I recently came across the following post in a now-closed thread. The poster was making his (or her) point that Animal Kingdom is a 1/4 day park.
This is EXACTLY the argument that comes up every time people discuss Animal Kingdom (and even Hollywood Studios) as a less-than-full-day park. Blah blah people don't want to take in the environment and shows blah blah people want rides blah blah.
On the other side, everyone and moans about WDW becoming "cheap" and not putting the care and detail into the parks as they used to. I'm thinking specifically about water effects, minor AA's that don't quite work like they supposed to, etc. Well, if nobody is going to stop and smell the roses anyways, why bother planting them in the first place?
I'm not really sure what I'm asking but it really seems like people around here just like to criticize blindly. They expect to be able to spend fourteen hours in each park doing nothing but sprinting from ride to ride, ignoring the scenery, but if they do decide to sit down on a bench there had better be fifteen new details to observe in the foliage that they've never noticed before.
My personal response to the above poster is that people who can't spend Open to Close enjoying themselves at Animal Kingdom are doing it wrong. Honestly, slow down. I've been there about a dozen times (for full days) and the vine lady (whatever she's called) creeps the ____*t out of me every time. Spend twenty minutes talking to one of the zookeepers at the gorilla exhibit. Take the time to actually hunt for all of the birds on the bird spotting guide in the African Aviary. Ride Kilimanjaro Safari in the morning, afternoon, and evening. Don't just sprint by Flights of Wonder on your way to Expedition: Everest. Waste a few dollars at a Chester and Hester's midway game. Watch them operate on a hummingbird at Rafiki's Planet Watch.
It's sad to me that the same people who rush through all of Animal Kingdom (or the Living Seas, for that matter) can content themselves wandering through well-themed gift shops in the World Showcase. Celebrating different cultures is fantastic and all, but have we really lost our appreciation for the natural?
This is EXACTLY the argument that comes up every time people discuss Animal Kingdom (and even Hollywood Studios) as a less-than-full-day park. Blah blah people don't want to take in the environment and shows blah blah people want rides blah blah.
On the other side, everyone and moans about WDW becoming "cheap" and not putting the care and detail into the parks as they used to. I'm thinking specifically about water effects, minor AA's that don't quite work like they supposed to, etc. Well, if nobody is going to stop and smell the roses anyways, why bother planting them in the first place?
I'm not really sure what I'm asking but it really seems like people around here just like to criticize blindly. They expect to be able to spend fourteen hours in each park doing nothing but sprinting from ride to ride, ignoring the scenery, but if they do decide to sit down on a bench there had better be fifteen new details to observe in the foliage that they've never noticed before.
My personal response to the above poster is that people who can't spend Open to Close enjoying themselves at Animal Kingdom are doing it wrong. Honestly, slow down. I've been there about a dozen times (for full days) and the vine lady (whatever she's called) creeps the ____*t out of me every time. Spend twenty minutes talking to one of the zookeepers at the gorilla exhibit. Take the time to actually hunt for all of the birds on the bird spotting guide in the African Aviary. Ride Kilimanjaro Safari in the morning, afternoon, and evening. Don't just sprint by Flights of Wonder on your way to Expedition: Everest. Waste a few dollars at a Chester and Hester's midway game. Watch them operate on a hummingbird at Rafiki's Planet Watch.
It's sad to me that the same people who rush through all of Animal Kingdom (or the Living Seas, for that matter) can content themselves wandering through well-themed gift shops in the World Showcase. Celebrating different cultures is fantastic and all, but have we really lost our appreciation for the natural?
Does this include people who want to take breaks during the day or those who have ADRs elsewhere on property?
