Animal Kingdom Pre-Opening Breakfast Necessary?

[jgl130]

I hope I'm posting this in the right place! Quick lowdown - heading to WDW November 15-19, 2017 with my parents and sister (all of four of us are 34+) and we've never been to Animal Kingdom (the horror right?! ). We have decided this is the trip we'll finally go.

How critical is it to have a pre-opening ADR at Tusker House (if we could get one) to get the "headliners" done in the morning? We're happy to meet the characters and would have fun with it as well as enjoy the food, but it's not a "bucket list" for the meet and greet part.

We've done Be Our Guest for pre-opening breakfast the past two trips to get those "empty" castle shots and to maximize our am touring.

We do have four day park hoppers, and tend to like to hit a park in the morning, take a break back at the hotel then go to a different park in the evening.

Thanks in advance for advice! I've lurked long enough, I thought I'd start posting!

Jen

 

[emonade8]

Not at all. Animal Kingdom is the easiest park as far as hitting the headliners. If you rope drop and use FP+ you'll have no trouble getting them all done before an afternoon break. Even without FP+ it's probably doable.

 

[karly05]

Short answer is no you don't need the early breakfast (but it is a good breakfast).

My question is, though, what are you considering "headliners"? Two of my must-dos (and I think best things) at AK are the Lion King and Nemo shows, which run on a schedule (they are not hard to get in to, though; no need for FP). I can spend most of a day at AK without even doing "rides" other than the safari.

 

[Ambehnke]

I would normally say definitely not needed. We like to do TH late morning since it's our favorite Disney buffet so it serves as both bfast and lunch and we get our majors out of the way right away. However, with Pandora hopefully opening in summer who knows how crowd levels will be affected?? I would maybe book it and then watch and see what happens with crowds and decide later if you want to cancel it or not!

 

[Beer Me]

I have never even rope dropped. FP safari, Everest and Dinosaur (or Kali) and you should be good to go. If you stay until close most of the lines get short towards the end of the day. For now. Of course Pandora will change all of this.

 

[OB1]

Agree with other posters. AK is a very different park. It is not just about the rides, but also about discovering and watching. This is a good park to sandwich between your busier days. It really is a chill park. We can stay there all day, and not ride Everest or Dinosaur, even though we often do ride these. Ride Safari as early as possible to see the most activity. Also some of the best eating, with excellent counter service and table service eats.

 

[mom2rtk]

The new section of AK should be open by then. Nobody really knows how popular it will be, or the logistics of whether an early ADR would be any help. But I would probably schedule one then wait for reports after Pandora opens.

 

[StuckInKS]

Considering there is a good chance Avatarland will be open and the popularity of new attractions (people still do PPO breakfasts to avoid the line on 7DMT 2.5 years later), I'd get one if those are must-do's for you. You can always cancel later if its unnecessary.

 

[xlsm]

Not necessary (although with Pandora, maybe it will be?) BUT...

Pre-park opening Tusker House was one of my favorite experiences ever. Seeing Animal Kingdom empty first thing in the morning is magical. Animal Kingdom is tied with MK as favorite park for me, so it was just a very special moment. We were among the first guests seated, had a table where the characters came first, and were finished in about half an hour. Getting to stand in empty Africa and take pictures was awesome! We had the second safari truck of the morning and it started our day off so nicely.

Enjoy your first visit to Animal Kingdom...it's incredible!

 

[beesly]

Not necessary (although with Pandora, maybe it will be?) BUT...

Pre-park opening Tusker House was one of my favorite experiences ever. Seeing Animal Kingdom empty first thing in the morning is magical. Animal Kingdom is tied with MK as favorite park for me, so it was just a very special moment. We were among the first guests seated, had a table where the characters came first, and were finished in about half an hour. Getting to stand in empty Africa and take pictures was awesome! We had the second safari truck of the morning and it started our day off so nicely.

Enjoy your first visit to Animal Kingdom...it's incredible!

I'm going to echo this. While I agree with PPs that it isn't necessary, I really enjoyed the experience. Tusker House was my family's favorite breakfast of our trip last year, and we got through breakfast and out of the restaurant pretty efficiently (though not rushed). We were the first in line for KS and had the first truck of the day all to ourselves - it was a completely different experience than the usual ride. Our guide deviated from the usual script quite frequently to ask if we had any questions about the various animals we passed, and my DD absolutely loved it. While a PPO breakfast doesn't guarantee you that same experience, I personally think it would still be nice to get one of the first couple of KS trucks and then spend the rest of the morning leisurely walking through the animal trails before the weather gets hot and the park gets crowded.

 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

Get the ppo at 180 days and reassess after Pandora opens. Probably won't have any availability after Pandora opens

 

[jgl130]

Awesome, thanks for all the great feedback. Y'all are right, definitely make the reservation then cancel later if we want.

And to answer @karly05 I was thinking headliners as Safari, Everest, Dinosaur and the Nemo show. Pandora is the unknown, I guess I should finally see the movie! Ha!

 

[bumbershoot]

We do have four day park hoppers, and tend to like to hit a park in the morning, take a break back at the hotel then go to a different park in the evening.

Since this is your first time at AK, give it the day.

I personally would go at opening early enough so you're at the front of the line. Start the day in the way you wish to (bringing breakfast or dining early at your resort). Later, when you're hungry and need a break, have lunch at Tusker House. To me, breakfast there is just like all buffet breakfasts onsite. Nothing interesting. (note: we're vegetarian so there might be some meat dishes that are interesting) Lunch and dinner however are fabulous and still have characters. I'd hang out in the air conditioning, have tasty food, maybe a drink, and get myself reset for the rest of the day.

And then I'd just keep on going. We've been to AK, we've spent full days there, and I have never seen the Flights of Wonder show, we've been to the area where you can sometimes see veterinary procedures once, and so on. There's a LOT to explore, and it's really worth it.

 

[GOOFY4DONALD]

I have to agree with most everyone. Animal Kingdom is our absolute favorite to hit the headliners. The last time we hit AK was a morning extra magical hours opening at 8 am. Animal kingdom was expwctwd to be '7' that day.We hit expedition everest. My son and I wanted to see how many times we could ride it in a row and we stopped at 12 times (my husband quit after 8)....we then hit dinosaur twice...primeval whirl twice (always a line no matter what) and we were back on the bus heading to epcot by 1230...granted this was our last AK day and we had previously done lion king, safari, and tough to be a bug (4 times that trip)

 

[mikedoyleblogger]

I agree with all the PPs. It's not critical in any way at all. At AK it's really easy to hit the headliners if you start at rope drop, and you won't be rushing, either. It's actually a really luxurious feeling compared to MK in that regard. But like @beesly and others say, if you like the PPO vibe, that may be reason enough for you.

 

[NH-to-FL]

As others have noted, currently, a prior to rope drop arrival combined with FP+ will suffice. Pandora's opening might complicate that a bit but I think it mostly complicates the FP+ selections. And add time your AK visit if you want to "see everything".

 

[BigredNole]

Tusker House is never a must-do, but it is one of our favorite breakfasts. If we do not have ADRs at 8AM or earlier, we don't go. All there is at AK is headliner attractions. You have EE, KS, KRR, Dinosaur, and Primeval Whirl. After that, it is shows and attractions. Of course, Avatarland will be open and that will still be slammed then.