If we've never been to Animal Kingdom do you recommend setting aside all day?

[EEyorelover22]

I didn't read all the suggestions, but don't miss the Lion King Show and the parade. They are both very good.

 

[di wadd]

i agree that it is the hottest park, but in my opinion well worth a full day on first trip, we have just got back from 3 weeks at wdw. we did it our first week and thought it was fantasic much slower pace than the other parks, because it usually closes earlier than the other parks we planed to go on from there to magic kindom for wishes, this worked really well, the shows are brilliant and the safari is ace, my 14 year old son who wasn't keen on going (roller coaster mad !!!) really enjoyed this park, saying it made a nice change from the hustle and bustle of the other parks, my advice would be arrive early,and just go with the flow.

 

[di wadd]

forgot to mention A/K is a great place to meet the characters in camp mickey , we basicly walked straight up to them and the cms were more than pleased to take family photos with our camera.and also the cms around the park are full of interesting info about the animals, if you take the time to ask.

 

[bethbuchall]

On our last trip we spent one entire day open to close and another half day at AK, and the half day was a longer half day than I had planned. We still didn't see everything! My kids refused to go to the Pocohontas show, since they didn't like it when we went before. We didn't go to the Tarzan Rocks show either. Dinosaur was closed when we were there, too.

We decided that the days that we went, the safari was much better just before closing that it was during the extra morning hour. Another plus is that with so many people considering AK a half day park, there was no wait for the safari at the end of the day (May 2004)...we went 4 times in a row, and there were animals everywhere.

Beth

 

[HappyLawyer]

everyone on here is correct, when we did none of the shows or rides, only the safari it was a half day park, but this time we did shows like lion king, and bugs life attraction i was suprised because we were not ready to leave yet, but we were splitting the day with mgm, it really depends on you and what you like, for example i never go to epcot cuz it is not our family's thing. check out the park and see what you like

 

[DisneyAddict_M]

I was there for 6 hours last year and didn't even get to see all the shows (1 reason I'm going back this year! lol). We just stopped and smelled the roses, so to speak. It really depends on you.

 

[SeeDisney]

Well, we were there in January for our very first time and I decided to make it just a half day. We opened it and stayed till 1:00 p.m. and then head over to Epcot.

I think next time we'll make it a full day and do lunch at Rainforest Cafe.

 

[marriedmarylander]

Thanks everyone. There is a lot we want to do since we haven't been.

Safari (a must of course)
Dinosaur
Conservation Station
Exploration Trail
Lion King
Flights of Wonder
The Rapids Ride
Tough to be a Bug (it's a 3-d cartoonish thing right?)

Plus if I like safari enough I might go twice

I suppose this will take at least until mid-afternoon huh?

Parade isn't important but if we happen to be there we'll watch.

A friend told me to skip Tarzan show so I guess we won't bother with it.

 

[marriedmarylander]

On our last trip we spent one entire day open to close and another half day at AK, and the half day was a longer half day than I had planned. We still didn't see everything! My kids refused to go to the Pocohontas show, since they didn't like it when we went before. We didn't go to the Tarzan Rocks show either. Dinosaur was closed when we were there, too.

We decided that the days that we went, the safari was much better just before closing that it was during the extra morning hour. Another plus is that with so many people considering AK a half day park, there was no wait for the safari at the end of the day (May 2004)...we went 4 times in a row, and there were animals everywhere.

Beth

I'm glad to hear about animals out in the late afternoon.
DH swears we have to go early in the morning for the safari which is fine, but I think I want to try it 2-3 times at different times of the day. I guess we will make a full day out of it.

 

[DizBelle]

For a first time visitor, if you want to see it all at a leisurely pace, plan to go from open to close (or near closing).

 

[meandthree]

Did your friend say why to skip Tarzan? My husband and I were going to try and see it but won't if people say it isn't good.

 

[marriedmarylander]

Did your friend say why to skip Tarzan? My husband and I were going to try and see it but won't if people say it isn't good.

She said it was horrible.
I don't know though. We will probably have time and might check it out anyhow to see for ourselves.

 

[meandthree]

It is so funny because everyone has their own opinion about what you will like. We will probably watch it just to see for ourselves. Our first trip was last March and we got soooo much advice. In the end we had to decide for ourselves and now we are excited to go back since we are now seasoned Disney Fans.

 

[DavidNYC]

I'll side with those who say it's a half to 3/4 day. The biggest things that might determine how much time is what shows do you want to see. If you see Tarzan and Lion King and Flights of Wonder (all of which I like but I will rarely go to all three in one trip) you can easily spend the full day especially if you take your time through the walking parts of the park and head over the conservation station. I still think plan on half a day to see the highlights and you can always go back for a couple hours on another day.

 

[crazyj4488]

On my first visit, I was really excited about the new park and really took my time. I still ran out of things to do and saw the entire park all before 2 PM rolled around. I still think it's the most gorgeous of all the parks...there just needs to be more to it. I don't, however, have kids so I didn't have to wait around while they crawled through playgrounds and I didn't ride the junky carnival rides in Dinoland.

 

[LibertyLover]

Unless you want to go to all the shows at AKL I honestly don't think you need a whole day. Don't get me wrong - I really like AKL, but I find that after 3 or 4 hours there, I'm done, stick a fork in me. And now with the DD2 there are so many things DH and I have to go on seperately - Dinosaur, Kali River Rapids, Primeval Whirl and Expedition Everest when it opens. I agree - go early in the morning because of the heat. And spend the afternoon at a waterpark.

 

[mowsluver]

We have never been to WDW (actually, I was there about 20 years ago when there was only the MK!) and are thinking due to a VERY tight budget, of not getting park hopper tickets. I was wondering about AK and if it was worth a full or at least 3/4 day....we want to see the shows/parades but not let the kids get so bored that they begin whining. We will have 5 day tickets so after doing all 4 parks, we will decide which one to go to for our last day.
We will be doing MNSSHP so that will give us a bit of extra time in MK.

 

[goofy4tink]

We do AK on every trip. In Nov we actually saw the afternoon parade!! That was a first for us. We have always been out of the park by 1. I think you get different perspectives depending on the time of day you visit. Early morning is nice since it's still on the cooler side if you visit during the hot months. It gets so hot because it is very spread out and the breezes just don't flow in there!!! There also are not nearly as many spots with a/c that you can duck into to cool off for a bit.

I think that on our trip in June we will go later in the day since it's open so late. We have PS at Boma one night, so that might be a good day to stay until closing. We have never done Conservation Station and my dh has never done any of the 'walks'. Maybe this time around. But we do really enjoy AK.

As far as Tarzan Rocks goes....it is not a family favorite. I'm not sure why either. But we love Legend of the Lion King. We see that one almost every trip. I can't give you a reason why we like one so much and the other is a 'don't really care'. Different strokes I guess.

 

[wdwpjs]

Tarzan Rocks is one of my families favorite shows. It is very loud with a live band. There is rollerblading by the "monkeys" who interact with the audience. There is also some of the best "real" dancing in this show. The choreography is very good. My dd is 13 and is a competitive dancer and loves this show more than the Lion King. I think you will be surprised when you get there at how much fun Animal KIngdom can be!!!! Noticing all the small stuff makes the park more enjoyable. HAVE FUN!!!!!!!

 

[meandthree]

See MarriedMaryLander everyone is different. Some love it, some don't really care and some don't like it at all. The great thing about WDW is you get to figure it all out. You will have a blast.