AK 8am normal opening - what's open?

[tlmadden73]

I was just looking at hours for my upcoming trip and I noticed that AK is open at 8AM on Sunday, March 24th. I think that is a new addition because I don't recall seeing that when I made my FPs (and I see some fast passes open between 8-9 am (like Everest).

This isn't an EMH day or ticketed event, it looks like it is just opening early.

So what is open that early? My first fast pass is 9:30 am (for Safari) and we couldn't get FOP fast pass, so we used our Tier 1 for Navi River Journey (around 11:00 AM).

Because we have a 2 kids (an no grandparents this time), we don't have plans for FOP (so no plans to rush there at Rope Drop). I know last time we went to DinoLand USA early the rides were open but the Boneyard was not.

Just trying to figure out what to do before the Safari and if it is worth getting there early if we don't need to rush to FOP.

Are the animal walking paths open that early? Is Tough to Be a Bug open that early? Any other shows? Where do I find out when the attractions open that day?

Maybe Dinosaur, (would have to do Rider Swap with my daughter) or Triceratops Spin .. but I was planning on doing DinoLand in the afternoon.

 

[Robo]

Bug will be open.
EE will be open (maybe “delayed” a bit.)
Safari is iffy.
Walking trails, maybe.
Dinosaur and much of Dinorama will be open.
Na’vi River will be open.
No live shows.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

I was just looking at hours for my upcoming trip and I noticed that AK is open at 8AM on Sunday, March 24th. I think that is a new addition because I don't recall seeing that when I made my FPs (and I see some fast passes open between 8-9 am (like Everest).

FYI, those hours were just updated a few hours ago, so that’s fresh info. A good time to adjust plans and play with FPs if needed. Have fun.

 

[tlmadden73]

Bug will be open.
EE will be open (maybe “delayed” a bit.)
Safari is iffy.
Walking trails, maybe.
Dinosaur and much of Dinorama will be open.
Na’vi River will be open.
No live shows.

Thanks .. after posting this .. of course .. I looked on Disney's website (filtered for AK and that day) and it gave me some more details. Duh.
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/attractions/animal-kingdom/

Looks like most everything will be open at 8:00 - 8:15 except the boneyard, some character M&Gs, and Kali River Rapids.

So . .maybe we will just explore Discovery Island and see Tough To Be a Bug before 9:30am. If we have time . .maybe we hit the Gorilla Trails, but we usually do that after the Safari since it dumps you right there.

 

[tlmadden73]

FYI, those hours were just updated a few hours ago, so that’s fresh info. A good time to adjust plans and play with FPs if needed. Have fun.

Thanks .. there were no available FOP Fast Passes for the 8:00-9:00 hour .. but were for other attractions like Everest. That's why I figured it happened recently.

Why does Disney change hours and open a park (like AK) early? I don't know when last time I saw a park open that early when it wasn't an EMH day. .. Do they anticipate heavy crowds that day (based on FP availability?)

 

[AngiTN]

Thanks .. there were no available FOP Fast Passes for the 8:00-9:00 hour .. but were for other attractions like Everest. That's why I figured it happened recently.

Why does Disney change hours and open a park (like AK) early? I don't know when last time I saw a park open that early when it wasn't an EMH day. .. Do they anticipate heavy crowds that day (based on FP availability?)

They'll add the FP. They never upload all the FP at the same time that they update the hours

They add hours all the time. Every month and have for a couple of years now
Not sure anyone knows why they do them the way they do it now

 

[jenmsmith]

That’s our AK day, too. The hours were actually updated with the mid-February update. So the FastPasses for the extended hours were loaded weeks ago. That said, people change their plans frequently, so FOP could still show up.