Is AK a "must do" if you have never been there?

[DisneyNDecember]

I would not miss Animal Kingdom, I always feel like this is a relaxing day & we always have lunch at Yak & Yeti, love that restaurant.

You don't have to feel like you need to do "commando" style, just enjoy the scenery, sounds, look around you, it is beautiful !!! It is a beautiful park & I love our Animal Kingdom day during our visits, would never pass it up !!!!

Enjoy !!!!

 

[Nancyg56]

I probably was not clear. I don't have to move anything to keep AK as our last day. That is how I planned it. If I wanted to make MK our last day, I'd have to swap some things out and change ADR's. I'm just trying to figure out if it's worth it.

Right now, I am looking at our last day as either AK or a day to repeat a previous park if necessary (got rained out of something, etc.)

Not enough coffee this morning for me LOL! Honestly, if I had planned AK to be the last park, and I have never visited there, I would keep it. I would also try to stay until the parade. The Holiday parade there is really one of the best, IMO, and one that you do not pay extra to see. The park is decorated, but that tree you see as you enter the park is absolutely stunning, with themed ornaments that are truly unique.

 

[nooneshome]

We use our AK day as a day of rest. We will hit the safari first thing then do EE and Dinosaur and then some shows. We are out of there after lunch and we head to the resort to relax. Later that night we will eat dinner somewhere offsite. We try to eat offsite at least once each trip.

That said on our three day trips we skip AK. But we haven't done a three day trip in a long time.

 

[khaleesi]

If you've never been there, then my philosophy is that it's a must-do because otherwise how will you know if you like it or not?

I think you should try to go

 

[princesslover]

Not enough coffee this morning for me LOL! Honestly, if I had planned AK to be the last park, and I have never visited there, I would keep it. I would also try to stay until the parade. The Holiday parade there is really one of the best, IMO, and one that you do not pay extra to see. The park is decorated, but that tree you see as you enter the park is absolutely stunning, with themed ornaments that are truly unique.

Not a problem. The tree sounds lovely. The more I think about it, it might be nice to wind down our vacation in a relaxing park after running around so much the other days.

 

[princesslover]

We use our AK day as a day of rest. We will hit the safari first thing then do EE and Dinosaur and then some shows. We are out of there after lunch and we head to the resort to relax. Later that night we will eat dinner somewhere offsite. We try to eat offsite at least once each trip.

That said on our three day trips we skip AK. But we haven't done a three day trip in a long time.

When I scheduled AK for our last day, my thought was that we would do it for half day or so, then relax back at the resort for a bit and "say goodbye" to the Wilderness lodge. Then we have 5:30 dinner ADR at Ohana. It just seemed like a nice, relaxing way to end our trip. I am talking myself right into keeping it "as is."

Right now, our last day at MK is the Christmas party earlier in the week. I think that is a better way to say goodbye to MK, personally. Fireworks, parade, etc.

 

[toomuchtv]

Both of our trips in the past have been 4 days with 1 day for each park. This time, we're going for a whole week, so have scheduled more than 1 day at each park, except for AK. That said, I wouldn't skip it altogether. I LOVE Everest and the Safari most of all. I think we did both 3 times last time we went. Of course, part of doing the Safari 3 times is that it's really hard to get a good picture of those cheetahs!!!

 

[joshstamp]

I love Animal Kingdom, I don't get all the criticism that it gets. It's quite unique compared to the other parks I really love the FoTLK, Expedition Everest, the safari ride, river rapids, and dinosaur is okay. I also love that show with the birds [Flights of Wonder?] I think there is a lot to do, we went there for two days when I went to WDW last year and weren't bored at all.

Completely agree, we would never dream of skipping animal kingdom. I can see the argument that it's a half day park, as it can be, but to miss it altogether I don't understand. The safari is the best by far in Florida and EE is awesome! Definitely worth going to!

 

[Nancyg56]

Completely agree, we would never dream of skipping animal kingdom. I can see the argument that it's a half day park, as it can be, but to miss it altogether I don't understand. The safari is the best by far in Florida and EE is awesome! Definitely worth going to!

You know, Disney does many things well, but one thing I believe that they excel at is transporting people to a faraway place. From the minute you cross into this park, you are not in Kansas anymore, and I love that! I think that is why my favorite resort is AKL; you open those dark heavy doors and cross into a cool mystical interior, and all of a sudden, Florida is nowhere to be found.
I think that is why I try not to skip AK, because my Disney vacation is an escape from reality, and while I skip back to my childhood in the MK, am dazzled by the "street fair" in Epcot, I am never so far from home as I am when I enter AK.

 

[DisneyAllyC]

Really the only thing that is a must do for me in AK is Expedition Everest. I mean the park is cool and all but it's not my favorite.

 

[sandbmisnfla]

My opinion is you should def go an see it. It offers much more then what you may think without actually going.

 

[joshstamp]

You know, Disney does many things well, but one thing I believe that they excel at is transporting people to a faraway place. From the minute you cross into this park, you are not in Kansas anymore, and I love that! I think that is why my favorite resort is AKL; you open those dark heavy doors and cross into a cool mystical interior, and all of a sudden, Florida is nowhere to be found.
I think that is why I try not to skip AK, because my Disney vacation is an escape from reality, and while I skip back to my childhood in the MK, am dazzled by the "street fair" in Epcot, I am never so far from home as I am when I enter AK.

Well said! There's definitely a big feeling of escaping reality when you're in any of the parks Another big point for us is, we've spent all the money to get there, how could we miss a park out haha

 

[catherines_mama]

100% depends on the person. I took a 1st timer and based on THAT 1st timer AK and MK were our must do's. she's an animal loving girly girl. And she had the most magical trip.

She was turning 7 and we went with, my DD who was turning 8. So very similar to your girls.

My family loves AK. If you haven't done it, I would hate for your girls to miss it. If you'll be back to Disney and you didn't enjoy AK, you can say you tried it and have a free day to do something else next time.

 

[bookgirl2632]

I love AK. I love the animal exhibits. I love the rides. The shows are fantastic. I would never skip it!