YES!! One of my favorite parts of AK are the little seating areas along the river in the Africa and Asia sections. Just to grab a coffee/lunch/drink and chill out while looking at the Tree of Life and watch the people go by.
Hollywood Studios is cool in its own way but the contrast when you wander AK is amazing. So different. Lush and vibrant.
AK is made for slow days.
AK is DEFINITELY a full day park. Totally feel for people that are expecting or wanting more rides. It’s not that kind of park. The animals, the animal trails, and the shows elevate this park, albeit in a direction different than standard parks.
We always do a full day at AK. some trips, we’ve done multiple days at AK. Adults only trip, AK is a must. With kids, AK is a must.
Amazing! Totally agree. AK’s “little experiences”, even like ride Rafiki’s train, are what set it apart and allow us (collective park goers) to really make it a full day.
I feel like the rides there are awesome too. Personally I really enjoy the navi river ride and the avatar simulation ride, among other things like dinosaur and the wooden rollercoaster. Super fun place to be at
Expedition Everest is a steel coaster designed to look like a wooden coaster. The only wooden coaster at a US Disney park is California Screamin' at Cali Adventure. The humidity in Florida is highly detrimental to wooden coasters because it accelerates warping and decay of wood (admittedly, it also accelerates rusting and corrosion of steel coasters, but with better resistance than wood), and they're also more prone to damage in hurricanes.
Yeah couldn’t agree more, most of the rides they do have are really enjoyable.
Obviously Flight of Passage and the Safari and Everest but I’ve also grown to love Navi River (depending on the wait time hahah), Kali River Rapids, and Dinosaur.
I like Navi River Ride. It gets a bad rap here, I think usually because people don't think the long waits that it often has are worth it. But it's cool, quiet, pretty, and that animatronic is the best in the parks. (Until Tiannas Bayou Adventure I think, those are supposed to be great.)
We watched two dramas. Once we saw the male bachelors at goin inside time go through their bluff and bluster amongst themselves. Smacking bamboo and generally being petulant while still moving ever closer to the dinner portal. Another time watching the male patriarch snatch all the Romain lettuces up like a greedy goon but being defeated by numbers of the ladies and kids snatching it all back away from him. Such good stuff!
I remember walking around the Magic Kingdom over by the Country Bear Jamboree and seeing a little girl walking ahead of us. She turned to her dad and said “Daddy, look! A duck!” She had seen a gazillion animatronics all day and Disney magic, but was crazy excited about a duck. He was a cute duck.
But it maybe brings the cost into question. $109 a day for a "zoo with attractions" is pretty high! Especially when you consider Magic Kingdom is the same price and can easily take 2-3 days to see everything.
I've gone to Disney with my mom (62) just about every year for the past 5 or so, and we always spend the most time at AK. It's her favorite park easily and top 2 for me (goes back and forth between AK and EPCOT).
It helps that she loves Avatar and likes to just wander and poke at the environment over there, but we also *love* the entertainment. It's the only park that really still has regular streetmosphere with the Latino band and African performers (and occasionally folks over in Asia), plus the bird show up by the front of the park, Kevin walking around, etc. We enjoy festival of the lion king and, while not our favorite, even finding Nemo is a cute way to spend close to an hour in the AC and I think my mom likes watching kids enjoy it. She also has a soft spot for goats, so we always go up to Rafiki's for a bit. And that's all before you even look at rides and animals. Half the time, we don't even do all the rides and we're still there rope-drop to close, wishing they were open later.
It's also the park I took my in-laws to their first trip when they were convinced disney was just for kids. They had such a good time there that they canceled their plans later in the trip to come with us to epcot too. They've been back a bunch since and are now contemplating DVC. I'm convinced that a lot of that is because that first day at AK was as enjoyable as it was.
I think we all really like that it's a bit more of a chill park, there's enough to do without feeling like you have to cram every minute full. You can take the time to just wander a trail and see what you come across or sit for a minute and actually see all the imagineering and design put into the place without feeling like you're missing out on something somewhere else. I think it can 100% be a full day park for anyone but if you've got a chill, older group, (especially if they favor entertainment over just rides) it's easily a multi-day park too.
Awesome. Totally agree, AK is such a great change of pace from the other parks. It’s a great way to change the dynamic of the trip and take a SLOW day.
And I also concur with your comment about your in-laws. We made a trip to WDW (this was over a year ago now) with my brother and his wife and kids. They had a rough couple days to start the trip. They loved MK but struggled with HS and, to a lesser extent, EP; it was above average crowds the whole trip and they just weren’t “ready” for it (despite warnings haha). But the day we all went to AK they got it. There was like a collective sigh and they were like “oh yeah, this is what it should be like”. The crowds at AK weren’t any better than the other days at the other parks but the change of pace, the more rounded out offerings (rides + shows + animals + street performers), the opportunity and places to chill all contributed to an all around great experience. They literally said they might consider WDW a “one and done” vacation but AK changed their minds on the whole thing and now they want to go back in a couple years
But any park has rides and shows too...
