To Animal kingdom or not?

[NJlauren]

I am trying to finalize my plans as my FP+ day is less the 2 weeks away. We are going to WDW for 5 days, only 3 park days. Currently my plan is MK day 1, AK am epcot pm day 2, MK am epcot pm day 3. But now wondering if I should totally scrap AK.... We are a group of 7 adults and 1 infant. I think maybe scrapping AK is selfish because I would replace it with more Epcot time my favorite park.... Any thoughts?

I have been 2 times in the last 3 years and have never been to AK.

 

[g8torphan]

Go to AK.

Lion King is great.
Safari is too


Cant imagine 2 days at Epcot...bore me to tears

 

[rizzo0904]

Epcot is may favorite too. But AK is great. Take your time and walk the trails.

 

[cakebaker]

I wouldn't miss AK and while I enjoy Epcot a great deal, a couple of 1/2 days would be sufficient on a short trip. AK is so much more than a zoo- it's really an amazing place. I highly suggest you at least give it a try once.

 

[Newsies]

Honestly, it's your call. AK just isn't worth it for some people. I love the safari, and seeing all the animals, and it's a nice relaxed park for me- but to some, it's just not worth it.

 

[Floridaglen]

Animal Kingdom is our least favourite park but we do love the safari ride. Not keen on Everest and will never ever go on that again (but then neither of us likes fast roller coasters). Do you like shows? AK has 2 excellent ones and Its Tough to be a Bug is a lot of fun. It's difficult to advise, what one person likes another doesn't. As you have never been before I would say give it a try, at least that way you will know whether to go again on future visits. No Hollywood Studios days?

 

[NJlauren]

Ok you have convinced me to keep AK I do think my daughter (10 months) will like the animals and I have been dying to try the safari! I'm trying to plan breaks in our days, I promised my DH I wouldn't be a vacation 'psycho' this trip as he affectionately calls me. But most will depend on how DD is handeling the trip, the better she does the more we will do.

Animal Kingdom is our least favourite park but we do love the safari ride. Not keen on Everest and will never ever go on that again (but then neither of us likes fast roller coasters). Do you like shows? AK has 2 excellent ones and Its Tough to be a Bug is a lot of fun. It's difficult to advise, what one person likes another doesn't. As you have never been before I would say give it a try, at least that way you will know whether to go again on future visits. No Hollywood Studios days?

I decided to skip Hollywood studios this trip with the construction and the group we are with. I'm ok missing it we spent a decent amount of time there last trip.

We also are planning tentatively to go back Sept or Nov 2016, so hopefully we can hit HS then! A longer trip because I'm annoyed I agreed to so few days this time!

ETA - thank you everyone!

 

[Cando86]

Hmm it's a tough call with only three park days. I will say we were very pleasantly surprised with AK last trip. Probably our second favorite park/day after MK. There's so much to see and explore. And, because it closes so early, you would probably have time to hop to another park for the evening and get some more time in. The Lion King was our favorite show of the trip, Expedition Everest was definitely in our top three favorite rides, we loved exploring the trails...there's just a lot to explore and do in AK and I think if you're on the fence to lean toward doing it!

 

[Off Island]

No question for our family. Go to HS and skip AK.

We wouldn't want to miss the overall feel of HS, TSMM, Tower of Terror, RnR, Fantasmic, Animation Academy, etc.

 

[Kohara]

AK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[tina.tina]

I think Animal Kingdom is beautiful. The partial day is a good way for you to try it. If you don't like it, you're only there for a partial day. If you do like it, you can plan for more next time.

 

[kastoney]

I've slowly fallen in love with AK. When we first met its lack of rides and narrow streets annoyed me. But I slowly warmed to it's quiet charm and true feeling of immersion. Then I took the time to wander through its hidden paths and enjoy some down time in the midst of the Disney madness. And then came the drinks around every bend and I was smitten for life

 

[eeyore45]

Another AK lover here too. But since you've been before and you only have 3 days, maybe just do a morning AK day, the Safari and maybe a trail (unless you love the rides, then EE rider swap?)

and I would want to spend more time at Epcot also! With the 10 month old, ducking in to a Country and watching the movie is a nice way to cool off and enjoy the atmosphere of the countries...

 

[Moms]

We have skipped AK our last several trips ... just not enough to keep us going regularly. That said, it is a beautiful park and we enjoyed a couple of hours just wandering the trails. It was early AM and quiet ... at times we felt like we were the only ones in the park! Might be worth a "look-see".

 

[minniemous]

On our 10 day trips the last two years we only go to Animal Kingdom one day. But we would never scrap it all together. It is a great park and a lot of fun. However if we were going for 3 full park days that is the park that I would sacrifice at out of the 4. I love that safari attraction though. That is basically why we go to Animal.

 

[DisneyFive]

I would definitely keep AK!

In our four annual trips, it has slowly slid from our #2 park to perhaps our #4, but it started out high on our list because it does have some awesome shows (Lion King, Nemo) and rides to offer. (EE, Safari) It just doesn't have as much staying power for us though. It definitely needs Avatarland (even though I'm not big on the whole idea of adding an Avatar themed area).

Dan

 

[JoeA]

AK is a favorite. It's so much fun to walk around and enjoy the theming.

 

[Jessicavoet]

Some people don't like Animal Kingdom. I LOVE it! But if you've never been I definitely say you should go. If you don't go, you'll never know what you're missing out on

 

[sdsatl]

We almost skipped the Animal Kingdom on our trip a couple weeks ago, and I am SO glad we didn't! Epcot was previously my favorite park for nostalgia reasons, but was replaced by MK and AK this trip (seeing how much my kids enjoyed those two). We were going to skip it, because we go to the zoo every week (it really is so much more than a zoo) and because it opened while I was in high school, so it wasn't a park I grew up with (and I turned out fine ). Again, I am so glad we changed our minds, because it turned out to be higher on my list than Epcot or HS.

If you don't end up visiting the AK, you could just visit the AKL! You can view the animals and eat at Mara (or brunch at Boma!)... we enjoyed resort hopping there so much, we spent a couple evenings there and are looking into renting points to stay there next time. It'd be a nice introduction to the AK for you, without actually visiting... whatever you decide, have fun!

 

[sdsatl]

Oops! I see that you did decide to go! Yay! You should still check out the lodge, if you have time (my kids, including a one-year-old) loved the animals and playground there. I don't think I saw it mentioned, but besides the safari and train ride, there is a great playground in the dinosaur section. It's mostly slides, but there is a dig yard across a bridge in the back; my kids would have stayed there all day if they could. It's basically a giant "sand" box, but it's not sandy. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!