Animal Kingdom In Less Than One Day?

[MichWolv]

You could easily spend 4-5 hours viewing animals in environments better than just about any zoo. But let's assume you skip that. You still have Kilamanjaro Safaris, Everest, And Dinosaur as top-level rides that you may want ro repeat, FotLK and Nemo as top level shows, as well as Kali River Rapids, Flights of Wonder, and it's Tough to be a Bug, all of which are very worthwhile for the new visitor. Add Tree of Life viewing, a couple of throwaway rides in Dinoland, a parade (not great, but fun), and you easily fill the 9 hours the park is typically open. But then again, you'd still be missing the animal habitats.

If you're in. Rush, ou can hit three rides and go, but you won't have seen anything close to the whole park.

 

[acishere]

AK we do 9-5. It really is a park to linger in and absorb your surroundings. It makes for a more relaxing day overall and is a break from the constant rushing around that you have to do at MK. Take the time and really appreciate how beautiful the place is.

Also its about 20 degrees hotter than the other parks and rushing around will make you very sweaty.

 

[Susan Savia]

We've done AK many many times over but the last few years we arrive at rope drop and take a Safari ride then over to Dinosaur, check out a few shops and head out.

 

[Lucky]

I keep reading everywhere that Animal Kingdom is a park where you get through it in less than one day. The Unofficial Guide even stated that you can get through the park by 2pm.

In people's experiences on here is this true?

Sure, you could rush through the headliner attractions by 2 PM, but some of us prefer to enjoy the park the way its designers intended.

 

[Demeter Tess]

We spent a very enjoyable half day there on my last trip, finishing around 2PM. Rode everything (and Everest twice), saw several shows, walked the trails, etc. I do think I could have spent an entire day there, had we really made the effort to explore the park's nooks and crannies, but I felt satisfied with the short time we had. So yes, it's very doable!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

AK really all comes down to what you want to get out of it. It's one of those places where you can really stop and smell the roses, but that's not always practical. I know one day my children will appreciate the beauty, but for now- we can't linger too long. For our upcoming trip, we're going on a day with morning EMH...we will be in the park by 8am and be leaving by about 1pm.

 

[luv]

It would be difficult to impossible to do everything in a day.

Any park is a half-day park if that is all the time you want to spend there. But if you want to everything, or even most of everything, in any park...you'll need to plan on at least one day.

There is no way to know how you will like it until you've tried it.

 

[DisneyJunkie]

I keep reading everywhere that Animal Kingdom is a park where you get through it in less than one day. The Unofficial Guide even stated that you can get through the park by 2pm. In people's experiences on here is this true?

That's definitely true. We never spend an entire day there, and I'd say 2:00 is right around the time we generally say 'ok, we've done all that we wanted to here, let's go to another park'. Our staples are Dinosaur, Kilimanjaro Safaris, It's Tough to be a Bug, and Expedition Everest.

 

[WDWNooby]

We spent an entire day there in 2009 and plan on doing so this trip. This is one my son's favorite park to enjoy and explore.

 

[razza1987]

Wow so many varied responses. Thanks everyone for answering and giving your opinions

 

[rob0519]

I keep reading everywhere that Animal Kingdom is a park where you get through it in less than one day. The Unofficial Guide even stated that you can get through the park by 2pm.

In people's experiences on here is this true?

It depends on your interests. The first time we visited, it did take the entire day because we wanted to see everything we could. Since then however, we're usually in and out in less than six hours.

 

[hellowonderland]

Although I think AK is a visually stunning park and I absolutely love animals, my husband and I don't spend more than a half day there normally. We do Dinosaur, Festival of the Lion King, Expedition Everest and the Safaris. A little shopping, exploring and a few drinks at Dawa, and we're out.

On our Disneymoon (11 nights this October), I have one day planned at AK - but I think we'll probably only stay until around 2 or 3pm. We might go back once more when we eat at Sanaa, but it's just not our favourite park - I wish I liked it more, because again, I think it's stunning.

