Animal Kingdom?

[Wishing4magic]

Hi, I've been to DW a few times but never been to Animal Kingdom. I am considering visiting during our trip this summer. As I'm trying to plan our AK day I keep wondering if it's really worth a visit. I really don't have that much interest in seeing the animals, as I feel like I could just go to my local zoo for that. I am really only considering it for others in our group. Would like to know if we would really be missing something if yet again we pass over AK. So please share what has your experience been at AK? TX

 

[jeepwreck]

we love AK but then i love looking at the animal but there is so much to see then just the safari

my wife loves the line king show and i always like the bugs life movie too

but like it said there is so much more to AK then the animals and it is definitely worth the visit

 

[RllngRckBrw]

I feel like as an overall experience the park is miss, however it has some of our favorite attractions in all of WDW. The safari is great and a unique way to see animals, Everest is the best themed roller coaster in the world, Nemo is our fav show, We love Dinosaur and Festival of the Lion King too. We usually are only in the park for a half day or so but we think it is definitely woth the stop.

 

[mguilford1]

We love it at AK and I am not an animal lover! Do you have kids that are going? There is a new wilderness explorer program that is free. Not sure where you live but Boston is the closest zoo for us and the animals are not the same as Disney. rides are...
Boneyard, Chester & Hester's Dino-Rama, Dinosaur, Expedition Everest, Festival of the Lion King, Finding Nemo - The Musical, Flights of Wonder, It's Tough to be a Bug, Kali River Rapids, Kilimanjaro Safari, Maharajah Jungle Trek, Oasis
Pangani Exploration Trail, Pocahontas and Her Forest Friends, Rafiki's Planet Watch, Tree of Life, Triceratops Spin

We love Lion King, Its tough to be a bug and finding Nemo shows, and most of the rides are a lot of fun! We spend 2 of our 10 days here.

 

[SLP958]

We love AK. Last trip we spent 2 full days there.

We can do the safari multiple times and my son loves Rafiki's planet watch.
He is very interested in science type stuff.

We also love Festival of the Lion King and pretty much anything else there except the Bugs life show.

For us AK is a must do.

 

[Gottahavemorecowbell]

It's worth it. The Safari, FOTLK, Nemo, Everest, decent dining and more. 4 or 5 hours ought to do it and then you won't have to wonder anymore whether you should have gone. It's a slightly underrated park IMO.

 

[JimmyV]

Tough call. Personally, I can't divorce the animals from Animal Kingdom. We love the walking trails, the Safari, and once in a while, Flights of Wonder. (We don't do that every trip. The other stuff I mentioned, we do.) The monkey/chimpanzee temple is also a hoot. But if someone asked me straight up: "would you use up one of your tickets' park admission days at AK if you were going to bypass every animal-related attraction or feature?", my honest answer would be No. If I were going to skip the animals, I would skip the park unless I had the hopper option at which point I would hop in or out and spend about three hours there.

 

[SoarinSC]

I'd say go at least once, even if you skip the animals. You might like the animal portions more than you realize...especially the safari. It's not my favorite of the parks, but I do love Dinosaur, Festival of the Lion King, It's Tough to be a Bug! and Kilimanjaro Safari so it's worth a visit for me every couple of years or so. I think you just have to see for yourself.

 

[SoarinSC]

It's worth it. The Safari, FOTLK, Nemo, Everest, decent dining and more. 4 or 5 hours ought to do it and then you won't have to wonder anymore whether you should have gone. It's a slightly underrated park IMO.

Omg...are you THE Bruce Dickinson???

 

[lroger01]

The animals are the same as what you can see at the local zoo, but the settings aren't!

• It's easy to feel like you're on an African safari
• The tigers wander around in a ruined temple
• The monkeys swing high above a lake with Mount Everest as a backdrop
• The Tree of life made my jaw drop
• Dinosaur is like a wide-awake nightmare (sooo scary fun!)
• Kali Rapids is short but so much better themed than any other rapids ride I've been on
• And the list goes on

If you've been to DW multiple times, I'd think you'd be ready to see something new. Like a lot of the rides at the parks, you won't know if it's for you until you try it.

 

[Gottahavemorecowbell]

Omg...are you THE Bruce Dickinson???

No, but "I've got a fever and the only prescription is more cowbell."

 

[Safari Queen]

AK is my favorite. As others have said, it's not a zoo, unless you have a really amazing zoo where every exhibit is very like the animal's original home. It's beautiful and exotic, filled with wonderful detail and opportunities to have fun, like African drums to play on, shrubs that come alive, ancient temples taken over by monkeys....the list goes on and on. We love the rides, there's some great food, and the shows are first rate.

