Is six hours enough for first and only time (yet) visit to Animal Kingdom?

[Megara5115]

*Sorry I meant is siX*

This is me and my ten year old son's first visit to Disney and in order to fit in another day at MK I decided to try and do AK in more of a half day for our first and only visit to the park.

We have an event to attend in the morning so we will most likely get to the park at 12 or 1.

I fastpassed Kilamanjaro Safaris (2:05 - 3:05), Expedition Everest (4:30 - 5:30) and Kali River (5:30 - 6:30). We then have a reservation at Yak & Yeti for 6:30.

Do you think these fast passes etc. work with a plan to go Dinoland (12-1pm arrive) --> Discovery Island --> Africa/ Kilamanjaro @2:05-3:05 --> Planet Watch --> Asia/Everest @4:30-5:30/Kali@5:30-6:30--> Yak & Yeti @ 6:30 (park closes at 7)?

I know I have read that AK is a half day park in many people's opinions but I want to make sure we get to experience a good amount of it. My plan is based solely off a map and no experience in the park so feedback and suggestions to improve are very welcome- Thank you!

 

[ghtx]

Yes you will have time to do all that you list in just six hours. You might also want to see a show, too, especially the Lion King show, which is really good. Depending on the show schedule, you might want to try to fit in that show (or another) either before your first FP or after KS.

 

[Robo]

I'd surely dump Planet Watch in favor of seeing Festival of the Lion King, easily the most entertaining show at any park.
The show runs 30 minutes, and guests should arrive 20 minutes before show time.

 

[Alesia]

The first thing I notice is that you're going to Kali River Rapids right before going to dinner. There is a good chance that you will get soaked on that ride. I'm not sure sitting in an air conditioned restaurant is going to be all that much fun.

 

[Alesia]

And I agree with Robo. Planet watch is a huge time eater (at least an hour, maybe 2.)

Festival of the Lion King is not to be missed. Flights of Wonder is also Fantastic.

 

[Megara5115]

Would you recommend swapping Everest and Kali times?

 

[Megara5115]

Also I'm not overly fond of getting wet on rides when I'm not in a waterpark but I feel like i should go on Kali River... We have been on slightly similar rides at other places and I have made peace with the fact that we will go on splash mountain but is it a must do? Would I be better fast passing festival of the lion king?

 

[Alesia]

Would you recommend swapping Everest and Kali times?

If you want to ride KRR, yes. Definitely.

Also I'm not overly fond of getting wet on rides when I'm not in a waterpark but I feel like i should go on Kali River... We have been on slightly similar rides at other places and I have made peace with the fact that we will go on splash mountain but is it a must do? Would I be better fast passing festival of the lion king?

It's okay. Not great. I wouldn't miss it if I skipped it. Splash Mountain, on the other hand, is a must (and you won't get soaked.)

 

[Andysol]

*Sorry I meant is siX*
I know I have read that AK is a half day park in many people's opinions but I want to make sure we get to experience a good amount of it.

People who say it's a half-day park either have gone multiple times and don't do certain things because theyve already done them, or they simply don't know what theyre talking about and are likely missing half the park. I love AK.

If a normal park day is open 9-5- I'd challenge someone to do everything in 4 hours (a half day).

Safari
Lion King show
Birds of Flight show
Kali River
Everest
Finding Nemo Musical
Dinosaur
Primevil Whirl
Triceratops Spin
Boneyard
Tough to be a bug
The 2 trails (one in africa, one in asia)
multiple character encounters
Explorer badge game (heck- just try to do this in 4 hours)
Planet watch

Now that we've established it's not a half day park for first timers- I think your plan looks fine with the exception of Rafiki's planet watch. There is little interest up there with the exception of listening to rainforest sounds and watching a vet procedure (but this doesnt occur daily, and when it does, its first thing in the morning). Outside of that, you have a petting zoo with... wait for it.... goats.

Id keep your fastpasses in order of how/where you're walking. If youre going in cold weather- no need to fastpass kali. If its hot- thatll be the longest wait- so a fastpass is necessary. Mickey/minnie meet and greet is typically a very long wait too but sometimes you get lucky (ive walked in with only 2-3 people in front of us before).


Edited to add: Yes- Kali River isn't that great IMO. A typical tube ride thats pretty short- and you will get wet. So if you dont want to- skip it and fastpass dinosaur or mickey and minnie.

Interesting note- Kali river was supposed to have live animals around it originally- like Jungle cruise. Now THAT would have been awesome.

 

[Megara5115]

Ok maybe I will skip it I'm sure the rest of the adults in our group won't miss it too much! Thank you!

 

[Alesia]

Take a look at the late arrival plan on the AK cheat sheet at easywdw.com

 

[FreddyMercury]

Planet watch is something that I would recommend skipping. The only thing out there is a small petting zoo. IF petting goats is your thing, then go crazy. But it's a long trip out and a long trip back for essentially nothing exciting at all.

