Help with AK touring plan, please?

[Stacy's a freak]

I have been to WDW several times, but only once (in 2003) was I at the AK. At that time, I was told that it was a 1/2 day park. I went and I saw very little (only the Safari, It's Tough to Be A Bug, and barely walked through the Pangani Trail). This year, I want to make a real effort to experience AK and I was hoping for some feedback on my touring plan. Please give me any tips, suggestions and help that you can. Keep in mind that I'm a solo with no physical challenges - a/k/a a Park Commando.

Date: Wed. 11/30 (after a late night at MVMCP)

-Catch the earliest bus possible from POP to AK.

-Take Bus to AKL for breakfast at Boma. My ADR is at 9:30, but I'm hoping to get there sooner and I hope to be seated sooner, but I didn't want to plan an ADR too early since I have to bus my way there.

-Wander briefly around AKL to see holiday decorations.

-Grab bus back to AK.

-Go to Dinoland and get a FP for Dinosaur (and ride it if the line is relatively short). It sounds like I will love this, so ride again or come back later in the day.

-Go to Camp Minnie Mickey and see Festival of the Lion King.

-See/get pictures with characters.

-wander through Discover Island (probably skip of The Bugs since I've seen it already and was just OK with it).

-wander to Africa and look around. I'll skip the Safari since I've done it and it seems to be a big ticket item (hence taking up too much time).

-wander towards Asia and see Flights of Wonder.

-wander to Asia and see the Jungle Treck.

-probably skip Kali unless I'm dying of the heat (I would probably love this ride, but getting soaked STINKS when you can't change right away).

-wander towards Dinoland and see the building of Expedition Everest.

-See Tarzan Rocks (maybe)

-Do Dinosaur again?

-Catch the 3:45 parade.

- Head over to Epcot in time for 7:00 Chefs de France ADR.

Here are the big questions...

Will I be able to get all of this done?

Will I even have time to go back to POP and change (allowing me to do Kali)?

Am I missing anything essential?

Thanks in advance to everyone for your suggestions.

 

[Robo]

I would never ever visit DAK and NOT go on the Safari.

Each and every time its different (and I've been on at least 40 trips).

And by different, I mean which animals are "out" (seen) or closer to the vehicle (we got CHARGED full-speed, by a Rhino a couple of times ago... the CM even seemed relieved when the snarling beast veered-off at the last possible second.)

Lions stretch and roar on certain trips and on others they are barely visible.

We love it and do it first thing at opening and then later (with FP).
But if this is of little interest to you, don't bother.

One thing about riding Dinosaur earlier and returning later... be sure and get a FP during your first visit and HANG ON TO IT for later that day.
Even if you arrive hours after the "end time" listed, virtually always you will be allowed to board in the fast-pass lane.

 

[tjmouse]

I agree with Robo, don't skip Safari. It is best to start in Dinoland as it is all but empty in the morning. If you have to FP Safari, do the Panangi Trail and Discovery Island while waiting for your FP to become valid, then go back to Safari.

 

[Terri C]

I would try to squeeze in lunch at Tusker House. IMO the best counter service in WDW If the line for safari isn't too long I would go for it. It's different everytime.

Have fun!

Terri

:thewave:

 

[SWVA BGSU Fan]

I saw Tarzan Rocks last week and liked it much better than I thought I would. Try to see it if you can. If you liked the music in Tarzan, you'll love the show.

 

[Stacy's a freak]

Thank you for the Safari outcry! The first and only time I went on it, the animals were scarce and the poacher theme turned me right off. I would much rather have a guided ride with some off-the-cuff information about the animals that we see. This is the reason that I thought I would skip it ... well, that and the fact that I'm afraid of not finishing my plan before the parade starts.

Is there anyone out there that can tell me if I have a touring plan that is too agressive, time wise? I'm afraid that I might not get to the park until about 11 (with a 9:30 breakfast and some AKL viewing time).

Keep the suggestions coming! THANKS!

 

[Stacy's a freak]

Oh Tusker House! If I'm hungry, I will definitely check it out. Although, I've heard that there is a great fruit & cheese snack at the Harambe Fruit Market?

 

[JenniferW]

I wouldn't skip Safari and you can get a fastpass so get one before a show, it doens't take that long. Did you want to go on Primevil Whirl?, it's a bit jerky, but unlike any ride I've ever been on.

I would also check out the Boneyard just for the theming.

Jenn

 

[JenniferW]

Ok, I am nosy... but do you have to travel all the way to Epcot for dinner that night or are you planning on doing other things there? If you changed and had dinner at Boma's you could see AKL at night and also use their free night vision goggles to see the animals which I thought was kinda cool. I also think the dinner menu is more unique than the breakfast, plus you can sleep in more if you like since you will have been up late the night before.

Just an idea...

Jenn

 

[Stacy's a freak]

Ok, I am nosy... but do you have to travel all the way to Epcot for dinner that night or are you planning on doing other things there? If you changed and had dinner at Boma's you could see AKL at night and also use their free night vision goggles to see the animals which I thought was kinda cool. I also think the dinner menu is more unique than the breakfast, plus you can sleep in more if you like since you will have been up late the night before.

Just an idea...

Jenn

Thanks for the idea, but I'm afraid that it just won't work in my weekly plan I have yet to see Illuminations (stupid of me, I know) and this is the only night that I don't have something else planned. 5 days just isn't enough!!

After looking at the menu online, I'm also afraid that my picky eating habits won't work for me at Boma for dinner


Editted to say... After reading your post again, I'm definitely going to give this more thought! I'm afraid that I'm not spending enough time in EPCOT, but I'm going to look at my plan again to see if I can tweek it. Thank you!!

