can someone critique my touring plan for AK please?

[cdnliving]

Hi Everyone. My husband and I and our two kids (8,10) are going to
WDW in July. We have never been before, so I thought I best check in with some of you seasoned fans. On the first day of our arrival, we thought we would go to AK. Our plane arrives at
10 a.m. We thought we would check in, scope the hotel and then head to the AK. We have been to many animal parks and hence would like to keep this visit somewhat short and just touch upon the hightlights of the park. Here goes:

1. Take bus from Poly to AK (around 1 a.m.)
2. Go to Kilimanjaro Safari and get FP
3. Go to Rainforest for Late Lunch - is this the best on-site rest? any other ideas for on site restaurants?
4. Walk to Kilimanharo Safari for ride, obtaining FP for It's Toughto be a bug, on the way
5. Ride Kilimanjharo Safari
6. Depending on FP time either see tough to be a bug first or
go to Festival of Lion King

** if any additional remaining time, do whatever rides are close by
eg. boneyard , camp mickey etc..
Return to Hotel in early evening, (quick swim if time) and get ready for dinner

Dinner at the Polynesian Luau at 8 p.m.


Well that's the plan thus far. As I mentioned we have never been to Disney before so any critiquing/comments/ideas you might have would be most welcome. Thanks All!!!!

Karen

 

[Gluman11]

I think you would be wasting your time (and park pass for a day) going to AK on the first day.........I am fairly certain that AK closes at 5pm every day.......

It is a small park but even if you figure on getting there by 1:30 or so, 3.5 hours is hardly enough time with two little folks.......

Although the plan looks good........My opinion is that you will need a little more time than that.............

If you need to get into a park on the day you arrive, I'd try one of the other parks.............Studios, MK, and Epcot are all open much later and you'd be able to put in much more time on arrival day.......

Our family would normally skip a park on arrival day and head to DTD for some shopping and a nice meal...........and then get started early the next morning..........

Good luck and, most of all, Enjoy..............

 

[joeker]

cdn.....a couple of comments/ideas based on what you have written....first, DAK is the hottest park at Disney, so as you are going in July, going to this park in the afternoon, at peak heat, may not be the best option.....you may want to save Animal kingdom for another day when you can go 1st in the AM and then move on to another park when the heat rises in the afternoon....as far as the specifics of your plan, DAK is not quite like any other animal park, but you will see that when you go - the things you listed are all top-notch (safari / ITTBaBug / Lion King show), however, you might also want to try the Dinosaur ride too....pretty neat darkride-thrill ride that at your kids age should be good for your whole family!....you may also want to try one of the eateries in the park instead of going all the wya out to the front of the park for Rain Forest Cafe ( you could always do RFC another time either at DAK or they have another one at Downtown Disney too!

Hope this helps and enjoy the rest of your trip planning!!

ps......July - drinks lots of water and try to take breaks!!!!

 

[iwannabeminnie]

My first suggestion would be to skip lunch at Rainforest. Either do it another day or do it downtown. It takes WAY too much time at the Animal Kingdom. You are going to have a big dinner at the luau, so go for fast food. Flame Tree BBQ is our absolute favorite at AK, but the kids also like Pizzafari (tastes like frozen pizza to me, but that's kids for you).

You won't want to miss Festival of the Lion King or It's Tough to be a Bug. We also love Tarzan Rocks. If your kids are at all into "extreme" sports, they will want to see Tarzan. They sound the right age to enjoy Dinosaur, too.

We love both of the walking tours at AK. The hippo pool is one of our favorites. My daughter is into the Mole Rats (yuk). We love AK and could never be happy spending just half a day there, but try it out. You may decide to go back for more later in your stay!

