Animal Kingdom

[Allison]

Was lucky intended to be temp.? I didn't realize he was gone either.


I also love Animal Kingdom...being an animal lover myself. My parents really love the Fest. of the Lion King show, and have gone to it like 3 times on their trip. I also love the Dinosour ride.

Yes, he was never intended to by permanent. I think he ended up in Tokyo or something for now.

 

[Camping Griswalds]

Animal Kingdom is DH's absolute favorite. We love that you can see everything in one day without really rushing. as a matter of fact, we usually get there for EMH in the am and are done by noon. Of course that's only when we skip conservation station and the petting zoo. Really it can be A LOT warmer though!

 

[rigsby25]

I have to say we LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Animal Kingdom. I have 2 days planned there on our next trip.

Everyone has different tastes. AK really fits ours.

I have to ask-How is a line for a ride "hateful"? What made it hateful?

It was the combination of the 30 minute wait promise, the heat, nothing to look at and knowing there is lots and lots of things to see at AK, and that *&&^#$ phone ringing every two minutes. Didn't anyone else get annoyed at that phone?

 

[aka-mad4themouse]

Sorry that you did not enjoy AK. I admit that it is the least favorite WDW park in my household, too. But we don't hate it. After having been on a couple of very disappointing safari rides, we now skip it. I remember one safari ride where all we saw were birds. Tons of birds. The same ones that were stealing our french fries in the MK. It's not Disney's fault that the Florida heat zaps the energy of the animals. And hey, those big cats that everyone wants to see? Nocturnal beasts for the most part. We got a terrific view of the very top of a lion's mane during one safari. He was up on a hill, sleeping.

I believe that the AK, like EPCOT, is exactly what you - the guest - make of it. I don't care for the heat, the narrow pathways, the inability to get from point A to point C without having to go thru point B (the area around the Tree of Life). And when I'm in commando-mode, it just frustrates me beyond belief! But if you have the time, take the park for what it is and at a slower pace, there is so much to enjoy there.

 

[jann1033]

. The ride itself was so-so. I was very disappointed that the animals were fake. I don't know what I expected.

umm where were you again?????? the jungle cruise? Bush garden? universal?

sorry you had a less than good time, sometimes i wonder if it just might be the mood you are in at that moment. we really love ak, the animal exhibits are great imo and we have never had to wait even in the afternoon but we go off season. the safari is my all time fav. ride in wdw( well tied with tot and rnr)

sorry not to be rude but it just cracks me up you thought the animals were fake

when we went every time the real baby elephant was running around, the grazers grazing ect...i thought most of the vegetation was real also( except some trees i know for sure are fake) or the giraffes like plastic( see below)

 

[jann1033]

aw: aw: aw:
sorry not the best pics i ever took and can't figure out how to remove all the extraneous area surrounding them

 

[ctrabada]

AK is a must-do on all our trips. We love the safari and, other than "Little Red" in the back of the truck at the end, all the animals are very much alive. Best time to see them is first thing in the morning or late in the afternoon. Every time we go we see something different and that makes it unusual compared to all the other Disney rides where everything is fake and timed to perfection (not that I'm complaining; I absolutely adore WDW). But the safari is not that way... animals are unpredictable and that's part of the charm. To be honest, I don't like the queue either, we always use fast pass, even if the stand by wait is the same or less than the fast pass time... I'd just rather walk around until my time is up than wait in line... but that's just me.

Festival of the Lion King is an excellent show and so is Flights of Wonder. If it's not too cold, we love Kali River Rapids. We also like Primeval Whirl.

Most of all, we really enjoy just walking the park and enjoying it's lush landscaping. It's such a beautiful park.

 

[bytheblood]

Fake? Were you on the Jungle Cruise in MK? Those animals are very real, as the many posters above and on the previous page said.

The posted times are estimates, not promises. Sometimes they are shorter, others are dead on and sometimes it takes longer because they will have to load people in wheelchairs, issues with the ride, etc.

I am not sure what park map you are looking at, but Dinosaur is not a far walk.

