I'll admit it, I didn't like AK in Jan 02 ....should I give it another try ..and why?

[Spoisal]

When my family went to AK in Jan 2002, I didn't enjoy it. But there were things working against us - my parents were with us (which is sometimes GREAT, this time not ). Also, My husband and I got SOAKED on Kali River Rapids ...yes, I know, we are dumb.... but we had to buy new shirts & shorts tht didn't fit properly & I was just miserable all day. We took a family trip in January 2003 & avoided AK completely.

Well, my husband & I are doing an adults only trip May 16-20. Should we give AK another try? Give me some reasons to check it out - also, what is a good day to go (fri afternoon,sat,sun, or mon)?

At this point, AK is not on my itinerary at all - should I just leave it off?

 

[addicted_to_WDW]

I wasn't blown away by AK my first time either. That said, I like it more every time we go, and our favorite day of our last trip was the one spent at AK. We schedule AK after several days of other parks. It's a nice place to go to be casual and slow. It's really a gorgeous park. Also, Festival of the Lion King is my favorite show at WDW and I'd hate to miss it.

 

[Poohbear123]

Go very early, as soon as the Park opens, and stay till about 12 noon, when it gets HOT! Than, go back around 3 to catch the parade and maybe ride the Safari ride again!

 

[Gaiusrex]

If you get there early, this is THE place to meet characters. We got there 30min after the park opened and meandered down to Camp Mickey. Mickey, Minney, Goofy, and Daisy were just milling around looking at each other. We walked right up and had a ball with all 4 charaters.

The counter service restaurants are also really good.

I don't like to spend a lot of time there myself, because we have really good zoos near me, and I don't need the drama and buildup to see an elephant for 30 seconds. Also, I'm not a fan of that Lion King show. I always refer to it as "20 minutes of my life I'll never get back" . Not my cup of tea.

 

[kdibattista]

I agree with Poohbear - you definitely have to go in the morning. It does get rather hot in the afternoon. I LOVE AK and would hope you would give it another try.

 

[Chess]

My DH and I love it. Of course we love animals and zoos so we spend a lot of time walking the paths looking at the animals. We are going the Friday you all arrive as it is early entry day and we like to do the safari ride first thing in the morning while the animals are moving. Bugs Life is good and while standing in line you need to check out the tree of life and see how many animals you can find carved into it. I love the Lion King show while my husband loves Tarzan Rocks. We like to do Dinosaur but I can take or leave Kali River rapids depending on the weather. It is too short compared to others like it. Many people say it is a half day park but if you take your time and enjoy what it has to offer (animals and scenery) instead of just rides/attractions I find it to be a full day park or at least 9-5.

By the way Firday night is the night I'm planning to lounge in the hammocks at CBR after a relaxing day at AK and probably dinner at Boma's.

Have fun.

 

[vicb]

AK lovers please don't flame me but.... Spoisal, my family felt the same way on our first trip, tried it again and still didn't care for it! As a matter of fact we were mad we wasted 2/3 of a day again!

First time was when it just opened, Asia not yet opened, and it was MLK day. To say the park was crowded would be a gross understatement. It was a battle to get on anything or get anything to eat!

Second time it rained! We felt like part of a herd moving from one indoor attraction to another.

Aside from those issues we just didn't find the attractions to be as appealing to us as the other parks. It reminded us more of going to a zoo but without as many animals. It is beautiful and different though so I always enourage people to go atleast once but we won't go again.

JMHO!

 

[Spoisal]

Chess - thanks ...we will think about going to AK some more. Friday night we are going to the California Grill (1st time) for some Sushi and other yummy things. I am hoping that some MK fireworks are added for Friday night while we are at CG!

 

[chessie]

I love AK and I would never plan a trip to Disney without going there. My absolute favorite attraction in all of Disney is the Festival of the Lion King show. Tears stream down my face every time I see it.

Sometime when things happen to put a damper on your enjoyment , you might have a tendency to transfer those feeling into the thought that it was the park that you didn't enjoy. Give it another try. We generally break up our days and only spend a half a day in any one park and then transfer to another park. You could t

 

[chessie]

I love AK and I would never plan a trip to Disney without going there. My absolute favorite attraction in all of Disney is the Festival of the Lion King show. Tears stream down my face every time I see it.

Sometime when things happen to put a damper on your enjoyment , you might have a tendency to transfer those feeling into the thought that it was the park that you didn't enjoy. Give it another try. We generally break up our days and only spend a half a day in any one park and then transfer to another park. You could try this and if you find you don't enjoy it just replace it with another park on the second time it is in your schedule.

