Need HELP planning for Animal Kingdom!!!

[DJmommy]

Hi all,

This will be our FIRST time ever at AK ( haven't been to WDW in quite a while, as you can see ). Anyway it is DH, myself ( crazy planner ), DS 6, DD 2. We are not planning on doing any of the thrill rides, but would like to see all the shows, walk the trails and do the character meet and greets.

We will be going the day that we do the Sunrise Safari as we are staying at the AKL. So basically, my questions are:

After the breakfast, I am assuming it will be around 9:20 am - should we walk rapidly to see the 1st Lion King show? I have seen where it is recommended that you arrive 30 minutes prior to seating, but I would hate to waste that time if I don't have to. Is the first show really crowded?

If we were too late for the first show I would probably stick around and do the character trails, then get in line for the 2nd LK show. Can you make a quick transition over to the Pocahontas show from the LK show?

How long do the character trails take to visit with the characters?

How long does it take to walk the Maharajah Jungle trail at a leisurely pace to enjoy the animals?

How long does it take to walk the Pangani Forest trail at a leisurely pace to enjoy the animals? Note, that gorillas are my favorite animal. Are the exhibits fantastic for these beautiful apes?

How long should we plan on spending doing the Wildlfe Express Train over to Rafiki's Planet Watch and all of those exhibits over there, including the round trip train ride?

Where is a good place to watch the parade?

We will do DinoLand if we have time on this day, however we may go back for the EMH evening and it seems like this is the only real area open during the evening so I am leaving this to last. How are the evening EMH at this park? I have read that at MK and MGM it is real crowded.

I have read that many people finish with this park in one good day, and many only spend less than a day here. It doesn't seem like we will be able to fit everything in even in one full day, AND we are skipping a lot of the big attractions here cause of the little ones, but maybe I am estimating things to take longer than they do and that it takes long to walk from one area of the park to another.

Anyone that has any suggestions, please advise. I, myself, cannot wait to visit AK, but I have always been an animal lover.

Given the above itinerary, how long do you think it will take to cover the attractions and shows for an early December day?

Thanks in advance to all the Animal Kingdom experts out there.

Less than 50 days away for my family.

Jacqueline

 

[goofy's friends]

I think you are probably overestimating your time a little. We too have little ones and are able to do it all by late afternoon. Depending on when you go, you do not have to get to LK 30 min. early. When we were there, the Meet and Greets were characters that were EVERYWHERE, so we were able to skip. We did all the shows, the parade, and even the character breakfast and rode several things many times and walked all the trails (gorilla exhibit is great) and left at 5:00. We weren't rushed either.

 

[Rella Bella]

Hi Jacqueline!
We are going early Dec too! Should be good weather, but we have found that AK is usually cooler than the other parks... maybe it's more shaded or something. But on our first Dec trip we were fine in shirt sleeves everywhere else... but FROZE at AK and had to buy sweatshirts for the whole family... so you might want to plan for that.

We've never done the Sunrise Safari... I bet it's awesome! I know you shoudl go early to see more animals! So that should be great.

A couple things about the Lion King, first DON"T MISS IT... stay for the third show if you have to! But I don't think you'll have to. AK isn't usually as crowded as the other parks... at least when we've gone. As for standing in line. We were very concerned when we saw a long line waiting... but thought if we couldn't get good seats we'd just leave and come back for a different show. What we found was the show is done in the round... so there really isn't a bad seat. We were toward the end of the line and the only seats left were in the back row or the front row (partially reserved for the handicapped). We hovered long enough to be positive no more handicapped people were coming and then took the seats up front. But the back wouldn't have been bad... there are only about 8 or so rows up in each section.

The Pocahontus show was cute, lots of animals and it's right next door... and the 'Meet & Greet' is a big line, as usual. With kids the ages of yours the characters could take a while. Plan a going with the flow.

Several times when we've arrrived the characters were lined up outside the gate... when you see them, where ever you see them, they are like kid magnets. Any plan goes out the window. And there are so many kids doing this that there are lines. But it's such a big part of Disney! My son buys a new autograph book and pen every time we go so he can get 'fresh' autographs from every one! So they hug, sign, pose for a pic... with every kid. We keep thinking our son will get tired of it... but so far he's still into it and our last visit was two weeks before he turned 9.

This park is a lot of walking, but it's an adventure every step of the way.. so much to see. The parade is great from where ever you are. And you're right to save Dino-land for the end of the day... it really is just a HUGE play yard. Bridges and tunnels and places to explore and a 'dino-dig' sandbox... but once the kids get in it's next to impossible to get them to leave!! It's a great place to rest if you get tired of all the walking!

The Tarzan show was cute too... I heard it might be closing... may just be a rumor. If you go don't sit too close to the front. We thought... wow look at all the seats up front! Not realizing some of the show would happen behind us! You'll see more if you sit behind the front section.