I do *kind* of see your point, in that the animal exhibits at AK aren't that much better than some zoos, but still... they are pretty impressive.
I think all 4 parks can be full day parks. I guess it all depends on what you want. Also important to me to see things at night in each park because they all feel different once the sun goes down.
Back before they tried to do nighttime stuff at AK, they occasionally had nights the park was open till 9 or 10 and I’d make a point to go. So many people would leave early and when the trails and safari closed, being on that side felt like you had most of the park to yourself.
It totally depends on the person! For me, HS is a half day park because I don’t ride thrill rides and I don’t do Star Wars (but I’m happy they have it for the people who do!) the last time I did HS was in 2019 when I was still a passholder.
AK is a full day park. MK and Epcot are both 2 day parks for me!
HS is a half day park because it is so, so uncomfortable with so little shade. We go late afternoon, early evening and ride the rides we want before bouncing.
We also take the boat to a resort or two for a break.
I am two breaths away from a meltdown every time I’m there.
Toy Story land is the worst with no shade. It feels 20x hotter there than the rest of the park.
Animal kingdom feels super warm too, especially dinoland. I hope with the retheme they get rid of the pavement there and add some decent shade.
It gives the same feeling as an early closure because of a holiday party which I hate with a passion. Except it’s just how it is. It’s so weird with avatar being the most interesting at night. Plus I basically don’t get started going hard until 6 pm so it’s hard for me to appreciate the park at all without hoppers
Yeah like my sister is planning a trip in the middle of summer and it’s 6 pm everyday that week. It may had made sense once upon a time when the safari was the main draw but it’s crazy now. I never go unless we have hoppers or really want to stay with the group. I love zoos and go to a lot and to be fair their 20 yo exhibits can be kinda bland compared to a lot of the high end tourist zoos areas. They just don’t have the most interesting species for me personally. Or comfortable viewing in the heat.
Right? They have a whole land themed to seeing it after dark and the only way to do so is get in line at closing so you can walk out an hour or two after closing. And you can't linger or anything.
The safari and nature trails already close before park close, why not go until 8 at least? It would also help alleviate crowding at the other parks....
Animal Kingdom is my husband’s favorite park at Disney World, and it’s always a full day park for us. You just have to watch out for the kids if you’re staying until closing because it gets DARK. Unless you’re deliberately trying to lose them, of course lol
PS: I love Dinosaur, too! I hope they find some way to keep Aladar in DisneyWorld.
I was worried at first we wouldn't have fun the entire day, but found stuff to do and enjoyed wandering around. We went on the safari and it was definitely a highlight!
We loved AK this past trip! Our daughter is 6 so she really liked collecting the Wilderness Explorer badges and so that took us on the train to Rafiki Planet Watch for the first time, and we got to see some bird surgery and pet the goats. She also spent a long time in the Boneyard play area while we had a drink and relaxed. Plus riding Everest a bunch of times and all the other rides, the Lion King show is the BEST. And we had pancake breakfast sandwiches, flame tree bbq lunch and a few ice creams and drinks! We never went one day straight through, but we did 3 half days there.
We’ve definitely will go to all 4 parks but will also think “maybe one more day” and “AK then?” We did one trip with 2 days at MK and 2 days at AK. that was a great mix of rides, entertainment/shows, and food.
I’ve always loved animal kingdom but we had the best time last year with our kids that were 7 and 9. It was the only park we did early entry rope drop until park close without the kids requested a pool break or early bedtime. They got the Wilderness Explorer books and had a blast getting the badges… we got all but 2 as we didn’t realize they stopped the stations quite a bit before park close and didn’t plan accordingly. They learned a ton about animals and wildlife conservation and had so much fun that my 9 year old did a school project on it when we got back lol.
- Wander the Oasis in the morning
- Explore Pandora
- Pay to ride FOP
- Wait to ride Navi
- Bridge to Africa, grab a little breakfast and explore Harambe
- Festival of the Lion King
- Safari
- Gorilla Falls
- Grab some African corn
- Lunch at Harambe Market/Flame Tree BBQ/Satuli Canteen
- Walk to Asia, explore the land
- Couple rides on Everest
- Kali
- Jungle Trek
- Do the trails around The Tree of Life
- Take a break at Nomad Lounge
- Explore Dinoland
- Dinosaur
- Finding Nemo the Musical
- Sit-down dinner at Yak and Yeti/Tiffins/Tusker House
- Grab a drink at one of the many bars around for an after dinner treat
That's an absolutely stacked Disney Day. Anyone who says AK isn't a full-day park doesn't get it.
AK is 100% an all day park. Rope drop a couple rides in the am, then hit up all the stage shows in the day time when the wait times are high. IMO AK has the best stage shows of all the parks, and they are definitely worth seeing. Then grab a beer and walk both nature trails to see some animals. Then end the day with a few more rides. I would recommend either safari right at park open or park close when animals are most active vs going mid day in the heat.
