ToTBellHop
Well-Known Member
Sorry. Flamingi.
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News Animal Kingdom 25th Anniversary
- Thread starter JohnD
- Start date
BlakeW39
Well-Known Member
Why don't you stop telling families of four what they're doing.
Animal Kingdom is the best park at WDW. And a large part of that is the animals.
erasure fan1
Well-Known Member
The zoo by us, while obviously not as great as AK from an enclosure standpoint. Has some great exhibits that are pretty close. It costs about $130 for unlimited visits for the family for a year, and free parking.
It is very much an indictment. People love to throw the "if it takes you half a day, you're doing it wrong.." in your face. But like has been said, a lot of people have nice zoos they can visit. I don't need to see the exhibits every time I'm there. And in my opinion, every park should be a full day without doing everything the the park has. You should never have to do a bunch of stuff that might not be your cup of tea to feel you got your moneys worth.
BlakeW39
Well-Known Member
I don't think anyone here would argue that Disney's Animal Kingdom has enough attractions. Obviously it could use more to do, although calling it a half day park just because you can do all the E tickets in that time is flat out WRONG. However what I would argue is that a couple select people on this thread are being far too hard on zoological exhibits in general.
Yes most zoos are cheaper than DAK. Well, most amusement parks and carnivals are cheaper than Disneyland. That's because while their premises may be similar, their qualities are greatly different. The zoological exhibits at DAK are superior to those at the San Diego Zoo, which themselves are superior to those in Columbus, which are again superior to those in, say, Detroit or Atlanta or something.
The idea that zoological exhibits across the board just don't have that much value is biased and unfair. If done well, they're just as valuable as other attractions are. That's like me saying I don't like dark rides, and therefore surmising that 80s EPCOT had nothing to do. Or that Cedar Pointe has nothing to do because I don't like coasters. Keep in mind these are also popular opinions to have.
Hence why Kilimanjaro Safaris and the various animal trails are some of the best offerings not just in WDW, but at any theme park in the country. Maybe YOU or others think animal exhibits have little value, but that speaks towards your preferences, and lack of interest in the concept.
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Yes, it's the largest park because of Kilimanjaro Safaris. That doesn't mean carving it up and creating more lands for you to be a park commando. If people would just stop and savor what's there, they would enjoy it more. It's more than just the rides. It's also the shows and trails, in addition to the rides.
cjkeating
Well-Known Member
If it wasn't for DAK I'd rarely visit Walt Disney World. I live in Europe so have DLP for Magic Kingdom, Epcot I don't like (and Europa Park does the country themed park much better) and Hollywood Studio's except for Rise is either covered at DLP or I'm not bothered about.
I think this all goes back to the Eisner era of diversifying the parks to appeal to different markets but having them on one resort so everyone will visit them all and have their favourites. Nowadays MK/Epcot/DHS are becoming more and more alike with Epcot doing it badly and DHS not being able to handle the demand. I fear DAK is going to go down this path and become WDW's fourth Magic Kingdom... and when that happens I'll no longer need to visit WDW and I can sell my AKL DVC.
I think this all goes back to the Eisner era of diversifying the parks to appeal to different markets but having them on one resort so everyone will visit them all and have their favourites. Nowadays MK/Epcot/DHS are becoming more and more alike with Epcot doing it badly and DHS not being able to handle the demand. I fear DAK is going to go down this path and become WDW's fourth Magic Kingdom... and when that happens I'll no longer need to visit WDW and I can sell my AKL DVC.
erasure fan1
Well-Known Member
I don't think it's wrong if someone thinks it's a half day park. Not everyone loves the trails and animals. I do, but not everyone in my family wants to walk every trail, every time. And I think that's just as valid. Disney should be better.
I don't think that's what people are saying at all. The point is you should have plenty of variety to make a full day , no matter the set of intrests you have.
I think the exhibits are of extreme value. But I can understand that a lot of people spend time at their local zoos and might want a bit more from their 5 to 10grand vacation. AK has a whole 6 rides plus a spinner. That's not good enough. Especially since animal kingdom has the potential to be one of the best theme parks in the world.
