Unimpressed with Animal Kingdom

[JohnD]

I would also suggest if you get the chance, do the behind the scenes Disney African Trek. We went early in the morning and the others who were supposed to join us never showed up so we had an exclusive tour with just our family. It's worth the extra cash just to try the experience once. We had breakfast out on the savanah. What a view ! Lots of closeup time with some of your favorite animals.

That would be post-COVID. Whenever that is. No tours or special experiences offered right now.

 

[spock8113]

Before Expedition Everest, AK was the least visited park and many thought it as just a zoo, which in many respects it is.
Disney was so incensed that it had an advertising campaign: "Nahtazu"
Clever but it took a roller coaster in a zoo to get the attendance back up.
Remember too, that AK was originally to be sponsored with McDonalds (why the huge Mc'd's on the road in.
Also there was supposed to be a "Dragon Boat" medieval area and boat ride?
AK is a hodge podge of other things outside it's "Nahtazu" Not my favorite park and you can do alot of it in 1/2 a day.

 

[Hollywood704]

We love AK, but at the same time you could almost just spend half a day there and half a day at epcot. Youre right, there aren't a ton of rides, but the atmosphere is amazing. Probably the best themed Park.

 

[Giss Neric]

hile Avatar was my favorite land, even the river ride was boring. The food was terrible!

Satuli Canteen is one of the best QS in the whole park and whole Disney World so I disagree wholeheartedly.

 

[Nottamus]

As stated many times above, just to be able to slow down and “see” things, you’ll be surprised what you missed.

The detail in theming throughout AK is amazing. The buildings in Africa, all the detail in Asia. Totally the best in WDW IMO.
Wdw has it set up to where we go from fast pass to fast pass to lunch to show to fast pass —and that makes it harder to slow down and smell the flowers, so to speak

Best thing about WDW, is that there’s a million other things to do if you don’t like one.

 

[Weather_Lady]

I would have agreed with the OP on my first visit to AK, when we had 2 small kids in tow who were mainly interested in "doing all the rides" -- and that was pre-Avatar, with 2 fewer of them. AK was barely a half-day park for us at that point, and although I really enjoyed the Safari and thought Festival of the Lion King and Nemo were the best Disney park shows I'd ever seen, I didn't get what all the fuss was about. (It didn't help that we didn't realize the Yeti was broken so we were disappointed it didn't look like the promotional videos of a moving Yeti Disney was still showing in its commercials at that time.)

Things changed for us when the kids got a little older and more patient, and when we spent a week staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge, which made jaunts over to AK more convenient. We saw and did everything, at every time of day, and savored the restaurants and the sights and quiet corners of the park in a way we'd never had the time to do before, and really let the park transport us mentally to another place. Now it's tied with MK for my favorite.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

This video does a good job explaining why AK will forever be a disappointment for me. The gap between the park's potential, that Disney advertising in the 90s hyped, vs what was ultimately built will forever be ingrained in my mind:

 

[NelleBelle]

We love AK, but at the same time you could almost just spend half a day there and half a day at epcot. Youre right, there aren't a ton of rides, but the atmosphere is amazing. Probably the best themed Park.

We love AL as well. I’m just disappointed that there will be no shows when we go in 2 weeks. I am excited that we will be able to take in Pandora and the park after dark since they extended the hours!

 

[doctornick]

This appears to be a simple case of not doing adequate research before visiting the park.

I'm still confused about this because the complaints don't seem to be based on not pre-planning but just... I dunno... not putting much effort? Specifically, there are plenty of animals at DAK. They aren't in generally right next to the main trails, but they aren't all that hard to find. And anyone could pick up a free guide map which indicates the trails and a bunch of the animals. And IIRC there is also a free animal list paper as well (it's like the Times Guide found at DAK and all the parks, but just lists animals and their locations).

I don't begrudge anyone's opinion and I can totally understand it not being their favorite park (or being their least favorite). I would agree with others that it could use more attractions - especially with the shows and entertainment not running and RoL gone - but saying they didn't see animals there doesn't make much sense to me.

 

[Ginzuishou]

There shouldn't be animals there at all, unless they decided to go there on their own. They serve dead animals in the restaurants. Makes no sense. Take a safari to see the wonder of animals, yet eat other animals for lunch and dinner. The last time I was there was in 2003 and I had an amazing time. I do want to return but I'd have to try to ignore some of the dumb decisions made there.

 

[Raineman]

Whenever people mention a "half day park", to me it means that it only takes them half of a day to rush through all of the attractions as quickly as possible, and not stopping to smell the roses. As someone who only visits every year or two, I understand the park commando mindset, but to say DAK is a half day park must be coming from people who don't consider the animal attractions. I could spend a half a day just walking the animal trails, and actually stopping and watching instead of taking a quick glance then moving on. Anyone who has never found a nice shady spot in the parks, and just kicked back with a snack and a cold drink and soaked in the sights and sounds, is really doing themselves a disservice.

