AK half day?

[Djsbride]

I've never been to AK, so I have no idea how great or average the park is. What I do know is that my kids (5 & 8) have no interest in seeing animals. The main reason for us going to AK is for FOP and to see pandora at night. That being said, I have a FP for FOP at 3pm on the day we're going to AK. I also have a FP at 10:20am for Dinosaur and 11:50am for Expedition Everest. I was trying to make a touring plan and their suggestions didn't include my FP for Dinosaur nor Everest because they say it may result in longer wait lines or more walking. The day we're going AK has EMH in the morning which we're not planning to use. We have reservation for lunch at Sanaa at 1pm. I'm wondering if maybe I should modify my FP for the afternoon and just go to AK after lunch. Would that give me enough time and hopefully the park will be less crowded? What do you guys think or suggest? My original plan was to go in the morning, then take a lunch break and head to Sanaa, then go back to the park in the afternoon for FOP and see pandora at night. Given the things we want to see at AK, I don't think that we will really need a full day. Thoughts?

 

[rteetz]

Personally if you’ve never been to AK I would spend an entire day there. They have some great shows, attractions, dining, and animal trails.

 

[siren0119]

I can only share my own experiences but I made the mistake of only setting aside a half day for AK when we brought our boys (age 8 and 10 at the time). We felt rushed, missed a TON of stuff (it's not like going to the zoo, there are neat animal exhibits in various places throughout the park but it is SO MUCH more than a zoo with some rides) and was one of the few regrets I had on an otherwise amazing trip. We went back on an adults only trip this past September and committed a whole day...and I STILL felt like I could have done more. We saw the Festival of the Lion King but missed the Up bird show. We never went to the Nemo show, though I think my kids would enjoy it more than I would on an adults trip.

And even if your kids don't like animals, Kilimanjaro Safari is a GREAT experience. Best to go either early AM or late in the day when the animals are really active, we had a rhino walk right alongside our truck and it was amazing.

 

[Djsbride]

If I do full day at the park, should I then cancel my reservation at Sanaa and try to eat at the park? We won’t have a car, I don’t know how much of a hassle it’ll be to go from AK to the lodge and then back.

 

[FFstreetDoc]

Unless I missed it, I did not see when you are going. I can tell you we have done several half day trips to AK and accomplished everything we wanted to do. However; This is always a personal quest lol. Many feel they have to see everything there is to see. We prefer the safari, Avatar, the two nature trails, Dinosaur, Everest and just wandering around the different lands. If you have a plan and have researched what you want to accomplish it can be done. You mention FP+ starting at 10:20 AND staying until dark. This is plenty of time do do what you want. If I was planning your morning, I would get those two FP+ closer. the two attractions are 5 minutes apart and in a location where there is not much to do between the two. You could hit Dinosaur late in the FP window and hop right over to EE. If you can move EE to 11:20 you will be done there by 11:40. Gives you an hour to wander the east half of the park before hopping over to AKL. The layout of this park is different than the other three. There can be a long walk between attractions if you do not plan well. Your FOP window of 3:00 to 4:00 should give time to eat and get back to spend the evening on the other side of the park. Hit avatar first then, if you want to see the Africa area there is a "short cut" walking path to the left as you leave Avatar. Two uncontrolled variables you face is transportation to and from AKL and time spent dining. Hope this helps, do not be surprised if you NEED the full day at AK on your next trip

 

[mousehouse23]

I actually think you could do most everything you wanted after your lunch at Sanaa, if your kids aren't that into the animal trails. I guess it depends on the park hours that day, and when you're going, but I think you could fit everything in just fine, and still see Festival of the Lion King if you wanted to.

Can you possibly bump up that Sanaa reservation a little? Try to get a 12 pm reservation instead? I agree it'd be best not to go back and forth between the park and Animal Kingdom Lodge. If you're not staying at AKL, I'd suggest exploring the resort in the morning before your ADR, then heading to AK afterward and spending the remainder of the day there. Na'Vi River Journey should be easily doable at night. The Safaris will require a lengthier standby wait, if you choose to ride (which I would!).

 

[CAQDaddy]

Sanaa is fantastic, but I would find another time for that reservation. I would suggest a full day for AK. Also, I have found that morning EMH days seem to have larger crowds as the day goes on. I often go for the morning EMH, but leave the park in early afternoon because of those crowds. I would probably head to Dinoland in the morning and hit Primeval Whirl and Triceratops and then do the Dinosaur FP. You could then work your way toward Asia and your EE FP. You could then eat at Yak and Yeti or maybe somewhere in Africa. You could possibly do standby for Kali and possibly Kilimanjaro (if your kids are at all interested) then head over to Pandora. Just remember it's a large park and the theming is fantastic. There is a lot to see.

