AK...Give it time!

[jclightchasr]

I like AK it is not my favorite but it is enjoyable. Personally I think the themeing in Asia is some of the best on WDW property. Everest is great, so are the nemo and lion king shows, i also like its tough to be a bug and dinosaur. i am not a fan of chester and hesters, that annoying bell sound and the fair games are irritating. it can still improve but so can all the parks. on a side note I like star tours too!

[PirateLover]

Warning: I think I'm about to write a novel!

I think that I have just had extremely bad luck with AK. The first time I went (june 2002), it was very hot and then later on I got caught in a downpour. I went on Kilimanjaro Safaris, and took the train to the Conservation Station. I think I saw Flights of Wonder as well and did all the animal trails and houses. I had no interest in Kali River Rapids that day, and Dinosaur was 2 hours long and out the door, and fast passes were sold out . I left feeling kind of "meh" about the experience.

The second time around (May 2004) my boyfriend and I went first thing in the morning. We headed straight over to Dinosaur since I hadn't done it yet....and it was closed. We hopped on Primeval Whirl which was kind of fun and then did the Safari and started to leave because it got really hot really fast. However we decided to stop at Kali since I had never been, and we wanted to cool off. What was advertised as a 20 minute wait turned into well over an hour. We were sweating and didn't get a drop of water on us, and I just thought the ride was incredibly short and lacking in theme for being a Disney ride. We left immediately after.

The third time (Dec 05), we at at Donald's Breakfastasaurus, which I actually enjoyed, then hit up Dinosaur, Chester/Hester area Kilimanjaro, and did some animals. Again it got really hot and we left.

The fourth and final time (May 2007) we went straight for E:E and got fast passes. We rode E:E twice (great ride), rode Dinosaur, Safari, Chester/Hester, and saw Nemo. I have to say that I know I'm in the minority but I just did not enjoy the Nemo Musical, and I'm a huge theater fan. I have two subscriptions to theaters around here... but Nemo was really over hyped to me. We honestly made an effort this time to walk around and soak up the atmosphere. We stopped and watched some puppet theater, interacted with DeVine... but by 2:00 my boyfriend was begging me to leave because again it was so humid and sticky and getting ridiculously crowded that we were not enjoying ourselves.

On our latest trip, we didn't even go at all. Not even to ride Everest again. I guess my point in writing all of this is to show that it's all a matter of taste I guess. I love animals so much and can spend a whole day at the zoo. I love shows. I love rides. I have given this park a number of tries and it just doesn't do it for me... sorry.

Oh, and yea, you may have noticed I never did Tough To Be A Bug.... I just hate bugs, lol. I've heard audio, and seen a video and that's good enough for me. I don't want to be stink bugged and just hearing buzzing in my ear freaks me out. And also Festival of the Lion King... I just don't have a desire to see it because I kind of grew up in the Lion King era, and while it's a great movie, I'm kind of "Lion King-ed out" if you know what I mean. Maybe you just had to be a kid at the time but LK was by far the most popular of that era of movies around here and I just saw it sooooo many times that I got tired of it and have no desire to see this show (although I never got tired of Beauty, Aladdin, or Mermaid. Lol.)

[MMouse6937]

Animal Kingdom opened on 4/12/98 if memory serves.....Earth Day i think...

So if you look at your calender...that means we are at the 10 year mark....

AK

Chester and Hester (aka "Terribleland")
Everest
The new Nemo Show

...that about covers it....you can't consider Asia an expansion because it was well under construction when the park opened...really just a delayed opening...like the world showcase at EPCOT

I have to say I disgree with a lot of what you've said, not that I don't think it's your right to say it. So many people don't get the "point" to Chester and Hesters and if they did I think they would really understand how much "imagineering" went into it. In my opinion, Disney doesn't throw anything together spur of the moment, things have been thought out for years and years, just as AK was. As a poster above said, the Finding Nemo musical is one, if not the best stage show on property. We were there in Sept aka SLOW season and the theater was PACKED. It's definately bringing people to the park, as is EE.