Also, if you aren't fond of getting wet, skip Kali. The only real draw to that ride is getting soaked. It's not very scenic and it's a very short ride. Your time could be better spent elsewhere.

Must dos:
Dinosaur - My favorite attraction and soooooo immersive, but pretty frightening for little ones
Everest - Best coaster at Disney. So very well themed and really fun
Festival of the Lion King - best show on property. Hands down.
Safaris - Pretty much the staple of the park. A very enjoyable and unique attraction.

Your time at Planet Watch and Kali could be much better spent elsewhere. The Maharaja and Pangani walking trails are amazing. The rides mentioned above all have incredible reridability.

My opinion? Don't do Kali and DEFINATELY avoid Planet Watch.

 

[Megara5115]

Thanks for the feedback about Planet Watch... It did look out of the way and to hear it's a goat-centric petting zoo would probably not be too impressive for my son. I think we are going to plan Dinosaur, EE & Kilamanjaro and then hopefully have time to catch the Lion King. I would love to see it but my fiancé and son aren't really big on shows they would rather be wandering or on rides I think.

 

[Tarheel girl 1975]

Would you recommend swapping Everest and Kali times?

I would do Kali last and skip dinner at Yak&Yeti. I'm not a huge fan of Kali, but my kids love it. I would do it, go change, and eat dinner somewhere else.

 

[Andysol]

I do what Tarheel does. I ride kali last and then head to dinner. Yak and Yeti is pretty good- but you're also right next to the Animal Kingdom Lodge- which has Boma and Sanaa- both fantastic options you could eat at instead of in-park. If you're doing the Yak & Yeti table service- pricing is comparable. If you're doing Yak & Yeti QS- then it'll be less to eat at Yak & Yeti.

But all 3 are actually really good- so you could do whatever. If you were doing the Yak & Yeti QS- depending on when you go- the new Africa QS might be open by then (opening spring of this year)- so that's another alternative of something brand new.


Lion king really is one of- if not the best show in all the parks- and no matter the age- its so enjoyable. Maybe show your son a video of it on Youtube beforehand to see if he'd be interested. It's not a ride-intensive park, but I recommend everyone do the trails- they are fantastic. If you aren't doing boneyard, nemo, planet watch, bird of flight, or meeting characters- you should have plenty of time do everything else.

 

[ghtx]

In defense of Planet Watch, my kids really liked it when they were toddlers (train + petting zoo = happy toddler), but a 10-year-old (and his parents) would probably be bored.

 

[JimmyV]

If a normal park day is open 9-5- I'd challenge someone to do everything in 4 hours (a half day).

That is certainly not how I define a half day. And I think most people think in the same terms. A half day is half of a day's worth of touring time, not "half the time that the park is open". For us, a park day usually begins at 8:00 and typically ends at 10:00 (at the earliest). So using those numbers, a park day is 14 hours, so a half day is 7 hours. If I spend "half a day" at AK and "half a day" at World Showcase, I get 6 hours at AK, 6 hours at WS, and leave myself over an hour of transportation to get from one park to the other. That puts me at AK from 8:00-2:00. More than enough time for us to do everything we want.

 

[Andysol]

That puts me at AK from 8:00-2:00.

Umm, ok- so I challenge you to do everything at AK in 6 hours.

People who say it's a half-day park either have gone multiple times and don't do certain things because theyve already done them, or they simply don't know what theyre talking about and are likely missing half the park.

More than enough time for us to do everything we want.

You fall into the former category. I go at rope drop and am typically done by 1-2pm also. But unless I've misread what the OP said- it is their first time there. As a first timer- it isn't even close to a "half-day" park. Which is what my point was.

 

[JimmyV]

As a first timer- it isn't even close to a "half-day" park. Which is what my point was.

The OP wanted to know if they could achieve their agenda in 6 hours. The answer is "yes". Not sure why you felt the need to introduce "4 hours" into the equation. That was not the task at hand. The OP can do everything set out in the original post and a whole lot more in 6 hours.

Moving the discussion away from the OP's agenda and speaking in general terms, if one arrives at Rope Drop, they can knock off the Safari and Everest in the first 40 minutes of park operations. Toss in FPs for Kali Rapids and Dinosaur and the guest will have checked off every ride at that park that builds an appreciable line. It's not that hard to do as long as you arrive before the park opens (and don't have an agenda that includes riding major attractions over and over again).

 

[Fastpassminus]

I like Josh's half day late arrival touring plan. I plan to use it in December with some modifications:

1) Arrive at 1:00
2) FOTLK 2:00-3:00
3) FP plus Everest ( rider swap) 3:00-4:00 ( grandma keeps DS in boneyard)
4) DS and grandma ride Tricertop Twirl
5) 4:00pm ride Dinosaur ( whole family DS is 40 inches )
5) 4:00-5:00 pm FP plus Kilamanjaro Safari
6) 5pm Can you make a ressie for park closing? I want to make a dinner ressie at TH at 5pm or 6pm when the park closes at 5 or 6?

We are skipping Nemo since we did it last time in favor of FOTLK. We always only do only one per trip.