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Animal Kingdom in the Winter!

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Tue, 10/23/2012 - 21:13
The Cookie Crumbler's picture
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Animal Kingdom in the Winter!

Hey! Does anyone who has been to the world in December or January have opinions about Animal Kingdom in the winter?

I've always been in the spring months so I've had to plan around my allergies and the heat, which meant going early in the morning and heading to another park just as the sun (and my sneezing) were reaching their high points. But since we're going in the winter, I'm wondering if it's best to switch the idea around and do another park at rope drop (probably Hollywood Studios) and head over to Animal Kingdom during the warmest part of the day until it closes around nightfall.

We're not doing Expedition Everest so we don't need to worry about getting fast passes, I'm just trying to figure out the best time of day to see the animals on an average Orlando winter day.

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Tue, 10/23/2012 - 21:28
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We went in December 2010, which was the coldest I have ever known Florida to be! Much colder than other Decembers! There was no queue for Kali River Rapids and I mean no queue - not one single person! So knowing full well how wet we would get we decided to be a bit crazy and ride the rapids anyway, got cold and very wet but soon dried off. I thought it was pleasant walking around the park in the colder weather but we are used to it. But beware of the Rapids!

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Tue, 10/23/2012 - 22:38
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Miss Mikki wrote:
We went in December 2010, which was the coldest I have ever known Florida to be! Much colder than other Decembers! There was no queue for Kali River Rapids and I mean no queue - not one single person! So knowing full well how wet we would get we decided to be a bit crazy and ride the rapids anyway, got cold and very wet but soon dried off. I thought it was pleasant walking around the park in the colder weather but we are used to it. But beware of the Rapids!

Oh man, I do not think we will attempt the Rapids in January. Kudos to you for having the guts to do that, though!

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Wed, 10/24/2012 - 02:04
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The Cookie Crumbler wrote:
Miss Mikki wrote:
We went in December 2010, which was the coldest I have ever known Florida to be! Much colder than other Decembers! There was no queue for Kali River Rapids and I mean no queue - not one single person! So knowing full well how wet we would get we decided to be a bit crazy and ride the rapids anyway, got cold and very wet but soon dried off. I thought it was pleasant walking around the park in the colder weather but we are used to it. But beware of the Rapids!

Oh man, I do not think we will attempt the Rapids in January. Kudos to you for having the guts to do that, though!

I will hand it to you for during the rapids, but if you consider that Florida's Jan/Feb can be in the 50's ( not including 2010) that is down right toasty for someone that just came from weather that was 5 below. Parts of Alaska and Canada stay in snow for months. 50's could be suntan weather in the middle of winter for some people.

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Wed, 10/24/2012 - 02:32
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angels444 wrote:
I will hand it to you for during the rapids, but if you consider that Florida's Jan/Feb can be in the 50's ( not including 2010) that is down right toasty for someone that just came from weather that was 5 below. Parts of Alaska and Canada stay in snow for months. 50's could be suntan weather in the middle of winter for some people.

Mhmm! The temperature in Florida will be a nice break from what we're used to that time of year. It's the whole getting wet while wearing non swimwear thing. I actually prefer to not do those rides in the hot weather either for that reason.

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Wed, 10/24/2012 - 14:15
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To me, Animal Kingdom is always the warmest and the most humid park. I honestly do not know how it is in the later part of the day because we have always gone there first thing in the morning and left after lunch.

Wed, 10/24/2012 - 14:59
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scrappy wrote:
To me, Animal Kingdom is always the warmest and the most humid park. I honestly do not know how it is in the later part of the day because we have always gone there first thing in the morning and left after lunch.

Yep, same here! I'm hoping that with the cooler weather it will all even out and I'll finally get the see the parade in the afternoon. crossfingers

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Wed, 10/24/2012 - 15:07
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Cookie, I think your plan is a good one! While you never really get away from allergies here in FL, the air is much drier, and the afternoons should be nice and warm (tho our winters, as you know, are unpredictable.) I'd say pencil in that plan and pay attention to the forecast 10 days out to see if you need to make some adjustments. Good luck!

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Sat, 11/03/2012 - 02:41
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The winter is a good time to go. Later in the day is ok, because the animals tend to be more active right before they are taken off exhibits, especially the bachelor group of gorillas. The safari is also good at the end of the day

I would plan on quite a bit of time though. If you are getting there around lunch time, that only leaves about 4 hours

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Sat, 11/03/2012 - 02:58
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We went in December five years ago and thought Animal Kingdom was quite comfortable all day long.

(However, IMO, Orlando does not have anything that remotely resembles winter.)

Sat, 11/03/2012 - 11:56
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angels444 wrote:
50's could be suntan weather in the middle of winter for some people.

That is hilarious, Angels!

Cookie, I hope you have a wonderful time on your trip...so happy that there won't be "stuff" blooming to make your allergies even worse! Are you allergic to animals in general, though? I have a kiddo who's allergic to dander, and we have to be careful in Animal Kingdom, especially in the back, petting all those cute things, which I can't seem to get her away from!

Sat, 11/03/2012 - 14:42
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Nancy D wrote:
angels444 wrote:
50's could be suntan weather in the middle of winter for some people.

That is hilarious, Angels!

Cookie, I hope you have a wonderful time on your trip...so happy that there won't be "stuff" blooming to make your allergies even worse! Are you allergic to animals in general, though? I have a kiddo who's allergic to dander, and we have to be careful in Animal Kingdom, especially in the back, petting all those cute things, which I can't seem to get her away from!

Haha, not the animals, just the crazy amount of plants that they have growing all over the place. wink

MikeMc wrote:
The winter is a good time to go. Later in the day is ok, because the animals tend to be more active right before they are taken off exhibits, especially the bachelor group of gorillas. The safari is also good at the end of the day

I would plan on quite a bit of time though. If you are getting there around lunch time, that only leaves about 4 hours

I love gorillas! muchlove

We plan to get there around 12 or so, which is four or five hours of time there. Most likely though it will be enough time for everything we want to see since we aren't taking in any rides other than the safari and most likely won't want to see the shows or meet and greets. Last time I was there we easily did Asia, Africa, Dinoland (including DINSOSAUR which I will not do again!) in under five hours. Not to mention that since we have hoppers we can always spend a few extra hours there on another day of the trip. wink

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Sat, 11/03/2012 - 22:49
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Haha, not the animals, just the crazy amount of plants that they have growing all over the place.

That is a problem with AK. You never know what will be out and growing. They have so many plants from all over the world in Ak and they have to the hot houses to grow things out of their normal season. So it is possible that there could plants in bloom that might bother you but hopefully you will okay.

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Sun, 11/25/2012 - 20:43
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I'm going to suggest Zyrtec with a Claritin chaser, a surgeon's mask, and some hand sanitizer. Smile ALLLL the bases covered. Oh, and maybe disposable gloves.

Allergies are such a pain in the rump, are they not?!

Sun, 12/02/2012 - 12:30
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The Cookie Crumbler wrote:

I love gorillas! muchlove

We plan to get there around 12 or so, which is four or five hours of time there. Most likely though it will be enough time for everything we want to see since we aren't taking in any rides other than the safari and most likely won't want to see the shows or meet and greets. Last time I was there we easily did Asia, Africa, Dinoland (including DINSOSAUR which I will not do again!) in under five hours. Not to mention that since we have hoppers we can always spend a few extra hours there on another day of the trip. wink

Using the park hopper is a great idea. If you can do the safari a second time and see how different the experience is

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