How long to plan at AK

[mshanson3121]

Having read some recent reviews on rides here, there's really not much my kids are going to be able to do for rides either due to height/fear factor - the Safari, the train, maybe the River Rapids (not sure on this one since my son hates being splashed), the Boneyard. So for us, AK is basically going to be about the Safari, the trails and seeing the animals (which they will enjoy) and the 3 shows: Lion King, Nemo and Flights of Wonder, and some meet and greets. We'll FP+ the Lion King, Nemo and Safari.

Realistically, how long should we plan? How long do the trails take?

 

[Letsbgoofy]

Realistically, how long should we plan? How long do the trails take?

That depends entirely on you. We spent 30 minutes one day just watching the river otter around the Tree of Life. You can go through the trails quickly or you can spend time watching the animals.

I would think your kids would be able to do Triceratops Spin (a Dumbo type ride). Are you going to see any characters? Stop and watch any of the street shows? (though I'm not sure what is going on with all the construction) Do you plan to eat there?

We love the AK and spend all day there. Every Safari you do will be a little different - we try to go at least 2 times each day we visit.

 

[OurLaughingPlace]

A character meal at Tusker House might be enjoyable for your family. It always adds to our enjoyment of AK.

 

[StirlingSilver83]

We usually are done Animal Kingdom in a half day. I have 2 youngsters as well, and they werent into the rides when we went last year. We did the Safari and that was cool and we had reservations for Tusker House for lunch (its was really yummy!). We basically walked around in the morning and we decided to have lunch and leave. This was last year and the lion king show was being refurb and there was a ton of construction walls up and my kids just weren't into it. Luckily we had park hoppers last year so we just went to Magic Kingdom in the afternoon. This year we didn't get park hoppers. I didn't want to get park hoppers just to go to 1 park where we only do the morning at. The other 3 parks are full day parks for us. Anyways we are just skipping Animal Kingdom this year. The safari was awesome but that was the only real attraction my kids were into.

 

[jrathburn]

The first time my wife and j went there, we were co Vince's it would be a half day park, and planned as such. A couple times later, we decided to give it more of a day to see what we could fill it with, and we spent time walking trails, watching all the shows, and the safari, which can take up quite a bit of time. I really recommend the risked house breakfast, it is a staple for every trip.

 

[WDWiowa]

My family when we went to Animal Kingdom spent the entire day if you are the zoo loving type and can enjoy the animals and talk with the the cast members that want to share. Rakifi animal watch is a great hands on area. It is different then an amusement park pace and to eat at Tusker House with the bonus of characters is a plus. We also went back a second day because my son is an animal nut.

 

[Good Morning Dewdrop]

Have you heard about / looked into the Wilderness Explorer program at AK. It's free and loads of fun. If you decide to do it (and go for all 20 badges) that will take some time. The stations are spread out around the park. We had a great time doing it!!

 

[lauradis]

Bone yard can take up atleast 2 hrs alone.
Rakifi animal watch
Tree of Life
3 shows
street bands
parade
safari

Can be a full animal kingdom day. Remember AK closes the earliest of all the parks. During slower times 2/23/2015 they open at 9am and close at 5 pm.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

For me, I'd be there all day. I love watching the animals and meeting characters.

There was even a dance party in Dinoland in Sept. 2014. I stumbled across it and it was a blast. I'm a horrible dancer but still had fun. I wonder if Disney is still doing that? Hmmmmm.

 

[chloelovesdisney]

Have you heard about / looked into the Wilderness Explorer program at AK. It's free and loads of fun. If you decide to do it (and go for all 20 badges) that will take some time. The stations are spread out around the park. We had a great time doing it!!

I've never heard of this, what ages is it geared towards? Sounds like something my 8 and 9 yo nieces would enjoy.

To the OP - we can spend all day here since we enjoy all the shows and watching the animals.

 

[minnie mum]

We have a hard time seeing and doing everything in one day. I agree that you should check out the Wilderness Explorers program. The official website has info on it. This really isn't the kind of park where you just rush from ride to ride. It deserves to be savoured slowly.

 

[1girln3boys]

We spend the day there. Lots to do other than rides. We met characters and did the Wilderness Explorer thing kids had a lot of fun

 

[mountdew1]

All depends on your and your style. My DW and I usually spend 30-45 mins watching the gorillas, so the Pangani trail can take 1 hr+ for us. The Maharajah trek is usually closer to 30 mins, but the tigers are rarely active when we have gone, while the gorillas are much more so. Nemo and Festival of the Lion King each can take 45mins to an hour when you add on wait time. We typically do rope drop til 3 or 4 (instead of heading back for an afternoon break) an enjoy our time there. That usually only has 2 of the 3 shows (scheduling can be tough to catch Nemo/FotLM/FoW all in one day), and really little time spent in Dinoland.

 

[Good Morning Dewdrop]

I've never heard of this, what ages is it geared towards? Sounds like something my 8 and 9 yo nieces would enjoy.

To the OP - we can spend all day here since we enjoy all the shows and watching the animals.

I'm not sure what age it is officially geared towards - I've seen really young kids doing it. DD was 13 when we did it - DH and I really enjoyed it as well (then again I have a degree in Biology and he's a photographer so we're already geared towards animals)!

You can pick up the booklet from any Wilderness Explorer (they wear orange scarfs) Troop Leader. The main pick up point is on the bridge from Oasis to Discovery Island. There are 20 activity badges to collect and then you graduate to Senior Explorer (or some similar title). Loads of fun and even I learned a few things. The WE folks love to talk about animals etc in their area.

 

[Dis703]

We spend all day in this park and we don't do all the rides either. We've yet to do Everest, but ODS may do this with DH next trip. We've never done the one that spins, can't remember the name. We only sometimes did Kali and Dinosaur. But we love the shows, we love the safari and the trails. And the little bits of entertainment you will find here and there. Like drummers in Africa and dancers in Asia. My oldest LOVES the Wildlife Explorers program and is working towards all of his badges. It's both fun and educational for them. He's 6 and did it at age 4 and 5, but I think his 3 year old brothers may want to play along this trip as well.

The playground is great, we love Tough to Be a Bug as well. I'm not even sure we've fit the show with the birds in since we've had kids but it's on our list. We take the train over to watch them do vet exams on animals and do the petting zoo and a few meet and greets. They've had some neat little talks with owls or hawks when we've been there.

We very sadly were rained out of AK on our last trip so I'm hoping we get to it all this time around. But we could definitely spend opening to closing on any given day.

 

[Kohara]

Your basically only skipping Dinosaur and Everest. I would plan for most the day, if they close at 5 I would guess you would be there until 3. Everyone leaves out its tough to be a bug, but the kids and adults in my party thought it was hysterical.