Is AK backpedaling into the 50th?

Jonfw2

DIS Veteran
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Jul 23, 2019
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While there’s no doubt that Pandora remains arguably the best themed land in Disney Parks history and AK’s zoo is world class, there is a rapidly shrinking amount of overall experiences at the park.

Whirl and Rivers: gone forever. Nemo: gone indefinitely. And the best thrill ride in the park going into long-term refurbishment.

Is there a such thing as a quarter-day park?
 
After years of feeling meh about it I’m actually finally starting to love AK. FOP is the best ride in WDW, my kid loves the bird shows, I love the petting zoo portion with attached “watch animal surgery here” clinic and train ride… And we just ate our first lunch at Tusker House and it was great. So, sorry you find other places far superior but different strokes for different folks, I guess.
 
After years of feeling meh about it I’m actually finally starting to love AK. FOP is the best ride in WDW, my kid loves the bird shows, I love the petting zoo portion with attached “watch animal surgery here” clinic and train ride… And we just ate our first lunch at Tusker House and it was great. So, sorry you find other places far superior but different strokes for different folks, I guess.
All the stuff you just named has been around for years. But today there is LESS stuff than there was previously.
 
While there’s no doubt that Pandora remains arguably the best themed land in Disney Parks history and AK’s zoo is world class, there is a rapidly shrinking amount of overall experiences at the park.

Whirl and Rivers: gone forever. Nemo: gone indefinitely. And the best thrill ride in the park going into long-term refurbishment.

Is there a such thing as a quarter-day park?
There was more than enough for me to fill an entire day two days ago. Even if I take out my rides on Everest, still plenty. There were even a few things I didn't get to.
Didn't get to FotLK or Kali, I don't always do ITTBaB or Triceratops but I do occasionally and did not do those, and I would have liked to spend more time on some of the trails.
So it is definitely still a full day to 1.5 day park, at the very least IMO. I could spend a full week there and not get bored.
 

There was more than enough for me to fill an entire day two days ago. Even if I take out my rides on Everest, still plenty. There were even a few things I didn't get to.
Didn't get to FotLK or Kali, I don't always do ITTBaB or Triceratops but I do occasionally and did not do those, and I would have liked to spend more time on some of the trails.
So it is definitely still a full day to 1.5 day park, at the very least IMO. I could spend a full week there and not get bored.
Walking very slowly through all of the animal exhibits and going on both Pandora rides and Everest (multiple times) got me and my daughter to about 6pm. I dunno.
 
They did announce a new version of nemo will return. I personally think they are gonna let AK coast for a bit.. my guess is we will see zootopia theme come together AK eventually..
 
They did announce a new version of nemo will return. I personally think they are gonna let AK coast for a bit.. my guess is we will see zootopia theme come together AK eventually..
Joe Rhoede always said AK was about real animals not cartoon ones. Who knows now.
 

Joe Rhoede always said AK was about real animals not cartoon ones. Who knows now.
It's not that they are cartoon animals, it's that they are humanized characters portrayed by animals. The movie itself has very little to nothing to do with animals or conservation.
 
While there’s no doubt that Pandora remains arguably the best themed land in Disney Parks history and AK’s zoo is world class, there is a rapidly shrinking amount of overall experiences at the park.

Whirl and Rivers: gone forever. Nemo: gone indefinitely. And the best thrill ride in the park going into long-term refurbishment.

Is there a such thing as a quarter-day park?

I guess it depends on your interests.

We didn't like Primevil - was simply too rough and skip the parking lot carnival all together.

Rivers of Light was one and done, so not missed at all. There are too many other lovely areas of the park at night I'd rather be in, especially Pandora.

Nemo is not gone, they are creating a new show that should return next year, officially announced.

Yes, sad Everest going down but all rides have to at some point, it's only a few months.

We love animals so we do explore all the animal areas, not just the two main trails, we like to ride the safari in morning and afternoon.

We think it has some of the best quick service food in all of WDW with so many hidden spots to sit and just relax, sip good drinks and nibble on good eats.

Nomad Lounge - take my money, we could sit there for a couple hours.

So for us - it is a full day park and sometimes we go back if we are there for a week. We spend much more time there than we do Epcot. I am sure there are plenty who spend days at Epcot but to me it's just a big mall/food court with a mess up front.
 
Pandora lost a lot of color at least tonight. This was 5 min ago.

609604
 
With good planning we can stay at AK from rope drop until about 2 pm (including a sit down lunch) and have done everything we are interested in there. We enjoy the safari, but the trials are eh to us. We have been to lots of zoos. Idk, I wish there was more for us because I do like the park. 🤷🏻‍♀️
 
I think AK definitely needs more rides/attractions, but we have come to like it a lot more now that we have a young toddler. I spent 4 hours there yesterday and did very "little" yet had a blast. We rode just the safari (walk-on) and ate quick service.

Pre-kids, we hit the highlights and moved to another park.
 


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