Anyone do 2 days at Animal Kingdom?

[2Pirates2Princesses]

I have read quite a few posts on these boards where AK is either described as a half day park or disappointing. However, my kids are more excited about going to this park than the Magic Kingdom (we've watched the vacation planning DVD and a couple Travel Channel specials). It also seems like AK is the type of park where you can take your time and really appreciate the magic of the theming. Has anyone spent two days at AK without feeling bored or like you've "wasted" a park day? We won't be getting park hoppers, so I am interested in others' views on this. Thanks

 

[Satchmo128]

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!

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

Thanks for asking this because I was wondering the same thing. We'll be there for 2 weeks with 10 day passes.

 

[clshirk]

Heres my take. We went and stayed from 8am Tusker House Breakfast and came home around 5pm. My kids loved it bc they loved the animals, and my husband enjoyed it because he loves outdoors stuff. I personally could have not spent another day there. If it weren't for my kids loving the animals so much, I would skip it altogether on my next trip, but thats just me.
It boils down to how much you love the outdoors and animals. If you could spend several days at a zoo that was interactive, then I would say yes...do it. But gauge how much your kids want to go back after day 1 before setting it in stone.
Also depends on their ages, the few rides they have there may keep them excited as well.

 

[~Tonga Wingo~]

I definitely agree with two days. When I was there last year, we rushed through and even left about an hour early. It was hot (June) and we felt we had done everything. I think the heat detracted from my enjoyment of the park. At the end of the trip, I ranked it my least favorite. Now after booking my upcoming trip (11 more days ), I have really changed my opinion (Sorry DHS you are now #4). I pulled out our maps we brought home and realized there was so much we skipped! I didn't even know about Dinosaur until two months ago! I didn't ride EE due to the people I was traveling with. I am doing one full day this year (only 5 full days and we are going to IOA), but when I booked I had thoughts about doing just a half day to watch the lion king and take the safari. I think there are more rides and stuff there than most realize.

I would recommend, if doing one day, to consider doing two half days in the morning especially if it's going to be hot when you go and you have small kids. Or at least be prepared for the heat and stick it out because it is a beautiful park.

 

[Quin]

We will go at least twice each trip but we do have Hoppers; once the park gets really warm in the mid-afternoon we hop elsewhere (usually to Epcot; FW is much less crowded in the late afternoons, and we always end up with more dinner ADRs there than anywhere else).

Still, I don't see why you could not schedule two full days at AK even without hoppers. Plan to take it slow and see all the shows. Eat in the park at 'normal' meal times rather than trying to squeeze in the meal before RD or when the park is closing. In the mid-afteroon grab some Mickey Bars, sit on a park bench, and watch the world go by. Turn the kids loose in the Boneyard and don't push them to leave (see so many parents do that - kids are really getting into it and the parents are pushing c'mon c'mon time to move on to the next ride already).

 

[Disneyfreak616]

Oh yes, I would definitely spend 2 days here. We LOVE it. There is lots to see!

 

[WeemanMom]

We only get to Disney once every three years... so we really take our time there. We spend 3 days at Magic Kingdom, 2 days at Epcot, 2 days at Hollywood Studios, and 2 days at Animal Kingdom.

We have NEVER felt the second day at Animal Kingdom was a waste. We were never bored. Our children love animals and we enjoy strolling around. Plus,we enjoy a second day for additional rides on Everest, Kali, and others.

Plus, with Animal Kingdom always being a park with early closure, it's not like you are there until eleven at night. Afterwards you can go back to your hotel for a swim, head downtown for a stroll, or enjoy a round of minature golf.

All five of us LOVE Animal Kingdom. Go and enjoy your two days.

 

[teach22180]

I spent parts of three days in my last one week trip. I always hop though, so your mileage may vary. I spent several hours on my arrival afternoon riding my favorite disney ride, EE and wandering around the Oasis before I left at closing to eat dinner at Boma. I went one morning at rope drop and was on the first safari truck; I did the rest of my exploring and ate lunch at Yak and Yeti and stayed into the afternoon. Then, I went in the early afternoon on an evening EMH and stayed until park closed at 9 or so. That's the day I saw my favorite parade and my favorite show, Lion King.

