Is AK a "must do" if you have never been there?

[cgerdon02]

Our last trip we hit up Epcot and Animal Kingdom for the first time. Judging by the posts on here, I planned for two Epcot days and one AK day. After our first day at Epcot DH and the kids begged me to change our plans and not go back!!! What, everyone's beloved Epcot? After some changes, we got to go back to AK a second day and still missed some things. Expedition Everest was my family's favorite ride out of all the parks! We rode it at least six times that visit! For our upcoming trip my kids are asking to skip Epcot all together, but I just can't. My point is, every family's likes and dislikes are different and only you know what your family would like the best!

 

[radmelissa]

You should at least go see AK.... It's really beautiful. It's fun to go on the safari and see the animals they definitely will get up close to the car. Everest is also a lot of fun. You can hit it pretty quickly getting either a fast pass OR single rider line which is usually only about 10 minutes. You can walk around and see the highlights in a couple of hours and then head out.

 

[stargazertechie]

Thanks for the responses everyone. quick question....we currently have nothing planned on our MVMCP day, other than to be in MK around 4:00. Would it be possible to make a "quick visit" to AK on this day, for a couple of hours, or would that be too much on a party day?

If I did that, I would go to MK our last day. And then we'd do both. Thoughts?

I think that sounds like a GREAT plan. You could go from park open until 12 or so, relax at the resort, and then hit the party

 

[princesslover]

There's nothing like ending your vacation at the Magic Kingdom with fireworks, SpectroMagic (if you can catch it) and seeing the castle lit up as you leave.

Currently, there are no FW or evening parades scheduled for MK on our last day. That could change though.

 

[DizzDoll]

HUGE AK fan, here! As with all things never done, give it a whirl. You may surprise yourself at how fantastic this park really is. Should you decide to go, and I highly recommend you do, please adjust your touring "speed" and really look around. There is a TON of stuff to see and do, and if you hustle your bustle through you'll miss some wickedly cool stuff. I know this park is not for everyone, and for some it's only a half day park (just like DHS is a 1/4 day park for us), most people get something good from AK. We tend to spend 2 1/2 days here - we have hoppers - and AK is one of our daily hop-to parks. We think that EPCOT and AK are great looky-loo parks, you'll see something awesome no matter where you look. And sometimes you really HAVE to look to find a hidden animal. Can't wait for August!!

 

[angierae]

I'm unusual in that Hollywood Studios is my favorite park, so my opinions are a bit weird anyway. However, AK isn't even a half day park for me. I don't like water rides (no Kali), hated Dinosaur the one time I went on it, and the Finding Nemo show was bored. For me, AK is for the safari, the Lion King show, and Everest. And there's not much else there for me.

 

[sb682]

I was surprised how much fun we had when we went. We did the Safaris twice (once at RD, then later in the day with family), Everest twice, and the rides in Dinoland multiple times (except dinosaur). Kali was being renovated or we would've tried it, too. The park closed at 8 when we were there and it was deserted from 4pm on. It is absolutely beautiful at night and a completely different atmosphere than the daytime. You can see for miles from the top of Everest! We didn't do everything on our last trip, and it's not my favorite park (I love Epcot best), but I would go for at least half a day.

 

[princesslover]

I think that sounds like a GREAT plan. You could go from park open until 12 or so, relax at the resort, and then hit the party

It could be tricky doing RD, because we will be at illuminations at Epcot the night before. But we could at least be there before 10:00.

I had planned this day as a "sleep in" day because of illuminations the night before. But I don't think illuminations will have us out THAT late...we might be able to get back to the resort by 10:00 pm, and sleep in until 8:00.

Ugh...it's like a big puzzle and I'm trying to make the pieces fit.

 

[disnut8]

This is exactly the point I was preparing to make. We went into our first Disney trip assuming which parks would be our favorites, and which attractions would as well. But for many things, we were dead wrong. We loved things we didn't think we would, and hated some things we expected to love. I think you need to go and just see what happens

Agreed. There is no way any of us can determine if the OP is going to like or dislike Animal Kingdom.

Personally, I love the place but we are huge animal lovers. We actually don't spend all the day there because we go so often but we surprised ourselves over the July 4th weekend by spending a good seven hours there. And we didn't even venture into Dinoland or Camp Minnie Mickey.

However, that was us and we slowed down and took in a lot of things on the walking trails. Maybe the OP will like that, maybe her kids will but no one knows that until the OP and her family are there.

Do I think the OP should go? Yes - if only to see what she wants to do in the future. Might be a hit, might not be. Only she can determine that.

 

[jtowntoflorida]

It could be tricky doing RD, because we will be at illuminations at Epcot the night before. But we could at least be there before 10:00.

I had planned this day as a "sleep in" day because of illuminations the night before. But I don't think illuminations will have us out THAT late...we might be able to get back to the resort by 10:00 pm, and sleep in until 8:00.

Ugh...it's like a big puzzle and I'm trying to make the pieces fit.

We love AK, but we also always use it as one of our "sleep in" days. We go in October on recommended (by easywdw) days, so crowds generally aren't an issue. I assume that you're going during a low crowd time based on your MVMCP attendance, and that you'd choose not to go to during a busy holiday time, so you should be OK to sleep in and still leave AK early, as long as you're willing to not loiter in the park. We could spend hours on the trails alone!

