Who Loves Animal Kingdom Park?

[suz72]

Hi, I'm looking for a little advice from someone who loves AK.

I have DD3(will be 4) and DD6.

We are looking forward to the Animal Kingdom experience. I have a few questions:

1. How good is Rafiki's Planet Watch? My kids love animals and would love this if it is truly interactive. Do they really get to feed and pet them?

2. I was thinking of skipping the Flights of Wonder show and possibly It's Tough to be a bug.

We will not miss:
Kilimanjaro Safari
Kali River Rapids
Festival of the Lion King

Any advice, what did you and your kids love?
Thanks

 

[amarberry]

I love AK too! My DD is 2yo and since our last trip in January, she has become an animal fanatic so I'm looking forward to her reaction when we visit in Sept.

Rafiki's Planet Watch is a little different than your average petting zoo. First of all, you don't feed the animals (mostly goats, if I remember correctly), but the kids can brush the animals with brushes that are provided. I also remember that it was very, very clean compared to petting zoos that we have visited around home. The other thing that I am anticipating my DD will enjoy on our next trip is the train ride from Harambe to Rafiki's Planet Watch (she has hit the train crazy stage...what's up with that? ).

Can't really add any input to the Flights of Wonder issue. We haven't seen it since we aren't really into birds. It's Tough to be a Bug is a hard one for the little kids. We've tried a couple of times only for DD and I to leave the theater within the first minute of the show, but she was much younger than your kids. Out of all the 3D shows, I think it is the most intense. If your schedule allows for it, you might want to see how the kids react to Philharmagic or Muppets 3D first.

I love the Safari and Lion King. I also just like wandering around in AK or listening to the drummers in Harambe. We also enjoyed the parade one afternoon.

 

[LVSWL]

We love AK! I think that the planet watch would be lots of fun, although I couldn't tell when you would be going and it is some walking and could be hot. Take some water and you will be fine. Do not skip Flights of Wonder! It is fantastic! It is a little bit of conservation mixed with some fun that you kids and you will not forget. Tough to be a bug, might be too dark and scary if they don't like the loud noisys and 3d stuff and can be a bit much. The safari is great, the close up view of the animals is fantastic. The kali river rapids is lots of fun. Just enough to be exciting but not enough to be frightening. But you could get wet. Of course in hot weather that is wonderful. Another do NOT miss is the Lion King show. It will bring tears to your eyes. The kids and you will love it. You will be clapping and singing along.Have fun in Ak!

 

[princess22]

Do not skip Flights of Wonder! It is fantastic! It is a little bit of conservation mixed with some fun that you kids and you will not forget.

I completely agree. I love Flights of Wonder. So, unless you have a fear of birds (like my aunt) don't miss it!

 

[Jobie]

Animal Kingdom is my fav park there. In my opinion though, Planet Watch is a waste of time. Not too much there to do. Also, go ahead and skip the birds show, if you have seen one you have seen them all, but I would not skip Tough to be a Bug. The show is great!

 

[stlsports4ever]

I have never been but really want to. I love the whole concept.

Mr. Mike

 

[Anc96]

There are two wonderful walk throughs that shouldn't be missed. One is the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail and the other is the Maharajah Jungle Trek. My fave is the Jungle trek. I LOVE the 'ruins' and the murals. My dd LOVED the tigers and the ... ugh.. bats! They were HUGE. There's also an aviary with some really beautiful birds! At the begining of the trek they give you a chart of the animals and birds you will see.

I don't know how daring your DD6 is.. but even when my dd was 6 she loved coasters and would go on any coaster she was tall enough for (and unfortunately she was and is a pretty tall child!)... your DD6 might really like Everest. It wasn't around when my dd was 6, but it's not as bad as R&RC and my dd loved that at 6. I've seen young kids on that and they look pretty happy (unlike me). Dinosaur is a pretty rough ride, VERY bumpy, but no drops or falls or anything, but it's very dark.. and possibly scary.. though again, I've seen some pretty young kids in there and they were lovin' it. Depends on the child.

Another vote for Flights of Wonder..

 

[HaleyB]

Hi, I'm looking for a little advice from someone who loves AK.

I have DD3(will be 4) and DD6.

We are looking forward to the Animal Kingdom experience. I have a few questions:

1. How good is Rafiki's Planet Watch? My kids love animals and would love this if it is truly interactive. Do they really get to feed and pet them?

2. I was thinking of skipping the Flights of Wonder show and possibly It's Tough to be a bug.

We will not miss:
Kilimanjaro Safari
Kali River Rapids
Festival of the Lion King

Any advice, what did you and your kids love?
Thanks

We love Rafiki's Planet Watch. Spent a lot of time back there. Watch out for Max the goat, he likes to eat paper. The CM's will answer all your questions and you can brush and pet the animals. Inside they bring out snakes and other critters for close up encounters. We also saw Rafiki himself while there

We think Flights of Wonder is wonderful. It is also a great shade break. Eating a Mickey bar and seeing the birds. Good stuff.

