AK Transportation & Other Questions

[LisaT91403]

Hi all,

We are coming in for a 1-day, pre-cruise visit to Animal Kingdom. Our visit will be on Friday, January 2nd. I realize it's the holidays, and will be miserably crowded...but we are determined to enjoy ourselves anyway I have a few questions, since we've never been to WDW:

1. Our hotel, the JW Marriott, provides shuttle service to MK. We will have a rental car. Are we better off using the free shuttle to MK, then using Disney transport (Monorail? Bus?) to get to AK? Or should we drive our car? I don't mind paying for parking...but I'm just not sure how long it would take us to park and if it would be a hassle or not. I like the idea of having the car so we can leave anytime we want.

2. We have not purchased tickets yet. Is there an advantage to doing it now, when we are only a week out? I'm guessing the FP+'s will all be gone by now. We'd want them for Expedition Everest, the Safari, and maybe one of the shows.

3. If we don't get FP's ahead of time, can we still get them once we are in the park?

4. We were thinking either Flame Tree or Yak and Yeti for lunch. Any favorites for either one of those? Is one better than the other?

5. We have one really picky eater for dinner. Would love to try Boma, but not sure she'd be able to eat anything. Is all of the food "exotically" spiced?

Thanks so much! Happy holidays!

 

[Novakm]

Not sure about you other questions, but I would not bus to MK and then to AK. It's a pretty good ride from MK to AK. Between waiting for the bus and riding it, you are probably looking at up to 45 minutes each way. In addition, isn't. JW closer to AK?

 

[LisaT91403]

Not sure about you other questions, but I would not bus to MK and then to AK. It's a pretty good ride from MK to AK. Between waiting for the bus and riding it, you are probably looking at up to 45 minutes each way. In addition, isn't. JW closer to AK?

I have no idea if it's closer -- I guess I should look at a map The hotel only shuttles to MK...there is no other option as far as the shuttle goes.

I really don't mind driving and paying for parking. I just wasn't sure if the parking is horrible or not. Here in California, the Disneyland parking structure can be brutal...sometimes a half hour wait or more just to pay and get into the structure.

 

[minnie mum]

I would recommend that you drive to AK, and leave plenty of time to get there, as traffic into the parks is likely to be heavy. Try to get there at least 30 min.before RD. Taking the shuttle, and then the Disney bus would add a lot of time onto both ends of your day. Plus, the off site resort shuttles tend not to run frequently.

I would recommend that you buy your tickets now (order them to be picked up at Will Call). And set up your MDE account first, so the tickets will automatically link to your account. Ride availability may already be limited, but you should still be able to get something. If you wait until you get to the park, there may be very little left to pick from, given that there arent a great number of attractions to start with.


Flame Tree is our usual lunch stop and I like all of their entrees. Yak & Yeti is TS, so you would need to see if they have availability. There is also a CS across from it, but we found that menu very limited. Boma is a favourite stop at the end of an AK day for us, and we think it has one of the best buffets on property. There is something for everyone there, even the picky ones.

Good luck with your visit.

 

[cgattis]

Agree with Minnie mum--definitely drive.

And definitely agree on Boma! Would be a great ending to an AK day. If you can get a Boma ressie, I'd recommend trying Tamu Tamu for lunch--the have a good BBQ beef pita and a good chicken salad too. It's CS, but not "fast food." If you can't get Boma, I'd try for Tusker House dinner. But my third choice would be Yak and Yeti. Flame Tree is just ok, to us anyway.

 

[amym2]

Another vote for driving to AK. Parking at WDW is easy. Get there before rope drop and it won't be an issue. We usually get there early enough that we don't even need to ride the parking lot tram because we're close enough to walk.

We've liked Flame Tree in the past, but it was just ok on our visit a couple of years ago, so this year we tried Yak & Yeti CS and we thought it was great.

Love, love, love Boma! It's our kids' favorite, and they are picky. They love the Mac & cheese and chicken legs, and DS loves the meats. And the desserts and juice are a big hit as well. Personally I'm a fan of the soups! Definitely worth a visit- and plan some time to check out the resort as well. You can view the animals with night vision goggles!

 

[Kirby]

Everest has a single rider line I believe. So if you don't mind riding separate, that should get you in pretty quick.

 

[LisaT91403]

Everest has a single rider line I believe. So if you don't mind riding separate, that should get you in pretty quick.

I wish we could, but DS is only 6.

Sounds like driving is the way to go -- thanks for all of the replies on that! We unfortunately won't be able to do RD because we are flying in the night before and will be on West Coast time. We will just have to do the best we can and be patient. We will stay until the park closes, since that will be early for us with the time zone difference. Whatever we manage to see in the day will be "icing on the cake" before our cruise...and a day at a Disney park is better than a day not in the parks! We will make the most of it.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

AK is the perfect park to visit later in the day. Crowds start to thin considerably at around 3 or 4 in the afternoon.

