What is it you don't like about HS & AK?

[brad192]

I agree with Ian about the lack of "Disney Feel" in HS. While there are a few gems when it comes to attractions (Muppets, ToT, GMR, etc.) the overall immersive Disney experience falls far short of MK & Epcot. To me, it's a one-day park & I'm done with it - although I absolutely love dining at the Brown Derby!

This is my #4 park at WDW.

As for the AK...

Everyone needs to remember that it wasn't designed as a typical theme park. Think hybrid. It was originally marketed as "Not A Zoo (Natazu), but really, it is, with some wonderful Disney theming, details, and attractions thrown in. People who visit this park need to (cliche' alert) "Stop and smell the roses." I typically spend between 1 and 2 days in this park each trip, wandering thru the Oasis watching the animals there, exploring the two wonderful trails with all the great fauna, and going off the "beaten path" to enjoy the nooks & crannies (what the heck is a crannie anyway?) of the park.

Oh, I have an answer conserning the heat & humidity of AK.

In '08 I took the Backstage Safari tour at AK (great tour, well worth the $$) and when I asked why it seemed AK was warmer & more humid than the other parks, the tour guides said that, when AK was built, they constructed a 10' high berm around the entire park for reasons of animal control (local fauna invading the park, etc.) Apparently this diminishes much of the ground level airflow throughout the park. Combine this with all the lush foliage in the park, which provides a lot of moisture in the air, and you get a big "bubble" of heat & humidity, with very little air movement.

AK is a great park - you just need to slow down & focus on the moment.

[Katzateer]

AK - the heat always gets to me

HS - I loved it when it first opened - the thrill of a movie set, live shows and getting to be in the audience of shows being filmed.

As attractions have shut down or changed it has a feel of just being thrown together and if you don't know where you are going, very hard to
navigate.

Not being a working studio for animation and tv shows and movies makes it less exciting and interesting

[epceddie]

For us, HS is too small and can be overly crowded. We had a great visit in February. We got to do Toy Story Mania twice in about 30 minutes standing in a short line after getting a fastpass for a later return, and we really enjoyed getting a chance to draw one of the characters (Dopey from Snow White) at Art of Animation.
At Animal Kingdom, the volume of walking you have to do is formidable. My wife and I both have knee problems and our legs take a beating at AK. Plus, we've found that it has a lot less benches and places to sit to get out of the sun than the other parks.

[Gator]

It's not that I don't like those parks - I love them! But compared to MK and Epcot, they just don't have as much to love.

AK is fantastic in concept and execution. It just doesn't have that sense of magic or wonder that the top two parks have.

DHS has some magic and also some really cool things to explore. But it really just represents Hollywood - not all sorts of different places like the top two parks.

[MaterializedHaunt]

Oh, I have an answer conserning the heat & humidity of AK.

In '08 I took the Backstage Safari tour at AK (great tour, well worth the $$) and when I asked why it seemed AK was warmer & more humid than the other parks, the tour guides said that, when AK was built, they constructed a 10' high berm around the entire park for reasons of animal control (local fauna invading the park, etc.) Apparently this diminishes much of the ground level airflow throughout the park. Combine this with all the lush foliage in the park, which provides a lot of moisture in the air, and you get a big "bubble" of heat & humidity, with very little air movement.

Wow! That is some awesome info!? I always just thought AK was closer to the sun or something.

And yes now that you say it, it seems hybrid to me and is such a nice place to go and get some crannies and do some coloring with them.

[Cinderelley]

I love AK. I can wander in there just looking at things for hours. The kids and I have a blast on the less "desireable" (according to some) rides such as Primeval Whirl, and Lion King is the only show I will stop to watch.

DHS doesn't seem to have a very good layout of traffic flow and very few rides that appeal to us. Most of them have no repeat value.

[readytogo2]

i really like DHS but feel frustrated after a while seeing all that space not being used very well IMO streets of america is only used for chritmas lights backlot tours is nothing like it used to indy and LMA need upgraded or something

[Mrs Bus Driver]

DHS needs a better Back lot tour. I always was under the impression that it was supposed to compete with Universal. But even before Harry Potter it was a disappointment. If you are going to take on the competition then do it!
I am still holding off on my opinion for AK as I haven't explored it enough to say yay or nay. But I do want to mention this, DD's BF doesn't like all the bumps and jolts he gets in his wheelchair. So he doesn't want to go back to this park. And as a PP said its hard on the knees. There needs to be a better way around the park for those who can't walk it.

[ChipNDale79]

I don't really dislike AK or DHS, I like all the parks, but I do like MK and Epcot a lot more than DHS and AK.

The studio part has basically been taken out of the DHS and to me it sort of feels like its lost its focus. I think there's some great potential for this park if Disney puts the money into it.

I personally would have liked to see them spend the billion dollars on DHS instead of MK, not that I have a problem with what they are doing at MK, I just feel like DHS needed the help a lot more than MK did.

AK, is a great park also, there's just not as much to do there. Although it holds 2 of my top 10, or maybe top 5 attractions at WDW (Dinosaur and EE). My wife and I have been going together since 2008, we've had a blast, but I get the feeling that when we return to WDW next December with our 2 boys for our first trip with kids, this park is going to be a lot more fun.

[azcavalier]

If my memory serves me correct (usually does when it involes Disney).... AK is on average 13º hotter then the rest of the parks. Just a little tidbit for you all.