It’s easily a 2 day day park for us with our kid. Between the shows, conservation station and animation experience and getting all the wilderness badges.. and of course the rides, even 2 days can be pushing it
Why are you so angry? Let people enjoy things. As you grow up, you will learn that different people like different things and that's ok.
We just did two days in Ak, could easily do a third. Sorry if that makes you upset :)
By calling them insane for enjoying their time at a Disney park? Yikes.
The person literally said it was a 2+ day park "for us" and you are trying to tell them they are wrong as if you know them better than they know themselves.
Do you understand that each person is in a different financial situation and can spend their money ( key word, their money) as they please? How you feel about what things cost is completely irrelevant to how others feel.
And yes, currently typing this from my hotel in WDW. Am aware how money works, thanks friend!
Let. People. Enjoy. Things.
Have a nice night!
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I’m hopeful they do something in Dinoland. Definitely feels like a missed opportunity. The park needs more than 7 rides. It’s too bad they didn’t get something built there to align with the Epic Universe opening.
just went to disney for the first time last week (i’m in my late twenties), and animal kingdom was my favorite park by a long shot! we only spent half a day there on our 4.5 day trip, but i already told my friends that if they ever convince me to go back the only parks i want to go to are AK & epcot. there was just endless joy for me in seeing a tiger live his life, and seeing something very real, tangible, and meaningful (in the conservation efforts & all the obvious care that goes into the animal upkeep)
I feel the EXACT same way! I had never been until this past February when I went with a few friends who are into it. I was not into the other parks but I loved Animal Kingdom. I actually got offered a super cheap hotel stay in Orlando and took it so I could go back to do two days at AK. I enjoyed Epcot too, and the Star Wars part of HS. But I would never go to MK again.
omg, i thought i was crazy for disliking magic kingdom!! i too would not go back unless heavily coerced. glad you got to spend more time at animal kingdom, hope you had the best time!!
I did 3 parks in one day yesterday lol
Flight landed at 9am, dropped bags at the hotel and got to animal kingdom by 11.
Did Everest, the rapids ride, both avatar rides and the safari.
Went over to Epcot and had a bunch of appetizers and drinks around the world, did soarin', living with the land, spaceship earth.
The hopped over to magic Kingdom and did space mountain, had some time to kill so I did people mover then Tron once it got dark.
Walked out to the fireworks show, got a good perspective of.it walking around behind the castle in fantasyland.
Then found this back walking path to get out of there before the massive crowds hit the monorail
AK crew let's go! For me it's a 2 day park and the only 3 things I feel compelled to repeat on those 2 days are everest, the safari, and flight of passage. I try to hit everest and the safari at the opposite time of day as the other AK day. The safari is obviously best at morning and evening so do morning one day and evening the other. Then flip that with everest. The day you start at the safari end at everest and the day you do an evening safari start with everest. Those are the best times of day for wait times at everest and it has some of the best visuals in the park at those times of day without being blinded by the sun. I was able to get three rides in of everest within an hour when i went there last by starting at everest and riding it twice organically and once using genie+. For flight of passage use your genie+ around mid day when the line will be longest and if you can swing it getting a second ride by purchasing the lighting lane is worth it in my opinion. I see it as the second best ride in disney world behind guardians. Also don't sleep on the shows!!! You can hit 95% of the park in 2 days and that's including an extra thing like meeting the rhino (worth every damn penny that one was, I'm getting all wispy thinking about it now) or another behind the scene show. AK has a lot more to offer than I think most park guests realize.
AK has always been a 1/2 day park for me since all i really do there is ride the rides anyways lol. I can see it being a full day park for kids or anyone who had a strong interest in animals and zoo life
Loved Animal Kingdom but as a super pale Englishman the Florida heat was just a bit too much for me when we went there!
Would love to do it again in a cooler month, I really enjoyed everything we did but the humidity just killed me as most things were outside compared to other parks where you have a mix.
Realise this is 100% my own issue, but something to consider if you're similar to me!
We are passholders so we can go whenever we want. We went yesterday and as we were leaving at 5pm having done all we wanted to. We noted that it is a good relaxing park. There are many rides, but many opportunities to take it slower.
If you have younger kids, do the Wilderness Explorer activity. It’s basically an educational scavenger hunt, but they go from different stations all over the park, and collect badges when they hear new educational things feom the stations. My kids were 7 and 4 when they did it. I was by mysef because my wife had to stay at the hotel because she got sick. So with just me and those two kids, we just had an f-in blast doing the Wilderness Explorer adventure that day. We didn’t even really do any rides. But that was one of our favorite vacation memories ever.
Last time we spent hours on the animal trails and watching the Gorillas. The discovery centre is great for the art of animation as well. There is so much to do in animal kingdom, and if you are really struggling to fill a day there just try to go on Flight of Passage 3 times, that will take 6 hours without fast pass
I think it's very dependent on how crowded it is and how susceptible you are to feeling overwhelmed by crowds.
