Animal Kingdom must do list with kids

[goofy4wdw2]

What Animal Kingdom attractions, character greetings, etc are on your must do list with kids? We've been before with our kids, but our AK day on two separate trips got a late start due a trip to the ER overnight the night before (hopefully that won't happen this time!!), so we didn't get to see everything. I want to make sure we don't miss anything this time! Also, how much time do you spend in AK? We're planning 1.5-2 days in AK this trip and wondering if that is a good plan.

 

[deva]

We spend the least amount of time at AK - 1/2 day or less. Only things on our list are the Safari, the Affection Section (pet the goats at the Conservation Station), the playground - I think it is called the Boneyard - where you dig for dino bones, and the ride like Dumbo (which is right by the playground).

 

[3princesses+aprince]

Ok, we loved AK. We went on and EMH night and spent the whole day there. Camp Minnie Mickey is a must do. We saw about 5 or 6 different characters in the matter of an hour. The safari was amazing and you must take the train to the conservation station. It's a nice ride and when you get there, you'll also find 3 characters inside. ( Some nice AC) Not sure how old your kids are but we LOVED Dinosaur , Primeval whirl and Expedition Everest. We didn't get to ride Kali, but it's on our list for August. We also loved the dino ride and It's tough to be a bug. The boneyard of course!!!

The animals we saw here absolutely amazed us. I LOVE ANIMAL KINGDOM!! The Giant Anteater still makes me smile when I think about him. He was so neat. I think AK has the most characters out and about, we loved that.

 

[JoShan1719]

Personally, Animal Kingdom is my least favorite park. Other than Everest, Kilamanjaro Safaris, and Dinosaur I find it pretty boring. DH spent 3.5 hours there this past week and the only thing we didn't get to do was Everest. We only plan about half a day there.

 

[kacaju]

how old are your kids? AK was our favorite park.

 

[susykt4]

We try to spend 1.5 to 2 days at Animal Kingdom. Love it! We do the safari several times, walk the animal trails, the kids love the Boneyard playground, the 3-D bug movie, so many characters. Last trip my son was finally tall enough for Expedition Everest and I think we went 10 times. The talking recycling bin at Rafiki's area is hilarious and the tree woman (DeVine?) who performs along the path from Africa to Asia is amazing. My show hating kids love Festival of the Lion King. We haven't seen Nemo yet because we spent too much time riding EE over and over and over. My kids (8 and 6) still refuse to go on Dinosaur but I like it.

 

[720L]

Definitely walk the trails. The bird show is great. Go to Rafikis Planet Watch. We spend the whole day there usually. This is one of our favorite parks. The shows (Festival of Lion King and Nemo) are really good also.

 

[MagicMomentsMom]

My daughter loves animals, the zoo and the nature center are some of her favorite places to visit, so this list is helpful! We're planning on quite a few trips during our stay.
I've heard that there are kid activities with the CM's somewhere? They learn about the animals or creatures? Are these all throughout AK? or just at one certain location?

Thanks
Veronica

 

[tinkermom23]

Our family loves AK. We spent a day and a half there last trip.
DH's favorite - Donald's Breakfast
My favorite - Kilimanjaro Safari
DS9 favorite - Expedition Everest
DS3 favorite - Train ride
DD3 favorite - Conservation station

We all love that that you can meet so many characters there.
Only bad thing I can think of... In the boneyard where you did bones, it is filled with tiny pebbles that you dig through. Well, DD3 & DS3 had crocs on and the pebbles went in their crocs which really bugged them, but you aren't allowed to be barefoot, so they didn't want to stay in there. I was bummed because that was DS9 fav. when he was young.

Oh, and we wanted to try the Picnic in the Park but didn't get time. It sounded good, though.

 

[Girlie1]

When you go I would definitely make sure you do not miss the Lion King show. I think it is one of the best shows at WDW.

 

[720L]

My daughter loves animals, the zoo and the nature center are some of her favorite places to visit, so this list is helpful! We're planning on quite a few trips during our stay.
I've heard that there are kid activities with the CM's somewhere? They learn about the animals or creatures? Are these all throughout AK? or just at one certain location?

Thanks
Veronica

There are stops throughout the parks with activities the kids can do. When you walk the trails, there are CM's that stand on the trails and tell you about the animals you are looking at and answer any questions.

 

[5 for WDW]

Our kids are 12, 9 and 5.

They all love the Festival of the Lion King show. My husband and I do as well. It is one of the best shows in all of WDW.

The Nemo show is a very close second. My daughter (the 5 year old) and I went to see it in August while my husband and boys went to Kali. She was amazed! It was the second time we have watched it and it will be a must do from now on.

The boys love Kali and Expedition Everest. We all love the Safari. We don't always do Conservation Station but, they enjoy it when we do.

We are not fans of Dinosaur at all. We skip it. It's Tough to be a Bug is not a big hit with us either.

AK used to be our least favorite park but, it has definitely grown on us! Have a great trip!

 

[bobbiejell]

btt

 

[bobbiejell]

oops wrong post

 

[AirGoofy]

For AK, Camp Mickey is great for character greeting. There was the Pooh and friends character greeting, somewhere near one of the bridges that was not a long wait and in a cool area. I think the Lion King show is definitely worth it. My two DD(s) and I sat up front and got to be in the show last year. The new Nemo and friends show was really great. But, the one must do is the Safari ride. We do the EMH morning and go right away to the Safari ride, and do it 1 or 2 times. All the animals are awake and running around - really fun to watch.

 

[jasmom]

My kids are ds9, ds7 and dd5. We just got back and are doing bounceback. We are not going to go to AK next year. It was my kids least favorite park. Primevil Whirl is the worst ride and we had our longest wait all week.
We did do picnic in the park and it was our best lunck all week. We got the chicken meal for 3 and there was lots of food.

 

[santa's surpriz]

My DD loves the Lion King Show, the Nemo one is pretty cool too but not as enrgetic as the LK. We typically see it 2-3 times while at AK.

 

[Sgt Mickey]

We went t camp Mickey. It was just dd and I and she waas 9 so she was a little too old for it but her brothers were on the roller coaster again and she didn't want to do it anymore. BUT she did have fun there they did hula hooping with chip and dail and then we saw the bears from brother bear and they had a few others characters we hadn't seen before. We like the safari and the bugs life 3d thing is the BEST 3d show EVER. We did the lion king show which was awesome and of course the mt everest roller coaster. The kids did like dino land.