See? That's what makes Disney so great....the attention to detail! They didn't just do a great job with the theming, they actually changed the weather!

OK, so I think that Animal Kingdom needs one or two more rides. It was opened incomplete, and it shows.

DHS....someone else pointed out that it is singularly themed. Well, it WAS a working production studio when it opened, so I get that. But the layout is odd. Things seem tucked in back alleys, and out of the way places. Epcot and MK don't feel like that at all. And I think it's also because AK and DHS aren't "open", where you have that central wienie that you can see to get your bearings from anywhere in the park. You might be able to see the Tree of Life from anywhere in AK, maybe, but it sure doesn't stand out from all angles like Cinderella Castle or Spaceship Earth.

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

For me its not really about not liking AK-I love this park. However, I can point out that everything is spaced very far apart and it needs a few more attractions.

DHS is easily our least favorite park. For the most part I just think a lot of the attractions like the Great Movie Ride, Indiana Jones and Backlot Tour desperately need updating. I would take out the Drew Carey Sounds Dangerous and I also am not a fan of Lights, Motor, Action so I would take that out too and replace both with better attractions. I think this park could use a water ride maybe a Little Mermaid based water attraction?

[waymickey]

I too voted for MK because it is what I always felt was WDW. I love it and i go to it every day of my trip. But I love the other parks too.
EPCOT is my second favorite .
Then AK. My vacation is during August so it is just too hot to spend a lot of time there but I like it a lot. Safari, LION KING show, Nemo Show, EE, and the theming is great.

As for DHS, after ToT and TSM I am pretty much done. I like the muppet show and great movie ride but for the most part I find this park boring. It is a one day ( or until fast pass for TSM time ) and out park for me.

[jnfr2424]

I just cannot find my way around AK and it just drives me crazy. I am not a big fan of the layout of the park.

I like HS but I get what PP are stating. Then again I really love it during the holidays with the Spectacle of Lights in the backlot and I love the theming of Sci Fi and 50's Prime Time

[Skippy]

HS: The poor backlot tour needs a refurb or gutting (Carsland would be nice). The layout is bad - two large draws at the end of the same road + Fantasmic lines makes it a crowded afternoon/evening. The park needs some freshening up. While it's my number 2 favorite park, it seems to be neglected.

AK: Tired feet, and I have a zoo that costs a lot less to get into.

[biodtl]

For me, it's not that I don't like AK & DHS, it's just that I love MK & Epcot best.

[SandmanGStefani24]

I actually love AK. One problem is, it's just so much smaller in relation to time one can spend there. It's a half day park at best for us.

HS used to be a skipover but I feel like it is making a nice comeback. I enjoyed last visit, but again was done in a half day as I couldn't be bothered to sit through a 3 hr wait for TSM. Maybe I'll get to ride it sometime this century...

It isn't so much a matter of dislike, but more like I would much rather be at MK, or my favorite Epcot. There just isn't enough for me to say I HAVE to hit AK or HS each trip. Maybe just every other trip.

[Ian]

In reading some of the recent posts, I just want to say that I do like both AK and DHS ... it's just that I don't think either one holds a candle to MK & Epcot.

I get what AK is about. I understand that some people like what it offers and I don't at all begrudge them that. It's just not for me. If I want a zoo, I'll go to a zoo. I don't want a zoo mixed in with my theme park really ... I'm more of a classic Disney/dark ride kind of a guy and AK is completely devoid of those types of attractions. It's also pretty bare bones ... the cutbacks from the original scope have never really been addressed. They added EE which was great, but outside of that ... nothing.

One other thing about DHS that bugs me is that it's really loud and annoying these days with that constant irritating stage show they do in front of the (hideous) hat.

[Minnie97]

I love HS in the mornings, when I can get fast passes for Toystory mania, and rockenroller, then I go ride startours.. and go back to which ever fast pass I got, and ride the ride, and ride great movie ride then if I can get another fast pass, go eat at backlot tour and watch muppet vision 3d, then go ride the other fast pass ride, so my family is always done there really early, we finish around 3 or 4, so it just isnt a lot for us to do there... but we love 50s prime time cafe

Ak is just a lot of walking for about 3 rides, we are always done before lunch and head over to Animal kingdom Lodge to eat..

so I love MGM but we just dont have as much we all do together at either park..

[#1donaldfan]

HS least favorite thing would be small scale for a park that could have incredible rides, themed to a vast array of movies....

AK least favorite thing...LEAVING ! It's my favorite park and I can't say anything bad about it !!

[BrerGnat]

There are animal/nature people, and then there are people who are not. I am not. Thus, AK, as pretty as it is, and as well themed as it is, is just not my favorite.

Like another poster said, "too much walking for too little payoff."

I like Everest. I will go to AK, trek through the park, ride Everest, and leave. IF I really want to ride Everest. We totally skipped AK on our last trip. I didn't miss it.

And, FWIW, I have FULLY explored AK over many, many visits. I "get" it. I just don't personally really like it.

DHS is the one Disney park where I ALWAYS feel like I'm lost. The layout is atrocious, and the park has no discernable "lands". I like how MK and Epcot have distinct areas with defined boundaries as well as more obvious ways to get from place to place. DHS is a terrible park, layout wise. Plus, it doesn't have all that much to do there. I don't like live stage shows, and I am not particularly enamored with "old Hollywood", so it holds very little appeal to me.