Welcome back, DFB friends! We’re here with another What’s New at Disney’s Animal Kingdom!

We’ve got plenty of updates to share with you throughout the park. From a SHOCKINGLY low wait time at one of the park’s most popular rides to the delayed reopening of a snack spot, we’ve got all the news you need to know right here. So, what are you waiting for? Let’s dive right on in!

Animal Kingdom Food Updates

Kusafiri Coffee Shop and Bakery

Snack spots have been reopening all around Disney World over the past several months. Kusafiri Coffee Shop and Bakery was slated to join this group and welcome guests once again with some brand new menu items. Even though it was supposed to open on August 29th, Kusafiri was still quiet when we last visited Animal Kingdom.

We’ll be keeping an eye on this spot and we’ll let you know when we spot any updates as to its reopening.

Click here to see some of the new items that are set to come to Kusafiri.

Animal Kingdom Merchandise Updates

Discovery Trading Company

The Dooney & Bourke Sidekicks MagicBand previously sold out, but was restocked at the Discovery Trading Company not to long ago. During a recent trip to the park, we were happy to see that it was still available for guests to purchase.

The white band is decorated with fan-favorite sidekicks from beloved movies, like Flounder and Mrs. Potts!

You can find it for $48 while shopping for even more accessories in Disney’s Animal Kingdom!

Click here to see more about this sidekicks collection.

Windtraders

Some of the coolest parts of Pandora are all of the details hidden throughout the land that reference the vast world that the Avatar film introduced. While we’ve loved seeing the lifelike Neytiri bust during our visit to Pandora, now she’s been moved to a new place in Windtraders!

Be sure to greet her whenever you’re shopping for a Banshee!

Click here to learn all about Pandora — the World of Avatar.

Animal Kingdom Construction Updates

Parking Lot

Disney World is still in the process of reopening and not every feature has returned or become available again. Currently, the trams that operated through the theme park parking lots in Disney World are not available. But, when we were making our way from the parking lot to Animal Kingdom’s entrance, we saw some trams stationed in part of the parking lot area.

Disney hasn’t announced whether the trams will be returning soon. We’ll be keeping an eye out for any updates on this situation and we’ll let you know what we find.

Click here to see what still hasn’t returned to Disney World.

Discovery River Amphitheater

Now that we are only a matter of weeks away from the start of Disney World’s 50th Anniversary, that means KiteTails will soon be making its debut soon in Disney’s Animal Kingdom! KiteTails is a new daytime show that will feature giant Disney-inspired kites. Disney is getting its final preparations completed ahead of the show’s debut on October 1st. Recently, we’ve seen work being done on the platforms where it appears performers may stand during the show.

When KiteTails debuts, watercrafts will also help pull some of the 3-dimensional kites. These kites can stretch as long as 30 feet in length and we can’t wait to see them in person!

The performers will use oversized props and kites inspired by Disney’s animal characters as original, world beat musical arrangements play.

Watch a sneak peek of KiteTails here!

Animal Kingdom Crowd Updates

Pandora — The World of Avatar

If you’ve been to Disney’s Animal Kingdom since the opening of Pandora — The World of Avatar, then you probably know that Avatar Flight of Passage is typically a BUSY attraction with wait times that easily reach over an hour long. 

However, with summer nearing its end and many students back in school, the wait times at popular attractions in Disney World have started to decrease. We were surprised to see an average wait time of 34 minutes at Pandora’s E-ticket attraction recently.But, during a recent visit to the parks were were truly shocked to find that Flight of Passage only had a 15 minute wait! (Yes, we’re serious!)

The queue was practically empty and the few people who were waiting were immediately able to get on the ride. Since Flight of Passage was basically a walk-on at that point, a Cast Member even offered to let us ride it another time! Who wouldn’t want to ride Flight of Passage back-to-back with no wait?!

Walk through an EMPTY Flight of Passage line with us! (Yes, you read that correctly) pic.twitter.com/MLvR8c97g7

— AJ Wolfe (@DisneyFoodBlog) August 30, 2021

A Cast Member told us they were just as surprised as us to see the extremely low wait time as Flight of Passage can sometimes have the longest average wait times in all of Disney World. However, the Cast Member told us that the wait time has been so low recently, that they have sometimes been allowing guests to ride it back-to-back. So, if you’re in Pandora and happen upon a VERY short line at Flight of Passage, you might want to take advantage!

Find out more details about this low wait time we experienced at one of Animal Kingdom’s most popular rides!

Well, that’s all for us in terms of what’s new at Disney’s Animal Kingdom for now! Be sure to check back with us for more updates. And, if you have any questions about your upcoming Disney vacation, let us know so we can help you find the answers! Stay tuned to DFB for the latest Disney entertainment and news.