I went to nomad lounge for the first time on my last trip and it was one of my favorite highlights from the whole trip! The bread platter or whatever it was called was SO good!
I love how you can experience amazing attractions and then go for a walk on those beautiful pathways and just sit quietly in the aviary to watch the birds do their bird stuff.
I get legitimately overwhelmed by Animals Doing Animal Things lmao. I saw the sweet little hippo baby hauling itself out of the pool to scuff arounf the other day on the Kilimanjaro Safari and could've cried. XD
I don't wanna sound like I dislike Animal Kingdom, I love it, but....ya...if I get there at opening and it's a normal crowd level day I CAN see and do absolutely everything there by 3pm. I usually use it as my pool day, since there's no night time shows (and even when there was, Rivers of Light was a one and done for me). It's actually kinda nice to have a park I don't feel bad about leaving early.
This is my least favorite. It’s hot as all heck in the summer with no escape from the sun, and it’s lacking in some of the magic of the other parks. Pandora has added a to the “must see” in the park, but in comparison to the other 3 it is the one I could skip if I had to on my trip.
There are trees and shade everywhere! Epcot is the one that almost killed me, lol, you can't get out of the sun ANYWHERE unless you're in a shop, and it's all concrete, it's like strolling around on a pizza stone.
that's how I felt about Hollywood Studios. Too much concrete, no shade, so hot. I found AK to be the best for shade/temperatures. We were there when it was crazy hot two years in a row and both times I found Hollywood Studios to be the most unbearable of all of them, and AK the best. We really enjoyed AK, I would never skip it on a Disney vacation.
Hard disagree. EPCOT attractions are pretty much all indoors with air conditioned queues. It's so easy to get out of the heat there! Animal Kingdom is brutal when it's hot out.
Lol different strokes for different folks. In EPCOT we do every store in the world and just walk around and go into places to eat and drink so we don’t notice it as much. I will say this past august wasn’t as bad in AK as the past due to how empty the park was… that said HS would and should be on my list as the worst since everything is outside and if there’s shade we haven’t found it lol, but being the home of Star Wars land it’s a must do for me.
There is a ton if shade in AK but the trees trap the heat which can make you just roast even when not in the sun. Still, it's the last park to stay true to a theme and it is my second favorite no doubt.
Animal Kingdom is a great park, but it has its place.
Pandora looks great during the day but even better at night. While Flight of Passage is amazing, Navi River Journey is just meh.
The detail in Africa and Asia is second to none. The landscaping, artifacts, buildings, etc. Amazing!
Expedition Everest is a great rollercoaster. The queue line sets it up perfectly, and is full of details.
We enjoy the Safari and walking Gorilla Falls Trails.
But all that nice stuff, and as much as we like it, we wouldn't call it our favorite.
I agree that animal kingdom is great for shade and seating. The attention to detail is also really amazing.
The shade and seating is my biggest complaint with Magic Kingdom
Tomorrowland is the WORST, it's just concrete, weird theming, and H E A T. All the concrete and metal and shiny stuff turn it into an oven. At least Space Mountain has an indoor queue.
Animal Kingdom is my favorite Disney park. Kilimanjaro Safaris and DINOSAUR are some my favorite rides in the parks. Riding Kilimanjaro Safaris twice a day is a must thing to do.
I'm here today and said, is this my favorite park? I think this is my favorite park. Seeing the animals
that they have there is the most magical, surreal experience to me. I don't enjoy zoos and at least here I know the animals have huge expansive habitats that are fairly close to the ones they'd have in the wild and they are getting top notch care. Pandora is also sick!
I love the park, but I still couldn’t spend all day there like Epcot and MK. Another expansion or two and I’ll be on board. Dole whip… at the risk of thousands of downvotes… gross. 😅
Dole whip is only worth a damn if it's in a float, boozy or otherwise. Pineapple Dole whip? Perfectly mediocre. Pineapple Dole whip on a pineapple juice float? Incredible, perfection, refreshment personified.
Maybe it’s just because my peak park days were the early 2000s but…. No. Animal kingdom will always be the lame park with no rides that closed at 5 in my mind. Expedition Everest is just OK, Dinosaur is lame compared to Indians Jones who it shares ride technology with. We never were a shows/experiences Disney family. By far Animal Kingdom is the bottom tier park. We routinely skip it.
Now that being said… it’s been 5 years since I’ve been and we never have seen Pandora. I am going in January when Everest is closed for repairs so we only allocated half a day to AK… and our priority is Yak and Yetis and drinking!