In early summer on a crowd level 8 day, my kids were able to ride Everest 6 times in about 45 minutes at 5 pm. (I stopped after 3 trips). Dinosaur was a walkon sending out half full ride vehicles by 6.

The only drawback was Safari, where we had to wait about 10 minutes at 7 pm for enough guests to fill the truck.

Just be patient as guests will get tired and leave erly. Have fun.

And drive your own vehicle. I saves a ton of time.

 

[sndral]

Longtime DL vet here also west coast based. Once you are done w/ AK drive your vehicle over to AKL Jambo for dinner at Boma as the park buses stop running to/from the resorts once the park closes. Love Boma. In the park Flame Tree Barbicue is a tradition for us but we also like Yak and Yeti. AK has some great non ride entertainment - Nemo, flights of wonder, Lion King and It's tough to be a bug (different from CA version.) plus the two walking trails (Gorillas and Tigers.) Kali river Rapids is similar to Grizzly in CA and Dinosaur is on the same track as Indy, but much inferior IMO to the DL version.
AK is a favorite of mine, so it'd be my choice but I'm curious why you chose AK for your only day as it's sure to close much earlier than Epcot, for example.

 

[LisaT91403]

Longtime DL vet here also west coast based. Once you are done w/ AK drive your vehicle over to AKL Jambo for dinner at Boma as the park buses stop running to/from the resorts once the park closes. Love Boma. In the park Flame Tree Barbicue is a tradition for us but we also like Yak and Yeti. AK has some great non ride entertainment - Nemo, flights of wonder, Lion King and It's tough to be a bug (different from CA version.) plus the two walking trails (Gorillas and Tigers.) Kali river Rapids is similar to Grizzly in CA and Dinosaur is on the same track as Indy, but much inferior IMO to the DL version.
AK is a favorite of mine, so it'd be my choice but I'm curious why you chose AK for your only day as it's sure to close much earlier than Epcot, for example.

I want to go to Boma. However, AK closes at 8:00pm, and I'm thinking we would want to stay until then. I'm not sure we would want to start a big dinner at 8:30.

We slaved over the decision of which park to visit. Keep in mind the following: we have one day only, the one day we have is Friday, Jan 2nd (packed!), we will not be arriving at the parks early due to time change, we have Disneyland AP's and visit many, many times per year. Given all this, we eliminated MK due to crowds and Disneyland overlap. We also eliminated DHS due to overlap (and just not hugely appealing to us.) As for Epcot, I visited once about 20+ years ago, and remember it not being a 1-day park. I am also not so sure how much my 6 year old would like it. He is VERY interested in EE, and I think Grandma will also enjoy the animals more than she would Epcot. And I think AK will be our best bet during such a crowded time...perhaps fewer lines to wait in since it's not ride-driven.

Having said all of that, if you think we are making a fatal error, please let me know. We still have time to change our plans. I sometimes second-guess our decision because DS is too short for PW, and won't go on Kali RR or Dinosaur. It really just leaves EE and Safari, right?

 

[cgattis]

And the fabulous Nemo and Lion King shows, and flights of Wonder, and the Boneyard, and Tough to Be a Bug, and all the wildlife trails, and all the live music.......... . I think AK is a great choice for a one-day taste of WDW vs DL. Sure, you could easily spend 12 hours at Epcot, but given the choice, I'd choose AK most every time. It's a beautiful park.

 

[LisaT91403]

And the fabulous Nemo and Lion King shows, and flights of Wonder, and the Boneyard, and Tough to Be a Bug, and all the wildlife trails, and all the live music.......... . I think AK is a great choice for a one-day taste of WDW vs DL. Sure, you could easily spend 12 hours at Epcot, but given the choice, I'd choose AK most every time. It's a beautiful park.

Oh, yes...I was just listing the "rides". We plan to do:

Oasis Exhibits
Nemo the Musical
Expedition Everest (FP+)
Lunch
Flights of Wonder
Maharajah Jungle Trek
Kiliminjaro Safari (FP+)
Pagani Forest
Wildlife Train
Fesitval of Lion King (FP+)
TriceraTop Spin
Expedition Everest (repeat if time)

Not necessarily in that order That seems like a full day to me, and I think it will be more mellow (given the ridiculous crowds at this time of year) than other parks.

 

[minnie mum]

I think your plan looks just fine. AK is our second favourite WDW park. If you think you will have some extra time you could check out the Wilderness Explorers. This might be fun for your child. Bear in mind, while planning your day, that both wildlife trails and the Safari close before dusk (before 5pm I think).

 

[Silver Queen]

OP, IIthink that the advice that Minnie mum gave you earlier was perfect. From your posts it looks like you've been doing your homework and are pretty well versed on AK and your choices. We personally love AK, stay at AKL frequently, love Boma, and will also be taking a Disney cruise in January. Have a wonderful time!

 

[winthropf]

Another vote for driving to AK. Offsite hotel shuttles drop at TTC. The bus from MK to AK now loads at the MK bus depot so you would have to take the monorail or ferry from TTC to MK and then get to the MK bus depot. A lot of extra time.