i really have mixed feelings about AK. i'm afraid i'll dig myself into a hole if i go into detail with my negative feelings, but i do somewhat agree with you all. i do feel like it's a zoo in some respects, but i have absolutely no problem with that. anyone who knows anything about Walt knows how much he loved animals, so why not go with that...after all, no other major theme park company has ever done it before, that i know of. well, other than Sea World and Busch Gardens, i guess. but i don't see Universal doing something like this! if AK is considered a zoo, then Disney has certainly taken zoos to a new level. at the same time, they've GOT to keep up the same level of entertainment as their other parks, which means the need of more attractions (other than animals). personally, i love animals dearly, but i can't handle standing around all day watching animals...actually, standing around all day in general gets on my nerves...i'd rather be on the move. for some reason i'm ok with lines for attractions...i guess because i'm waiting for something, then i get to the attraction, get off and do something else. i really hope i'm making sense here.
as for the feeling, i don't have it either as i do with the other parks. i've tried since my first visit to AK years ago to put my finger on what exactly it is, but i just can't. *shrugs* so your guess is as good as mine.
but let me just wrap up in saying that even though AK isn't my favorite park, i have complete respect of Disney for trying something new and different. i think it needs some tweeking here and there, and maybe it'll never have the feeling the others have, but i still think they were fairly successful with it.