AK also has a lot of “stop and stare” type of moments…probably more than the other 3 parks. Pandora has a lot of stuff to look at. There’s Tree of Life Awakenings at the end of the night. The trails took us WAY longer than we expected (I had budgeted 20 for each. I think we ended up spending 45 on Maharajah and Gorilla Falls while rushing). There are other animal displays scattered throughout the park that could be 5-10 minutes stops. I loved FotLK and thought the Nemo show was pretty good but not great. Primeval Whirl is nothing to write home about, but it’s also there and my kids loved it (even though it’s a very standard model of roller coaster).
Okay, see, this is what I was wondering. We live near Houston and have a great zoo. That being said, my boys DO love the zoo so I’m sure they’ll like the trails. I might have to just make a game day decision while we’re there.
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Yeah I think that’s probably the way to go… 
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This is true.
Which leads me to another thing. AK is also the hottest of the parks, mostly because the air is very humid and stagnant (very little breeze gets through the dense foliage). Regardless of what you do, I’d try to plan a few stops in some AC just to cool off. We find ourselves wearing out much more quickly at AK even though we aren’t doing as much because of the excessive humidity/heat. Last trip, I actually took a short little nap on a bench in a hidden little alcove while my family rested and had a snack!
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I was just in AK the first week of March. It was our 3rd time there. My boys (7&9) loved it so much this time around for some reason. They were so mad we only spent one day there. They LOVED Pandora and the Wilderness Explorer. We didn’t even do as much as you have planned. They will love the Boneyard. If this is your first time I think you will be amazed. It is pretty awesome in my opinion! I can’t see how people only spend half a day there.
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After tweaking the plan, I noticed it has me going to Festival of the Lion King and then showing up at my Kali River Rapids FP (2:30-3:30) at 3:39. I know there is a 15 min grace period but that’s cutting it a bit close!! Should I modify my FP or move something? We’re still 71 days from going to WDW so optimizing could obviously change…
Good decision FWIW. I must have looked after you updated
When it does that to me I leave the plan as it is but move the FP so it’s firmly in the window. Of course that’s not always possible.
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I will 3rd leaving plenty of time for the boneyard. I have two boys a little older than yours and they could have stayed in there forever. In fact, I believe that was the only thing we did in Dinoland. The trails didn’t take that long for us and I feel like they are a break of sorts from the park. I find AK so pleasant and relaxing. I love getting lost in the scenery.
@ryan1 makes a good point about the heat as well. The morning and the evening in AK is amazing but by mid day (1-2PMish) I am done. The crowds roll in, it’s too hot, and just not pleasant in my opinion.
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Interesting about the trails. I had discovery trails, gorilla and Kilimanjaro with FPP scheduled all before FOTLK at 11. Is that too much? If so I’ll cut out or move Discovery trails.
Depens on your interest in animals. Discovery trails don’t have a good interest / time ratio IMO but our family can’t do gorilla in less than an hour.
That being said, the answer to your question entirely depends on the time you arrive at AK that morning.
There are EMH so I’m hoping to get there a little before 9.
Thoughts on Oasis exhibits? Are those worth doing with young kids?
Another serious ani8mal lover here…
The two main trails are the Gorilla Falls in Africa and the Maharaja Jungle Trek in Asia. Africa has gorillas (and other lesser animals), Asia has tigers (and other lesser animals). Africa has dense vegetation, Asia has very nicely done architectural elements. Either trail could be walked in 15 min or less, or you could spend an hour (or more) in each depending how active the animals are, if you take time to interact with the animal care CMs, etc. Also, if they are crowded, you may have to wait your turn to get close to the viewing windows. They’re both must-dos for me every visit, but if forced to choose, I would go with Asia simply because I like tigers much more than gorillas.
