AK - Anything I'm Missing?

[MCharpie]

We're taking our 4 and 5 year old to Animal Kingdom for a few half days in late April. We've been one time before and it's not the kids' or my husband's favorite - I'm hoping to change that! The following are attractions that we're planning:

Discovery Trails

Expedition Everest

Safari

Na’vi River Journey

Oasis Animals

Triceratop Spin

Boneyard

Gorilla Falls

Maharajah Jungle Trek

Wilderness Explorers

Meet Mickey and Minnie

Lion King

ROL

Is there anything I'm missing? Anything I should take off the list?

Thanks in advance

 

[PollyannaMom]

My DS has always loved Rafiki's Planet Watch.

 

[piglet1979]

The only 2 I can think of that are missing is The Festival of the Lion King and Nemo and friends. Both are shows. The lion King is a great show but I have not seen Finding Nemo yet.

 

[hiroMYhero]

The 20th Anniversary celebration begins on April 22nd. Flights of Wonder will reopen as a show with Dug and Russell from Up.

There are free backstage tours at Rafiki’s Planet Watch - open to all:
https://www.disboards.com/threads/l...et-watch-starting-2-13.3664138/#post-58811195

 

[iujen94]

Kali River Rapids, if your kiddos are 38”.

 

[TravelingTotMom]

Another vote for adding Rafiki's Planet Watch, especially with those ages. My DS is almost 4, and he loves the train ride and brushing the goats (and it's probably one of the cleanest petting zoos ever).

We also always spend more time at the Boneyard than planned. It's a great spot for kids to get out energy after waiting lines/sitting through shows throughout the day.

 

[MCharpie]

Thanks for the responses - we'll add Rafiki's Watch and Nemo to our list!

 

[JerseyJanice]

I hated the Nemo show so if you find time getting tight, that would be the first thing I’d deep-6.

 

[b52hbuff]

There is a lot of detail at AK. Here is an example of some things you can look for while you're wandering around. I also recommend you try to watch Avatar before your visit. It'll get your family psyched and familiar with what they are going to experience.

 

[b52hbuff]

Asking people what you may like is like arguing for your favorite food. Here's why you should like pizza, because I like pizza too!

Anyway, I'll provide a link to another Touring Plans video. I highly recommend viewing videos of any attractions/shows your questionable about. The downside is that it can spoil your surprise. The upside is it can help you decide what you may want to avoid.

As Disneyland regulars, we feel spoiled by the quality of entertainment at Disneyland and were a bit let down on entertainment at WDW. Having said that, we tried to keep an open mind and managed to see all of the AK entertainment. We hated RoL. We see it as a poor substitute of "World of Color" at California Adventure. WDW folks could think of it as Illuminations minus the fireworks. I think there were some technical difficulties getting all of the promised high tech working in the show, so they released it with some "features" missing.

The pedigree of the folks who wrote the Nemo songs is very impressive. But we found the music and lyrics utterly forgettable.

The Lion King show was the best of the bunch, but it was a bit too short.

...but everyone is different, and you might like all the shows.

 

[Neesy228]

For those ages, Festival of the Lion King would be more entertaining than Nemo. It’s also not as long which is another plus when you have a very full day.

 

[richkaryn]

AK was never our favorite park either, and there have been a few trips we skip it altogether.....then in Oct 2016 we did a split stay Poly/AKL -- I was not looking forward to AKL bc we didn't care for AK, but DS had been wanting to try it. I fell in love with AKL, and we had a slower paced trip than usual where we took mid afternoon breaks to enjoy the resort. So we headed over to AK one morning for rope drop and the plan was to leave around lunch time. DS picked up a Wilderness Explorer book this time, and we did some of those activities in between catching rides. We also walked trails we hadn't before, and just really took our time through the park. We had "loosely" planned this trip, unlike our past commando itinerary trips. So the next morning DS wanted to go back to AK and finish his Wilderness explorer book, so we did. We seemed to find a new appreciation for AK on that trip. It still isn't our favorite of all the parks, but we will be less likely to skip it in the future.