Animal Kingdom on Early Entry?

[fantasia73]

We never have used early entry days before, but how dumb would it be to go to the Animal Kingdom on such a day? We usually get there right when the park opens, tour for a couple of hours and then get the you know what out of there, as the hoards of people begin to clog the sidewalks. My DH's birthday falls on a Monday and I asked him what parks he wanted to do on his birthday. Animal Kingdom in the morning then MGM at night.

 

[CamColt]

We usually do EE at AK and MK. Since we only spend half a day at AK anyway, getting the Safari done before "opening time" really helps.
We plan to do just what you said, AK in the am, then MGM in the pm in a couple weeks. We did this on our last trip too and it worked out well. Thats our time to do the FDP, and get a few other attractions in too.

 

[HunnyPots]

It is definitely worth it to do EMH at AK for the Safari alone. We saw so many more animals on the early safari than we ever did before when we would ride at 10 or 11 with a fastpass. The animals were much more active, too. We got there at EMH opening and followed the hoards of people straight to the safari ride and got right on, even though it looked as though there were a thousand people ahead of us!

 

[LoveRafiki]

I definitely agree with previous post. It may seem like hoards are rushing to the safari -- but you'll essentially walk on.

Unlike other parks... this one really opens at 8am -- not 7:45 or sooner... 8am. It is worthwhile to get there 10-15min early just to make sure you can enter with the "throng" ---

We do this every time we go -- and we've always seen very active animals. We saw the male lion roar one time - another time we saw him mark/spray (gross perhaps... but it beats seeing them sleep.). Other animals are also more active.

We usually exit the safari and go to the Pangani Exp. Trail. (we are somewhat animal nuts...) But this is also extremely worthwhile as if you time it correctly, you can see them let out the gorilla family troupe. One time we were there and saw the silverback daddy come slowly over the hill, survey the scene and basically give the "ok" for the others to come on out. He is quite a speciman. Very cool.

We never miss the Lion King show either --

My 2 cents... happy birthday!

 

[CamColt]

Originally posted by LoveRafiki
I definitely agree with previous post. It may seem like hoards are rushing to the safari -- but you'll essentially walk on.

Unlike other parks... this one really opens at 8am -- not 7:45 or sooner... 8am. It is worthwhile to get there 10-15min early just to make sure you can enter with the "throng" ---

I agree too...bad as it looks, you should walk on the Safari.

As for park opening, when we did EE last summer we were not let through the turnstiles until exactly 8:00, shich slowed us up some. However when we did it in Dec, we were let in early, right up to the Tree Of Life area. Mickey and the gang did a little opening show and then at 8:00 we were allowed in further. This really helped us to get the Safari done a lot quicker than we had done in the summer. From what I hear, the opening show still takes place so I assume you can get in early. We usually get there about 15 minutes before opening time and its worked well.

 

[jann1033]

we went to ee on Marathon day last Jan..they had switched with Mk for the day. normally it would proabably be worth it but with the marathon and so many streets in ak blocked, ect it was kind of a mess and we only went on safari and I think maybe ttbb. a lot of shows opened later than usual so we probably didn't save much time. the safari was great early though. we went later also and didn't see nearly as many active animals ( in the am the elephant baby was running around playing, very cute, lions and cheetah up & moving ect.) so i would go to ee again just for that

 

[babybunrab]

I know I've read that the animals aren't REALLY more active in the morning, but from my unscientific studies of when I've taken Safari (and walked the trail with the gorillas nearby) I'd say they ARE more active and there are more of them out. Definately worth EE for AK.

 

[TeresaNJ]

We did EE at AK last year and got to see the "waking up the animals" ceremony. It was really cute with lots of characters out behind the turnstiles, and cast members with little boxes holding diffferent species such as tarantulas and other yucky looking bugs. That part wasn't my favorite, LOL. Anyway, we are doing EE at AK next Monday the 19th, but instead of heading to the Safari first, we're booking on over to Dinoland to get on Dinosaur a few times in a row, as that is the wish of my 14 yo nephew and his 15 yo friend, who are going to WDW with us. Tell your husband "Happy Birthday".

