#11 Place to Avoid = Animal Kingdom??

[aztecgoods]

Not to get in the middle here and I know this is OT, but....I took classes to get into Broadcasting and Media and you are actually trained to report things a certain way. They want you to focus on the bad news because that's what attracts viewers/listeners. And when you've been in the business for a long time and have become a "household name" (think Diane Sawyer) you are actually PAID to give your opinion. It's just the way the business works. This is the reason I didn't get into it...I can't force my opinion on someone and always focusing on the bad is just so depressing!

Exactly! That's why unfortunately a once extremely great profession in my opinion has gone down to the same level of Nat. Enquirer Tabloid/Stalkarazzi type journalism. In the early days of our country up to about WWII, they were pro-American, report the truth, report what matters. Now like you said its all scandal, who's cheating on who, bash GB and Republicans, report bad news only, anti-American attitudes are the norm. etc., But that's just what makes me crazy about journalist, particularly the recent trend of anti-USA, which is totally nuts, when they take advantage of the very freedoms we have in this country, then blame all the bad in the world on the USA. Its the typical, "oh its our fault what happened on 9/11" "why do the terrorists hate us" etc. etc., sorry for the rant.

As this thread demonstates, in my opinion just part of the recent anti-USA trend, anti-Disney, anti-USA is all in the same practically.

 

[Sleeping Becca]

Honestly this article that bashes AK will have little or no affect on park attendance. With MYW pricing structure, it makes it a lot more attractive to visit all of the Disney Parks. For example: say a family will be in the Orlando area for 6 days, they were planning to visit Disney for 4 days, Seaworld, and USO. They will save hundreds of dollars by buying 6 day MYW and sticking with Disney, and skipping the other 2. Adding days onto MYW is much cheaper than buying one day tickets to the other parks, would you rather pay $10 to visit AK or over $50pp to visit another park. That is why AK attendance last year exceeded both Universal parks. I don't see AK's numbers changing for the worse anytime soon.

 

[aztecgoods]

I think it would be news if Uni actually did out do Dis for attendance, Dis is so much more known and more famous than the Uni parks, especially over seas, which is a huge part of the crowd that goes to Orlando. I personally like Uni better, but doubt if they will ever have park attendance quite as huge as Dis. But you never know, if I go there enough, myself and family alone may bump attendance up he he .

 

[AKLRULZ]

That article is actually hilarious in terms of how undeducated the author is!

 

[rkujay]

We have annual passes, and we NEVER do AK for more than 1/2 day, EVER. I cant stand the masses of people any longer than that, so in a way, I agree. But its NATAZU!!! We do it at least twice every trip.

The planners at Disney tried to mimic a bazaar in Africa insofar as the traffic flow. Not the ususal out and back pattern of most theme parks. Hence, people come at you from all angles. Personally I do not care for the free for all nature of it. We don't spend a great deal of time at AK.
However the new coaster is quite fun.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

I much prefer the layout of AK, to the traditional amusement park layout. Since EE opened, AK has certainly gotten more crowded, and that is a mixed bag. We also spend less than a full day at AK, but then we always hop to another park when we are done, so we always get a full day. A trip to the Mouse without AK would not be complete to us now. I also agree that FoTLK show is a great value in itself! That's worth at least half the price of admission right there!

But hey, I've seen lots of bad Disney travel info out there.

(Incidentally, I personally find far more to do at AK than Six Flags...and that's $50 for admission.)

 

[Mickey1122]

The imbecility!!!

 

[Pats Dragon]

I think some people miss the point. The first time you go to AK it is so much like Africa. The trees and huts etc are unique to AK as it depicts life in Africa. It is such a neat experience. After a few visits the animals are still really cool and hard to find displayed so well in real zoos. We love the park. It could use a few more attractions spread further so crowds will be dispersed. How about a Seaworld like thing or maybe an Australia land?? We will continue going back to AK even if it stays just the way it is. We like it!!!

