What should I do here?

[RedVirtue]

My girlfriend and I are planning on hitting up Animal Kingdom in October.

What are some MUST GO ON attractions there? I've seen the Nemo Show. Dinosaur and Mount Everest were both shut down when I last went so I didn't get to try them .

I live near Disneyland Resort so I don't need to go on any mirrored attractions that are here too, like Tough To Be A Bug for example.

Thanks for your help and opinions! Let me know what we should get fast passes for too!

[minniemose35]

If you are an animal lover, you definitely want to take the Kilimanjaro Safari. The Maharaja Jungle Trek and the Pangani are walking trails that are a must. Be sure to see It's Tough to Be a Bug located under the Tree of Life. The little surprise at the end of the show is the best.

Fast passes for Everest are a must.

[AnthonyFromLasVegas]

Safari & Mount Everest for sure.
& Donalds Safari Breakfast buffet.

[RedVirtue]

If you are an animal lover, you definitely want to take the Kilimanjaro Safari. The Maharaja Jungle Trek and the Pangani are walking trails that are a must. Be sure to see It's Tough to Be a Bug located under the Tree of Life. The little surprise at the end of the show is the best.

Fast passes for Everest are a must.

Very cool. Thanks! I've seen It's Tough to be a Bug at Disney's California Adventure and Animal Kingdom.

Safari & Mount Everest for sure.
& Donalds Safari Breakfast buffet.

Cool, where is the buffet located?

Keep 'em coming guys!
I'm open for lunch/dinner recommendations too.

Would anyone say this park is worth checking out for two days? Or can I check out the "important stuff" in one day? I might check out a second park on day 2 if I feel like I did everything I needed to at Animal Kingdom.

[minniemose35]

Very cool. Thanks! I've seen It's Tough to be a Bug at Disney's California Adventure and Animal Kingdom.


Cool, where is the buffet located?

Keep 'em coming guys!
I'm open for lunch/dinner recommendations too.

Would anyone say this park is worth checking out for two days? Or can I check out the "important stuff" in one day? I might check out a second park on day 2 if I feel like I did everything I needed to at Animal Kingdom.

Depends on the crowd, but we have been able to do AK in one day several times.

[JDub11]

I agree, AK can easily be done in one day.

If you want to catch all the shows it just takes a little more planning but where you said you already saw Nemo then you shouldn't have any trouble. Try to catch Flights of Wonder and Festival of the Lion King shows. If you do plan to do two days I would recommend the "Backstage Safari Tour", it's an added cost but was very enjoyable if you'd like to get an idea of what goes on behind the scenes in caring for the animals, etc.

We enjoy doing the "Picnic in the Park" for lunch, it's a bag lunch you p/u at Beastly Bazaar and they have several picnic areas around the park where you can eat. I can supply you with a link that has more info if you'd like.

[RedVirtue]

Depends on the crowd, but we have been able to do AK in one day several times.

Awesome!

I agree, AK can easily be done in one day.

If you want to catch all the shows it just takes a little more planning but where you said you already saw Nemo then you shouldn't have any trouble. Try to catch Flights of Wonder and Festival of the Lion King shows. If you do plan to do two days I would recommend the "Backstage Safari Tour", it's an added cost but was very enjoyable if you'd like to get an idea of what goes on behind the scenes in caring for the animals, etc.

We enjoy doing the "Picnic in the Park" for lunch, it's a bag lunch you p/u at Beastly Bazaar and they have several picnic areas around the park where you can eat. I can supply you with a link that has more info if you'd like.

The picnic route sounds pretty nice and different from most meal accommodations here at DLR. What is flights of wonder? Sure I don't mind checking out a link!

I guess my next question would be is there one thing/attraction I don't need to worry about missing? I'm clearly gonna pass on some kiddie attractions. But is there something I could put on the end of the list and if I ended up not having time for it I wouldn't be totally missing out?

Oh! Also! Of the rides you guys mentioned I should check out, which offer fast passes?

[Carol]

You definitely need to do Everest and the Safari - a fast pass would make that easier for both.

Next on my list would be the Festival of the Lion King Show - well worthwhile.

Food wise - both the picnic lunch and the character breakfast/lunch are great.

If you have time, do the two walks, watch the parade or ride Primevil Whirl - but one day is probably enough - it would be worth going to another park on your second day.

[1rocky]

Great thread sorry for hijacking it but do you recommend staying at the animal kingdom hotel and then split time with another hotel i am thinking of going for a couple of weeks.
Noticed the disney event site had great options available for tours etc http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/tou...kstage-safari/
Please let us know how you went at wdw

[RedVirtue]

You definitely need to do Everest and the Safari - a fast pass would make that easier for both.

Next on my list would be the Festival of the Lion King Show - well worthwhile.

Food wise - both the picnic lunch and the character breakfast/lunch are great.

If you have time, do the two walks, watch the parade or ride Primevil Whirl - but one day is probably enough - it would be worth going to another park on your second day.

Very cool. I like hiking and active stuff (I'm training for a marathon here at DLR). What are the "two walks" called? Is there only one type of parade at the park? Thanks!

Great thread sorry for hijacking it but do you recommend staying at the animal kingdom hotel and then split time with another hotel i am thinking of going for a couple of weeks.

I don't mind you asking. Hotel info may be helpful for me too.

[JDub11]

Awesome!

The picnic route sounds pretty nice and different from most meal accommodations here at DLR. What is flights of wonder? Sure I don't mind checking out a link!

