If given a redo, would you build AK???

[JimboJones123]

It cost lots of $$$.
It's HUGE.
It's taken a decade plus and is still not open after dark.

It also outdraws DHS.
WDW needed a 4th park for crowds.
It provides reason to keep guests from visiting the competition.



Was it the right choice though?
What would have been a better choice?
Should they just have expanded what they have?


If you could push the reset button and make the decision to greenlight Animal Kingdom, something else, or nothing, what would you do?

 

[JimboJones123]

I can rule out not making a park. Although DHS did need expansion, a 4th gate makes a full week of experience to keep guests from wandering off campus. I'm just still up in the air on if DAK was the correct answer. But I still can't come up with an answer that wouldn't already be covered in the three parks that already existed. That includes a villans park, which could easily fit into MK or DHS.

 

[BeastnBelle29]

I really like AK, I believe that i would keep it. Even with what it has, it seems to have so much more potential. I love the atmosphere at AK, all the drums and animals. It brings the imaginary outdoors to you. I love this park! I kinda figure that if WDW is going to build anymore parks though, they would be more thrill worthy idea, like Aerosmith. Either way, i love it at AK! Besides, where else could they have put that big tree AND Mt. Everest?

 

[hardcard]

It cost lots of $$$.
It's HUGE.
It's taken a decade plus and is still not open after dark.

It also outdraws DHS.
WDW needed a 4th park for crowds.
It provides reason to keep guests from visiting the competition.



Was it the right choice though?
What would have been a better choice?
Should they just have expanded what they have?


If you could push the reset button and make the decision to greenlight Animal Kingdom, something else, or nothing, what would you do?

My reponses:

The bigger, the better
Where have you been? AK is consistently open after dark.. especially during evening EMH in the fall (non-daylight savings time)
It outdraws DHS.. thats good
It balances crowd levels... another good thing.
Helps with competition, another plus
IT was the right choice
It was the best choice
No, a 4th gate surrounding this theme was ideal, and could not have been realized as a 'land' at another park..

 

[MKCP 1985]

when there was no zoo, that's all you heard: "If only Disney would build a zoo. . . " People like animals, and the little bird island paradise wasn't cutting it. :lol:

Personally, DAK is my 4th favorite of the 4 Orlando area Disney parks, but I'm glad they built it. I think it is good, and will only get better. :shrug:

 

[JimboJones123]

My reponses:

The bigger, the better
Where have you been? AK is consistently open after dark.. especially during evening EMH in the fall (non-daylight savings time)
It outdraws DHS.. thats good
It balances crowd levels... another good thing.
Helps with competition, another plus
IT was the right choice
It was the best choice
No, a 4th gate surrounding this theme was ideal, and could not have been realized as a 'land' at another park..

You do realize that this now means a total of 6 days a year right.

Yes the second week of November, 1 night a week, for 6 weeks til winter. That's a grand total of 6 nights. So, if the number 6 is concidered consistently over a 365 1/4 day period, you run with that.

 

[krankenstein]

DAK is my favorite out of the 4 parks, so I would absolutely keep it. I agree the park was lacking some thing, but with E:E it is moving in the right direction. If Disney were to add one more E-Ticket a few D and C Tickets making sure one of them is a truly great Disney style dark ride, we would have a complete 4th gate. The park is currently maturing very nicely and will only get better with age.

Oh, yeah! Can we please get some pandas around E:E??

 

[cmcmcm]

I LOVE DAK! It is by far my fave park...awesome parade, great sites, beautiful, i love most of the attractions, and the shows rock. I mean, FOLK is amazing. I've spent a whole day there. Everest is one of my favorite rides and the characters around the park are some of the best. Where else can you see Chip and Dale swinging their backpacks and nuts around?

 

[wdwfan100]

Yes. It kept people from cutting a stay at Disney short and heading to Busch Gardens in Tampa. At the time it made a lot of sense. Now had it never been built and Disney was looking to put in a 4th gate in todays Market. I am not sure I would go with a zoological theme as heavily. I would have wanted a few more thrill attractions from the beginning.

 

[JimboJones123]

DAK is my favorite out of the 4 parks, so I would absolutely keep it. I agree the park was lacking some thing, but with E:E it is moving in the right direction. If Disney were to add one more E-Ticket a few D and C Tickets making sure one of them is a truly great Disney style dark ride, we would have a complete 4th gate. The park is currently maturing very nicely and will only get better with age.

Oh, yeah! Can we please get some pandas around E:E??

That would be HUGE. Oh, and Polar Bears.

We can't wait til August when we visit the San Diego Zoo so we can see the Pandas. I saw them at the National Zoo in DC in middle school and can't wait to see them again. They better be careful though. Dreamworks will send their legal team at Disney in a heartbeat.