 

[cdnliving]

Thanks for some valuable insights. I think I will reconsider going to this park on the first day and try to fit it early in the a.m of another day, to avoid the heat. I think the fast food idea is great, however, I thought the Rainforest might have given us enough time to eat and then head right to the Safari using our FP, thereby avoiding any line-up waits in the heat. I figured given the temps at this time of year, we likely wouldn't feel like doing any of the walking adventures. I didn't include the
Tarzan Rocks or the Dinosaur ride because of the reviews in the
unofficial guide. Is the Dinosaur ride "violent" as described by some?? As for tarzan rocks, I believe it described it as being hokey, but then again...kids love hokey, especially my little boy.....what did your kids like about it???
Well thanks again for the info, it was great!

 

[joeker]

Originally posted by cdnliving
Thanks for some valuable insights. I think I will reconsider going to this park on the first day and try to fit it early in the a.m of another day, to avoid the heat. I think the fast food idea is great, however, I thought the Rainforest might have given us enough time to eat and then head right to the Safari using our FP, thereby avoiding any line-up waits in the heat. I figured given the temps at this time of year, we likely wouldn't feel like doing any of the walking adventures. I didn't include the
Tarzan Rocks or the Dinosaur ride because of the reviews in the
unofficial guide. Is the Dinosaur ride "violent" as described by some?? As for tarzan rocks, I believe it described it as being hokey, but then again...kids love hokey, especially my little boy.....what did your kids like about it???
Well thanks again for the info, it was great!

the unoffiacial guide can be kind of cynical sometimes....the Trazan rocks show is the music from the movie performed like a rock concert with some show-like elements from Tarzan thrown in...a little loud but kinda of neat....as for Dinosaur, I think they meant violent as in the movements of the ride vehicle not the visual content.......it can be a little jerky as it moves through the ride sequence

 

[whozit]

I would skip going to any park on your first day. If your plane arrives on time at 10am, if all goes perfectly, you will be in your room by 11am (but it will probably be more like noon). Since you are doing the Luau in the evening, whatever park you go to will be an abbreviated visit. I wouldn’t want to burn a whole day’s ticket for a few hours (and I wouldn’t want to spend a lot of park time eating a meal). If you want to eat at Rainforest Café (either at DD or at AK), you can do that. If you go to the AK location, you’ll go in a different entrance instead of entering through AK. It looks like you’re staying at the Poly, and since you haven’t been to WDW before and since you’re right on the monorail line anyway, you might ride the monorail lines to get familiar with the lay of the land (ask to ride in the front car, and ask for co-pilot’s licenses for your kids). You could also choose to hop on the boat launch and head over to Ft. Wilderness check out the petting zoo and the barn housing the draft horses that “work” at MK (this may require taking the boat or monorail to MK, then taking the boat to FW). While you’re there, you may get to see the blacksmith at work. And horseback riding or hiking the trail are also options while you’re there. You can head back to the Poly and use the pool before the luau. Or you may want to visit some other resorts or as others have mentioned—Downtown Disney. There are a lot of non-park possibilities, and you’ll likely find that you can’t fit everything in.

 

[cdnliving]

What a wealth of idea's, many of which I hadnt even thought or read about - thanks so much!! I think this web is it's own "Disney College of Knowlege" that can't be beat!!! My son will loose his mind over the monorail pilot's liscence.......sometimes, it's just the little things that make all the difference......

 

[wannabee princess]

In case you still want to do lunch at Rainforest on the day you go - Just a note about getting fps for the Safari ride and then going to Rainforest - this is a LONG, LONG hike back and forth.
Until you have actually walked that distance, you can't appreciate the long walk!

I think there are better ways of spending the time waiting for your fp time to arrive. If you want to stay closer to the ride, you can grab a quick bite at Tusker House, which is right by the Safari, and you can even walk Pangani Trails to see the gorillas. Even if you have been to a lot of animal parks, the gorillas are so much fun to watch! It is a shady area, and may be an entertaining way to spend the time.

I think that Tarzan rocks may actually be a good show for the kids - it is rock music, with the neatest skaters doing tricks. My boys really like watching the stunts that the skaters do.

Dinosaur is one of those that some kids are terrified of and others love. I do think that it could be considered violent - you see a dinosaur devour another one, a dinosaur jumps out at you - for the youngest one especially it may be overwhelming.

