Marathon Weekend 2021

[BigEeyore]

Feels like a million years ago, not 11 months

 

[lhermiston]

Good morning, runDisney all-stars!

For this week's Sundays are for Disney, we're talking about Animal Kingdom! Tell us what you enjoy most about the park or share any Animal Kingdom-specific memories you have.

I love the amount of detail in AK and how much more immersive it feels than any other WDW park. The plant life, the music, the architecture and everything else are really incredible. I like strolling through the animal trails and, while I've only eaten there once, Flame Tree BBQ is a top-tier counter service restaurant. I love running through AK during the marathon.

Have a safe and healthy week, everyone.

 

[steph0808]

My favorite Animal Kingdom memory is from 1996 - it was my first trip to Disney World as a kid, and we could see Animal Kingdom being built. I remember being on the water slides at Blizzard Beach and being amazed at the size of it!

I just love Animal Kingdom, probably due to my unrequited dream of becoming a zoologist!

 

[Baloo in MI]

SAFD:
My favorite things about Animal Kingdom:

1. It is so unique! No other park is like it.
2. I love the Tusker House breakfast buffet; it is a must do every trip!
3. All the animals.
4. The immersive detail throughout the park.
5. And I agree with thoughts on Flame Tree BBQ; for a counter service it is hard to beat!

 

[FFigawi]

SAFD: my favorite thing about AK is Kat, the bartender at Thirsty River who opens the bar early for us during the marathon

 

[DIS-OH]

SAFD: My favorite AK memory is standing with DH, watching the construction of EE. We had the best time watching the workers move dirt!

I love to watch the gorillas.

 

[Barca33Runner]

SAFD: There’s not much I don’t love about AK. Every area of the park has an attraction I love. The dining options are great, particularly Tusker House. I really enjoy the trails. Even though I have no particular feelings for Avatar I find FoP to be my favorite current Disney attraction. A nice moderately crowded (or less) day at AK is hard to beat.

Just one thing on the negative side:

A busy day at AK is the worst. The immersive nature of the park makes it incredibly claustrophobic on busy days. There is nowhere for the crowds to go and the walkways aren’t wide enough to handle a huge crowd. One of the worst days I’ve ever had at Disney was a Jan. 2 visit (on the earliest Marathon Weekend year). In 7 hours we hit our 3 FP+, were made to wait more than an hour for our Tusker House reservation, and left because there was as no hope of waiting under 3 hours for any additional attractions. A couple times we were literally trapped at a standstill on the walkways because the crowds were too dense. The thing that makes it great with the right level of crowds is the thing that makes it awful when the crowds are over the tipping point.

 

[steph0808]

SAFD: There’s not much I don’t love about AK. Every area of the park has an attraction I love. The dining options are great, particularly Tusker House. I really enjoy the trails. Even though I have no particular feelings for Avatar I find FoP to be my favorite current Disney attraction. A nice moderately crowded (or less) day at AK is hard to beat.

Just one thing on the negative side:

A busy day at AK is the worst. The immersive nature of the park makes it incredibly claustrophobic on busy days. There is nowhere for the crowds to go and the walkways aren’t wide enough to handle a huge crowd. One of the worst days I’ve ever had at Disney was a Jan. 2 visit (on the earliest Marathon Weekend year). In 7 hours we hit our 3 FP+, were made to wait more than an hour for our Tusker House reservation, and left because there was as no hope of waiting under 3 hours for any additional attractions. A couple times we were literally trapped at a standstill on the walkways because the crowds were too dense. The thing that makes it great with the right level of crowds is the thing that makes it awful when the crowds are over the tipping point.

That was 2019, right? Colder than other Marathon Weekends I have done and super early in January. We were at AK on the 3rd, I think, and it was just so crowded. Definitely a bit claustrophic.

 

[BigEeyore]

SAFD- I love Kilimanjaro safari! I love that it is a different experience every time, and getting to be up close to the animals is really special.
The dining options are also great there - Satuli canteen is my favorite! One day I will splurge for Tiffins. And a cold Elephants foot IPA really hits the spot!