I go to WDW every year because I love everything Disney. I don't get involved in the politics of Eisner/Iger thing, money, etc. All big companies are like that, they have their problems. I love AK for all the detail and all the hard work Disney put into everything. Same with MGM, if you walk around and look at the boxes, trash cans, store fronts, this was not something that was "thrown" up spur of the moment, it all has a meaning and a place.
All the parks will continue to evolve and grow, that was always the point to WDW, DL, etc. I look forward to seeing everything that Disney has to offer, year after year.

OK, I''m done

[Gator]

Plus, as a father, you can't discount the entertainment value of the animals pooping. They think it's the funniest thing ever. There's even a youtube video of it floating around.

[Jonas_Swe]

I don't see AK as just another theme park. To me AK is a totally different experience. A park to take in a lot slowly than the other parks.

You can learn soo much from AK, and still have a good time. I see AK as Innovations in FW, but to nature and animals. You can touch, smell and at some places even get a taste of the world around us in AK.

At AK I not only allow myself to stop in my tracks, I even take a few step backwards at times. Just to get another sample at what I just have experienced. To let it sink in and learn something new from it.

So not only let AK take it's time to grow for you - Give yourself time to grow with AK!

[dumbo ears]

That is very well said. I think that Ak just gets better and better each year. I think its great right now but some hardcore disney fans just dont give it a chance.

[Magic Smiles]

I just love AK and could spend hours just watching the animals. Okay, I do spend hours watching the animals.

[Kairi_7378]

I love AK. I do agree that it can feel a little crowded and I am still having a hard time figuring out the best ways to wander from here to there. This is why DH doesn't care for the park as much as I do. I enjoy the level of detail that they put into the park. I read the Imagineers Guide to the Animal Kingdom right before my second trip and it really opened my eyes to some of the amazing details of the park.

[lockedoutlogic]

I have to say I disgree with a lot of what you've said, not that I don't think it's your right to say it. So many people don't get the "point" to Chester and Hesters and if they did I think they would really understand how much "imagineering" went into it. In my opinion, Disney doesn't throw anything together spur of the moment, things have been thought out for years and years, just as AK was. As a poster above said, the Finding Nemo musical is one, if not the best stage show on property. We were there in Sept aka SLOW season and the theater was PACKED. It's definately bringing people to the park, as is EE.

I go to WDW every year because I love everything Disney. I don't get involved in the politics of Eisner/Iger thing, money, etc. All big companies are like that, they have their problems. I love AK for all the detail and all the hard work Disney put into everything. Same with MGM, if you walk around and look at the boxes, trash cans, store fronts, this was not something that was "thrown" up spur of the moment, it all has a meaning and a place.
All the parks will continue to evolve and grow, that was always the point to WDW, DL, etc. I look forward to seeing everything that Disney has to offer, year after year.

OK, I''m done

now here is where the reality of eisney/iger type things comes really into play


Animal Kingdom's attendance was strong for the first couple of years....through the "millenium celebration"....

then the wheels started to fall off and the attractions executives began to worry....they seriously thought that they had built this huge park (largest of any disney park) and that it would yield a full share of the attendance and a strong fan club type following that Magic Kingdom and EPCOT developed over the years....

but their feedback told them otherwise: not enough facilities.....limited attractions.....camp minnie/mickey and rafiki's planet watch were generating little interest....not enough thrills...not enough animals.....

In fact....as many will remember in Florida/ Georgia....Disney launched it's "Nah-ta-zu" tv promos to try and alter the perception that people had coming into the park.....

long story short: the WDW resort started a decline in attendance and revenue in early 2001...that's right....before anything happened in lower manhattan....

The end of the millenium thing seemed to knock down the repeat visitors....hotel bookings lagged....revenues were down.

things such as cirque du soleil were practically begging people to come.....there were enhanced florida resident benefits to try to get people to generate more visists (the play 4...4 day tickets for 99 dollars....was one i remember....regular gate price was 52.50 at the time)

animal kingdom....with the gates emptying around 1 pm....people skipping the dining and merchandise altogether....and the less than spectacular list of attractions....was a prime concern....

