We had one day to visit Animal Kingdom and eveyone told us to heard right for the Safari Jungle Ride. We did just that and it was a great adventure. If you have a chance in the later afternoon, ride again as there are different animals out in the wild at different times. Our second ride was more interesting than the first. The "roller coaster" ride Experidention Everest was very good. Not worth the 90 minute wait, so do a Fast Pass on that one. We had time to ride it twice. Park is not too large that you can't conquer every attraction in one day. Park closes at 7, but there is plenty of time to see it all, most wait lines were 20-30 minutes, but like all Disney attractions, they keep the line moving.

Animal Kingdom tops my list as the worst attraction I've ever visited. What do you get when you take a mediocre amusement park + a mediocre zoo + terrible customer service + an outrageous ticket price? The perfect storm for the worst vacation ever...

I'll start with the good though:

The safari was pretty cool even if it was staged, and we were able to get close to the rhinos and giraffes to snap some good pictures. We actually got stuck midway through due to 5 rhinos blocking the road and investigating the vehicle. Also the bird show was a great introduction to the purpose of wildlife conservation and the wonders of birds around the world.

Now for the bad:

It all started while we were parking and the parking attendant cursed at my girlfriend because she was having trouble with the rental car. That really didn't go well with us. Next the unenthusiastc tram operator consistently yelling at us like we were entering bootcamp rather than a theme park. After arriving at the entrance, I felt like I had been wisked away to Alcatraz while watching everyone get fingerprinted for tickets and bags being searched. (I realize this is for safety, and I'm not opposed to it, but after the run in with the attendant at the beginning I was already getting a bad taste of the place).

The rides themselves were worthless. The river rapids had no thrill to it at all and reminded me of those little yellow ducks in carnival games that just go around endlessly in a small circle. The dinosaur ride was so contrived with cheap gimics it was harldy worth the time (again it reminded me of a shoddy carnival fun house). We cut our trip short so we didnt try any of the others.

The animal exhibits (aside from the safari) were absolutely pathetic. If it's animals your looking for, I'd say just save your money and go to a real zoo or take advantage of wildlife tours to the swamps that Florida is renowned for. The animals were a small collection of your typical zoo fare with a plethora of goats to pet and a whole lot of pictures of animals (cartoon along with real). Additionally the place was packed, so you also had to wait in line like you would for a roller coaster just to see an animal for a moment before you were pushed out of the way from other visitors. All the while, you had Disney employees either barking orders like drill sargents or repeating the mantra of "You're having fun..." (which Minnie Mouse was shouting from a loudspeaker during the parade over and over again.)

Lastly, everything was outrageously overpriced (although that was to be expected), and I am very, very ashamed I bought into the Disney hype and fell head over heels into a shameless tourist trap. I had been warned yet decided to believe in Disney's rock solid reputation (or iron grip of marketing) they have. It's sad because I actually liked Disney alot until this experience. Now being forced to vow to my girlfriend, we'd never come back, my whole opinion of their customer service (which needs a complete overhaul) and imaginiative creativity is torn to pieces.

-Side note- If you are bringing kids with you to Disney--bring a couple because the toll roads to and from will force you to give up your first born just to get through. We ended up paying about 15 dollars in tolls, and if you dont have exact change in quarters on the highway entrance and exits, God rest your soul.