The Discovery Island trails are much less elaborate and are a diversion at best. You’ll see a few animals, and if the park is crowded it can be a way to bet a bit of breathing space, but I don’t go out of my way to do them. The Cretaceous trail is a very short loop with several (realistic) dinosaur “statues” along the way; you could probably get a few cute pictures along the way, but it’s not really very much. I don’t know if the Oasis area is listed as a trail, but basically it’s the entrance walkway to the center of park, and has a few “bypasses” and some aviaries. Entering the park I’m usually focused on getting to my first attraction, but I sometimes linger a bit on the way out.
As for shows, Nemo and Lion King are both very well done; they’re both around 30 min in length. Lion King is my favorite live show in WDW, and it is a MUST do for me every trip. Nemo is quite beautiful and has some excellent puppetry. It also has comfortable seats, is air conditioned, and is dark. I’ve “seen” it 3 times (all later in the day) and I have to confess that I’ve never stayed awake through the entire show.
The bird show, sadly, is an embarrassment. I love free-flight bird shows; the San Diego Safari Park and Sea World both have excellent ones. The problem with the Disney show is that instead of just making it an educational show, they have to weave a “plot” into it. Wonders of Flight was tedious and it was a one and done for me (but I’ve seen it more than once because my wife can look past the script and enjoy the birds). I’ve only seen the UP version on video, but it looks to be even worse than the original show. Kids might enjoy it because of the characters from UP, but to me it’s cringe-worthy.
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I like your updated plan better than the first plan. I think you could still shorten the day a bit if you wanted to. The Discovery Island Trails are skippable. Winged Encounters is something I did once and wouldn’t again. I went to It’s Tough to be a Bug with my 3.5 y/o and 5 y/o nephews … 3.5 y/o had to be carried out crying after a few minutes, but the 5 year old love the show. If your kids are easily scared or don’t like bugs, I would skip it. We did not take my 3.5 y/o daughter when we were in AK last fall for that reason. Dinosaur is the type ride that will terrify some young kids, while others will love it (it’s dark, loud, and very bumpy)… you know your kids so consider how they will handle it.
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I think you should have enough time then ! 
As for the oasis, my advice is to power walk through it in the AM (no sense wasting precious early day time there) and you can get a look before leaving at the end of the day if you have time / energy left. Nothing really ‘‘must see’’ in there.
@Laura_hastings I think you will be very happy with your clockwise touring plan. you aren’t jumping back and forth, and if you find the time, you can add back in things a long the way!
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I was waiting for something interesting to happen with the story line and nothing ever happened. I don’t know what they are thinking with this show. The talking parrot was the only interesting thing that happened IMO.
To save you some time, I agree with literally everything @bswan26 had to say, including the cringe-worthiness of UP!
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Agree with @Pod and @bswan26 Although I may be the only person on this site who would put Nemo over Festival/Lion King but I do them both always.
What I just realized I didn’t see in your plan is Wilderness Explorers. If it is, great. If its not, you must sign your DSs up for it and do it! It makes AK twice. 3X, 10X as much fun. I confess I do it myself even when I’m there without littles. And then I go and get a photo with Dug and Russell with my Senior Wilderness Explorer badge. They are always very proud of me. And now that Kevin is roaming about Discovery Island, I’m going to photo bomb him with my badge also.
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We LOVED AK so much!! We spent two full days there and didn’t do everything. We took both the GF and MJT trails at a pretty leisurely pace though and explored around the Tree of a Life and Oasis Trails for maybe an hour. My two older kids (8 and 6) loved Wilderness Explorers and implored us to stop at every one we saw.
We only saw Nemo and FotLK for shows. I thought they were both excellent although both on the longer side so I’d keep that in mind for shorter attention spans (mine got a little antsy toward the end of the Lion King).
I agree with other folks regarding FOP and RS. Budget an hour for sure for both parties to have time to make it through.
My younger two (4 and 2) loved the Boneyard. My four year old would’ve probably played in there all day if we let her. Be aware, though, that it’s super easy to lose track of your kid in there. I was thankful that there is only one exit and that it was staffed by a CM.
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