An honest review of Animal Kingdom

[dkeysor42]

The family and I spent a day at Animal Kingdom in April. Just had to give some advice to other families deciding on which parks to visit.

We found Animal Kingdom crowded, spread out, and not laid out very well. (lots of walking to get from one side to the other), and quite frankly, boring. The safari is a cool concept, but let's be honest....I can do the drive thru safari near my home, see the same animals, not wait 45 mins, and have basically the same experience. Secondly, Expedition Everest. Plain and simple, it's a below average coaster with a huge Yeti that you don't even get a good look at if at all. Say what you want about theming...it IS very cool, but excitement? um....no. Dinoland? Feels like it was kind of just stuck in the park for ride count. Felt more like a county fair than Disney.

I'd recommend spending your $90 on Seaworld, seeing a few animals you can't see near home, and riding a couple of world class coasters.

My two cents.

 

[Herbie]

I will admit that i was not an AK fan after my first visit, But the more we go, the more we enjoy it. Now it is a must do every visit, not all day long, but we definately hit the highlights. Dont be afraid to give it another try.

 

[W.E.D.]

We all have our own opinions about AK. I do have to say though that I believe that was the whole concept behind Dinoland.

It's a 1/2 day park for us, so I can understand what you're saying.

I'm not a big coaster guy, so EE is just perfect for me.

 

[Bellamouse]

Sorry you found it so bad. Good thing for us, there will be just that many fewer people in the park.

Not sure where you live, but I can assure you there are no "drive thru safaris" near our house. The safari is actually my favorite ride in WDW. The landscaping and vistas are amazing. The trees they brought from Africa and planted to give an authentic feel I guarantee you will never find at your drive thru safari.

You also missed the amazing Bird Show, It's Tough to be a Bug and a whole host of other wonderful (but probably "boring" by your standards) attractions. I never ride any coasters or do rides much in general - not my thing. But I find AK to be relaxing and beautiful with a focus on nature. The walking is the best part, IMO. Not everyone goes to Disney for "thrill rides".

The only time it's not fun is when it's packed with people. But it sounds like you will be doing your part to help with that problem.

 

[DopeyDame]

AK definitely isn't the place to go if you're looking for excitement and world class coasters.

For my family, though, we absolutely love it. Love festival of the lion king and Nemo, love the drummers and dancers in Africa, love the safari ride (there's nothing like it at the zoos where I live), love the boneyard, and mostly just love walking around the beautiful grounds and looking at everything there is to see.

Different strokes for different folks!

 

[cantwaitvaca09]

I have been to AK twice in the past 4 years, and this time I would be fine if we skipped it. If we make it there to show the kids fine, but its not a must do for us either.

 

[CentralFloridian99]

We found Animal Kingdom crowded, spread out, and not laid out very well.

Isn't that DHS on 5/19? Sorry about your expirence

 

[Paging Mr. Morrow]

Sorry you did not like it; personally, I love animal kingdom. Dinosaur and EE are a couple of my favorite rides at Disney. I certainly do not have a drive thru safari near my house hahaha so I love it at animal kingdom (may i ask where you live? I haven't heard of drive thru safaris being very common). I enjoy the overall atmosphere and themeing of the park as well as all the animals and shows they have to offer. And i have never found AK to be busy at all each of the 4 times I have been there, maybe i was lucky (I went last june and walked onto EE, safari, and dinosaur with literally no lines). to each their own i guess

 

[Epeyon]

Animal Kingdom's nice parts are what many people over look. The dedicated theming, the more relaxed atmosphere. It's a midweek, relaxing park. That "county fair" atmosphere for Dinoland is the whole point, it's supposed to feel like an old pre-interstate road side attraction.

Everest is a Disney coaster, if you're expecting the Hulk then you'll be disappointed with any Disney roller coaster. It's an enjoyable ride that's family friendly. You can take somebody that's young, but into coasters, on it. Or a non-adrenaline junky.

Though I definitely agree about walking back and forth a lot. Especially if you have fast passes. Simply isn't enough to do in each area.

I think you suffered from unrealistic expectations.

 

[Trooper Alex 412]

There is a drive thru safari at Great Adventure in New Jersey, but I don't like it too many stories of peoples cars being dented and weather stripping being ripped up by the monkeys.

 

[dobtia]

One of the great things about Disney is for the most part there is something for everyone and not everything is for everyone.

We like AK and it used to be our number 2 park. We still enjoy our trips there very much. Safari is loved by our son. Lion King is a great so show to us and Flights of Wonder is very underrated by many people. We love the two trails and we enjoy the Dinosaur ride. The parade is very unique.

We don't normally ride EE or the River ride and still have a great time.