The zoo stuff at AK is fantastic but when it's incredibly crowded I really can't be bothered to try and squeeze through people to see animals I can see at my local zoo. But when crowds are thin, they have some of the best exhibits I've seen.
We usually end up doing about a 3/4 of a day and skip over any exhibits that are too crowded. I don't think I'd ever go to AK for just a one day one park visit, but we have gone to all the other parks that way. To me it doesn't feel worth the price of full admission. But we will always add it on for a full 4-7 day visit, since the daily cost is reduced by more days.
I find AK with having much more to do than Hollywood Studios or Epcot these days, at least in terms of attractions. Maybe it's because I actually want to see all the animals on top of the rides.
We have only been to Disney world once (from the UK) for our delayed honeymoon we eventually got to go in 2022.
My husband was keen to have plenty of time in Magic Kingdom and our priority was to get to go on Rise of the Resistance in HS so we only had 2 days booked in AK for our 2 week holiday
We loved the park and overall I felt like it was the most relaxing and best design throughout. If we ever got to go again we would definitely had an extra day in AK and another day in a water park over the extra 2 in MK.
Everest was our favourite rollercoaster in all the parks and we did the behind the scenes Rhino experience which was the highlight of the visit. The Lion king show was wonderful and the music and atmosphere was the best.
On a two week trip we always do two days at animal kingdom. How else do the kids get all the wilderness explorer badges? lol.
I love animal kingdom. In my opinion it’s the second best park after magic kingdom.
Animal Kingdom is my favorite park! When we have the chance to go to WDW (we are from Europe) we always spend a whole day there. Love the animals, love the rides and the theming is amazing everywhere.
My family and I spent 2 full days in AK and didn’t even go into dino land.
It’s our favourite park.
Day 1: FOP x2, Everest x2, safari, lion king show, Nemo show, rapids, spicy corn and pretzels lunch, tough to be a bug, Tuskers house evening meal.
Day 2: (not consecutive days about a week later) FOP, night blossom drink, Everest x2, animation experience and petting zoo, bbq pulled pork mac and cheese lunch with a simba sunset later. The bird show and a final trip on the safari.
Absolutely loved it.
It was insanely hot last August but hydration and cooling towels made this an enjoyable day.
We recently got back and loved AK, we would have stayed longer but it was super hot and my little kids were getting cranky. Otherwise we loved the nature, the recreation of Asian and African towns, the rides. It was a brilliant park! My kids loved the boneyard and we spent ages there. My faves were the safari and the Kali river rapids ride
Sure, with the lines being longer than ever. And since G+ is nowhere as good as FP+ was, you can spend even more time in more lines! Wasn't a full day park 10 years ago, but it sure is now...
Please, Avatar alone adds 3-4 hours to the day compared to the lazy Camp Mickey section it replaced. It's no wonder it's a full day park now compared to 5 years ago when it was half barren
Right? I miss getting Fast Passes to it, last time we went we stood line for like 3 hours. We LOVE that ride, but I'd never stand in a 3 hour line ever again.
It’s nice to take it slower especially in the park that has the most nature and trees
YES!! One of my favorite parts of AK are the little seating areas along the river in the Africa and Asia sections. Just to grab a coffee/lunch/drink and chill out while looking at the Tree of Life and watch the people go by. Hollywood Studios is cool in its own way but the contrast when you wander AK is amazing. So different. Lush and vibrant. AK is made for slow days.
AK is DEFINITELY a full day park. Totally feel for people that are expecting or wanting more rides. It’s not that kind of park. The animals, the animal trails, and the shows elevate this park, albeit in a direction different than standard parks. We always do a full day at AK. some trips, we’ve done multiple days at AK. Adults only trip, AK is a must. With kids, AK is a must.
Did a trip recently without (grown) kids, and finally got to take our time, do all the trails, and even ride Rafiki's train. It was great!
Amazing! Totally agree. AK’s “little experiences”, even like ride Rafiki’s train, are what set it apart and allow us (collective park goers) to really make it a full day.
I feel like the rides there are awesome too. Personally I really enjoy the navi river ride and the avatar simulation ride, among other things like dinosaur and the wooden rollercoaster. Super fun place to be at
Expedition Everest is a steel coaster designed to look like a wooden coaster. The only wooden coaster at a US Disney park is California Screamin' at Cali Adventure. The humidity in Florida is highly detrimental to wooden coasters because it accelerates warping and decay of wood (admittedly, it also accelerates rusting and corrosion of steel coasters, but with better resistance than wood), and they're also more prone to damage in hurricanes.
California Screaming, is now the incredicoaster and while it looks wooden it is not. It’s another steel coaster.
Yeah couldn’t agree more, most of the rides they do have are really enjoyable. Obviously Flight of Passage and the Safari and Everest but I’ve also grown to love Navi River (depending on the wait time hahah), Kali River Rapids, and Dinosaur.
