breakfast on AK day?

[cricket00]

let me preface this by saying: i am a MAXIMIZER in terms of park time. we're always @rope drop, i collect FPs and strategically plan our return times, etc. we usually go hard for 5 straight days and then head home, exhausted from our early morning wake-ups and hung-over on all that disney.

for this trip, we planned 7 days instead (with the hope of sleeping in on at least one occasion!) and i've been attempting to slowly wean myself off of making EACH and EVERY RD!

but old habits die hard, i guess, because i'm having difficulty rationalizing missing even one early morning. i finally settled on our AK day. it's a recommended sunday in early june with a crowd level of 6 (and MK has extra evening magic hours that night.)

i've never been to AK (we're MK, Epcot, and HS people), but i'm hopeful that because it's a "half-day park" we'll still be able to log some quality rides after the afternoon parade. so i've planned a breakfast at o'hana that morning (we're staying at the poly) with a plan to arrive around 4pm and stay until close @8pm.

am i crazy? should i rethink this?

 

[Robo]

should i rethink this?

Yes.

 

[cricket00]

Yes.

thanks for your honesty!

 

[kaybird]

I've never considered AK a half day park in spite of what others say. If you want to do AK, do rope drop early, have breakfast at Pizzafari or Tusker house and make a day of it. If you finish early, have dinner at Ohana.

 

[beth4]

This will only be our 2nd trip but we loved AK and we are planning on being there at 7am RD this trip! We are doing 6 days in a row of parks and will be hitting RD 5 times (3 of them are 7am). We will be sleeping in a little the day we do world showcase.

My suggestion is to go for RD, take advantage of shorter lines and then have an early bedtime when you finish doing all you wanted to do. If you go to bed early, it might feel like sleeping in the next morning!

 

[DisneyB]

Arriving at 4:00 you will severely limit yourself and only see a small fraction of the park. The animals on the Safari are most active in the morning so that is really the best time to see them. If you want to see Festival of the Lion King or Nemo (if you can only see one drop Nemo and don't miss Lion King) that will take up almost half of your 4 hours. Add in waiting in line for Everest or Kali along with the safari and your time will be done. I agree it is a half day park but only if the half day is from 9:00am-4:00pm. That gives you the time to get all the big rides and shows in and still make another park at night. Do the character breakfast at Tusker house for 8:05 and you can be done by 9:00 and hitting the park.

 

[worm761]

My suggestion is to go for RD, take advantage of shorter lines and then have an early bedtime when you finish doing all you wanted to do. If you go to bed early, it might feel like sleeping in the next morning!

THIS!!! We always have an early ADR for Tusker House (before park open) and spend all day there. I think that most people think of it as a "half day park" because they are skipping the amazing animal habitats and Rafiki's Planet Watch (Conservation Station???). IF you are only there for rides then yeah, it is a half day park. But it is probably one of the better parks. It is very relaxing. I usually plan it about halfway through our trip. If just feels like a day off since we are not rushing from ride to ride. We have breakfast at Tusker House and lunch or dinner at Rain Forest Cafe. And then call it a day and go back to the resort to swim, do laundry, and play in the arcade.

 

[Jennasis]

I notice you collect FPs...are you aware that they enforce return times now (and have for about a year)? Perhaps I misunderstand you when you say you collect them?

 

[auprincess]

AK is not one of our favorite parks, however it is still more than half a day! When we have gone, the park always closed at 5 and we were able to do everything we wanted. Having said that, I think if you want to skip RD and keep O'hana, you are fine. I would just plan on getting there after that, or at least by lunch time. Also, the Jammin' Jungle parade is our favorite at Disney! At least get there before 4 so you can see it!

 

[danceintherain]

If you've never been to the Animal Kingdom, then I think you're jumping to conclusions too soon. I also don't understand why you can't get there until 4pm, if that's all your going to do that day.

I understand wanting to sleep in a bit, but if you head to the parks after the latest Ohana breakfast ADR, you'll still easily get there by 1pm.

I would plan a rope drop at AK, and plan to "sleep in" on your second day at a different park.
Also, you could add hoppers, then you don't have to worry about AK being just a "half day" park, because you could hop somewhere else later.

