Much of the Animal Kingdom theming is based on conservation and education. Therefore, prepare children for this ahead of time by introducing some of the concepts before you leave for the trip. Some slight coaching ahead of time can help to ease the transition to education from the concepts and theming of other Disney Parks that you may have visited previously.
Take care of the group. The people that you tour with affect how you should plan your day. For example, include an afternoon nap if you're bringing young children. Animal Kingdom, like most of Disney, can be quite stimulating. Touring with older adults may require a long, relaxing mid-day meal or trip to the hotel pool. However, two healthy, young, energetic adults can enjoy a day at the Animal Kingdom with little to no adjustments.
Be aware of the weather. Summers are hot in Florida--bring appropriate amounts of water and portable necklace fans. This is particularly important at the Animal Kingdom, as the rain forest themed plant life can give off enough energy to raise the temperature around the park by 5 to 10 degrees. Rain is always a factor in Florida, so plan for it to avoid surprises.
Plan your touring carefully. Many Internet sites have listings of the best days/times of the year to avoid crowds at the Animal Kingdom. In addition, a listing of attraction descriptions and appropriate age levels is available at Disney's own website--use it to narrow down your list of "must sees."
Avoid lines and crowds by using a paid touring service. Some websites and services offer research on theme parks that may cut down your ride waiting time by applying crowd pattern observations and similar devices. Look into these services if you want to avoid lines and crowds.