Kali River, on the other hand, we thought was a waste of time. And you may get soaked on it (not a little wet, drowned rat soaked). I would much rather spend time viewing the animals.

We don't always do It's Tough to be a Bug. The first time my son saw it it really scared him. I think he was 7 at the time. Now several years later he still prefers to skip it. The extra effects freaked him out.

We spend 2 days at AK because it is such a hot park. That allows us to leave early for a swim if need be. Great park with lots to see. Go on the safari ride early or late, the animals are way more active. Or if it rains lightly, that is a great time for the safari ride because lots of the animals will be out.

 

[HaleyB]

A word on Dinosaur. I see your from California, I hope it is safe to assume you have been to Disneyland. The track and cars for Dinosaur are very much like the ones for Indiana Jones in DL. It is bumpy and rough and can be scary. If you do plan to ride it there is one seat I would not put a youngish child in. I am blanking on which one, but if you read up on it or ask about it here people will be able to tell you. One seat gets the Dino pretty much in your face...

 

[suz72]

OP here!

Thanks for the replies. I will need to reconsider the Flights of Wonder Show. I'm sure we'll all love it. We are doing AK on our first day of vacation, we are really looking for the animal experience! That is why I had planned to do Rafiki's Planet watch, I'm just afraid that it will take too much of our day. If it isn't exciting or hands on enough we may skip it.

OK, so I'm trying to figure out if we can do it all in the alloted time 9-5.

My DD6 (almost 7) is really wanting to do the Dinosaur ride, but not DD3 (almost 4). DH and I would like EE, not sure about DDs. We may stick to rides that we can all do. Not sure yet.

I have one question about the trails (Pangani Forest Exploration Trail, Maharaja Jungle Trek, and Discovery Island Trails)...how long do you spend in each of them? Should I try to do all 3?

 

[suz72]

A word on Dinosaur. I see your from California, I hope it is safe to assume you have been to Disneyland. The track and cars for Dinosaur are very much like the ones for Indiana Jones in DL. It is bumpy and rough and can be scary. If you do plan to ride it there is one seat I would not put a youngish child in. I am blanking on which one, but if you read up on it or ask about it here people will be able to tell you. One seat gets the Dino pretty much in your face...

Very good advice. Yes, I love Indiana Jones...but never have taken DDs on it. Last time we were there my oldest DD was just barely 5. She may not like the bumpy and jerky stuff.

Thank you, I will tell her about it.

 

[english rose 47]

I'd like to know how long the Trek and the Trail take also.The kids want to see "Bug" but as they are scared of insects I think they'll freak. DGS loves birds. Do they land on you , she would love that.

 

[Rudy6]

We love AK.

Rafiki Planet Watch is a must. There is a walk to the main building, but it has some interactive displays along the way. There is plenty to do in the building. The petting area is outside. You will enjoy the petting area.

Flights of Wonder is also a must. One of the nicest bird shows I have ever seen. It is covered, so if it is hot, you have some protection.

I see that you will be there in September, which I assume will still be hot, so pace yourself.

When we were there in November, last year, the lines were nonexistent. We did not have to get off Kali River Rapids. My DD and I rode it two times in a row, but my DS stayed on a third time, and could have kept on it, but he was a little cold when he got off.

The park is wondeful in the cooler months.

Nonetheless, you will enjoy it in September. Just get there at opening.

We are going in August, and we are very excited about EE. We have photos of it being built from every trip; and finally we get to ride it. I cannot wait.

Like I said, we love AK, and you will too.

Have fun.

 

[Anc96]

OP here!

Thanks for the replies. I will need to reconsider the Flights of Wonder Show. I'm sure we'll all love it. We are doing AK on our first day of vacation, we are really looking for the animal experience! That is why I had planned to do Rafiki's Planet watch, I'm just afraid that it will take too much of our day. If it isn't exciting or hands on enough we may skip it.

OK, so I'm trying to figure out if we can do it all in the alloted time 9-5.

My DD6 (almost 7) is really wanting to do the Dinosaur ride, but not DD3 (almost 4). DH and I would like EE, not sure about DDs. We may stick to rides that we can all do. Not sure yet.

I have one question about the trails (Pangani Forest Exploration Trail, Maharaja Jungle Trek, and Discovery Island Trails)...how long do you spend in each of them? Should I try to do all 3?

