Disney's Animal Kingdom® Park What do you like or dislike about DAK?
- Thread starter DAKFan
- Start date
Since your username is DAKfan, I should forewarn you to be prepared for some not-so-nice statements about your (presumably) favorite place. Not just from me, but from several forum members. Of course there are some here who love it as well (A Nyhuis being its staunchest defender), but overall I think there are more ZooChatters who dislike it than like it. (But maybe this thread will prove me wrong).
I will tell you the single biggest problem and it is such an easy fix that for a few thousand dollars they could remedy it and improve the park tenfold (I am not exaggerating here). You cannot see the savannah (which is the bulk of the park) when you are not on the ride. Sure, the Kilminjaro Safari ride is great - probably the best drive-thru animal encounter in any captive wildlife park. But what do you do when the ride ends? Not much, because the one time I was there almost the entire park emptied of visitors at around 1:00 in the afternoon. It was literally a mass exodus because they had seen everything.
I personally also had a bad experience which is unlikely to apply to most of you. I was there with my cousin who is also a photo enthusiast and we both had tripods. They let us in with them no problem, even after searching through everyone's bags at the entrance because it was just a month after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. And yet in the middle of the day a senior executive cornered us inside the park and demanded to know if we had a press pass and what we were doing with our photos. She literally gave us a 5-10 minute interrogation, even after we told her we were amateur photographers. Also, at lunch I was left standing waiting for my order because they were out of iced tea (which was part of my order) and no one bothered to tell me. Just horrendous customer service all around, something Disney is supposed to be good at. I wrote a complaint letter and they ended up refunding my credit card for the day's admission.
After that inicident, I seriously doubt I will ever step foot in any Disney park again.
I will tell you the single biggest problem and it is such an easy fix that for a few thousand dollars they could remedy it and improve the park tenfold (I am not exaggerating here). You cannot see the savannah (which is the bulk of the park) when you are not on the ride. Sure, the Kilminjaro Safari ride is great - probably the best drive-thru animal encounter in any captive wildlife park. But what do you do when the ride ends? Not much, because the one time I was there almost the entire park emptied of visitors at around 1:00 in the afternoon. It was literally a mass exodus because they had seen everything.
I personally also had a bad experience which is unlikely to apply to most of you. I was there with my cousin who is also a photo enthusiast and we both had tripods. They let us in with them no problem, even after searching through everyone's bags at the entrance because it was just a month after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. And yet in the middle of the day a senior executive cornered us inside the park and demanded to know if we had a press pass and what we were doing with our photos. She literally gave us a 5-10 minute interrogation, even after we told her we were amateur photographers. Also, at lunch I was left standing waiting for my order because they were out of iced tea (which was part of my order) and no one bothered to tell me. Just horrendous customer service all around, something Disney is supposed to be good at. I wrote a complaint letter and they ended up refunding my credit card for the day's admission.
After that inicident, I seriously doubt I will ever step foot in any Disney park again.
mstickmanp
Well-Known Member
I've personally never visited the park, but being a disney park fan (have been to Disneyland 10 times this summer alone!) and a zoo fan I will hopefully visit sometime in the next couple of years.
From what I've seen and read here in Zoochat I do agree with AD and many others when it comes to limited viewing opportunities of the savannah exhibit. It is something that could be easily fixed and hopefully it will be fixed in the future.
From what I've seen and read here in Zoochat I do agree with AD and many others when it comes to limited viewing opportunities of the savannah exhibit. It is something that could be easily fixed and hopefully it will be fixed in the future.
I think from Disney's perspective that they have recently "fixed" the issue of lengthened savanna encounters for people who want them: Wild Africa Trek | Walt Disney World Resort
There are several reviews on the web of people who have done this tour, which is some kind of walking tour which ends up in a pavilion in the middle of the savanna where you can watch the animals while you have a meal. This being Disney of course it costs significantly $$$ in addition to regular park admission. So for people who don't want to spend the money (probably most of us), the problem is not fixed.
I like Animal Kingdom for what it is, a theme park, but it is not a good model for a typical zoo. As Arizona Docent points out, most of the African savanna animals and their habitats cannot be observed and enjoyed for prolonged periods of time as they would at most zoos.
To Animal Kingdom's credit, the African forest animals (gorillas, okapis, underwater hippo viewing, etc.) and Asian animals in the tiger walk-through area are watchable for as long as the viewer feels like. These areas, especially the gorilla exhibits, are a good zoo model.
@Arizona Docent: your experience does sound horrible, and like a unconscionable lapse in the Disney brand of customer service.