 

[88Keys]

Exactly! That's why unfortunately a once extremely great profession in my opinion has gone down to the same level of Nat. Enquirer Tabloid/Stalkarazzi type journalism. In the early days of our country up to about WWII, they were pro-American, report the truth, report what matters. Now like you said its all scandal, who's cheating on who, bash GB and Republicans, report bad news only, anti-American attitudes are the norm. etc., But that's just what makes me crazy about journalist, particularly the recent trend of anti-USA, which is totally nuts, when they take advantage of the very freedoms we have in this country, then blame all the bad in the world on the USA. Its the typical, "oh its our fault what happened on 9/11" "why do the terrorists hate us" etc. etc., sorry for the rant.

As this thread demonstates, in my opinion just part of the recent anti-USA trend, anti-Disney, anti-USA is all in the same practically.

Wow -- we went from an article that did not like the AK to sweeping statements about journalists (except for Fox News, which was the only major news network NOT mentioned in a previous post) being anti-American and who blame the US for 9/11.

Journalists question the govenment...that's what they do and I thank God for them. Many times the public good has been served by journalists -- whether it be Watergate or Monicagate or anything else where the government needs to be held accountable. And there have been MANY instances where Democrats have been covered unfavorably -- Both Clintons, Carter, Lieberman, Dean, Gore, the congressmen who was found with cash in his freezer etc...so to say it is just the Republicans getting bashed is pure nonsense. If they are getting more heat now, it is because they are in power. I say this not as a Democrat or Repulican -- I am an independent moderate who sees commen sense in collecting the best of both sides.

Furthermore, to say this list is unamerican is ridiculous because if one takes the time to read the list, a chunk of the items are from OTHER COUNTRIES. Last I checked, not liking the Leaning Tower of Pisa or The Changing of the Guard in England is NOT unamerican.

Finally, I LOVE the AK -- I really do. It is one of my favorite places. But it is $71 and for a family of 4 that's almost $300 for one day, not including parking & food (and there are MANY people that buy single day tickets) and many folks, even on this board, feel like the AK is not a full day park -- so it is NOT unamerican to suggest that $300 for a family of 4 to go to a 1/2 day park might be seen as high. All you have to do is research the history of Animal Kingdom (try JimHillMedia.com) to realize that AK is nowhere near what was originally intended in terms of size and scope (there was supposed to be a whole new area called Beastly Kingdom with a Dueling Dragon-type roller coaster and other cool things like a Unicorn Maze) because Eisner cut the budget SEVERELY in the middle of development (when the park opened, there was so little to do that they 'threw up' Camp Minnie-Mickey to put up a couple of relatively inexpensive shows and character greeting areas so that there was SOMETHING besides the safari, animal trails, and ITTBAB to do)

Also, the author of the article does not hate WDW (even as a representation as the US) -- he mentions that he likes EPCOT because there is more to do, which is indisputable (even with W of L closed).


Again, I love the park, but let's not go nuts...

 

[WDW Poly Princess]

Oh how I hope people will stupidly listen to these recommendations, so I can enjoy my beloved AK with no crowds!

IMHO, calling AK "a zoo with a few rollercoasters" is like saying "Skip Sea World and just watch the fish in the pet section of Wal-Mart, it's the same, really."

 

[CDoobee]

(Newbie here, first post!)

I gotta say, I kinda agree with that....I was not all *that* impressed by AK myself. I think if you live in an area of the country where you have access to a great zoo (which I do--St. Louis), it is not a big deal to go there. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed AK; I just don't think it's worth the same price of admission as the other parks. It does have some cool rides, but it's not an all-day trip for me. Yes I understand it's not just a zoo, but it seems a big part of it is the animals, and if you have access to a good zoo then that part is kind of lost on you. JMHO!

I'm also from St. Louis , and while I agree we have a GREAT zoo, not to mention one of the few FREE zoos, I still love AK!! It is definitely an all day park for me!

 

[disneygirlatheart]

Did he go to the same AK as we did? We loved Ak, and hope to return soon. Oh well his loss not mine!!

