For those of you that have been AK the last few years, is it still a 1 day park (even with under 10s in tow)? Does anyone know if the petting zoo portion has reopened?
It’s a bit of a rush, but yes you can most likely get everything done you want to. We even had a sit down ADR. If you wanted to experience every single thing though, probably wouldn’t work.
Yes Affection Section is open for petting.
GASP!
A one day park??!!
Well, yes. Even I have to admit that for most people AK can be done in 1 day, most of the time.
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It is minimum TWO days for me.
That subjective. For us it’s a less than 1 day park, but for others it can be a several day park. Depends on what you are into.
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We love AK but have never spent a full day there! We usually leave after lunch.
There plenty to do to fill an entire day though 
Heck, I remember when I first joined this forum there was an ongoing discussion if AK was really just a half day park. I can tell you that if you had kids obsessed with Wilderness Explorers, even back then, it was definitely FULL day. 
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If you just do rides and a show or 2, 1 day.
But if you wander the animal trails, talk to CMs about the animals (my kids spent at least 20 minutes asking a ton of questions and enjoying the focused attention of an amazing CM at the Komodo dragon exhibit on our first trip), animation station, Wilderness Explorers, leisurely meals/drinks enjoying the atmosphere, etc…you can easily spend 1.5-2 days! I think it’s the best park to just explore and absorb the details.
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So much this.
Animal Kingdom didn’t exist when my sister and I were little, but I can guarantee if it had been, we would have spent more time there than Magic Kingdom.
(I always kind of roll my eyes when the assumption is “With kids that age your focus will be Magic Kingdom” on forums (not necessarily this one alone) when discussing resort to pick. While yes, some - maybe even most - kids would be into MK, not all will be. Some kids would be into Epcot (I’m nerdy enough I would have been one of those and far preferred it to MK when I was younger). Some into Animal Kingdom. And there may be some into Studios.)
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Agree.
But most people could do it in 1
I am sad for most people.
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I love AK for the more laid back pace.
Yes, “Affection Section” or the petting zoo is open. It closes early in the evening though. you can search that name on the WDW website. This is where the animal vets are also, so you may see some medical treatments being provided to animals. I also saw the Dino dig exploration center open, for kids.
If you take the day a slower pace than the MK frantic rapid pace, AK is a good way to fill day. Definitely do the walking trails in Africa and Asia, and the Discovery Island garden trails. Pandora during the day, and again after dark is a must see. You can easily Type-A personality rush through this park in half a day, but i don’t recommend AK that way.
Taking a break for a meal at Yak and Yetti, is a good way to catch some air conditioning, and good food, inside a park. Tusker House is also back open with distant character greetings (more expensive).
Lion King show is A+ for adults and kids (but need the monkeys back please)
Tough to be a bug 3D, and the live bird UP show are fun.
Ride attractions of: FoP, Safari, Rapids, Everest, Na’avi River are all worth doing. The AK version of the Dumbo ride, in Dino Land is always fun. Some people like the Dinosaur jeep ride. I like the ride, but not how rough and jerky is. When the cast members hand out the warning notices, believe them.
Rumor has it they are re-vamping the Nemo show, so if that comes back, it would be another item to fill an entire day. They are currently trying out a day time kite show in the AK lagoon, where jet skis pull the kites. Its cheesy, but fun.
You mentioned kids, so if your plan is to visit during a typical school break, then add in time for longer lines.
For us, it’s also less than 1 day to do AK. Usually a 1/2 day and that is how we plan our day.
If it makes you feel better, my intent is to spend two days there.
I figure with retreats back to the resort and pool, we’ll still have plenty of time to wander - semi-leisurely days 4 and 6.
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We love AK, but it’s usually less than a day for us. With the earlier hours they have there, we can get everything we like to do (FOP, EE, KS, KRR, ITTBAB) done before lunch at Tiffins, which is probably our favorite restaurant at WDW. Our AK day afternoon is for pool time and dinner back at the hotel.
I would love for them to redo Dinoland to add a better theme and more rides.
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The problem with this kind of question is it requires some assumptions to be made as to what it means to you to do a park.
I could easily argue that AK is a half day park. I could also argue it is a 2 or 3 day park. The difference is in how much you fully wish to experience the park, versus get in a do the rides, versus shows, etc.
For us, for example, walking the trails to see the animals is not generally worth our time since we can see the same animals at our local zoo. But if you want to see them, that takes time.
You could spend a LOT of time just looking around at the artistry. The tree, alone, is more than taking it in big-picture. So if you want, you could take a lot of time looking for all the animal carvings in and around the tree.
On the other hand, if you just want to do KS, FoP, Navi, EE, Kali, and Dinosaur, then you probably won’t even need a full day.
If you throw in shows like FOTLK and ITTBAB, etc., you are starting to get into full day/second day territory. If you want to do EVERYTHING, then two days would be needed.
It also depends on your prior “experience” with the park. Things we’ve done in past visits we might decide to skip on future visits, so it allows us to plan a shorter stay at AK as a result.
Can you do ANY park in a single day? Not really. Not if you want to do it all. So you have to decide what “doing” the park means for you.
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Yes, this exactly. Everyone has different priorities.