Overlooked Animal Kingdom!

[Beholder]

I agree, on some aspects. But have you ever been back to Conservation Station at Rafiki's Planet Watch? (I would understand if you and many have not due to the rather absurd way to get there via a train. When will they add a walking trail?! But I digress) It is one of the few places in the world where you can go and watch live action medical procedures being performed on the animals. Really amazing.

Kilimanjaro Safaris, too, has a storyline heavy in conservation, endangered species, and poaching. In fact, when the park first opened, the end of the ride used to feature the baby elephant's slain mother, killed by the poachers you began tracking halfway through the trek. It did not take the imagineers long to change the end of the story to your safari bus saving the baby elephant. The in-your-face poaching fallout proved to be a bit extreme for the guests, especially younger ones.

I've been to the Conservation Station, and I appreciated the original "narrative" of Kilimanjaro, but, as I said, I love the park. I was just trying to illustrate why some people have problems with AK, and I think the final product is one of those "problems".

 

[Obi Walt Kenobi]

Ak is my favorite park too I've never spend a half day there and never leave feeling like I've done evetything. We alway stay at AKL
And spend a full day at Ak I never think its enough but my wife and kids prefer going to MK everyday.

 

[Glasgow]

First off, thanks for posting .. really enjoyed reading your summary and look forward to checking out the podcast links. AK is ostensibly the 4th ranked park at WDW but I'm glad it exists nonetheless. Why? Quite simply, it's different. Its not about rushing through and filing your entire day with attractions and constant stimulation. I like the fact that you can set a relaxed pace here and not constantly be at the mercy of your schedule. I like that you don't have to be on an attraction to enjoy yourself. I still think it needs two or three prominent attractions to be complete but those will come in time.

 

[ifuhadwings]

Walt Disney would have been thrilled to have Animal Kingdom.

 

[graphite1326]

I like AK but it's on the bottom two of my list of favorite parks. However, my situation is unique. I live in the country so seeing a wild animal in it's natural habitat is nothing new to me. If I want to see one, I just look out my window. I know these are exotic animals and we don't have them but I think you get my point. I enjoy the animal attractions and go on them once, maybe. If the line is long for KS we skip it. Flights of Wonder we do if we are there and we can get right in (We have eagles where I live). EE, Festival of the Lion King, and Dinasor are always a must. Chester and Hester rides eh. KRR we do if it late in the day and don't mind getting soaked because we can go to our resort and change, but the ride isn't that thrilling they could have added more to it. So for us this is a 1/2 day park.