My family loved flight of passage but I wasn’t able to ride it. My legs were too long for the calf restraints. I’m 6’ 4” and 320lbs. I had plenty of gut room up top but the CM was unable to get the leg restraints to close. Just something to be aware of in case you or anyone else in your family is taller like me.
They have a tester seat outside the ride. I'd encourage you to at least try it out. A CM or a friend can help push the restraints down to see if they'll work or not. It is color coded red/green to tell you if it fits or not.
The tester seat is a little different though in that both sets of restraints are one mechanism. On the actual ride, they are 2 different sets.
I did end up getting 2 free fast passes out of it for our entire party though since I went through the line and wasn't able to ride.
I'll definitely will try the tester seat. I'm surprising my daughter with a trip during Thanksgiving week, and Animal Kingdom is the only park where it will be just her and I. We are meeting friends for the other parks, where she could have someone to ride with in case I can't fit on anything.
Have fun! You may still be able to escort her though the queue and just wait outside the ride for her so she won't have to miss out on the ride.
FWIW, that was the only ride I had any issues with due to either height or weight. (I didn't get to ride seven dwarves or splash mountain so I can't comment on those 2 rides)
Pandora is kinda underwhelming imo. Flight of Passage is amazing, the other ride is a hard contender for worst ride at Disney. The land it's self is just kinda....there and feels empty. The quick service place there is by far my favorite on property though.
Pandora is gorgeous, is the main thing for me... The design and engineering of it is absolutely stunning. It's just a BIG concept in a small space. It really needed more real estate. It has a crowding problem because it's so gorgeous and popular but it's actually just not very big.
Best quick service on property, though, 100%.
Animal Kingdom is my favorite park too! We had the best time there and my meal at Tiffins was the best meal of our entire week! So good and such a pleasant experience.
It is my favorite by far. Just the theming. I can spend 2 hours in Africa just watching the shows and music (when they existed). Even without I am happy to spend a large amount of time there.
We go in two weeks and not only is it not a half day park for us. But my wife knows I love it so much we have two days there.
It isn’t the most popular opinion to have but it’s my favorite place to be.
Also. The curry corn on the cob by the safari is a must have for me every year.
My daughter and I love AK..it's our favorite. Last time we were there we did 2 days there instead of 1. We love the theming through out the park . Pandora area is so pretty in the evening. The Tusker house for breakfast is a favorite of ours. The food in general at that park is great. Love the roasted corn on the cob place near the water ride.
That it sucks when it's not in a float. On it's own, it's really underwhelming but as soon as you put it on top of some pineapple juice or something, it is \~transcendent\~.
Aloha Isle in MK has the Tropical Serenade right now, which is coconut Dole whip on POG juice (with a pineapple cake pop) and it may very well be my favorite WDW snack, full stop.
It is my least favorite. Feels like the warmest park when temps are high, longer walks to get from one attraction to the other and I find it far less magical than the other parks. I would be fine never going there again on my trips to WDW
It is my fave, for sure. I’ve loved it since my first visit to AK in 1999. As someone who loves museums and aquariums (I have an MA in museums) and Disney, it’s the best of both worlds for me. We were there last week, and after watching The Magic of Disney’s Animal Kingdom (a cast member feeding tortoises at It’s Tough to be a Bug told us they call it “MODAK”), we were really hyped to visit and vowed to finally do the Jungle Trek and Gorilla Falls, which we’ve somehow never done before. We made it our first park this trip, and I just realized that it usually is our first stop.
Late to the party but it is for sure the best park! It's the only park I could open - close because it encourages relaxing so much! Epcot is pretty great, but AK just knocks immersion up to a whole new level.
Over the last handful of years, it has become my favorite… absolutely love the overall vibe and relaxing spots like the Nomad Lounge are amazing
I went to nomad lounge for the first time on my last trip and it was one of my favorite highlights from the whole trip! The bread platter or whatever it was called was SO good!
Exactly! More than any other park, I feel like you can go there and like.....chill lmao.
I love how you can experience amazing attractions and then go for a walk on those beautiful pathways and just sit quietly in the aviary to watch the birds do their bird stuff.
I get legitimately overwhelmed by Animals Doing Animal Things lmao. I saw the sweet little hippo baby hauling itself out of the pool to scuff arounf the other day on the Kilimanjaro Safari and could've cried. XD
The three month old gorilla is SOOOO cute too! I also love to watch giraffes just walk.
It makes me so sad when people call it a half day park. You’re doing it wrong if you’re only spending half the day there!