Chester and Hester went from idea to opeining day in around 6 months in 01-02......

if you know anything about WDI...that would be a tip that something was up in itself...

it features no food....a retheme of an existing giftshop....if features 2 outside, above ground...off the shelf rides (primeval whirl and triceratop spin are not custome designed rides.....magic carpet of aladdin went in the same time as well.....brought from the inventory of existing, european amusement park ride companies)...and some "game booths".....

does any of that sound like a disney designed, intentionally planned, expansion?

The reason is....it was not.....it was a quick stopgap meant to add some juice into the park to control the bleeding.....and buy time for "bigger things".....everest was surely in design by 02....

it didnt' work...and animal kingdom's numbers....while solid because of a 5 year mob decending on the whole property.....are not near what disney wants them to be.....


Some of this is a reasonable hypothesis based on what i've seen.....
....some is fact....the idea of chester and hester was told to me and some other CMs when the then head of Walt Disney Attractions....who later went on to be the CEO of a retail chain that is in every mall in america...and has since been canned.....while this VP was on a tour of our offices in WDW....

That solid enough information for you?


But my intention is not to throw mud or drop the hammer on anyone....i'm just trying to state my case:

1. Animal Kingdom opened too early without a solid enough group of attractions and facilities to make it a full day destination
2. Disney executives have long since been aware of this.....but the feeling you got shortly after the parks opening is that they thought they had done a better job.
3. Money and profit was a big factor in it...and had been to Eisner and the Disney Board from about 1994 on (you may see the reference there).
4. We don't know if they intend for Animal Kingdom to be a "big" park like EPCOT or MK....that may depend on it's profit margin...and low attendace numbers could pigeon hole it with the "light" disney parks that have been constructed since MGM opened.
5. AK....while interesting and a park I like...can't stand up in the raw volume, quality, or variety of things offered to EPCOT or MK....it just can't.....unless guests are allowed to walk through the safari and then swim with the hippos....there just isn't enough.

my point on saying what the parks have added in the first 10 years was to illustrate that since the 1980's they have placed less emphasis on adding to the parks that have just opened......a "it's good enough" attitude.

Chester and Hester was a stopgap....that's a fact....

Nemo is a nice show....but it replaced an unpopular show in Tarzan that needed the axe....

They have added their first full service restaurant inside the gates only a few months ago

Everest is great......but that leaves them with only 3 "prime time" attractions for those who like the E tickets in the park (that's the safari...everest....and dinosaur).....kali river rapids is a bad water ride....primeval whirl is a kiddie coaster that you could easily find on a boardwalk in Jersey or at Myrtle Beach....

So after all that....I stand by my argument

[Ian]

I'll never understand why AK fans take it so personally when other people say they don't like it.

Look ... it's just not for me, okay? It's no knock on those who like it. Different strokes for different folks, right?

I find it dull and boring. You hit the nail on the head. In fact, until they built Everest and the Nemo show, I avoided AK like the plague. I paid for admission as part of my AP and never used it for years.

I'm just not really into the whole zoo thing (and yes ... no matter what they say ... Itzazu) in my theme parks. I never really dug the drive through safari at Great Adventure either.

And yeah, as Lockedoutlogic said ... it's 10 years old. I'm through waiting for them to do something with it. Everest and Nemo were nice additions, I'll give you that. But it's still no more than a once a trip, half-day park IMO.

Anyway, to those who love AK ... more power to ya! You're getting more for your money than I am, that's for sure.

[lockedoutlogic]

I'll never understand why AK fans take it so personally when other people say they don't like it.

Look ... it's just not for me, okay? It's no knock on those who like it. Different strokes for different folks, right?

I find it dull and boring. You hit the nail on the head. In fact, until they built Everest and the Nemo show, I avoided AK like the plague. I paid for admission as part of my AP and never used it for years.

I'm just not really into the whole zoo thing (and yes ... no matter what they say ... Itzazu) in my theme parks. I never really dug the drive through safari at Great Adventure either.

And yeah, as Lockedoutlogic said ... it's 10 years old. I'm through waiting for them to do something with it. Everest and Nemo were nice additions, I'll give you that. But it's still no more than a once a trip, half-day park IMO.

