can shift on the day, especially with a ride closure or a sudden burst of crowds. SupaPark’s best-time forecaster and live wait alerts can tell you when the Safari drops to a short wait, and SupaPark is free at supapark.com.

The one thing to remember

Animal Kingdom will likely be quiet on Nov 28–29, but its best hours are in the afternoon. Ride Na’vi River Journey early, ride Kilimanjaro Safaris around 3 PM, and pick Sunday if you can.

Frequently Asked Questions

How crowded will Animal Kingdom be on Nov 28–29, 2026?

As of Oct 30, SupaPark forecasts Animal Kingdom at 4/10 on Saturday, Nov 28 and 3/10 on Sunday, Nov 29, a 3.5/10 average that’s among the lightest of the four parks that weekend.

What time is the shortest wait for Kilimanjaro Safaris?

In SupaPark’s last 30 days of wait data, Kilimanjaro Safaris had a median posted wait of 10 minutes at 3 PM, compared with 54 minutes at 10 AM, its worst hour.

Which Disney World park is busiest the weekend after Thanksgiving 2026?

EPCOT is forecast to be the busiest park on Nov 28–29, averaging 7.5/10 and peaking at 8/10 on Saturday, Nov 28.

Is Magic Kingdom a good choice on Sunday, Nov 29?

The crowd forecast is light at 3/10, but Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party is scheduled that night, so the park closes early to day guests. Saturday, Nov 28 is the better Magic Kingdom day if you want a full day.

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Go deeper — the full guides: Where to Sit on Flight of Passage Your First Time · Which Seat Is Driest on Tiana’s Bayou Adventure? (Back Row Wins) · Where to Watch Magic Kingdom Fireworks With Kids

SupaPark tracks live wait times and crowd forecasts, and pings you the second a hard-to-get reservation opens or a ride goes walk-on — free to start at supapark.com.

Heading to Animal Kingdom? Check Animal Kingdom wait times right now and how busy Animal Kingdom is today.