Credit: Inside the MagicDisney’s Animal Kingdom reportedly achieved a historic record as crowds flooded the theme park during the week between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day. According to Disney Park guests, Kilimanjaro Safaris reached a 210-minute wait time on December 28, 2024.
The week between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day is one of the busiest times of the year at Walt Disney World Resort. Central Florida welcomes hundreds of thousands of visitors eager to experience the tail-end of holiday festivities at The Most Magical Place on Earth. In 2024, multiple days of Disney Park Pass reservations and the premium Lightning Lane Premier Pass sold out.
As wait times skyrocketed across Magic Kingdom Park, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and EPCOT, Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park set a new record. A Disney Park guest (u/traviscat) shared their account of the historic Kilimanjaro Safaris line on Reddit.
I saw the Kilimanjaro Safaris set a new record wait time today, 210 minutes,” the Walt Disney World Resort guest wrote on December 28. “It opened at 8, by 8:24 it was at 60 minutes and it hasn’t gone below 85 since 9:06 with an average at over 100.”
210 minutes equates to a three-and-a-half hour wait for just one attraction.
“It’s my favorite ride but there is no way I would wait nearly 4 hours for one ride,” the Redditor continued. “I’ve ridden it 8 times in a row in the same 4 hour window before and waiting the same time for one ride would be insane.”
Walt Disney World Resort didn’t publicly confirm whether 210 minutes was the longest wait time for Kilimanjaro Safaris in Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park’s nearly 27 years in operations–but it probably felt like a record for the crowds waiting in line!
What’s the longest you’ve waited for a Magic Kingdom Park, EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, or Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park ride? Inside the Magic would love to hear from you in the comments!