Anyway, to those who love AK ... more power to ya! You're getting more for your money than I am, that's for sure.

nice statement...but you really need 5000 words of fluff thrown in on top of your point to "jazz it up a little"

like i do

[MMouse6937]

OK, well anyways, it's not taking the whole AK thing personally, I just think that I love Disney, as a whole, flaws and all. Not looking for the "strong argument", not looking to argue at all quite frankly. There are always things about WDW that won't be my favorite or the best, but they are part of the experience and why I go every year. Can't imagine a day that AK isn't WAY more exciting than being at work, flaws and all. So it is what it is, not your guys piece of cake, oh well...I love it as is and I'm sure if Disney wasn't making money, and we weren't on this chat board talking about Disney and people weren't renewing their APs then there would be some big changes, but until then, I just like to see what comes next!

[Ian]

Can't imagine a day that AK isn't WAY more exciting than being at work, flaws and all.

But that's not the choice. If it was, then yes ... I'd choose a day in AK.

However, the choice is actually between a day in AK or a day in MK, Epcot, DHS, and even Sea World, Universal, or Islands of Adventure.

And, if I had my way, I'd probably choose a day in any of those over a day in AK.

[SurferStitch]

OK, well anyways, it's not taking the whole AK thing personally, I just think that I love Disney, as a whole, flaws and all. Not looking for the "strong argument", not looking to argue at all quite frankly. There are always things about WDW that won't be my favorite or the best, but they are part of the experience and why I go every year. Can't imagine a day that AK isn't WAY more exciting than being at work, flaws and all. So it is what it is, not your guys piece of cake, oh well...I love it as is and I'm sure if Disney wasn't making money, and we weren't on this chat board talking about Disney and people weren't renewing their APs then there would be some big changes, but until then, I just like to see what comes next!

Very well said!

I don't need to analyze, analyze, and over analyze everything Disney has (or doesn't have) to offer. I don't need to write theme papers, novels, or a thesis about about why a Disney park is horrible (all of the parks are wonderful in their own way). I feel I get an amazing value out of our AP's because every park is more than worth the price of admission.

All I know is, we love to relax at AK and enjoy EVERYTHING it has to offer. Like someone else posted, I couldn't care less about the politics, or Iger, or Eisner (who actually saved the Disney name years ago, but we all seem to forget the good he did and dwell on the bad), or feel that they didn't spend enough on an attraction. I just know that when I'm back at work, I wish I could be back watching the gorillas and tigers. I wish I could be strolling along a lush path. I wish I was eating at the Yak and Yeti. I wish I was on safari. I don't sit here complaining about a resort that I have no problem forking thousands of dollars to each year.

Disney must be doing something right...the park was pretty full when we were there in December, including camp Minnie Mickey (character greeting lines were easily 30-40 minutes long). AK is far from a failure for Disney.

[Mrs. Bee]

Saw a few posts about people thinking AK was boring, maybe not enough attractions and so forth. Just give AK some more time, its still growing. When MGM first opened, the most exciting ride was Star Tours, alot of people thought MGM was dull too, but as the parks evolve they get more and more exciting, and AK is a new concept in themeparks, let Disney grow it

I still need to read the whole thread but I wanted to comment first.

Animal Kingdom is my second favorite Disney park (Disneyland claims the first spot.) We went there for the first time this January and loved it the most out of the WDW parks. There may not be a lot of rides...but the scenery was so pretty. We took tons of photos around the park. Of course, I think Expedition Everest helped a lot too. We went on that a few times each day we were at the park.

Before going to AK I didn't really expect much because I kept reading that it wasn't that great and it was just a "half day park." Not true for us! We spent one full day there and then half of another day there....and still found that wasn't enough. The next time we're able to make a trip back...we'll probably plan more AK time (and less MGM/DHS time....that was the park we weren't impressed with. Not much to do and the theming was kind of dull for us. I considered it a less fun version of California Adventure.)

