An honest review of Animal Kingdom

[jenjie]

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

Great that means I'll be able to ride!

 

[MomtoGKC]

We didn't love AK the first time we visited, but it has grown on us. For some reason it is the one spot where my kids seem to slow down and relax a bit since there is not SO much to fit into one day. It is nice for DH & I to be able to grab a beer, enjoy the atmosphere and not feel so rushed.

 

[JarrothsMom]

I am not a HUGE fan, however it has it perks!

 

[thelionqueen]

My first visit to AK was somewhat along the same lines as OP. Very VERY hot there, lots of walking and seemed like we spent only a half day.

It is now one of my favorite parks! Nemo, Lion King, ITTBAB, Maharaja Jungle Trek and EE are so wonderful! I'd say give it a few more visits and see if there is something you might've missed the first time

 

[grecorj]

I'll admit I have similar feelings about AK: hot, big, only a few compelling attractions (for us).

Last trip we skipped it entirely. We had gone the previous 2 trips.

For our upcoming trip we want to go back and experience KS, KRR, and EE (well, a few of us want to do EE!). I also want to check out Festival of the Lion King and ITTBAB shows and possibly Dinosaur. Maybe I haven't given it a fair shake?

I will say the Grand Gathering Safari we did in 2008 was fantastic, too bad they no longer offer it.

Foodwise, Flametree BBQ is good, but I can't say it was anything special.

Supposedly touring > the 345 pm parade is better than late morning/midday if you can't do RD -- lots of families head out after parade from long hot day of touring and there isn't any evening fireworks like the other parks to bring people in late. Also starting to get a *little* cooler. This might be alternative to those that can park hop.

BTW .... I do agree that if I was only doing a 1 day pass to a park, AK would be at bottom of my list ... but if you're staying at WDW for a week or so, why not give AK at least a shot?

 

[Good Morning Dewdrop]

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.

I agree completely! We love AK and spend multiple 'half' days there.

 

[hakepb]

I agree with the hot comments, and it drives me crazy walking around. The beautiful winding pathways have less useable space because everyone walks in a straight line. And it does not matter who you are walking behind, they Will stop, In the middle of the walkway for any number of reasons, including starting a new line for a concession stand :/

And don't get me started on the stagnate water surrounding the tree of life island...

But KS is my favorite Disney attraction, and Flametree BBQ is my favorite CS, so and the view as you climb EE is quite nice, so I fight through the rest and spend a park day there.

 

[Epeyon]

And don't get me started on the stagnate water surrounding the tree of life island...

I was just there last week and it looked a lot better, all the green algae was gone. I don't know if they used some kind of pesticide or if they simply started circulating the water, but it looked a lot better than before.

 

[FirstTimeDisneyVisit]

as soon as i read that she had a local drive through safari i thought "must be in NJ!"

all the damage was from the monkey section, which you could avoid if you wanted to. but about 5 years ago they fenced the monkeys in, so no more damage.



I guess great minds think alike LOL...I thought of Great Adventure too as soon as I read this. I live 20 minutes from there and we do the season pas every year.
But onto the other subject...AK...I could take it or leave it. I don't think it is that great but will admit we do have fun when we go.

Same boat ..though about NJ right away !! and the safari at 6 flags.
i love Ak !! when you go to Disney your going for the magic !! not just a 6 flags with rides everywhere. i enjoy all 4 parks for all sorts of different reasons.

 

[disneynutsss]

as soon as i read that she had a local drive through safari i thought "must be in NJ!"
all the damage was from the monkey section, which you could avoid if you wanted to. but about 5 years ago they fenced the monkeys in, so no more damage.
I guess great minds think alike LOL...I thought of Great Adventure too as soon as I read this. I live 20 minutes from there and we do the season pas every year.
But onto the other subject...AK...I could take it or leave it. I don't think it is that great but will admit we do have fun when we go.

Same boat ..though about NJ right away !! and the safari at 6 flags.
i love Ak !! when you go to Disney your going for the magic !! not just a 6 flags with rides everywhere. i enjoy all 4 parks for all sorts of different reasons.

Howdy Neighbors!!


funny, i never thought of AK as being "hot" or "large"... but now that i think about it, the first time we went it was hot, but not the subsequent times. maybe because we usually go in the fall?

an i like AK over EP

 

[si-am]

AK is actually my favorite park. While I do admit it can be hard to spend a full day there when it's crowded, I absolutely love the lush landscaping and the detailed theming throughout. We usually travel during Christmas, and spending Christmas morning at AK is a tradition. Not crowded at all, not hot, and it's just really pleasant wandering around feeling like we have the whole park to ourselves.

 

[DisneyGal24]

At first DH and I were not really that impressed with AK. However, I think there are hidden treasures there. We love the safari and were blown away by the Lion King show. DD (who was 4 at the time) was really impressed. It kept her attention the entire time. She still talks about it. I agree that it is hot but I think the key to that is making RD and using FP effectively. We will arrive at RD and be back at the resort by around 1:00 pm. I understand it is not for everyone though!

