Anyone do 2 days at Animal Kingdom?

[kellydizfan]

We love AK. We go at least twice every time. I love the shows and so do my kids. Lion King is my favorite and you need to line up early for that one. Expedition Everest is a great rollercoaster and the Kali River Rapids and Safari is a must do along with Dinasour and the other one that is there and for the life of me I can't remember the name. Bugs Life movie is really cute also that is in the Tree of Life. There is so much to do and a lot of walking. We usually eat at Flame Tree BBQ. We take our time and sit down by the water.

 

[DisMom72]

We LOVE Animal Kingdom and would definitely spend two days there! I know that people often say it is a half day park, but I would greatly disagree. The theming is AMAZING, the shows are top-notch, there are fabulous rides, and so many nature trails to explore. Have fun!

My thoughts exactly Truly our favorite park! It does get hot, but there are shady places to sneak away to, if you know where to look

 

[carrie1626]

This year it's going to be the FIRST park we go to on arrival day. Since we get up before the sun rises to get going and hopefully check-in at AKL around noon, the AK park makes sense for our first day.
AND we have plans to go back another day!!

We love AK

 

[ajleone]

No clue how it is 1/2 day park.

If all you are doing is riding the "main attractions" then it becomes a 1/2 day park but you miss out on so much doing that!

Wow... I have no idea how so many spend 2 days in AK. We spend half a day. And we only go to AK for the Tusker House breakfast. Put me into the "I don't get AK" group. Of course, I don't go to Disney to see animals, so we don't walk around the trails just to see them. If I wanted to see animals, I would go to my local zoo.

AK is so much more than a zoo. The trails and animals are what make AK a unique and fun place to visit. Add to that rides, shows and some great food and it's easily a multi-day park!

 

[Winue]

AK is so much more than a zoo. The trails and animals are what make AK a unique and fun place to visit. Add to that rides, shows and some great food and it's easily a multi-day park!

Again, I'm one of the people who feel that it is a glorified zoo. Something we will agree to disagree on.

Within an hour drive of my house, I have a theme park, one of the biggest zoos, and a safari theme park. Everything that is at AK, I can do at home. I saw Lion King on broadway, so the show is nothing new. Love the Nemo show, but after seeing it three times, it hasn't changed. I can see animals at my zoo, and have a safari ride at the other park by me. There are plenty of walking trails there too. IMHO, animals don't belong in a "theme park". While I do enjoy walking around and taking in the atmosphere, I think there can be soooo much more done with it.

I understand that people who don't have the parks within a short driving distance, as I do, have a different appeal to AK. thats fine, I get it. But also hear me out and understand my point of view on it.

 

[WrenNCuckoos]

Good to hear at least some people really like it. We're making our first trip in February (so heat shouldn't be an issue) and I think we'll spend at least 2 days there. My kids (currently 3 and 5) are dinosaur lovers and we have annual passes to our local zoo that get well used. There's a theme park near here that is half dinosaurs (with 3 or 4 very cheesy rides) and half farm-themed, with a few more cheesy rides and animals and my kids love it.

 

[madthemouse]

To answer your question, in a word, "Yes".

We always have Park Hopper Passes. So during a weeks stay we end up visiting not just AK, but all the parks, a number of times.

And to remain consistent with previous post that I have made over the years. My props, will always go out to the imagineers and the many others. Whom had a hand in transforming a cow pasture into something that Uncle Walt may have simply said is, "Wonderful".

I enjoy the rides/attractions as much as the next person. But for me, I always get my hair blown back by the, magnitude of the detail that makes WDW, WDW. If this makes me a geek. then so be it. My family accepts it, and appreciate the "Little Things", that I bring to there attention. And IMO, no other park is this more evident then AK.

 

[MouseEarsForLife]

I wish I could've spent two days on my last trip!
We barely fit the Safari, EE (twice), Dinosaur, Maharaja Jungle Trek, Flights of Wonder, FOTLK, Finding Nemo, ITTBAB and lunch in all on the same day. We arrived at opening, left about 5 minutes before close, and were still rushing around all day and not being able to just enjoy the park. We wanted to take the train but never got around to it.

 

[stargazertechie]

I've been blessed recently to have two 10 day trips, but even on a 7 day or my upcoming 5 day, I am planning for two days at AK.

 

[nocomment711]

Personally, Animal Kingdom is my second favorite part of WDW (coming in a very close second to World Showcase). I wish we could have spent more time there because the theming is beautiful and it is one of those parks that you can do at your own pace and relax.

A lot also depends on when you're going. If it is peak times, the lines for the rides are going to be longer, and in the summer it does get extremely hot. This last summer trip my dad actually had to leave the park early because the heat was getting to him (he left after lunch and then came back to pick up my grandma and me). Prior to that trip, we went in December and the lines were non-existent (re-riding Kilamanjaro non-existent) and we only needed one day (please note that this was before EE even existed). It all depends on your expectation for the park and what kind of day you want.

