My fanboy vs. Animal Kingdom rant

[WDW 3]

There are (I think) a lot of us that like AK for the animals because we don't live anywhere near a big city zoo. We can travel by air in less time that we can drive to the closest city zoo and go to AK a glorified zoo with perks.

We aren't a rope drop family (except at HS) so by the time we roll in to AK it is easy to spend the entire day since they don't do late hours anymore and close at 5 in Oct.

 

[wizards8507]

There are (I think) a lot of us that like AK for the animals because we don't live anywhere near a big city zoo. We can travel by air in less time that we can drive to the closest city zoo and go to AK a glorified zoo with perks.

Everyone keeps comparing it to their local zoos, but, wouldn't your local zoo ALSO be a full day park? My fiancee and I have spent many "full days" at zoos of all sizes (Philadelphia, Roger Williams, Lincoln Park, Toronto, Cleveland, Columbus, Potawatomi). DAK has that PLUS rides and shows.

 

[WDW 3]

I agree with you.

 

[PurpleDragon]

I think the the majority of things at AK can be found at a major city's zoo. I think people go to FL to see something they can't see/do at home. True AK's exhibits are different, but I feel the premise is still the same.....look at animals. I can breeze through the trails because i have seen gorilla's, tigers, etc. at my local zoo. It's just my opinion though. I like AK, but it's #4 on the list of the 4 major parks for me.

This is my overall view of AK, no matter what the setting its still looking at animals, which I can do at my local zoo. So I'm not going to spend a large amount of my vacation time doing something I can do at home for a fraction of the price. AK is a 1/2 day park for me, and I do take time to enjoy the details, but I'm not going to spend an entire 10 hour day "looking at the details". AK has a handful of attractions, a couple shows, and some animal exhibits, thats not enough to occupy 10 hours no matter how you slice it. I'd much rather spend my time in EPCOT touring around WS.

 

[Mukta]

I love DAK, but I understand why it doesn't appeal to some people. I usually spend 1.5 days there on my 9 day trips. I love walking through the Oasis and just looking at the animals. The bird sections of the Africa and Asia walk throughs are also a favorite of mine.
FOLK and Finding Nemo Musical are both good shows that I enjoy. I ride EE, Dinosaur and the Safari. Flights of Wonder is also a lot of fun and different each time. Throw that in with a sit down meal and it is a full day for me.
The only thing I would change would be to add more shade to the park. I carry an umbrella for shade, but it does get very hot in DAK.

 

[WDW 3]

When we go the hours are 9 - 5 everyday. We don't do early hours at AK. 8 hours is the most if you are at the rope drop which we aren't so it's not really that much time. Loved it when they still did EMH. It is a beautiful place after dark

 

[NewfieFan]

The way I see it, no park can unanimously be considered a full-day park unless it's a full-day park for everybody. By that I mean, the park not only has enough attractions that riding/seeing all of them would occupy your entire day - more that the park could last you an entire day regardless of your taste in attractions.

Example: the Magic Kingdom is pretty unanimously considered a full day park. If you like dark rides, thrill rides, slow strolls around the park looking at thematic details, or going to shows and meeting characters, then the Magic Kingdom has enough for you.

Animal Kingdom isn't like that. I don't like doing thrill rides when I don't have to, meaning I don't ride Everest, Dinosaur, or Primeval World when I'm there (nor do we experience any of their 1+ hour lines). We also tend to go in the winter, when riding Kali River Rapids is undesirable. I am the type of person to admire thematic details, take in the atmosphere, and enjoy classic Disney dark rides. So we never miss Kilimanjaro Safaris, the trails, or the various animal exhibits. And you know what? Animal Kingdom is a half-day park for me. IMO, you're not supposed to be able to do a park "wrong" - a guest should not have to be educated in the proper way to enjoy a certain theme park before going in order to enjoy it. If every guest is going to be expected to pay $80 to enter a park, then they should be able to find $80 of enjoyment in there regardless of personal taste. I know not everyone would find a full day at the Magic Kingdom satisfying, but it certainly is for a vast majority - because just about any person can enter the park and find a wide collection of attractions to enjoy there that meet what they are expecting from the park.

