Is it a pain to leave animal kingdom for Sanaa then have to return to AK?

[BebopBaloo]

Don't feel guilty for not having FOP. Many many people don't get it. Na'vi River is better for the 3yr old and maybe the 7yr old too. My daughter is older, had tried FOP and just really doesn't like it. I'm not sure that your 3yr old would be able to ride FOP unless they are tall for their age. Na'vi River really is probably a great fit because it acccomadates all ages.

As others have said, Tiffins is separate from Rivers of Light. You don't need the dining package to see the show. They are also not next to each other.

I would choose one sit down restaurant (Tusker House if you are up for a character meal. It is a pretty good buffet with enough variety for all tastes.) All the restaurants that have been mentioned have good food. Tiffins has smaller portions, but amazing taste. It is quieter and mellow. Sanaa only has some window seats.

Try not to stress. I know it's a lot to plan.

 

[Samantha Morgan]

I guess i can keep Sanaa then and decide the day before if we think we are up for 2 sit downs that day. Our 3 year old is wild and difficult at most restaurants. I’m thinking the animals at Sanaa May keep him entertained and the river of lights at tiffins May keep him occupied as well. Decisions decisions decisions
I can never decide. You should see the notebook i have with itineraries all over the place

We didn’t see any animals at Sanaa. We were pretty far away from the windows.

And others have mentioned, the Rivers of Light show isn’t during dinner. You just get reserved seating if you book the dining package.

 

[Bmh4796]

Our Tiffins reservation is at 640 and River of Lights is at 715. The menu at Tiffins seems really great, and surprisingly none of our 5 kids are picky eaters. So I’m figuring it’s a good place to eat with or without the ROL show, right? Will it help us out in any way getting to see the ROL show in a good spot?

 

[elaine amj]

Our Tiffins reservation is at 640 and River of Lights is at 715. The menu at Tiffins seems really great, and surprisingly none of our 5 kids are picky eaters. So I’m figuring it’s a good place to eat with or without the ROL show, right? Will it help us out in any way getting to see the ROL show in a good spot?

I can't see how they would have let u book a ROL package at 6:40 when the show is at 7:15. I usually set aside 1.5hrs to eat at Disney (including wait time to get seated). So I would not expect to leave until closer to 8pm (after ROL is over)unless you race through your meal in under 30 mins. And Tiffins would be a very expensive meal to rush through.

 

[Bmh4796]

I’m just realizing now that you mention it, I wrote it down in my notebook wrong when i booked dining reservations

I actually booked a lunch a Sanaa a couple months ago as well as a LUNCH at Tiffins that is dining & show PACKAGE lunch/includes seating for the 715 ROL show. I keot both lunches because I wasn’t sure if we should do Sanaa or not.

I just cancelled Sanaa and booked a 5pm jungle Safari
I kept the lunch at tiffin’s that includes “advanced seating” for the 7:15 ROL show. Does this sound like a good plan?

 

[Bmh4796]

I’m just realizing now that you mention it, I wrote it down in my notebook wrong when i booked dining reservations

I actually booked a lunch a Sanaa a couple months ago as well as a LUNCH at Tiffins that is dining & show PACKAGE lunch/includes seating for the 715 ROL show. I keot both lunches because I wasn’t sure if we should do Sanaa or not.

I just cancelled Sanaa and booked a 5pm jungle Safari
I kept the lunch at tiffin’s that includes “advanced seating” for the 7:15 ROL show. Does this sound like a good plan?

I’m figuring that seeing the animals on the Safari will be better than leaving the park to go to Sanaa. I always thought the Safari was over an hour long and off the park - near Sanaa so we never tried the Safari. I was very unprepared the first 2 times we went to Disney. We had a great time. Though I’m now realizing we missed a lot. Lol

 

[luvmychaos]

Sounds like a better plan, especially if this is a 1st trip. You don’t want to feel like you are racing in and out of the parks, to get to meal times elsewhere(did it our 1st time and never since). Sana’a really is a fabulous restaurant, as a FYI. It is very cool seeing animals milling around outside(and it’s true sometimes there aren’t any but there’s usually SOMETHING). The food is TO DIE FOR! The bread service is legendary of the Dis(it’s literally my profile pic ).
I’m a big believer in any dining package that gets you seating for a show - we do Fantasmic’s dining package at HS, the Fesitival of Fantasy at MK. We do Tusker House as part of the RoL package and it’s got awesome food AND its a character meal, just in case you see it in the future and think the your kids would want to see the classics in Safari gear

 

[elaine amj]

I’m just realizing now that you mention it, I wrote it down in my notebook wrong when i booked dining reservations

I actually booked a lunch a Sanaa a couple months ago as well as a LUNCH at Tiffins that is dining & show PACKAGE lunch/includes seating for the 715 ROL show. I keot both lunches because I wasn’t sure if we should do Sanaa or not.

