Would you skip AK?

[Xennia]

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?

They hardly have any rides. I would skip it. Hubs and I only go for roller coaster and then we pick one thing we haven't done. But we don't care about the zoo aspect of it because we live around so many and visit those often when not at Disney. I don't feel like you will miss much. I hope animal kingdom brings more attractions that don't include slow rides.

 

[Accident]

AK is a park hopper destination for me.. It also needs to be great weather. If hot it's miserable there (in my opinion). not many places to cool off.

Plan a third MK day and if you wake up on that day in the mood for AK, change your plans.

 

[Disneylover99]

If you have six days, and you've never been to AK, I would not skip it. I would do 2 days at MK, 2 at Epcot and 1 day each at HS and AK.

 

[AshleyLovesDisney]

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.

Yeah, I agree. can we stop with the "AK is a zoo and we have a nice zoo at home" thing, already? It's tiring at this point.

 

[moose81]

I asked a similar question recently because I am pregnant and have a toddler and didn't think there would be much for us to do at AK. We only have 5 days but we do have Park Hopper so I decided to plan out the first three days with the other parks and then decide if we want to go to AK on one of our later days. I figure, if we see everything we want to see at MK early on, we could go over to AK. Otherwise, if there is more that we want to do at MK, we can go back there.

 

[BayouQueen]

I think AK is the most immersive of any of the domestic parks. You really could be in Asia or Africa. The level of detail is pretty thrilling. But it's not a park for "ride warriors." It's really more of an "atmosphere" park. That's my take on it anyhow.

I love it. It really rounds out the vaycay for my family.

 

[Planogirl]

AK is definitely a zoo. It has more than that but it does have a zoo element and if that disturbs you that much I wouldn't go.

 

[TigerlilyAJ]

I've had a lot of the same concerns, especially if we don't get park hoppers. Any Ontarians here, or Upstate NY people who have been to both AK and African Lion Safari (also not a zoo)? AK just seems so much like ALS, where we have had annual passes for a few years, that I fear the kids (and I) will be unimpressed. I get it about the theming, and I want Tusker House, but there is just so much to see at MK. Between Star Wars for my sons and Disney Jr. for DD, I've been wondering whether we should do a second DHS day rather than AK.
But if Rivers of Light gets going, I'll probably have to go.

 

[Hundredacre]

The best things at ak are Everest and Kali (not great for young kids) and the safari. my kids have never been fans of the dino area and that's supposed to be the really kid friendly area.

 

[akfan513]

We would never skip it! It's 2nd on our list next to MK (I have 7 and 4 year old girls)

 

[DVCcurious]

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. What do you think?

I have a DD6 also.

Does your daughter like Ballet or Gymnastics at all?

AK has Festival of the Lion King and this last trip (Easter week) was the first time we ever watched it. Here's our (sad) story:

We had 1:30-1:50FP+ return time for the show. We rode the Safari before we went over and we arrived at Festival of the Lion King at 1:52. They wouldn't let us in! I argued that we were 2 minutes late and they hadn't even let Standby in yet. They told us we missed our window and we had to do Standby. Well...imagine Standby's line during Easter week. Long story short we missed the 2:00 show and we waited an hour and saw the 3:00 show (I am still pissed about this). But the show is amazing. There's a "can you feel the love tonight" section with a female/male couple and my daughter loved the gymnastics (flying, jumping, costumes). If the only thing we had done that day was watch Festival of the Lion King it would have been a great day. It is an amazing show.

 

[cruisingtwins]

The only thing I like at AK is the Lion king show. I'm old now and EE is a little too intense for me. Kali last like 5 seconds. There is no such a thing as too many MK days. It's the park with most rides. Even with 3 days I doubt you get a chance to see it all. I don't think Africa and Asia are anything like the real thing.

 

[crazymomof4]

AK is so not a zoo. It's a whole experience. Sure there are animals, but there are animal experts who actually talk to you about them. You don't just stare at animals in cages. The Lion King and Nemo shows are amazing and honestly even if you just go do those and use the rest of the day for the pool it's worth it. The vibe, music, food are all different from any other park.

This is how we feel about AK. DD15 loves AK but has never asked to go to Philadelphia Zoo which is 20mins away from us! When AK first opened their logo was "Nah-ta-zoo" (not a zoo) LOL. So keep in mind what Chelley00 posted above. In addition to Lion King and Nemo, "It's Tough to be a Bug" is great too!
That being said, if DD would rather do an extra day at MK for this trip it may suit your family better. Maybe AK is something she will "grow into" if you save it for trips when she's older. Maybe get hoppers in the future and plan just a morning there to get a taste of it to see if you like it.

 

[rpb718]

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

And do not... I repeat... do not go anywhere near Pick-a-Pearl at Mitsukoshi in the Japan section.

 

[JoWilly]

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?

AK is not a zoo, seriously I wish people would put that out of their minds. Why bother going to MK? It's just a theme park like six flags, right?

 

[cruisingtwins]

Zoo: An establishment that maintains a collection of wild animals, typically in a park or gardens, for study, conservation, or display to the public.

It seems like AK fits the description.

 

[DizDaD7]

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?

Simply Put...NOPE!!

 

[JoWilly]

theme park
noun
noun: theme park; plural noun: theme parks; noun: themepark; plural noun: themeparks

1. an amusement park with a unifying setting or idea.

It seems like AK fits the description as does MK.

 

[cindyfan]

I would combine HS and AK for one day. Do AK early for rope drop so you can do the safari and definitely see the Festval of the Lion King! And plan HS for the afternoon and use your FP+ for HS. Then that gives you the extra day for more MK.

 

[Dis703]

Zoo: An establishment that maintains a collection of wild animals, typically in a park or gardens, for study, conservation, or display to the public.

It seems like AK fits the description.

Well then by that definition Epcot is also a zoo, yet I've never heard anyone call it that before. And they don't of course because the animals are only one aspect of the entire theme park. Much like AK.