Did Animal Kingdom for the first time with my wife and three boys today. Ages 6-11. A few quick observations which may help with planning.
First, it was unseasonably cool with highs in the upper 50s! Also light rain for much of the morning. It cut down on crowds considerably, so I’d say we got lucky.
I like AK, but it just feels *unbalanced.* Pandora is the huge draw, but it isn’t big enough. Then you’ve got a small zoo (exhibit-wise), one really nice coaster, and a smattering of other rides that are average to terrible. Unless your kids have a broad enough appetite to hit most the rides, this is still a half-day park.
Flight of Passage is great, but because the park is so unbalanced, you’re either going to ride it twice tops (once at RD and once with FP) or wait in line at least an hour. NRJ is beautiful but not worth waiting more than 30mins. Fortunately that’s very doable almost all day on a low crowd day.
Dinosaur sucks. What a terrible ride. It needs to be torn down. It is just nausea inducing and not fun. The movie wasn’t good, either.
The Safari is great, and a no-brainer for FP.
Everest is terrific. And standby line was less than 20 minutes all day (thanks to Pandora).
Tough to Be a Bug is terrible, but it ironically occupies the best real estate in the park. Right under the Tree of Life. It has this whole long beautiful winding cue that is completely empty because the show stinks.
Yak And Yeti was a great dinner choice. It is PF Chang’s caliber food at PF Chang’s caliber prices, which is a pretty good value for a theme park.
One final non-AK-specific observation. You can’t predict standby times based upon the length of the line. It might look like a small line, but if a wave of FPs comes in at the wrong time, it increases the standby time considerably. Overall, I really wonder if FP has actually improved the guest experience.
In closing, Pandora needs a third attraction (to which Disney would say “we need another movie, James”) and other areas of the park really need a refresh. But you can make a great half day of this and maybe a full day if your kids have a broad enough palette.
First, it was unseasonably cool with highs in the upper 50s! Also light rain for much of the morning. It cut down on crowds considerably, so I’d say we got lucky.
I like AK, but it just feels *unbalanced.* Pandora is the huge draw, but it isn’t big enough. Then you’ve got a small zoo (exhibit-wise), one really nice coaster, and a smattering of other rides that are average to terrible. Unless your kids have a broad enough appetite to hit most the rides, this is still a half-day park.
Flight of Passage is great, but because the park is so unbalanced, you’re either going to ride it twice tops (once at RD and once with FP) or wait in line at least an hour. NRJ is beautiful but not worth waiting more than 30mins. Fortunately that’s very doable almost all day on a low crowd day.
Dinosaur sucks. What a terrible ride. It needs to be torn down. It is just nausea inducing and not fun. The movie wasn’t good, either.
The Safari is great, and a no-brainer for FP.
Everest is terrific. And standby line was less than 20 minutes all day (thanks to Pandora).
Tough to Be a Bug is terrible, but it ironically occupies the best real estate in the park. Right under the Tree of Life. It has this whole long beautiful winding cue that is completely empty because the show stinks.
Yak And Yeti was a great dinner choice. It is PF Chang’s caliber food at PF Chang’s caliber prices, which is a pretty good value for a theme park.
One final non-AK-specific observation. You can’t predict standby times based upon the length of the line. It might look like a small line, but if a wave of FPs comes in at the wrong time, it increases the standby time considerably. Overall, I really wonder if FP has actually improved the guest experience.
In closing, Pandora needs a third attraction (to which Disney would say “we need another movie, James”) and other areas of the park really need a refresh. But you can make a great half day of this and maybe a full day if your kids have a broad enough palette.
we are currently planning our september trip and literally have about half a day planned for here. It always seems sooo crowded, and in the hotter months I find it sweltering along the pathways with all the vegetation. I do like some of the rides and shows, but not enough to want to spend more than a day here.