Chessie

 

[InstImpres]

We are on the list of not big fans the first time but tried again last trip and had a good time. The shows are amazing. I could spend the day watching Tarzan Rocks every showing. We did the Rapids twice in a row with ponchos and did still get wet but loved it. We also made som very happy people giving them our ponchos on the way out. We only did shows, rapids and tough to be a bug this trip. Also, we did a picnic lunch on one of the old boat docks..it was great. I will plan a little more time there next trip.

 

[addicted_to_WDW]

Originally posted by chessie
My absolute favorite attraction in all of Disney is the Festival of the Lion King show. Tears stream down my face every time I see it.

You and I both. In fact, I start to cry every time I hear the beginning of Circle of Life. Yep, I'm sappy.

 

[grinningghost]

AK is such a wonderful park. It's not a thrill-a-minute park, and you need to go with the attitude that you're going to take it slow and explore a little. We hurried to do all the major attractions, ate at Pizzafari (one of my favorite WDW eateries), then just sort of wandered around. The wandering was the best part. We saw all sorts of cool animals - especially loved the screaming monkey. It's also a park with limitless photo ops. The scenery is incredible. Go slow and savor it - you'll find it's much better that way.

 

[Harambe]

I love AK - especailly walking over the bridge into Africa, and Harambe. Snag a spot at the Dawar Bar and watch the street entertainment, then shop in the stores. They have great adult type clothing, with Animal Kingdom logos rather than all the Mickey clothing.

Walk slowly through the Pangani Forest trail and the Maharaja Tiger Trek, look up for cool bird sightings. Do the Rainforest booth at Conservaton Station.

On your way out, do "It's Tough to be a Bug" for a laugh!

I could spend all day here, but a lot of folks just do a morning. Give it one more chance!

 

[Memph1s]

We did not like it the first time either. It is just so different from the other parks. But we go almost every trip now. We go to WDW about twice a month but if I only went once or twice a year we would never miss going to AK. You do need to explore and not rush from ride to ride. If rides are all your interested in then maybe you can skip AK but we really love going now.

 

[PatriciaH]

I love Animal Kingdom too but I am an animal nut DH and I have a pet-sitting business and really love to be around animals. I would never plan a WDW trip without visiting AK either. I could spend all day just walking the 2 trails and watching the animals. We stayed at AKL concierge in March just so we could do the Sunrise Safari. I was excited to hear about the new coaster they have planned and we would love to see them add another section theamed to Australia or South America.

 

[webmomom]

We too are also fans of the Ak. I tell everyone to slow down when you go there. It is not a park to run from one attraction to another. You need to slow down and look at everything. There is so much to see and do there. I takes us a day and half to see and do it all. My daughter and sil and grand children (ages 4 and 6) did not care for the park. They were the runners. They came with us on our vacation and I told them we were going to the AK and they said alright. I slowed them down and now they love it. They are also animals lovers, but from running from one thing to another never saw all of the animals. In fact on our last day we gave the children the choice of where to go. Either MK or AK and they choose the AK. The children really loved the Conservation Station and the game you can do around the park for children.

 

[puffkin]

The Animal Kingdom is wonderful, IMHO it is Disney's best themed park. If you slow down and don't run from attraction to attraction, you will actually notice AK's biggest attraction, the ANIMALS. They are everywhere throughout the park, you just have to look for them.

That being said, the AK gets HOT in May. I would plan two mornings there. Get out of the park before noon. Our first morning, we usually join the herd and race to the Safari to grab fast passes. Then we walk the Pagani Exploration trail unitl our FP time starts. This is the best time to do this trail because it is uncrowded. The second morning, we head towards Dinoland and Dinorama. This side of the park is virtually empty for a good 1 1/2 hours. You can finish this whole side pretty quickly, and then slow down to walk the Maharaja Jungle Trek. Also, the Flights of Wonder show is really good, and it doesn't get real crowded.

Please give AK one more shot. Make sure though that you go in the morning on your May trip!

 

[ragu]

The first time I went to AK I didn't realy care for it. It didn't seem to have the MAGIC that the Magic Kingdom park does. But I went again last November and loved it. Festival of the Lion King was awsome. I skipped Kali because I don't like to get my feet wet. I had a magical day and can't wait to go back! Give it one more shot!!!

 

[Jillpie]

One major reason to go to AK:

FESTIVAL OF THE LION KING SHOW!!!!

It is worth the price of admission alone. Go see it, it is absolutely fantastic.