Can Animal Kingdom bee done in a few hours?

[smeedell]

We have tickets to Cirque in Downtown Disney. We are having dinner prior to the 6pm show.

Can we see the following attractions in a half a day?

Bug's Life
Killimanjaro
Festival of the Lion King

What else could we fit in?

[g8rgirl29]

Depending on what time of year you are going I think you could easily fit those things in. The shows like Lion King and Nemo take a large portion of your time because you need to be in line a minimum of 30-45 min prior to showtime to get a seat. I have only been to AK twice now and have not seen everything I want to see and have yet to catch the parade!!! It gets very hot there for some reason, I think all the foliage makes it more humid, so I tend to get worn out a lot faster in this park. Plus travel time to and from the park is a little longer for us with our resort location so don't forget to take that into consideration in your planning.
I am planning to take 2 days there this trip if possible and leave early on one and go straight to Blizzard Beach after to cool down!! Go with a definite plan on the top things you want to see. Utilize the maps and show times that you can find on here and try to not bounce back and forth across the park. If you can plan it on an AM EMH day that will help you out a lot too.

[Jennifer_and_Chris]

You can totally do AK in 1/2 a day....

DH and I have done AK in 1/2 a day many, many times. We just about run to the Safari when we get there, EE right after, then do Bugs Life and (if DH can persuade me) Dinosaur. We work the Lion King in there and get to everything before lunch! When its been just DH and I, we may or may not stay for the parade. With just the 2 of us, we have never had dinner there. We usually hop to another park with late hours for that.

However, last time we missed the Nemo show, but, we got there about 3pm for the pm EMH. We still rode EE 2x, the Safari, Lion King and walked around Dinoland with 2 kids in tow. We also had our first dinner here at Yak n Yeti Counter service.

[SBETigg]

Depending on crowds and your interests, you could probably fit in quite a bit more if you get started right away. Use Fastpass for bigger attractions.

I think you could fit Everest and Dinosaur into that day, maybe even Kali River Rapids. If you're not into thrills and/or want to stay dry, you could do one or maybe both of the animal walking trails instead (Pangani Forest or Maharajah Trek). If you prefer the shows, you could probably manage to see the Nemo show. We've done everything we've most wanted to do at AK before 2 or 3 pm on many a day, even with a few repeats. But again, that depends on crowds.

[Superzeus84]

I would go see an early Finding Nemo, and would try to include Dinosaur and Everest...............I think it can be done.

[Ian]

What time of the year are you going? That's what will determine it.

[DizneyRox]

We usually spend the majority of our time at AK, if you want my opinion, no, AK can't be done in a few hours. At least not how it should be done.

If you don't care about the park itself, the awesome theming, the little nooks and crannies, etc. Sure, you can get those rides done in no time.

I suggest though, giving the park the time it should have. At least a day to stop and smell the roses so to speak. Asia has come a long way since park opening, Even Dinoland with the out of place road side circus takes a little time to fully explore. The walking trails are fun to get away from the crowds and learn a little about the animals, I could watch the Gorilas over at the Gorilla Falls Explorations trails for hours. Tigers the same..

[Darbylew]

It really just depends on what time you get
there and how the crowds are. We have done
AK in half a day. It takes longer for the shows.
Tough to be a Bug goes pretty fast. Have a fun
time!

[tnpoohbear]

For us, we can do it in one-half day. It depends on the time of year you go and what exactly you want to see. For us it is a must for the Safari Ride (our favorite) then Kali River Rapids (DD fav) Expedition Everest (DSIL fav) Nemo and Lion King show (my favs) If you are going to Camp Minnie Mickey then it maybe longer. :mickey:

[BigThunderFan]

Like another person said, yes it CAN be done and you can get all of the rides in before noon. However, you are really missing out on a great park if you cut your day short here. There are so many details (just like any Disney park) and the theming is amazing. If you are pressed for time you can do it though.

I definitely recommend getting there at least 20 - 30 minutes prior to rope drop. Use fastpasses to your advantage and ride the rides or take in the shows while waiting for your fastpass window.

[lighteningqueen]

I really think that the people who do the park in record time have missed so much there. It is our favorite park. There is alot to do and see there that should not be overlooked. It is not about how many rides you can ride in x amount of time. If people go for that reason then they are wasting their money. The trails around the tree of life is worth every bit of the time it takes to walk it. You can drag it our for an hour or just 20 minutes. Watching Devine" The water fall etc etc. In our opinion last Dec when we rode Kilamanjaro in the morning it was rather dead out no animals, but then we rode it again mid afternoon and every animal species they had was on the move it was the best ride ever there. Give the park a chance and see what it has to offer.. Its the best.

[btharvey]

... It is not about how many rides you can ride in x amount of time. If people go for that reason then they are wasting their money ....

