Please sell Animal Kingdom to me!

[Barnabas T Bullion]

2 quick thoughts.

- Went in April and did EE like 7 times and forgot how great it is (first time on it since 2006).
- Also saw Festival of the Lion King for the first time this April and it was so amazing I almost cried. It just blew me away.

You know you take it easy, check the place out (touring this park is easy) and with early closing you can spend the night elsewhere (hop, or DTD, or pool/dinner).

I like it.

 

[ml sumner]

AK is my second favourite park, and only really loses out by a hair to MK.

The theming is stunning, and the safari experience is incredible. DH and I loved seeing the animals in such well thought our environments. It has the best coaster at WDW (imho!) and Expedition Everest is smooth as anything, and a pleasure to ride. Even my coaster hating DH wanted to ride it again after we did it the first time! The Flights of Wonder show is so well done- I love birds (the user names kind of gives that away, huh?) but it was a brilliant show and we loved it. We enjoyed all the different areas, and appreciated the amount of work that had gone into the imagineering at AK.

We missed both the Nemo and Lion King show as we ran out of time, so we had plenty to do. They're on the must do list for next time.

Love it so much- planning at least 2.5 days there next time!

We were there last week and feel the same way about it. Out of our 5 days to all 4 parks the Animals Kingdom ranked up there with Magic Kingdom. My son who is 4 absolutely loved this park.

 

[DisneyFan2013]

Hi everyone!

Haven't been to AK in 5 years, will be 6 years by the time I go next April

I don't know why but it just doesn't appeal to me but I want to go back and give it another shot

Please can you tell me what you love about AK and what I simply cannot miss?

I heard they do a cheese/jalapeno pretzel and apparently their cocktails are to die for! So these will be on the list

Thank you! x

ETA- I should probably mention that it will be me and my 30 year old boyfriend so we won't have any children with us- although we are both big kids at heart so nothing is too "babyish"

AK is my favorite park! It has a more relaxed feeling to me than the other parks, and I am a big fan of nature and animals so I love the theming. My favorite attractions are Expedition Everest, Kilimanjaro Safaris, Dinosaur, Primeval Whirl, Festival of the Lion King, and It's Tough to Be a Bug. I also enjoy having lunch at Yak and Yeti restaurant.

 

[lugnut33]

Safari Mike from Jambo Everyone posted up a nice AK touring plan today. Read it and follow it.
http://www.jamboeveryone.com/2015/09/safari-mikes-one-day-plan-for-animal.html?m=1

 

[mickey1968]

When they announced they were building AK I was so upset. I LOVE Disney and I LOVE the zoo and I LOVE animals but I just couldn't make this work in my head. Animals are not going to do what they are supposed to do, the safari will be a bust if they don't participate. I went in with a negative attitude.

Now I love it. The design work and the imagineering is Disney at it's very best. From the ruts in the road, to the signs plastered on buildings to the art on the Asian trail it would take me days to explore all the detailing. I love to wander the whole park with my camera taking pics, it truly is a relaxing day there. I love taking my time on the paths animal watching. There are some great drinks and eats if you take the time to explore or do your homework in advance. Love the safari and Everest but I would be fine with no rides. The shows are good but I'm fine if I don't see them. Last trip I saw the bird show for the first time, pleasantly surprised it was fun. There are numerous spots in the park with live music, take the time to grab a drink or snack and find a spot to enjoy OR join in and dance. Completely agree with PP, do the Wilderness Explorer. All adults here and we did. Like a scavenger hunt, we learned some things and had some great conversations with CMs. And much to my surprise, I have always had a great safari ride no matter the time of day. Kudos to those animals for participating!!

And yes the Dole Whips with Rum are even better than the MK ones!!!

So where in AK can you get these rum Dole Whips? I have had it on my Epcot list for a while but there are always so many other things competing.

 

[mickey1968]

It took me a while to warm up to AK too. I first went just a few years after it opened and I went in June. All I could remember is how HOT it was! Then I didn't go back to Disney for almost 10 years(!), but when I went back to AK I loved it ever since. I love to walk the trails and enjoy practicing my photography skills on the animals especially the birds on the trail that has the aviary. I love EE and the Safari. I don't ride Kali because I hate getting that wet regardless of the time of year! I love the LK and Nemo shows, but haven't done the Birds yet. My trips at the end of October have been the best temperature wise. After 2 or 3 trips to Disney in mid-May I have vowed not to go that time of year again. I spent a good deal of time standing under the A/C vents in all the parks and the big fans they have along the trails at AK. I have to confess though, I skipped AK altogether my last two trips partly due to the construction and the heat in May and went to Universal those days instead. I am looking forward to going again in October.

 

[tlmadden73]

I think it is a hard sell if you aren't already a fan of simply going to zoos.

Like Epcot and DHS, there simply isn't many "attractions" there. (6 rides, 3 shows). AK is more than a zoo, but it has the same vibe. At its core, you can spend a lot of your time doing the Safari, walking the animal trails, going to Rafiki's planetwatch and seeing an animal show. You can spend a lot of time NOT standing in line for a ride or show. There is a lot of fun atmosphere there too.

My last trip there (had a 2 year old with us) .. we didn't do much (attraction-wise) but had a fun, full day.

