Help me love AK

[jplbhs]

M planning our fourth trip to wdw as a family and every time we go, we are sort of left disappointed by AK. We love the safari and that's it! Ever year, I'm determined to make it work but we usually all just opt for the pool and run out of there. Maybe it's due to the fact we leave it for day 4 and by then we're just tried! I'm not sure! Lol! This year, we are going in Feb and we are starting off with Tusker House for breakfast... please guide me from there! We are a family of four, our kids are 7. I want to experience it for the wonderful place I'm sure it is to so many others!

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

We went on our first trip and loved Tusker House at lunch, the food options provide a nice variety from typical buffets at WDW. The Finding Nemo show was gorgeous and a must-see! Expedition Everest was DH's favorite ride. Next time we want to ride Dinosaur and catch Festival of the Lion King. It's a great park.

 

[MrInfinity]

M planning our fourth trip to wdw as a family and every time we go, we are sort of left disappointed by AK. We love the safari and that's it! Ever year, I'm determined to make it work but we usually all just opt for the pool and run out of there. Maybe it's due to the fact we leave it for day 4 and by then we're just tried! I'm not sure! Lol! This year, we are going in Feb and we are starting off with Tusker House for breakfast... please guide me from there! We are a family of four, our kids are 7. I want to experience it for the wonderful place I'm sure it is to so many others!

I guess it just depends what you're there for. If you're go-go-go, ride-ride-ride type, it's not for you. We love the AK. To us it's a nice break in the middle of an otherwise busy trip. It's usually our most refreshing day. Some ppl will say DW is not refreshing it's busy... but the AK is slow, relaxing, beautiful, and full of things to look at and enjoy. Think of it not as "why am I not doing more rides" but as a break from all the rides. It's just a really nice place to be. Take in the aura of the awesome theming. Do some of the wilderness explorer tasks. They make you not run past the birds and go "yep those are birds" but actually have to stop, look at the pictures, and try to identify them w your 7. They all do this. And the CMs who operate them are obviously trained at slowing down the anxious kids looking for the next ride and teaching them about birds, radios, bugs, or whatever. Love AK.

 

[gris gris]

We love everything about AK. You feel like you are in a different world. This is a full 2-day park for us. We go straight to Everest and ride it as many times as we can before the line gets to 20 minutes. This past trip was 5 and 6! Yak and Yeti is one of our favorite restaurants. Rafiki's Planet Watch is great - don't skip it. We were able to watch a Colobus Monkey in the middle of exploratory surgery and the surgeon was describing what he was doing while we watched. The Wilderness Explorer booklet is awesome - the kids go to 31 stations around AK and learn and earn badges just like Russell. Have fun!

 

[grossmansr]

I love the Festival of the Lion King show and I could also spend hours just watching the animals - especially the Tigers! Still, Animal Kingdom isn't my favorite park. But I do appreciate it as a break from the other parks and try to take it slow.

I'm really looking forward to the planned expansion there and I really hope it brings in more cool rides.

 

[swedie]

M planning our fourth trip to wdw as a family and every time we go, we are sort of left disappointed by AK. We love the safari and that's it! Ever year, I'm determined to make it work but we usually all just opt for the pool and run out of there. Maybe it's due to the fact we leave it for day 4 and by then we're just tried! I'm not sure! Lol! This year, we are going in Feb and we are starting off with Tusker House for breakfast... please guide me from there! We are a family of four, our kids are 7. I want to experience it for the wonderful place I'm sure it is to so many others!

