Skipping Animal Kingdom

[Pembo]

I think we're skipping AK this trip too. I love EE and could ride it all day however after a lot of trips, I'm just not that excited about AK.

I love the Nemo show and Lion King is good, but it's the same show I've seen a lot of times.

One note - we had a lot of great character meetings at the AK.

I agree with the others who have said it's a good park to hop to and from. We enjoyed our emh evening there last summer but the record heat during the day was tough.

 

[woodkins]

I'm a thrill ride type of person However Ill be traveling alone on this trip so I will not be able to do any thrill rides. I did'nt think Studios was that interesting eithier as far as children's rides. Besides TSM there is really no other ride geared for children. The kids did really enjoy Fantasmic though so we will be doing a day at HS. It will be a half a day though. I 'm not leaving super early . We will probaly swim/relax and head out to HS much later in the day which reminds me I have to make a Sci Fi ressie!

I would say that HS has ALOT of things for children, especially your kids age. There is TSM, Playhouse Disney show, Honey I Shrunk the Kids Playground, Little Mermaid, Muppets 3D movie, and tons of character interactions with the Playhouse Disney characters. My dd also liked the backlot tour. She could spend hours at the HISK Playground!

 

[seadd67]

WeNever miss AK , we are also hoppers so we try to make it there once a day or everyoyjer day on our trips. Our Favorite show Is the lion king show, hands down we have never did Nemo,but we are going to try It this year,ds always thought Of It for Real little kids. Something we have never try, and will miss again this year Is the flight of wonder,Its down for refurb during our stay. Oh try doing a EMH night at AK, its so diffrent!!. For some reason I always get my self turn around at night there

 

[mdb78]

I remember when AK first opened they had the "Natazu" campaign. LOL!

Well our first trip to AK was a year ago, and to our surprise we actually loved it. I also love that theres more shade. We enjoyed all the rides and shows and I love how most of the park doesn't have that zoo smell! We also get the most luck with characters at this park. DD has been there twice (she just turned 3) and even though she couldn't get on some of the rides, she still enjoyed herself. The only thing I could do without on our next visit is the Nemo show. I just felt like there was just too much going on.

 

[ML_LovesDisney]

I really loved the safari but other than that AK wasn't that great. I would go back but definitley don't need to spend a day there.

 

[caravarela]

I visited AK for the first time in 2008. I liked it, but we didn't get to do much because it was super crowded and my kids were cranky so we left right after lunch. DH did not like it AT ALL. He doesn't like the zoo either, btw.

Last year we skipped it, because I just couldn't convince DH to give it another try. If it's up to him, I'm sure we'd never go to AK again. But if the kids are interested I will try

 

[tj4disney]

After including AK the past two visits, I'm about ready to pull the plug on it. The kicker for me was that I hadn't done EE the first time we visited, so I was eager to try it the second visit. I tried it out, but unfortunately got queasy, so didn't ride again. Kids (6 and 8) loved it though, so not sure if we can get away with skipping in the future.

It really is an amazing looking park...best of the four in my opinion. But I'm too much of a "gotta-do-something-at-Disney" type...so AK has EE (blech), KS (yawn), and KRR (too wet). That's 0-3 in my book...so even with the cool atmosphere (and some shows we enjoy like Flights and FotLK), it's getting harder to compete with other things Disney has to offer.

 

[d1gitman]

we skip it most of the time. too much walking (as if the other parks aren't). not as much attraction wise for us there. safari is cool but the rest of seeing animals doesn't do anything for us, we have zoos for that. all we care for at AK is Safari, Kali River Rapids, Expedition Everest, Dinoland. Beyond that, we can do without it.

 

[tluvstink]

Another AK fan checking in I like to get there early and stay until mid-afternoon. For us it isn't an "all day" park. Our last trip we saw Devine for the first time and that was great

Oh and It's Tough To Be A Bug is one of my favorite attractions in WDW. Some kids may be scared but my DDs were 3 and 6 the first time they saw it and loved it.