I guess my next question would be is there one thing/attraction I don't need to worry about missing? I'm clearly gonna pass on some kiddie attractions. But is there something I could put on the end of the list and if I ended up not having time for it I wouldn't be totally missing out?

Oh! Also! Of the rides you guys mentioned I should check out, which offer fast passes?

RedVirtue Surprisingly there aren't a ton of "rides" in AK but you mentioned EE & Dinosaur being closed the last time you were there so definitely hit those up (they both have FP). We like to hit Kilimanjaro Safari first thing, then do it again at a different time of the day, you often get to see some different animals (or at least they're in different places within their "habitats", KS also has FP).

If you had to put any attractions at the end of your list I would say start w/ Kali River Rapids, in October you're not always in need of a "cooling off", plus it's similar to Grizzly River Run @ DCA but not as good IMO.

Rafiki's Planet Watch (/Conservation Station) - You could also skip this if you're pressed for time, it can be time consuming because the only way to get there and back is via a small train. There's the Affection Section (which is basically a petting zoo, eh! nothing special but the kids sure seem to like it until the goats start chasing them looking for more food ) The Conservation Station is much more interesting and sometimes you can actually see a check-up or minor surgery being performed (I'm pretty sure they list any surgeries or procedures being done that day on the tip board near Island Mercantile).

TriceraTop Spin is another you could skip, it's the same as Dumbo or Magic Carpets @ MK or DLR.

Flights of Wonder is a great little show with live birds, check for times in the guide. Entertaining and amusing, a nice little break to get off your feet. At AK there can be a lot of walking between attractions, I think more than at any other park in WDW.

If you can only do one of the walking trails I would recommend the Jungle Trek over Pangani Trail, they're both great but I prefer the tigers and bats over the birds if I had to choose. Although the meerkats can be pretty entertaining if you hit them at the right time.

Anyway, here's a link to a site that's great for planning a trip to WDW. There's lots of good tips and tons for information for maximizing your time, http://allears.net/index.html
There's also tons of reviews on everything; restaurants, tours, shows, etc., all written by other visitors.

Great thread sorry for hijacking it but do you recommend staying at the animal kingdom hotel and then split time with another hotel i am thinking of going for a couple of weeks.
Noticed the disney event site had great options available for tours etc lhttp://disneyworld.disney.go.com/tours-and-experiences/backstage-safari/
Please let us know how you went at wdw

1rocky The AK Lodge is gorgeous and has some great restaurants. If you can swing it there's a special Sunrise Safari that only guests staying on the Concierge level can book (ah, someday ). At the end of last year they also added the new Wild Africa Trek, here's a link from the site I recommended above to some more information on it, http://land.allears.net/blogs/dnews/..._for_uniq.html

[1rocky]

thank you jdub11 that is awesome it would be great for the concierge level even if we only stayed an AK for three or five days.
thank you for all the info it is great. we are wondering if we wait till next year so we can go to the huge vinylmation event gives us more time to save.

[Carol]

Very cool. I like hiking and active stuff (I'm training for a marathon here at DLR). What are the "two walks" called? Is there only one type of parade at the park? Thanks!



I don't mind you asking. Hotel info may be helpful for me too.

Maharaja Jungle Trek and Pangani Trail.

I think there is only one parade each day - generally about 3pm.

[RedVirtue]

Woohoo! You guys have definitely been resourceful! Thanks a bunch!

[I <3 Vinyl]

The safari ride and everest you will need fastpasses for if you don't want to waste like 3 hours in queues

[OKvinylnut]

Expedition Everest is a must and one of my favorite restaurants is Tusker House buffet. It has a lot of food that you won't see anywhere else. Check it out:
http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/tusker-house/

[nickalew]

This is coming from a fellow Disneylander that was at AK last summer:

Expedition Everest (MUST)
DINOSAUR (employs the same technology as Indiana Jones, Indie did it better, but this is a great ride nonetheless)
Primeval Whirl (this is an okay ride. The track is similar to Mullholand madness/Goofy's Flight school at DCA)
Kilimanjaro Safaris (ABSOLUTE MUST!!)
I've forgotten where I ate at but I heard Tusker House is great!

You can do this park in a day, and even if you've finished riding all the rides and such, it's so nice over there at AK. They really decked this place out too look like you're on another continent. By far my favorite park at WDW. Have fun!

[1rocky]

thanks for the great tips Nixkalew WDW sound so awesome

[RedVirtue]

The safari ride and everest you will need fastpasses for if you don't want to waste like 3 hours in queues

Wow I definitely don't want to wait that long. Sounds like I'm getting a fastpass for that in the morning.

Expedition Everest is a must and one of my favorite restaurants is Tusker House buffet. It has a lot of food that you won't see anywhere else. Check it out:
http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/tusker-house/

Sweet! Same place they have the breakfast buffet I see. I'll only have to find it once!

This is coming from a fellow Disneylander that was at AK last summer:

Expedition Everest (MUST)
DINOSAUR (employs the same technology as Indiana Jones, Indie did it better, but this is a great ride nonetheless)
Primeval Whirl (this is an okay ride. The track is similar to Mullholand madness/Goofy's Flight school at DCA)
Kilimanjaro Safaris (ABSOLUTE MUST!!)
I've forgotten where I ate at but I heard Tusker House is great!

You can do this park in a day, and even if you've finished riding all the rides and such, it's so nice over there at AK. They really decked this place out too look like you're on another continent. By far my favorite park at WDW. Have fun!

Nice. I appreciate an opinion from a fellow Disneylander.