I just cancelled Sanaa and booked a 5pm jungle Safari
I kept the lunch at tiffin’s that includes “advanced seating” for the 7:15 ROL show. Does this sound like a good plan?

Sounds good

Btw are u talking about the Kilimanjaro Safari ride? That takes just 20 mins.

 

[Bmh4796]

Sounds good

Btw are u talking about the Kilimanjaro Safari ride? That takes just 20 mins.

Yes i always got the impression that it was a long safari - like a 1.5 hour type thing rather than a ride. During one of our previous trips, My sister-in-law went on and on about how they took a safari in animal kingdom. I got the impression that it was a couple of hours. And my husband who has been to Disney 7 or so times would always say let’s not prioritize the Safari. If we have time we will do it. So maybe they had private safaris in the past that we’re Long? I’m totally down with a 20 minute safari, though! Im really looking forward to it!

 

[iheartglaciers]

I think you made a good choice. Tiffins was one of our favorite meals at Disney!

 

[KenHutch]

We have done something a bit related to what you are doing. This past June we were a party of 8 (staying at AKL). We did the park all day and I scheduled an early dinner at Boma. We ate and then 6 of us went back to AK to enjoy Pandora at night.

 

[BebopBaloo]

Good plan to just spend the day at Animal Kingdom. Kilimanjaro Safari is one of my favorite things in any Disney Park. Tiffin's, though quite pricey, is an excellent choice.

 

[Bribrittmom]

Just want to throw out there that Tiffin’s being a signature restaurant will probably be a long dinner. You mentioned that your three year old gets antsy at dinner. We have a two and a half year old granddaughter who lives with us that also gets antsy at long dinners. For myself I would be too stressed about her possibly misbehaving and having to get up mid-meal to enjoy an expensive meal. Of course you may be more laid back than me. I think Tusker House being a buffet with characters would be more relaxing for everyone. Your little one can get up and move around there.

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

I think Tusker House being a buffet with characters would be more relaxing for everyone.

100% agree!

 

[GillianP1301]

It's a very easy/quick bus ride from AK to Sanaa, your only unknown is length of time waiting on a bus but with your plan to uber, it's that much easier/quicker. I think your plan looks great actually. RD and spend a good 3ish hours in the park before heading to a nice relaxing/restful lunch before a few more park hours and an amazing dinner. Other than the craziness of RD to get to FOP, the rest of the day looks amazing and pretty relaxed pace.

 

[GillianP1301]

I guess i can keep Sanaa then and decide the day before if we think we are up for 2 sit downs that day. Our 3 year old is wild and difficult at most restaurants. I’m thinking the animals at Sanaa May keep him entertained and the river of lights at tiffins May keep him occupied as well. Decisions decisions decisions
I can never decide. You should see the notebook i have with itineraries all over the place

2 sit downs is a great way to build in relaxation and rest especially on a RD to closing day. I do it often, love it. However, based on your comments, I would suggest reconsidering Tiffins. Amazing restaurant, but really nothing there to keep the attention of an active 3 year old. I agree with other suggestions of Tusker House with characters.

 

[gharter]

Sanaa is very good. You just really need to decide if you mind leaving the park to eat.
Some like to leave, others don't.
If you take the bus, expect travel time could take an hour round trip. It all depends how long you have to wait for a bus at each end and how long you wait for security.
It also can take longer to walk out of AK than you think as its a big park.
If you are eating at night and its dark out, you will not see the animals in the savannah.

 

[MomOTwins]

Reading through the thread, it sounds like you now have Tiffins with ROL seating planned for lunch and no Sanaa, is that right? A couple thoughts:

I think you were right to skip Sanaa. Even if there is no wait at all for the bus (not likely), you still have to trek all the way out of the park to the buses and back (a VERY long walk as the park entrance at AK is quite far from the attractions), and on your return go through security all over again. That is a pretty big time suck and a lot of walking added to your day. With small kids myself, we find it very useful not to have to travel too much to get to our meals, and try to plan on doing things in the park near where we want to eat.

That said, I am a bit nervous about your plan of Tiffins for lunch. As a signature restaurant, it is a pretty quiet, refined experience, and when we ate there for our anniversary dinner on our last trip we had to take turns walking outside to calm down our overheated, hungry three-year old when he had a meltdown until the food arrived. You can also get the rivers of light seating package at Tusker House, which is a character buffet so it is much more casual and full of noisy kids so we felt right at home with our little one, and he was thoroughly entertained by the characters and happy he got to eat right away. I also think the food at Tiffins is a bit more "dinner food" than "lunch food"--e.g., heavy food like steak and lobster, and since you have the rivers of light package it is a three course meal--not what I want to eat at lunch when I still have miles and miles to walk around the park all afternoon. I would do it for dinner before the show, but not lunch, personally.

So I would vote on switching to lunch at Tusker House or dinner at Tiffins.