2 days at AK?

[Hopeful8]

Just doing more planning for our late April first trip...the more I look into AK, the more I find things that our kids (8 y.o.) would just love. I could see them spending a couple hours just at the Boneyard alone! So, wondering if I should change my original plan of 2 days at MK, 1 day at AK to: 2 days at AK, 1 day at MK?

We aren't whole day park people, we just won't last ...so was thinking of arriving at rope drop and staying until mid afternoon (~3pm) Would we be able to fit in our must dos in 1 day at AK in that time frame.....or should I change it to 2 days? Here is our AK must do list:
Wildlife express train
Habitat habit
Conservation station
Affection section
Maharaj jungle trek
The boneyard
Fossil fun games
Triceratop spin
Kilimanjaro safaris
Pangani forest exploration trail
Discovery island trails

Thanks!

 

[minnie mum]

I think that if that is all you plan to do, and aren't doing any other rides or shows, and aren't doing Wilderness explorers or M&Gs, one day would be sufficient.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Plan a day at each & pick your repeat park AFTER you've seen them both.

 

[JimmyV]

You can easily fit that schedule into a single day.

 

[Dis703]

I know a lot of people think AK is a 1/2 day park. It's definitely a full day for us, but the park also closes early. So full day may be like 9 to 5 or 6pm. We do almost everything at the parks and find it can be fit into one day.

 

[kastoney]

We usually spend two half days in the park. My daughter loves the boneyard so we usually spend at least an hour in there. I feel like there is so much to explore at AK we like to take our time and soak it all in. These days we usually forgo MGM in favor of more AK time

 

[iheartwalt]

We spent 2 days at AK (4.5 days at MK) so I definitely don't think of it as a half day park, that being said I think your must do's can easily be accomplished in a day. 1/3 of the things on your list are for Rafikki's which really doesn't take that much time (minimal waits). Also, we love the Boneyard but I just can't picture an 8 yo wanting to spend a couple hours there, so I think you will be fine. Make sure to do the Wilderness Explorers, I think that is right on point for that age and is a fun way for kids to explore and learn.

 

[Fratthouse]

I agree with other posters. We LOVE AK, but your list can easily be done in a day. FP+ the safari, and there shouldn't be waits for anything else. I allow 15 minutes for each of the "trails" - maybe bump it to 20 or 25 if you think you will really linger. The rafiki planet watch also doesn't take as much time as you think. It's not that large, and there aren't waits for anything. Maybe 1.5 hours if you really stretch it out? Triceratops spin and the Fossil fun games are just a few minutes each, so that's really only about 3.5 hours worth of stuff. Even if you did spend 2 hours in the boneyard (this would be a stretch. As a parent, I would be bored senseless after about 45 minutes), you should still have time to do everything else. I would suggest seeing either Festival of the Lion King or Finding Nemo - or both! They are excellent shows. I also would recommend the wilderness explorers activity.

On the flip side, Magic Kingdom is ENORMOUS and would be much harder to fully experience in one day. There is SO MUCH to do - and many of the attractions will have very long waits if you don't arrive right at rope drop or late in the evening. I would say you need at least 1.5 days, and 2 would be better, to fully experience this park.

 

[Hopeful8]

Thank you all for your replies! I will add Wilderness Explorers to our list. I like the idea of going to each park and then figure out which to go to again!