Ah Animal Kingdom a theme park built around a zoo. This place is massive. It is the largest theme park in the United States at 580 acres. Many people across the US and World come and visit Animal Kingdom each and every year.
Animal Kingdom was ranked 3rd overall for the most visitors in 2018 with 13 million visitors. That’s a lot of people coming to visit a zoo. Really if you think about it Animal Kingdom is a zoo first and theme park second.
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Check out our post about Everything Great about Animal Kingdom. Now lets found out everything that sucks about Animal Kingdom.
RIDES
Animal Kingdom has some of the best rides in all of Walt Disney World but it also has some pretty bad ones. Na’vi River Journey while not a bad ride on it’s own but you have to compare it to it’s neighbor.
If you ride Na’vi River Journey after Flight of Passage you will be pretty underwhelmed. That’s why this ride sucks. Nothing compares to Flight of Passage right now. It is the best ride in Animal Kingdom and in Walt Disney World.
Now this next ride is definitely the worst water ride ever. Of course I am talking about Kali River Rapids. You get wetter on One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish over at Islands of Adventure.
Nine times out of 10 you WILL not be getting soaked (OK maybe the odds aren’t that bad). You will barely get wet at all. Sure in January that is a good thing but in the mid of summer when it’s 100 out and you are soaking in sweat. All you want to do is get wet and riding Kali River Rapids you could very well come off completely dry. But your shoes may be a little wet.
Of course if you are one of those lucky few that do get soaked you could head over to Primeval Whirl for a little spin dry. That is if it is open.
Primeval Whirl is a mix between a wild mouse coaster and the tea cups. If that’s your thing great. This ride would barely have over a 30 minute wait and now it is only open seasonally.
Now this next ride might get a lot of people angry. I am talking about Kilimanjaro Safari. This ride is great first thing in the morning or around sunset. If you don’t get on at those times it is kind of a waste.
Most of the animals are not very active during the heat of the day. Many will be hiding under trees to get a little shade and good luck seeing the lions. Now I know this seems a little nitpicky but if you want to experience it at it’s best and not at it’s worst you really only have an hour in the morning and an hour or two at night.
DINOLAND USA
While I believe that the playground in DinoLand U.S.A is the best one in Walt Disney World the rest of the land is a little out of place. Not because it is all about dinosaurs. That actually was one the original ideas of Animal Kingdom.
Animal Kingdom was planned to be a park of all things animals. From ones that exist in today’s reality; those that existed but are now extinct (dinosaurs); and those that only could exist in the realm of fantasy (originally Beastly Kingdom now Pandora: The World of Avatar).
I don’t really care about the carnival feel of it. Feels more like it should be in a Six Flags theme park and not at WDW. Oh and trust me its not the dinosaur theme either.
I mean come on, what kid didn’t love dinosaurs? I know I did. I also know that my daughter loves dinosaurs too. Guess all the money for the park was spent on Tree of Life.
DINING
Now I can’t say I have ever really had a bad meal at Animal Kingdom. The thing that sucks about dining at Animal Kingdom is the lack of indoor seating. Yes I know there is a lot of indoor seating over at Pandora.
It can be difficult to find indoor seating in the rest of the park at the different quick service locations. I know that’s not really any different from the other parks. It’s just seems like Animal Kingdom has a lot more free roaming animals the the other parks.
Disney’s Animal Kingdom: An Unofficial History
Plus some of the areas aren’t even shaded very well. We all know how hot Florida can get in the summer time. Trying to enjoy a meal in the hot Florida sun with birds all around isn’t the best experience. Plus we all know how kids love to get rid of some of their food by giving it to the wildlife.
We recently ranked all of the quick service locations at Animal Kingdom. Check out that post here. I must say I didn’t realize that this park only had SIX quick service locations.
RIVERS OF LIGHT
Talk about a MUST NOT see show. You can take it or leave it. Unlike other night time shows in Walt Disney World that you could watch every night and still really enjoy them.
Rivers of Light is not one of those shows. It’s a poor attempt to lure people away from Flight of Passage or one of the other theme parks firework shows. Now the show is a little better now than when it first came out.
However, it is still really lacking something. Not sure what that something is, but it’s something. And NO it’s not fireworks. I get why they can’t have fireworks at Animal Kingdom.
Just think about your dog if you have one. What happens on the 4th of July or New Years? He’s hiding under the couch or his dog house.
The nighttime show on the Tree of Life is better than Rivers of Light: We are One. It just feels like it fits the park so much better. Besides who doesn’t look at the Tree of Life in the center of the park and wonder “Just how did they do that”?
So what is your opinion on Animal Kingdom? Is it the greatest theme park/ zoo? Or is it just a glorified zoo? Let us know your thoughts in the comments? Also let us know if you like all the outdoor seating around Animal Kingdom?
Keep on scrolling below to see our other post on Everything sucks about…. and Everything Great About…. We did all four Walt Disney World theme parks and listed our reasons why. Be sure to check them out and let us know if you agree.
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