A few quick points as much of the success and failure of DAK has been discussed at length over the years on this site:
- The safari tour is spectacular and the best of its kind, but the fact that there is no other way to see the animals is hugely disappointing. I saw the mandrills for about 30 seconds, and the elephants for perhaps twice that amount of time. That kind of viewing is terrible.
- The park is extremely clean and visitor-friendly, and Disney seems to have about a thousand employees walking around picking up garbage and ensuring that folks are having fun.
- I personally think that the gorilla exhibits are the second best in all of North America, with only Congo Gorilla Forest in NYC ahead of them.
- My wife and I are not "rides people" and so the cost to enter the park is far too expensive for us.
- The safari tour is spectacular and the best of its kind, but the fact that there is no other way to see the animals is hugely disappointing. I saw the mandrills for about 30 seconds, and the elephants for perhaps twice that amount of time. That kind of viewing is terrible.
- The park is extremely clean and visitor-friendly, and Disney seems to have about a thousand employees walking around picking up garbage and ensuring that folks are having fun.
- I personally think that the gorilla exhibits are the second best in all of North America, with only Congo Gorilla Forest in NYC ahead of them.
- My wife and I are not "rides people" and so the cost to enter the park is far too expensive for us.
I know that in Europe a lot of zoos prohibit photography with tripods without permission. The theory is that professional photographers use tripods so banning tripods bans professionals. Here in Australia most public venues will have a sign prohibiting professional photography, but I've never seen a ban on tripods. Of course the reason for all this is to stop people using the venue as a background for advertising, wedding photos etc or taking photos for publication without giving the venue a cut. None of this of course justifies your treatment.
ANyhuis
Well-Known Member
As Arizona Docent said, I am one of DAK's strongest defenders. I truly consider it to be one of the Top 5 zoos in North America. It is just so unique, and the realism of the experience of Kilamanjaro Safari is unsurpassed in the USA. Unlike some of you, I probably would not want to see them add a way to see the Kilamanjaro animals on a walking path. Not unless there's a way to make that path totally invisible to those on the Safari vehicles. I'm not sure that's possible. The "magic" of Kilamanjaro Safari is that it's the most convincing African experience you can have without boarding a plane and crossing the Atlantic. If they added a walking path, it would suddenly just become another zoo, with lines of zoo visitors in the distance as you ride through Kilamanjaro's savanna. As Arizona Docent pointed out, the park is pretty empty in the afternoon, so if you didn't get to see the animals enough on your first ride of KS, then just ride again! Ride it 3 or 4 times. I never go to DAK without doing at least two rides on KS.
The other thing to remember is that DAK is not simply a zoo. To quote a former US President, I "feel your pain", SnowLeopard, when you pointed out that DAK is too expensive if you're not doing the park's excellent rides and shows. I really DO wish they'd come up with a way to let visitors like SnowLeopard and his family see DAK without having to pay the full price. I wish there was some kind of "Animals Only" ticket -- where you could pay maybe half price ($35) for a ticket that would get you into Kilamanjaro, the two excellent zoological trails, the children's petting area, and maybe the bird show -- but NOT onto the more popular (and wilder) rides, and not into the excellent Broadway-quality shows.
The other thing to remember is that DAK is not simply a zoo. To quote a former US President, I "feel your pain", SnowLeopard, when you pointed out that DAK is too expensive if you're not doing the park's excellent rides and shows. I really DO wish they'd come up with a way to let visitors like SnowLeopard and his family see DAK without having to pay the full price. I wish there was some kind of "Animals Only" ticket -- where you could pay maybe half price ($35) for a ticket that would get you into Kilamanjaro, the two excellent zoological trails, the children's petting area, and maybe the bird show -- but NOT onto the more popular (and wilder) rides, and not into the excellent Broadway-quality shows.
MJMcB
Well-Known Member
I am a longtime Disney fan and longtime zoo nut. So I do love Disney's Animal Kingdom. Its why I am involved with a fan site, www.jamboeveryone.com
I think it does what it supposed to do well. That is, present a love of animals and nature to the public in a way no other zoo can really do to so many people. I also enjoy thier Nature movies to some degree
The animal exhibits Pangani Forest, Maharajah Jungle Trek, and the trails around the Tree of Life are great. Heck, the Tree of Life itself is amazing. I do love it
Can it get better, sure. But its never gonna get cheaper
I think it does what it supposed to do well. That is, present a love of animals and nature to the public in a way no other zoo can really do to so many people. I also enjoy thier Nature movies to some degree
The animal exhibits Pangani Forest, Maharajah Jungle Trek, and the trails around the Tree of Life are great. Heck, the Tree of Life itself is amazing. I do love it
Can it get better, sure. But its never gonna get cheaper
Journalist Jim Hill recently did a podcast for a Disney travel site where they talk about the future of DAK. Jim Hill is usually pretty reliable. The podcast can be found here for free on the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World podcast page. The August 6 2012 is the DAK episode. From Jim Hill's sources it sounds like giant pandas may come eventually to DAK, but beyond that it sounds like "Avatar-land" is the main future development there.
