Just kidding on the cougar part but I couldn’t not do it once the idea was in my head.
We are 3 women going to WDW to celebrate turning 50 in October.
MNSSHP, Epcot, and Animal Kingdom. One day each.
What are your favorites for Animal Kingdom? I’ve only been once.
Will definitely ride:
Pandora, Na’vi, the Safari, maybe Kali.
We’ll stick around for the nightime stuff.
We’ll walk at least one of the paths where there are animals.
Last time I did Gorilla Falls and it was amazing. I’d like to do that again or another.
I don’t want to miss anything lovely. We’ll be able to take the day slow.
We’ll take a long break for dinner and hopefully another at Nomad.
What is your favorite restaurant and why?
We are not averse to character dining. Bring it.
I don’t even know where to start with this!
Would love to hear what you love about this park.
Also happy to leave the park to go to the lodge for a break.
My BFF and I both turned 50 last year so we obv went for the 50th. We hadn’t been in the parks together in 35 years and it was great fun!!
We very much enjoyed AK but the park usually closes pretty early (like 7pm) and there are is no real nighttime stuff. It should get dark early enough for you to enjoy lighting the tree of life and seeing pandora all lit up (we missed it). We loved Safari right at rope drop because the animals were super active. And we took a Dole whip with rum to enjoy while we waited for the Lion King show (can’t take it in with you). The bar right outside of Tusker house is a neat place to hang out and take in the chaos of Harambe. Definitely enjoy a break/lunch at Nomad. Otherwise, I find most of the food in this park a bit underwhelming. We loved wandering both trails. Consider doing dinner at AK lodge instead of in the park since the park closes early.
Thanks. That’s a great idea. Having a later dinner at the lodge sounds fun. The park does close at 8 that day.
My daughter was there with her high school band recently and said all of the restaurants they could afford to eat at (with their package) closed around 5. She said she ate corn.
I found the bar next to Tusker House. It’s called Dawa. I’ll add it to the list.
AK has a lot of great shows/entertainment:
Winged Encounters
Feathered Friends in Flight
The Flotillas
Festival of the Lion King
Finding Nemo
Harambe acrobats/drummers
Plus sightings of Chip and Dale in their Dini costumes, DiVine, Kevin/Russell
And a lot of great spots to just watch and listen to the beauty of the park. Even places like Flame Tree BBQ and Harambe market have great aesthetic.
Yes! I want to do this more than anything. But I read here that the only way to get it is if you have 60+10 because they fill so fast. I will certainly try to get a reservation but it might not happen this time.
Like the planner I am, I went through the entire list of attractions/entertainment and started to make a personalized plan. I had not heard of these flotillas but they look really fun. Kind of like the cavalcades at Magic Kingdom.
Do you know if they are random or if the times might be listed in the disney app day of?
The flotillas are once an hour, but there are multiples with different characters. It takes time for them to make their loop, so it seems like they come around about every 30 minutes (or less than every hour.)
Yes, I’d say that you are correct - the flotillas are similar to the cavalcades. I think they started running during Covid and don’t follow a fixed schedule that I am aware of.
As far as dining in AK, we really love Yak and Yeti. It’s like this oasis of A/C and the food is always A+. Sitting upstairs there you can get a unique some what aerial view of the people walking by outside. Good call on Nomad, of course. It’s so lovely. Tusker House is a great meal option if y’all want a buffet. Every time I’ve been the food is fresh and delicious - and you get characters so bonus! Just know that this restaurant is pretty large capacity wise and it can take a while for the characters to circulate.
Expedition Everest is really fun! I love all the trails at AK. Also, we’ve grabbed breakfast at Joffrey’s once and took it to sit and eat in the Flame Tree BBQ seating area and it was so peaceful. On the water and no one else was over there.
I’ve done WAT and it is - as others have already said - amazing. Incredible experience and 100% worth the cost to me. Y’all could also go for Savor the Savanna - similar to WAT but without the bridge crossings. OR look into a nighttime safari at AKL if the park closes really early. You could also sneak over to AKL very easily for dinner at Boma or Jiko - they are both excellent.
Yak and Yeti! Because the food is delicious if you like Pan-Asian.
Pandora at night, hands down. But also love Festival of the Lion King, the Nemo show, Expedition Everest, and walking the trails around the Tree of Life.
I hadn’t heard of this but I messaged my friends and they are both into it. It looks great. I’m not sure they’d be into the swinging bridges so this is perfect. And a little cheaper. And if we get a later one, that could be more like an early dinner and we could get something later at the resort.
What do you think it would be like if it were 80 degrees F? I’m wondering if that might be too hot for it to be enjoyable for us.
DW and I did Wild Animal Trek in the morning and it got up to the 80s by the end of the trek. It was really hot, but we thought it was worth it. Individual tolerance for heat varies … I would not have recommended my parents or my kids do it in that heat, but I’m in my early 50s now and I would do it again in that weather.
Be advised that the Dawa bar is not really a bar. All the beverages are premixed. According to the server behind the counter in December. I hesitate to refer to him as a bartender.
In December we closed down Tusker House. Yak & Yeti gets a lot love here. For a celebration TH is a hoot with the energy of the characters and all the different choices on the buffet.