There are lots of great attractions at AK. Dinosaur, Kilimanjaro, Triceratop Spin, Tough to be a Bug, Oasis, Tarzan show (soon to go away), Lion King show, Flights of Wonder, Kali, Maharajah Jungle Trek, Pangani Trail.............

 

[aquaticmom]

Oh, and the bird show...for the life of me I can't remember the name. How embarrasing.

Isn't the bird show called "Flights of Wonder"?, I'm with everyone else on this thread, I truly enjoy the Animal Kingdom. When we were there a couple weeks ago I had to talk my sister-in-law into going with her three kids and she thanked me for talking her into going because they also really liked it.

 

[MaryKatesMom]

We love AK, although I admit I wish Safari had a "non-poacher" line. After many trips, the chase can make it more like the Jungle Cruise. I'd love a different more educational tour where the guide talks about the animals we pass.

The joy of AK is in the details, look down at the walkway and see how it changes as you move to different lands.

I love all of the shows both Flights of Wonder and Pochahantas were much better than I expected. Very nicely done and the kids loved it.

 

[Shanan]

I am not a big fan of AK. My 1/2 day is planned for the day that I fly in. My flight should arrive at MCO at 11:00. I will check in to PC and then go to AK to catch the parade, Tarzan & hopefully the last safari of the day. I will be at WDW from 12/2-12/10 and that is the only day I am planning to tour AK. I guess that is why I love going to WDW since there is something for everyone. MGM/Disney Studios is one of my favorites and others consider that park a 1/2 day park.

 

[AnaheimGirl]

umm where were you again?????? the jungle cruise? Bush garden? universal?

The animals at Busch Gardens are real, too.

 

[mareed]

It was the combination of the 30 minute wait promise, the heat, nothing to look at and knowing there is lots and lots of things to see at AK, and that *&&^#$ phone ringing every two minutes. Didn't anyone else get annoyed at that phone?

I've always ridden this with fastpass, so if I've noticed the phone ringing, then it would have been just once because the line has always moved so quickly. I think the lesson to be learned for the future is to use fastpass instead of the stand-by line.


I agree that it would be frustrating to have the posted wait time be so inaccurate. I think they usually over-estimate the wait if anything, so maybe they just hadn't realized the wait had increased and forgot to change the sign.

 

[LukenDC]

Has anyone seen the walking "tree?" It's a woman on stilts who is dressed as a tree. That really creeped me out! Her face is so expressionles---just haunting.

 

[SyracuseWolvrine]

I'd love a different more educational tour where the guide talks about the animals we pass.

Umm ... KSR is roughly a 20 minute ride. Of that, maybe 2 minutes is spent in the poacher chase scene, leaving roughly 18 minutes for the guide to talk about animals. Obviously, they're not going to be talking constantly for 18 minutes, but they do talk about the animals for a good majority of the time.

A question for those that don't like the poacher chase element of the ride: If you were to get rid of that scene, how would you end the safari?

 

[MaryKatesMom]

Umm ... KSR is roughly a 20 minute ride. Of that, maybe 2 minutes is spent in the poacher chase scene, leaving roughly 18 minutes for the guide to talk about animals. Obviously, they're not going to be talking constantly for 18 minutes, but they do talk about the animals for a good majority of the time.

A question for those that don't like the poacher chase element of the ride: If you were to get rid of that scene, how would you end the safari?

The chase itself is very short toward the end, but the lame gag starts at minimun half way through the ride.

I would end the safari by getting off the truck.

 

[lpizzuro123]

For some reason the beginning of this thread sounds familar (like I heard it hear before). I remember quite awhile ago someone posting a thread like this one about hating the AK and the animals being fake - and they were joking - to see how many responses they would get. Not sure if this is the same thing or not but the animals are really real - and we love the AK. We always stay for the afternoon parade - we love thed music and it is really lively. WDW has something for everyone and if you don't like a park - just go to another one.

Linda

 

[SyracuseWolvrine]

I would end the safari by getting off the truck.

What I meant was that without the poacher chase, it's kinda like reading a book without a last chapter. The driver says "Ok, I've had enough, we're going to stop now", and everyone gets off? If Disney changed the ending to this, I'd still ride the Safari, but I'd walk away feeling empty, sort of a "this is it? I thought there should be something more" type feeling.