Rafiki's Planet Watch can take a bit of time. Waiting for the train, the train ride.. walking to the conservatory.. petting the animals.
The ride up is not spectacular. It's just storage buildings.. some for the animals but you don't see any up close or anything. The conservatory (or at least that's what I think they call that part) has some beautiful animal murals! And if you go at the right time, they may even be operating on an animal. Sometimes they do bring out the snakes.. but that only happened once out of many times we've been there. You can see the snake through the glass. You can go in a room with earphones and listen to the rainforest.. my dd only did that once.. she was about 7, wasn't interested enough to ever do it again.
The petting part (and brushing) is really only goats. My dd wasn't impressed with that since we're rural.. and there are petting areas for animals like goats and lambs in several places nearby. So it depends on what you want to be 'hands on' with.

If you're running short of time.. I would pass it up.

Pangini trek and the Maharaja Trek are can take as long as you want. If you stroll through I'd say either would only take 15-20 minutes. If your child is fasinated with say.. those horrible bats and wants to watch them for 15 minutes like my dd did.. then it would take longer.

They do have child swaps at Dinosaur and EE. If you get fast passes it wouldn't take long to do Dinosaur with DD.. then hand her off to your DH and let him ride with her too. It's dark and really bumpy.. but like I said, my dd loved it at 6 (and she just turned 6)... and other kids that age and younger seem to also. You might want to warn her about the one part where the big red dinosaur is gonna jump out to scare you all... & take your pic then too. It's shocking the first time!
Don't miss EE. If you DD is daring.. she'll love it. Even if she's not.. do a child swap and ride! I don't like coasters and wasn't crazy about the ride itself.. but I loved the special effects of this one. Even the queue was really interesting.


Make sure you check the map and try to keep things in order so you can do several things in one area.

Have a great time whatever you decide! AK is my absolute favorite park!

 

[MarieS]

We really enjoyed this park--especially the safari. We rode it first thing in the morning on an EE day and saw lots of animals. Our car had to stop and wait for giraffes who were in the road. I've got boys so this may not apply to you, but they also enjoyed The Boneyard and seeing the fossils. The parade was also fun. Several characters stopped and said hi to them.
We did PLanet Watch. They were able to pet the goats and they had a good system for hand washing as you exited the area. There were caretakers in the building and they were allowed to touch a lizard. There was a CM standing by with antibacterial wipes which was good too. It was interesting, but I would only do this area if you had time left over.
Have a good trip!

 

[Simba22]

Ok i'm 23 and AK is my favorite park....I love animals and can spend all day in AK. I want to see and do everything!. I've never seen Flights of Wonder or It's Tough to be a Bug, but definitely do Lion King...Rafiki's PLanet Watch is very cool to me...the Affection Section has standard petting zoo animals (goats, a llama, a donkey who is ADORABLE) & chickens). DBF and I had a good time there...and the train ride to get there is very relaxing.

 

[suz72]

Thanks for the advice everyone!

We will actually be there on 10/15

I typed up a touring plan for us that I will try to follow. I feel like it will be hard to do it all in one day. We are very excited to go!

 

[DisneyFan06]

I just returned from Animal Kingdom. It is my favorite park out of the four Disney has provided. There is so much to see and do, and alot of effort has been put into such a park to make it so wonderful.

I never did Flights of Wonder, bascially because there is so much other things to do - and to be honest, I am not all into birds. I have two at home who keep me pretty entertained on a daily basis. It's Tough to be a Bug is an amazing 3D show which I would never miss - the effects are great which might me scary for children under the age of 5 who are not introduced to the storyline before hand.

Kali River Rapids is a must especially on a hot day! I went around 11:30 and that was the perfect time to cool off, it was awesome. The Safarai is also great. Yesterday, we seen tons of Animals (more than normally) we went on the ride around 11:00 and the castmembers were in trucks delivering food, etc... to some of the Animals.

I never really stayed for the parade because we always leave early and spend the rest of the day at the Magic Kingdom. I mean, what's Disney without Wishes!

 

[byoung]

Make sure you take the kids to the Lion King show.

 

[Skroops]

All of these posters have great information!

I had one other thing that our DS loves, the Boneyard play area. Although it is only an elaborate playground where kids can climb and slide, there is the cool large sand that the kids can uncover bones. It may be a fun idea for you to take your little one in there while your spouse takes the older kiddo on the bigger rides.

I think that the Dinosaur ride is really scary.

I think the Kali River Rapids is a waste of time unless there is very little line and it is a hot day. It seriously is too short of a ride.

It is Tough to be a bug is one of my all-time favorites, but it really scares some kids because of unexpected moments.

The Lion King show is a do-not-miss for us! (And now EE is too... but just for me!)

Look for DeVine! I didn't know about her until the DIS boards. She's easy to miss!

Have an awesome time!