Animal Kingdom - 1 day or 1/2 day?

[princesselyse]

My family and I - Me(13), DB(10), DB(1), Mom, Dad - are going to Animal Kingdom in a few days and I'm in charge of planning how long to spend in each park, dining etc. I've heard mixed reviews about how long it takes to cover Animal Kingdom, and want to know whether it take 1-1/2 day for all the must do attractions including the rides for older and younger kids, good shows, and any other things. The shows we currently want to see are Finding Nemo and Lion King, are there any more that you recommend? In addition, are there any attractions that aren't worth it? We have dining reservations at Yak&Yeti at 7:00 PM, and, if AK only takes 1/2 day, were thinking to cancel it and go back to MK later in the day when were done. But is Y&Y worth it to stay at AK longer? Thanks!

 

[JimmyV]

The problem here is definitional. What is a full day? What is a half day? AK closes earlier than the other Parks. On a typical day it will close at 5:00. We usually go from 8:00-4:30. By some definitions that is a full day. The way we usually visit the Parks, quitting at 4:30 is a half day. Plan to spend your entire day at AK rather than hopping out of it. We use our AK days to plan a nice dinner as we know that we will have time to go back to the resort, wash the Kali chlorine off our bodies, and dress for dinner.

 

[Reddog1134]

It only takes 1/2 day to do all the headliners. However, you can easily spend all day in the park.

I suggest spending some time in the park after dark if you are able. Right now, the opportunities are rare for being in the park after sundown and it's a beautiful park at night.

 

[geniegirl]

We did 2.5 days last trip. The little one liked the trails and the older one did the rides. We also collected all the badges.

 

[crazymomof4]

Having visited WDW with a 1 yr old (once) and 7 month old (once), I would say allow a full day so you (and your mom and dad) don't feel rushed. Everything takes a little longer with a baby (feeding, diaper-change stops, kid-swapping on rides, naps, etc).
Another reason to allow more time is your DB10 may want to spend time in Dinoland since rides there appeal to that age group, while you (big sis) may be wanting to do the shows and EE (?) You don't want to have a "tug of war" with the little time you have if you only are there for a 1/2 day.
Also, you get more out of the non-ride, non-show parts of the park when you can take your time. Strolling through the trails see the animals and enjoying the great themeing is better than rushing through!

btw- my DD is 13 and, like you, she LOVES planning our wdw trip (in Sept). And I really like the fact that I have a helper and all the planning/decisions are not all on me!

Have a great trip!

 

[gtpoohbear]

We spent a full day at AK last month from open to close (9am-7pm) and still didn't get to do everything. But it depends on how much time you want to spend in certain areas. Just to ride a few rides, a 1/2 day is fine. But to spend time exploring Rafiki's Planet Watch, doing the nature trails, seeing all the shows, etc, a full day isn't even enough.

 

[dachsie]

To really see the park and what it has to offer, you should use the whole day. The parade is a blast and your kids will have a great time. Dont wear yourselves out trying to get everything in a 1/2 day so you can run yourselves ragged in another park trying to find a line that wont be too long to wait in. We used Animal Kingdom as a rest and relaxations day which is rare when running all over the other parks.

Also, the Lion King show is on hiatus so you wont be able to see that

 

[ZoZo]

OP: Welcome to the DIS!

When people say, "XXX is a half-day park" what they really mean is "XXX is a half-day park for me." Some folks hit the headliners and call it a day. They may have been to that park many times before, and can skip lots of the attractions because they've seen them before. While other folks like a particular park enough to spend a full day (or two!) there.

For me, AK is a two-day park! I love, love, love it, and I think there are tons of things to do if you are an animal lover.

As I mentioned above, some folks hit the headliners like the Safari Ride, Expedition Everest, Dinosaur, and (maybe) It's Tough to Be a Bug, then they're done. They're not especially interested in the animal exhibits. That's fine - I totally get that. But I think it's important, if you've never been to WDW before, to give each park at least one full day. You might be surprised which ones ending up as your favorites!

There were another thread a few days ago where people posted their recommendations for the "not to be missed" things at AK. See this link, below (it includes a post from me listing my favorite things to do):

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3260137

So my advice is to plan a full day at AK!

