AK worth a visit?

[kandb]

We planned on AK on Monday, 1/13 when I believe dinosaur ride will be closed and the whole amusement area? We are picking AK because we love the safari and we don't like alot of fast rides, so we picked AK over HS. I am looking now and there doesn't seem to be much to do at AK. We will see a few shows and go on the safari but other then that, there are only a few other rides (kali, EE, FOP and jungle ride (forget name). Could we spend a whole day there? Have dinner reservations at Yak and Yedi at 5:30pm. Don't have hopper passes. Thanks for advice.

 

[Dug720]

I can - and do - easily spend a whole day at AK and not hit the Dino area or Kali. There are the trails, there's the train to Rafiki's Planet Watch where you can do animation academy (and if you're lucky get to see the vet team working on an animal), all of the Pandora area, the Safari is re-rideable. AK is most definitely worth a day at the very least IMHO.

 

[Upatnoon]

It's a beautiful park, I could walk around there all day and not go on any rides or watch any shows.

Are you planning to rope-drop? Sleep in a bit? That can make a big difference on how much you can get done.

If you do three shows and four attractions, and figure 1 hour for each, considering waiting, walking there, etc., that is 7 hours.

Taking a break and watching some live performers, getting a snack, visiting a gift shop, looking at the animals, stopping to take some photos and the time will be gone.

There are a lot of details and things to do that don't involve running from ride-to-ride or show-to-show at Animal Kingdom. Take advantage!

 

[Sheryl2059]

Dunno if it gets dark enough before closing right now. But if so go check out Pandora. I never got a chance to see it at night because the last time I was there that late Avatar hadnt been made yet.

 

[Disneydawg74]

We love AK. We go on the safari (usually two different times during the day) walk the Gorilla Falls Trail, go the Festival of the Lion King Show, and then have lunch at Yak & Yeti. Then we walk the Maharajah Jungle Trek. We usually get lightning lanes for the afternoon for Pandora rides, then go to the 4:30 (or whatever is the latest show) at Finding Nemo or Feathered Friends in Flight. We’re older and slower, so this is a full day for us. Probably go to Boma for dinner at AKL after we’re done with the park.

 

[team bradfield]

we spend a day there easily, enjoy the animals and just walking around the park

 

[Tom_E_D]

We planned on AK on Monday, 1/13 when I believe dinosaur ride will be closed and the whole amusement area? We are picking AK because we love the safari and we don't like alot of fast rides, so we picked AK over HS. I am looking now and there doesn't seem to be much to do at AK. We will see a few shows and go on the safari but other then that, there are only a few other rides (kali, EE, FOP and jungle ride (forget name). Could we spend a whole day there? Have dinner reservations at Yak and Yedi at 5:30pm. Don't have hopper passes. Thanks for advice.

The Dinosaur ride is not closing on January 13. The first wave of closures for the upcoming construction includes TriceraTop Spin and the carnival-type booths, but not the Dinosaur ride. Also, I'm not sure what you are referring to as the "jungle ride." If you are thinking of Jungle Cruise, that's at MK, not AK.

Spending a whole day at AK may require spending time enjoying the park's zoo-like aspects, or else repeating rides or shows. There's nothing wrong with doing either . . . or both.

 

[aballerina]

The Dinosaur ride is not closing on January 13. The first wave of closures for the upcoming construction includes TriceraTop Spin and the carnival-type booths, but not the Dinosaur ride. Also, I'm not sure what you are referring to as the "jungle ride." If you are thinking of Jungle Cruise, that's at MK, not AK.

Spending a whole day at AK may require spending time enjoying the park's zoo-like aspects, or else repeating rides or shows. There's nothing wrong with doing either . . . or both.

OP is likely thinking of Navi?

I agree that there's plenty to fill a day if you do trails, shows, etc.

 

[elvispursley]

AK is a park to take your time in. So many awesome details youll miss if you’re merely rushing from rides and shows. The theming is the best out of any of the other parks, IMO.We usually spend at least 2 of our days at this park. We did Rhinos tour and it was the highlight of our trip.

 

[greeneyedchick]

Kali River Rapids may be closed in January since it's a water ride.

 

[Kooks and Bay Bay]

Some people love it others don't.
I'm someone that does not think its all that worth going to.
You can spend a whole day there depending on what you want to do but for me I really only care about a couple of attractions.
So for me HS is much more worth going to even if you don't go on the 2 most thrilling attractions.

 

[scrappinginontario]

It really is personal choice. We visit AK each trip and enjoy it being a slower paced day.