You don't like coasters. No problem, the magic kingdom even with 4 still has more than enough variety to make a day out of it. I don't think your 80s Epcot statement is all that fair because if you don't like rides, why are you going to a theme park? But even so, there are probably enough shows and exhibits plus all the countries to fill your day. Even if you don't like rides. Again, for the prices you pay to be at Disney, there should be enough for everyone to make a full day. We all know it CAN be a full day. But for a great many people, it just isn't.
AdventureHasAName
Well-Known Member
The Houston Zoo.
BlakeW39
Well-Known Member
If it wasn't for DAK I'd rarely visit Walt Disney World. I live in Europe so have DLP for Magic Kingdom, Epcot I don't like (and Europa Park does the country themed park much better) and Hollywood Studio's except for Rise is either covered at DLP or I'm not bothered about.
I think this all goes back to the Eisner era of diversifying the parks to appeal to different markets but having them on one resort so everyone will visit them all and have their favourites. Nowadays MK/Epcot/DHS are becoming more and more alike with Epcot doing it badly and DHS not being able to handle the demand. I fear DAK is going to go down this path and become WDW's fourth Magic Kingdom... and when that happens I'll no longer need to visit WDW and I can sell my AKL DVC.
You and me both my friend. Prior to the closure of Splash Mountain, the parks that I felt were worth going to were MK, DAK, and IoA.
As soon as Epic Universe comes to Orlando, that'll have changed to being EU, IoA, and DAK.
BlakeW39
Well-Known Member
I mean don't get me wrong, I do agree wiyj you on a lot of your points. Really my reply to you was more a reaction to another poster a page or so back that I also addressed separately. So for that I apologize.
Anyways though. I think my comparison to 80s EPCOT is more than fair. Why go to a theme park if you don't like rides..? Why go to a place called Animal Kingdom if you don't like animals?
I do think DAK needs at least an additional 3-4 rides at least, at least two of those being E-tickets, in order to charge what they do. That's not evem counted the maintanence needed for two of their extisting rides, Expedition Everest (i.e. fix the ****** yeti) and Dinosaur (i.e. stop painting the dinosaurs in neon and make the ride thrilling again).
TheMaxRebo
Well-Known Member
I certainly think there should be a few more rides at AK, but you also need to count the shows as far as attractions - now if a person doesn't care about seeing the animals / walking the trails and doesn't care about shows and doesn't care about planet watch and affection section .... Then maybe AK isn't a good choice for them (but that is a lot of stuff to not care about)
erasure fan1
Well-Known Member
I think the difference is that Disney is a theme park and people expect rides first. They spent a lot of time advertising and branding it notazoo. I think they knew that they needed to differentiate it from a zoo. Unfortunately at some point, they just said the heck with it. And it's a shame because it's one of the most well themed parks in existence.
There, 90% of the celebration decoration has been done. Why? Budget blown on the hat. It's a large hat
Chin strap not needed!
That would've taken the remaining 10%
BlakeW39
Well-Known Member
Ehhh... yes I do agree people expect rides first at an amusement park.. but still, you should expect animals to be a major part of a place called Animal Kingdom. I don't think the park is a half day park if people don't make use of the animal attractions in animal kingdom and then find, huh, there's not enough to do here. I mean that's kind of what the park is there for, at least in part. But I agree that there should be enough at the park so that you don't have to do everything in order to get a full day out of it. It should be a full day of activities no matter how you cut it. So again, like 4 new rides for sure. One preferably being a thrill ride. Plus TLC for the park's broken attractions.
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MrPromey
Well-Known Member
Wait, there was a 100 year celebration?
I know they released 100 year merch but what kind of a celebration/event was there?
Must have overlooked that, whatever it was.
bcoachable
Well-Known Member
Let’s make sure that hat won’t fall on guests zooming by while the ride is in “b” mode, Mister…
jrogue
Well-Known Member
that's actually a really good point and i couldn't quite put my finger on why i've been so unhappy with the park changes but this explains it perfectly!