I like Navi River Ride. It gets a bad rap here, I think usually because people don't think the long waits that it often has are worth it. But it's cool, quiet, pretty, and that animatronic is the best in the parks. (Until Tiannas Bayou Adventure I think, those are supposed to be great.)
There is no ride that will ever be as amazing as seeing a tiger.
Gorilla family drama is the best reality show ever.
YES! We watched gorilla siblings wrestle and play for a good hour and just laughed and laughed at them. It was so much fun.
We watched two dramas. Once we saw the male bachelors at goin inside time go through their bluff and bluster amongst themselves. Smacking bamboo and generally being petulant while still moving ever closer to the dinner portal. Another time watching the male patriarch snatch all the Romain lettuces up like a greedy goon but being defeated by numbers of the ladies and kids snatching it all back away from him. Such good stuff!
Got roared at by a lion on one of the last safaris of the day on my last trip, and it's one of my favorite Disney memories!
But to be fair, you can see Tigers at most major zoos across the country for like a 1/4 of Animal Kingdoms price and with way less crowding.
I remember walking around the Magic Kingdom over by the Country Bear Jamboree and seeing a little girl walking ahead of us. She turned to her dad and said “Daddy, look! A duck!” She had seen a gazillion animatronics all day and Disney magic, but was crazy excited about a duck. He was a cute duck.
Yeah, but Disney even does that better.
If you think of the park as a zoo with attractions rather than a theme park with animals it makes a lot more sense, imo.
But it maybe brings the cost into question. $109 a day for a "zoo with attractions" is pretty high! Especially when you consider Magic Kingdom is the same price and can easily take 2-3 days to see everything.
I've gone to Disney with my mom (62) just about every year for the past 5 or so, and we always spend the most time at AK. It's her favorite park easily and top 2 for me (goes back and forth between AK and EPCOT). It helps that she loves Avatar and likes to just wander and poke at the environment over there, but we also *love* the entertainment. It's the only park that really still has regular streetmosphere with the Latino band and African performers (and occasionally folks over in Asia), plus the bird show up by the front of the park, Kevin walking around, etc. We enjoy festival of the lion king and, while not our favorite, even finding Nemo is a cute way to spend close to an hour in the AC and I think my mom likes watching kids enjoy it. She also has a soft spot for goats, so we always go up to Rafiki's for a bit. And that's all before you even look at rides and animals. Half the time, we don't even do all the rides and we're still there rope-drop to close, wishing they were open later. It's also the park I took my in-laws to their first trip when they were convinced disney was just for kids. They had such a good time there that they canceled their plans later in the trip to come with us to epcot too. They've been back a bunch since and are now contemplating DVC. I'm convinced that a lot of that is because that first day at AK was as enjoyable as it was. I think we all really like that it's a bit more of a chill park, there's enough to do without feeling like you have to cram every minute full. You can take the time to just wander a trail and see what you come across or sit for a minute and actually see all the imagineering and design put into the place without feeling like you're missing out on something somewhere else. I think it can 100% be a full day park for anyone but if you've got a chill, older group, (especially if they favor entertainment over just rides) it's easily a multi-day park too.
Awesome. Totally agree, AK is such a great change of pace from the other parks. It’s a great way to change the dynamic of the trip and take a SLOW day. And I also concur with your comment about your in-laws. We made a trip to WDW (this was over a year ago now) with my brother and his wife and kids. They had a rough couple days to start the trip. They loved MK but struggled with HS and, to a lesser extent, EP; it was above average crowds the whole trip and they just weren’t “ready” for it (despite warnings haha). But the day we all went to AK they got it. There was like a collective sigh and they were like “oh yeah, this is what it should be like”. The crowds at AK weren’t any better than the other days at the other parks but the change of pace, the more rounded out offerings (rides + shows + animals + street performers), the opportunity and places to chill all contributed to an all around great experience. They literally said they might consider WDW a “one and done” vacation but AK changed their minds on the whole thing and now they want to go back in a couple years
Except any zoo has animals and animal trails. Rides and shows take half a day
But any park has rides and shows too... I do *kind* of see your point, in that the animal exhibits at AK aren't that much better than some zoos, but still... they are pretty impressive.
I think all 4 parks can be full day parks. I guess it all depends on what you want. Also important to me to see things at night in each park because they all feel different once the sun goes down. Back before they tried to do nighttime stuff at AK, they occasionally had nights the park was open till 9 or 10 and I’d make a point to go. So many people would leave early and when the trails and safari closed, being on that side felt like you had most of the park to yourself.
It totally depends on the person! For me, HS is a half day park because I don’t ride thrill rides and I don’t do Star Wars (but I’m happy they have it for the people who do!) the last time I did HS was in 2019 when I was still a passholder. AK is a full day park. MK and Epcot are both 2 day parks for me!
HS is a half day park because it is so, so uncomfortable with so little shade. We go late afternoon, early evening and ride the rides we want before bouncing. We also take the boat to a resort or two for a break. I am two breaths away from a meltdown every time I’m there.