Terri

 

[luvlumpy]

All of us love AK!! We go at rope drop and are usually done by early afternoon. Wouldn't miss it!

 

[2DisPrincesses]

We plan on going for part of the day, mostly because DD(4) HAS to ride the "Yeti rollercoaster."

 

[nytimez]

I don't get there at rope drop -- not a morning person -- but I'm always there until closing and never run out of things to do.

I think you either "get" AK or you don't. And I'm kind of glad a lot of people don't -- less crowds for me!

 

[Buckeye Princess]

We love AK. We usually go at least 2 days over the course of a week trip. This last trip we did 1 whole day, 1 morning, and then 1 PM EMH. We go at least once a year to WDW so we aren't attraction to attraction kind of people. We love just strolling and taking in the details.

 

[distherapy]

Wow! Y'all have some tall 4-year-olds for EE! I thought my kids were tall, but they were over 5 before they hit 44".

 

[Christyo72]

We were talking over our Disney plans last night and figuring out our dining reservations. We decided to sleep in on our AK day, swim at the resort, and eat a late lunch/early dinner. This would put up arriving at the park around 4:30 and then we will stay for the extra magic hours which is until 8:00. It is our least favorite park, but we do love EE. I usually feel like I'm having heat stroke in AK because it is so unusually humid (and I'm a lifelong southerner and should be used to it!!!!).

 

[MamaCrush]

I love AK. I always wish I could spend more time there-- but the kids and DH are so focused on the rides, I seem to miss out on my time with the animals. I have yet to see Flights of Wonder and Lion King. I love hanging out on the Marakesh Trail and Pagani Forest Trail. The animals are so entertaining for me. Also-- I haven't circled the trails around the Tree of Life. Aren't there kangaroos??? It always seems to me that I never have enough time there. One problem is that we're there by rope drop, but want to leave by 1:00 due to the humidity and crowds. AK can't easily accommodate the crowds as the other parks can due to its jungle like layout. But that being said, I would hate to miss it altogether.

 

[guitarob]

We went for a morning on our Honeymoon. We did Everest, Kilimanjaro, the Rapids and Dinosaur, then left. We didn't return to AK last year for our Anniversary trip, and we don't plan on returning this year either.

There's just not enough there to justify the wandering around in the extreme heat (I swear it feels like they pump additional heat and humidity into that park to make it feel more like a jungle).

I was thinking about this the other night, and decided that we probably wouldn't go back there until there was something new to see.

 

[winterman]

AK is still an essential part of our WDW trips. We have been 6 or 7 times and have trimmed down our list of must do attractions. We see/ride the Lion King, Finding Nemo, Its Tough to Be a Bug, the Safari, Flights of Wonder, and Kali. We have done Dinosaur and EE but as we get older they are too rough for us. We've also done the walking trails and taken the train to Conservation Station but no longer do. Our most recent visit was the best. We took a lot of breaks and eliminated most back-tracking.

 

[pooch]

AK list! I love wandering the aminal trails and could watch their antics for hours! I drive DD crazy because I'm the type to stop and read every sign and talk to all the CMs along the way. A PP said she thought Nemo was the worst show in the park (or something to that effect) and I am shocked!!! It's a WONDERFUL, bright, colorful show and we had to miss it last year so its a MUST DO on this trip. We will typically spend 2 days at AK arriving about 11am and staying til close @ 5. My brother is taking DD's place on this trip and he is like me only more so. Hmmm, we better get there earlier or we'll never get to everything we'll want to see/read/talk about!!!!

And I truly don't understand the "wait for something new to see" comment. How many of us return to MK over and over with nothing appreciably new to see, how long did Epcot go without a new attraction prior to Soarin' and Mission Space?, and when was the last time something new was seen in World Showcase? Isn't the "haven't you seen it all yet?" comment the one we get from people who don't understand why we go to WDW year after year?

 

[Cloudless Nights]

I LOVE AK. The other members of my party only like the thrill rides (and Yak and Yeti!) but I love simply walking down the animal trails and observing nature. However, I want to be a vet, so that may have something to do with it!