 

[Bellamouse]

We usually travel during Christmas, and spending Christmas morning at AK is a tradition. Not crowded at all, not hot, and it's just really pleasant wandering around feeling like we have the whole park to ourselves.

Sounds HEAVENLY!!!!!!! Maybe I'll get to do a Christmas day there someday........ :

 

[DisneyFamilyMomof5]

AK isnt my favorite of the 4 parks, but i love it none the less.. i like the dinoland feel, we always have fun there..

they have a lot of little hidden fun things that we do in ak that most people probably pass by..
they have some great shows.. dinosaur is one of my favorite rides in disney..

 

[Sammie]

Can't say that I disagree with most of what the OP has written.

We've been going to AK since they first opened and I've always felt the same way...

• Park is too hot (not sure why it seems hotter than anywhere else)
• Too far away from everything (not sure why it seems to take the busses so much longer to get to/from there as it's really NOT that far away from everything)
• Attractions are, well, very boring by Disney standards. The safari ride is ok but, well, it's not all that good compared to what you can see in various zoos around the country. EE is kinda lame. Rapids ride is cool (literally) but I don't always want to get soaked (potentially) while walking around the park. Dinosaur ride is just not all that great (and a bit loud and I LIKE loud stuff). Bug's Life is interesting but, with small kids it's a bit much for them.
• I've never been one to enjoy most of the shows in WDW. Just not my thing. The bird show is really cool but, well, I've seen it way too many times already.
• Most importantly, the whole park is just too darn preachy for me. Ok, I get it! Save the Earth! But do they have to smash it in your face the WHOLE time?

I understand why a lot of people like AK but I'm just not one of them. We go there about once a year now and just skip it most of the time we go. Even the kids don't find it terribly interesting either and they LOVE animals.

I find the Jacksonville Zoo to be much more interesting (with more interesting animals). Also, the Alligator Farm in St. Augustine is much more interesting.

It's a shame as I had such high hopes for AK when they announced it.

Because it is hotter than any of the other parks. When Disney decided to build AK they did temperature readings for available area and it was at least 8-10 degrees hotter at this location than others.

This is great during the colder months for the animals but not so much for guests during warmer months.

Plus the lush vegetation adds to that. Of course it is themed to be that way also.

 

[mieshie75]

my dh and I were just there the middle of may and we loved it. We got there by rope drop and we were there till 3 ish. and we didnt even do everything. No the park wasnt crowded and ya it was hot but so arent asia and Africa in the summer. We started in Dinoland, with dinosaur (scared the pants off me) and then primevil whirl, we opted out of triceratops spin and the boneyard (we would do them if our 4 yr old was with us). loved meeting characters there. Then we went to nemo, passed that up (saw it last time and wanted to see lion king more) EE was down so we grabbed a fast pass and went to KRR got soaked. Then ate lunch. I am not gonna finish my trip report here but for those who say
1. It is a half day park. Sure if you only want half of the experience.
2. Boring. If your looking for a thrill ride then yes. I wanted to see the beauty of nature and get some culture while i walked at my pace in georgeous surroundings.
3. Food is subpar. You may not have tried flame tree bbq we loved it.

 

[DisneyNic]

We LOVED AK. Is it high adrenaline excitement, no. But I absolutely love the atmosphere in the park. In fact, AK and EPCOT are the 2 parks that I am most excited about taking my first-time-visitors sisters to in Sept.

 

[deuceswild10]

There are no drive thru safaris where I live, and nothing like AK. I love it there. Fantastic park.

But, to each their own. Epcot is not my favorite at all.

 

[tallen429]

I agree completely! We love AK and spend multiple 'half' days there.

Yep. me too. It's my second favorite after MK, with Epcot a very, very tight third.

I could go to WDW for two weeks and happily never step foot in DHS if it were up to me. Take away the fact that I've been a Muppet lover since the 70's, I think the whole place is a giant waste of Disney space!
Talk about HOT! Virtually NO shade anywhere. Stupid, out of date shows, HORRID food...
No thanks. It's our half day park when the kids are with us, but only because DS 9 loves Star Wars and Indiana Jones and we all love the aforementioned Muppets. A race for an (OOOVVVVEEER RATED) TSM FP and after that I can't get out of there fast enough. When DH and I have gone alone we skip it completely. It's only redeeming quality is Osborne Lights at holiday time.

To each their own!!

 

[nkereina]

Didn't read all the replies, but I agree with OP to an extent.

We did AK for the first time back in September and I was looking forward to it, because it was the only park I had never been to. We had a whole day set aside for it. Got there at rope drop, and we did everything we wanted to and were ready to leave by 2pm. It was the only park we did not return to the whole week. I do love the detail in the park and we really liked the safari, EE, Dinosaur, and It's Tough to be a Bug, but aside from that there was not much there. We also felt it was a lot of parking with narrower walkways which made it feel very crowded. It was also very hot. We'll still go to AK on future trips but we don't feel it's worth a visit more than once per trip. Incidentally, Tusker House is one of our favorite restaurants on property though!