 

[DizneeMommy]

We always spend 2 days in AK. . .at my kids' request!!

 

[3happydancers]

For our family, AK is at least 1 full day of touring. We love it all:

It's A Bug's Life
EE
Kali River
Safari Ride
Dinosaur
Prima Whirl
Finding Nemo
Birds in Flight
Trails to explore

 

[Delirium]

If you're going in a few days, you won't see lion King. It's under refurbishment as it moves locations.

Flights of Wonder is a very nice bird show and I highly recommend it.

Most people that call any park a half/day park are people that have already experienced that park multiple times and can skip the things they don't care for. I recommend spending the whole day if it's your first time there.

The other thing about only taking a half day is you miss out on all of the 'little' things that make a Disney Park special. If all you want to do is thrill rides, Six Flags does those better. Disney makes memories in ways you can't achieve by rushing through the park.

 

[crazymomof4]

your kids will have a great time.

OP is 13 yrs old. LOL

 

[jaykorf001]

Totally a full day for us. If you want to explore and see a show or two it will take you a full day. If you just want to do Safari, Everest, Dinosaur, and Rapids maybe a half day.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[BuckeyeBama]

Not enough information in the OP to help. How many total park days do you have? If you have 7 total park days, AK is worth a full day. If you only have 3 or 4 park days, I would probably do AK in a half day and spend the rest of that day in MK.

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

If this will be your first time visiting AK then I would guess you would spend a full day there. Rides are very limited at AK. Shows are lots of fun once in a while. The nature trails and exhibits are well done, but if you are fortunate enough to live near a top-notch zoo then those may not hold as much interest for you.

Having said all that, AK is a fun park. We always go there when we vacation with parkhoppers.

 

[OnSpaceshipEarth]

If this will be your first time visiting AK then I would guess you would spend a full day there. Rides are very limited at AK. Shows are lots of fun once in a while. The nature trails and exhibits are well done, but if you are fortunate enough to live near a top-notch zoo then those may not hold as much interest for you.

Having said all that, AK is a fun park. We always go there when we vacation with parkhoppers.

Spend the whole day and enjoy a great dinner at Yak And Yeti. We definitely are not ones to dismiss the Animal Kingdom. It really is awesome, spend the whole day there and you won't feel rushed. It's unlike any other park on earth.

 

[Princesca]

Everyone has their prefs but it is my DHs second favorite park and we found it was nice to spend the whole day and take it at a more leisurely pace than MK.

 

[sarkell]

Everyone has their prefs but it is my DHs second favorite park and we found it was nice to spend the whole day and take it at a more leisurely pace than MK.

We are going for a half day but that could change I'm giving 3 days for magic kingdom, 1 epcot, & 1 hs/ak but we may hop if we finish mk earlier etc. It's dd first visit & meeting all princesses is high priority.

 

[Bullseye]

The problem here is definitional. What is a full day? What is a half day? AK closes earlier than the other Parks. On a typical day it will close at 5:00. We usually go from 8:00-4:30. By some definitions that is a full day. The way we usually visit the Parks, quitting at 4:30 is a half day. Plan to spend your entire day at AK rather than hopping out of it. We use our AK days to plan a nice dinner as we know that we will have time to go back to the resort, wash the Kali chlorine off our bodies, and dress for dinner.

This is us to a T. We usually get there when the park opens and stay until around 4pm. That gives us enough time time to do most or all the rides and attractions we enjoy. And yes we usually schedule a Resort ADR on our AK day knowing we will have plenty of time to get back and shower before dinner. If you like to do other things the Exploration trails or Rafiki's Planet, then AK is definitely a "full day" park.

 

[karly05]

I vote full day. I'm sorry you're going to miss the Lion King show, but do make time for Flights of Wonder, the bird show. If you are there ahead of time, a CM may come out to the waiting area with a bird to do a little pre-show. And I LOVE the Nemo show!

The two walking trails (Pangani Forest and Maharajah Jungle Trek) are nice to do - I love Maharajah for the tigers and bats.

Be advised that if you ride Kali River Rapids, one or more of you may get completely soaked!