Oh, and just in case you're tempted to try the Calli River Rapids... you will not get wet... YOU WILL GET SOAKED!!

We spent one full day at AK the first time and felt we did it justice. The other two times we split the day 1/2 @ AK & 1/2 @ MGM. Hope you enjoy your trip!

 

[DJmommy]

Goofy's friends, Thanks for giving me hope about how long everything will take. We really would like for it to be a not too hectic day. Those kinds of days at WDW are far and few between tho.

Thanks Rella Bella for your detailed post. I will probably stick to the game plan I have set up and go with the flow, especially when it comes to the characters. I can't wait to see the Lion King show. The music from that movie is some of my all time favorite music of anything EVER, so I am so excited. May even try to catch it a 2nd time if we go back for the EMH evening.


Do either of you have a good estimate of the time it takes to do the Rafiki's Planet Watch as I am trying to plan on doing this before the parade but want to have a good feel for how long it takes?

Thanks again,

Jacqueline

 

[webmomom]

Trying to detrime how long it will take depends on you. Alot of people just walk past exhibits others stay a awhile and watch. We love standing watching the anmials. People miss so much when they just walk by.

The Ak is definitely a park that you need to take your time at. You did not mention the Flights of Wonder show. It is located on the walkway between Africa and Asia. It is a really cute bird show ( not like other birds shows) no tricks.

WE did the Surise Safari in June and you are going to love it. The breakfast is awesome, Another good one is the Sunset Safari that goes around the hotel and then you get dinner, we also did this one it was also great.

 

[justplaingoofy]

We were just there a week and a half ago and we walked right in just as the show was starting. They allowed people to walk in about :10min after the show started (I think thats when it filled up).
Maybe you could ask a cast member how big the crowd looks inside. (It holds alot of people and this is there off season.) If its not close to full you can go spend a few minutes elsewhere.
I went to Walmart (camping section) and purchased a few cheap ponchos (.88 cents ea) included hoods. And we brought them with us to ride Kali River Rapids. That way you can experience it, without getting drenched to the bone
When we exited the ride we gave them away to some people waiting in line. (hopefully they did the same with others)

Bugs life is great, however I'd recommend sitting toward the back and maybe as far in as you can (some things may startle little ones) My 2,4 neice/nephew loved it, but my 5y neice wasn't so crazy about it.

 

[Joanna71985]

Do NOT miss Lion King! It is an AMAZING show. It is one of the best shows in all of Disney! So make sure you go see it!

 

[ScoJo15]

Rafiki's Planet Watch can take around 30 minutes or so. The train ride is about 5 min each way. They have a schedule of daily operations there & if you go in the morning, you are likely to see a live operation in progress. It's a pretty neat place.

A note about the trails in Camp Minnie-Mickey, go to them while a Lion King show is in progress! We got all four character autographs in less than 10 minutes using this strategy.

I would allow around 30 minutes for each walking trail. Definitely do not miss the gorillas or the bats! There is no screen or fence between you and the vampire bats...it's really neat. The gorilla exhibit is awesome, you can really get up close with some giant animals!

My daughter and I did AK in September and did not get to see everything in one day. We missed Kali River Rapids, Flights of Wonder and Dinosaur.

We caught a great spot to see the parade over by the Asia section, right next to the bridge. Seeing them come over the bridge provides an unobstructed view & gets your children lots of attention, since you are the first thing that the characters see after crossing the bridge.

I do have a detailed review in my trip report (link below), but hopefully this provides some more info for you. Feel free to contact me with further questions!

 

[kareneast]

We were at WDW last week (a pretty crowded week) and went to AK on Monday Oct. 3rd. (Not an EMH day). We did the 1st Lion King Show of the day. It was only about 2/3 full. You should have no problem getting into the 1st show especially since you will be there the beginning of December which should be less crowded. On our last day Friday Oct. 7 we went back to AK just to see FOLK before heading to the airport. Got to AK at approx. 2:40pm, hiked from the busses, through security, through the gates, stopped for restrooms, then straight to the show. We made it into the 3pm show without any problems. Alot of people came in after us. By the time the show actually started the theater was just about full.

FYI: While the intro/pre-show is going on they still let people in. They have one section that they don't fill ahead of time. There is a smaller door near the section that they have people use who arrive a little late.

 

[Redbudlover]

DON'T plan on doing EMH evenings at AK. We just got back and they close all the trails in the evenings and the safari ride as well. We were very disappointed as we planned our first day at AK since it was EMH that day. We would have been better off going to MK or Epcot the first day.

 

[DJmommy]

Thanks again for all your help. Especially to ScoJo15, thank you for the information on Rafiki's Planet Watcha and for the parade tip and the character trail tip - sounds good to me.

I don't know what I would have done had I not discovered these boards!!!