Ah, and Disney is very happy to sell you a good-for-a-full-day-ticket and have you use only 3-4 hours of it. No problem!

Seriously, although I agree with the sentiments that desire the slow stroll and the poking around at everything, sometimes when you go with someone who's "not so Disney" (or with kids/preteens/teenagers), you have to compromise. And if you only have a certain amount of time, you do what you need to do!

Yes, you can add the Safari, perhaps Expedition Everest and the Kali River Rapids (bring a change of clothes in a plastic bag) in addition to all you've said. Start as early as you can, and run to the Safari and EE/KRR first. Then the others till you need to get in lines for shows.

Have fun!

[Giggy]

I agree that to enjoy it properly takes more than a few hours. It is a big park with a lot to see in it.

We don't always spend full days there because AK seems to get very hot as the day goes on, however it always gets at least part of two days. :mickey:

[caryrae]

We usually spend the majority of our time at AK, if you want my opinion, no, AK can't be done in a few hours. At least not how it should be done.

If you don't care about the park itself, the awesome theming, the little nooks and crannies, etc. Sure, you can get those rides done in no time.

I suggest though, giving the park the time it should have. At least a day to stop and smell the roses so to speak. Asia has come a long way since park opening, Even Dinoland with the out of place road side circus takes a little time to fully explore. The walking trails are fun to get away from the crowds and learn a little about the animals, I could watch the Gorilas over at the Gorilla Falls Explorations trails for hours. Tigers the same..

That's how we feel, AK is a really nice place if you give it the time it deserves. It's just nice to slow down sometimes and enjoy the Park.

To OP:
But yes like others said you could do the rides you want maybe more in a half a day.

[crazygoalie39]

To answer your question, it IS possible to hit the big ones, KS, EE, FotLK, and Dino, in a half day. But, that's not how we ever do things. To us, WDW isn't about rushing around hitting the main attractions. We have plenty of time to see and do EVERYTHING in AK, but it does take us until dinner. And that's with the longest wait for anything being 15 minutes, other than Nemo and FotLK. Nemo takes up a very large part of the day.

[princessgirls]

My kids love Animal Kingdom. We always end up there for a full day, and it's always HOT!!

Our friends last about three hours...

If you aren't interested in hitting all of the shows, AK is a park that empties out around 3:30, and you can hit all the attractions easily with no wait times.

Julie:mickey:

[smeedell]

We have 4 days at WDW. We are spending 1 day at MK and Epcot.

We only have another day and a half to visit AK and DS due to our Cirque concert. I thought DS was worth a full day. We always take an afternoon break and return to our hotel.

We are going April 19-23.

[Scar]

We are going April 19-23.Two weeks after Easter week you will easily be able to do those things and much more.

[olivegirl]

You can definitely do AK in a half day, as long as you get there at opening.:thumbsup:

[Touchdown]

Dont let all the AK fans get you down, you can definatly do it in a half a day. Maybe its because Ive been to quite a few world class zoos, but with the huge exception of Kilimanjaro Safari (that ride is worth the price of admission all by itself) the animal exhibits do not wow me enough for me to do them again (did them the first trip I made to AK and even with doing that we were done by 3 but this was pre Chester and Hesters, Nemo and Everest.)

Nemo and FotLK are the things that can slow you down, try and go to the first show of one of these shows and do the second (or if that is impossible 3rd) show of the other one. At opening send your fastest member to get Fastpasses to Everest while the rest of your party heads to the Safari and ride it. Kali River Rapids doesnt open with the rest of the park, timing the safari right should have you walking by it as it opens, ride it then. The last major lines you have left are Dinosaur and Primevil Whirl, get a FP for the latter and then stand in line for the former (AC queue) before finishing your day at its Tough to Be a Bug, not forgetting to see Nemo and FotLK.

When we go in May, we will be at AK in the morning/afternoon then plan on going back to our hotel, changing and making a 7pm Ohana reservation that night, but we will have the benefit of morning EMH.

[mom2morgan]

Good advice above! We've definitely hit all the major attractions in half a day or less. We've never given this park the time it really deserves, so I promise to do better next trip. We always seem to squeeze it in at the last when we're tired and foot-sore. Maybe we'll START with it this trip!

[bruin1344]

I usually get it done in a few hours. I try to go to the parks early so i can ride EE and get fastpass to ride EE again.

[crltkcagle]

Yep you can do it. :thumbsup:

[HoosierDisneyFan]

I recommend the Flights of Wonder show. I had missed it on my first few trips to AK but caught the show the last trip. Great fun!

[WDW Addict]

We have always done AK in about 4-5 hours...you shouldn't have a problem. Just be sure to have fun and enjoy yourselves :cool: