AK in the afternoon?

[delikado]

I'm looking at flight arrival times into MCO from Boston, and it looks like we're probably going to be arriving between 10am-12pm. After checking in at the BWV my bf and I were thinking about heading to AK. I've read that the best time to go on the safari is in the morning... Does this mean that there won't be a lot of animals prancing about in the afternoon? If this is the case, what other activities at AK would you suggest?

 

[drusba]

There are still animals in afternoon but most will be sedate and you will not see some because they are off laying down somewhere hidden from view and keeping out of afternoon sun. Options (which I personally consider better than Safari): Tough to be a Bug, Legend of the Lion King; other equally good options: Dinosaur, Kali River Rapids, or just actually walk through the zoo-like areas that they have there.

 

[loriandmatt]

I'm going to second that.

We love AK, but yes, you have to get the safari early to catch the animals at their best. If you are not planning on returning to AK during your trip definately fit the safari in sometime during your day. If you are returing, save the safari for a day when you can do it right after opening.

-lori

 

[erikthewise]

On the other hand, late afternoon is a good time to do safari in the sense that the lines are often very short, as in walk-on. The animals may be more sedate or somewhat less visible, but they're still there! If the day isn't too hot, it could work out well. We've done it first thing in the morning on a hot day, and last thing in the afternoon on a cool day, and it was about the same.

Perhaps not plan it, but if you're nearby around 4:30 with nothing urgent on your agenda, give it a try.

 

[Gillian]

I've been on the safari ride a bunch of times this year, early morning, mid-afternoon & late afternoon. Just before park closing was one of the best ones we took! Noon is lame, as you might expect.

Also, every time I've done the walk through with the tigers they were asleep, but DH took DS in the afternoon once (in september, hot day) and they were awake & interesting.

You just never know!

 

[loriandmatt]

Gillian - my DS swears that those tigers are fake. They are always lying in the same spots reguardless of how many times we have been there or the time of day!!! He thinks i am pulling his leg when i swear back that they are real.

-lori

 

[Gillian]

I think they're fake too! All they do is sleep for me.

 

[Synonymous]

We had our best experience ever on the Safari about an hour before closing. This was in November, so temps were relatively cool. We saw many animals up and moving around. I never realized how many of each animal they have in there, until we saw them this time.

Plus, since so many people make the mistake of thinking AK is a "half-day" park, it should be clearing out in the afternoon.

 

[MulanMom]

We've done the safari early in the morning and late in the afternoon, and both times were good. It seemed that the animals who were sedate in the morning were more active in the afternoon and vice versa. Tigers were really active, too. This was last spring and the temps were warm but not too hot.