 

[POB14]

Let me add to the chorus: AK without the Safari is like a day without sunshine, chicken without biscuits, pizza without cheese, a fine romance with no kisses . . . choose your metaphor, it just ain't right.

Having said that, though, if you're not getting there until 11, the animals might be scarce again, and you'll end up wondering what we're all raving about. The Safari is best experienced first thing in the morning when more animals are awake. Some have had good experiences later, too; just warning you. So it may not be SUCH a bad idea to skip it this time.

What IS a bad idea is going to the character trails right after the Lion King show. The LK theatre holds, what, 600 people? And what else is there to do in Camp Minnie-Mickey? Right, only the trails and Pocohontas. When LK lets out, 100 poor suckers go see Pocohontas, and the rest go . . . where? Yup, right where you want to go.

What we did was, time it so we got there DURING the previous LK show. Saw Minnie, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and the two Brother Bear bears, with no wait at all, and saw LK (great show, by the way) after.

 

[Otter49]

Ditto to every remark concerning KS. We've safaried probably around 100 times and it's a diff ride every time.

You're going to be here during a cooler time of year and the animals tend to be much more active.

During our first cool spell a couple of weeks back, we saw things we'd not seen before - black rhinos playing and charging each other (driver had never seen that either), giraffes trotting across the savana, the lions being playful, and the cheetahs pacing and drooling over the scimitar horned oryx just across the ditch.

One of our favorite things to do is get to the Jungle Trek after 4:30. The door has been opened between the two tiger habitats and five of the six girls are together and tend to get pretty playful a lot of the time.

 

[Straitlover]

If I were you, I would make myself get up early that morning. Find out if there is an early bus to MK for the character breakfast. If there is and they will let you on, you could bus to MK and transfer to the AKL bus. Now if there is an early bus to AK for breakfast, even better. Then, once you get to AKL, see if they will let you in early for your Boma ADR (might since you're solo). if they won't, do your looking around then. Anyway, the idea is to do as much as you can before your breakfast so you can head right over to AK after eating.

Oh, and take a poncho w/ you if you wnat to ride Kali. There will be rude people in line giving you a hard time about wearing it, but they just need to get over it. Happened to me. I would have told them how rude they were w/ their comments, but then that would make me rude to them . Anyway, we did not get wet and had just as much fun on the ride!

As far as the shows, I would definitely do FOTLK and only do any of the others (FOW, Pocahontas, Tarzan) if I had time left after doing the stuff I really wanted to do. I enjoyed Tarzan, but if you're interested more in animals, I would skip it.

 

[Stacy's a freak]

What IS a bad idea is going to the character trails right after the Lion King show. The LK theatre holds, what, 600 people? And what else is there to do in Camp Minnie-Mickey? Right, only the trails and Pocohontas. When LK lets out, 100 poor suckers go see Pocohontas, and the rest go . . . where? Yup, right where you want to go.

What we did was, time it so we got there DURING the previous LK show. Saw Minnie, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and the two Brother Bear bears, with no wait at all, and saw LK (great show, by the way) after.

Excellent common sense here and I NEVER thought about that! Great tip - thank you

 

[Stacy's a freak]

If I were you, I would make myself get up early that morning. Find out if there is an early bus to MK for the character breakfast. If there is and they will let you on, you could bus to MK and transfer to the AKL bus. Now if there is an early bus to AK for breakfast, even better. Then, once you get to AKL, see if they will let you in early for your Boma ADR (might since you're solo). if they won't, do your looking around then. Anyway, the idea is to do as much as you can before your breakfast so you can head right over to AK after eating.

I think I will heed this advice about getting to BOMA (or look at the Lodge) as early as possible so as to not waste too much of the morning.

Oh, and take a poncho w/ you if you wnat to ride Kali. There will be rude people in line giving you a hard time about wearing it, but they just need to get over it. Happened to me. I would have told them how rude they were w/ their comments, but then that would make me rude to them . Anyway, we did not get wet and had just as much fun on the ride!

I also heard someone say that using large ziplock bags over my feet might work to keep my sneaks from getting all wet and squishy. It sounds like it would be worth it to try. I would hate to have squishy feet for the day.

 

[POB14]

Excellent common sense here and I NEVER thought about that! Great tip - thank you

You're welcome -- believe me, we thought long and hard about it -- DD4 is all about Minnie Mouse and we HAD to see her early on or there would be heck to pay!

 

[LiteBrite]

I also heard someone say that using large ziplock bags over my feet might work to keep my sneaks from getting all wet and squishy. It sounds like it would be worth it to try. I would hate to have squishy feet for the day.

I hate wet sneakers so much that I don't think the following advice is too extreme - take a backpack with you and put some flip-flops in it. Change into them before you get in line for Kali, and put your sneaks and socks in the backpack. While you're on the ride, you can put the backpack in the container in the middle of the raft to keep it dry.

If you don't want to do that, then at least keep your feet up on the little foot bar in the middle of the raft - that will keep them out of the puddles on the floor.

 

[Stacy's a freak]

I hate wet sneakers so much that I don't think the following advice is too extreme - take a backpack with you and put some flip-flops in it. Change into them before you get in line for Kali, and put your sneaks and socks in the backpack. While you're on the ride, you can put the backpack in the container in the middle of the raft to keep it dry.

If you don't want to do that, then at least keep your feet up on the little foot bar in the middle of the raft - that will keep them out of the puddles on the floor.

I think that wet feet is my biggest fear for that ride. Clothes generally dry fairly quickly, but sneakers take forever. And I don't have more than one GOOD pair, so I would hate to have to wear something else until they dry out.