I also like it since it is (for now) a day-only park. You can use the early closing time to park hop or get a dinner reservation somewhere else on the resort without feeling like you are "leaving early".


While I love the Dinosaur ride, I can't, to this day, understand why Disney decided to make Dino World USA .. some carnival games and two cheap looking (on purpose) carnival rides. It just doesn't feel Disney in the quality or theming. I usually bypass the whole thing ... There just feels like they could have done more with it.

 

[hakepb]

So where in AK can you get these rum Dole Whips? I have had it on my Epcot list for a while but there are always so many other things competing.

Tamu Tamu refreshments in Africa

 

[Satchmo128]

So many amazing things to see and do at Animal Kingdom. It has been my favorite since our first trip 6 years ago.
Expedition Everest is my all-time #1 ride for all of the WDW parks.
Finding Nemo, Festival of the Lion King, and Flights of Wonder are all amazing shows.
Kilimanjaro Safaris is different every time you ride it because LIVE ANIMALS!
All of the walking trails around the Tree of Life are relaxing.
Flame Tree BBQ is the best Counter Service restaurant in WDW (if you are a carnivore).
Love love love it.

 

[jreed]

We were at AK twice last week...once for a full day and once a half day. We rode the rapids, Everest, and Dinosaur multiple times. Loved the Lion King and Bugs Life show.

 

[havoc315]

Hi everyone!

Haven't been to AK in 5 years, will be 6 years by the time I go next April

I don't know why but it just doesn't appeal to me but I want to go back and give it another shot

Please can you tell me what you love about AK and what I simply cannot miss?

I heard they do a cheese/jalapeno pretzel and apparently their cocktails are to die for! So these will be on the list

Thank you! x

ETA- I should probably mention that it will be me and my 30 year old boyfriend so we won't have any children with us- although we are both big kids at heart so nothing is too "babyish"

If you have done Animal Kingdom before, then IMO, it is not currently a "must"... but you might be in real luck in April, and it might be a must by then:

http://www.wdwmagic.com/attractions/rivers-of-light/news.htm

Supposedly, around March of 2016, Animal Kingdom will launch a night-time show. Would you have wanted to see Fantasmic in its first month?

 

[ELSA711]

Can't really sell you on something if it doesn't appeal to you.
My first visit to WDW was in 1999 all because AK 'appealed' to me, it spoke to me.
The tree of life is as magnificent to me as the Castle.
FOTLK is as wonderful to me as Wishes if not 10x better. I love everything about AK. It's by far my fav park. I do love MK and I love the memories I make there with my kids but AK has my heart.
Everything about it, the attractions, shows (I so miss the Tarzan show) and most definitely the food!
My kids love it as well and it is their 2nd fav park.

 

[epcotty]

We're really casual about AK, don't like it as much as the others but will go there if we feel tired of the other ones (which doesn't happen often). However right now we would rather go there than HS

 

[SaintsManiac]

Haven't been in 6 years and nearly left it off our plan for December. Then I thought about Everest, Safari, FOTLK, the Tree of Life, Yeti beer and Tusker House.

Yep can't wait now

 

[GPC0321]

I've only been once, almost 17 years ago. I liked it then, but it felt (and was) "unfinished" then. Funny, 17 years later it's going to be much more fleshed out but still have major construction going on for the Avatar land.
Still, I'm really, really excited about visiting this park again and seeing how it has grown since I was there last. I've "read up" and am more prepared this time, and I am looking forward to seeing pretty much every animal on the place. I'm an animal lover, so it appeals to me right out of the box because...well...animals! As another poster mentioned, it's also a park that you won't spend most of your time standing in a line or rushing from one line to another. You can stroll around and look at stuff, catch some great shows, see all of the lovely animals, and eat some pretty decent food. In that aspect, it reminds me of EPCOT's World Showcase.
And as someone else mentioned, hopefully River of Light will be up and running by the time you are there (I hope so...I'm going late March and have my fingers crossed that it will be running by the time I'm there).
And finally, in April, it won't be so dreadfully hot. I was there in January the time before...definitely not hot! LOL.

 

[Disneylover99]

It's the kind of park that grows on me. The more I go, the more I like it.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Can't really sell you on something if it doesn't appeal to you.
My first visit to WDW was in 1999 all because AK 'appealed' to me, it spoke to me.
The tree of life is as magnificent to me as the Castle.
FOTLK is as wonderful to me as Wishes if not 10x better. I love everything about AK. It's by far my fav park. I do love MK and I love the memories I make there with my kids but AK has my heart.
Everything about it, the attractions, shows (I so miss the Tarzan show) and most definitely the food!
My kids love it as well and it is their 2nd fav park.

I had a pair of SW tickets & some Marriott points burning a hole in my pocket in 1998, so DW & I flew to Orlando SPECIFICALLY because of the opening of AK. Without AK, I can't say for certain that my kids ever would have experienced WDW

 

[Harambe]

Love it, as you can tell by my DIS name. First time we went, I was on the Maharajah Jungle Trek (the tiger walk!) and found myself on a path that was empty. It was really quiet, and the wind picked up, causing a small section of bamboo to sway, making the most beautiful sound . . . that's AK. And as much as we love the hubbub of the other parks, to have that relaxed feeling is one that we really need during a WDW vacation. Oh, and brownie paws. And Flame Tree. And the Dawa Bar . . .