iTunes - Podcasts - The Unofficial Guide's Disney Dish with Jim Hill by Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World
iTunes - Podcasts - The Unofficial Guide's Disney Dish with Jim Hill by Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World
I don't think that's true, I would like to know which zoo's you think do that. I've been to more then 160 European zoo's, never seen anything about that. Most people think I'm a pro when they see my equipment, but never had any trouble whatsoever from zoostaff. The only zoo I know who once made a huge problem about photographs was Hamburg
But on topic.
I've been to DAK last year. I really enjoyed it, it's just beautifully made, never seen anything like it. I love it when you walk into a house with some small animals and suddenly you're in an aviary when you walk out. More zoo's should do something like that. I loved Afrika. It's the only zoo I have ever seen who showed me that Afrika can be well done in zoo's. Most African savanna's I've seen are just not it.
I had a great time in DAK, they have some great exhibits and I even enjoyed a ride.
I didn't experience that the park emptied after 1 btw, it did however empty after some heavy rain around 4.
But it has two downsides for me. It's really, really expensive! They are not the only one, the costs for Seaworld and Buschgardens is also insane! I decided not to go to those parks, because of the costs, but I just had to go to Disney. I would probably do it again, but when you think about it, it's just ridiculous. I understand that you also pay for the themepark bit, but here in Europe combi parks (zoo and themepark) aren't that expensive. You pay a bit more, true, but not five or six times as much as for a normal zoo.
We did the safari drive 3 times! But I still was dissapointed that we couldn't see anything from that savanna animals when walking through the park. It doesn't have to be a whole pathway, just some sneakpeak on the main savanna where the giraffes are and a lookout on the elephants would do. You can have a second look at the hippo's, why not some other second looks? (don't know if it's the same exhibit btw, but at least there is another opportunity to see hippo's)
MJMcB
Well-Known Member
acyually I have found Jim Hill to be relatively unreliable. He does have sources but he reports everything he hears and only a very small portion turn out true
cervicapra
Member
I've been to DAK twice, in one trip a couple years back. One has to look for the exhibits, being off the main path. Once you find them, they are nicely laid out with healthy animals. Also the crowds around the exhibits tend to be less. The general public, and there are thousands of 'em, come to ride the rides, then cut loose to go to another park. The Safari "ride" is 1/2 hour long, rushing by most of the residents. The guides allow passenagers to see the lions, hippos and elephants. Then longest pause is at a robotic baby elephant!
People are friendly, and informative to a certain extent. I met a docet (my spelling, my bad!) in the Asian Exhibits. We talked about tigers and blackbucks for a bit, which was very nice. I told her about returning at Magic Hour (the park opened an hour early on Mondays) to photograph the blackbucks. Well, Disney does not open their exhibits during magic hours, which I found out later. Being not a rider person, I just wanted a good blackbuck photo, I sat at a tea kiosk for over an hour. When exhibit opened I went directly to the blackbucks, only to discover they were off exhibit I believe for the day. I realize animals are off exhibit for various reasons, but I was still a little disappointed over events. I was grumbling a little when another, different docet came up to me. I was just miffed, and wanted to be left alone, about to drift back into the tiger area to see if they were up and about. She was suddenly in my face wanting who this other docet was who talked to me, as if she was going to be fired. (I've heard nasty stories about Disney employees being fired etc.) I was not about to tell her anything!
One of these days, I might go back to Animal Kingdom lodge, for about a week just to animal watch. Granted the experence is on the artifical side, the animals are feed pellets out of concealled holes, around the hotel proper to get them close. The animals are all hoof stock, such as Ankole cattle, zebra, antelopes and giraffes. The downsides, there are no animals about after nine or so in the morning until mid afternoon. During this time, they are in a barn complex, hidden among the trees and behind a fence. You start seeing nyala and impala in the distance in the side yards. During dinner hour, the animals, cattle, kudu, zebra etc. are in front of a grand viewing area. Animal Kingdom Lodge also offers tours, but you have to be conciege level, (ie room rates are $650 to $700 a night), on certain nights. You also have to make reservations to go on these tours months in advance. One tour, the morning one, takes you through the safari ride before it opens to the public. The evening tour takes you about the AKL complex and feeds you a fancy dinner. The tours are over an additional $100 each! YIKES! I believe I just talked myself out of a return trip.
