Must Sees at Animal Kingdom?
Jan 2nd, 2009, 05:41 PM
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Must Sees at Animal Kingdom?
What are the must sees/must dos at Animal Kingdom? We are going with a 4 and 2 year old in a few weeks. Best attractions for them? Best places to eat? Best shows? Things to avoid? Any secrets most guests arent aware of?
Thanks for all advice!
Thanks for all advice!
Jan 3rd, 2009, 03:49 AM
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Our kids are 8 and 2 and the older one has been going to AK for years. Must sees for that age include Kilamanjaro Safari (get there early or use Fastpass), the Festival of the Lion King show, the Nemo show and the It's Tough to Be a Bug show (inside the Tree of Life).
Definitely hit The Boneyard play area to let the kids run around a bit, and be sure to go across the bridge there to the "sand" pit (really some sort of tiny pebbles) where the kids can dig up a mammoth skeleton.
The two major "trails" for viewing animals are in Asia, where the featured animal is tigers, and Africa, with gorillas (but also with birds, bats, naked mole rats and others). Lots of folks just rush by these for the rides and shows but they're really well done, and you can just walk in.
Another overlooked area is the Rafiki's Planet Watch area. You have to take a train there (from near the exit to the Safari ride), so it takes a chunk of time, but if you have the time it's worthwhile. Go in the closets with the "3D" sounds, maybe get a chance to watch the vetrinarians at work, hit the petting zoo. They also regularly bring animals out for a closer look.
Avoid Triceratops Spin, a Dumbo-like ride, not worth the wait.
Flights of Wonder, the bird show, is surprising well done (no cockatoos riding bikes), but you might save that one for another visit.
Your kids likely will be too small for the height restrictions in Dinosaur and Everest (scary anyway) and Kali River Rapids (that one's 38 inches, maybe your 4 yo is big enough), so you can avoid those.
The Tusker House buffet has standard kid offerings but also some African-spiced things that might appeal to the parents. Pizzafari is decent counter service. Some folks rave about Flame Tree barbecue (they have some nice outside seating by the water), also counter service, but we've never tried it. Avoid Rainforest Cafe.
Definitely hit The Boneyard play area to let the kids run around a bit, and be sure to go across the bridge there to the "sand" pit (really some sort of tiny pebbles) where the kids can dig up a mammoth skeleton.
The two major "trails" for viewing animals are in Asia, where the featured animal is tigers, and Africa, with gorillas (but also with birds, bats, naked mole rats and others). Lots of folks just rush by these for the rides and shows but they're really well done, and you can just walk in.
Another overlooked area is the Rafiki's Planet Watch area. You have to take a train there (from near the exit to the Safari ride), so it takes a chunk of time, but if you have the time it's worthwhile. Go in the closets with the "3D" sounds, maybe get a chance to watch the vetrinarians at work, hit the petting zoo. They also regularly bring animals out for a closer look.
Avoid Triceratops Spin, a Dumbo-like ride, not worth the wait.
Flights of Wonder, the bird show, is surprising well done (no cockatoos riding bikes), but you might save that one for another visit.
Your kids likely will be too small for the height restrictions in Dinosaur and Everest (scary anyway) and Kali River Rapids (that one's 38 inches, maybe your 4 yo is big enough), so you can avoid those.
The Tusker House buffet has standard kid offerings but also some African-spiced things that might appeal to the parents. Pizzafari is decent counter service. Some folks rave about Flame Tree barbecue (they have some nice outside seating by the water), also counter service, but we've never tried it. Avoid Rainforest Cafe.
Jan 3rd, 2009, 12:29 PM
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It's Tough to Be a Bug and the safari were the two favorite things in the park for 5 out of 5 of my grandkids. The 3 year old wanted to do it again.
It didn't freak out any kids when I was there. I love looking at that Tree of Life. They had fun pointing out all the animals they could find in the carvings.
It didn't freak out any kids when I was there. I love looking at that Tree of Life. They had fun pointing out all the animals they could find in the carvings.
Jan 3rd, 2009, 01:08 PM
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I've seen Tough to be a Bug probably 5 or 6 times. Every time at least one under 4 year old has been crying at the end. It's actually a great, fun show, but the room gets plunged into darkness at one point and the special effects seem to be a bit too much for some younger children. Of course, etaner, you know better than any of us how your kids would enjoy it!
Don't miss Festival of the Lion King which is just great. The animals are much more active first thing in the morning, so if your kids want to see lots of animals, do the Safari ride first thing in the morning.
Flame Tree Barbecue is my favorite - the food is nothing memorable, but the setting is great as long as you're not there during the summer months. Tusker House has good African-themed food with good old mac and cheese, pbj, etc for the kids.
Don't miss Festival of the Lion King which is just great. The animals are much more active first thing in the morning, so if your kids want to see lots of animals, do the Safari ride first thing in the morning.
Flame Tree Barbecue is my favorite - the food is nothing memorable, but the setting is great as long as you're not there during the summer months. Tusker House has good African-themed food with good old mac and cheese, pbj, etc for the kids.
Jan 3rd, 2009, 05:55 PM
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The Nemo show is also excellent and worth seeing. Pizzafari, as mentioned, was pretty good standard fare. We did eat a turkey sandwich at another counter service (so sorry, can't remember the name, but it was just a window type thing) and it was pretty bad. Yak and Yeti, the counter service, was a bit more interesting. My kids really like the parade at Animal Kingdom. They also enjoyed the street performers. Dinosaur scared the wits out of the 5 and 3 year olds - don't recommend it for 4 and 2 year olds, although you know your children best. If you arrive early, there are often quite a bit of characters to the right outside of the entrance gates where you can take pictures. Inside there are also nice spots for character pictures in Camp Minnie-Mickey, I think it is called that.
