Animal Kingdom hours - Frustrated

[nicki.momof3]

I am planning a trip over NYE weekend. The one must do on our list is all the fun new evening activities at AK. AS of right now they are only open till 5pm everyday of our trip. I know they often extend hours as it gets closer but this is crazy. I want to plan a dinner and so on at night.

Frustrated.

 

[maxiesmom]

Disney has been slowly extending park hours. You are still more than 6 months out, so try and relax.

 

[CAS239]

You're looking too far in advance for any concrete hours. Hours were just recently extended for July. Animal Kingdom will 100% be open later than 5pm. So you can plan to be there later that day. If you want to make ADR's you'll just have to wait until it gets a lot closer to be able to make ADR's after 5pm. Fast pass wise though you still have plenty of time before you have to pick those

 

[Delirium]

I do not get the need why some folks deem it necessary to try and justify everything Disney does. The bottom line is that Disney virtually requires the vacationer to plan to get the most out of their vacation. Yet, Disney is no longer giving the vacationer the tools to do that timely. That is very frustrating, and I wish people would at least acknowledge that versus defending Disney to the death.

Keep in mind, the people that get most frustrated about this are people that only get to go once every few years. Not everyone has the benefit of visiting 2-3 times a year.

 

[Parker Clan]

They just posted updated July hours this week, I'm going in August and I'm expecting it to be updated mid July.
It's just to be expected - happens every year

 

[ArwenMarie]

I do not get the need why some folks deem it necessary to try and justify everything Disney does. The bottom line is that Disney virtually requires the vacationer to plan to get the most out of their vacation. Yet, Disney is no longer giving the vacationer the tools to do that timely. That is very frustrating, and I wish people would at least acknowledge that versus defending Disney to the death.

Keep in mind, the people that get most frustrated about this are people that only get to go once every few years. Not everyone has the benefit of visiting 2-3 times a year.

I agree. I understand that they can't/won't have park hours so far in advance but then they need to move the ADR date up and sync everything up.

 

[DebbieB]

I agree. I understand that they can't/won't have park hours so far in advance but then they need to move the ADR date up and sync everything up.

I agree, 180 days is ridiculous.

 

[bpadair32]

I do not get the need why some folks deem it necessary to try and justify everything Disney does. The bottom line is that Disney virtually requires the vacationer to plan to get the most out of their vacation. Yet, Disney is no longer giving the vacationer the tools to do that timely. That is very frustrating, and I wish people would at least acknowledge that versus defending Disney to the death.

Keep in mind, the people that get most frustrated about this are people that only get to go once every few years. Not everyone has the benefit of visiting 2-3 times a year.

It is frustrating but in my opinion it is understandable, especially with AK where the later hours are new. They want to judge response, how people like it, what crowds are, etc. they don't want to keep the park open late and have it be empty.

 

[Delirium]

It is frustrating but in my opinion it is understandable, especially with AK where the later hours are new. They want to judge response, how people like it, what crowds are, etc. they don't want to keep the park open late and have it be empty.

I'll counter with this in regards to AK. How can they judge the interest in AK when the hours do not support the interest that may be there. I'm going in October. Right now, AK hours end at 7:00 or 7:30. It gets dark at approximately 7:10.

So, what if I want to do nighttime at AK. And, to get the most out of my experience, I want to do it all JB/ROL, Sunset Safari, Everest in the dark. Dinner at Tiffins, etc. You know how many of those I can do with the park closing at 7:30? I can do exactly one. If you're going to market it as at nighttime event, then make it possible at night to do some of it. Don't give me a 15 minute window of nighttime. There is nothing attractive or appealing about that to draw me to make special plans for that night. They may as well left the park close at 5 o'clock for all the good 7 o'clock does.

It's easy for someone that will be going back in 3-4 months to say "I'll just catch it next time", but I may not get the opportunity to go back to Disney for 2-3 years.

 

[disnut8]

I'll counter with this in regards to AK. How can they judge the interest in AK when the hours do not support the interest that may be there. I'm going in October. Right now, AK hours end at 7:00 or 7:30. It gets dark at approximately 7:10.

