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

[TaylorsDad]

We spent 2 full days at AK on our last trip. I just can't comprehend how people see it as a half day park.

Definitely don't skip it

Just goes to show you everyone has different tastes. I also could skip AK altogether or just do EE, Dinosaur, and the safari and leave. My DW and DD enjoy the entire day there from opening to nearly closing. I on the other hand love DHS (so does DW and DD)and we make sure to plan 2 days there each trip just the same as MK, despite that many call it a half day park as well.

 

[kbelle8995]

The Majarajai Jungle Trek with the tigers and other animals.
I think it's a beautiful park but I can get quite humid and hot over there.

 

[bruhl1j]

"It's tough to be a bug" is our families favorite attraction. It is a must do. We had an 18 month old (DN) with us last trip. After my two DS got her to keep the glasses on, she was reaching out to catch the bugs flying around the audience. Too cute!

When our DS were under 6 yo, they could stay all day in the bone excavation area(not sure the name). We had to drag them out. If you have younger kids, it is a great place to sit and relax will the kids play. There are other areas targeted to the youngsters, too. For adults is more a 1/2 day place but kids love the rides and play areas.

Countdown to extinction is good, too. Still got the photo of my 4 yo hiding his head on the ride. Lots of shows, rides for all. And the food choices are numerous. We liked Yak&Yeti.

If time permits, go early and spend the day. Catch as many shows as you can. If you are hesitant, spend a morning then hop to another park. Remember it is hard to it all when it comes to Disney.

 

[jaykorf001]

"It's tough to be a bug" is our families favorite attraction. It is a must do. We had an 18 month old (DN) with us last trip. After my two DS got her to keep the glasses on, she was reaching out to catch the bugs flying around the audience. Too cute!

When our DS were under 6 yo, they could stay all day in the bone excavation area(not sure the name). We had to drag them out. If you have younger kids, it is a great place to sit and relax will the kids play. There are other areas targeted to the youngsters, too. For adults is more a 1/2 day place but kids love the rides and play areas.

Countdown to extinction is good, too. Still got the photo of my 4 yo hiding his head on the ride. Lots of shows, rides for all. And the food choices are numerous. We liked Yak&Yeti.

If time permits, go early and spend the day. Catch as many shows as you can. If you are hesitant, spend a morning then hop to another park. Remember it is hard to it all when it comes to Disney.

Totally agree. It's tough to be a bug was my husband and my absolute favorite. Hidden gem IMO.

 

[FirstTimeDisneyVisit]

we love this park ! and is always one of the things we look forward to doing !

 

[ZoZo]

HUGE AK fan, here! As with all things never done, give it a whirl. You may surprise yourself at how fantastic this park really is. Should you decide to go, and I highly recommend you do, please adjust your touring "speed" and really look around. There is a TON of stuff to see and do, and if you hustle your bustle through you'll miss some wickedly cool stuff. I know this park is not for everyone, and for some it's only a half day park (just like DHS is a 1/4 day park for us), most people get something good from AK. We tend to spend 2 1/2 days here - we have hoppers - and AK is one of our daily hop-to parks.

Me, too! AK is tied with MK as my favorite park. There's so much to see and do. I know there are folks who consider AK a half-day park (or skip it altogether) but I encourage you to give it a try. As this poster says, try to slow down and enjoy all of the interesting things about the park (be sure to look for "DeVine!" - ask a cast member where she will be). I think people miss out if they rush from headliner to headliner, skipping all of the cool stuff in between.

 

[amber_cntrygrl]

AK is my 2nd favorite park, behind MK! My whole family loves it. We could easily spend 2 days there if our trips were ever long enough!

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[Hollymom1229]

AK isn't a multi-day park for us, but it's not something we would skip either to give multiple days to another park. I would think your family could probably get a good feel for it in about 4 hours or so. DH and I are doing the Sunrise Safari this December and then plan to spend the rest of the day in AK. If we are lucky we will be back to our resort by 3 or 4, so a good 6-7 hours in the park. No kids for us (yet) but our favorite things here are Kiliminjaro Safaris, Dinosaur, Everest, ITTBAB, Maharajah Jungle Trek, Primeval Whirl, FOTLK, Flights of Wonder, Devine, and other small pop-up shows. We aren't big fans of Finding Nemo or Kali, but that's personal taste. It's a great park to meander your way through just enjoying stuff as you come upon it.

 

[TxRabbit]

As much as I love AK...

I think you should rest! LOL. IMO, every lengthy vacation deserves at least ONE day where you can sleep as long as you want...and have a relaxing, no pressure morning. I love Disney...but I think many will agree that Disney can be the kind of vacation where you feel like you need a vacation to recover from your vacation. There's a tendency to try to pack in the days with activity. There's so much to do and see! It's hard to find the limits.

If your family is more excited about visiting other parks on this visit...then I think you need to follow that. Doing what you really want to do is what vacation is all about! Save AK for a visit where you can get excited about visiting it.

We hadn't been back to AK for almost 7 years! But we were excited to go there and so we really enjoyed the park. AK is a leisurely park. Some of our best moments in the park have occurred when we were just enjoying the atmosphere and observing the animals. If you take the time to engage the CMs in conversation, you can learn so much about the nearby animals and atmosphere. What I love most about the park is the ability to pace myself and find enjoyment in the atmosphere and theming without having to wait in line and have my experience handed to me. But I also enjoy the shows and the rides. But you almost have to be in the mood for it, IMO, to really enjoy it.

 

[pepe of ohio]

We don't even consider this park in our plans and we've been doing WDW for many years and trips...

 

[RCharnay]

It was always a half day park for us until I went on a trip with my mom who is 80. We went and started walking around, talking to the cm's about the animals, watching the shows, just taking in all the beautiful plants and birds. At the end of the day, we left and thought we were off to other parks. But two days later, when I suggested we go to EPCOT again, mom asked to spend the day at AK. We went back and spent another 5 hours. I never realized how much was there to see, how many animals are there, special trails that lead away from the main drag. Very nice. We will still probably just do it for one day but I will definitely spend more time and see it all rather than run to the big rides. It has now moved ahead of DHS for third place.

 

[shana398]

I myself am not a zoo person or an animal lover, so I thought AK would not be my thing, but I love it! It's my second favorite park behind MK. For me it's MK, AK, EP and HS last.

For us it's a full-day park. I think the shows are some of the best of the parks, both of them, Finding Nemo and FOTLK. We also love It's Tough to Be a Bug. Your kids will love it! As another poster said, the Christmas parade is one of the best. It's my favorite parade. Yak & Yeti is a good restaurant for TS and the park has a couple of good QS places.

Of course, it's up to you guys, but I didn't think I would like it the first time I went, and I was wrong! Maybe you could go for part of the day on your HS day and just do Fantasmic that day?? Just an idea! Of course, it all depends on what your family likes!

 

[angierae]

Just goes to show you everyone has different tastes. I also could skip AK altogether or just do EE, Dinosaur, and the safari and leave. My DW and DD enjoy the entire day there from opening to nearly closing. I on the other hand love DHS (so does DW and DD)and we make sure to plan 2 days there each trip just the same as MK, despite that many call it a half day park as well.

I feel like I should start a club for DHS lovers. We're spending only two park days on our quick trip this fall - the halloween party, and a full day at DHS, open to close. I love DHS so much.

 

[mirage0306]

We love AK. Sure, you can fly through, do all the rides and maybe a show or two and you'll be done at 2 pm. No problem. But AK is a park meant to be savored...there is so much to see, the pangani trail and maharajah treks are both fantastic. it's a park to stop and look at things while you're walking, to go slowly, enjoy the atmosphere.

In my opinion, it's kind of like World Showcase, but with more rides. Just so much to take in. We love it.

 

[MonorailCentral]

While I usually hit AK on each trip, it is my least favorite park, and I wouldn't be terribly disappointed if I skipped it occasionally.

That said, is definitely worth a visit once (if not this time, maybe next time). There are assume fun attractions and shows, and you might find you really enjoy the park.

 

[ZoZo]

I myself am not a zoo person or an animal lover, so I thought AK would not be my thing, but I love it! It's my second favorite park behind MK. For me it's MK, AK, EP and HS last.

For us it's a full-day park. I think the shows are some of the best of the parks, both of them, Finding Nemo and FOTLK. We also love It's Tough to Be a Bug. Your kids will love it! As another poster said, the Christmas parade is one of the best. It's my favorite parade. Yak & Yeti is a good restaurant for TS and the park has a couple of good QS places.

Of course, it's up to you guys, but I didn't think I would like it the first time I went, and I was wrong! Maybe you could go for part of the day on your HS day and just do Fantasmic that day?? Just an idea! Of course, it all depends on what your family likes!

This is why I think everyone should give every park a try at least once. You'll definitely have your favorites, and not-so-favorites - but how will you know unless you give it a try?

 

[chimilady]

We spent 2 full days at AK on our last trip. I just can't comprehend how people see it as a half day park.

Definitely don't skip it

Me neither!!! The Lion King and Finding Nemo musical alone take up time! Not to mention a couple rides, sitting down to have lunch somewhere, doing the safari. It's our favorite park, and I don't consider ourselves Animal lovers by any stretch.

 

[corneredbycorn]

For us, Animal Kingdom is a half day park. If you plan it right, you can do nearly everything in that time frame. In May, my husband and I did almost everything and still managed to leave by noon. With a FP for the safari and Kali, it's no big deal. The other rides go through waves and you can easily hit them at 10 minutes or less throughout the day.

For our trip in September, we tentatively have it scheduled for our last morning there, but we will be skipping it if we don't feel we've gotten enough accomplished at the other parks.

We will consider giving it a full day once DD is older, but I can't imagine we would ever give it longer than that (and this is coming from someone who adores the animals).

 

[Nancyg56]

We will consider giving it a full day once DD is older, but I can't imagine we would ever give it longer than that (and this is coming from someone who adores the animals).

Half a day was spent with characters . My DGD was a character junkie, so we spent hours in every park stalking them, standing in the line, and then getting autographs. I know that the time is not where everyone likes to use in WDW parks, but for me, I miss those days.

 

[xipetotec]

We are planning our 2nd Disney trip this December. The first trip, we ended up cancelling our AK day while down there because we had rain on or DHS day and missed the Osborne lights. So we ended up doing another DHS day instead.

This time, I have AK planned for our last day. It's planned this way mostly to follow the crowd calendars. I've tried to move things around, but this is the only day that works. However, part of me wants to go back to MK for our last day, and for some reason, I am still feeling lukewarm about this park.

My daughters are 10 and 6 (turning 7 while there). They love dogs, cats etc. but are not really "into" exotic type animals so I am not sure if the theming there will really excite them. I am wondering if this is worth a park day for us.

I also have a potential to get a BOG reservation for this day (trying to coordinate today with another DIS member) so that plays into it as well.

Be honest with me. Will we regret never seeing AK? Is it worth it for our last day? I feel like I could go either way. Thanks for your input.

ETA: the only other option we have is to go there on the day of our MVMCP, and I am currently using that day as a "rest day" but potentially could visit AK that day?

For us it is. We all feel each park has its own look and feel and AK is no different. We love the exotic themeing, not to mention Dinosaur, Everest, Kilimanjaro and IF it's hop Kali River Rapids. Festival of the Lion King is also one of the best stage shows on property.