Is AK still considered a half-day park?

[DisneyGras CM]

I write this facetiously.

AK is my wife's favorite park. Mine....not so much. The reasoning is because I feel there is less to do here than other parks. Don't get me wrong, I love the theming, animals and shows, however, I feel like by mid afternoon I am done. The park has less than 10 ridable attractions (I think maybe 7-8) which increases wait times exponentially. Increased crowds with little attractions to deter those crowds equals LONG wait times. Last time at AK each ride was minimum 1.5-2 hours wait. Navi River Journey, Flight of Passage, Everest, Kilimanjaro....forget it! Almost 3 hours. You have spent half your park time in line for 2 rides. Even with Genie+ things were sold out by 10am which made Genie+ useless. Around 3pm we pulled up shop and headed to Disney Springs.

I know with extended hours and Pandora lit up at night it was supposed to be considered a full day park. After my last trip, I'm still not sold that it is not. Am I the only one that feels with all the added stuff that it still feels like a half day park?

 

[a1tinkfans]

Love AK.. we make it a full day by doing dinner and lunch within the park and it always works for us. Love to see it at night … best time imho.

 

[VandVsmama]

I write this facetiously.

AK is my wife's favorite park. Mine....not so much. The reasoning is because I feel there is less to do here than other parks. Don't get me wrong, I love the theming, animals and shows, however, I feel like by mid afternoon I am done. The park has less than 10 ridable attractions (I think maybe 7-8) which increases wait times exponentially. Increased crowds with little attractions to deter those crowds equals LONG wait times. Last time at AK each ride was minimum 1.5-2 hours wait. Navi River Journey, Flight of Passage, Everest, Kilimanjaro....forget it! Almost 3 hours. You have spent half your park time in line for 2 rides. Even with Genie+ things were sold out by 10am which made Genie+ useless. Around 3pm we pulled up shop and headed to Disney Springs.

I know with extended hours and Pandora lit up at night it was supposed to be considered a full day park. After my last trip, I'm still not sold that it is not. Am I the only one that feels with all the added stuff that it still feels like a half day park?

For me, it's still a half day park.

 

[Schneewittchen37]

I don't consider it a full day.

1. Not enough rides. And the animals get boring after a while - tween kids. DH and I hate FoP, makes us queasy.
2. It turns into an inferno in the afternoons.
3. There's only one show.....

We usually leave around 1 when everybody is hot, mad and bored.

Edit: And if we're doing a quick long weekend, it's the park we're most likely to skip.

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

We used to make it a half day park-whether it was morning or afternoon. This past September we decided to stay as long as we could. Granted this was before genie plus, but we got on every ride we wanted to, had lunch at yak and yeti, and missed one or two rides before calling it at 3:15ish. We then went back to the hotel to relax and then headed out to Epcot at night.
Totally worth taking our time

 

[snikki]

When we went in the summer it was a half day park for us. It's just so dang on hot. It was known to my family as our meltdown park. The kids would get cranky and hot, we would all get tired quickly, the kids would be so red from the heat. We would do a few rides and leave. Forget trying to go to a show with a melting down kid or cranky parents.

Then one trip many moons ago they had PM EMH. Oh man I loved it. Since then I've really enjoyed the park. We stay away midday and go in the morning and evening and we get about 1.5-2 full days but broken up in half days. We love the rides, the shows, the trails, the food. AK is a close second to MK as my favorite park at night with the Tree of Life show. I love the whole nighttime vibe of AK.

 

[rangerxenos]

I NEVER considered it a half day park.

 

[scrappinginontario]

We were there 2 weeks ago and for us it's a 1/2 day park but also because there are some things we choose to skip and EE was closed for refurbishment.

One thing to note if you decide to do only afternoon and evening is that Kilimanjaro Safari is not open until park close. Unfortunately we missed the last safari on a night when the park closed at 7PM because we arrived at 5:22 to find out the last safari left at 5:15. It was still light until almost 7PM so it wasn't about darkness, they just don't always run safaris until park close.

 

[ellbell]

For me it has never been a half day park. With the trails, shows, rafiki's planet watch and the rides and street performers I can spend a whole day therw easily.

 

[Anchored]

It's never been and never will be a half day park for me

 

[Her Dotness]

Less than that for us. TSMM and we're ready to leave.

 

[Moliphino]

I don't go to any park for more than a half day at a time if I can help it. Park hoppers are a must for us.

A couple hours in the Nomad Lounge are always a must-do at AK, though.

 

[dadr]

Especially with Everest currently closed, it seems like a 1/2 day park unless you want to see all the shows and repeat rides. for those who don’t have Park Hopper it makes sense to stick around but since AK closes early, it sets up better to hop to EPCOT or MK mid to late afternoon.

 

[Delirium]

Never was. That said, it's not a park we usually spend a full day it. It has always been 2 half days for us. Last time we went was Thanksgiving Week in 2018. Spent a morning there and then later in the week spent an evening. FP+ made it really easy to do that way. Not sure how it will work with Genie+. I'm assuming it's not great.

 

[ckelly14]

Another vote for half day with Everest closed. Hopefully it will reopen for our trip at the end of April

 

[DisneyFive]

As much as we love animal kingdom, it just does not have the repeat factor for us like the other parks do. We still absolutely love some of the attractions there, and would have a hard time skipping the park completely but there are only so many times you can see the exact same show. Yes, it’s now a 1/2-2/3 day park for us.

Dan

 

[loves to dive]

I don't go to any park for more than a half day at a time if I can help it. Park hoppers are a must for us.

A couple hours in the Nomad Lounge are always a must-do at AK, though.

I was about to say the same thing. I've never spent an entire day in any park and I've been going since Epcot had just opened so there were only two parks to hop between.

Having said that, I usually do spend longer at AK before I hop. Even with the 2pm hopping rules I tend to leave the other parks around 12 or so and go back to the resort and go to the pool for awhile. I'm not ride centric so AK is perfect for me. I love taking my time and walking along all the trails, and by all I mean even the one around the Tree of Life and the little side trails. I love stopping and actually watching the animals and talking to the CMs posted there. I do ride rides but they aren't the most important thing for me. I have been known to stand for 1/2 hour and just watch the silly monkeys playing. Nomad Lounge is a must do for me as well, I love that place. I enjoy stopping and watching the performers with a cold drink. It's a great park for slowing down and taking in the details.

 

[wfjny]

The earliest park to open, we will normally hit it either first thing before going to another park, or we will go there on "Departure Day". I wish it was more than just a half day park for us, but that is all it is.

And I have to admit, the heat/humidity there is much hotter than any other park.

 

[gharter]

When all the rides and shows were going, I didn't consider it a half day park. We enjoy seeing the animals and walking all the trails, so we can still spend all day there, even with the shows that are not back.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

We were there 2 weeks ago and for us it's a 1/2 day park but also because there are some things we choose to skip and EE was closed for refurbishment.

One thing to note if you decide to do only afternoon and evening is that Kilimanjaro Safari is not open until park close. Unfortunately we missed the last safari on a night when the park closed at 7PM because we arrived at 5:22 to find out the last safari left at 5:15. It was still light until almost 7PM so it wasn't about darkness, they just don't always run safaris until park close.

They've always claimed they do that because of the animals, and the safari is built around the animals. I'm sure they get into evening feedings and offer the opportunity for animals to return to the barns, if they choose. But it is absolutely something to keep in mind from a timing standpoint. The same with the walking trails - they'll often close by 5/6pm or so.