 

[CamColt]

Teresa, we will be there then too!

Where have you heard Dinosaur is open for EE? Ive checked on the Dis and allears and neither has it listed.

Also, I agree that opening thing they used to do wasnt the best...we could never see it and we werent even back very far. The new show at the TOL is cuter. The characters are elevated so you can at least see them.

 

[TeresaNJ]

Uh oh, I didn't realize Dinosaur wasn't open for EE. Oh well, I guess then we'll go to the Safari first, then head over to Dinosaur. At least we can be at Dinoland before the heards get there, LOL. Geez, I'm glad I responded to this thread. I guess I'm not the Disney expert I thought I was, LOL! I agree about the "waking the animals" ceremony. It wasn't what I expected. If you had little ones with you they wouldn't be able to see a thing until after getting through the turnstiles. I made my then 21 yo son and his friend get up early to get there cause I kept telling them how much I wanted to see this ceremony, LOL. I felt kind of silly when I realized you couldn't even get through the turnstiles to see it. Oh well, live and learn. Getting there right at 8 should be plenty of time to get to the Safari without a wait.

 

[CamColt]

LOL! I assumed it was open too and I was surprised when I didnt see it was. Thats why I was checking... I thought I could have missed it. It would make sense for it to be open though, since it is one of the bigger rides.
Well, we will be following each other that morning as we are doing the safari first, then heading to Dinoland for opening too. My mother and the kids will do Triceratops Spin, while DH & I do Dinosaur. Look for lime green!

 

[bobcat]

Well we'll be there Monday the 19th as well! I'll keep my eyes open for lime green. I've never done EE at AK but we'll head with the hordes to Safari first.

 

[frndofpooh]

AK is definitely worthwhile for EE, but of the 4 parks it is the one that probably requires the most thought beforehand. As others have suggested, the turnstiles open at 8:00 on the dot. This often creates a zoo-like atmosphere (pun intended) at the entrance, both because everyone has been gathering with nowhere to go and because the entrance area is probably a little bit smaller than at the other 3 parks. We have also had to wait even to get in the parking lot until not long before 8:00.

When you arrive, it will look like a huge mob, but looks can be deceiving. Everyone is waiting in a relatively small space, but when you go in the park it will not seem that crowded. When you arrive, you should have a definite idea of where you want to go and head straight for it. I agree with those who have said that the safari is great early in the morning, even though everyone goes there first. One of our best safari experiences was last September at EE because the animals were very active and plentiful at that time of morning. If you want to avoid the safari for your first attraction, however, I would suggest sending one of your group there at opening to get Fastpasses for later in the morning.

We typically go to EE at AK and can do pretty much everything we want by early afternoon. At a minimum, this usually includes the safari, the Tree of Life, It's Tough to Be a Bug, the Lion King show (never miss it!), Dinosaur, the Boneyard for the kids, Primeval Whirl, breakfast at Donald's, and general wandering around to appreciate the flora and fauna. After hitting the safari and It's Tough to Be a Bug before 9:00, we usually plan the rest of our morning around the seating time for the Lion King show. If we eliminate Donald's, we can do everything even more quickly wihout feeling rushed at all.

Hope your DH enjoys his birthday!

 

[CamColt]

Originally posted by frndofpooh
As others have suggested, the turnstiles open at 8:00 on the dot. This often creates a zoo-like atmosphere (pun intended) at the entrance, both because everyone has been gathering with nowhere to go and because the entrance area is probably a little bit smaller than at the other 3 parks.

As I noted above, as of Dec, the turnstiles were opening before 8:00. People were let in up to the Tree Of Life, where there was an opening show held. The show ended right at 8:00, when the guests were allowed further into the park. We had a much better experience with this than we did last summer when the turnstiles didnt open until 8:00.

Bobcat, we will look for you too.

 

[fantasia73]

Thanks for the advice. I hadn't even thought about the animals being more active. We'll give it a whirl.