Which is just as well. I much prefer a leisurely stoll though a zoo, then to face the craziness at DAK.
People are friendly, and informative to a certain extent. I met a docet (my spelling, my bad!) in the Asian Exhibits. We talked about tigers and blackbucks for a bit, which was very nice. I told her about returning at Magic Hour (the park opened an hour early on Mondays) to photograph the blackbucks. Well, Disney does not open their exhibits during magic hours, which I found out later. Being not a rider person, I just wanted a good blackbuck photo, I sat at a tea kiosk for over an hour. When exhibit opened I went directly to the blackbucks, only to discover they were off exhibit I believe for the day. I realize animals are off exhibit for various reasons, but I was still a little disappointed over events. I was grumbling a little when another, different docet came up to me. I was just miffed, and wanted to be left alone, about to drift back into the tiger area to see if they were up and about. She was suddenly in my face wanting who this other docet was who talked to me, as if she was going to be fired. (I've heard nasty stories about Disney employees being fired etc.) I was not about to tell her anything!
One of these days, I might go back to Animal Kingdom lodge, for about a week just to animal watch. Granted the experence is on the artifical side, the animals are feed pellets out of concealled holes, around the hotel proper to get them close. The animals are all hoof stock, such as Ankole cattle, zebra, antelopes and giraffes. The downsides, there are no animals about after nine or so in the morning until mid afternoon. During this time, they are in a barn complex, hidden among the trees and behind a fence. You start seeing nyala and impala in the distance in the side yards. During dinner hour, the animals, cattle, kudu, zebra etc. are in front of a grand viewing area. Animal Kingdom Lodge also offers tours, but you have to be conciege level, (ie room rates are $650 to $700 a night), on certain nights. You also have to make reservations to go on these tours months in advance. One tour, the morning one, takes you through the safari ride before it opens to the public. The evening tour takes you about the AKL complex and feeds you a fancy dinner. The tours are over an additional $100 each! YIKES! I believe I just talked myself out of a return trip.
Which is just as well. I much prefer a leisurely stoll though a zoo, then to face the craziness at DAK.
That has not been my experience. Compared to many fan sites he seems pretty reliable, at least when it comes to reporting on the films and theme parks. It is true that some of what he reports does not come to fruition like his report of the "Night Kingdom" park that Disney was proposing to build but never did (at least not yet).
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MJMcB
Well-Known Member
I think the difference is basically he reports every little tidbit as "in the works" when in many cases, they may have been discussed but not in any real terms
By not being in Florida. Or, stop seemingly direct the further development of San Diego's Wild Animal Park.
I have yet to visit, but the addition of an Avatarland seems like it would cock up a good thing; you already account for fantastical creatures through Dinoland, U.S.A., and there are more terrestrial ways to push a conservation message.
For example, the African Nation of Wakanda. Yes, the Black Panther's home. For those of you unfamiliar with the Marvel Universe that Disney recently acquired, it's a technologically advanced country (fictional, of course) in Northeastern Africa. Go here for the full description on Marvel's website.
Through it Disney can explore: indigenous rights to the land and its resources, the power of animal lore in traditional societies via the Black Panther and White Gorilla Cults, and the struggle of traditional societies to hang onto their cultures in the face of modernization. And that's just a couple of overarching themes they could use.
There'd be a spectacular stunt show, of course. It's almost a given.
MJMcB
Well-Known Member
By not being in Florida. Or, stop seemingly direct the further development of San Diego's Wild Animal Park.
I have yet to visit, but the addition of an Avatarland seems like it would cock up a good thing; you already account for fantastical creatures through Dinoland, U.S.A., and there are more terrestrial ways to push a conservation message.
For example, the African Nation of Wakanda. Yes, the Black Panther's home. For those of you unfamiliar with the Marvel Universe that Disney recently acquired, it's a technologically advanced country (fictional, of course) in Northeastern Africa. Go here for the full description on Marvel's website.
Through it Disney can explore: indigenous rights to the land and its resources, the power of animal lore in traditional societies via the Black Panther and White Gorilla Cults, and the struggle of traditional societies to hang onto their cultures in the face of modernization. And that's just a couple of overarching themes they could use.
There'd be a spectacular stunt show, of course. It's almost a given.
Unfortunately by contract Disney cannot use marvel characters in their Florida parks. Those rights belong to universal studios
Zooplantman
Well-Known Member
Considering Disney's ventures in China this isn't so improbable.