Is Animal Kingdom a Failure?

[Paris]

Read this and decide:

Animal Kingdom is a Failure

 

[audflash]

I haven't been yet but I will say that the author of this article lost me when he stated:

Opera blows - and Animal Kingdom isn't too far behind.

 

[momxx5]

I will not read such slanted thoughts...


"until I've said my piece" from article


May peace be with the author of such trash.

 

[trracers]

I do NOT agree that AK is a failure as the author states, but I did like his five suggestions at the end.

 

[CarolA]

This author has no factual basis for any of his statements and is actually assuming some things.

He is trying to sell a book and I have a feeling the whole book is rubbish like this. Since Disney does NOT release attendance figures that pretty much means he has to base his statements on something that he made up.

I am sure that when the whole book comes out everything will be a failure and he will have WONDERFUL suggestions to run the park. (Those who can do and those who can't just jabber on! LOL!)

 

[RealMickey]

I agree totally with trracers, AK is great, but the authors suggestions at the end of the article are all solid ideas, and I would love to see them happen.

 

[PatriciaH]

According to CNN AK is the 5th highest park in the country for attendance. Hardley a failure

1. The Magic Kingdom (Lake Buena Vista, Florida)
2. Disneyland (Anaheim, California)
3. Epcot (Lake Buena Vista, Florida)
4. Disney MGM Studios (Lake Buena Vista, Florida)
5. Disney's Animal Kingdom (Lake Buena Vista, Florida)
6. Universal Studios (Orlando, Florida)
7. Islands of Adventures (Orlando, Florida)
8. Universal Studios Hollywood (Hollywood, California)
9. Seaworld Florida (Orlando, Florida)
10. Disney's California Adventure (Anaheim, California)
11. Busch Gardens Tampa Bay (Tampa, Florida) (tie)
11. Adventuredome (Las Vegas, Nevada)
12. Seaworld California (San Diego, California)
13. Knott's Berry Farm (Buena Park, California)
14. Morey's Piers (Wildwood, New Jersey)
15. Six Flags Great Adventure (Jackson, New Jersey) (tie)
15. Cedar Point (Sandusky, Ohio)
16. Paramount's Kings Island (Kings Island, Ohio)
17. Six Flags Magic Mountain (Valencia, California)
18. Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk (Santa Cruz, California)
19. Six Flags Great America (Gurnee, Illinois)
20. Six Flags Over Texas (Arlington, Texas)
21. Hersheypark (Hershey, Pennsylvania)
22. Busch Gardens The Old Country (Williamsburg, Virginia)
23. Camp Snoopy (Mall of America, Bloomington, Minnesota)
24. Dollywood (Pigeon Forge, Tennessee)
25. Six Flags Over Georgia (Atlanta, Georgia)
26. Six Flags Worlds of Adventure (Aurora, Ohio)
27. Paramount's Kings Dominion (Doswell, Virginia)
28. Silver Dollar City (Branson, Missouri


__________________

 

[pennyplanner]

I respect a person's right to be a vegetarian but resent when the concept/practice is rammed down anyone's else's throat.

Those comments about the safari seats and restaurant menus... oh please. I can just imagine if the writer expressed views about the other parks.

--penny

 

[MelanieC]

We love AK!

 

[lucysdad]

Wow! As I was reading, I couldn't help but believe that the writer must have had an incredibly awful life -threatening experience for which he could not wrangle a refund or some other ulterior motive (like a book) for spending so much time writing so much negative and clearly opinionated detail. Frankly, I feel sorry for the writer, who needs to mellow out and learn to enjoy life. It's sad because his suggestions at the end are good ones. However, the venom in which they are encased really casts a dark light over them. We love AK!

 

[FloridaCat]

i can only agree with certain coments. As a local, Disney bombarded local TV of the opening in 1998 and of course we went. We live in the land of theme parks and eagerly thirst for the next one to open.
we were very disappointed as there was nothing to do after lunch . After the boat ride, train ride to nowhere and the safari you pretty much had done it all, and this was before park hopping.
Well we went back in 1999 because it was improved and if it was, then it was a well gaurded secret as we could not tell.

This past year Disney has local TV Nahtazo ads. and since we had four day passes decided to see if the park was really changed and since we had not gone back since, to give it a try. Last Thursday we went and while there were some new things it is still not a full day park. We left around one feeling we wasted a ticket.
The biggest improvement we noticed was more CM doing demostations and information speeches which we thought helped. The other thing we noticed is there did not seem to be as many animals on the Safri as in the past. We were let down because th boat ride had been closed.
So we will wait for another few years to see if the Disney magic kicks in.
.
Sure the crowds are there, but I would like to see a poll on how many were repeat attendees.
For now SW is a better buy and day well spent

 

[WDWfanatic288]

the guy that wrote this has some valid points(and some are just WAY off...like the safari seats and stuff)
Personally, I hate AK...if it was up to me, we would spend half a day there and then leave. You can only walk through animal trails SOOO many times before you get sick of them.
Is it a complete failure? NO WAY! is it what disney was expecting...NO WAY! but how can their projections be shown when they didn't build an ENTIRE land(Beastly Kingdom?)

The main problems...not much to do and no shade...that park is the hottest of them all!

