There is something for everyone at WDW, and AK hits a certain demographic.
My mother has been known to drive to WDW and literally watch the gorillas all day. I have personally spent 1-2 hours staring at the Tigers because they are beautiful animals. Overwhelmingly beautiful.
Some people have very short attention spans. For those who don't, AK is a brilliant park. It's a place to take your time and savor your surroundings. I also think that people in their low-mid 20's will learn to appreciate AK as they get older.
It's not just about people that have "very short attention spans". That's so dismissive.
Here is the essential problem : yes, AK is a lush looking park. Although I think people (even myself) give it a bit TOO much credit as being "amazingly themed" - I mean, it's a jungle. A big one, and the effort to build a Jungle like that on swamp land is pretty amazing, but...there isn't a ton of difference between the different areas of the park except for the signs on all the shanti-huts.
The thing is, attention span notwithstanding, there must be something there to capture that attention. Just looking at pretty trees and jungle-like feelings only goes so far. The animal exhibits are, frankly, done better elsewhere. There are regional zoos that many people have access to that provide much better/closer animal interaction. Are the surroundings as lush? No, but the environment is the frosting, the animal interaction/viewing the cake - so you can make the most lovely frosting, but if you put 5 inches of frosting on top of a 1-inch deep cake, most people aren't going to find that appetizing.
So it's not much of a zoo, and not much of a theme park either. The two big shows are overblown affairs that take 2 hours after waiting in hot outdoor lines, going through the herding process, and actually viewing the shows. Both are OK, but while I'm sure some will disagree I don't find either of them particularly compelling to have to see more than once or twice. That's subjective, I'm sure some love them and can watch them over and over, but let's be honest - they are set up the way they are (especially the overlapping times, preventing you from seeing them back to back) is to artificially extend visitors time in the park.
And rides? Well, that doesn't even need to be gone over yet again. There are few, and what are there are sub-par (Primeval Whirl), in dire need of maintenance (Dinosaur) or just broken (Everest). The Safari is only decent if you go at the right time of day, and even when you do get good animal viewing the stupid forced storyline forces you past so quickly it doesn't allow for much quality viewing.
It's not about attention span, it's about quality of attractions (animal and not). AK is far below all other parks in that respect, even Epcot. If some people are content just wandering around all day looking up at the same jungle-treetop theming that is all over the park and it satisfies them, yay, great for them. But most people do not go to WDW just to walk around and look at plants, nor admire shanty-town architecture.
It's similar to World Showcase in that regard, in that the same arguments have been made for and against it over the years. Some view WS as just a really nice, well-themed shopping mall/food court. Some swear it's nearly a religious experience, or a high art cultural experience. Personally, I find it in the middle - yes, very nice architecture, but there isn't that much there either besides the pretty buildings (what's inside most is shops - some of which sell the same junk any store can order - my mother marveled at the crap they were shilling in Japan like bamboo placemats and such that are from the same exact company her little shop on the coast of Maine orders from wholesale for a buck each).
Not everyone who doesn't love either of them or thinks they need a lot of work has a short attention span, just like not everyone who thinks AK or WS are these almost wordlessly poignant experiences are simply sheltered people who are solely impressed because they haven't seen any of the "real" thing as opposed to the Disney-fied distillation of it.
