Radical change of heart

[Lorelai]

To say that I really disliked Animal Kingdom when it opened, is actually a huge understatement..... but now I actually look forward to our AK day. It seems to be growing and getting better with time.

However, even though the park is absolutely huge, we never spend a full day there. Does anyone?? It seems like a lot of posts refer to it as a half day park.

 

[mking624]

It's definitely a half day park for my and my DH. We get there, do a couple of rides, eat lunch, and we're gone.

 

[mickeysaver]

AK is very close to being my favorite park. It's so different from the average theme park and those differences can either be seen as a blessing or a curse. Yes, there are animals, we love the animals and all that tree huggin' hippie enviromental stuff out there at Conservation Station. I love taking the time to watch the otters, gorillas, tigers, meerkats, naked mole rats, all those gorgeous birds and other creatures. It's Natazhu, but it's really a wonderful chance to see some of our planet's finest residents. I like FotLK, but honestly shows are not my thing.....I preferred Tarzan Rocks, but that is gone now. I love KS, Kali, and ITTBAB. I can't wait to try EE and see the Nemo Show, if it's open when we go next year. We are not overly into the Dinoland part of AK. I love PW, but Dinosaur is just too rough for our taste. I can even embrass the old school carnival atmosphere.

There are so many little touches that people miss in just going to this park as a half day run from ride to ride experience. The CM's are full of info about the park and the wildlife....we love speaking with them. It's just so amazing to me that Disney took a piece of sandy/swampy forest and created such a magnificent oasis for us all to enjoy. We usually plan for at least one full day here, but we prefer two days. Go, slow down, look around, and enjoy. Maggie

 

[Luigi's Girl]

We love going to AK. We are usually there from opening until the parade which I think is at 4:00. We actually don't consider that a full day but it's not exactly a half a day either.

 

[paladin]

AK is my favorite. We never spend a full day at any park, so we go more than one day. The details are incredible - it is a park that should be savored, not rushed through.

 

[mickeymom629]

We just are back from our spring break trip, and I enjoyed AK so much. Of course, the weather was beautiful. It is very hard to enjoy this park in the summer heat, in my opinion. My kids enjoyed the new EE. I tried Dinosaur! for the first time and loved it - already a favorite in my family. We always enjoy the Lion King Show and Safari and Kali and Primeval Whirl. This was the first trip that we went to both "trails". We were there at opening and left before the parade, but I always like to go back to the resort to "freshen up". AK is definitely a favorite with us, and easily more than just a half day. We didn't do the bird show or the train ride to Conservation Station. My advice is to go on a "cool" weather day (one with breezes and clouds) if you go in the summer.

 

[grinningghost]

I love AK, but we have never done a full day there. Simply no need. We go early and by 1:00, we've seen it all, including eating lunch.

I'm hoping it continues to grow and add new things so that someday we can make it a full day park.

 

[disneyjunkie]

Animal Kingdom is one of my favorite parks, but we have never stayed there for a full day. During our trips we usually do two or three half days there.

 

[Allison]

We love this park and will spend 2 days there this trip at the request of my kids. We spent a full day last trip and didn't get everything done. That was without waiting in any lines for attractions. There are so many cool things to enjoy it takes us a long time to get through.

 

[Aristomommy]

AK is DDs favorite park. We will spend 2 days this upcoming trip. Last time we spent one full day and it wasn't enough to appreciate all aspects of it. Some people will go and do just rides and leave. We usually do the big attractions early and then spend the rest of the day wandering around, learning about the animals. The CMs have such knowledge of the park and how the animals live in their natural habitat. It's nice to have a park that allows for a slower pace and opportunities to learn and see without huge lines everywhere.

 

[DisDarling]

We were the same way about AK, HATED it. then went back a second time and loved it! You can easily do it in half a day!
D.D.

 

[cowtownmom]

I like how AK is such a "different" kind of park. It has its own look with all of the plants and animals, etc. I guess what makes it difficult for us to do a complete day there is because of the heat for the time of year that we go. The plants do add to the humidity, making the park warmer than the others.

 

[cdntourguide]

I really love this park. I can go at Early morning entry and spend the time wandering from area to area only to find that is it closing time and I have still not seen everything. Just standing under the tree of Life trying to count and discern all of the different animals depicted takes more than an hour. The various Marketplaces and stores are really fascinating. I have been know to attend Ak three days in a row: from start to finish.
It amazes me when people say it is a half day park: looking for all of the hidden Mickeys takes a couple of days in itself.
Plus AK has the best CS dining of all the parks.


only 126 days until I am back at AK, having lunch at FlameTree BBQ, and getting fp's for EE.

123 days until next trip to WDW

 

[Tricia1972]

On our trip to WDW in 2004 we really enjoyed AK, and found that for us it was one of the best parks. There is so much there that you can enjoy. DS (20 months) loved taking time to beat on the tribal drums, by far we had the best character viewing experience there with their huts, and everythign was absolutely beautiful. We did find ourselves leaving the park after about 3/4 of a day, only because it was SO hot. We went at the end of September and the heat and humidity were truly unbearable that day.

Looking back at our trip AK was one of the best parts. Maybe because we were able to relax and us not having a 'game plan' didn't hurt us in AK as it did in Epcot and MK.

 

[appraiserguy]

I personally really enjoy AK. DW and I did the "Behind the Scene" last year and it was really cool. I can see how the park could be covered in half a day, but it seems like we are always there until closing. It's just so different from the other parks and CM's are always so willing to explain or go into detail about the animals, which my wife loves. I guess it boils down to how much you like animals..........hence the name "Animal Kingdom".

 

[BTown]

On my last trip, it was my first time to go to AK since it opened, and I absolutely loved it. We spent a whole day, from open to close in the park, and then came back and spent another half day there before the end of our trip. I love the park, and to me, any of the attractions with animals is always a different experience any time you see them.

 

[doc hog]

We love AK for Donald's Breakfastosaurus. We have young kids so we love Camp Minnie/Mickey. The lines are not very long and we get pictures of a lot of characters plus Donald who I think is hard to find. Our kids also like Chester and Hester which is like Dumbo. If you get there early you can ride it several times. I still consider it a half day park.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

You can cover it by 2pm on the busiest days. But we linger. We took a ton of time at Rafikis. We took a ton of time on the trails. We took a ton of time on nearly everything we could take a ton of time on. We even beat the drums for about 30 minutes. And we loved it. It's definitely a park where if you don't take time to smell the roses so to speak, you're missing out on quite a bit.

We often found ourselves saying, Why did that guide book say to skip this?

 

[JoeEpcotRocks]

For our June trip, we are planning one 1/2 day (with EMH am) from 8:00 - 11:30 and another 1/2 day (with EMH pm) from 4:30 - 9:30+.

 

[DOOM1001]

I've never spent an entireday at AK, but hey I'm a park-hopping kinda guy and the only park I remember being there the whole day is EPCOT.With Everest opening I definitely spend more time at AK, but I doubt I will be there from morning to closing.

As far as AK being the biggest park, that really doesn't mean anything, it's the biggest park cause the safari ride requires a huge space for the animals and there is still empty space not currently used. So it might be the biggest park as far as size but it still needs more attractions.