It's great that there are people who have the ability to simultaneously enjoy the smattering of thrill rides and the myriad of atmospheric trails AK offers, but the fact of the matter is most guests aren't like that. More dark rides and family-friendly rides would very much help Animal Kingdom round out its current portfolio of attractions.

^This!

There is 5 rides. 5. 3 real shows. 3. The bird show can be found at almost any pet store these days.

So, 7 attractions. How many times do you want to sit in uncomfortable bleachers where you can't see anything if not in the first few rows for FotLK? Nemo is amazing, but it is a 70 minute investment. More people REFUSE to se Bugs Life than any other show on property. Take away the two coasters and Dinosaur, and younger kids have a spinner and the safari to visit.

This is our problem with the park as I mentioned earlier in the thread. We do enjoy the animal exhibits b/c we live in the sticks and don't have a zoo anywhere near us. But there's not a lot for our family to do in AK! It certainly needs some family friendly rides/attractions that any age can enjoy together!

AK
Birds of prey

I'm guessing you mean Flights of Wonder!?! I'm not familiar with Birds of Prey!?!

I love AK and I am one of it's biggest fans. I'm the first to tell people to visit it on their trip (if they're taking a multi-day trip to Disney World) and to keep an open mind about it while they're touring. I tell people to look at the details and theming, etc. But the place needs work! It needs more attractions plain and simple. It certainly needs more shade! And it needs more family friendly rides!

I would love for AK to get the kind of reputation that the MK has. It is a must-do park for people visiting the area. It's a long shot... but I know Disney is capable of doing it... the foundation is there... they just need to build on it!

 

[roadtripper]

It's the second best park to enjoy a beer in, Epcot being the first because of England.

 

[erasure fan1]

I'm not familiar with Birds of Prey!?!

Just to fill you in

Main characters

Barbara Gordon (Barbara Gordon) — formerly the original Batgirl, Barbara is the office manager of the Birds of Prey. She was paralyzed from the waist down as a result of an ambush by the Joker, ending her career as Batgirl. She possessing an information network, a photographic memory, and common hacking and programming skills. . Barbara is also a skilled hand-to-hand victim and a master in weaponry, though she is rarely shown in a physical fight.
Black Canary (Dinah Lance) — a tough, but good-natured and idealistic streetfighter who is the Birds of Prey's star character. Barbara and Dinah are close friends (Barbara having helped Dinah through low periods in Dinah's life). In addition to her superpower, an ultrasonic attack known as the "Canary Cry", she is also a highly skilled martial artist. She departed the team in issue #99, and returned in issue #1 of volume 2.
Dove (Dawn Granger) — a strong-willed, but calm young woman, and the avatar of peace. A former member of the Teen Titans, Dove was granted superhuman strength, durability, and reflexes by the Lords of Chaos and Order and used them to fight alongside Hank Hall. Following the events of Blackest Night, Dawn was invited to join the Birds.
Hawk (Hank Hall) — a violent and conservative young man, and the physical avatar of war. Granted superhuman abilities by the Lords of Chaos and Order, Hawk fought crime alongside his brother Don and later Dawn before being driven insane by the wizard Mordru and becoming the villain known as Extant. After his murder at the hands of Atom Smasher, Hank was resurrected during the events of Blackest Night. During the Brightest Day crossover, he was offered an invitation to join the team.
Huntress (Helena Bertinelli) — vigilante. Prone to use of excessive force, this former mafia princess was devastated at a young age when her family was killed in a mob hit. Trained by her assassin cousin in the art of violence, she declared war on the mob in the name of justice. Following Black Canary's departure, Huntress became the team's field commander. She was also the second crimefighter to go by the name Batgirl.
Lady Blackhawk (Zinda Blake) — time-displaced 1940s character, Zinda serves as the team's aviatrix and pilot of the Aerie One and Two. She is an expert marksman, well trained with handling various types of firearms.

It could make an interesting attraction in the AK. Oh wait its DC not marvel. :lol:

 

[SleepingMonk]

DHS
(Rides)
Great Movie Ride
ToT
RnRc
TSMM
Backlot Tour
Star Tours 2.0

(Shows)
American Idol
Indiana Jones
Sounds Dangerous
Lights, Motors, Action
Beauty & the Beast
Fantasmic
Muppets
Playhouse Disney Live
Voyage of the Little Mermaid
High School Musical: Live

DHS= 16 Rides & Shows

And that's why it's a half day park for us at best at this point.