I do like his suggestions on the bottom though...I really hope they can find a way to build Beastly Kingdom!

 

[TreeOfLife]

The AK is a failure only in the eyes of closed minds who are used to enjoying animals and nature behind cages or having ding-dongs ride on their backs for the macho rush, feeding them only if they perform.

What disappoints me is how the managament has been giving in to the pressures of those who can't deal with a different park, and keep filling it with machines and twirlies to shut up their mouths.

The AK is a very spiritual park, and a very special place where I do not mind spending all day long. It offers great opportunities to get in touch with others who share the fragile, "pale blue dot" we occupy in our galaxy. What a great opportunity to get in touch with such diversity!

 

[Virgo10]

I thought that article was pretty funny in spots. "The food prep staff at the nearby Tusker House has a better animal kill-rate than these poachers."

His comments on Kali and the train ride were two of my main complaints as well. But do I find DAK boring. No Way! It's the one park where I've increased my time spent there every year. The more I go, the more I find to do.

The biggest disappointment to me is the set up with Primeval Whirl and Triceratops Spin. It's way too tacky for a Disney Park.

Life isn't one big thrill after another. Someone should tell this guy to stop and smell the roses.

Roberta

 

[epcotfan]

Originally posted by TreeOfLife
The AK is a failure only in the eyes of closed minds who are used to enjoying animals and nature behind cages or having ding-dongs ride on their backs for the macho rush, feeding them only if they perform.

What disappoints me is how the managament has been giving in to the pressures of those who can't deal with a different park, and keep filling it with machines and twirlies to shut up their mouths.

The AK is a very spiritual park, and a very special place where I do not mind spending all day long. It offers great opportunities to get in touch with others who share the fragile, "pale blue dot" we occupy in our galaxy. What a great opportunity to get in touch with such diversity!

I agree with you Treeoflife. I would love to spend more time at AK, but the heat and crowds prevent me from staying more than a few hours. I had the best time on a trip in January. It was cool enough to enjoy the trails without feeling like you are going to pass out from the heat. I wish there were a few more indoor attractions that would allow guest to escape the heat.

 

[punkin]

I love AK. My kids could spend a whole day digging for mamoth bones. I think Hester and Chester's is a hoot (but you must admit the heat there is unbearable). I liked the author's suggestions, they can only serve to make the park better. Yes it is only a half day park, but with park hoppers, I'm not sure how much that matters. Last but not least, I gree with him that no matter how gorgeous the tree of life sculptures are up close, when you see the top of it from the parking lot, it looks horribly fake and out of place.

 

[FloridaCat]

As locals we have never compared AK with MK or MGM. Our comparision is with SW & Bush Gardens which do a better job, in our opinion, of education about the wild life and the importance of co existance. Their staff are better trained to interact with the park guests to answer questions.
SW is a valuable asset to FL in rescueing Whales, Dolphins and the like that become stranded or ill on our beaches.

We have felt since 1998 that the Safari would be more interesting if the CM would give facts about the life style of each animal encountered.

 

[normmo]

Personally, I really like AK. I like the fact that it's not an "all day park" and I can go there, enjoy it but not kill myself trying to see everything in a day. I also think that the park, being so new, is still a work in progress with more rides being opened and other things being tweaked here and there. The "author" has a perspective that I found difficult to swallow as nothing can be as horrible as he claims it to be. There has got to be something at AK that he liked but instead he even blasted Disney for things that they had changed (i.e. Big REd originally being killed). NOt a book that I'll be picking up since he seems to have missed the Disney magic and I'm sure the people that do buy it are all of those who have never been to Disney but know how horrible it is.

 

[Tinkbell]

I like AK but if I had to pick one park to leave out of my plans, AK would be the one. Since Disney has park hoppers, I don't feel like I've wasted any money, but I would never buy a one day admission to the place. My local zoo offers better animal viewings.

 

[Demosthenes]

I don't think you can find a bigger Disney fan than me; but AK is a joke compared to Busch Gardens. The idea that the park can only be open for short hours for the animals is not true; every other animal park stays open late. The reason? They have the attractions to accommodate it. I know that AK is the 5th best draw as far as theme parks go, but that has a lot to do with its older, better sisters that share park hopping privileges with it. If Animal Kingdom were in Tampa, and Busch Gardens in Orlando sharing the same park hopping privileges, AK would probably not be in the top 15 in park attendance. This park needs some serious fixes to make it an all day park and a bigger repeat visitor draw. Expedition Everest will help, but in addition, it needs sit-down restaurants, more family attractions in the air conditioning, and improved park access. If you connected all of the Animal Kingdom Area Resorts to AK via light rail or some other unique form of transportation, you would make AK the premier destination for these hotels, like MK is for the Magic Kingdom Area hotels and Epcot and MGM for the Epcot Area Resorts. Right now, DW and I spend about 5 hours out of each week we are at WDW in the AK; since we own APs, and we don’t like fast food, we do it without ever spending a dime. If you could make the park an all day affair, with restaurants that appealed to us (and plenty of others like us), attractions that would keep us there longer, and some protection from the killer Florida heat, Disney would stand to make a lot of money. As it stands now, we usually send the other half day at another Orlando attraction.