I (28) went to Animal Kingdom on July 3rd with my mom (55) and sister (17). We got there just in time for the morning EMH. This park was fairly empty until 10am when it suddenly got pretty packed. It didnt begin to empty until after 4pm. The park had a tropical feel to it. I was really impressed with the tree of life. Unfortunately we did not get to see it up close or see any of the exhibits around it. I semi-followed a touring plan and the day worked out great. We headed straight for the safari and had only a 10 min wait. The safari was excellent. I saw rhinos up close, lions, elephants, zebras, crocs, hippos, a giraffe from afar and many other animals. I was disappointed that I wasn't able to spot any cheetahs because they were far away and hidden. We then headed for Expedition Everest and waited for 20 min. My mom opted out of this ride. I was going to use a fastpass but I heard that the queue was really interesting. The 20 min flew because there was so much to see on the queue. I was so excited when we got front row seats for the ride! I loved the coaster but my sister seemed less impressed. I only wished it was longer. We then rode Dinosaur which had a 20 min wait. We all loved this ride and it was my sisters favorite in Animal Kingdom. After Dinosaur we rode Kali River Rapids which had a 10 min wait. This was a good ride with nice detail but we were all disappointed that it was so short. The only person who got wet was my mom despite wearing the poncho. Not everyone will get wet on this ride. We then did the Maharajah Jungle Trek. I was disappointed that the tiger exhibit was closed. I enjoyed seeing the Komodo Dragon and the bats, however the rest of the short trek was boring. We were then getting hungry and stopped for some snacks. My sister and I both got the pinapple bites. They were delicious. Afterwards in Africa, we watched some acrobats doing a perfomance. They were incredible. I couldn't believe how agile they were. We then walked the Pangani Forest walk. I found this to be mediocre as I expected to see more gorillas. They were too few of them andwere really far away. I have been to the Bronx Zoo and the gorilla exhibit there is far superior in my opinion. We then passed by It's Tough to be a Bug and saw that there was a 30min wait. We got Fastpasses and had lunch at Flame Tree BBQ. My sister and I got the Ribs with baked beans and a corn muffin while my mom got the turkey sandwich. We thought the food was above average. I thought the ribs could have bit a bit more juicy and didn't care for the baked beans. We then waited about 15 min on the Fastpass queue to watch It's Tough to be a Bug. We were one of the last people in for the show and had horrible seats on the far right side. We thought the show was mediocre and would have probably been better if we had better seats. People in the theatre seemed to have been enjoying themselves more than me. Also, I did not get all the special effects in the section where I was sitting. I felt disappointed because I was really looking forward to this show. We then tried to see The Festival of the Lion King but there weren't any available seats. So we headed over to watch Nemo the musical. We waited on a 45 min queue and got into the show. My mom really enjoyed it. My sister and I thought it was average. The musical exactly follows major scenes from the movie. I didn't like Dori's voice. It was exaggerated and irritating. However I found the puppets and scenery to be very colorful to watch. Afterwards we went to see The Festival of the Lion King. You need to arrive 30-45min before these shows during peak hours in order to be able to see them. I thought this show was fantastic. The singers, acrobats and dancers were great. Afterwards my sister wanted to check out Dinorama. We spent 5min here. I thought it was completely pointless. There were a bunch of carnival type games that had no business being at a disney park. We decided to leave after that. We spent about 10 hours in the park.

Animal Kingdom was well worth it. My overall experience was great.

I had to wait in horrible long lines, but it was still well worth it. In the summer I think everyday is packed. I went on a Wed and the lines were still VERY long. HOWEVER, if you are park hopping or want to do the many trails, then save the big rides for last. At about 4pm all the ride waits are very short (10-20min). However, after 4pm they don't give out fast passes.. but you don't really need them cause the lines are very short.

This is a good park for people who have to carry stuff. I recommend (if you can) just have one small pack (waist pack) or very small bagpack. All the rides I rode had a compartment for them so your bags wouldn't be thrown around.

Also, I recommend wearing a swimsuit under your clothes and wearing tennis shoes. Although your tennis shoes will get wet, I still think its better than walking around (a lot) in flip flops and getting bug bites or stepping on werido things.

Bugs aren't really a problem in Animal Kingdom. However, you do smell animal.

Wear sunscreen, even if you don't burn. Summers in Florida are incredibly hot.

Recommended Game plan for the park:
I highly suggest getting there VERY early! Everyone (and you should too) rushes to the safari ride located in Africa for the first activity (to the left of the entrance). Its important to go to the safari first because later in the day all the animals will be sleeping because it is too hot. I waited forever, but it was well worth seeing the animals moving around.

Next, I suggest getting the fast passes (they are free) for the Kali River Rapids, Expedition Everest and Dinosaur. If there are only a few things that you do, do these rides!!

1) Safari (ride in car) and look at animals
- MUST do EARLY and first thing in morning to see animals moving!
2) Kali River Rapids
- Wear a swimsuit! You WILL get soaked, and there are no "dry" seats.
- The center of the ride has a compartment for your belongings so they don't get wet. Put them there. You don't need a plastic bag to keep them dry.
3) Expedition Everest
- Great rollercoaster! Scarier than I thought!!! Really good!
4) Dinosaur
- Great ride! Not quite a rollercoaster, but a great in between and well worth it.
- Right when he says "We aren't going to make it" (because the asteriod is going to hit) my ride died! haha At first, we all thought it was part of the ride.. The T Rex was practically drooling in my face when the ride broke down.. but they got it up and running in less than 5 min. I wouldn't have even known it was broke had it not been for the guy behind me telling me that this happened all the time (he had ridden it 4 times already)
5) Go on the trail in Asia (its where the tigers are)
- Watching the tigers was soooo cool!!!


** Do not eat at the Rainforest Cafe until you are done with the rides. Stop at one of the places in the park that is fast.. Although the Rainforest Cafe is a great buy for the amount of food and very neat to hang out in.. the wait is VERY long. It took us 1.5 hours to get a table, then 1.5 hours to eat! The time you spend sitting in the Rainforest Cafe eats up precious daylight hours that you need in Animal Kingdom. Eat a light lunch, snacks, or other things around the park. Save Rainforest Cafe for last!

Overall awesome time!
I'm sure there are horror stories, and I hated the waits.. but totally worth it!