Is Animal Kingdom's Biggest Problem the Safari Itself?

[wvdisneyfamily]

AK is a half day park for families with little kids. DS is too short for everything but the safari, Tough To Be A Bug, and the trails. I love the AK at night. I'll miss PM EMH there. It's a beautiful park, especially at night.

 

[Vernonpush]

The biggest problem with guests who consider it a half day park are the guests. You want rides? Go elsewhere.

Not that a few Ds or another E would go amiss...

AK is a half day park for families with little kids. DS is too short for everything but the safari, Tough To Be A Bug, and the trails. I love the AK at night. I'll miss PM EMH there. It's a beautiful park, especially at night.

AK is a "half day park" because it closes earlier than the other parks. If it had more rides that were open after the "animals went to bed", then it could stay open later. A couple of years ago we were at AK, and wanted to spend the day there. We tried to get dinner after the parade, and every place we went was already closed. We "hopped" to Epcot.

 

[wolf359]

I've got zoos all around me. I only wish they'd be as cool as AK. It's odd. The animals to me aren't the real attraction at AK. I think it has 3 of the best rides in all of Disney - Kali, Everest and Dinosaur. Plus, from a natural point of view, it's an absolutely beautiful park. No doubt, it could use a couple more rides to make it better, but I think AK gets a bad rap. The beauty is in the details.

This sums up my point of view exactly.

I think all of the Disney parks are much more than just the sum of their attraction list, but none more so than Animal Kingdom. The level of detail and the sense of place they achieved is really amazing, and that's what makes it such a great park to me.

 

[tirian]

The biggest problem with guests who consider it a half day park are the guests. You want rides? Go elsewhere.

This isn't about whether or not it should be regarded as a half-day park; and the "rides/elsewhere" statement is exactly what my point is. Just like Epcot, DAK isn't solely about the rides; but unlike Epcot, the majority of DAK's non-ride attractions are contained within one space.

Not that a few Ds or another E would go amiss...

:lol: Quite true.

This whole thread is theoretical (and therefore ultimately pointless ), but I do think DAK would benefit from an expansion in which the entire land is the exhibit with a ride going through it, along the lines of WRE and BTMRR.

 

[MickeyMind]

We go for a weekend atleast once a month or once every other month. Ak is always the park we spend the least amount of time in. Ak needs some good family attractions. Why hasn't disney taken the opportunity to build a full lion king dark ride here? The main show building can be housed in a pride rock looking thing, throw in some good fully functional aa's and wham a brand new ride! They can also make a bambi ride, a fox and the hound dark ride, a pocahontas dark ride. There are so many characters disney can use in a classic family dark ride. Please no more shows, shows dont have the same "re-ride-ability" rides have.

AK needs more rides, plain and simple, we can have that huge safari, but if you want to keep the park open later and make more money, then you need to give the guests enough reasons to stay there past the animal's bedtime.

 

[wizards8507]

Sorry but I didn't pay ~$80 for a one day pass to a zoo. if it's going to be a zoo, it should be cheaper admission. simple as that.

Then don't buy the ticket. People obviously DO think it's worth it or they wouldn't cross the turnstiles. DAK pulled 9.6 million people through the gates in 2009. Where do people get off saying it "should be" cheaper, or it's not "worth it"? If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, then "worth" is in the wallet of the consumer.

 

[Mansion Butler]

In my opinion, the Disney Animal Kingdom Park is the least performing park at the Walt Disney World resort and it has lots of room for improvement.

And in my opinion, you are describing Epcot. Maybe Hollywood Studios. But probably Epcot.

As far as Busch Gardens vs. DAK, having spent plenty of time at both, I remain baffled. Give me the cleaner, better organized, better themed place, as much as I would like to see more at DAK.

 

[loveofamouse]

When comparing DAK to its competitors, it comes up short on entertainment. Yes, it's got the Disney magic and is cleaner and better together but BGardens has more to do. Same with Sea world.

For my family, AK is the park we do on our dinner show day. We go from open til about 2-4pm. We hit all of the rides (except dinoland), the lion king show, the safari, some trails, street shows and parade. At that point, we're good to go.


Where do people get off saying it "should be" cheaper, or it's not "worth it"? If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, then "worth" is in the wallet of the consumer.


Exactly. It's my opinion and, to me, it's not an $80 zoo.

 

[Mansion Butler]

When comparing DAK to its competitors, it comes up short on entertainment. Yes, it's got the Disney magic and is cleaner and better together but BGardens has more to do. Same with Sea world.

More to do doesn't matter if it doesn't outweigh how nice the experience is overall. I would like if every park had more to do, starting with Epcot and then moving on to Animal Kingdom, but including every theme park I do or ever will go to. But the number of attractions is only part of the puzzle of what makes an awesome day at a theme park.

That said, I love Sea World almost as much as I love Epcot. I can't possibly wrap my head around liking it more than Animal Kingdom, but I don't think that's as crazy as liking Busch Gardens more.

Also, when I take pictures of Animal Kingdom and share them on Facebook, my botanist brother doesn't go in to angry diatribes about how incorrect and even dangerous the foliage is like he does with Busch Gardens. :lol:

 

[epcotWSC]

At the end of the day it's a theme park, people go to have fun. I live about 40 minutes from the Bronx Zoo, sure it's half the size of AK, but it's a zoo never the less. If I want to see animals I can go take a 40 minute drive, not travel over 1000 miles. I'm sure many people feel the same. So instead they do the rides, see the shows and some animals on a ride, then head to another park. For me if it wasn't for AK, I would never have a need for the park hopper option.

Plus AK is so large it takes forever to walk through it especially on a hot day.

Most people I talk to say that AK was their least favorite park at Disney.

 

[tirian]

Then don't buy the ticket. People obviously DO think it's worth it or they wouldn't cross the turnstiles. DAK pulled 9.6 million people through the gates in 2009. Where do people get off saying it "should be" cheaper, or it's not "worth it"? If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, then "worth" is in the wallet of the consumer.

Who pays ~$80 for anything but the MK or Epcot? DAK lives off multi-day tickets.

 

[tirian]

Plus AK is so large it takes forever to walk through it especially on a hot day.

See, that's part of the problem with arranging all the attractions on the park's perimeter. It's purely anecdotal, but everyone I've brought for a day at DAK complains there's too much walking with too little payoff.

It's sad to hear their complaints, because DAK and Disney Sea stand alone as the most fully realized environments in the Disney park portfolio. DAK simply needs more to do. I agree with whoever said that shows aren't the answer. Most shows offer no motive for multiple experiences.

 

[wvdisneyfamily]

I have chosen to edit this comment because my Irish heritage speaks louder than my rational mind.

 

[BuzzGoofy]

Let me start this by saying that I really like DAK. I think that it could use more attractions, but that does not stop me from enjoying it. I am a very amateur photographer, and can spend a whole day there taking pictures of all the animals and the great details of the themeing. If you have noticed the picture of the day thread you will see that I have spent hours just photographing the Tree of Life.

I have only been to WDW twice. Both times were for 10 days and both time I have done two full days at DAK. When I go again in 2013 I will again spend at least two days at DAK, even if they have not made any changes, as seems likely.

Love for the Animal Kingdom.

 

[cheezbat]

I have this to say...Animal Kingdom IS a pretty and immersive park, except for Dinoland. It does have a few great attractions and some good shows and awesome animal exhibits. Still, this does not make it worth the $80+ dollar single day admission...and I KNOW most people who visit get multi day tickets, so they aren't just paying that $80.

Problem is, IT IS NOT a full day park. I understand you DAK lovers who tell us all to do everything and take in all of your surroundings, but as somebody who has done that time and time again, there is a feeling of still being cheated...something is missing here...more attractions.

How many families come down here and visit the park and leave saying it was their least favorite park? Every family or person i know that has vacationed down here has told me that exact thing.

I for one decided to boycott DAK until 1 of 2 things happen: 1. the Yeti finally gets fixed, or 2. Another land or E-ticket is added to the park. I do not wish to help this park along by forking out my cash until Disney actually makes it worth my while to revisit. I'm seeing the love being given to the Magic Kingdom right now, as well as DCA...and Hong KOng Disneyland, and Shanghai Disneyland...but both DAK and DHS NEED money poured into the parks to keep them worth coming back to.

The Safari ride is a great one...and while it does kinda suck that you can't see the animals on it in a walkthrough, there's still plenty of other walkthroughs in the park. So I say don't worry about spending money on creating another walkthrough, spend money on a new land and new rides.

 

[Wilt Dasney]

Who pays ~$80 for anything but the MK or Epcot? DAK lives off multi-day tickets.

I wanted to make the same point. Whatever virtues AK might have, I'm convinced it would wither away if it couldn't piggyback off Park Hopper admissions. Same is probably true of DHS.

 

[Scuttle]

Sorry but I didn't pay ~$80 for a one day pass to a zoo. if it's going to be a zoo, it should be cheaper admission. simple as that.

Well said. The fact that it costs the same as the magic kingdom is an absolute joke.

 

[cheezbat]

Well said. The fact that it costs the same as the magic kingdom is an absolute joke.

I wholeheartedly agree.

 

[Mansion Butler]

I have this to say...Animal Kingdom IS a pretty and immersive park, except for Dinoland.

I think Dinoland is extremely immersive. Especially when you look in to the setting that's being created. It is extremely rich, detailed and layered. Somewhere there's a link explaining everything that goes in to the story there.

It's just not particularly interesting or beautiful to most. :lol:

I for one decided to boycott DAK until 1 of 2 things happen: 1. the Yeti finally gets fixed, or 2. Another land or E-ticket is added to the park. I do not wish to help this park along by forking out my cash until Disney actually makes it worth my while to revisit. I'm seeing the love being given to the Magic Kingdom right now, as well as DCA...and Hong KOng Disneyland, and Shanghai Disneyland...but both DAK and DHS NEED money poured into the parks to keep them worth coming back to.

Shorter lines for me, I guess.

 

[jakeman]

See, that's part of the problem with arranging all the attractions on the park's perimeter. It's purely anecdotal, but everyone I've brought for a day at DAK complains there's too much walking with too little payoff.

It's sad to hear their complaints, because DAK and Disney Sea stand alone as the most fully realized environments in the Disney park portfolio. DAK simply needs more to do. I agree with whoever said that shows aren't the answer. Most shows offer no motive for multiple experiences.

Getting into the logistics for a second, everything animal related pretty much has to be around the perimeter for the animal care facilities.

I guess the interstitial sections of the park is where the future attractions need to to alleviate what seems like long stretches. They do this already by spreading out the shops and eateries.

An interesting point about the walking though; would we have those same complaints if DAK opened 30 years ago?