Animal Kingdom at night

[Leiadorrian]

Heading to Animal Kingdom for the first time in a few years and trying to plan our evening hours. We will have already accomplished most of our must-do's by about 6 pm, and I have dinner reservations at Yak and Yeti at 6:15, but may cancel those to watch Rivers of Light. We will be there on November 11th. Park closes at 8 pm that night with Rivers of Light showing at 6:30 pm. We are a family with preteens and a 9 month old. What is the best use of our last two hours in the park with all the new offerings? Most of the reviews I can find are at least 6 - 9 months old, so wanted advice from someone who has been more recently or maybe even goes regularly. Thanks!

 

[CAS239]

Check out Pandora, check out the Tree of Life Awakenings, ride Everest at night if there's coaster fans in the mix.. Skip River of lights

 

[Lesley Wake]

I think because RoL is showing earlier you should see it. Is it the most amazing evening spectacle ever-no; but that doesn't make it bad at all! My sister and I thouroughly enjoyed it!

If I was in your shoes, after RoL I would try to ride Everest (maybe see if you can get a Fastpass for the last hour after you use up your earlier passes). Then make my way over and catch some of Tree of Life awakenings. Then go and explore Pandora a bit. Pandora will still be lit up after park close (you just can't get in line for rides), so you can still wander around a bit.

One thing I would recommend is to see if any River of Light dining packages are available at Tusker House. That was probably my favorite dinner and then we didn't need to wait in insane lines to get a spot.

You can also consider watching RoL from Flame Tree BBQ. You will be seeing it from the backside, but is a calmer experience than fighting with crowds.

 

[Klayfish]

I will take the middle of the road...if RoL works into your plans, fine, but don't go out of your way for it. It's just so-so, IMO. Yes, go check out Pandora at night, it's cool. EE in the dark is a lot of fun. The whole street party they have going is also really cool.

 

[Mr & Mrs DD]

*Tree of Life (Awakenings)
*Kilimanjaro Safari at night is an experience that we enjoy after dark. It is different at night. Some animals are a little more active. We came across the lions calling out in the night. Loved it.
*Expedition Everest. Roller coasters are always fun at night.

 

[Leiadorrian]

I think because RoL is showing earlier you should see it. Is it the most amazing evening spectacle ever-no; but that doesn't make it bad at all! My sister and I thouroughly enjoyed it!

If I was in your shoes, after RoL I would try to ride Everest (maybe see if you can get a Fastpass for the last hour after you use up your earlier passes). Then make my way over and catch some of Tree of Life awakenings. Then go and explore Pandora a bit. Pandora will still be lit up after park close (you just can't get in line for rides), so you can still wander around a bit.

One thing I would recommend is to see if any River of Light dining packages are available at Tusker House. That was probably my favorite dinner and then we didn't need to wait in insane lines to get a spot.

You can also consider watching RoL from Flame Tree BBQ. You will be seeing it from the backside, but is a calmer experience than fighting with crowds.

Thanks! I like this idea because I know we are going to have to eat, but I hate to waste time eating and miss other things. I've heard good things about Flame Tree Barbecue. Is there also a place to eat and watch the Tree of Life Awakenings? Would love to feed the family while experiencing some of the new nighttime stuff.

 

[Lesley Wake]

Thanks! I like this idea because I know we are going to have to eat, but I hate to waste time eating and miss other things. I've heard good things about Flame Tree Barbecue. Is there also a place to eat and watch the Tree of Life Awakenings? Would love to feed the family while experiencing some of the new nighttime stuff.

I know the best view of Tree of Life Awakenings is from the front, but now I think they do project things all around the tree. It sort of goes on all the time, with various animals moving or lifting their heads. Then they have small mini-shows, the one I saw had a deer running around a forest with a hawk watching over him. I know there were more, but I didn't have time to see them (will be making an effort this next trip).

As for food areas, I don't think there are any convenient places to sit and eat and watch the projections. But there aren't crazy crowds, so you can usually just stand around for a bit in front of the tree. Maybe after watching RoL from Flame Tree (want to make sure you get there with enough time to find a table close to the water, but all tables are first come/first served) you head over to Pandora, stopping for a bit to watch Awakenings?

 

[fely1st]

Have been to AK at night first time this summer, and really had lot of fun.We didn't do RoL, but were able to ride Everest 8 times in a row in the last half hour of the park. We had a blast, so if you like coaster. Also Pandora looks really great at dark. Dinosaurier and the other Dinoland rides had also very short lines and were more fun in the dark.

 

[BigredNole]

RoL is a 1-and-done attraction. I couldn't see myself sitting there for that long to see it again. I would plan Pandora, EE, and KS at night time.

 

[PoohBearFriends]

I think because RoL is showing earlier you should see it. Is it the most amazing evening spectacle ever-no; but that doesn't make it bad at all! My sister and I thouroughly enjoyed it!

If I was in your shoes, after RoL I would try to ride Everest (maybe see if you can get a Fastpass for the last hour after you use up your earlier passes). Then make my way over and catch some of Tree of Life awakenings. Then go and explore Pandora a bit. Pandora will still be lit up after park close (you just can't get in line for rides), so you can still wander around a bit.

One thing I would recommend is to see if any River of Light dining packages are available at Tusker House. That was probably my favorite dinner and then we didn't need to wait in insane lines to get a spot.

You can also consider watching RoL from Flame Tree BBQ. You will be seeing it from the backside, but is a calmer experience than fighting with crowds.

Is the ROL dining package at Tusker House with Characters? Anything different (besides getting passes for ROL) than a regular booking?

 

[Lesley Wake]

Is the ROL dining package at Tusker House with Characters? Anything different (besides getting passes for ROL) than a regular booking?

Yup, it has Safari Mickey, Donald, Daisy, Goofy. The characters are pretty fun, even for 2 adults without kids! The food was very good; there were some African inspired flavors but also plenty of "normal" flavors. I am an extremely picky eater and don't eat anything too spicy and I could eat plenty. You do have to make sure to book thru the RoL page, but can do breakfast lunch or dinner. I don't know if prices are different.