-TamTam Drummers of Harambe - check schedule for times - near Safari, as the name says - drummers that dance and enjoy the
guests to get up and dance.
-Walking over to Asia - look for DeVine - again check schedule or ask a CM Devine is a woman outfitted to look like a kouza (sp?) vine - she really blends in with the scenery and unless there is already a crowd gathered around, she is VERY difficult to find! Your children at age 7 would probably enjoy watching her for a bit.
-Expedition Everest - will your children enjoy this? The theming in the queue is great!
-Maharajah Jungle Trek, also in Asia - again the theming is astounding, and you feel as though you are somewhere in Asia. The viewing areas of the tigers is great.
-It's Tough to be a Bug - Discovery Island - Even if you don't go in for the 3-D show - walk the paths around the tree and look for the carvings of all the different animals. Word of Warning - My husband threw his back out when he jolted as the bees stung the back of his seats. This may also be too intense for some children. In true Disney style, this is done extremely well.
-Festival of the Lion King - great show (this also is near the Safari).
-Flights of Wonder - very entertaining. We went only looking for a place to get off our feet for awhile, and we were glad we did. Your children may enjoy this.
-Dinoland - We find the atmosphere a bit carnivalish(?) with carnival type rides. However, your children might like to go on some of these.

The Explorers booklet sounds like it could also be a cool thing for your kids to do (although knowing that they will not be able to complete all of the tasks in one day, it will give you a reason to return!)

I wish they still had the parade - my favorite of all the parks! Perhaps it will return once Avatar is completed!

These are some of my favorite things that I look forward to during a visit to AK. To me, there are so many more that I just haven't had time to fully explore and devote myself to as yet. Your opinion and others may differ from mine, but it really is a park that you need to slow down to feel the atmospheres and the theming of the different areas.

I hope you find some love for AK - it well could be that you have been tired on your previous visits and AK does entail a lot of walking. For us it is totally worth it.

 

[IBLarsen]

I kind of feel the same as you, op...planning our trip for March, and I'm tempted to not schedule AK at all, but to use this day as a pool/break day. However, I do appreciate the detail of the architecture. We watched a segment on the Travel Channel about the building of Animal Kingdom, and the amount of detail they went into with the Africa theming, along with the layout and reasoning of the animal enclosures. It's very cool to watch if you can find it! (I think it was on Netflix for a bit).
I also LOVE the Lion King show. So I think for our trip, we will at least make it a half day, to see the few things we love. But following along here to see what else I may be missing that others love

 

[olwyngdh]

AK isn't a rush to ride things park, it is a stroll around, relax, and absorb it all park. There are rides, and they are great. The shows are fantastic. Conservation Station is a haven for kids interested in animals, especially if you can get there when there is a vet procedure going on. We haven't done wilderness explorers yet, but we did do the passport that they used to have. It is my favorite park and DD12's second favorite (Epcot is her favorite).

 

[Dr Gevil]

Everyone has already provided great tips and things to do at AK. I very much agree with the PP that said AK is a stop and smell the roses type of park - which I love about it.

Since you mentioned your kids were 7, I fully recommend doing the Wilderness Explorers activity. You go around the park finding stations and doing fun tasks to earn badges (stickers for your book). My girls loved doing this and all us of learned a lot from the CM's - some of the best CM interactions we've had at WDW. My daughter still talks about learning how to write her name in Thai that she learned at one of the stations in Asia.

Oh, and AK now sell Dole Whips that can be enhanced with either dark or coconut rum!

I know people complain about the Avatar expansion, but with this and the coming Rivers of Light night show, AK is really going to be a place to be.

 

[soniam]

As someone said, Flights of Wonder is good. There's also a really good tea shop (near Yak and Yeti, I think) that has frozen chai. Every time I think of AK, I think about this. AK is a great park to just wonder and look at the details, kind of like WS in Epcot. It's still only a half day park for us now, since we've been to all of the shows and the walk-throughs before.

We will be doing Tusker House for the first time this March, but at lunch. My son recently developed a love of Donald and Daisy, and that's the only place to see her.

 

[soniam]

Everyone has already provided great tips and things to do at AK. I very much agree with the PP that said AK is a stop and smell the roses type of park - which I love about it. Since you mentioned your kids were 7, I fully recommend doing the Wilderness Explorers activity. You go around the park finding stations and doing fun tasks to earn badges (stickers for your book). My girls loved doing this and all of learned a lot from the CM's - some of the best CM interactions we've had at WDW. My daughter still talks about learning how to write her name in Thai that she learned a one of the stations in Asia. Oh, and AK now sell Dole Whips that can be enhanced with either dark of coconut rum! I know people complain about the Avatar expansion, but with this and the coming Rivers of Light night show, AK is really going to be a place to be.

