In defense of Disney's Animal Kingdom

[topolino]

I know that many self-proclaimed Disney fans like to make DAK the butt of their jokes for one reason or another. I also know that many do this with tongue planted firmly in cheek, while others are more vehement about it. I'd like to just bring up a couple of points which would show my side of the debate, and to explain my stance that no Disney fan should dislike DAK for some of the reasons that I usually hear.

Keep in mind that I understand that everyone is entitled to their opinion, and that in the big scheme of things, whether one likes DAK or not is entirely up to their discretion. I just wanted to make a couple points and open up a friendly debate (key word = friendly) about the issue.

The main complaint I hear is that DAK lacks attractions, specifically thrilling ones. I feel, however, that the true Disney fan isn't drawn to attractions alone, but themeing, atmosphere and attention do detail. One could argue that in these latter categories, there is no better theme park than DAK. We are Disney nuts for many reasons, but one of which is that Disney offers certain qualities that other theme parks lack. Thrilling attractions is not one of the things that Disney offers better than other parks. I think we can all agree on this. Therefore, for a Disney fan to dislike DAK for it's lack of thrilling attractions seems contradictory.

Now, if a general theme park fan (one who isn't partial to Disney) makes those complaints, it's understandable. That person is in it for the thrill, and they don't care if they have to walk across concrete with no landscaping to get there. For a Disney fan to make that complaint however, perplexes me. In general, a Disney Parks fan is just that for the very reason that the parks offer more than just thrills. They are fans for the fact that Disney Parks offer the very qualities that are ever so present at DAK.

 

[ADP]

Thanks for starting this thread Andrew. I was reading a similar thread over on the Theme Parks board yesterday. Let me go on record by saying I love DAK. It is a very well done theme park and has a ton of potential. Someone in the thread I read yesterday mentioned the park had flow problems because of its design which I don't understand since the park layout follows the same layout of many other Disney parks....That being a hub and spoke design. I personally feel it flows well.

It seems over the past 15 to 20 years when a new theme park opens it starts somewhat small and builds upon itself over time. Case in point DHS, AK and even IOA at Universal opened with very limited attractions and are sort of building on themselves. New attractions are getting added over time and eventually they will become more mature and fully developed theme parks. With the amount of capital needed to design, build, and open a theme park today I understand why it has to be this way. I think we'd all prefer to walk into a fresh, new theme park and see 16 thrilling attractions ready to go, but unfortunately the economies of scale can't allow that to happen.

Right now I enjoy DAK for what it is. It's really more about nature than animals, although animals play a significant role in the parks theme. Here's to another 13 great years at DAK! Happy Birthday (tomorrow).

 

[darrengs]

My whole family enjoys Animal Kingdom. My only issue is that it is extremely hot especially if visiting in the summer, so for that reason alone we do not spend as much time there as the other parks.

 

[*NikkiBell*]

I have never really heard jokes about Animal Kingdom, but have heard people say that they didn't like it or it's a half day park. Personally, I fell into this mindset a few years ago, but everything changed once I took the Wild by Design tour. This experience completely changed my view of the park...so much so that it is now my favorite park. I learned so much about the hidden stories behind each area, Joe Rhode's work in the various lands, the inspiration behind certain decisions, etc. I truly love AK now and always make it a full day in my vacation.

 

[Cap.Steamboat Willie]

My whole family enjoys Animal Kingdom. My only issue is that it is extremely hot especially if visiting in the summer, so for that reason alone we do not spend as much time there as the other parks.

Totally agree with the HOT issue. I have gone to Disney during Easter and loved, LOVED going to all the parks with nice temperatures, especially Animal Kingdom.

 

[mainegal]

Agree!
I was wandering through Animal Kingdom last December and thinking, "I love this park!"

The click moment was noticing the footprints and bicycle tracks pressed into the pavement that tricked me into thinking I was walking on a dirt/mud road in Africa.

Attention to details!

 

[snowy76]

Thanks for starting this thread Andrew. I was reading a similar thread over on the Theme Parks board yesterday. Let me go on record by saying I love DAK. It is a very well done theme park and has a ton of potential. Someone in the thread I read yesterday mentioned the park had flow problems because of its design which I don't understand since the park layout follows the same layout of many other Disney parks....That being a hub and spoke design. I personally feel it flows well.

I think AK might be my favorite park after Epcot - I love the laid-back atmosphere and I think the shows are the best on property. We also have great memories of taking our oldest two there on their first trip (we stayed at AKL that trip so we were immersed in that themeing all the way). ITA with topolino's point about the naysayers and the thrill ride complaints.

That being said, I have to disagree with ADP's point. I think the major difference between AK and, let's say MK (it's the quintessential hub-and-spoke park) is that if I'm in Frontierland, I don't have to go back to the hub to get to Adventureland. There is a walkability around the park as well as through it. At AK the lands are really like islands; they're isolated.

I'm always wishing for a shortcut Africa to Camp Minnie Mickey; I often feel like a salmon swimming upstream against the crowds looking for the safari. Or to get from CMM to Dinoland - doubling back to Discovery Island. It's not quite the same as cutting across the hub in MK where every land sits basically adjacent to one another.

I'm sure the square footage of the park contributes to this. But just from the perspective of a commando-style park tourer, when I want to see certain attractions because my time is limited, I always feel like I'm running from land to land.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

We love DAK, too. The only real jokes I've heard about it were about the Kilimanjaro 500.

It was especially cool to run through DAK as part of the Wine and Dine Half marathon.

That being said, we're going in August this year, so we'll see if my perspective changes any.

 

[FireDancer]

I like AK but it is not my favorite park. I think how you view the park varies based on whether or not you view the animals as an attraction. Yes, if you only count the "rides" as attractions, specifically the thrill rides, the park can be done very quickly. If you do the trails, look at the animals, and incorporate the zoo aspects of the park into the ride aspects of the park I think it is a whole different park.

I will say though that Dino-Land should go. Not because it in itself is bad but it is just too carnival, IMO, for a Disney theme park. I think it lack originality and imagination.

 

[Reddy]

I pulled out a map of AK - it does have the center section of the wheel but the only sections that have the second walkway is ASIA & Dinoland

camp M&M, Oasis & Dinoland could use another walkway - it looks like it could be done. I wonder if we could get another "Land" bewteen Camp M&M & Africa - there seems to be a spot open there

It seems that when the parade is going - going from land to land is impossible

I plan 2 days for this park - we love it

 

[Cherinva]

I've read some of those posts as well....and I have to say that I really love AK because of the landscaping and beauty.....oh the other hand, I have to say that it's not my favorite park. I'm a MK gal, with EPCOT a close 2nd. IMHO, AK wasn't designed and built as a theme park. It's filled with wonderful animals and should be enjoyed as such. The rides are great, but that's not what I go there for. I agree that it is hot there, especially in August...but when we went during Spring Break, I really enjoyed it. The attention to detail in AK is wonderful.

 

[WaltD4Me]

I love Animal Kingdom too. I'm always telling people thinking about skipping it that they definitely should NOT skip it. Personally, I would go to AK just to see FOTLK and ride EE, but I also love all the detail and beauty of AK. I'm not a fan of Dinoland at all but other than that and the heat...(it is hotter at AK or maybe more humid) I'm always just as excited to go to AK as the other parks.

ETA: Even though I do love AK the park, I have no desire to stay at AKL. Not sure exactly what it is, but the resort does not appeal to me at all.

 

[myweegirls]

We're DAK fans, too. Our girls love animals and have really enjoyed the opportunities to see things they wouldn't normally see up close. The priority seating for Finding Nemo after a Tusker House lunch is great, too (and here's a big plug for that wonderful mini musical! I have a personal connection to it and love that it's been so well received.) We've also started exploring some of the lesser-known but really interesting things - last year, we stopped for shade and rest in a cultural center. It was a small open shed that was featuring Thailand that day. The girls talked with the cast members (native Thai) about Thailand and came away with neat little critters made from reeds.

Right up through last year, this was a one-day park for us. But in building our itinerary for next month's visit, we made it a two-day (okay, day and a half, probably) venture. It'll give us more time to meander and enjoy instead of rushing to make sure we cover it all.

XO
Liz

 

[lugnut33]

It is easily the most beautifully themed park in the WORLD!!

Definitely a park where you need to slow down and enjoy the little things. Look at the buildings, look at the light fixtures, and look at the plants. All is beautiful.

 

[NitroStitch]

Thank you for starting this thread! Animal Kingdom has replaced Epcot as my favorite park, having done that after I started spending some time at AK years ago. The style and decor and details throughout AK are incredible, and even after touring there for years, I still find new details I haven't noticed before. It's also a joy to take time and watch animals and take a more laid back pace. I think a lot of people aren't happy with the park because they want it to be all about thrill rides and it's not that kind of park. It's not supposed to be.

 

[Marty Joe]

The first couple of times I was at DAK, it did not sink in. DAK is a place you need to SLOW DOWN and look at the details. It does not help that I'm married to a park commando! It is a huge effort to stop and compose a picture. I will agree that there is a traffic flow issue - and - it has rained every time we have been there. It usually starts to rain when we are standing in line for Lion King.

 

[topolino]

OP here. Thanks to all for your responses. I agree with so much of what many of you had to say, especially comments that reitirated how important it is to slow down and soak up details at DAK. That and the interaction with nature is truly what the park is meant for, IMO, and what makes it great.

 

[topolino]

It seems over the past 15 to 20 years when a new theme park opens it starts somewhat small and builds upon itself over time. Case in point DHS, AK and even IOA at Universal opened with very limited attractions and are sort of building on themselves. New attractions are getting added over time and eventually they will become more mature and fully developed theme parks. With the amount of capital needed to design, build, and open a theme park today I understand why it has to be this way. I think we'd all prefer to walk into a fresh, new theme park and see 16 thrilling attractions ready to go, but unfortunately the economies of scale can't allow that to happen.

I agree with this completely. When DHS opened, it had something like 6 attractions. When DAK opened, it had an unfinished feel to it. I remember what DAK detractors used to say about DAK before EE, it was much worse than what they say now.

For us Disney fans, a park that lacks a huge number of attractions is not a real problem, because we understand that a great theme park isn't defined by attractions alone.

 

[topolino]

I will say though that Dino-Land should go. Not because it in itself is bad but it is just too carnival, IMO, for a Disney theme park. I think it lack originality and imagination.

I don't love Dinoland USA either, but one has to keep in mind that the carnival like feel, and seeming lack of themeing IS the themeing. Disney didn't just drop the ball and forget how to theme a land within one of its theme parks on that one occasion. It may not be Imagineerings shining moment, by any means, but the back story truly explains why it is how it is. Like it or not, it does remain true to the origninal vision, and it tells its back story well.

 

[Demosthenes]

While I do enjoy AK, it is my least favorite Disney park. I do think it is a great park, and fourth place amongst Disney parks is still lightyears ahead of other Orlando attractions in my book, but I do think the park lacks some things that would greatly improve the experience.

1. This place is Africa hot. Maybe that is theming executed to a new level of sophistication, but it is a problem. Until the enclosed the theater in the wild and the Lion King theater, the only places that offered a place to sit in air conditioning on the property were in Tusker House, Restaurantosaurus and the Rainforest Cafe. That was poor planning! Guests cook in this park, and they never get a break. Parents are almost forced to take their kids out of the park mid-day because their kiddos get hot and cranky. Even with the addition of the air conditioned theaters, there is little protection from the heat of the sun at the park. Add it up; you have Yak & Yeti, Rainforest Cafe, Restaurantosauraus, Dinosaur, Theater in the Wild, "It's Tough To Be A Bug", Pizzafari, Lion King and Tusker House that offer AC. That is 9 locations, 5 of which are restaurants, that give you a place to cool off. This is in the largest park on property. Compare that to DHS, the smallest park. There you have TOT, RNR, GMR, 50PT, H&V, BD, AI, SD & VLM all within a 5 minute walk of the main gate. In fact, the only attraction not in AC are the two stunt shows, the backlot tour and the HISTKMS playground. Now I recognize that being in the outdoors is inherit in a park about the Animal Kingdom, but creature comforts are part of a successful park, and AK does not do too well in that department.
2. Another problem with AK is that the park is more difficult to navigate than the other three parks. While it is a basic hub and spoke design, the difference is that this park is not connected by the outer ring allowing easy commutes from one land to another. Instead you find yourself swimming upstream to get to some parts of the park during part of the day. This would have been easy to overcome (though not cheap) by building habitat viewing trails between each of the lands connecting Dinoland to Asia to Africa to Camp Minnie Mickey. They are 2/3 of the way there, but they need to complete the circuit, and can I really be the only one who would like to bypass Discovery Island, and be able to go directly from Dinoland and Camp Minnie Mickey to the Oasis?
3. The lack of good sit-down dining is a problem that causes early exodus from this park on a daily basis. The only places in the park offering sit down dining are Tusker Huse and Yak and Yeti. Rainforest Cafe is located outside the park on your way to the parking lot (gee, I wonder why so many people leave for home after eating there?). Add to that the outdoor seating at Flame Tree and Yak & Yeti quick service, and you take what could and should be a time to recharge batteries, cool off and unwind, and turn it into part of a mid-day grind at e park. As a testament to how badly AK needs more sit down dining options, consider how difficult it is to get a dining reservation for Yak & Yeti, a restaurant that is routinely panned for being expensive and providing inconsistent quality; the reason it stays busy? People need a break. The park doesn't offer it.
4. Finally, the last missing piece for me to complete the AK and put it on a level equal to the other three parks is a high capacity e-ticket family attraction. MK has POTC and HM, Epcot has Spaceship Earth and Soarin,
DHS has TSM. In all of these parks, everyone wants to participate, and evyone can. There are no back, pregnancy or heart condition warnings for seeing these attractions. There are limited mobility restrictions, and for most of these, no height requirement. They hold large numbers of people, the whole family can ride together, they leave lasting impressions. AK has the Kilimanjaro 500, and while I love it, it is too rough for my mom and dad to ride; I know they aren't alone in that. Why not do a dark ride inspired by creatures of the past, the present and mythology? That is just my idea, but I'm sure the imagineers could come up with something.

Now, before I get flamed, ask yourself, would any of what I am suggesting take away from AK? Would it negatively impact the theme, the animals, or the story of the park? I don't think any of these suggestions would. I think it would just take a park that is already great, and turn it into the show-stopper it was meant to be.