The shows are a "one and done" for us, as many times as we've been we don't enjoy sitting thru the same show over and over. So we ride a few things, eat a nice lunch, do some shopping and then we're out.

For someone who has never been I could see it being a full day, but more than a trip or two and half that list has no appeal.

 

[Mansion Butler]

And that's why it's a half day park for us at best at this point.

The shows are a "one and done" for us, as many times as we've been we don't enjoy sitting thru the same show over and over. So we ride a few things, eat a nice lunch, do some shopping and then we're out.

For someone who has never been I could see it being a full day, but more than a trip or two and half that list has no appeal.

Agreed. I could spend all day in any park, but the park I get satisfied in the most efficiently is DHS. It has more I want to do than Epcot, but Epcot still takes me a while. Both of those I enjoy less than DAK.

Somehow, though, I don't feel like stating DAK's superiority as a fact, or claiming other people just don't understand, or aren't doing the parks right, or have awful opinions, or are simply wrong, or any other sort of nonsense. I figure most people here have been to the parks often enough to determine their personal preferences, so I don't see how insulting the things they like on a message board is going to change their minds, or why I should even care to change their minds.

 

[wizards8507]

Somehow, though, I don't feel like stating DAK's superiority as a fact, or claiming other people just don't understand, or aren't doing the parks right, or have awful opinions, or are simply wrong, or any other sort of nonsense.

I'm probably guilty of that with the tone I used in the OP, but that's exactly the kind of mentality that I was intending to fight against. "Animal Kingdom is a half day park" is a refrain that we hear over and over and over on this site. The haters go on and on about how there's "nothing to do" but then, when pressed, say that they skip over the shows and animal exhibits and that's why there isn't "enough" to do. That's like someone saying, "I don't like dark rides, roller coasters, anything with water, or spinners, so Magic Kingdom is a one hour park."

 

[Mansion Butler]

I'm probably guilty of that with the tone I used in the OP, but that's exactly the kind of mentality that I was intending to fight against. "Animal Kingdom is a half day park" is a refrain that we hear over and over and over on this site. The haters go on and on about how there's "nothing to do" but then, when pressed, say that they skip over the shows and animal exhibits and that's why there isn't "enough" to do. That's like someone saying, "I don't like dark rides, roller coasters, anything with water, or spinners, so Magic Kingdom is a one hour park."

I agree with you that there's an annoying mentality of "DAK sucks because I personally don't like it." That attitude aside, simply not liking the park because you enjoy things differently than I do is just fine. There are people who like Epcot more than the Magic Kingdom. Just like calling DAK a half day park, it boggles my mind, but who am I to tell them they're wrong?

If people don't want to like Animal Kingdom, cool. As long as enough people like it that my park stays open so I can enjoy my full days in it, and as long as people aren't obnoxious about it on message boards I generally enjoy, no big deal.

 

[SleepingMonk]

The haters go on and on about how there's "nothing to do" but then, when pressed, say that they skip over the shows and animal exhibits and that's why there isn't "enough" to do. That's like someone saying, "I don't like dark rides, roller coasters, anything with water, or spinners, so Magic Kingdom is a one hour park."

The same people say Universal and IOA can both be done in a half day, they have nothing to offer, are too small, etc....

And then later admit they can't ride coasters because it enflames their diabetic toe and aggravates their goiter.

 

[wizards8507]

the same people say universal and ioa can both be done in a half day, they have nothing to offer, are too small, etc....

And then later admit they can't ride coasters because it enflames their diabetic toe and aggravates their goiter.

:roflol:

 

[Pioneer Hall]

Everyone keeps comparing it to their local zoos, but, wouldn't your local zoo ALSO be a full day park? My fiancee and I have spent many "full days" at zoos of all sizes (Philadelphia, Roger Williams, Lincoln Park, Toronto, Cleveland, Columbus, Potawatomi). DAK has that PLUS rides and shows.

