Convince me to love Animal Kingdom

[PollyannaMom]

...the boy was definitely of the opinion that vacation and learning were antithetical to each other.

This made me laugh!! - I can definitely see a kid feeling this way!! Equally funny, my DS is the opposite. - He's always pointing out the educational value in things stereotypically thought of as mind-numbing (TV, video games...) in hopes that we'll allow more of them!

 

[BudgieMama]

We love Expedition Everest- it's our favourite WDW coaster, and we love using the single rider line for multiple rides!
The shows are stunning: Festival of the Lion King is so much fun, and probably my favourite show at WDW, and Nemo is a lot of fun.
The Safari is beautiful, and the evening version gives a new perspective. We saw the Lions moving, and and heard them roaring which was amazing. The guides are really good at their jobs there.
Flights of Wonder is a delight- we're bird people, and that show... wow!

It's such an immersive environment, and somewhere we love to spend time!

 

[ErinsMommy]

AK is always at the bottom of our list too - seems its much hotter/humid there and you can only see the shows so many times before it gets too repetitious. Our 2017 trip though we're looking forward to AK though because of ROL and Pandora.

 

[Dis703]

When we were there last month I said to my husband I think AK is quickly becoming my favorite park. We just always have the best time in this park. And it's not as chaotic and rushed as our days tend to be in Epcot or MK. It's a more laid back take it all in kind of day.

First, we absolutely love love LOVE, Festival of the Lion King. I can't miss this show any time we are in AK. The acrobats, dancers, costumes, the music, we just love it all. We ride Dinosaur and Kali River Rapids and we check out Tough to be a Bug. But it's the little details all around the park I think we enjoy the most. There is a little something to see or do everywhere you go. We dance to the music in Africa and with the dancers in Asia. We stop and ask questions about the animals on the trails or at other random places if we see a CM with an animal. We walked the trail under the tree recently, and I'm not sure how I'd never done this before, but we stood there for some time identifying as many different animals as we could. It really is pretty amazing when you check it out up close. My kids are a little younger, but we also participate in the Wilderness Explorers program. We didn't even get around to Nemo, Flights of Wonder or Expedition Everest last trip but those are all fun as well.

It seems like the people who don't enjoy AK or HS as much are looking for rides usually, so if you go into this park looking for that or thinking it's like MK or Epcot I'm sure it could be disappointing. But if you go into it just looking to relax and have a good time you can find all sorts of things to enjoy.

 

[5kidsmommy]

AK is not my favorite park. But my husband loves shows and I will admit we've never seen the ones at AK. So this next trip I'm going to give them a try and see what all the hype is about. Maybe I'll have a new appreciation for the park. It's a must do park for us though because Dinosaur is my 14DS favorite ride. He doesn't like many rides so we always make sure to go to AK.

 

[Tigerlily125]

It's my least favorite park so I can't convince you otherwise Perhaps because I don't know my way around it as well, so it tends to feel crowded and attractions spread out. Plus my kids are not old enough to ride Everest! They do absolutely love the huge playground and digging area. I am hoping that once ROL opens up I will be more excited about this park

 

[Dr.Mickey]

I think I saw one word in the original post that would explain our family and Animal Kingdom: AUGUST!

Whew. It is roasting hot there, with very little indoor activities. My wife and I had our one true fight standing on a crowded walkway near Flame Tree on a day where the heat index topped 100. Since then, we do short stops at AK during the summer.

But...if you can find a cool or rainy day, it is our favorite park, hands down. We did the week before Christmas this year, and our AK day was 68 and cloudy. I think it may have been my kids favorite day at any park.

Now, since you are going in August, my advise is don't push it. Be content with a half day. But if you get an unexpected rainy day, or a cooler day, then consider ditching your plans elsewhere and head off to wander AK.

 

[maryj11]

I really enjoy AK, but I love the animals. My family will pull me away from the gorillas and out of the bird aviaries because I really could watch those for hours. I also really enjoy speaking with the CMs, if you have a question about the animals they can answer them and are very pleasant to chat with. I love every show they have. Attention to detail in this park is amazing. We get there at RD and even with taking our time we are usually out of the park by 4 and it is the only park we don't take a break midday. We haven't had the chance to see the nighttime stuff, so I am looking forward to that

I agree I could watch the animals all day. The gorillas are so fascinating to me. I love walking the trails to see the animals and love the safari also. I cant wait for the new Avatarland and Rivers of Light open.

 

[Lesverts]

I like Animal Kingdom because it is a relaxing park. I don't feel rushed or in need to hurry everywhere. I love walking around and seeing all the different animals and plants on display. It also has one of my favourite rides, 2 of the best QS locations on property and one of the better character meals.

Animal Kingdom is an easy day and a day to take a slower pace. It makes it a nice change from the Magic Kingdom days. Makes those days stand-out in the memory.

 

[maryj11]

I think I saw one word in the original post that would explain our family and Animal Kingdom: AUGUST!

Whew. It is roasting hot there, with very little indoor activities. My wife and I had our one true fight standing on a crowded walkway near Flame Tree on a day where the heat index topped 100. Since then, we do short stops at AK during the summer.

