Tomi

Has anyone been to the new Animal Kingdom at Walt Disne World? I'll be there next month and I'd appreciate any tips or suggestions anyone may have. I've been to WDW many times, just not Animal Kingdom. Thanks!

Teresa

We went to Animal Kingdom in May and we really loved the place. You have to keep in mind that it is a different atmosphere from the other parks, not a whole lot of thriller rides such as MK. Get to the park earlier would be my suggestion. We arrived around 7:15am and left around 11:30am, with the amount of time we spent there we weren't able to see everything. We had a small child to accomodate plus it got real busy and hot around the time we left. The Lion King show was amazing, a must see. The Jungle Book show was great. The safari was good, the animals seemed to be out and around. My husband and I loved the place and would definetly go back in the future. My next door neighbor was somewhat disappointed, but I think it had to do with her expectations. It is a different theme park and I think they did a wonderful job with it. The rainforest cafe is a nice place to eat. The food was great and the decor was amazing. I know I am leaving out alot, but I seem to forget things with time. When everyone hit the theme park they all raced back to do the safari first, before the lines got long which meant that the wait got longer earlier. The employess of the park tried to encourage the visitors to try other attractions first b/c there was no wait, but everyone was in a bee line to the safari. Apparently the wait gets pretty long but starts to get shorter later in the afternoon b/c everyone has already been on it and the lines to the other attractions get longer late morning and the rest of the day. If it is going to be an all day affair I would recommend getting there first thing in the morning, leaving around lunch time for R&R and returning later in the afternoon. (I can't remember when the park closes.)

Steve

The Festival of the Lion King is an absolute must! An awesome and in your face show!

Otherwise, I was slightly disappointed in the Animal Kingdom. The river boat tour is uninspiring. And the Rainforest Cafe is a 2-hour wait. Kilimanjaro Safari is fair, but you don't get very close to the animals and there is no feeding of animals.

Does not compare with the San Diego Wild Animal Park's Safari, which is incredible. The Wild Animal Park is about 30 miles north of San Diego, nearer to Escondido, CA. For $75 (5-6 years ago), you go with @ 8-12 others into the acres-wide enclosures on the back of a truck to feed giraffes, pet rhinos and see wildlife up close and personal. You must be 16 and make reservations months ahead, but it's well worth it.

l.martin

Returned from our 2nd WDW trip on July 3rd. Animal Kingdom was great! I heard some people did not enjoy it but perhaps because it is different! Rainforest Cafe is bigger that the one at Downtown Disney and really is fun to go to. The park opens at 7am and closes at 8pm. Get there when it opens if you can. We did a morning and evening safari (yes everyone runs there in the morning!) and the evening one had more wildlife (we went at 7pm). The train ride over to conservation station was neat. the 3-D movie "It's a Bug's Life" at the Tree of Life was so good we saw it twice--the best 3-d I've ever seen! Countdown to Extinction ride was so cool--Jungle Book show was cute. Did not dig in sand for dinosaur bones (yuck--hot,sandy,)
We loved it! Of course Asia section not open till next year--too bad....
have a great trip!

Tomi

THANKS, guys, for all your tips and suggestions. Is Rainforest Cafe open all day and is it a full-service restaurant? I've been to WDW 5 times, but this will be first time to AK. What's really exciting is that I'm taking my friend's 11-yr-old boy with and it's his first time to WDW. I can hardly wait to show him everything! I've done the Polynesian luau, the Hoop-Dee-Doo Revue, the character dinner at Liberty Tree restaurant in Magic Kingdom and the character breakfast at the Grand Floridian. Can anyone recommend any other shows or character dinners?

ilisa

My husband and I were at AK in April for its sneak preview and loved it. I can't add anything more to what everyone else has said; everyone has given great information. Crystal Palace in the Magic Kingdom has a good character breakfast with Winnie the Pooh and friends. We also enjoy the character breakfast at Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary (no, we don't have children - we're just big kids at heart). Rainforest Cafe is open all day. They don't take reservations and the wait can, and probably will, be long. It is quite visually stimulating, and noisy, in that you are seated in what is made to look and sound like a rainforest. You may have a gorilla hanging over your head, or an elephant next to your table. I've been to Disney 17 times, so if there is anything I can help you with, please let me know, though it seems like you know the parks really well. Have a great trip.

l.martin

tomi: just another suggestion: Rainforest Cafe does a character breakfast at Animal Kingdom. One person I talked with said it was a buffet breakfast (which seem the better in my opinion) and was very much fun. This time we did the Cinderella's Castle breakfast since we had done much the same as you have and the kids liked it because it was in the castle and THAT was the only thing I liked! The kids ate the food but I thought it was one of the worst I've ever had! Straight fare: instant eggs, greasy bacon,waffles, strong coffee--but pretty good fruit so I loaded up on that (they don't mind "seconds"). But, have to admit, it was FUN being in "The Castle". Also, I just called the day we arrived for character breakfast and everything was open. Have a great time!!