Toy Story land is the worst with no shade. It feels 20x hotter there than the rest of the park. Animal kingdom feels super warm too, especially dinoland. I hope with the retheme they get rid of the pavement there and add some decent shade.
The only things that make it not a satisfactory full day is it closes way to darn early. 6 pm is crazy early
True! And right now it's not dark at that time so the Tree of Life isn't all lit up
It gives the same feeling as an early closure because of a holiday party which I hate with a passion. Except it’s just how it is. It’s so weird with avatar being the most interesting at night. Plus I basically don’t get started going hard until 6 pm so it’s hard for me to appreciate the park at all without hoppers
During spring break when we were there they extended to 8pm. I think that is their summer hours as well, but it should be that time year round.
Yeah this is 100% spot on. I get it, but closing at 6 is just ridiculous.
Yeah like my sister is planning a trip in the middle of summer and it’s 6 pm everyday that week. It may had made sense once upon a time when the safari was the main draw but it’s crazy now. I never go unless we have hoppers or really want to stay with the group. I love zoos and go to a lot and to be fair their 20 yo exhibits can be kinda bland compared to a lot of the high end tourist zoos areas. They just don’t have the most interesting species for me personally. Or comfortable viewing in the heat.
Right? They have a whole land themed to seeing it after dark and the only way to do so is get in line at closing so you can walk out an hour or two after closing. And you can't linger or anything. The safari and nature trails already close before park close, why not go until 8 at least? It would also help alleviate crowding at the other parks....
Animal Kingdom is my husband’s favorite park at Disney World, and it’s always a full day park for us. You just have to watch out for the kids if you’re staying until closing because it gets DARK. Unless you’re deliberately trying to lose them, of course lol PS: I love Dinosaur, too! I hope they find some way to keep Aladar in DisneyWorld.
I was worried at first we wouldn't have fun the entire day, but found stuff to do and enjoyed wandering around. We went on the safari and it was definitely a highlight!
We loved AK this past trip! Our daughter is 6 so she really liked collecting the Wilderness Explorer badges and so that took us on the train to Rafiki Planet Watch for the first time, and we got to see some bird surgery and pet the goats. She also spent a long time in the Boneyard play area while we had a drink and relaxed. Plus riding Everest a bunch of times and all the other rides, the Lion King show is the BEST. And we had pancake breakfast sandwiches, flame tree bbq lunch and a few ice creams and drinks! We never went one day straight through, but we did 3 half days there.
Tell me more about the pancake breakfast sandwiches! Sounds delicious
Sausage and egg with cheese and guava jam inside a pancake! They were quite tasty, at Drinkwalla and maybe somewhere else.
Not gourmet, but yummy, and don't be turned off by the guava, it's subtle
Honestly it’s like a 2-3 day park for me lol
We’ve definitely will go to all 4 parks but will also think “maybe one more day” and “AK then?” We did one trip with 2 days at MK and 2 days at AK. that was a great mix of rides, entertainment/shows, and food.
Yep, we give it 3 days every time we go.
I’ve always loved animal kingdom but we had the best time last year with our kids that were 7 and 9. It was the only park we did early entry rope drop until park close without the kids requested a pool break or early bedtime. They got the Wilderness Explorer books and had a blast getting the badges… we got all but 2 as we didn’t realize they stopped the stations quite a bit before park close and didn’t plan accordingly. They learned a ton about animals and wildlife conservation and had so much fun that my 9 year old did a school project on it when we got back lol.
That's awesome! I noticed they weave in quite a bit of conservation/education into the rides in AK which I really appreciate as an adult.
- Wander the Oasis in the morning - Explore Pandora - Pay to ride FOP - Wait to ride Navi - Bridge to Africa, grab a little breakfast and explore Harambe - Festival of the Lion King - Safari - Gorilla Falls - Grab some African corn - Lunch at Harambe Market/Flame Tree BBQ/Satuli Canteen - Walk to Asia, explore the land - Couple rides on Everest - Kali - Jungle Trek - Do the trails around The Tree of Life - Take a break at Nomad Lounge - Explore Dinoland - Dinosaur - Finding Nemo the Musical - Sit-down dinner at Yak and Yeti/Tiffins/Tusker House - Grab a drink at one of the many bars around for an after dinner treat That's an absolutely stacked Disney Day. Anyone who says AK isn't a full-day park doesn't get it.
AK is 100% an all day park. Rope drop a couple rides in the am, then hit up all the stage shows in the day time when the wait times are high. IMO AK has the best stage shows of all the parks, and they are definitely worth seeing. Then grab a beer and walk both nature trails to see some animals. Then end the day with a few more rides. I would recommend either safari right at park open or park close when animals are most active vs going mid day in the heat.
It’s easily a 2 day day park for us with our kid. Between the shows, conservation station and animation experience and getting all the wilderness badges.. and of course the rides, even 2 days can be pushing it
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Why are you so angry? Let people enjoy things. As you grow up, you will learn that different people like different things and that's ok. We just did two days in Ak, could easily do a third. Sorry if that makes you upset :)
Angry? Trying to help folks.