 

[SG131]

I personally don't like animals either and this next trip of mine I'm only doing a half day at Animal Kingdom, but that is only because I was just there a little over a year ago and spent 1.5 days at AK and I decided to forgo some things at AK that I've seen before in order to have a little more time in Universal which I haven't been to in 6 years.

Not sure how your kids feel about shows, but the festival of the lion king is the best show in WDW in my opinion. The finding nemo show is decent from what I've heard (my mom and younger foster daughter went last time). There's also the 4D it's tough to be a bug show in the tree of life. The show is cute and in the queue you get to see all the animals carved into the tree up close. The safari is also good even for us who don't want to do zoo related things. I think you could easily spend a full day at Animal Kingdom and then you will have more time to get from place to place. Animal Kingdom is a big place so if you only have a few hours it can lead to a lot of power walking and subsequent cranky family.

 

[Djsbride]

Thank you all for your replies. I forgot to add I'm going December 1st. The hours that particular day are 8am to 9pm. I'm going to see how I can adjust my plans and try to see as much I can. I might have to switch my Sanaa reservation to Yak and Yeti even though I'm really looking forward to Sanaa. I just thought that'd be the best day to go.

 

[FFstreetDoc]

Thank you all for your replies. I forgot to add I'm going December 1st. The hours that particular day are 8am to 9pm. I'm going to see how I can adjust my plans and try to see as much I can. I might have to switch my Sanaa reservation to Yak and Yeti even though I'm really looking forward to Sanaa. I just thought that'd be the best day to go.

I have not been to Sanaa, Yak and Yeti is one of our favorite table service places on the property.

 

[rteetz]

Thank you all for your replies. I forgot to add I'm going December 1st. The hours that particular day are 8am to 9pm. I'm going to see how I can adjust my plans and try to see as much I can. I might have to switch my Sanaa reservation to Yak and Yeti even though I'm really looking forward to Sanaa. I just thought that'd be the best day to go.

I say stick with Sanaa. Its an easy bus ride from AK to AKL. I just ate at Sanaa two weeks ago and loved it.

 

[Gafnorin]

Ooh at least a full day at animal kingdom. We did two days there on our trip. Pandora is awesome just to walk around in. Not a ton of rides but the ones there are are great. Everest is awesome. Festival of the lion king is amazing as is Nemo. Like really amazing. And during down time there’s lots of area to explore. The jungle trek is nice and relaxing just to walk through. Sometimes you see some neat atmosphere like divine or there’s a dance party thing.

Lots of characters in Dino land if they like that too.

 

[gharter]

I've seen many people still say AK is a half day park. Even before Pandora opened, we could easily fill an entire day there. If you only do the rides and skip the shows and the trails, maybe a half day.
But, the shows are SOOOOO good ( Lion King may be the best show at WDW), love Pandora, Safari, Everest. FoP is the best ride at WDW.
We love walking Discovery Trails, the Gorilla Trail and the trail in Asia.
I don't think we could come close to seeing the park in a half day.

 

[CAQDaddy]

I would find a way to go to Sanaa. Maybe another day?

 

[rteetz]

I've seen many people still say AK is a half day park. Even before Pandora opened, we could easily fill an entire day there. If you only do the rides and skip the shows and the trails, maybe a half day.
But, the shows are SOOOOO good ( Lion King may be the best show at WDW), love Pandora, Safari, Everest. FoP is the best ride at WDW.
We love walking Discovery Trails, the Gorilla Trail and the trail in Asia.
I don't think we could come close to seeing the park in a half day.

I was at AK for part of 3 days (totalling maybe a day and a half or so) and I didn’t even do any of the shows.

 

[beck00]

We've been 2 and 3 days into AK with park hoppers on last few trips. Such a great park! Definitely agree you could easily use more time there.

 

[Djsbride]

Thank you! I’ll dona full day and plan on getting there around 9ish.

 

[kappyfamily]

Just wanted to say the bus ride to and from AKL is super fast and easy. I think keeping Sanaa is a great idea and gives you a little bit of a break for the day. Lunch there is my favorite with the animals coming up to the window. If it was me, for sure I would keep that adr.

Have fun!

 

[Amy11401]

We went in October and spent one day there where they at EMH starting at 8:00 which we got there at that time and we stayed there until 3:00ish. Then we came back the next evening mostly just to eat dinner, see pandora at night and ride FOP...that day we got there alittle before 7:00 and stayed until park closing which was 8:00....we actually got in line for FOP 10 minutes before closing so we were in the park later than 8:00. Anyway we did not get to do everything we wanted to do in that amount of time. Granted at this time the train to Rafiki's Planet was still running and this was a must do for my son so that did take a chunk of time. We were not able to explore the animal trails or see any shows.