Does everyone like AK?

[sandbar]

We just got back last week and this was our first time at AK. I was totally expecting to love it, but left disappointed. We did like It's Tough To Be a Bug but that was about it. We didn't make it to Asia and I have a feeling we might have missed out on the best part of the park because the rest of it, for us, was lacking. The crowds were low and other than being hot, the weather was perfect. So, tell me, what did we miss?

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

A lot. You missed Africa for one thing. I absolutely love AK.

 

[Pooh67_68]

IMHO nothing really. We also like its tough to be a bug, and we like the safari, other than that we don't find it all that interesting.

 

[Ted and Holly]

Disney's Animal Kingdom is one of those parks that either people LOVE or don't. If you are someone looking for tons of rides and attractions, it may not be the park for you.

If you are someone who enjoys observing animals and conservation themes, it is the place to be.

Did you check out the Kilamanjaro Safari? The Pangani Forest Exploration Trail? If the crowds were low, you could really take your time on the trail.

I believe that due to the "commando" nature of many families' touring, Disney's Animal Kingdom is rarely taken in as it should be. SLOWLY.

Ted

 

[dizneycc]

Hi Sandbar! DH and I had the opposite approach. We actually avoided AK for many trips because we didn't think we would like it. Finally during an extended trip, we decided to check it out. Since we went with low expectations, we did enjoy the park. However, we haven't been back since. We saw everything we wanted to. We figure it will be a once and a while thing. We LOVE the other three parks, plus the minors~

CC

 

[meeko_33785]

I love AK. The Safari ride is one of the best rides at WDW IMO and the Lion King and Tarzan shows are incredable. Dinoland is pretty cool too. DINOSAUR is a great ride and Primevial Whirl is a lot of fun. Not to mention the animals! It's a great park now and it will only get better in the future (already looking forward to the new Everest coaster they're putting in Asia.

 

[Prince Eric1]

AK is the one park that I can definately say I could spend a half day at or skip. The dinosaur was ok, but not as good as we expected because it was too dark to see the creatures, the shows are ok, Kali river rapids could use some animatronic animals or something, like an elephant spraying water or fake crocs or something. I just think that there is a lot of untapped potential.

 

[disneysteve]

My family - me, DW and DD-7 all LOVE AK. My DW and I were lucky enough to attend AP preview before the park opened to the public and attended the grand opening as well. We've been back many times since. It is definitely a full-day park. I can not understand all the people who say its a half-day park. Obviously, they aren't seeing a lot of the available stuff during that time.

We love the safari ride - its different every time you ride it. How many other WDW rides can you say that about? Conservation Station is fun, relaxing and educational. Festival of the Lion King is probably the finest show ever produced at WDW - that alone is practically worth the price of admission. My DD loves the Dinoland play area, especially the fossil dig pit. Tusker House is one of the best counter service restaurants on property. The shops in AK have some unique stuff, not just all the same old Disney souvenirs that are found everywhere else on property. The new carnival area is a disgrace, but I'll admit Primeval Whirl is a fun coaster. ITTBAB is fun if you're into that - personally, I don't like the poking/crawling special effects (we don't do Honey I Shrunk the Audience much either). But we'll do the show anyway because we love the chance to explore the Tree of Life up close and search for all the different animals.

The whole point of AK is to slow down and enjoy nature, not to rush from one ride to the next. There are so many beautiful carvings and natural settings in the park that we could easily spend a few hours there without ever stepping into any actual attraction.

As Ted said, AK is a park that people either really like or really don't. I just hope Disney doesn't continue to cave to the complainers and turn a wonderful experience into another amusement park. Unfortunately, that seems to be where things are heading.

Steve

 

[gillis95]

It is a very different creature compared to the other parks. It is something to be taken slower than the other parks. My 1st visit I hated it. The pathways were way too narrow and you could not orient yourself to where you were half the time. But I guess that's good jungle theming. We like TtbaB and the safari and Exploration trail. Dislike Dinosaur..way too dark and jerky..just throw me in closet and shake me around. Did not like Kali River..I was getting excited and waiting for the thrills to start getting better and we pulled into the unloading are..huh..wait..I thought we were just starting this ride..very short and low key if you're looking for an exciting ride. It's a good 1/2 day park for when you something not as exhausting before a night out to Cirque or PI.

 

[sandbar]

Disneysteve, I'm sorry if you thought I was complaining. I'm not. It was our first time there and like I said we didn't make it to the Asia area at all. The Festival of the Lion King show was down the week we were there. I do hear it's a great show and hope to see it someday. The safari was good, too. I would like to know what attractions you all liked so next time around we don't miss out. We may have just walked through too quickly like some of you have said and next time around just slow it down, but I respect all of your opinions or I wouldn't have asked.

 

[gshoemate]

Me and my 5 year old DD love AK. I think she likes it mostly because she is not big on the rides. It is in deed a park to slow down at. We love animals and could ride the safari over and over again because you will always see something differant. We love to head out to Refiki's planet watch and just relax and take time to pet the goats. Unfortunately when you were there you missed one of the parks biggest attractions due to refurbishment, The Festival of the Lion King. I have seen this show over 100 times (just in one year) and for this alone I keep going back to AK. If it's thrill rides your after you not going to find to much of that at AK (they are slowly catching up with the addition of Mt. Everest) but if your looking for a nice slow day walking trails and watching animals, then AK is the place to be.

 

[jann1033]

haven't been yet but am excited to go...however we are the type of people that still go to the zoo ( a good 1hr away) without our kids ( who are both adults anyway) and spend hours and hours there! It probably is a more "specialized " park and just like some poeple didn't like epcot till it "grew" on them, maybe that will happen here

 

[sarahj]

We like AK alot. FOTLK in fantastic, but it was probably closed for rehab while you were there. We love Mickey's Jammin Jungle Parade also. Dinosaur is our favorite ride there and we won't miss the safari. We also love to walk the trail and see the gorillas, etc. I guess it all depends on what your preferences are, but we don't miss AK when we are there.

 

[lsutigger2]

for those who may like AK as much as other parks, I would like to suggest you take one of the two backstage tours. Both the "Wild by Design" and "Backstage Safari"(?) are great and give you a real appreciation of the park. Makes you take your time and "stop and smell the roses". I believe that you have to be 16 yrs to go on the tours. Well worth the extra cost!! The guides (Paul was ours for both tours) are wonderful also.

 

[ASFCurly]

I love AK, it is not as ride intensive as the other parks maybe, but there are plenty of rides, lots of beautiful paths to go on, plenty of animals (not that remind you of a zoo) and some pretty great shows. I got there at opening the last time and stayed till closing and didn't get to see everything that I wanted to.

 

[nataliesdaddy]

I like it a great deal

 

[Alice28]

I liked AK, and look forward to going back. We only went for a half day in March and I feel like I missed quite a bit. We saw the safari, Pangani trails, Kali, dug in the dinosaur pit & saw FOTLK. I agree that FOTLK is top notch, as is the safari. I didn't LOVE it, but there are definitely more things I would like to see (Dinosaur, Tarzan and ITTBAB for starters) and I would like to soak in the ambiance a bit more.

 

[S. C.]

We probally will not go back to AK next year on our disney trip. We was there 2 yrs ago and liked some of the shows.....Went back this year thought we would give it another chance that maybe we had missed something and didn't like it any better then before.

We don't hate AK, we just don't like it enough to continue to go back.

 

[CindyAnn]

We also belong to that group of people who love AK. DH, DS (10), DD(7) and I think it's great. That says a lot coming from DD, because she normally makes a point of hating things that her brother likes, and he's seriously into animals. We arrive at AK at opening and leave 1/2 hour after closing and still have a few things that we were unable to tackle during the day. We must be moving at a pathetically slow pace! I would agree, however, with jann1033 who said that it's more of a specialized park, so if you're not excited by animals in general, I can see that it might be less interesting than the other parks.

We ideally spend 2 days each at Epcot and MK and 1 1/2 days each at MGM and AK in order to see most of the attractions. Every time I hear people calling AK a half day park, I think "OMG, what are those people missing?". I certainly don't mean to offend anyone on this thread, or on the DIS, but I guess it's just a case of different strokes. I could make any of the parks a 1/2 day park, by selecting just a few top attractions. I think, though, that if I stormed through MK and hit only Space Mountian, Buzz, Splash, Big Thunder and Haunted Mansion I would enjoy my morning, but I sure would have missed a lot!

 

[DznyDreams]

I can take it or leave it. I think we'll probably spend a 1/2 day there on our next trip, but no more.

I love ITTBAB, Dinosaur, and the Lion King show (only show I've seen in the park). I want to ride the Primevial Whirl when we visit again, and I'll repeat the aforementioned. However, we'll probably not return to many (if any) of the animal viewing/conservation sections of the park.

I will also mention that when we visited this park for the first time, we were accompanied by my parents. My mother (late 50's)has arthritis in her hips, and she found it much more difficult to get around inside this park than in any of the other 3 parks. The "rough terrain" put a strain on her joints.