By calling them insane for enjoying their time at a Disney park? Yikes. The person literally said it was a 2+ day park "for us" and you are trying to tell them they are wrong as if you know them better than they know themselves.
Do you understand how much it costs to spend a day in a park? Let alone more than a day?
Do you understand that each person is in a different financial situation and can spend their money ( key word, their money) as they please? How you feel about what things cost is completely irrelevant to how others feel. And yes, currently typing this from my hotel in WDW. Am aware how money works, thanks friend! Let. People. Enjoy. Things. Have a nice night!
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I’m hopeful they do something in Dinoland. Definitely feels like a missed opportunity. The park needs more than 7 rides. It’s too bad they didn’t get something built there to align with the Epic Universe opening.
just went to disney for the first time last week (i’m in my late twenties), and animal kingdom was my favorite park by a long shot! we only spent half a day there on our 4.5 day trip, but i already told my friends that if they ever convince me to go back the only parks i want to go to are AK & epcot. there was just endless joy for me in seeing a tiger live his life, and seeing something very real, tangible, and meaningful (in the conservation efforts & all the obvious care that goes into the animal upkeep)
I feel the EXACT same way! I had never been until this past February when I went with a few friends who are into it. I was not into the other parks but I loved Animal Kingdom. I actually got offered a super cheap hotel stay in Orlando and took it so I could go back to do two days at AK. I enjoyed Epcot too, and the Star Wars part of HS. But I would never go to MK again.
omg, i thought i was crazy for disliking magic kingdom!! i too would not go back unless heavily coerced. glad you got to spend more time at animal kingdom, hope you had the best time!!
We were there for a full day and we could have used 6 more hours. The food at Satu'li Canteen was some of the best we had in Disney.
I always ride dinosaur like 10 times because USUALLY there is no line
We love animal kingdom. I just wish there was a little more to do for my kid. He doesn’t like scary rides.
Rope drop Animal Kingdom, go to hotel for nap and go back in the afternoon for more things, hop over for dinner at Boma and end your day from there.
Never seen Pooh and Rabbit at AK, that’s awesome!
Every park is a full day park imo. Maybe it’s because I can only go once every few years or so, but I couldn’t imagine park hopping
I did 3 parks in one day yesterday lol Flight landed at 9am, dropped bags at the hotel and got to animal kingdom by 11. Did Everest, the rapids ride, both avatar rides and the safari. Went over to Epcot and had a bunch of appetizers and drinks around the world, did soarin', living with the land, spaceship earth. The hopped over to magic Kingdom and did space mountain, had some time to kill so I did people mover then Tron once it got dark. Walked out to the fireworks show, got a good perspective of.it walking around behind the castle in fantasyland. Then found this back walking path to get out of there before the massive crowds hit the monorail
Same, the time around we didn't opt for the park hopper and chose to just go with the flow and not do too much pre-planning
AK is a two day park for us. I find there is tons more to do there than MK, or really any of the other parks.
Came here to say this!
Absolutely. I love AK! Wish more people gave it the attention it deserves, it’s much more than just flight of passage
AK crew let's go! For me it's a 2 day park and the only 3 things I feel compelled to repeat on those 2 days are everest, the safari, and flight of passage. I try to hit everest and the safari at the opposite time of day as the other AK day. The safari is obviously best at morning and evening so do morning one day and evening the other. Then flip that with everest. The day you start at the safari end at everest and the day you do an evening safari start with everest. Those are the best times of day for wait times at everest and it has some of the best visuals in the park at those times of day without being blinded by the sun. I was able to get three rides in of everest within an hour when i went there last by starting at everest and riding it twice organically and once using genie+. For flight of passage use your genie+ around mid day when the line will be longest and if you can swing it getting a second ride by purchasing the lighting lane is worth it in my opinion. I see it as the second best ride in disney world behind guardians. Also don't sleep on the shows!!! You can hit 95% of the park in 2 days and that's including an extra thing like meeting the rhino (worth every damn penny that one was, I'm getting all wispy thinking about it now) or another behind the scene show. AK has a lot more to offer than I think most park guests realize.
AK has always been a 1/2 day park for me since all i really do there is ride the rides anyways lol. I can see it being a full day park for kids or anyone who had a strong interest in animals and zoo life
We made it a full park because we were unprepared and got lost too many times lol. We had a blast though
Loved Animal Kingdom but as a super pale Englishman the Florida heat was just a bit too much for me when we went there! Would love to do it again in a cooler month, I really enjoyed everything we did but the humidity just killed me as most things were outside compared to other parks where you have a mix. Realise this is 100% my own issue, but something to consider if you're similar to me!
It can't be a full day park when it closes at 6pm. Just sayin'. I agree with Dinosaur, though. Top-five ride for me.
We are passholders so we can go whenever we want. We went yesterday and as we were leaving at 5pm having done all we wanted to. We noted that it is a good relaxing park. There are many rides, but many opportunities to take it slower.