 

[rteetz]

For this week's Sundays are for Disney, we're talking about Animal Kingdom! Tell us what you enjoy most about the park or share any Animal Kingdom-specific memories you have.

BEST PARK IS BEST

Everest
Flight of Passage
Animals
Amazing detail
Animals
Tiffins
Nomad Lounge
Animals
Lamu Libation
Dinosaur
Tree of Life
Animals
Tusker House
Pandora as a whole
Satuli Canteen
Animals

Need I say more?

 

[bananabean]

BEST PARK IS BEST

Everest
Flight of Passage
Animals
Amazing detail
Animals
Tiffins
Nomad Lounge
Animals
Lamu Libation
Dinosaur
Tree of Life
Animals
Tusker House
Pandora as a whole
Satuli Canteen
Animals

Need I say more?

Say animals again.

 

[rteetz]

Say animals again.

ANIMALS

 

[Barca33Runner]

That was 2019, right? Colder than other Marathon Weekends I have done and super early in January. We were at AK on the 3rd, I think, and it was just so crowded. Definitely a bit claustrophic.

Pretty sure it was 2018. Whichever year, yes, it was super cold. The previous day we had been at MK and it was in the 40's and raining. We actually got to do a lot that day because it was so miserable it scared a good amount of the crowds away. I think AK and the other parks got a little extra crowding on the 2nd because so many had skipped the 1st.

 

[lhermiston]

BEST PARK IS BEST

Everest
Flight of Passage
Animals
Amazing detail
Animals
Tiffins
Nomad Lounge
Animals
Lamu Libation
Dinosaur
Tree of Life
Animals
Tusker House
Pandora as a whole
Satuli Canteen
Animals

Need I say more?

Sir, this is a Wendy’s.

 

[jmasgat]

SAFD: Not a key memory, but it never fails to crack me up at all the kids (and some adults) that are freaked out/screaming/crying/ by the effects in Tough to be a Bug. Also, I could spend an hour in that queue looking for animals and not be bored.

 

[Disney at Heart]

SAFD: Extra cool is if you catch a vet procedure through the viewing window at Rafiki’s Planet. At last year’s W&D we saw them checking out a sedated lioness and then cleaning her teeth. Amazingly we watched a Disney+ animal show two weeks ago and the procedure was featured!!! I was jumping around squealing, “We saw that, we saw that!”

 

[KevM]

SAFD: My favorite things about AK:

Expedition Everest
Watching the Gorillas
The Gorilla Falls Expedition, Discovery Island Trails and Maharajah Jungle Trek

 

[Neon Cactus]

I love AK. The detail, the animals on the safari and trails, Flight of Passage and Everest, Festival of the Lion King, Flame Tree BBQ, Nomad Lounge, Kevin. On my March trip, I tried the After Hours event and it was much better than I expected. The park had been really crowded during the day. There were times during the event where there were no other guests in view, so it really felt like I had the park to myself.

 

[lhermiston]

SAFD: Extra cool is if you catch a vet procedure through the viewing window at Rafiki’s Planet. At last year’s W&D we saw them checking out a sedated lioness and then cleaning her teeth. Amazingly we watched a Disney+ animal show two weeks ago and the procedure was featured!!! I was jumping around squealing, “We saw that, we saw that!”

My daughters and I literally watched that episode today.

 

[PrincessV]

SAFD: Confession - for a long time, I was not an AK fan. Firstly because when it opened, and for several years after, the vegetation was still young and the lack of shade was an absolute killer in the heat. Then, I am a huge animal lover and fan of parks that are able to provide a "natural" environment for the animals, but manage to creatively do so in ways that allow really great viewing for visitors... and I live very near Busch Gardens, Tampa, which, frankly, does that better. But AK has really grown into its own the past few years and I enjoy it much more than I used to!

A favorite experience has to be the Year of Baby Tigers, as I think of it... it started on a slow day when I had a chance for a long conversation with one of the tiger CMs and learned that the chuffing we were hearing was a "getting to know you" from across separate enclosures, and the hope was that there would soon be a pregnancy announced. And not long after, it was! The year of waiting, seeing the infant cubs in WDW social media, and then watching them grow in person once on display was really special.