 

[88Keys]

It really is better than any zoo I've been to (incl San Diego)

 

[Simba22]

Now like you said its all scandal, who's cheating on who, bash GB and Republicans, report bad news only, anti-American attitudes are the norm. etc.

you know what's funny? I know more about the private lives of angelina jolie and brad pitt than I do about serious national issues. How sad is that? You know what else is funny, speaking of W, I used to subscribe to Rolling Stone magazine ("used to" being the operative phrase here) and one month they did an interview with John Kerry where the writer of the interview totally bashed W. The VERY NEXT MONTH was an interview with W, where the writer (same guy, BTW) bashed John Kerry. It's sad that these people are practically forced to try and please everyone.

 

[aztecgoods]

Yeah thats exactly what I'm trying to say, journalism in this day and age is more about trying to MAKE news, not report the truth/facts. Its "who can we destroy today," but I've probably already ranted enough about this, but thanks for backing me up.

 

[88Keys]

you know what's funny? I know more about the private lives of angelina jolie and brad pitt than I do about serious national issues. How sad is that?

It all depends on what you read. If you read entertainment style news, that's what you get. If you read the Wall Street Journal or some other newspaper (conservative, liberal or nicely balanced), rarely are Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie on the front page (though they are in the Style or Living section). There is PLENTY of hard-hitting news on Israel, Iraq, North Korea, Iran, Lebanon, New Orleans, etc. for those hungry for it.

Also, a reporter that "bashes" both W and Kerry gives me valuable balance and solid info. Let's face it, we get all positives from the candidates, so someone has to give me the other side if I am going to decide who is going to be president. I need to know the good, the bad, and the ugly before I vote because no one is perfect, and it is just too important a decision to make on happy talk. I would hope for the same if I ran for office.

 

[aztecgoods]

It all depends on what you read. If you read entertainment style news, that's what you get. If you read the Wall Street Journal or some other newspaper (conservative, liberal or nicely balanced), rarely are Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie on the front page (though they are in the Style or Living section). There is PLENTY of hard-hitting news on Israel, Iraq, North Korea, Iran, Lebanon, New Orleans, etc. for those hungry for it.

Also, a reporter that "bashes" both W and Kerry gives me valuable balance and solid info. Let's face it, we get all positives from the candidates, so someone has to give me the other side if I am going to decide who is going to be president. I need to know the good, the bad, and the ugly before I vote because no one is perfect, and it is just too important a decision to make on happy talk. I would hope for the same if I ran for office.

You have some good points dude, but my main problem is that the "mainstream" news media (CBS/NBC/ABC/CNN) IS biased towards the left. There is NO doubt about it. Just ask the Ex CBS reporter that wrote 2 books on it Bernie Goldstein I think is his name. He is a liberal and wrote a book about how these networks go out of their way to bash Republicans and shy away from negative news on the democrats (I am not a Republican by the way I am a Libertarian). But those networks are nothing except slanting the news the way they want it to sound which is Bush/Republicans BAD, democrats good. War in Iraq failure, anything to make Bush look bad. Remember Dan Rather promoting forged documents to make some lame point about Bush just to make political points at the time of an election.

If most journalists were honest and brought out honest criticism of the government no matter who is in power I don't have a problem with that, but they don't they bring out criticism to support their political agendas. This is NOT the way it used to be even 50 years ago.

 

[JRawkSteady]

A 1 day ticket for AK is stupid. I love it, but he is right. It is not worth $67.

 

[TinkNH]

eh..I went for the first time last year and loved the place..cannot wait to take the kiddo this year. SO let them stay away...less lines for us who know the real truth

 

[JRawkSteady]

You have some good points dude, but my main problem is that the "mainstream" news media (CBS/NBC/ABC/CNN) IS biased towards the left.

Yeah, I don't think so. Most media stations are biased towards the right, but focus the news in a fashion that the people think they are hearing an unbiased opinion. To find out what's really going on, check out the alternative media and underground networks.