There are so many little things in the park that aren't listed on the maps. I honestly could do three or four days there without getting bored, just as long as I had my camera with me. (=

 

[Marla1106]

Yes. We are going for a week at the end of May and plan to spend two days there. We don't do DHS though, because my boys are young (5 and 2) and not into shows. But they love animals and they LOVE dinosaurs. The boneyard was a hit with my ODS last time we went there. We love walking the trails and looking at all the animals.

 

[princesscharming]

I do ask though, those of you who are so willing to spend 2 days at AK... are you going for 6-8 days or longer in WDW? We don't have the vacation time to take more than 4 days total and if I had 5 or 6 days total there is no way I'd use one of my extra days to hit AK again, it would be Epcot and MK most likely to hit for 2 days.

I think this is a critical question, that wasn't really picked up on. Most of those who indicated visiting twice, mentioned something like going for 10-14 days. If my vacation was that long, sure I'd go for two days. But if my vacation is only a week, I'd likely only go for one day. The standard model most people go with are 2-MK, 2-Epcot, 1-HS, 1-AK. Of course it varies, and with extra days the plan changes.

The OP hadn't put parameters on the question, but I'm guessing wanted to know something like, is AK one of your favorite parks, or is it worth 2 days if you need to make some real time budgeting decisions? (Let's say a week or less.)

Also, those who spend two days park hopping, is that two half days etc.?

 

[DustyPixie]

We always spend a couple of days at AK. We also always looked forward to the EMH, and I'm very sad that Disney has eliminated that. And I have to say that there are still a few things we've never done at AK, simply because we have our favorite rides that we do multiple times and shows that we want to be sure to see, so we add new experiences every visit. I love AK and have been completely charmed and immersed in its theming since the first time we visited there in 2004. And, with rumors that Disney is planning to add a new section/country in the future, there will be new experiences to look forward to!!

 

[KigerKat]

AK has always been one of my favorite parks! But then again, I am a huge animal lover and I could spend a day riding KS over and over again. Yes, a lot of people compare it to a zoo and wonder why anyone would spend Disney prices on a zoo, but to me it's so much more than that.

One of our favorite things to do is go to Rafiki's early in the morning and hope to see something interesting in the window to the operating room. I think we spent about 2 hours there one morning, talking to all of the animal handlers and watching the vets remove a bird's eye. It was fascinating!

 

[wahoostampingirl]

We usually take week long trips, so AK only gets 1 day. But, if we were there longer, we would definitely go back for a 2nd day. Although no one in my family rates it as their #1 park at Disney, for some reason, we always have such a great day there. I think it's because we're not rushed at all. We usually ride EE, ride Safari, walk one of the trails, ride Dinosaur, let the kids play in the Boneyard, see one of the shows, have a nice sit down lunch at Tusker and try to catch some of the street entertainment like D'vine (not in that order). Sometimes, we'll go up to Conservation Station or watch the parade or do some shopping. It's just a very relaxed day and everyone in our family really enjoys it.

Glad to see there are a lot of other AK lovers on this thread!

 

[kik79]

This park does has alot to offer kids, but b/c it closer earlier than the other parks, i'd recommend visiting this park with a hopper and doing it on the first part of the day or doing on it on a day where you know you want to spend the remainder of your day at the hotel.

 

[stargazertechie]

This park does has alot to offer kids, but b/c it closer earlier than the other parks, i'd recommend visiting this park with a hopper and doing it on the first part of the day or doing on it on a day where you know you want to spend the remainder of your day at the hotel.

Exactly. I don't travel without parkhoppers or an annual pass, so my day looks something like this

Animal Kingdom (Rope Drop- Close)
Magic Kingdom (6PM-end of EMHs)

That gives me 8 hours at AK, and 6-8 hours at MK, depending on the park hours and extra magic hours.

 

[jpmandan]

We will be at WDW POFQ on May 29th to June 5th. We always go no less than 2 days at AK. Now it is half days because we take mid-day breaks. We have found out that if we go later in the day there is less people in the park.

 

[kikiq]

We are 2 day AK people. We like to go early ride EE, KS and then head out to the Conservation Station to see what animals the vets might bring in to work on. The one thing that I haven't seen mentioned is that the characters meet and greet areas are sometimes hidden and not crowded. My DB and DN think that AK is THE place to get autographs and spend time with characters because the lines are so much shorter than the other parks.

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

We will have 8 days in WDW so our "plan" was to do a rope drop day at AK to see the opening show, do the safari, Camp Minnie & Mickey, Dinoland area, and shows (Nemo, FOW, FOTLK). Then on a second day which would be our "sleep in day" do a table service lunch (most likely Rainforest Cafe) then tour AK for its last few hours to do the trails, train ride, parade, and a couple of the major rides like EE & PW since a lot of people say that the lines are very short for the rides closer to park closing. Also my kids want to get their faces painted at AK. AK closes at 5pm during the week we will be in WDW. So I guess for some people that would really be two "half" days, but it would allow us to take our time and not feel like we have to rush through just one dedicated day at AK.