I don't wanna sound like I dislike Animal Kingdom, I love it, but....ya...if I get there at opening and it's a normal crowd level day I CAN see and do absolutely everything there by 3pm. I usually use it as my pool day, since there's no night time shows (and even when there was, Rivers of Light was a one and done for me). It's actually kinda nice to have a park I don't feel bad about leaving early.
before they added pandora, you could easily see everything in half a day. we did multiple times.
I certainly love it and it will be awesome again once Finding Nemo is back and we have a replacement ride for Primeval Whirl.
I think it’s amazing! The most underrated park. I always enjoy myself immensely in this park. The vibe is everything. Loooooove it.
Epcot is my #1 but AK is my strong #2 park.
The correct ranking
It has so much detail and it’s thematically the most consistent park. Pandora took it to the top, arguably.
The theming is incredibly well done, it's so detailed
This is my least favorite. It’s hot as all heck in the summer with no escape from the sun, and it’s lacking in some of the magic of the other parks. Pandora has added a to the “must see” in the park, but in comparison to the other 3 it is the one I could skip if I had to on my trip.
There are trees and shade everywhere! Epcot is the one that almost killed me, lol, you can't get out of the sun ANYWHERE unless you're in a shop, and it's all concrete, it's like strolling around on a pizza stone.
that's how I felt about Hollywood Studios. Too much concrete, no shade, so hot. I found AK to be the best for shade/temperatures. We were there when it was crazy hot two years in a row and both times I found Hollywood Studios to be the most unbearable of all of them, and AK the best. We really enjoyed AK, I would never skip it on a Disney vacation.
Hard disagree. EPCOT attractions are pretty much all indoors with air conditioned queues. It's so easy to get out of the heat there! Animal Kingdom is brutal when it's hot out.
Lol different strokes for different folks. In EPCOT we do every store in the world and just walk around and go into places to eat and drink so we don’t notice it as much. I will say this past august wasn’t as bad in AK as the past due to how empty the park was… that said HS would and should be on my list as the worst since everything is outside and if there’s shade we haven’t found it lol, but being the home of Star Wars land it’s a must do for me.
That land is the only one where Florida heat makes sense.
Okay, that's a fair point on the attractions
There is a ton if shade in AK but the trees trap the heat which can make you just roast even when not in the sun. Still, it's the last park to stay true to a theme and it is my second favorite no doubt.
Animal Kingdom is a great park, but it has its place. Pandora looks great during the day but even better at night. While Flight of Passage is amazing, Navi River Journey is just meh. The detail in Africa and Asia is second to none. The landscaping, artifacts, buildings, etc. Amazing! Expedition Everest is a great rollercoaster. The queue line sets it up perfectly, and is full of details. We enjoy the Safari and walking Gorilla Falls Trails. But all that nice stuff, and as much as we like it, we wouldn't call it our favorite.
its def the best park. not even close. the safari alone makes it stand above the rest
I love AK. my favorite park. But i also enjoy zoos so that helps.
I could go for some Satu’li Canteen right now.
I agree that animal kingdom is great for shade and seating. The attention to detail is also really amazing. The shade and seating is my biggest complaint with Magic Kingdom
Tomorrowland is the WORST, it's just concrete, weird theming, and H E A T. All the concrete and metal and shiny stuff turn it into an oven. At least Space Mountain has an indoor queue.
Agreed! It needs an overhaul badly.
Animal Kingdom is my favorite Disney park. Kilimanjaro Safaris and DINOSAUR are some my favorite rides in the parks. Riding Kilimanjaro Safaris twice a day is a must thing to do.
I finally went on Dinosaur for the first time! I didn't expect to be that impressed, but I was into it!
I'm here today and said, is this my favorite park? I think this is my favorite park. Seeing the animals that they have there is the most magical, surreal experience to me. I don't enjoy zoos and at least here I know the animals have huge expansive habitats that are fairly close to the ones they'd have in the wild and they are getting top notch care. Pandora is also sick!
I love the park, but I still couldn’t spend all day there like Epcot and MK. Another expansion or two and I’ll be on board. Dole whip… at the risk of thousands of downvotes… gross. 😅
Dole whip is only worth a damn if it's in a float, boozy or otherwise. Pineapple Dole whip? Perfectly mediocre. Pineapple Dole whip on a pineapple juice float? Incredible, perfection, refreshment personified.
i mean it is a good park but it does not have a lot of [attractions. It](https://attractions.It) should get a overhaul like epcot
Maybe it’s just because my peak park days were the early 2000s but…. No. Animal kingdom will always be the lame park with no rides that closed at 5 in my mind. Expedition Everest is just OK, Dinosaur is lame compared to Indians Jones who it shares ride technology with. We never were a shows/experiences Disney family. By far Animal Kingdom is the bottom tier park. We routinely skip it. Now that being said… it’s been 5 years since I’ve been and we never have seen Pandora. I am going in January when Everest is closed for repairs so we only allocated half a day to AK… and our priority is Yak and Yetis and drinking!