Not always. I did a semester long consulting project at the zoo in Binghamton, NY my senior year of college, and there was no way that zoo could have been a full day attraction. It was definitely a nice little zoo but to spend more than half a day (probably generous) meant you were walking around seeing most of the same things over and over. I also think that the Central Park Zoo in NYC would fit into this category as well. Nice place, but I don't think you can make a day out of it if you tried.

 

[David S.]

Everyone keeps comparing it to their local zoos, but, wouldn't your local zoo ALSO be a full day park? My fiancee and I have spent many "full days" at zoos of all sizes (Philadelphia, Roger Williams, Lincoln Park, Toronto, Cleveland, Columbus, Potawatomi). DAK has that PLUS rides and shows.

:sohappy::sohappy::sohappy:

I completely agree; the VAST majority of the nearly 30 "big city" U.S. zoos I've been to are easily FULL DAY experiences for me as well. Walking trails and observing the animals is, for my taste, "attractions" themselves. Add the more typical Disney theme park attractions like Bug, Lion King, Nemo, Everest, and Dinosaur to the mix; the best Safari and Bird show I've ever seen anywhere; the colorful, musical, and festive Jingle Jungle Parade (my fave Disney day parade); the immersive details, theming, and brilliant music loops found throughout the park; and an amazingly detailed and inspiring "park icon" (the Tree of Life, my fave of the 4 WDW icons); and AK for me becomes MORE than a full day. In fact, when the park closes at 5 PM during the so-called slow season, it is the hardest for me to finish in a day without feeling too rushed, so I don't even try to cram it all in, knowing I'll be back in a few days.

 

[David S.]

Especially when you can go an hour down the road to Busch Gardens and get 3x the park. Their safari is better. Try it. It is fun. The script is UNSCRIPTED, so it doesn't suck. It has a thrill element. They have more animals. It does lack in shows, but by offering 5-6x the rides -- I'll lose a few shows.

Having been to both parks many times, this is the most I have ever disagreed with anything anyone has ever stated to be fact ever.

I agree, Butler. Rhino Rally is nice and all, but it doesn't hold a candle to AK's Kilimanjaro Safaris, which is longer, MUCH more epic, has better theming, and features MANY more animals.

One thing I'll give Busch credit for is their awesome collection of coasters that appeals to the thrill-seeker in me. Being a wooden coaster lover, Gwazi is my favorite in Florida. However, I don't care much for inversions (especially when they dominate a ride) so I actually prefer Disney's "mountain range" over some of the other Busch coasters like Montu and Kumba. And in the theming/story department, none of the BG coasters come close to Disney's.

With KaTonga, Busch had a live musical that was perhaps my favorite ever seen in a theme park... I actually liked it more than the Lion King show, which I actually love. But now KaTonga is closed.

I also have to give BG credit for the new Walkabout Way exhibit, where you can pet and hand-feed Wallabies and Kangaroos, and the Critter Castaways show is AMAZING.

Overall though, I think AK is the better park when looked at aesthetically and theme-wise, and clearly the Safari IMO BLOWS AWAY Rhino Rally (which has recently been cut even shorter with the water portion removed, to make way for the new Cheetah Hunt coaster.)

Don't get me wrong - In addition to being a WDW AP, I'm also a Busch Gardens/Sea World Platinum AP, and LOVE those parks. But there is NO WAY I could ever say Rhino Rally is better than the Safari, or that BG is "3 times the park" than AK!

 

[Kev1417]

how does looking at a gorilla at your local zoo any different at AK? At least at a local zoo they have MANY more animals. You also get a lot closer to the "popular" animals at a local zoo, and can actually watch them for an extended period of time. Instead at AK you are lucky to see the safari animals for 30 seconds. I'm not going to wait another 1.5 hrs to view the elephants from 300 yrds away for 30 seconds again.

The problem i think is Disney doesn't know what AK is. Is it mostly a zoo? - Then you need more animals and need to offer something different than i can get at a major zoo for a third of the price.

Is it mostly an amusement park?- then you need more rides in general. But then you risk going away from "Animal Kingdom" and turn into "ride kingdom".

I agree with the one poster who mentioned AK started off right and it just never got finished. The concept is there, but the results are lacking BIG TIME from the oringal concept.

 

[Krack]

I agree with you that there's an annoying mentality of "DAK sucks because I personally don't like it."

How else would you determine if something sucks?