But...if you can find a cool or rainy day, it is our favorite park, hands down. We did the week before Christmas this year, and our AK day was 68 and cloudy. I think it may have been my kids favorite day at any park.

Now, since you are going in August, my advise is don't push it. Be content with a half day. But if you get an unexpected rainy day, or a cooler day, then consider ditching your plans elsewhere and head off to wander AK.

Any day in the summer is hot at AK, but we did get lucky this past June and had a nice heavy rain shower as we arrived around 3:00. Most of the people left and it was cooler temps. Hopefully the park will be open until 11:30pm again this summer which helps with not being in the midday heat.

 

[VillainFavs]

In your original post, you mentioned the safari. What else have you done there? Our family LOVES AK but the safari is really just one little piece of it. The real reasons we go?

Festival of the Lion King is easily the best show in any park there! It's absolutely amazing!
Flights of Wonder seems like just a "bird show" but it's funny, entertaining--and the kids may learn something in the process.
Finding Nemo - Another great show (but I'd definitely opt for FOTLK if I could only pick one!)
Kali River Rapids -- best place to be on a hot summer day!
It's Tough to Be a Bug -- really fun show.
Dinosaur!
Expedition Everest - especially if your kids are looking for more "grown up" coasters
DiVine -- you HAVE to find her! Just sit back and watch others' reactions as they finally see her. Take a few minutes and watch her move around --breathtaking!
Street shows, musicians, etc. -- just sit back and watch. They're great.
And we do enjoy the animal trails but sometimes run out of time to get to them!

Yak & Yeti and Flame Tree Barbecue are both favorite places to eat. We discovered the burger place in Dinoland last time and they have a super fixings bar so now another favorite.

You definitely have to go in with a mindset. It's not a place to rush from one ride to another. Slow down, take in the surroundings, and just enjoy it!

 

[miTnosnhoJ]

See this great DIS Podcast.

 

[MamaBelle4]

We went the year it opened. I was 12 and I HATED IT. There was nothing. We went on the Safari and saw no animals. There was no real way to know what to see and what to expect.

Then, I grudgingly took my family there, and loved it. It was wonderful. We went on the Safari first thing and got to see all of the animals. It is my DH's favorite park.

 

[Planogirl]

My favorites are the Lion King show and a trail, the Maharajah Jungle Trek. AK is a park to explore and move a bit slower. However, everything isn't necessarily for everyone.

 

[Karin1984]

I think it's mainly a state of mind. It is about slowing down, like you need to do with World Showcase. If you are used to rushing from ride to ride, then it will be hard to ever like the place.

If you are not a show person, I think it's the same as with HS, there are still many things to do, but it will be a shorter day.

 

[Jennasis]

No. I'm not convincing anyone of anything. You either like it or you don't. You don't have to like everything. Focus on the stuff you do like. I don't like Frozen even though everybody gushes over it like it was the greatest movie of all time. I avoid the ride and shows.

There is stuff out there for everyone.

 

[Accident]

For us it's the weather. If it's hot, sunny and humid we are just miserable at this park. the first time we got it or found the thing that did it for us was a different season visit when we were cool, relaxed and loving it. The after hours where you could get out of the sun and brave the humidity it was nice. The spring trip we did about a year ago is when we got our first exposure to nice weather there. We weren't rushing, we weren't skipping things cause we were too hot. We took the time to re-discover what the park had.. We looked around (and later found how authentic it's construction really is. the buildings (or at least facade) are built by the same people who are building them in the areas they portray.). Ak after dark was nice as it gave us that same break from the sun but in a new where's the lights kind of way and foudn the rides to just be better (and the crowds to be missing to be able to ride them quickly).

now with that said, it's not a have to do it all the time park. We just don't find 80% of the park to be do it everytime we're here or pull us in. It's mainly the rides and maybe somewhere to eat to make a few hours out of it, preferably in the evening.

 

[kiford]

We love the trails and can spend all day just on them. We love the theming - it's nice to just have a drink and sit down in Harambe Market and watch the train go by and absorb the atmosphere. We just spent ages sitting with a drink and snacks on the outside deck of the Nomad Lounge. Made me feel like I was in some exotic locale. We can go on Kilimanjaro Safari multiple times as it's different every time (we also did the Wild Africa Trek which was worth every penny and I'll probably do it again - maybe next time). We've spent an hour or more at Conservation Station especially if they bring out an animal and talk about it. We love the street performers especially the musicians. Flights of Wonder is a favourite. We just find that it's a park that isn't about running from one thrill ride to another. It's a park to be enjoyed leisurely and savoured.

 

[Beer Me]

Going slow and soaking up the details is key. We stay from open until close, see every show, meander on the trails, take a break at the dawa bar, watch street performers in addition to some of the best rides at Disney - everest, dinosaur, kali river and the safari.

I'm psyched for later evening hours and pandora (hopefully) this summer.

 

[Farro]

It's immersive Disney detail at it's finest. Simple as that. Totally transports you out of the real world. Take the time to enjoy the atmosphere and the decorative details. It is not a park to rush through, or to "try to get done".

Or maybe you just won't like it!