Animal kingdom an all day event?

[funshipm174]

Quick question. Is animal kingdom something someone should allocate
1 complete day to, or is it something that should be planned as a half-day schedule, and go back another day if needed?


We have reserves for "restaurantosarus" for 8 a.m., and going to jungle safari right after that. Not sure what to do with rest of day orjust head back to MK?

Any suggestions?


TIA

 

[grinningghost]

Depends on your group. If you're into the whole animals/landscaping/African music thing, you'll probably want to devote a day to AK. If that's not your cup of tea, you could plan a 1/2 day and get by just fine.

I personally love AK for the beautiful scenery and the music. But I know it's not for everyone.

 

[Laurajean1014]

We like to take our time at AK, because we can. If you are planning to go around April or May next year, Mt. Everest will be running, so save some time for that.

Afterwards, hanging at AKL or going to MK, DTD or DTW would be a great idea. The park closes at 6:00 - so there's plenty of Disney to do!

 

[tjkraz]

The easy answer is "no". But it really depends on how much appeals to you at the park.

We have small kids and they could spend hours in The Boneyard (the best playground on WDW property.) Legend of the Lion King is the best live show at any of the parks. And, to stick with the theme, Mickey's Jammin' Jungle Parade is THE best parade running at WDW now (the only possible exception I'll make here is Spectromagic, but that is appealing for a bit different reason.)

It's Tough to be a Bug is good, but scary for the very young.

Also worth a look are Tarzan Rocks (if still playing when you go), Dinosaur!, Kali River Rapids and Rafiki's Planet Watch.

Again, it depends on what appeals to you and your own personal touring style. We can get through everything before dinner time, then we'll usually spend our evening at Downtown Disney or another park. Personally I think you'd be making a mistake to leave after just experiencing Kilimanjaro Safari.

 

[webmomom]

There is lots to do at the AK. If you are there you must go see the Lion King show. It is one of the best shows on all of Disney property. If you don't mind getting wet there is the Kalli Rapid ride, there are exploration trails, Wonder of Flights a really cute bird show. The tree of Life, that is where It Is Tough to be a Bug show is located. There is also the Dinosaur ride in Dinoland and of course the parade at 4 pm. Also there are animals in all sorts of places. You just have to look for them. Take you time a really look at everything. It is truely amazing how they have transformed a flat piece of Florida swampland into lookiong like Africa

 

[DisneyMom5]

Definately an all day event. We usually use that evening to hang out at the pool and do laundry. Our first trip it took us 1.5 days, but we took 1.5 to 2 hours out for bkfst with Donald. (You shouldn't take that long being first in AND you probably won't have to wait to be seated.) Have fun!

 

[zurgswife]

We typically just spend 1/2 a day... but there have been times we spent the whole day and explored the entire park...there are hours of stuff to explore....So, the answer depends on what you want to get out of it...

 

[Giggles]

As mentioned before it depends on how much you like to observe the animals and landscaping. As far as "rides" go, there are very few. There are a hand full of shows though. The big thing is the animals, there are many trails to explore. If you are the type of family that goes to the zoo, and looks for the animal and moves on, then you probably will only need a half a day. However, if your family likes to observe that animals behaviors, or just explore the many trials, then you will want ot plan a whole day there. My family has planned a whole day, but if we get bored, we have the option of hoping to another park. Note also, that this park closes the earliest. So keep that in mind, even if you stay for the whole time, you may have time to go to another park just because it closes so early.

 

[jann1033]

we spent about a day and 1/2 there and would have spent more. if you just run around and think only rides are what wdw is all about you probably can do it in 1/2 a day but you'd miss the whole point imo

 

[sPaRkLeSpAz]

We usually just go there for 1/2 days.

 

[AJKMOM]

We are in the 1/2 day group. Arrive at extra Magic time and walk quickly to the Safari ride. After that, we catch "Tough to be a Bug" and the "Festival of the Lion King". We have never been on Kali River Rapids because we go off season and don't want to get wet. We eat lunch there somewhere, and head to EPCOT.

 

[mhf]

Help this new gal, pls...If I want to, can I go to 3 parks in 1 day on my park hopper? In looking at the restaurants, it appears DH is going to want to eat lunch every day at World Showcase. So that could mean Animals in the morning, World for lunch, and MK for the evening.

Thanks!

MHF aw:
Headed in Dec for DH b-day

 

[DisneyMom5]

Help this new gal, pls...If I want to, can I go to 3 parks in 1 day on my park hopper? In looking at the restaurants, it appears DH is going to want to eat lunch every day at World Showcase. So that could mean Animals in the morning, World for lunch, and MK for the evening.

Thanks!

MHF aw:
Headed in Dec for DH b-day

Yup, as long as you add the park hopper option, you can go as many parks in one day as you want. We once did AK, Epcot, MK (with the old parhoppers) and had a great time!

 

[PCFriar80]

We are in the 1/2 day group. Arrive at extra Magic time and walk quickly to the Safari ride. After that, we catch "Tough to be a Bug" and the "Festival of the Lion King". We have never been on Kali River Rapids because we go off season and don't want to get wet. We eat lunch there somewhere, and head to EPCOT.

That's exactly how we do it!! If we're ahead of schedule we might even grab a ride on Dinosaur!! You can be leaving the park by 11:30 AM with a 9:00 AM open or 10:30 AM with EMH. After that it's back to BCV for a pool break and run....then off to Epcot later that afternoon.

 

[seashoreCM]

It's worth doing Kilimanjaro Safari twice, or maybe 3 times, with several hours in between. Different animals are out and around at different times of the day.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm