Would you skip AK?

[Dis703]

We would never skip AK, but obviously there are others who feel different. AK is absolutely NOT a zoo at all. I'm not sure why this misconception seems to be so common but other than the fact they both have animals they are nothing alike.

AK is one of our absolute favorites. It's very different from the other parks. Yes there are animals and the safari ride is a lot of fun, but there is so much more. The Lion King show is phenomenal. The acrobats, music, dancing, costumes, fire twirling, all just amazing. The Nemo show is also pretty cool as well. Tough to Be a Bug is lots of fun, Kali River Rapids is a fun ride. But it's all the little touches in this park that I enjoy the most. The detail in everything around you, the African drummers, the belly dancers, etc. It's a park to explore and enjoy on a much slower pace than the other parks. Even Dinoland I don't think you need to necessarily be that into dinosaurs to enjoy it.

My kids also love the Wilderness Explorers program. They get a booklet that has "badges" they can earn for learning about different animals and conservation issues. There are stations all throughout the park with CMs who have little activities for them to do to earn their badge and they get a sticker to put in their book. At 4, 5 and 6 my ODS was really into this. Hoping to do some of it with my 4 year old when we go next month.

There's just a lot there worth seeing IMO.

 

[Dis703]

There's just no way to know what you'll think of any park until you actually experience it yourself.

And this is very true. You can read and watch videos and get opinions but experiencing it is a completely different thing.

 

[Mintycake]

Okay so please, no judgement, but I have very strong feeling about animals in captivity - even if they are in a "nice" environment. While I acknowledge conservation efforts and am grateful these animals are fed, cared for, and safe from trophy hunters and poachers, It makes me sad to see animals in captivity - as in getting physically ill from being so upset. I've been researching on the internet and while AK is one of the better animal parks it still is a zoo by definition. My daughter is just bored looking at animals and I think she'll be too small for Expedition Everest. I think if it's going to upset me and bore my daughter, (and DH doesn't care one way or the other) an extra 3/4 day in MK might be the best choice for us. We will likely let my daughter do a pirate cruise in the morning from BC and then head over to MK. Thanks for all the input and I appreciate all the opinions.

 

[BethR9]

I would skip and do another MK day but MK is our fave!

 

[MadHookUp]

I am not sure why you even created this thread... If seeing animals outside of nature makes you physically ill, your daughter doesn't want to go, and your husband couldn't care less.... what is making this a difficult decision? I am not a huge fan of AK, but its my wife's favorite and the kids love the boneyard, so we are spending quite a bit of time there. But if wife didnt care either way, and the boneyard make my children want to vomit... I don't think I would need anyone from the DISboards to convince me to skip the park.

 

[Dis703]

Okay so please, no judgement, but I have very strong feeling about animals in captivity - even if they are in a "nice" environment. While I acknowledge conservation efforts and am grateful these animals are fed, cared for, and safe from trophy hunters and poachers, It makes me sad to see animals in captivity - as in getting physically ill from being so upset. I've been researching on the internet and while AK is one of the better animal parks it still is a zoo by definition. My daughter is just bored looking at animals and I think she'll be too small for Expedition Everest. I think if it's going to upset me and bore my daughter, (and DH doesn't care one way or the other) an extra 3/4 day in MK might be the best choice for us. We will likely let my daughter do a pirate cruise in the morning from BC and then head over to MK. Thanks for all the input and I appreciate all the opinions.

If you feel that strongly be aware that Epcot has animals in captivity as well.

 

[crazylady]

So we're going to WDW in Dec for 6 days (no park hoppers). My daughter is 6 and likes to be involved in planning. We were talking about AK and she's not really into zoos, dinosaurs or roller-coasters, but the Star Wars stuff and Princesses are big deals for her. So she said to me "Mom, what if we just skip AK and do an extra day at MK instead?" We've never been to AK as this is her and DH's first Disney trip and I went so long ago AK hadn't been built yet.

I'm totally fine with it because the only thing I wanted to do at AK was eat at Tusker House but that's not a deal-breaker. Do you think it's better to take the AK day and make it a MK day instead? We were planning 2 days each at MK and Epcot (for princess meets and Frozen stuff etc), 1 day at HS (for star wars stuff) and 1 day at AK. But if the animals are of no interest (and I personally have issues with zoos anyway) I think it makes more sense to allot that day for MK. We're planning to rope drop all parks so 3 days in MK might give us a more leisurely pace. What do you think?

I think 3 days at MK is bit much but in your case I would plan for it. FP+ is easier to book at AK so you wouldn't have a problem doing that if you change your mind later.

FWIW, AK is my least favorite park but Lion King is my favorite show in all of WDW and my kids like AK so we always do it. We usually don't do the zoo stuff.

 

[Nancyg56]

Okay so please, no judgement, but I have very strong feeling about animals in captivity - even if they are in a "nice" environment. While I acknowledge conservation efforts and am grateful these animals are fed, cared for, and safe from trophy hunters and poachers, It makes me sad to see animals in captivity - as in getting physically ill from being so upset. I've been researching on the internet and while AK is one of the better animal parks it still is a zoo by definition. My daughter is just bored looking at animals and I think she'll be too small for Expedition Everest. I think if it's going to upset me and bore my daughter, (and DH doesn't care one way or the other) an extra 3/4 day in MK might be the best choice for us. We will likely let my daughter do a pirate cruise in the morning from BC and then head over to MK. Thanks for all the input and I appreciate all the opinions.

I guess I don't understand why you asked for feedback then. Having the strong feelings you have for animals in in this environment is way different than saying you do not like a zoo. Under this circumstance, why is this even a question?

I am not sure why you even created this thread... If seeing animals outside of nature makes you physically ill, your daughter doesn't want to go, and your husband couldn't care less.... what is making this a difficult decision? I am not a huge fan of AK, but its my wife's favorite and the kids love the boneyard, so we are spending quite a bit of time there. But if wife didnt care either way, and the boneyard make my children want to vomit... I don't think I would need anyone from the DISboards to convince me to skip the park.

I agree.

 

[OFF2NVRLAND]

So we're going to WDW in Dec for 6 days (no park hoppers). My daughter is 6 and likes to be involved in planning. We were talking about AK and she's not really into zoos, dinosaurs or roller-coasters, but the Star Wars stuff and Princesses are big deals for her. So she said to me "Mom, what if we just skip AK and do an extra day at MK instead?" We've never been to AK as this is her and DH's first Disney trip and I went so long ago AK hadn't been built yet.

I'm totally fine with it because the only thing I wanted to do at AK was eat at Tusker House but that's not a deal-breaker. Do you think it's better to take the AK day and make it a MK day instead? We were planning 2 days each at MK and Epcot (for princess meets and Frozen stuff etc), 1 day at HS (for star wars stuff) and 1 day at AK. But if the animals are of no interest (and I personally have issues with zoos anyway) I think it makes more sense to allot that day for MK. We're planning to rope drop all parks so 3 days in MK might give us a more leisurely pace. What do you think?

We skipped AK on our first trip. Our second trip is in 6 weeks and we are skipping it again. We have toddlers that can't ride Everest, Kali River Rapids, and Primeval Whirl. We could go to AK for a day on our upcoming trip, but we decided to spend 3 days at MK instead. I know that AK is more than a zoo, but we have two awesome local zoos. One of which, has lions, tigers, bears, and kangaroos that we watch the trainer interact with and feed. We aren't really into to the shows, so I'm not even sure we would watch Festival of the Lion King or the Nemo musical. I'm sure when we do visit AK we will have a great time, but I'm fine with skipping it for now. It just gives us something to look forward to on trips in the future.

 

[Pesky]

From what you have said, yep, seems like skipping AK in favor of visiting another park that day is a better choice for your family so glad you decided that. Our two are the most excited about this park -- DD for EE, DS for Dinosaur, and they both love seeing animals. For our family, it's a good decision. It's just not the same for others and glad you went with what works best for your family.

 

[johnsonet]

I would never recommend skipping the most gorgeous theme park for a third day at MK. Incredible theming - and Imagineering.

 

[Mintycake]

I asked the question because I realize that the animals are one part of the AK park but not the whole park. Because Rivers of Light seems like it will be beautiful, and I wanted feedback from those who have been there on the other attractions, like shows, rides , Imagineering, overall feel etc. We looked at a walk through video on youtube of the park but it's not the same as feedback from those who have been there. We are still debating going for a half day and skipping the safaris and Expedition Everest. I was also trying to balance the decision of taking a chance on this park vs MK (which I've been to and know DD will love) since I don't have a park hopper...if we go to AK and decide it's not for us we've wasted a ticket that could have been spent elsewhere. I do appreciate everyone's feedback.

 

[HM]

When my kids were 4 and 6, their favorite park was AK. They loved the Lion King show, and the Safari. A Bugs Life was suitably scary for children, and they did like animals, so animal viewing areas were big winners.

I can't imagine why a 6 yr old wouldn't like it. Not like zoos at that age? Maybe you haven't been to good ones.

 

[Lesverts]

I thought Animal Kingdom was the second most enjoyable park. It had great rides, it never felt rushed or crowded. Some of the best cast members I interacted with. Everywhere you looked there was something to see.

 

[JaimeK]

AK is my least favorite park, by a LOT.

Almost all of the animals are on trails so you won't normally see them just walking around, other than maybe a turtle or bird.
BUT Lion King is my favorite WDW show. I honestly like it better than the full-length Broadway version.

We did Lion King, the safari, Everest x2, Nemo show, and Primeval Whirl and had a late lunch at nearby AKL (Sanaa, fabulous). So the one nice thing was that it was a short day (we arrived around 9:45am, so not even rope drop) in the middle of the trip. We hung around the resort/swam in the evening.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

I wouldn't skip it. The shows there are the best on property and worth going to AK for alone.

 

[kdawng]

i have two girls and a half-day in Animal Kingdom was enough for us.

 

[hallen4]

I asked the question because I realize that the animals are one part of the AK park but not the whole park. Because Rivers of Light seems like it will be beautiful, and I wanted feedback from those who have been there on the other attractions, like shows, rides , Imagineering, overall feel etc. We looked at a walk through video on youtube of the park but it's not the same as feedback from those who have been there. We are still debating going for a half day and skipping the safaris and Expedition Everest. I was also trying to balance the decision of taking a chance on this park vs MK (which I've been to and know DD will love) since I don't have a park hopper...if we go to AK and decide it's not for us we've wasted a ticket that could have been spent elsewhere. I do appreciate everyone's feedback.

If you had park hoppers I would say go for a 1/2 day in the afternoon and evening to (hopefully) catch ROL and the nighttime activities, but since you don't have hoppers, to me it seems that the best choice for your family is to skip. Personally I love AK, but everyone is different. Happy planning!

 

[dreiwhit]

We liked AK, but we will skip it next time. The 3 things we enjoyed there, and would definitely do again, just don't justify the cost of the tickets.

 

[RustManFan]

Never in a million years would I skip AK. So much to do there if you take your time exploring and observing!!