Animal Kingdom a major Flop!

[Princess Polamalu]

It clear that the OP was here only to start an argument....however as others have said to each there own. I havent been to Disney for about 10 years and I remember DAK being my least favorite park. I was a 19 year old college programmer at the time as well. Im arriving in late May with my DS (7) and I have devoted 2 days of our 11 night 12 day vacation for adequate DAK exploration. Im sure I will have a much better appreciation for it now that Im older.

 

[Backside of Water]

I love AK.

It's easily my favorite park. Every time I leave it, I regret that I didn't spend as much time as I'd like in the park.


That said, I don't care for the carnival games. Having to pay for some games seems to run contrary to the rest of the parks.



I'm shocked how many people don't like PW, though. PW is a deceptively enjoyable ride.

 

[ShannonMB]

TOTALLY disagree. AK is my 2nd favorite park, hands down. We easily spend a full day there, and on our last trip, some of our party went there again on our "free day". And I don't even spend much time on the treks (though they are gorgeous!). I love every attraction there, and the parade is my 2nd favorite -- I like it *almost* as much as Spectro. I know the dinoland area doesn't get much love, but my DD LOVES playing a few carnival games while we are there, she really enjoys that area.

AK =

 

[fla4fun]

I think the OP had their expectations too high, and didn't research as well as they should have. And so the park was a disappointment.

AK isn't my favorite park. In fact, it's fourth out of four on my list of parks to visit (Epcot is my favorite, followed by MK, then DHS, then AK). My main peeve about the park is that it doesn't seem to be laid out well for traffic flow. There are bottlenecks in that park that completely shut down walkways in the slowest of seasons. I also tend to feel more claustrophobic in that park than the others. I love the wide open spaces of Epcot, but I feel totally closed in at AK. My feelings towards the park have nothing to do with the attractions themselves - many of which I feel are totally top notch and definitely up to the Disney standards. I just get so stressed out trying to get into the park and move around that I just give up and leave.

As far as the soaking you get on Kali, I've been just as soaked on Splash Mountain - to the point I had to go to the restroom and wring the water out of my clothes. The water rides are great in the summer when it's hot, but I never do the water rides when the weather is cool - it just seems like you never get dry.

 

[jheigl]

I agree with what a lot of people have said. DAK is not meant to be just a theme park like any of the others. This is meant to be a "nature" type park. While I do agree that I would like to see some more exciting attractions, I think that it would take away from what the park was meant to be. Currently, DAK is a 1/2 day park for us, which fits into our schedule nicely, but some quality additions to the park would certainly excite me, but again, the park is meant to be more about the animal world and to teach people about it and make them more aware.

 

[honeydiane1953]

I do not like Animal Kingdom. The only reason is NEMO the musical and THE CIRLE OF LIFE. I admit it is worthless to our family. Waste of money imo.

 

[DisneyFamily123]

What AK is missing is SEA animals. Unless the competition from Sea World is just too much.

 

[melly]

The Animal Kingdom is our family's favorite park, and I just don't understand how people don't "get it" when it comes to the AK. .

There's not much to get, different people like different things.

My view on the AK is that its the worst theme park in Orlando. The layout runs you down dead ends, the paths are narrow, it always appears to be 10 degrees hotter than anywhere else. Strangely, some of my favourite attractions are there but to me this doesnt compensate for the rest.

In addition, I dont actually think there are that many animals for a place called the animal kingdom. Now I appreciate that I may have missed some but I have been there twice, I have done the safari and the trails and yet not seen that much. For me I would go again but it would be to do Everest, ITTBAB, Dinosaur, the the Rapids then leave as it gets into the afternoon.

 

[lorraine31]

What AK is missing is SEA animals. Unless the competition from Sea World is just too much.

Maybe it's because they have all their sea animals in EPCOT, at the Nemo attraction. Guess they don't see the point of having it repeated. It would be nice though to see the sea animals represented.

Also it's about exploration, so the windy paths are all about exploring and see what you can find.It's meant to be like a forest and a jungle that you are immersed in, providing a natural habitat for the animals that they have.
It is quite a long walk from one side of the park to the other, so if you have a fast pass, you are walking for ever. I do agree that it is hotter, but that's probably because of the trees, keeping the heat trapped.