 

[deakam]

We love the Animal Kingdom. I think it is the prettiest of the parks. De-Vine is wonderful and I could watch her for hours. I don't think many zoos have the atmosphere that the Animal Kingdom has. The plant life and winding paths make it feel like a real park and not an amusement park. The Authentic theme of each area is perfect. Harambe feels like a real African village. We never have enough time to do everything we want to do. On each trip we have to choose between Nemo and Festival of the Lion King because there is not enough time in the day. Outside of the Yak and Yeti counter service place they have a group of musicians and dancers that come out and teach the audience how to do traditional dances. It really is fun. Go---try it!!!! What's the worst that could happen? You will either enjoy it or tolerate it. Either way you will be at Disney with people that are important to you.

 

[SoarinSC]

No, but "I've got a fever and the only prescription is more cowbell."

Awww yeah!

Sorry for the momentary derail, folks

 

[Wishing4magic]

Tx so much for your replies. We have park hoppers so I'm thinking I will plan a half day there. If my family enjoys it then we can just stay longer. I'm sure the teens in our group will love the thrill rides. I think DD4, DN6 and I would enjoy the shows. So while at AK what do you usually get a FP for?

 

[eyehartdisney]

When people ask me why I keep going back to disney, I tell them the story of how the 2 year old almost touched a rhino in AK safari. I think it's safe to say that this park is worth it.

 

[DVCcurious]

My favorite park is Animal Kingdom. On our typical 5 full day trips (Sun-Sat with M-F full days) we go to AK twice for full days.

We have an annual pass to our local zoo and go every weekend.

So the question is, if we go to the zoo every weekend, why would we go look at animals at Animal Kingdom when we could be using those two days to go to MK, HS, or EP?

Maybe we just love animals (and I do....if it gets cold enough).

But the real reason is because Animal Kingdom is amazing.

Let me describe it this way: MK, HS, EP are just concrete sidewalks with concrete buildings. It's like being in the city. Stop and think about it, the surroundings of those three parks are sterile and boring.

Animal Kingdom is like being in the jungle. You are immersed in a very different world than the other three parks. It's difficult to understand if you haven't been there, but Animal Kingdom "feels" different while you're walking from attraction to attraction.

That's why I love it so much.

There's a reason why Joe Rhode blew through the budget with only 60% of the park completed. It's because the attention to detail and the immersion is amazing. He massively overspent on the little details in Africa (especially) and Asia and that's what makes Animal Kingdom so special.

Whenever people complain there's "nothing to do at AK" I just think they're missing the point. The point of AK is to be immersed in an amazing jungle-animal world. And you are immersed from the second you enter the turnstile. I think of AK as one huge gigantic immersive "attraction" all by itself.

Compare that with MK, EP, or HS where you aren't immersed in jack squat unless you're actually on an attraction.


And seeing animals on Kilimanjaro Safaris is nothing like seeing animals at the zoo. Again, if you haven't done it I can't explain it to you, you just have to experience it for yourself.

I recommend you go to Animal Kingdom and spend some of your time consciously just looking around you at the amazing little details that make it so special.

Option 1: Your family could go to AK and immediately go to the Safari at 9, then run over to Everest for your 10 FP, then run back to Kali for your 11 FP, then eat at Pizzafari and tell yourself that there's nothing left to do. That's what a lot of people do. But if you do that you will be disappointed with the park, guaranteed.

Option 2: Instead you should go, walk the Oasis, then walk through Africa and look at the detailed architecture, then go to the Safari, then walk the trails and see the Tigers, then walk by the Tree of Life and look at the carvings, then do Kali and Everest, while again looking closely at the attention to detail.

If you do the second option you will enjoy your time at AK. I'm not saying you'll love it, but you will walk away with an appreciation of why AK is unique amongst the four theme parks.

 

[Missymouse18]

I love AK. There are other things going on besides animals! I would definitely plan a day there. If you don't like it, then you can always say, "been there, done that, won't go back." Whatever you decide, I hope you have a magical time!!!

 

[Nancyg56]

I think that AK is worth the time to visit, but honestly, I think that the only way to know if this park is a keeper is to visit yourself. It is beautiful, and as others have already stated, Ak is a World apart from all we have here. For me, this is probably the closest I will ever get to an African Savanna, Mt Everest, and Asia. This is not to say I have confused reality with my Disney fantasy, but that I understand that I am able to experience a little bit of far away lands.

Our first trip to AK was just because. We were there, and figured we should visit. This park grew on us, and now it is not a "if we get there" park. It is a must do park. I see that you are going to go and have planned at least 1/2 day, so I suggesst you check out what is there so you can plan attractions you think the family will enjoy

 

[BlueGiraffe]

I agree wholeheartedly with DVCcurious!!

I absolutely LOVE AK and it's because of its theming, not the rides. It's my favourite park. I love the other 3 too, and my first visit to MK on each trip always makes me emotional. But when I walk into AK and hear the music playing I get butterflies in my stomach - and that's not something you'll probably understand unless you've been there and fallen in love with it. It's the one park I couldn't miss out when going to WDW. I never go there on the first day as I like having it to look forward to, and always go back more than once each trip.

And it's probably the reason why I love AKL so much too.

Go and give it a try, and see what you think of it for yourself