 

[Softball Princess]

Personaly I dont think AK is that great. My family isnt going to AK because we want to back to epcot. Let's face it. AK really does not have that many rides but there is a few parades here and there. If you do end up going,I reccomend the nemo show. It was a wonderful expierience I really enojoyed that. But i dont think its ts worth it for you and your family. so if you have your heart set on MK wouldnt it make sense to go there a second day?


I hope this helped enjoy your trip!!

By the way im 10.

 

[Babydreamz]

It's actually my least favorite park. Worth going if you've never been just to check it out. But if you your heart wants to do MK I would skip AK altogether and do MK for your last day.

 

[DizzDoll]

Personaly I dont think AK is that great. My family isnt going to AK because we want to back to epcot. Let's face it. AK really does not have that many rides but there is a few parades here and there. If you do end up going,I reccomend the nemo show. It was a wonderful expierience I really enojoyed that. But i dont think its ts worth it for you and your family. so if you have your heart set on MK wouldnt it make sense to go there a second day?


I hope this helped enjoy your trip!!

By the way im 10.

Welcome to the Dis, sweetie! I hope you got to see The Festival of the Lion King - better than Nemo!! Also Flights of Wonder should not have been missed.

 

[scrappymel]

We spent 2 full days at AK on our last trip. I just can't comprehend how people see it as a half day park.

Definitely don't skip it

This!! It's a two day park for us too. It's my DD(8)'s favorite park. Looking forward to the wilderness explorer program this time.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[MagicAddict2178]

I do not like animals and wasn't thrilled with the park when I first visited. However, I have grown to love AK - it's now one of my favorites and I would not consider skipping it! The theming is awesome and there are some really great rides. Dinosaur is my favorite ride at WDW. I'm not a show person, and my sister had to drag me to the FOTLK kicking and screaming. I loved it. Still haven't seen Nemo though.

Anyway, I would definitely try to do a few hours at AK. It's a beautiful park and should not be missed!

 

[amylevan]

I had planned this day as a "sleep in" day because of illuminations the night before. But I don't think illuminations will have us out THAT late...we might be able to get back to the resort by 10:00 pm, and sleep in until 8:00.

I wouldn't count on being back to your resort by 10 unless you're in one of the boardwalk area resorts. It's a 12 min show, so you aren't even moving towards an exit until 9:15. Most times you don't even make it out of the park until 9:30ish.

If you are driving, you might make it out of the parking lot and back to your resort by 10, but very unlikely if taking busses.

As for AK, I love it there, but not everyone does. I don't know whether you will or not, but then again, neither do you. You might love it like us, or you might not. You don't know until you try.

 

[rustyanchor]

yes, it's absolutely a must-do. the theming is MAGNIFICENT. i think your kids will definitely enjoy the safari & the shows (flights of wonder, festival of the lion king, nemo). due to their ages i don't know if they'd like everest & dinosaur, but your oldest might. the walking trails (maharajah jungle trek & pangani forest exploration trail) are sooo beautiful & have lots of animals to see. i really don't think you will regret going here.

 

[ZehnJahren]

I think AK is a half day park too (though DHS is usually a multiple-day park for me and mine!), but it's a half day park you shouldn't miss. My first trip there I was kind of "eh" about it, but loved EE and D! and ITTBAB; my second time there I liked it even more for the theming (I was solo that trip); and my third trip with my mom we loved it and I went back twice that trip. It definitely grew on me! It's still #4 on my list of ranking the parks, but it shouldn't be missed. Plus, you can grab a delicious lunch before you leave.

I think it's a GREAT idea to go on your party day! You can run around the park for a few hours, be back to your hotel by 1 or so, and have plenty of time to nap or swim before heading back out.

 

[Nancyg56]

My family loves AK. I know that some folks think it is siilar to a zoo, but i don't think that at all. We don't even hit the shows each time, but still manage to spend almost all day there. I would suggest that if you do decide to go, try to see the parade. You will be there during the Holidays's and I think that the Jingle Jangle Jungle Jammin parade is one of the best.

 

[jaykorf001]

We are planning our 2nd Disney trip this December. The first trip, we ended up cancelling our AK day while down there because we had rain on or DHS day and missed the Osborne lights. So we ended up doing another DHS day instead.

This time, I have AK planned for our last day. It's planned this way mostly to follow the crowd calendars. I've tried to move things around, but this is the only day that works. However, part of me wants to go back to MK for our last day, and for some reason, I am still feeling lukewarm about this park.

My daughters are 10 and 6 (turning 7 while there). They love dogs, cats etc. but are not really "into" exotic type animals so I am not sure if the theming there will really excite them. I am wondering if this is worth a park day for us.

I also have a potential to get a BOG reservation for this day (trying to coordinate today with another DIS member) so that plays into it as well.

Be honest with me. Will we regret never seeing AK? Is it worth it for our last day? I feel like I could go either way. Thanks for your input.

ETA: the only other option we have is to go there on the day of our MVMCP, and I am currently using that day as a "rest day" but potentially could visit AK that day?

We did the Sunrise Safari which is before AK opens, and didn't come close to getting everything we wanted to do in AK done in a day. I'm in the camp that can't figure how it could possibly be a 1/2 day park unless all you are doing is Safari, Kali, Everest, and Dinosaur. Different strokes.