 

[disneytopdog]

If they really want to take another bite out of another Orlando anaimal attraction. They need to add a ocean/sea/aquarium themed area. A much larger scale then the one at Epcot but smaller than Sea World

 

[PinMadness]

I'm not sure on this one.

AK is my least favorite park, but I don't hate it.

I really enjoy two of the rides, but the rest of the rides and attractions don't interest me.

I don't know if I would erase it though. People seem to enjoy it.

 

[PyxiiDustt]

You do realize that this now means a total of 6 days a year right.

Yes the second week of November, 1 night a week, for 6 weeks til winter. That's a grand total of 6 nights. So, if the number 6 is concidered consistently over a 365 1/4 day period, you run with that.

The main reason it can't be open after dark is the animals. Which is kind of the main point of the park. No animals = no AK. It's hard to have a bunch of people running around a zoo at midnight, also.

I think people just need to learn to appreciate AK for what it is, not for what they wish it could was. People just want thrills, thrills, thrills. AK provides a zoo-like atmosphere without disturbing the animals natural habitats and letting them (in a sense) run free. It's gorgeous, and I love just walking through it and enjoying the scenery. It has good rides (Kali, Dinosaur, Ex Everest, Kilimanjaro, etc), good shows (Nemo, Lion King) and it's educational, which was Disney's main vision in the first place.

Sorry if this is kind of an attack, but I can't stand when people hate on AK.

 

[ClemsonTigger]

No question...except that I wouldn't have started cutting back and settle for half a park to open!

 

[JimboJones123]

The main reason it can't be open after dark is the animals. Which is kind of the main point of the park. No animals = no AK. It's hard to have a bunch of people running around a zoo at midnight, also.

I think people just need to learn to appreciate AK for what it is, not for what they wish it could was. People just want thrills, thrills, thrills. AK provides a zoo-like atmosphere without disturbing the animals natural habitats and letting them (in a sense) run free. It's gorgeous, and I love just walking through it and enjoying the scenery. It has good rides (Kali, Dinosaur, Ex Everest, Kilimanjaro, etc), good shows (Nemo, Lion King) and it's educational, which was Disney's main vision in the first place.

Sorry if this is kind of an attack, but I can't stand when people hate on AK.

No, not attack at all. But this is a poor arguement. Our local zoo goes extended hours til 9 PM weekdays and 11 PM weekends in December for Zoolights. It's open til 5 the rest of the year. They don't close attractions. They don't shy away from putting the lights right by the animals. And guess what, it doesn't affect the animals one bit.

If you wanted to keep the animals from being bothered, it might have been a better idea to not kidnap them and put them in a box to only eat when you want them to.

So I don't buy the "don't bother the animals at night" side. If you really wanted to disturb the animals minimally, you would open only at night, when more animals are active and when they wouldn't "see" the guests anywhere near as much as there presence is felt during the day.

 

[PyxiiDustt]

No, not attack at all. But this is a poor arguement. Our local zoo goes extended hours til 9 PM weekdays and 11 PM weekends in December for Zoolights. It's open til 5 the rest of the year. They don't close attractions. They don't shy away from putting the lights right by the animals. And guess what, it doesn't affect the animals one bit.

But there are EMH at AK until 9 PM about once a week, which is when your zoo is open until. And in the summer, the regular park hours are until 8 PM. So I don't see the complaint... They just don't have the park open until 1AM, which is what I figured your main argument to be.

 

[JimboJones123]

But there are EMH at AK until 9 PM about once a week, which is when your zoo is open until. And in the summer, the regular park hours are until 8 PM. So I don't see the complaint... They just don't have the park open until 1AM, which is what I figured your main argument to be.

Maybe in my younger years. I'm kinda creeped out by AK at night because it's so big and you can go several minutes without seeing another soul on the way to camp Minnie Mickey. But I still would like to see some of that dead area filled, and then maybe 1 am wouldn't be such a shocker.

 

[the-reason14]

One thing I would have changed. I would have put Beastly Kingdom in there. Thats about it, everything else that is there now, would be there, and BK. And probably a few more dark rides and stuff.

 

[JimboJones123]

One thing I would have changed. I would have put Beastly Kingdom in there. Thats about it, everything else that is there now, would be there, and BK. And probably a few more dark rides and stuff.

It's amazing how BK is almost 100% endorsed by fans that know about it or hear about it. But we got Dinoland USA instead. Guess research doesn't pay much attention to those guest interviews at the gates as we thought.

 

[ChrisFL]

I would have built it but built it differently....I really think it was not built with huge crowds in mind at all and everything is very spread out and no alternate transportation to get around the park