AK 2/7 My observations

[Kohara]

I think people that think it is a half day park only go for the rides and not to view the animals or see any shows. What a shame!

Agree! I mean any park could be a half day park if you skip half of the things to do. That's like saying magic kingdom is a half day park if you skip splash mountain and space mountain.

 

[L&Lfan]

I always figure the people who skip the animals either aren't into animals, don't care to exert the energy to walk the trails or have zoos near them and think they've seen it all at home.

 

[pigletgirl]

We're big AK fans. In fact, I think we'll spend two days there in September. That being said, we love the zoo and we find animals fascinating. We could do the trails, discovery island ONLY and feel like we had a nice full day. Maybe we're just weird?!

 

[ArwenMarie]

We're big AK fans. In fact, I think we'll spend two days there in September. That being said, we love the zoo and we find animals fascinating. We could do the trails, discovery island ONLY and feel like we had a nice full day. Maybe we're just weird?!

We love AK too. I know there are beautiful zoos all over the country, but I would much prefer a day at DAK than at our local zoo (The Bronx zoo). I think the theming is the most beautiful of the four Disney parks in Orlando. And hey with a few rides and the shows on top, even better.

 

[tlmadden73]

I was there in October and enjoy AK a lot as did my 2 year old son. The only downside is by the time we got over to the dinosaur land, he was tuckered out and napped until we had our dinner reservations. I guess I consider it a half day park because it closes so early ... It is a nice park to go to for the day and hop over to another park in the evening.

I found Tusker House to be a great dining experience and a pretty good character meal and we easily got reservations for a large group for it not that far in advance of our trip. We had a great time there with a big group.

But you have to know what you are getting into. Like the other non MK parks .. it doesn't have many rides and is more about the experience/ambience for many (like the animals!).
In general the problem with all the non-MK parks is just not enough attractions .. which means long lines .. even on a "less" crowded day.

I felt the construction walls (in October) just made it a lot more congested and hard to get around especially with the construction around the tree. You pretty much need to start at the safari and work your way around clockwise.

 

[ps17]

Hi,
Not criticizing your tastes or trying to get you to change your mind - every one has their likes and dislikes. We love AK but AK is a half day park for us (actually most of them our except when we go back for the night time shows) - we love Nemo and would never miss it. We like the Lion King show but have seen it enough and don't need to see it any more. Never miss Nemo though. Everst, Nemo, Safaris. Sometimes Kali or the tiger trail. Done with Dinosaur, Bug, Pagani... Thas about it. Never would miss those 4 or 5 things...

 

[tjevans]

we had the pineapple soft serve with rum

That sounds like a good enough reason to book a trip, right there!

 

[RogueKnits]

I always figure the people who skip the animals either aren't into animals, don't care to exert the energy to walk the trails or have zoos near them and think they've seen it all at home.

We love AK too. I know there are beautiful zoos all over the country, but I would much prefer a day at DAK than at our local zoo (The Bronx zoo). I think the theming is the most beautiful of the four Disney parks in Orlando. And hey with a few rides and the shows on top, even better.

It must just be that they're not into animals (though I have yet to meet a small child that didn't like watching animals so it's a shame if parents are rushing their kids through those experiences). The Bronx Zoo is also my local zoo (though not a favorite of mine), and I have been to zoos in several different states. Even if AK was just a zoo, I could go over and over and still enjoy it. There's always something new to see or learn.

Of course, I still miss Discovery Island, so maybe I'm in the minority.

 

[tooh8ful]

We love AK and will spend 2 days there in October because 1, even with evening EMH, never seems to be quite enough for us. My girls love the dig and could hang out there all day if I'd let them.
We also vote "bleck" on Nemo. We saw it once several years ago and all of us hated it! (love the movie though!)

 

[hakepb]

The other aspect of the "half day" park is the short hours!

When AK closes at 5 or 6pm...I'm still planning on being in a theme park for another 5-7 hours that night. It's not the guests fault the park kicks us out when our day is only half finished!