 

[_caleb]

There shouldn't be animals there at all, unless they decided to go there on their own. They serve dead animals in the restaurants. Makes no sense. Take a safari to see the wonder of animals, yet eat other animals for lunch and dinner. The last time I was there was in 2003 and I had an amazing time. I do want to return but I'd have to try to ignore some of the dumb decisions made there.

Some of us see a difference between animals living in the wild (or in captivity that simulates natural habitat) and those specifically raised to be consumed as food. Funny how we treat meat as a luxury, but in so many parts of the world it’d be a luxury to forgo eating meat.

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

DAK is the most visually appealing theme park I have ever been to. The first time we went in 2000 I was still in high school and all we wanted to do was rush from ride to ride. As I got older, I learned to soak it all in as there is so much to see around every corner there. Now it's my second favorite park. As far as not seeing many animals.... they're animals. They do what they want and they have SO much room to wander (which is a good thing! It means they are not crammed into a small space like some zoos) Also the food is some of the best at WDW. Canteen and Flame Tree BBQ are delicious for quick service and we also love Yak and Yeti and I hear great things about Tiffins. DAK is not for everyone, and that's ok. Not everyone likes the same thing. But I truly feel this is not a half a day park if you're really stopping and enjoying everything they have to offer.

 

[JohnD]

Whenever people mention a "half day park", to me it means that it only takes them half of a day to rush through all of the attractions as quickly as possible, and not stopping to smell the roses. As someone who only visits every year or two, I understand the park commando mindset, but to say DAK is a half day park must be coming from people who don't consider the animal attractions. I could spend a half a day just walking the animal trails, and actually stopping and watching instead of taking a quick glance then moving on. Anyone who has never found a nice shady spot in the parks, and just kicked back with a snack and a cold drink and soaked in the sights and sounds, is really doing themselves a disservice.

The time it takes to do a park is what you put into it. If you’re a “park commando,” it’s a half-day. If you like to do and soak in everything it takes longer. I personally enjoy the animal trails, shows, and sitting at Dawa Bar (pre-COVID) listening to the African music while vegging out. Right now, without the shows, if you get there at rope drop you could still finish between 3:00-4:00 pm.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

If you’re a “park commando,” it’s a half-day.

There's absolutely no chance. Assuming a pre/post COVID world where the shows are open, there's no way a person is doing every single attraction in a half-day.

Finding Nemo is 40 minutes.
Festival of the Lion King is 30 minutes.
Flights of Wonder is 30 minutes.

Add in entrance/egress and walk time, and you're already at a half day without riding a single ride, waiting in a single line, or walking a single trail, even just to say you did. You also haven't eaten anything yet.

Crazy person: Magic Kingdom is only a half-day park.
Me: Oh yeah, what do you like to ride when you're there?
Crazy person: I pretty much hit Jungle Cruise and then I'm done for the day.

Yeah, anything is a half-day park if you skip everything.

 

[JohnD]

There's absolutely no chance. Assuming a pre/post COVID world where the shows are open, there's no way a person is doing every single attraction in a half-day.

Finding Nemo is 40 minutes.
Festival of the Lion King is 30 minutes.
Flights of Wonder is 30 minutes.

Add in entrance/egress and walk time, and you're already at a half day without riding a single ride, waiting in a single line, or walking a single trail, even just to say you did.

I’m making the point that “park commandos” do rides and skip everything else. The point is still the same. The more you put in, the more time you spend.

 

[aliceismad]

I’m making the point that “park commandos” do rides and skip everything else. The point is still the same. The more you put in, the more time you spend.

I see "park commandos" as people who do rope drop to close but still want to do all the things. I see "ride commandos" as the type who are interested in riding all the things - particularly the more thrilling rides - and being uninterested with the rest. Personally I don't understand why a ride commando would even bother with Disney. The Disney parks experience doesn't match well with a person who is highly focused on rides.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I see "park commandos" as people who do rope drop to close but still want to do all the things. I see "ride commandos" as the type who are interested in riding all the things - particularly the more thrilling rides - and being. Personally I don't understand why a ride commando would even bother with Disney. The Disney parks experience doesn't match well with a person who is highly focused on rides.

Amen.

It's like... Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is my favorite ride, but I'd much rather ride everything once than ride BTMRR over and over again all day.

For me, Magic Kingdom is two full days. All the other parks are day-and-a-half (assuming more "traditional" operating hours, FastPass+, and COVID closures reopened). That usually gets me on every ride once at a leisurely pace with a midday break every day.

 

[_caleb]

I see "park commandos" as people who do rope drop to close but still want to do all the things. I see "ride commandos" as the type who are interested in riding all the things - particularly the more thrilling rides - and being. Personally I don't understand why a ride commando would even bother with Disney. The Disney parks experience doesn't match well with a person who is highly focused on rides.

I see both as people who completely miss the point of Disney parks.

 

[ilovelabs2021]

While AK is not my favorite park, I do really like it. The theming is amazing. There are certainly animals, as others have mentioned, but they are not "out on display" like you might find at a typical zoo. You do need to go to specific areas. And did you not do the safari?!? There are lots of animals there! Satu'li Canteen in Pandora has some of the best food I have eaten at Disney. I think you need a re-do.