Where are the Dole Whips? I was looking for them in July. I got the impression that those were limited during F&W.

 

[Dr Gevil]

Where are the Dole Whips? I was looking for them in July. I got the impression that those were limited during F&W.

They now sell them at Tamu Tamu Refreshments in Africa - across from Tusker House/Dawa Bar. Just had one w/ coconut rum on November 9th!

 

[soniam]

They now sell them at Tamu Tamu Refreshments in Africa - across from Tusker House/Dawa Bar. Just had one w/ coconut rum on November 9th!

Ooooh! I am so going there Thanks

 

[hakepb]

7 is a great age to introduce a boy to his new, favorite WDW ride EE. (I'm not sure about girls)

 

[lustergirl]

I love AK and can totally skip HS. I love just watching the animals, especially the Tigers and Gorillas. FOTLK is a must for us as well Flights of Wonder. Next trip I will be eating lunch at Tusker House, my first time.

 

[Moonwolf]

I completely agree with what the others are saying. AK is a place to take your time and really enjoy everything around you. While there are fun rides they really aren't the centerpiece of the park, the animals are.

Spend time looking at the Tree of Life from all different angles and see how many animals you can find. Walk down the trail and explore every random path, you'll be surprised what you can find tucked away. My last trip I wandered down a path that lead to a dead end, turned around and realized there were kangaroos just hanging around in this hidden area.

Talking with the cast members posted around the exhibits is also really fun. In one exhibit that had couple of dozen birds in it we talked to the cast member and she informed us that only one of the birds was actually supposed to be there. The rest were wild birds that realized that was a good place to be.

 

[Ozzygirl]

AK used to be my least favorite park...until this year. It jumped from 4th to 2nd after the MK. I love the laid back feel, talking with the animal researchers, Flights of Wonder was wonderful. We saw a giant sea turtle getting and endoscopy and I touched a snake for the first time at Rafiki's Planet Everest and the Safari are winners, Dinosaur! is fun.

I have a crush on Russell so loved to see him and Dug

We went twice when we were in The World in October and am going back for a quick 5 day girl trip and will hit AK again and pass on going to HS.

 

[DVCkidsMOM]

If you haven't seen the Festival of the Lion King or Nemo shows, then you have missed the best entertainment AK (I would even argue, WDW) has to offer and it's no wonder you aren't thrilled with the park. Ditto what others are saying; but, seriously - GET to these shows!!!
We thought wilderness explorers was great fun and made a competition out of it. I am a Senior Wilderness Explorer, got every single badge/stamp/sticker - ha - take that DH! You probably need to have enjoyed the movie UP, though, for Wilderness Explorers to be a highlight...

 

[Sparkly]

We skipped AK for a couple of years, but really enjoyed our visit in Feb

We met Russell and Dug, went on the awesome animal trails (well worth it, one has a massive tank of fish and hippos!), enjoyed the Safari and the Finding Nemo show plus caught the parade.

The detailing and themeing is top notch.

 

[disneyholic family]

we ADORE AK.

the moment we set foot in the park, we're smiling.

For one thing, it's a gorgeous park. The landscaping is simply stunning!!!

but more than that, our two favorite live shows are there - Festival of the Lion King and Finding Nemo the Musical.
Those two shows are worth the price of admission to WDW!

and we also enjoy flights of wonder - including the preshow that often takes place in just outside the theater...

and then of course there's kilimanjaro safaris and dinosaur and the animal trails - all great..
(we can't ride expedition everest, but if you can, it's a great ride - i rode it once and it is...i just can't repeat the experience)...

oh and two or our favorite restaurants are there - Yak & Yeti and Tusker House...

did i leave anything out? and we also enjoy conservation station, but never have enough time to get there

anyway, it's possibly our favorite park....it's certainly the most beautiful!!
well, it's one of our 4 favorite parks anyway....