 

[DisneyFan32WI]

What AK is missing is SEA animals. Unless the competition from Sea World is just too much.

I never even thought about this, and you are totally right! It would be nice to have some type of aquatic-life representation.

 

[bicker]

Maybe it's because they have all their sea animals in EPCOT, at the Nemo attraction. Guess they don't see the point of having it repeated.

Yes, good point. The construction and maintenance of sea habitats is an expensive endeavor, even as compared to, say, constructing a savanna, so it is the kind of thing we can expect Disney to do just once in Orlando (i.e., The Living Seas). There are some water birds and mammals at Animal Kingdom -- animals that don't need a sophisticated tank-environment, including ducks, otters, flamingos, etc. Of course, there are also the hippos and crocs on the safari.

 

[kimis]

I am sorry you feel this way but we love AK! The atmosphere is great, the animals are awesome and the resturants are good. It is easy to find characters there and have pics taken also. No it isn't the same as MK but it isn't supposed to be. However everyone has their own taste in things and we are all different--that makes life interesting. The first couple times we went to Epcot I wasn't that thrilled with that park but now I love it too just like the rest.

 

[grossmansr]

I wish there were more attractions at AK, but I wish that about every park! My favorite attraction here is seeing the tigers. I sat and watched them for at least an hour during my last visit. I agree with everyone who says that you really need to slow down to enjoy this park.

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

AK is a lot like EP where you have to get the vibe of the park to really appreciate it. They were not put here for the super crazy attractions, but are learning centers with a few cool rides.

AK is also one of my family's faves. We'd have to rank the parks this way: MK, AK, EP, DHS. The theming is beautiful! The parks major flaw is that there isn't a lot of places to go when it's crowded. A few more attractions would be nice, but AK is a lot of traffic.

Sorry you had such a bad time.

 

[Scrap_Vamp]

I wish there were more attractions at AK, but I wish that about every park! My favorite attraction here is seeing the tigers. I sat and watched them for at least an hour during my last visit. I agree with everyone who says that you really need to slow down to enjoy this park.

We did that too on our last visit - it was great, and we learned all about them from the CM. It was good to have insider info and hear other people coming and going making incorrect assumptions about them

DH and I love the park - we love spending time watching the animals. I also think it is one of the easiest places for character meets - wait times are a lot less than in the other parks (in general, of course, that isn't always true!)

 

[arielmomma]

To each his own, but we love the AK! AK makes for a nice easy going day. We usually plan at least 2 days here.

 

[momejay]

We go to AK our first day of our vacation. We then go for half days 2-3 times more during our stay. We love AK, but hate the heat at that park. We like the change from the rushing around from ride to ride & attraction to attraction.
I hate getting soaked too & tend to skip the rapids, but I do see it as refreshing in the hot sun of summer. (plan to wear clothes that are comfy went wet) I bring a pair of flip flops in the back pack so I don't walk around in wet sneakers. I wear board shorts that dry fast.
Have you ever just watched a tiger play? Watched a trainer interact with a gorilla? Has a gorilla thrown you a beach ball? Have you watched the river otters chase each other first thing in the morning while eating breakfast? Have you tossed a grape at Flight of Wonders? Did you take the train to Conservation Station & pet an animal you never saw before? Have you filmed your little one following a goat saying, "here doggie?"
I hate that some people just don't get it, but I am glad they don't. I hate rushing from one ride to another just to wait, but if that is your cup of tea...

 

[micksterlee]

We spent an hour on one trip just watching the gorillas.I love to walk thru the out door exibits and watch the animals.

 

[Mary T in PA]

I have always looked at each park for its uniqueness. We have grown fond of AK over our past few trips. And we have had some of the best times at AK. For me, I like the fact that you can go from the fantasy and adventure in MK, to the world showcase and the future world of Epcot, to the old time hollywood feel at the studios, to the animals of Africa and Asia in AK.

 

[creativeamanda]

Hmmm. . .Ak is my husband's and son's favorite park. I guess to each his own.