 

[DisneyGirl3820]

We would go nuts if we had to spend more than a few hours at AK. Don't get me wrong but it's just too much for us. We get there at the rope drop and then do the Safari, Rapids and Dinosaur and that's about it. Maybe have a snack and then get out of there! We're usually back at the hotel by lunch. Usually as we're leaving, the huge crowds are walking into the park and it's just starting to get really hot. We would love to go to AK if they were open in the evening but I don't like the park in the afternoon.

 

[Dad 2 M & M]

Wow so many varied responses. Thanks everyone for answering and giving your opinions

Why not at least consider a full day at AK (Usually closes by 6:00 at the latest) on a day that another park has an EME...MK and Epcot's EME usually last til 12:00 or later....and if you stay until park closing, the last 1-2 hours are usually less crowded. Just a thought......

 

[WDW!]

You can do DAK in a 1/2 day. (or not at all )

 

[rle4lunch]

Tough call. I say half day, just because 1/2 the park is a zoo. That's even taking the safari ride and waiting for an hour for Everest. Dinosaur is okay, but isn't any Indiana Jones Adventure like its counterpart in DL. That whole land is crappy and tacky over there anyway, and a terrible fit for such an attention to detail oriented park like DAK is everywhere else.

If you've never been to a zoo, then take all day. If you are going to enjoy the rides and the safari (do in the morning!) and have a good BBQ lunch, then spend a half day there and go enjoy the other parks so you don't feel like you've been cheated out of a day of walking around looking at swinging monkeys.

Don't get me wrong, it's a beautiful park, one of Disney's best. But there is a lot of wasted space and stupid attractions.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Are you visiting Walt Disney World as a place that is home to many great amusements or that is home to PARKS? If you're only interested in shotguning from ride to ride with FastPass and then hitting your dining reservation and then moving on with your jammed up Excel schedule, then yes, you can get it done. If you are interested in exploring a PARK there is so much more than just a few rides. This is true of not just Disney's Animal Kingdom but of many theme PARKS.

 

[cheezbat]

I can easily spend two days wandering DAK's paths, admiring the bamboo forests and the netting.

I do EVERYTHING...and I'm always able to get it all in well before the 5pm closing times they sometimes have. I'm sorry, but most people aren't paying $94 to walk around paths looking at bamboo and netting.
I always visit the trails, almost always ride the train and go in the petting zoo for a good while, wander the animal treks, ride Everest and Dinosaur twice each, Kali, Festival of the Lion King, play in the Boneyard, It's Tough to be Bug, grab a few pics with some characters, take a spin on Primeval Whirl, every other visit I'll hit up Flights of Wonder, and watch Finding Nemo. Using fastpasses, I find it very easy to see and do everything in roughly 6 or 7 hours. Definitely NOT a full day or two day park. This park NEEDS more rides badly. It also needs more indoor places, a few more shows maybe, and more animal exhibits.
Hopefully if the Avatarland gets built, it will help fill out a dead area of the park. If not for FOTLK, that corner would be abandoned.

 

[@WDWForTwo]

If you are a "Do as many things as possible person" and you are moving as quickly as possible between attractions, it is really easy to be out of Animal Kingdom by 1-1:30 PM if you arrive at rope drop.

I think in order to truly appreciate Animal Kingdom, you have to be willing to slow down. Go see Feestival of the Lion King, actually explore and investigate the Pangani and Maharajah Trails (rather than "oh, there's a gorilla, lets go"), go to Rafiki's Planet Watch and watch the vets work on an animal, ask the CMs questions ect.

Yes, you can blow through the park quickly, but Animal Kingdom is best enjoyed at a leisurely pace. It is a park for learning and exploring, similar to EPCOT in that sense.

Its all in how you approach the park.

 

[Lucky]

I don't think it needs more rides. I think people who need more rides should go to a different park instead of wasting their time there. There are plenty of other parks in Orlando and other places that will always have more rides than AK.