 

[ccgirl]

Sorry you didn't like it. It is very spread out; but that's actually one of the things I like about it. EE is my DD's favorite ride. We love walking through the bird aviary. Lion King is our favorite WDW show. Kali River Rapids is another favorite ride. We had to miss our day at AK our last trip because my DH injured his back. My DD has not let us live it down. I just got back from a trip to SW two weeks ago. I find that park even more spread out than AK. Funny how opinions on something can be so different.

 

[Balt ravens fan]

Another honest review of AK - It is awesome! Please don't go there. The lines will be shorter for the rest of us who love it

 

[starousse]

I agree with the OP 100%. The safari may be appealing to some, but I feel that you can go to your local zoo for a similar atmosphere, and to see the same animals. I was actually planning on doing the safari this past trip, but my kids ages 5 and 2 had no interest at all. It is also very spread out, and on a hot day, the walking can get uncomfortable.

Dinoland does feel like a small parking lot carnival with really nothing to do with the exception of some overpriced carnival games and spinning kiddie ride. We saw Finding Nemo, which was a little on the boring side (hubby fell asleep) and the Festival of the Lion King, which was okay, but nothing I'd say "Oh my goodness" over. Some find it hard to believe, but my kids fell asleep towards the end of it. I've seen the Broadway show twice, so maybe that's why it really doesn't do anything for me. I'm happy to say that I've seen them at least once.

I also agree with the OP that the Expedition Everest is nothing to write home about. To me, it seems like the ride was over in about 5 seconds.

The best part of our AK day was the ability to get on a bus to the AKL (5 minutes away) and had an awesome dinner at Jiko.

At first I felt a little guilty about skipping the AK on our next trip in December, but the more I think about it, I'd rather take that extra day and use in Epcot or HS.

 

[pmaurer74]

I love AK and DH soes not. I really enjoy the shows and think they are great plus I love Tusker House breakfast. It could use more attractions but I really enjoy. Having said that we are skipping it this time to do SW since we have never been there.

 

[tinkerbesh]

Sorry you found it so bad. Good thing for us, there will be just that many fewer people in the park.

Not sure where you live, but I can assure you there are no "drive thru safaris" near our house. The safari is actually my favorite ride in WDW. The landscaping and vistas are amazing. The trees they brought from Africa and planted to give an authentic feel I guarantee you will never find at your drive thru safari.

You also missed the amazing Bird Show, It's Tough to be a Bug and a whole host of other wonderful (but probably "boring" by your standards) attractions. I never ride any coasters or do rides much in general - not my thing. But I find AK to be relaxing and beautiful with a focus on nature. The walking is the best part, IMO. Not everyone goes to Disney for "thrill rides".

The only time it's not fun is when it's packed with people. But it sounds like you will be doing your part to help with that problem.

This! Love walking the trails & even just the regular shaded pathways. And the spontaneous things that can happen like when DiVine crept over towards our lunch spot.

Agree with DopeyDame, too -- LOVE Lion King & Nemo! They are do not miss attractions for us.

Also love the unique food options throughout the park.

So best advice to others- just do what you love. If this park is not your preferred blend of fun, go to one that is.

 

[Pixiedust34]

We love, love, love Animal Kindgom! It is a park that is meant to be explored leisurely rather than rushing from one attraction to another. The theming and details of the park are spectacular! It is meant to be spread out the way it is so guests can find adventure as they wander. It's a multi-day park rather than a "half day" park for us.

Different strokes for different folks. It's a good thing for me that those who think it's a half day park will spend their time elsewhere.

 

[TinkerwithDis]

Not sure where you live, but I can assure you there are no "drive thru safaris" near our house.

I live in Canada/Ontario, and I can tell you that we definitely have a drive thru safari! Its pretty cool.

Anyway OP, i understand what your saying. AK isnt for everyone. Some might say there isnt a lot to do compared to other parks. We love animals, so we have a blast over there. My fave is the Nemo show. I like it better than Lion King to be honest. I love the safari. But your right about the rides, there isnt much to choose from. Im not a fan of the dino section either.

 

[wolf29]

We LOVE DAK! What is required to enjoy the Park is to take the time and explore and investigate the subtle things. Slow down and try to find all the birds in the aviary, open the draws and see what's in there, watch the animals. Do the M & G at Camp Minnie/Mickey, see the shows. Go spend time at Rafiki's PW. DAK is full of treasures, they simply aren't "in your face".

 

[jrtoastyman]

I certainly do not have a drive thru safari near my house hahaha

this was my reaction, too. "Uh, yeah, I'd like two giraffes, an Asian elephant and a rhino to go, hold the wildebeast. Oh, and a Dole Whip."

Joking aside, we have a great, free zoo where we live (STL), but it would take us all day to see the number and variety of animals we see on KS in 20 minutes, and they certainly wouldn't be that close to us. It's the highlight of any AK trip for me but then again, I like that sort of thing. AK is, by its nature, very animal focused, and if that doesn't appeal to you, it's probably not going to be your cup of tea. To each their own.