Animal Kingdom is our new favorite park

[VillainFavs]

Shake my head every time I hear, "We have a great zoo at home so we don't bother." Very sad. They just don't get it. Kids could--and have--ride Kali over and over again. Lion King is best show in all of WDW. Devine is mesmerizing. So much to see and explore. The park itself makes you slow down and take it all in. Can't wait for the new additions.

 

[Dismama2boys]

Our favorite too! Last time we were there we got video of me interacting with Divine. She's amazing. We had an upstairs corner window seat at Yakkin' Yeti and parrots were flying right by the window. A trainer was working with about 8 of them.

Yakkin' Yeti is cracking me up.

 

[goodeats]

Dinosaur is one of my favorite attractions and the theming in Africa and Asia is some of the best in WDW imo. I enjoy AK a lot, but some how last trip we went on the worst day and when it was time to eat lunch we couldn't find a place without a huge line. The lunch truck area with the line in the sun was the worst! This was just a weekday in October without EMH, but either AK doesn't absorb crowds as well, or we just got unlucky.

 

[pigletgirl]

To me, AK has this peacefulness about it that the other parks don't have. Yes, it can be crowded but to me it never has felt that way. I can kind of get "lost" so to speak and just enjoy what the park has to offer.

 

[tomatecerise]

If is not too hot we realy enjoy. If is hot this place is a sauna with too much people

 

[sara1215]

We had a later Tusker House reservation last week so when we were done eating the park was closed. The Tree of Life after dark is so beautiful.

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

AK is truly a gem because it has such beautiful and immersive theming and some of the best attractions at WDW; but it is the most difficult park for my family to tour because the walkways always seem so congested and the layout is a challenge to navigate, added to the fact that it is always the hottest park and there are few places to take cover when it is raining. Those challenges always make me feel inclined to skip going there but then I am reminded of the things we love about it (e.g., Kilimanjaro Safari, Expedition Everest, Festival of the Lion King, Harambe drummers, It's Tough to be a Bug, the scenery and theming) .

 

[Robo]

Yakkin' Yeti is cracking me up.

 

[tlmadden73]

I've always enjoyed the theming of Animal Kingdom. Also, as a fan of zoos, I have enjoyed AK, but last time I went the construction walls just made it too crowded and congested.

While I enjoy the Dinosaur ride, I feel that the whole Dino-o-Rama area just doesn't fit in a Disney theme park. Two rides straight from a county fair and the cheesy carnival games to boot? Feels like they could have just themed the whole area diffenently then they whole "road-side stop" like they did. We usually avoid that area of the park simply because there is not much there to do.

I think the addition of Rivers of Light and Pandora will make this feel like a whole new park.

 

[LaurenT]

AK has always been my favorite park.
I look forward to, but also dread the opening of ROL, the night safari and Avatarland. I don't want my happy place getting more crowded than it already is!

 

[disnut8]

To me, AK has this peacefulness about it that the other parks don't have. Yes, it can be crowded but to me it never has felt that way. I can kind of get "lost" so to speak and just enjoy what the park has to offer.

Perfect summation. We like just going off on a path and seeing things. Or, the one time we entered and I needed a bathroom break so I went off to do that and my husband went to the bird enclosure right at the entrance. I came out and thought he'd be waiting for me but I had to hunt him down. The birds were nesting right next to the fence line (bamboo fence, not wire) and my husband was watching how the bird parents were feeding the kids with one staying with the kids and one going and getting food for all. We both stood there for another ten minutes and just watched and talked about how it would be so nice for humans to be able to do that for their families. Meanwhile, tons of people were rushing by to get to rides and missing it. But, we had our moment.

 

[katmatry]

That is one thing we need to do this trip...slow down and enjoy the sights when entering the park. We miss a lot in our rush to get to the safari. I set up our safari FP+ for 4:30, hoping to see the lions awake and active.

 

[Clifton Tesh]

AK is the first park I plan on visiting. Everyone told me I need to go to MK first, but I don't wanna. I love the zoo and I know I'm going to live AK.

I could watch rhinos and elephants all day and be happier than a fart in a fan

 

[nilla]

I love all four of the WDW (non-water) parks

 

[starjazz]

That is one thing we need to do this trip...slow down and enjoy the sights when entering the park. We miss a lot in our rush to get to the safari. I set up our safari FP+ for 4:30, hoping to see the lions awake and active.

This couldn't be more true than for AK. The stuff near the entrance is so cool. All the animals, birds, Devine is usually around there (by stroller rental), plus all the CMs around to educate you with little handheld cages of scorpions, spiders, etc. We usually sleep in on AK day, get there around 9:30 with 10:30 Safari FPs, and we just spend that first hour slowly going from the gate to Africa. Love it.

 

[PollyannaMom]

My family loves AK too. It's just so immersive, less about running to rides for us than the other parks. We leave there feeling like we've been on vacation, not like we need one.

 

[busymommy2pink]

Agreed. We never skipped it, but never did more than one or a half day, until last trip!! My daughters asked to not do MK our last day but to go back to AK. So painfully I deleted out fp+ for mine train and splash and off we went. We have 2.5 days planned for there next trip!

 

[gorkt]

AK is my second favorite park after MK. I am so happy that they are adding nighttime experiences and making it a real full day park.

 

[mkla2015]

We love AK and find that we are spending more time there each trip. I'm sure that will continue with all of the night time attractions opening. It just feels soo much hotter there than other parks to me.

 

[woodynjessiesmomma]

AK is ODS's favorite park, but DH's least favorite. I enjoy it quite a bit and don't like to skip it. We've never spent more than a day there and never until close. We are tacking on 3 days at WDW this October to our Universal trip and sadly AK is getting the cut, but we plan a 8 day WDW trip in March and will spend at least a day at AK then. There is still so much we haven't done there like Flights of Wonder, the trails, and most of Dinoland. I really want to add another day or two to our trip this fall but it just isn't possible.