I will say, this Christmas week, AK was open til 8pm? And I got to experience EE after dark!!!

Wow!

They had the mist going in the standby line, so it was dark and foggy and mysterious and an insanely amazing experience those cheap **+%#%*** bean counters have stolen from us all these years! (I remember the late 3 hour EMH's they had before EE opened)

I'm looking forward to regular night time DAK when they start up the Rivers of America show!

 

[BethanyLynnFit]

Pineapple softserve IS a Dole Whip. It's called a Dole Whip at Aloha Isle in MK because Aloha Isle is sponsored by Dole. Tamu Tamu is not, which is why it's not called that there. I believe the name is trademarked and only used at Aloha Isle and at the Dole Plantation in Hawaii.

A true Dole Whip is pineapple softserve but there are variations of it now with different flavors, and the vanilla soft serve in pineapple juice which is called a float.

FWIW, we had the pineapple soft serve with rum at Tamu Tamu and it was great

That's what I NEEDED to know...If you can still get the Dole Whips with Rum at Tamu Tamu!! Hoping they still have them in October!

In regards to the Rider Switch or Child Swap at EE, we had the same bizarre experience in 2014...different CM's telling us to do different things and no paper passes as usual. It was very confusing and frustrating. Hope they sort it out before we take our 6 month old this fall.

 

[nkereina]

That's what I NEEDED to know...If you can still get the Dole Whips with Rum at Tamu Tamu!! Hoping they still have them in October!

As far as I know they still have it! We had the option of a dark rum or coconut rum. We went with the coconut. But do mix it up - all the rum sat on the bottom!

 

[ArwenMarie]

The other aspect of the "half day" park is the short hours!

When AK closes at 5 or 6pm...I'm still planning on being in a theme park for another 5-7 hours that night. It's not the guests fault the park kicks us out when our day is only half finished!

I will say, this Christmas week, AK was open til 8pm? And I got to experience EE after dark!!!

Wow!

They had the mist going in the standby line, so it was dark and foggy and mysterious and an insanely amazing experience those cheap **+%#%*** bean counters have stolen from us all these years! (I remember the late 3 hour EMH's they had before EE opened)

I'm looking forward to regular night time DAK when they start up the Rivers of America show!

We were there one Thanksgiving trip and it was open late and I guess it started getting dark early...wow, talk about "magical" So beautiful
I can't wait until it's open at night

 

[anniemae]

We love AK. I love to take the train to conservation station, we always spend a ton of time there. Last time we were there, they were giving a monkey a colonoscopy. And the little booths you can go into to watch the info movies, yeah we spent a lot of time there. Kind of like a behind the scenes look when the train goes by the animal housing area.

I agree about the crowds. A 5 is now pretty busy. We were there at then end of Aug and I thought it was very crowded. The calendars had it at a 5, but it felt more like a 7. I think though that 5 is now what a 7 used to be. I keep hearing reports of how busy it is during the slow times.

 

[Dis703]

Weird about child swap. I hope it was just that they ran out of tickets. I am going with a 2 year old and while my husband rides with the older kids I was planning on taking her to see some animals. Did you have to stand right there where they could see you?

I thought that seemed odd as well. It was on the list of attractions that have them. I didn't realize they could run out of tickets. I'll have to keep that in mind for our trip.

 

[rideswithchrist]

I loved AK when we went and figure our kids will too because they love animals and if they can spend 8 hours at a zoo, AK will blow their minds!
That said, we will go on Saturday, the day we leave because all the walking will also wear them out and I think it will be the easiest park to leave from when it is time to go home. But that may change when we get there and we may do another Epcot day then, Not sure yet until we get a feel of our kids.

 

[Kohara]

Thanks to all the people that responded, most of you were nice to me haha. This was my first trip and I learned so much from you guys! My itinerary and FP's matched up perfectly and I couldn't have done it without all if you.