Animal Kingdom ain't so good.

[cutigress]

It's my 2nd favorite park behind Magic Kingdom even without EE (last time I was at Disneyworld, it was for our honeymoon in 2000.)

But that's why Disney is so great. Everyone has their favorites.

 

[dobtia]

I do agree that AK could use more attractions. They could upgrade the park.

However, we normally make it till 4 or so. We normally plan a night at DTD aferwards. We love Lion King, and Nemo. Flights of Wonder and both trails along with the Safari. Myself and my son love Dinosaur and he can play in the dig pit for a bit of time.

We want to try Tough to be a Bug this year.

Don't like big coasters or getting to wet so we dont do a couple.

I can see where this is a love or hate park.

 

[tommygunn]

To me you can see the steady decline of park designs as time went on.

MK is clearly the most innovative and probably expensive to build. The whole "city under the streets" thing. Man made lagoons. Monorail plus hotels. Elevation of the park, etc.

EPCOT was also designed with a good budget. Not as many bells and whistles as MK but the park is massive. Lots of room to walk around. Amazing landscaping and design on countries. Disney magic alive and well here as Walt was still involved in the design.

Hollywood studios was clearly built on the cheap. Very cramped. Narrow walkways. Nothing to the landscaping/architecture.

Animal Kingdom has the same feel.

 

[princess_ariel_85]

I Love AK. It's my 2nd fave park after MK.

We do it in half days but we always go more then once. AK's what you make it... I like to have a wander around and take in the surroundings.

I love EE (my fave ride @ wdw) and Flame Tree BBQ

Each to their own I guess...

 

[PudgetteD]

We love AK! We always go to AK in the middle of our stay to relax. We love people and bird watching at Flame Tree. We don't ride too many rides, usually just Safari and maybe Kali and Dinosaur. We see Festival of the Lion King. Other than that, we just meander around enjoying the ambience. It's a must do for us!

 

[cjlvsccm]

I've read a lot of this since joining the boards (AK is a sucky park), and it makes me even more excited for Animal Kingdom

AK is the only park I've never been to in the World and I am soooo excited to experience it for the first time with my family (DHS and AK are new to my DH and all parks are new to the kiddos!).

Recently my DH told me his fave thing at the zoo when he was a little kid was the birdhouse (I never would have pegged him as a bird man - LOL). With that info, I can't wait to catch the Flights of Wonder show with him!!!

I'm excited for Everest, to find out just how scary Dinosaur really is, to hopefully see Divine...I could go on and on!

FYI-- Whether or not you can make it to a FoW show (we still haven't timed it just right!!), there are a couple other great bird areas. Both the Pangani Forest Trail and the Maharajah Jungle Trek have walk-thru areas to id dozens of different birds, in addition to all their other cool critters!

I guess it's not for everyone, but we always enjoy AK, and hope you do too!

 

[t_catt11]

Opinions are like noses... or perhaps, other, less pleasant body parts. Everybody has 'em.

Animal Kingdom is our second favorite park. We find it to be chock full of magical little moments. It does not have the massive number of rides that Magic Kingdom boasts, nor does it have the huge footprint of Epcot. It does have an abundance of engaging, unique attractions, and a wonderful sense of detail.

Half day park? Skip it? Psh, we spend two full days, minimum, on every single trip... and we didn't ride Kali a single time on the last trip, nor did we hit Flights of Wonder (darn it!).

 

[carly3592]

The thing about Animal Kingdom, and this goes for every Disney park, is that you cannot go in there thinking you're gonna experience the greatest thrills of your life. If you want that, just go to Universal, Busch Gardens, or Six Flags. Disney is about so much more than a thrilling ride. It's all about the atmosphere and 'feel' of the place, which is why I love Animal Kingdom so much.

Obviously, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, so I'm not trying to say that you're wrong, but I don't really understand why so many people overlook Animal Kingdom.

That said.... it is a half day park for me as well, just because I seem to get everything that I want done by 2pm or so if I get there at rope drop.

Can't wait to go back there and ride Dinosaur! Now THAT is a thrill ride

 

[Jblust524]

We were at Animal Kingdom the first of this month and enjoyed it. We did Dinosaur, Expedition Everest, Kali River Rapids, the safari ride, Nemo show, Festival of the Lion King, It's Tough to Be a Bug, some of the trails, a few character meetings, played for a while on the drums in Africa and watched the parade.

We were there from park opening until 4:00 and had a pleasant day. To each his own, I guess!

Boy this speaks volumes...you were there until 4pm......

 

[Dizznee Freak]

I think saying AK sucks is a little harsh.While it is not one of my family's favorites, it still is a cool place with great attractions. We actually are not going to go to AK next year when we return and that is only due to the fact that we have gone to Ak for every other trip.Now our girls are older and MK as well as Epcot are the parks we will concentrate on.

 

[Hemlock]

Just wanted to jump in and say that Animal Kingdom was my children's favorite park an our last visit. On our last day, I let them pick the park that they wanted to return to (I was hoping that they would both pick the same park because we did not have a park hopper) and they both shouted "Animal Kingdom". We had a great day!

 

[DisneylandForever]

OP: you are not alone. Since day one I have always been of the opinion that AK is a waste of space. And I'm a lifelong Disney fan (been to DL every year since birth).


I do like EE, but when it's up to me, I just skip AK entirely.

 

[Lights_Out]

Why do people open threads like this?

 

[secretpantssam]

I don't think Animal Kingdom is for everyone.

I love it, but I really enjoy slowly walking the little trails and watching the animals. I just love the scenery.

 

[heatherwillmom]

We love Animal Kingdom! We always spend a whole day there. EE alone is a great experience

 

[wolf29]

I hear this all the time and really don't understand the sentiment. It certainly is a more low-key Park, but there really is quite a bit to do. You just need to be inclined to taking time and exploring the smaller things, the numerous exhibits and do the things that need to be looked for.

 

[PattnFmly]

I agree that it's a good thing there's stuff for all at WDW! Because I truly love AK, and those who don't can go where they want. I enjoy all the ambiance, all the walking trails, and have only done EE once. Haven't seen FOW yet! Will have to make sure we see that one this year! We usually do 1.5 days at AK: one whole day, and then split a day doing AK in the morning and a park w/fireworks after supper. And we also love Flame Tree!

 

[Csaks]

Recently my DH told me his fave thing at the zoo when he was a little kid was the birdhouse (I never would have pegged him as a bird man - LOL). With that info, I can't wait to catch the Flights of Wonder show with him!!!

This is a must see show every time for us. The premise is the same but there always seems to be new birds in the show. It's a great relaxing park with a few thrills thrown in for good measure. Take it for what it is. If I wanted to do thrill rides all day I'd go to IoA...

I love the Animal Kingdom bashing's every other day around here. I should start one on the Studios, they need to make a short cut to the bottom of Sunset Blvd from the front gate to get to the only thing worth doing in that park. TSM don't even get me started on that one.

 

[jegsnakkernorsk]

I like Animal Kingdom but I don't love it. I think the trails are great - especially the Gorilla exhibit - nothing at any other US zoo compares in my opinion.
The imagineers did a great job with capturing the feel of Kenya and Nepal.
I just wish there was more to the park!
I wish that it was a full day park. Wish that there was more to do in Dinoland and Camp Mickey/Beastland? I wish they had some type of boat ride. And better choices for meals. I just wish there was more to it!

 

[JustCallMeMommy]

It is probably our favorite park as a family. We like to get there early and ride Everest over and over until the line starts to form, and I love the safari.