 

[gharter]

We spend a day at AK every trip. Not a fan of kali, so we skip that. Love the safari and EE. we spend a lot of time on all the trails. Even enjoy taking the train to Rafiki's, do the animation and see the animals. happy to see the live entertainment back. Lion King remains the best show at WDW and enjoy Nemo (although loved the previous version better).

 

[loves to dive]

It really depends on you and what you like to do. If you just like to go from ride to ride, it might not be for you. If you like to go at a slower pace and see all the details, it will be for you. There are a lot of little side trails all over the park that house animals, heck I spend at least 45 min. to a hour just doing the trail around the Tree of Life looking at the carvings and watching the tortoise. We love to stop and watch the street entertainment and both shows (Nemo and Lion King) are a must do for me. It's a great park for going slow and just enjoying the park, catching rides in between. Even without the few things in DinoLand that will be closed at that time, I'm not sure you could do everything there is to do in a day. Remember, AK closes early and some of the trails and Safari close earlier than the park so make sure you plan around those.

 

[ML_LovesDisney]

We planned on AK on Monday, 1/13 when I believe dinosaur ride will be closed and the whole amusement area? We are picking AK because we love the safari and we don't like alot of fast rides, so we picked AK over HS. I am looking now and there doesn't seem to be much to do at AK. We will see a few shows and go on the safari but other then that, there are only a few other rides (kali, EE, FOP and jungle ride (forget name). Could we spend a whole day there? Have dinner reservations at Yak and Yedi at 5:30pm. Don't have hopper passes. Thanks for advice.

Walking around and the food there can keep you occupied. We really only have a couple rides we do at AK (Safari, FoP, Expedition Everest), plus shows and seeing animal trails.

 

[Sheryl2059]

Actually never saw the Lion King show before my last trip and I was pleasantly surprised by how good it was. I agree the WDW parks need a few more shows like them. Not sure where they would go but if they could find the space it would be much easier to build a building with a stage than a ride. I assume the Discovery River Amphitheater is not going to sit there unused forever.

 

[gharter]

Actually never saw the Lion King show before my last trip and I was pleasantly surprised by how good it was. I agree the WDW parks need a few more shows like them. Not sure where they would go but if they could find the space it would be much easier to build a building with a stage than a ride. I assume the Discovery River Amphitheater is not going to sit there unused forever.

We talked about that on our last trip. You have this beautiful theater and not being used. Was not a fan of Rivers of Light. The kite show was fun. Hoping they can come up with something. Really missed the water cavalcade on the last trip. Suspect it won't come back now that characters are back in the park.

 

[nalababybear]

Being west coasters and DLR folk; AK is our favorite park at WDW. Easy a day's worth if you enjoy animals and all the paths and shows.

The revamped shorter Nemo show is even better then the original in our opinion.

 

[Miffy]

We planned on AK on Monday, 1/13 when I believe dinosaur ride will be closed and the whole amusement area? We are picking AK because we love the safari and we don't like alot of fast rides, so we picked AK over HS. I am looking now and there doesn't seem to be much to do at AK. We will see a few shows and go on the safari but other then that, there are only a few other rides (kali, EE, FOP and jungle ride (forget name). Could we spend a whole day there? Have dinner reservations at Yak and Yedi at 5:30pm. Don't have hopper passes. Thanks for advice.

As a PP mentioned, the Dinosaur ride will still be open when you're there.

I can easily spend an entire day at DAK and often do. Walk on all the animal-viewing trails--Maharajah Jungle Trek, Gorilla Falls, and the animal areas near the entrance--go on the train to Rafiki's Planet Watch, where there's a fun petting area (goats, sheep, pigs, and other animals) and often a demonstration if you're there at the right time. Also FotLK is a great show as is the bird show (Feathered Friends in Flight? maybe that's the name). Both very worthwhile.

I'm a do-safari-as-many-times-as-possible person. You can go twice in a row and see different animals.

If you don't have LLSP, you'll be spending time in line for FoP, so there's some time taken up right there. Ditto Na'vi River Journey, which is what I think you might mean by "jungle ride." The line there can get pretty long as well.

Enjoy your day at DAK!

 

[kandb]

The Dinosaur ride is not closing on January 13. The first wave of closures for the upcoming construction includes TriceraTop Spin and the carnival-type booths, but not the Dinosaur ride. Also, I'm not sure what you are referring to as the "jungle ride." If you are thinking of Jungle Cruise, that's at MK, not AK.

Spending a whole day at AK may require spending time enjoying the park's zoo-like aspects, or else repeating rides or shows. There's nothing wrong with doing either . . . or both.

By jungle ride I meant the one that is a boat ride that is right next to FOP. I forget the name, it's an odd name. It's a calm ride. I am so glad to hear dinosaur ride won't be closed on 1/13. My daughter loves that ride.