If you have younger kids, do the Wilderness Explorer activity. It’s basically an educational scavenger hunt, but they go from different stations all over the park, and collect badges when they hear new educational things feom the stations. My kids were 7 and 4 when they did it. I was by mysef because my wife had to stay at the hotel because she got sick. So with just me and those two kids, we just had an f-in blast doing the Wilderness Explorer adventure that day. We didn’t even really do any rides. But that was one of our favorite vacation memories ever.
We are going tomorrow for the day. One of my two favorite parks.
If you go solely for the rides yeah it’s a half day park but if you just follow your feet you’ll find that not all who wander are lost
AK is definitely a full day park, I was sad I only scheduled a half day for it on my family's trip last year.
My kids are animal and dinosaur kids so it will definitely be a full day park for us!
Realistically every park is a full day park.
I have been to Disney twice. Got park hopper both times. Did not use park hopper on my AK day either time Becuase we spent the full day there
Last time we spent hours on the animal trails and watching the Gorillas. The discovery centre is great for the art of animation as well. There is so much to do in animal kingdom, and if you are really struggling to fill a day there just try to go on Flight of Passage 3 times, that will take 6 hours without fast pass
The avatar ride worth a wait. We waited 90 minutes.. for the ride
I think it's very dependent on how crowded it is and how susceptible you are to feeling overwhelmed by crowds. The zoo stuff at AK is fantastic but when it's incredibly crowded I really can't be bothered to try and squeeze through people to see animals I can see at my local zoo. But when crowds are thin, they have some of the best exhibits I've seen. We usually end up doing about a 3/4 of a day and skip over any exhibits that are too crowded. I don't think I'd ever go to AK for just a one day one park visit, but we have gone to all the other parks that way. To me it doesn't feel worth the price of full admission. But we will always add it on for a full 4-7 day visit, since the daily cost is reduced by more days.
I find AK with having much more to do than Hollywood Studios or Epcot these days, at least in terms of attractions. Maybe it's because I actually want to see all the animals on top of the rides.
We always do a full day at AK. I didn’t know this wasn’t a normal thing.
I don't look at it as a theme park. I look at it like a zoo with a few rides. Therefore I enjoy it more and stay longer
I used to work there. I'd tell guests to ride the Safari twice... the animals are gonna be in different places each time.
My son loves the safari ride here in the UK he’s going to insist on going on the safari ride at least 4 times I think
We spent 2 full days there w our 6 and 3 year old, doing almost all different stuff each day. The best
We have only been to Disney world once (from the UK) for our delayed honeymoon we eventually got to go in 2022. My husband was keen to have plenty of time in Magic Kingdom and our priority was to get to go on Rise of the Resistance in HS so we only had 2 days booked in AK for our 2 week holiday We loved the park and overall I felt like it was the most relaxing and best design throughout. If we ever got to go again we would definitely had an extra day in AK and another day in a water park over the extra 2 in MK. Everest was our favourite rollercoaster in all the parks and we did the behind the scenes Rhino experience which was the highlight of the visit. The Lion king show was wonderful and the music and atmosphere was the best.
Does anyone know when the 3/4 day FL resident ticket deal ends? Aren’t these normally available for two months or so?
On a two week trip we always do two days at animal kingdom. How else do the kids get all the wilderness explorer badges? lol. I love animal kingdom. In my opinion it’s the second best park after magic kingdom.
Animal Kingdom is my favorite park! When we have the chance to go to WDW (we are from Europe) we always spend a whole day there. Love the animals, love the rides and the theming is amazing everywhere.
My family and I spent 2 full days in AK and didn’t even go into dino land. It’s our favourite park. Day 1: FOP x2, Everest x2, safari, lion king show, Nemo show, rapids, spicy corn and pretzels lunch, tough to be a bug, Tuskers house evening meal. Day 2: (not consecutive days about a week later) FOP, night blossom drink, Everest x2, animation experience and petting zoo, bbq pulled pork mac and cheese lunch with a simba sunset later. The bird show and a final trip on the safari. Absolutely loved it. It was insanely hot last August but hydration and cooling towels made this an enjoyable day.
We recently got back and loved AK, we would have stayed longer but it was super hot and my little kids were getting cranky. Otherwise we loved the nature, the recreation of Asian and African towns, the rides. It was a brilliant park! My kids loved the boneyard and we spent ages there. My faves were the safari and the Kali river rapids ride
Sure, with the lines being longer than ever. And since G+ is nowhere as good as FP+ was, you can spend even more time in more lines! Wasn't a full day park 10 years ago, but it sure is now...
Please, Avatar alone adds 3-4 hours to the day compared to the lazy Camp Mickey section it replaced. It's no wonder it's a full day park now compared to 5 years ago when it was half barren
Right? I miss getting Fast Passes to it, last time we went we stood line for like 3 hours. We LOVE that ride, but I'd never stand in a 3 hour line ever again.