Animal Kingdom... or not?

[AMT826]

I am planning my family's 2nd trip to Disney! We went in Sept. of last year, and now we are officially obsessed and will be going back Sept. 2015. 331 days to go! lol.

Last year, my daughters were 5 and almost 3. They LOVED Magic Kingdom. We had planned to spend 1 day at MK, HS, & Epcot, plus MNSSHP one night. Our last day we ended up going to MK again, instead of Epcot, because they loved it so much. So we spent two full days, plus the Halloween party at MK. They would have spent the whole trip there if they had it their way. lol.

Next year they will be 7 and almost 5, and this trip will be longer.. We will be at Disney for 7 days with 5 day pack tickets. We will definitely be going to Epcot this time, which my Husband and I are really excited about, Hollywood Studios, and of course Magic Kingdom. I am just not sure about Animal Kingdom yet. We have annual zoo passes and go at least once a month, and to me besides a few rides, AK kind of just seems like a giant zoo. & I wonder if it would be worth giving up at day at MK, which they love to go there. That day we plan to be a half day and have dinner at 1900 Park Fare, we will be eating breakfast at our resort and having lunch at the park.

Not sure whether to do 3 days at MK, 1 at Epcot, and 1 at HS... or do all 4 parks with 2 days at MK. The reasons why I'm on the fence about AK is because I'm not sure if my older one will like big ticket rides like Everest or Dinosaur. I know they would LOVE the Safari, but besides that, meeting Pocahontas, and seeing the Lion King and Finding Nemo shows... it doesn't seem like there is too much for kids to do there.

I'd love to hear from anyone who has taken their kids to AK and what they thought of it.

Thanks!!

 

[chris31997]

We have enjoyed AK. Yes it is a "zoo" but differant I would go.

 

[missbrooke06]

We went to AK on our last day with our 2 year old and I was sorry we did - because he loved it! We should have gone earlier in the week.

 

[aylarosie]

As you haven't been yet I would go.We had buffet breakfast at Tusker house and the characters were great. The safari ,bugs life rapids and animals are fun.There was also some smaller rides my grandsons went on that they enjoyed.The nemo show was fun.

 

[akmolbert]

We just got back from our first trip with our two boys ages 4 and 2. We had 5 park days and spent 3 at MK, one at HS, and one at AK. The 2yo obviously can't ride the height requirement rides, and the 4yo is a ride weenie, so he wasn't interested in any rides at AK beyond the safari. We had breakfast at Tusker House (which was great!!) before the park opened, then rode the safari (standby), then saw the Lion King show. We wandered some then since we didn't think the boys would want to sit still for another show and ended up meeting Goofy/Pluto, taking the 2yo on the triceratops spin, and playing around the boneyard. Then we ate lunch, left, and didn't come back after naps. It was ok...breakfast was good, Lion King was great, but the rest (for us) was just meh. We will go back to WDW in about 1.5-2 years and do MK, HS, and Epcot for sure. I could take or leave AK. We never really had interest in wandering the "zoo" areas, and the boys didn't know they existed, but I don't know how interested they would have been anyway. Just my 2 cents!

 

[jacknsally19]

I think it depends on your child's interests. Personally, my dd loves it there but she loves animals, shows and dinosaurs. She is only three so Everest and Dinosur aren't options. The things that we enjoy are the Lion King show, the safari, Rafikis planet, Birds of Prey show, the safari, the the Dinosaur dig site. The nice thing is there are a lot of options for your kids to explore and interact with cast members rather than waiting in lines. Personally, I like it a lot better for young kids than Hollywood Studios.

We have annual passes to our zoo and I really don't think it's anyway comparable. I think if your kids like animals then they would really like it. Also I always try to have a new experience on each trip so I recommend trying something new on this trip!

 

[worm761]

AK is DD4's second favorite park behind MK. Kilimanjaro Safari's is great. We played at The Boneyard for quite some time. The dance party in Dinoland is so much fun! She loves the train ride out to Rafiki's Planet Watch. She loves it out there. The trails are amazing if you just slow down and look. Animal Kingdom is a park to slow down in. The little details are what makes this park amazing. You really should go and give it a try. AK is not a zoo and is nothing like a typical zoo.

