My fanboy vs. Animal Kingdom rant

[NewfieFan]

I think there has to be a balance between the two.

Disney is famous for its theming and I think that's what brings people back to a certain extent. You can have fun on any ride but to be transported to another place and time is what really attracts people. I think it's the total immersive of Disney parks that give us these detailed/nostalgic memories we have for the place. Disney appeals to all the senses and that's why I think there's such a strong attraction to the place.

But it has to have rides and attractions! Unfortunately, you can't advertise the newest stone walkway at AK... you have to advertise the newest roller coaster!

I love AK, love it! It's beautiful, I feel like I'm in another world but after you do the shows a couple of times the place doesn't have that much to do! Small kids (and scared husbands) can't ride EE, Dinosaur, or Primeval Whirl. It's Tough to be a Bug is really not child friendly. I love FOTLK and the Nemo musical but I'll admit they do lose their charm a little after you see them so many times. There's not a lot for a family to do in AK! Now, as a familly we do enjoy the animal exhibits (but we don't have a zoo anywhere near us so animals are still an attraction for us) but I can see how those with zoos in their neighbourhoods might be less enthused. I think AK needs a ride that the whole family can enjoy!

 

[worldfanatic]

Let the meatheads who can't appreciate all the awesome details of Animal Kingdom stay away.

Makes my experience better to have those small brains somewhere else.

 

[MAF]

...methinks Wizard is trying to stir the pot by creating this thread.

 

[DisneyGigi]

Doing Toy Story Midway Mania more than once a day is very tough to do because of long waiting in line or getting a fast pass right away after DHS opens.

When park opens get in the fast pass line, get your fp then get in standby line & ride. Hit RnRC or ToT, go back, use your fp and then get another one when you get off the ride! 3 rides at least in one day!

To be honest, we hardly ever stay at one park all day during our 10 day trips just because we like to park hop. (All 4 parks in one day plus MK again) but we hit all the parks over and over and ride our favorite rides over and over. I love the atmosphere at AK & DHS as much as I do at EPCOT & almost as much as MK. I could linger forever in any park without doing a single ride either.

 

[wizards8507]

...methinks Wizard is trying to stir the pot by creating this thread.

Really? Because its been a lively conversation until that post.

Side note: MAF doesn't like me very much because I said Harry Potter sucks in a different thread.

 

[MAF]

Really? Because its been a lively conversation until that post.

Side note: MAF doesn't like me very much because I said Harry Potter sucks in a different thread.

Eh you seem to post a lot of "hot button" topics in the hopes of riling people up. The Harry Potter thread is a perfect example of it actually. You're essentially calling anyone who disagrees with you an idiot.

Anyway, although AK is a beautiful park, I never find myself staying a full day there. IMO it needs a few more attractions and maybe a nighttime show. Plus its always so darn hot there. :fork:

 

[Uncle Greg]

This is a theme park by Uncle_Greg, on Flickr

I could look at this scene alone for more than 1/4 of a day.

 

[Crockett]

I think the the majority of things at AK can be found at a major city's zool. 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.

^Exactly.

True, the place does have some beautiful scenery. But in my point of view, it's all icing with no cake. Cleaner and better-themed than our local zoo? By far. But for Disney's standards, and being worth the high-dollar cost of entering a Disney park....definitely not up to par. Not saying I hated the place or was itching to leave. But I know Disney can do better. And this is coming from someone who appreciates atmosphere, ambience, and enjoys just soaking in the details of a park.

AK could learn from MK, Epcot, or DisneySea how to include substance with extraordinary theming.

 

[worldtraveler]

When I went to WDW the first time that Animal Kingdom was open, I was very skeptical at first. I really didn't want to go, but when the whole group wanted to go, I went. After just a few minutes, I was captivated. It was amazing, all the little details makes it a wonderful park. I could spend hours there, just walking around enjoying the scenery and details.

 

[charmmy]

Uncle Greg, I agree. Beautiful photo!

AK is great. I loved the views, the theming is amazing and the rides were the cherry on top. I enjoyed seeing the animals, I enjoyed feeling like I was in a far-away place too (something my zoo or other zoos I have been to have not offered, and I have been to some big ones). Staring out at EE across the water was almost surreal. I also enjoyed DHS too- even though it rained all day, and we didn't get to see all the shows, it was a full day for us with more than enough left to see another time. I do agree that there could be more for a family to do together in the way of rides, but perhaps they will get some attention sometime after FLE.

 

[Krack]

I'm not really sure what I'm asking but it really seems like people around here just like to criticize blindly. They expect to be able to spend fourteen hours in each park doing nothing but sprinting from ride to ride, ignoring the scenery, but if they do decide to sit down on a bench there had better be fifteen new details to observe in the foliage that they've never noticed before.

Yup, pretty much. That's why I pay $90 a day (and $250 a night for hotel room, and 30% over market rate for food and beverage, and $400 for plane tickets) as opposed to the $12 it takes to get into the local zoo. You act like Disney provides what it does for free. It does not. It's a business and I am their customer. If they (in my opinion) currently provide less quality and service (per dollar they ask from me) than they used to, I have no hesitation in leveling criticism.