So, what if I want to do nighttime at AK. And, to get the most out of my experience, I want to do it all JB/ROL, Sunset Safari, Everest in the dark. Dinner at Tiffins, etc. You know how many of those I can do with the park closing at 7:30? I can do exactly one. If you're going to market it as at nighttime event, then make it possible at night to do some of it. Don't give me a 15 minute window of nighttime. There is nothing attractive or appealing about that to draw me to make special plans for that night. They may as well left the park close at 5 o'clock for all the good 7 o'clock does.

It's easy for someone that will be going back in 3-4 months to say "I'll just catch it next time", but I may not get the opportunity to go back to Disney for 2-3 years.

I'm not defending Disney to the death but wanted to understand what you cannot plan on doing in October that needs to be booked right now. I realize the dinner could be booked right now but what else? I haven't researched the Animal Kingdom nighttime stuff so wanted an understanding of what could be booked now if the hours posted were extended and what you might miss out on with not knowing the hours.

 

[Delirium]

I'm not defending Disney to the death but wanted to understand what you cannot plan on doing in October that needs to be booked right now. I realize the dinner could be booked right now but what else? I haven't researched the Animal Kingdom nighttime stuff so wanted an understanding of what could be booked now if the hours posted were extended and what you might miss out on with not knowing the hours.

Keep in mind that we're not planning for a day, we're planning for the entire trip. Dining for each of the 10 days depends on what park you're going to be at. Also, Fast Pass planning is not something that is typically mapped out the morning you can make the selections. Throw in limited nighttime spectaculars at MK because of the parties, and concerts at Epcot we want to schedule around, and Disney is making it tough.

All that said, I would not be complaining today if they would have announced a 9 o'clock close when they adjusted hours last week. But, they did not. They announced 7:00 and 7:30 closes. That does not allow enough time for anyone to 'experience' AK at night. It allows you to choose one among many things you would like to do.

 

[DebbieB]

I'm not defending Disney to the death but wanted to understand what you cannot plan on doing in October that needs to be booked right now. I realize the dinner could be booked right now but what else? I haven't researched the Animal Kingdom nighttime stuff so wanted an understanding of what could be booked now if the hours posted were extended and what you might miss out on with not knowing the hours.

I'm going Oct 22 to 29. Problem is it's difficult to make a plan for the week without knowing what's going on. My hang ups are AK at night and when will Star Wars fireworks be shown. Its questionable if there will be a Jungle Book/Rivers of Light show in October. Star Wars may not be every night. Right now it's not a big deal but I want something firm before fastpass day on August 23. I have a couple lunch ADRs that are not dependent on those but that's it.

 

[Accident]

We all go through this and it's really annoying and lately its uber annoying.. I don't think anyone was defending disney at all but letting you know what to expect so you can try to plan it... We feel your pain, this is a community help each other site and it was just some information on how disney has been doing hours lately and AK at night will be happening as far as anyone knows so it's a good time to lock in that place you want now and change it if the situation changes closer..

I also recommend contacting disney (they have a contact page on their website) and complain on how hours aren't correct for december and they want you to pick food 180 days in advance but they don't have the park schedule for 180 days away...

 

[nicki.momof3]

They just posted updated July hours this week, I'm going in August and I'm expecting it to be updated mid July.
It's just to be expected - happens every year

I am well aware that WDW updates hours but to send me emails and brochures that state evening AK hours and then to have non posted it annoying. If I am going to AK at night I want to make a ADR at the park that evening. At this point it is only open until 5pm so I can't do that at my 180 days.

I'm not defending Disney to the death but wanted to understand what you cannot plan on doing in October that needs to be booked right now. I realize the dinner could be booked right now but what else? I haven't researched the Animal Kingdom nighttime stuff so wanted an understanding of what could be booked now if the hours posted were extended and what you might miss out on with not knowing the hours.

Based on the emails and boruchures they are sending me they are advertising evening event for our trip. IF they are going to require me to preplan this trip 180 days out than they should also be ready at 180 days out. I understand extending hours but to have no evening hours posted is unacceptable.