 

[Feberin]

We went with our kids last May they were 4 and almost 2. We had park hopper tickets and did Animal Kingdom in a morning. The Safari was fun but we got jammed in the handicap row so the kids had to ride on our laps and it was hot and uncomfortable. We also have zoo memberships and while I agree it's different I'm not sure my kids preferred it.
My son is afraid of petting zoos so we skipped that part. We did the playground and got a chance to meet Daisy and Donald (which the kids LOVED since they're big fans of them but could have happened at other parks). My husband and I rode Everest but my kids had no interest in the other rides and our younger one does poorly with shows so we skipped them. I definitely didn't feel like for us it was worth it and would have found it tough to spend a whole day there.

 

[Vernie822]

We love AK! We are in our 20s so Epcot is a lot of fun for us, but as far as rides and atmosphere we absolutely love AK. I wouldn't skip it at all! We stayed til about 330. Went back and washed up. And headed to the boardwalk for a nice dinner!

 

[gracie1]

We did visit ak on our trip (no kids) and glad we went just for the safari ride. I have been debating when I do go back in a year or two for Christmas whether or not it's worth visiting again. Is it really decked out with Christmas decorations?
The lion king was fantastic though!

 

[JoAnna525]

We took our almost two year old last year, thinking we'd spend only 1/2 the day in the park. OMG, I was so wrong - we opened and closed the park, and then, as if we didn't get enough, we ate dinner at Rainforest Cafe at park closing. I look back and don't remember what we did, but we managed to fill 8 hours, LOL. THere are a lot of great shows, and our son loved them all. Plus the animals. Plus Tuskerhouse. It was just a great day!

 

[Jess4WDW]

My family loves AK and can easily spend a full day there. The shows are fabulous (lion king and nemo) and Tusker House is one of our favorite character meals. My kids enjoy the rides, trails and of course, the safari DiVine is incredible to watch, the first time we saw her she walked out of the trees and completely caught us off guard, we didn't see her coming! If you visit AK, I hope you get to see her. Highly recommend AK

 

[spayne12]

I would totally do AK still! Even if you only do it for a morning and you could always bail if it's not your cup of tea! Book the safari first thing as animals are more active as the day wears on in the heat hey tend to get lazy. At least that was what I have read That is one of the highlights of AK if the kids are digging it and you have a hopper go to the next. however there is enough to do if not between shows and stuff my daughter just turned 8 she was 6 the last time and to be honest it was her favorite.

 

[Chelley00]

At 7 and 5, even if you just go for Festival of the Lion King and Nemo, it would be worth it. AK is a great half day park. Our kids at that age also loved the Safari and Conservation Station.

Just because it has animals doesn't mean it's just a big zoo

 

[Dallas_Lady]

Definitely! Our family loves AK, and the day there feels more restful and laid back.

 

[msmama]

AK is one of the reasons we get park hoppers.

While I do think there can be enough there to fill a day, it seems to get UNBEARABLY HOT there sometimes and I can't last more than half a day. I like that we can go there for awhile and then hop somewhere else.

If I do a shorter trip, it's the first park that gets skipped, though.

If park hoppers are not in your budget, I might suggest adding another day (5 to 6 day tickets isn't too much more) knowing it might only be a half day at a park.

Have fun!

 

[FlightlessDuck]

I'd go to AK and skip Epcot.

 

[emsstacey]

My daughters were 8 and 12 at our last disney trip and AK is by far their favorite. We went back a second day. I would definitely try it.

 

[Zooshoveller]

I'm a zookeeper and AK is tied with MK as our favorite park! And not because I work with animals, but because of the theming. You really feel like you're in Asia and Africa. It is so detailed and beautiful. And the food! Great TS, QS, and snack (and adult beverage) options.

 

[MSSANDRA]

We really like AK. We often spend most of a day there. The parade is quite different and DS7 really likes it. The shows are great and there is just so much amazing atmosphere to the place.
I would consider revamping your ticket options to get the most park time for your money. If you are there 7 days, adding two more days to your park tickets cost very little. That gives you the option of adding at least a morning at AK, without loosing time at another park. The other option is park hoppers. So worth it to us. You can spend time at AK, leave mid-afternoon and then after a nice break back at the hotel, hit another park for the evening.