Animal Kingdom in less than 8 hours?

[LightBurnsBlue]

We're lucky if we're there for more than 2 hours. The park can be covered in about an hour if there isn't a big crowd in the parks and the shows don't have a long wait time.

An hour at AK! Don't think I could go to AK with this DIS-er!

If you get there at opening, I think you could get maybe three of the big attractions done (Dinosaur, Safari, the raft ride, maybe Primeval Whirl)...but definitely not all of the major attractions, and definitely not a show and a parade. Maybe some like to speed through the park, look at the tree for five seconds and do one ride...but I think that AK, out of all the parks, is meant to be enjoyed at a lesiurely pace.

If I ran around like a chicken with my head cut off, I think I could maybe do most of the things I like in 4-5 hours...but that would be pushing it. I usually like to spend at least 20-25 mintues looking at the tree alone! And if they animals are really cute and friendly at the petting zoo...watch out--I'm there for another half hour!

Like others have said, I hope you make time for planet watch and conservation station. I second the idea of going to the rainforest listening booth...this was my mom's and aunts FAVORITE attraction in all of WDW the last time we went (go figure!)

 

[TammyJ]

Thanks again for all the input. My DD (hope she feels braver once we're there) and DH are not big on rides and DS is too small so we'll skip Dinosaur and Kali. So I think we should have plenty of time to enjoy the park. I really want to see the shows...DD will want to see the animals...DS will want to ride the train and do the playground...and all of us will like the performances. I can't wait. It's the third day of our itinerary so I think it will be nice to slow down a bit too.

 

[CBear]

So many people skip the trail walks, I think, and that's a shame if you like animals.

We're animal crazy, so we'll definitely spend a whole day at AK. I know we'll want to ride a few things twice (Safari and Dinosaur) see the Lion King show -which is wonderful, the Bug movie, enjoy lunch at the Tusker House, and take our time on the trails. I can't imagine spending only an hour, even if I was only planning on doing the headliner attractions like Dino and the Safari.

 

[Northstar]

With your kids' ages, you'll probably want to spend some time in the Boneyard, the unstructured playground over in Dinoland. Kids just love their run-around time and, weirdly enough, tend to recharge their energy in a "playground"-type attraction. Be sure not to miss the dinosaur bone dig (to get there, you have to find the path OVER the entrance to Dinoland... it's an overpass and lots of people totally miss it) If your kids tend to run around in different directions and you're worried about keeping them in sight without climbing around everything yourself, the dino-bone dig area is easy to corral 'em in, keeping an eye on them and the only entrance, but the rest of the playground is more difficult to supervise without actually following them around.

I can't understand how people manage to see most of this big,spread-out park in just a few hours. But then, I usually blow through any gift shop in 10 minutes and feel I've seen everything I want to see! All according to taste and what you want to do.

 

[Mac and Us]

We were there in April with DD (3.5). We got there at opening and left after the parade. We didn't feel rushed and did everything we wanted to do. We saw all the shows. We did not ride the big rides or eat at a sit down restaurant for lunch so we probably saved time there. I was a wonderful, relaxing day.