If you could only go to 3 parks....

mindflipper · Post by **mindflipper** » Feb Wed 03, 2010 12:41 pm

I always felt the AK has the least to offer - especially compared to MK.

joeyflds · Post by **joeyflds** » Feb Wed 03, 2010 12:59 pm

before the wife and i went our honeymoon last year to disney, neither one of us had been in over 10 years, therefore wed never been to AK. I can not imagine even stepping foot in AK before EE was there. IMO it lacks a lot of things.

Mousekedude · Post by **Mousekedude** » Feb Wed 03, 2010 1:00 pm

mindflipper wrote:I always felt the AK has the least to offer - especially compared to MK.

It actually surprises me that you would say that, seeing as how you're such an animal lover. Now, to be fair, there's no question that MK is the centerpiece and main attraction of the whole shebang, so AK can't compare to it on the same level as far as "Disney-esque" excitement. However, it's all about what you go to WDW to see and experience. Some prefer the crowds and non-stop action, while others prefer a more laid-back, back-to-nature getaway. I definitely want the whole MK and Epcot experience, but then I want to balance it out with a little appreciation-for-nature-and-animals thing. So while I do love all the parks, if I had to pick only three, I would leave out DHS because even though I do enjoy the whole hyper-hollywood-TV-movies-crowd thing at DHS to a certain extent, I would rather miss that than miss a chance to get back to nature. AK is especially cool at night. And IMHO, the "Tough to be a Bug" show, the "Finding Nemo" show, Expedition Everest, Dinosaur, the "Flights of Wonder" show, the "Lion King" show, and all kinds of other stuff are just as fun and exciting as anything in DHS.

I guess we're all just the same in some ways, and different in others, aren't we?

mindflipper · Post by **mindflipper** » Feb Wed 03, 2010 1:30 pm

Yes, I'm an animal lover, but as far as AK as a zoo - I've seen better. San Deigo Zoo. The Atlanta Zoo. Heck, even Mirage's Secret Garden of Sigfried & Roy was better. When I did that safari ride, not only was it needlessly bumpy and uncomfortable (which made it pain to take photos) but you couldn't see half the animals either. I've heard that they made some improvements on that, but most people I know who have been feel disappointed on the whole animal watching/encounter experience. I was.

Mousekedude · Post by **Mousekedude** » Feb Wed 03, 2010 1:43 pm

Well, it's not meant to be a zoo. It's meant to be more of a "natural habitat" experience, which by nature means it may sometimes be a little hard to see all the animals up close. But if you do catch it at a good time, it can really be amazing, as my sweetie noted in our trip report.

mindflipper · Post by **mindflipper** » Feb Wed 03, 2010 2:02 pm

Many zoos have the "natural habitat" experience too - they have a better way of allowing you to see them than I remember at AK.

Mousekedude · Post by **Mousekedude** » Feb Wed 03, 2010 2:06 pm

Well, I'm sorry you haven't been able to enjoy AK as much as we have. Hopefully on your next trip it will be better for you.

withspirit · Post by **withspirit** » Feb Thu 04, 2010 4:22 pm

I will just skip the park with the "early opening" or "late night " hours (it is always the most crowed) but I can't leave out one park entirely.

Even if I just go for one attraction, I try to make all four each trip.

Jacca5660 · Post by **Jacca5660** » Feb Thu 04, 2010 4:26 pm

Ak is at best a half day park. At worst a lets go to what we like and get to a real park!

I'm from New York city, if I want to see a zoo, I'll look out of the train window on the way to the Bronx Zoo!

This is sort of like people being excited about Test Track...I drive through Atlanta's connector on the way to WDW. Enough said!

For those who know me...YES I AM IN A MOOD!

SimonTemplar · Post by **SimonTemplar** » Feb Sun 28, 2010 4:44 pm

For me this is a no-brainer. I go MK, Epcot, and DHS. AK is an OK park, but not high on my list. At most, it's a half day visit for me. Even with Everest, there's just not enough to draw me to that park on a regular basis. If we visited every year or so, I could probably stand to skip it every other time. I like the park, but it just hasn't "grabbed" me like most Disney parks do. We went to AK the first year it opened and I thought it was cool, after that the uniqueness wore off for me.

Polynesian Princess · Post by **Polynesian Princess** » Feb Sun 28, 2010 5:25 pm

We actually had this situation last December - could only go to three parks because we were there on a two night trip and didn't want to spend the money for hoppers for so short a trip. We went to Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom. We had wanted to go to Epcot because of all the holiday things, but it was waaaaaaaaay too crowded that day for some reason, so we ended up doing Hollywood Studios instead.

So generally, our three would be MK, AK, and HS because we love thrill rides, but on the holidays it would be MK, AK, and EP.

Arete · Post by **Arete** » Mar Mon 01, 2010 12:16 am

For me, as much as I love the Animal Kingdom, it would be the park left out. Whenever I visit my family and I tend to take the AK in small bits during the stay, an afternoon here, a morning there, an extra magic hours if possible. We never stay for the whole day. The Studios is often the same in that we rarely spend the whole day there, but I can't imagine making it down to WDW and not getting to ride ToT. And if it's December then the Studios is a must see.

Pluto23 · Post by **Pluto23** » Mar Mon 01, 2010 7:05 am

YIKES - My AK is taking a beat down. I do agree that since it closes early that it makes for a difficult fit in this scenerio. AK is our favorite park. We really enjoy exploring and discovering areas and sites all around the park. Just enough attractions to mix with the designed areas.

Of course, opinions vary, and everyone has one about their favorite areas. Due to hours, I can't argue skipping, but I would have a hard tme making that choice.

Jacca5660 · Post by **Jacca5660** » Mar Mon 01, 2010 1:52 pm

Pluto23 wrote:YIKES - My AK is taking a beat down. I do agree that since it closes early that it makes for a difficult fit in this scenerio. AK is our favorite park. We really enjoy exploring and discovering areas and sites all around the park. Just enough attractions to mix with the designed areas.

Of course, opinions vary, and everyone has one about their favorite areas. Due to hours, I can't argue skipping, but I would have a hard tme making that choice.

I can't see even thinking about AK if I could only go to three parks. If it were down to one it would be EPCOT!!! Like has been said AK is a half day park at best!

imaginationcelebration · Post by **imaginationcelebration** » Mar Mon 01, 2010 8:13 pm

Ah..this one is an easy one for me...I'd skip the Disney Hollywood Studios. The only thing there that really interests me is the ToT and the Rockin Roller Coaster, while all other parks have interesting things to do and see in all of their areas.