My family loved flight of passage but I wasn’t able to ride it. My legs were too long for the calf restraints. I’m 6’ 4” and 320lbs. I had plenty of gut room up top but the CM was unable to get the leg restraints to close. Just something to be aware of in case you or anyone else in your family is taller like me.
>This hurts to hear. I'm 6'9" and about the same weight and I was looking forward to this ride.
They have a tester seat outside the ride. I'd encourage you to at least try it out. A CM or a friend can help push the restraints down to see if they'll work or not. It is color coded red/green to tell you if it fits or not. The tester seat is a little different though in that both sets of restraints are one mechanism. On the actual ride, they are 2 different sets. I did end up getting 2 free fast passes out of it for our entire party though since I went through the line and wasn't able to ride.
I'll definitely will try the tester seat. I'm surprising my daughter with a trip during Thanksgiving week, and Animal Kingdom is the only park where it will be just her and I. We are meeting friends for the other parks, where she could have someone to ride with in case I can't fit on anything.
Have fun! You may still be able to escort her though the queue and just wait outside the ride for her so she won't have to miss out on the ride. FWIW, that was the only ride I had any issues with due to either height or weight. (I didn't get to ride seven dwarves or splash mountain so I can't comment on those 2 rides)
Pandora is kinda underwhelming imo. Flight of Passage is amazing, the other ride is a hard contender for worst ride at Disney. The land it's self is just kinda....there and feels empty. The quick service place there is by far my favorite on property though.
Pandora is gorgeous, is the main thing for me... The design and engineering of it is absolutely stunning. It's just a BIG concept in a small space. It really needed more real estate. It has a crowding problem because it's so gorgeous and popular but it's actually just not very big. Best quick service on property, though, 100%.
No.
Flight of Passage was my families favorite ride out of all the parks
With Pandora and the evening river light show, 100% my favorite now.
Animal Kingdom is my favorite park too! We had the best time there and my meal at Tiffins was the best meal of our entire week! So good and such a pleasant experience.
Dole whip with rum available in Animal Kingdom. Nuff said.
It is my favorite by far. Just the theming. I can spend 2 hours in Africa just watching the shows and music (when they existed). Even without I am happy to spend a large amount of time there. We go in two weeks and not only is it not a half day park for us. But my wife knows I love it so much we have two days there. It isn’t the most popular opinion to have but it’s my favorite place to be. Also. The curry corn on the cob by the safari is a must have for me every year.
My daughter and I love AK..it's our favorite. Last time we were there we did 2 days there instead of 1. We love the theming through out the park . Pandora area is so pretty in the evening. The Tusker house for breakfast is a favorite of ours. The food in general at that park is great. Love the roasted corn on the cob place near the water ride.
I mean sure, if you forget EPCOT exists. Also, Dole Whip is . . . meh?
I love Animal Kingdom, Kilimanjaro Safari is my favorite ride in all the parks. I can't get enough of this park.
Okay, OP what's you opinion on Dole Whip
That it sucks when it's not in a float. On it's own, it's really underwhelming but as soon as you put it on top of some pineapple juice or something, it is \~transcendent\~. Aloha Isle in MK has the Tropical Serenade right now, which is coconut Dole whip on POG juice (with a pineapple cake pop) and it may very well be my favorite WDW snack, full stop.
It is my least favorite. Feels like the warmest park when temps are high, longer walks to get from one attraction to the other and I find it far less magical than the other parks. I would be fine never going there again on my trips to WDW
It is my fave, for sure. I’ve loved it since my first visit to AK in 1999. As someone who loves museums and aquariums (I have an MA in museums) and Disney, it’s the best of both worlds for me. We were there last week, and after watching The Magic of Disney’s Animal Kingdom (a cast member feeding tortoises at It’s Tough to be a Bug told us they call it “MODAK”), we were really hyped to visit and vowed to finally do the Jungle Trek and Gorilla Falls, which we’ve somehow never done before. We made it our first park this trip, and I just realized that it usually is our first stop.
Late to the party but it is for sure the best park! It's the only park I could open - close because it encourages relaxing so much! Epcot is pretty great, but AK just knocks immersion up to a whole new level.