As for AK (and I'm the guy who originally labeled it a 1/4 day park), I don't go there anymore. It's no longer a stop in my WDW vacations. Why? I simply don't enjoy it - it's okay, but it looks like a park that Disney got bored with half way through and stopped building (which, in fact, is pretty much what happened). The Dino area is cheap and looks like something you'd see in Six Flags, I don't like getting wet in the parks (which moves their E and D level attractions from 4 to 3), their signature attraction hasn't worked properly in over a year (two years?), and the park's signature land (Beastly Kingdom) is still a drawing on the wall in WDI (and has been for a decade).

If you like it, that's terrific. I don't begrudge you for your taste (well, I kind of do, but not much and I digress ...). But I don't particularly like it, I think it represents money that could have been spent better elsewhere. To me it also represents a bait and switch ("Come see our great Animal park ... that we never completed, that has a handful of actual attractions, and that we only built in hopes of tricking rubes into adding an extra night to their WDW vacation packages) and that I resent as a loyal customer.

EDIT: Just to be clear, I find AK to be beautifully themed. But there's a name for a place that is beautifully themed with no attractions ... The Polynesian Resort; and Disney doesn't charge to walk around there. Beautiful themeing alone does not a great themed amusement park make, imo. And it doesn't have to be thrill rides either. Frankly the park needs about 12 C-tickets.

 

[Disney_Belle]

I gave up trying to get people to enjoy AK. If all they want to do is dash from attraction to attraction and ignore everything else in between it is there loss.

I think aside from FoLK, the "everything else in between" is my favorite part of AK!

 

[BuzzGoofy]

As an armature photographer (emphasis on the armature) that loves nature, the Animal Kingdom is a full day plus more park to me. Because of the way the park and animal exhibits are set up, I can get much better pics of the animals than I can at any of the major zoos in Canada (I've tried them all). I could, and have, spend 1/2 a day just around the Tree of Life. I love the Animal Kingdom, but I can also understand people that do not want to spend all day there. To each, his own.

 

[menamechris]

Just to be clear, I find AK to be beautifully themed. But there's a name for a place that is beautifully themed with no attractions ... The Polynesian Resort; and Disney doesn't charge to walk around there. Beautiful themeing alone is does not a great themed amusement park make, imo. And it doesn't have to be thrill rides either. Frankly the park needs about 12 C-tickets.

Thank you! I agree with your entire post, but only quoted the part that should be re-emphasized. Building on what you said - I think this shows the effectiveness of the Magic Your Way ticket concept and "bundling" of vacation packages. I have to admit - as beautiful and as well themed as the park is - I would never advise a family of four to go pay over $400 to go spend a day at AK. If they want a fabulous zoo experience - there are AMAZING zoos around the country they can get into for a third of the price. Guests these days seem to excuse and not expect as much now that they are not actually counting out the dollars out of their wallet at the gate..

 

[AEfx]

Hollywood Studios is a half day park at best.

Animal Kingdom I could spend all day just watching the gorillas or the tigers. Everything else there is just a bonus.

And see, that's the same thing people say about World Showcase.

It's because different people go looking for different things.

Some people see MGM as a much fuller park than you do, and AK relatively empty.

I would say, though, that more "average guests" go to WDW to experience attractions and not just go look at a few animals that they can see at a local zoo without flying across country and spending $80/day on tickets to see.

Yes, AK is lush and beautiful, but as a theme park - for many, it's sorely lacking in attractions to qualify as such. All the wonderful theming in the world can't cover up for the lack of attractions that most people come visit for.

 

[MarkTwain]

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.

 

[wdwfan4ver]

When park opens get in the fast pass line, get your fp then get in standby line & ride. Hit RnRC or ToT, go back, use your fp and then get another one when you get off the ride! 3 rides at least in one day!

I always get to DHS by 9:05 a.m and try to do the fast pass and stand by in line for TSMM depending on the time. I never get 3 TSMM rides in a day because I don't stay at DHS all day. I like to leave theme parks around 1:00 to 1: 30 P.M for a brake at the hotel for resting or going into the pool before going to a table service or back to a theme park later on. I actually get all the attractions that I want to do before I leave DHS for the hotel.

I don't do RNRC or Tot. RNRC is too fast of a coaster for me. I do coasters like Space Mountain, but that not as fast as RNRC or capable of bothering my neck like Primeval Whirl did. .

I actually did TOT in 2000, but I am not big on the ride.

The only thrill ride I do at DHS is Star Tours.

 

[Mansion Butler]

I could look at this scene alone for more than 1/4 of a day.

I was ready with that exact response before I finished scrolling down your post.

 

[Mansion Butler]

AK could learn from MK, Epcot, or DisneySea how to include substance with extraordinary theming.

I'd really prefer it didn't learn from Epcot.

 

[SleepingMonk]

What is the total ride and show count for Hollywood Studios as compared to Animal Kingdom?

Not the ambiguous "attractions", just the straight up ride or show.