I'll agree with the others about avoiding the parks that first day - we would probably plan on swimming and hanging out checking out the resort and maybe hopping the monorail to see the other resorts, since you have the Luau later that night.

 

[tassie42]

hi! I agree about not bothering to do a park the first day.

Our flight in April came in at 10:30 and we didn't get out to the parks till 1! We went to mgm rode tower of terror (waited in line for almost an hour and half because the stand by line said 20 minutes) by the time we were done with that it was time to wait for the parade. then we dinner ressie at 5 o clock. Left after dinner cause my 2 year old had had it alredy! we'd been up since 5 am for our flight! and truth be told the rest of us (dd10 and dd8 and dh) were really tired too! We had planned on seeing Fantasmic that night but called it a day after dinner.

Next time we definately won't do a park the first day.
Have fun!

 

[BrerRabbit_fan]

You might want to take into account that things don't always go according to plan. We were supposed to land at 10:30 and also planned to head to the AK, then Epcot. We didn't land until 2:30 and had a check-in issue that needed to be resolved. We skipped the AK that day, because it was 4pm by the time we were ready.

Also, your kids are the perfect ages for Kali River Rapids and Dinosaur, two not to be missed attractions.

Since this is the first time you are going, try not to plan things by the hour or you will be disappointed when you fall off-track and you will. It's better to plan the park, what attractions are important to you and take it from there. You will enjoy your experience more. Make sure you have plenty of rest and drink a lot, it's going to be hot!

 

[Disrookie0704]

Can you check in to your hotel at 10 am? I'm staying at CBR and we can't check in until 3 pm. Our flight will be in at 9 am so we're planning to just check our bags at the hotel and go over to downtown disney until check in.

I might suggest the same for you. It's a more 1/2 day kind of thing, (I think...I'm a rookie too!).

 

[tassie42]

Disrookie, they will hold your luggage for you when you get to the hotel so you can go to the parks or wherever. Have fun!

 

[tassie42]

oh duh I just read your post again disrookie and you already knew about luggage sorry . You're right you can't check in till 3:00 they'll let you do a pre check. If your room is ready they will let you check in earlier.

 

[whozit]

Disrookie0704,

You will be allowed to check in prior to 3pm, but your room may or may not be available. If it is, you can start to settle in, if it isn't, you can leave your luggage with bell services (or if you have a car, you can leave it there) and you are welcome to use the pool at the resort. If you are getting UPHs, you can begin using them immediately. If your room is not available, the front desk will give still give you a room key (but they won't tell you your room number) and a phone number that you can call to check if your room is available yet. When your room is available, they will tell you the room number, so you don't have to go back to the front desk.

 

[fairytinkerbell]

This is what u do:

1. I say don't waste a precious day away from disney!
First of all, you probably won't be able to check in until 3pm, so get a cover for your luggage if it's in your car (or u can store @ hotel)

2.Go to the Animal Kingdom and go to your favorite places
It's got the least amount of attractions and is smaller (what i've read)
(get the unofficial guide to wdw at library to find out all rides/map ak)

3. when u get there get fastpass for kilam. safari

4. eat lunch at flametree bbq (directly straight from when u enter park)
5. go to the kali river rapids last bec. u'll probably be soaking wet, ready to chg at hotel.

***Instead of eating at Poly. luau, if it's a saturday nite, i would head over to magic kingdom and use the rest of your day's fast pass, that way you're getting the bang for your buck and the most out of your first day at disney!

hope it helps!
fairytinkerbell

 

[sarahsmom73]

We opened the AK in April... Walked on the Safari... Did the walks and Rafiki's... The petting zoo was great for DD who was 2.5... She also really loved the safari.. The bad part was moving to the front of the park... By 11:30 it was gridlock and nearly impossible to move... If I had to do it again I would do the Safari etc in the morning and leave (we did this) and come back and do the front of the park the on another morning 1st thing!