 

[DVCkidsMOM]

What worries me isn't that they won't extend the hours, but that they might extended hours more on some days and less on others. Sure I can add or change an AK ADR to accommodate extended hours. The fear is that a high-priority or difficult to get ADR or FPP will be scheduled elsewhere on the night that (it turns out at the last minute) AK is open later. If we knew which days AK would be open later, then we could plan accordingly. If we knew that all nights would have equal regular closing time, then this fear goes away.
I know Disney needs to extend hours based on crowds, but the current erratic crap-shoot of hours is frustrating and makes it look as if Disney can't get their stuff together.

 

[CAS239]

I never really care about if hours are set far in advance because we never really ever eat in the park so we don't worry about making ADR's. So really the only people being affected are those looking to make early prepark opening, or close to closing, ADR's.

So for people that do that, especially those that plan ADR's daily, I can agree how that would be frustrating. 180 days in advance is utterly insane. It should be 30-60 days in advance. Idk what I'll have for dinner tomorrow, let alone 6 months from now or what time id want to be there eating. But I wouldn't get hopes up because A)everyone's seeing the same hours so when they open up it'll be open for everyone at the same time B) you can still get a lot of good choices closer to your trip. The only times we've made ADR's we've made reservations within 2 weeks for Sci-Fi, Crystal Palace, and Tusker House.

And if you're someone that ADR's play a big part in your trip and you're looking for specific dining hours, then look into that one website/app that you have to pay for but it scans the hours/days and notifies you if what you want becomes available.

 

[Delirium]

[QUOTE="CAS239, post: 55999606, member: 514562" So really the only people being affected are those looking to make early prepark opening, or close to closing, ADR's.

[/QUOTE]

That's not a true statement. This the first time we've had to deal with ADRs, because we got free dining. We would still be extremely interested in what the park hours are because when we're going there are a lot parties at MK that close that park early, and we're looking for things to do at night. And, even if they extend hours more, we're more interested in the attractions than we are the dining. It's a rare dining experience that changes just because it gets dark out. There are many attractions that do so.

 

[Tia1977]

Very frustrating, I agree!!! If you're a detailed planner (which Disney requires should you want popular ADR's bf they book up), you at least have to plan which days for which parks by 180, or you won't be prepared to know where you want your ADR's and when. We're going early October too, and especially during that time (when people heavy book ADR's in hopes of FD), I knew I had to jump on booking the 1st am of our 180 mark. And, I STILL didn't get some of the specific days/times I wanted. I booked the latest TH dinner for what was to be our AK day, SO excited about all the new nighttime activities (really then hoping to switch to a JB or RoL package when hrs were extended) When Disney rolled our their oh so generous closing of 7p last week , I was lucky enough to grab a TH lunch just in case. If they don't extend past 7, we're high tailing it outta there for another park. Just think if I didn't have PH & that wasn't an option! And by now, the best ADR's for other parks are mostly gone. Had I been fully prepped beforehand, it would have changed how I wanted some of my park days. So now, I'm hoarding an extra ADR that someone else could use; and plans for that day are up in the air. We're all used to last minute changes that involve a couple of hours, EMH's, etc... BUT, it's a really big deal when it involves 5+ hrs and impacts not being able to do highlighted main attractions or book ADR's early enough to plan well.

 

[soniam]

I do not get the need why some folks deem it necessary to try and justify everything Disney does. The bottom line is that Disney virtually requires the vacationer to plan to get the most out of their vacation. Yet, Disney is no longer giving the vacationer the tools to do that timely. That is very frustrating, and I wish people would at least acknowledge that versus defending Disney to the death.

Keep in mind, the people that get most frustrated about this are people that only get to go once every few years. Not everyone has the benefit of visiting 2-3 times a year.

I don't know if people are justifying the behavior. I think they are explaining what we have been seeing Disney do. We have no control over what they do. It is frustrating, but I think knowing that info probably won't be available until later makes it a little less frustrating. Plus, anyone who has been reading the boards wouldn't be asking about December; they would have seen that July was recently released. Everyday there are multiple threads where people are asking when info for this thing or that park will be released. Looking around a little would provide the info that most people are looking for.

 

[TXAKDisneyFan]

Just think if I didn't have PH & that wasn't an option!

Is this their way of getting people to purchase hoppers? We always have them, and we try to get FP+ for early in the day, so changing park hours aren't a huge deal for us. But I can totally see how not knowing set park hours (and which days are party days) until a month (or less) before your trip would be incredibly frustrating.