[emmingo]

I like it...but it seems like it could be a whole lot more. The "idea" of the park is really cool...and its definitely one of the few Disney parks (the only other one I can think of is DisneySea in Tokyo) where the atmosphere really takes you away, and where the park itself becomes an attraction. I don't even mind Chester & Hester...it reminds me so much of Americana and even though it was clearly done quickly and cheaply, I think it captures the mid-century midway/roadstop attraction idea very well.

That said, I think there are major problems with the park. Everyone comes to the parks for different reasons, and I think this is not the kind of park for people who like to ride. There are not enough "fast and exciting" E-tickets, and one of them, Kali River Rapids, actually creates so many problems (wet, soaked!) that you have to weigh the possibility of walking around soaking and freezing against the ride itself, which is kind of lame. Disney DEFINITELY needs to rethink the execution...

But like MGM, I think things are in the planning stages right now. Now that Eisners gone and there are Disney family members involved again, things should get better (*crosses fingers*).

[poeticeclipse]

AK is my least favorite park of the four. It has NOTHING at all to do with animals. I'm a huge animal lover (heck, i'm a vegetarian!) It's just... AK doesn't have tons to do and for some reason... just being there makes me antsy. Maybe it's the layout. I guess I just feel like it's just so small (even though its the largest park)....

Gosh, i'm rambling and i'm not even sure why AK is my least favorite... it just is. It's a half day park for me. If they added more to each land I might enjoy them more. It just seems like quite a trek to walk from EE all the way to Camp Minnie Mickey just to make the Lion King show. Then when the show is done there's nothing else to do there. Maybe layout is the problem.....

Ugh, i'm rambling again. I'm done for now.

[Mrs. Bee]

Saw a few posts about people thinking AK was boring, maybe not enough attractions and so forth. Just give AK some more time, its still growing. When MGM first opened, the most exciting ride was Star Tours, alot of people thought MGM was dull too, but as the parks evolve they get more and more exciting, and AK is a new concept in themeparks, let Disney grow it

I went to MGM in 1991 and found it incredibly dull. When my family returned in 1995 we skipped MGM all together. Made it back there this January and thought it was almost as dull as it was in 1991. I liked Rock N Rollercoaster. The rest was just "eh" to me. I'd take AK over MGM any day of the week.

california adventure is a disaster you almost can't put into words
pathetic....

I know it's not on the topic of AK. But I'm curious to think why you dislike California Adventure so much? And also, how many times have you been there?

Warning: I think I'm about to write a novel!

I think that I have just had extremely bad luck with AK. )

So I read your whole post (didn't quote it all though.) Sounds like you have had bad experiences. But a lot of your trouble seemed to be weather and crowds...which I'm sure you experienced at the other parks so I wouldn't think it would have a huge effect on AK. We went in January and waited in barely any lines and the weather was awesome. It's my favorite park at WDW. So yeah...definitely a matter of taste.

Did the weather and crowds bother you at other parks as well?

[Quest4fun]

Since I normally write a novel on what I think about things I'll do my best to keep it as brief as I possibly can.

I think first and foremost a lot of it has to do with the time of year you go since a lot of people seemed to have more of a problem with the crowds and the weather which really isn't Disney's fault and I'm sure they're working on a solution to the weather.

We hit it up in January and made a return trip because we liked it so much. We're suckers for detail and ambience so we spent a great deal of time just walking around and taking in the incredible detail that was put into this park. Combine that with Expedition Everest, Dinosaur, and Kilimanjaro Safari for a fantastic, though limited ride experience. The zoo aspects of it were also top notch and we never ran out of things to look at.

Out of all the Disney World parks I found this one to be our favorite. I put Magic Kingdom lower on my list since I'm a Disneyland veteran and once again I have to go with detail and cleanliness over rides and attractions.

Looks like I still wrote a novel. Oh well. I just thought some people might like as many different experiences as possible. Don't sell it short until you have a chance to visit it. If you like scenery you'll love the park. It's only going to get better and better. Go in January to avoid crowds and heat.

[Imagineer1981]

To me AK is on the up and up. If they added 1 more spectacular E Ticket attraction and changed to a better parade it would be hard for me to not call it in my top 2 favorite parks!

I have to disagree about the parade...Jamin in the Jungle is awesome!!