Finally gonna try Animal Kingdom and Downtown Disney

[dylansdad]

Still havent been to either, what are they like? What shouldnt we miss? Me, DW & DS4. Going in Oct and gonna try em Thurs a.m.

 

[grinningghost]

AK is a great park - it gets alot of bad press around here sometimes, but we love it. Everything is fun, although I'm not sure about "Dinosaur" with a 4 year old. It's a rough ride and the dinosaurs jump out at you. Prepare for alot of walking there, it's really spread out.

DD is great too. They have alot of fun shops and restaurants. It's a great place to spend a relaxing day or evening, away from the chaos of the parks.

And above all - enjoy it!

 

[MelanieC]

We love AK. Sometimes we spend 2 days there, but our last trip we only did one day. The Kilamajaro Safari is a lot of fun, and we usually do it twice in the morning. You usually don't see the same animals twice. My 5 year old loves Dinasaur. This was his first year that he was tall enough. He was a little scared at first, but wanted to ride it over and over after that.
The Lion King show is a must see. We love it.

I also like watching the bats. I noticed last year that they were really active during a certain part of the day. Now I can't remember when it was.

I think the biggest thing to remember about this park is that it is not a Zoo. If you come thinking you are going to a zoo you will be disappointed.

Melanie

 

[mickeymom629]

Definitely go to (or near) the McD's and let your child see all the Lego creations. He can play with Lego's and build cars to race.
Lots of fun shops and yummy places to grab snacks.

Animal Kingdom's safari ride, train ride to (at?) conservation station where there's a petting area with animals, a huge sand area in Dinoland and the Lion King show are just a few of the great things I'm sure you all will enjoy.

 

[RamseyTrio]

We really enjoy AK. The walking doesn't seem to be so bad since there's lots of stuff to look at along the way. Don't be fooled into thinking there will be lots of shade - although there are a TON of trees this park can really heat up!

Dinoland is a lot of fun for kids since there's a "boneyard" to dig around in and they have some fun carnival midway-type games. Kali River Rapids is a good way to cool off since most people get pretty wet on the ride. The safari is fun too. We saw the Lion King show for the first time a few weeks ago and loved it! They also have some nice areas near it to meet the characters. Oh and It's Tough To Be A Bug movie should be a blast for you guys too.

We get to AK as early as we can and leisurely stroll thru the park doing what we want to do. We're always ready to go back to the hotel by 3-ish.

Downtown Disney is a nice break from the parks. There's stuff to do for kids too - in the MarketPlace there's a train ride, lego play area, carousel. You see a lot of the same merchandise as in the parks. We usually do this on the morning that we're leaving or on a waterpark day. Pleasure Island is fun but you gotta like the "club" scene and it's obviously not good for the kids.

Have fun!