 

[jmcghee2024]

I think arriving at 11 or 12, you would be ok with not doing the RD. But 4??? No way!

 

[Day-Day]

We usually visit AK at opening and also may visit late one afternoon. Many of the park guests leave the park well before closing time; at least this has been our experience when visiting on days with normal hours (i.e. no Extra Magic Hours). We have not visited on an EMH day. It is amazing what we have been able to get done in the last couple of hours before closing.

A lot depends on whether you want to see the big shows like Findng Nemo and Festival of The Lion King. We really enjoy the small show, Flights of Wonder.

 

[Fire14]

I personally like to do a prepark open brfst at tusker house and than hit big rides (everest, Safari, dinosaur, kali if not cold) i am not a big animal fan but do enjoy walkng trails, watching tigers play, watchong gorillas. I personally tend to head out of park around 2:30-4:00 ish go back to room for cool down/rest and get ready to go to dinner someplace outside of parks ( yaucthmans, trex) sometimes we go back to a park sometimes we just vist dtd, run to walmart etc.

 

[Tgtown]

I personally like to do a prepark open brfst at tusker house and than hit the big rides.

This is what we do also.

 

[MJMcBride]

DAK is no half day park. With three of the best shows on property and all of the animal trails, there is no way to see this park in one day really

I like the 8am Tusker House breakfast idea. Then hit the Safari right at 9am. Works out great

 

[ZoZo]

I notice you collect FPs...are you aware that they enforce return times now (and have for about a year)? Perhaps I misunderstand you when you say you collect them?

Yes, I was going to mention this, too. OP, your post says you collect FPs and "use them strategically." As this poster says, you can no longer "collect" them and use them whenever you want later in the day. You have to use them during their return windows now. Just want to be sure you know about the change in FP enforcement rules.

 

[momto3boysillbe]

If you've never done AK I wouldn't go at 4 unless you really want a day off. I admit that I haven't always had AK on the top of my itinerary, but even though its my least favorite, I like it more and more every time. The first time my FIL told us it was a half day park and we were there until closing. Now we aren't typically rope drop people but we have no problem spending most of the day there. There's so much to explore. I would definitely head there after your breakfast ADR.

 

[sammons70]

My only visit to AK was an afternoon visit. I arrived a little earlier than 4, but we felt rushed. Also, many of the animals do not appear in clear view that late in the day. I'd say do rope drop, experience everything on your AK wish list, then go back to the hotel to rest. If you hit rope drop at each park one day, you have 3 more days to sleep in a bit before returning to your favorite parks for more fun.

 

[cricket00]

If you've never been to the Animal Kingdom, then I think you're jumping to conclusions too soon. I also don't understand why you can't get there until 4pm, if that's all your going to do that day.

I understand wanting to sleep in a bit, but if you head to the parks after the latest Ohana breakfast ADR, you'll still easily get there by 1pm.

i don't think i jumped to any conclusions.

do you mean b/c i referenced AK as a "half day" park? i purposely used quotes to convey that this was a commonly-held belief, not my own personal opinion.

and yes, i also could get there before 4pm, that is true. i guess i didn't mention that i wanted to wait until after the afternoon parade let out, hence the 4pm arrival time.

We usually visit AK at opening and also may visit late one afternoon. Many of the park guests leave the park well before closing time; at least this has been our experience when visiting on days with normal hours (i.e. no Extra Magic Hours). We have not visited on an EMH day. It is amazing what we have been able to get done in the last couple of hours before closing.

yes, this is where i was headed! after the parade, i understand that the park nearly clears out. since AK doesn't close until 8pm that day (and b/c it's star wars weekend @HS and there are PM extra magic hours @MK), i thought 4 hours would be enough.

I notice you collect FPs...are you aware that they enforce return times now (and have for about a year)? Perhaps I misunderstand you when you say you collect them?

yes, thank you.

 

[zhazhazsu]

I really like AK, but it's not a MUST to be there at RD for me. I find if it's slower you can roll up any time in the first hour & be fine. I do find it impossible to do The Safari, both major shows,EE, the parade & a trail. I also like to eat a sit down lunch on AK day due to how hot it feels in that park