And the true shocker? I'm not an animal person, never had a pet in my life, but I do love that park, especially the atmosphere in Africa, my favorite ride, my favorite show and my favorite parade! I would encourage folks to approach the park with an open mind; it's definitely not just a zoo.

 

[AllieBoo]

Hate to be the voice of dissent here ..... but, we never do more than one day at AK. On our trip last year, we actually only spent half a day -they had evening EMH, so we waited until about 4 pm and went (i think the park was open until 11?). We found that was plenty. We did the safari, Dinosaur, EE, tough to be a bug, the dig site, the Lion King Show and my DS rode Kali about 8 times in a row (it started raining, so the park cleared out).

I really want to like it more, but we just haven't caught the fever yet. We will be going back on our trip in June this year though - hoping we'll finallly come to appreciate it more!

 

[momtoejanda]

We always go to WDW for 8 days. We spend 2 days in each park. With that being said we usually do AK on the departure day so it really ends up being about 3/4 of day. If the park were open "normal" hours like the others, maybe we would only spend one day but since we usually go with no EMH and in the low seasons 9am-6pm just isnt enough time to get all the shows and rides in.

 

[GreenDog]

We are huge fans of AK. 2 days is a good approach to this park. There is quite a bit to just stop and see. With 2 days you will be able to do this at a leisured pace. Take your time and enjoy what the park has to offer. Kali and KS are awesome. We loved Flight of Wonder and TFOTLK is fantastic. You cannot miss that.

 

[PhillyMc]

No clue how it is 1/2 day park. We spent two days there in aug and I still didn't make it to the camp micky area. We all enjoyed the Lion King and a Bug Life show. I know the kids spent at least 30 mins beating on the drums. Throw in a couple charater meetings and the Safari 2x. The train ride to the petting zoo area was so cool too. Talking to the Vets (or who ever they are) about what they are doing was fun and we didn't even go into the booths and see what was showing. I could prob spend 4 or 5 days there cuz I'd want to do everything much more than HS where Backlot, Tower of Terror, and Rocking Coster are all the kids wanted to do.

 

[Dobie]

Dobie and her mother spent two long mornings at AK two summers ago, then we took long lunches with longer beers and went back to the hotel early. It was a hoot!!!!

 

[blestmom]

We do! We love it there. We slow down, do Everest and Safari more times than we can count. Everest is our favorite Disney ride, and we like that although the story line is the same, you never know what you're going to see up close on the Safari. We do all the shows. What we really like doing is slowing down through the walking/animal trails, and talking to the cast members there. They really add a lot to our trip. We usually go to Animal Kingdom several days out of a 2-week trip.

 

[grandmadebby2]

It may have already been said but the reason we only do a very short day at AK is the heat is stiffling there. Because of all the foilage and such the air does't seem to move as much as it does other places. We always feel crowded even though it is a large park. I think the crowded feeling comes from the trees and all makin me feel closed in. AK always seems to be our family melt down day no matter where we place it in line 1st-10th day. I will say that IMO it has the best parade I have seen anywhere.

 

[SharonS]

Personally, I love AK. On an 8 day trip, I usually end up in AK for at least part of the day about 4 days. Of course, I love animals and photography. The last trip, I spent over an hour watching the bacehlor troup of gorillas. They all had tubs on their head and were doing a lot of posturing...tons of pics!!!

 

[JLS]

Yes. It is our favorite park. I just think it is the most beautifully themed and detailed. I love just walking around there and looking at everything. All of the shows there are great and not to be missed (including Flights of Wonder which is often overlooked).

On our upcoming trip we plan to do a full day there, and go back for another 1/2 day or so to repeat attractions and/or do anything we missed. We are doing Donald's breakfast one day, and Y&Y lunch the second day, so that also takes up park time.

 

[livinintexas]

We always visit the AK twice. We go for rope drop the first day and the 2nd day we go the last 2 hours. I enjoy AK. It is soooo hot there but a few rides on KRR helps.

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

I know my kids will love it there. It is great to see so many replies. We will be in WDW the week of Labor Day (hot, hot, hot, LOL!) so considering that the temperature is described as always hotter in this park, it would be nice to at least spend two days there to really take in the beauty and theming of the park and not feel like we have to spend just one day rushing around. We really enjoy nature centers and we are members of our area zoo/aquarium and aviary so we are particularly interested in the AK as much as the MK.