**Disney After Hours - Animal Kingdom** FAQ & Discussion Thread

I did my FPs today and was able to get FOP, so between that and the recent reviews I’ve officially decided against DAH:( Which is a bummer, it sounded like fun initially but I just can’t justify the price.
 
For those that had issues last night with wait times, I would advise you to email guest services to voice your displeasure. For the money people are paying for this event, wait times should not be that long for FOP. Sounds like they need to staff up and have all theaters and levels open.
 
I did my FPs today and was able to get FOP, so between that and the recent reviews I’ve officially decided against DAH:( Which is a bummer, it sounded like fun initially but I just can’t justify the price.

Yeah, I am bummed as well, especially since I already have the tickets bought.
I made FP for FOP 6-7 and Safari 7-8. I was hoping there were reports of people being allowed in before 7. Kids wanted Safari since it's not open during DAH, otherwise I would have done FOP 7-8.
Maybe we will get lucky on our day and get in before 7 slightly so we can use the grace period. Otherwise saving it for last if I have to use 45 minutes of my night. :sad2:
 
Yeah, I am bummed as well, especially since I already have the tickets bought.
I made FP for FOP 6-7 and Safari 7-8. I was hoping there were reports of people being allowed in before 7. Kids wanted Safari since it's not open during DAH, otherwise I would have done FOP 7-8.
Maybe we will get lucky on our day and get in before 7 slightly so we can use the grace period. Otherwise saving it for last if I have to use 45 minutes of my night. :sad2:

Last night couldn’t get in until right at 7 pm.
 


I got a pretty generic email back from Disney. Seemed like an automated message back from them. I voiced my concerns and some positives. Hopefully they fix things for the future events.
 
I may be wrong, but I do not think I've seen reports of Photopass photographers being out at DAK DAH. I know they weren't out at DHS DAH when we went in Dec. This is different than MK DAH which has historically had photographers out on Main Street (and the Tangled Lantern photo) out during the event.
There were Photopass Photographers at DHS DAH on Jan 12th. Not just for character spots. I got several great shots.
 
Everest x3-long waits because people kept peeing in the seats and they had to clean them then send them through empty to air them out

Oh my GAWD. I'm sorry.

or those that had issues last night with wait times, I would advise you to email guest services to voice your displeasure. For the money people are paying for this event, wait times should not be that long for FOP. Sounds like they need to staff up and have all theaters and levels open.

This.
 


Would just like to thank all of you brave souls that have gone to this and reported back so diligently and completely! It's your experiences and willingness to share them that SAVES LIVES (ok, $$$ and time) of the rest of us. I can only hope that Disney is listening to those of you that are letting them know the error of their ways. And hopefully will make the changes necessary to make the DAH AK worth the money their charging. I will continue to follow, in case Disney ups their game and makes this a "cannot be missed event". Otherwise, I will have to forgo this on my trip in Dec. (assuming it lasts that long). Really disappointed, wanted to stay late in AK!
 
Is there a chance to use dining plan credits (i.e. Quick Service or Snack credits) during DAH? Would love to have a lumpia and night blossom drink in Pandora.
 
Is there a chance to use dining plan credits (i.e. Quick Service or Snack credits) during DAH? Would love to have a lumpia and night blossom drink in Pandora.
You could get a night blossom. When we were there the pandora concession with drinks was open until 11:30. I only know this because Dh asked for a water and she said how much it would cost. Dh didn’t know you could only get them at the carts
 
After AK DAH Thursday night, DH and I both agree it's worth the time and money overall, but there are a few key caveats: first, we have a huge bias in favor of Animal Kingdom to begin with, we remember and long for nighttime EMH in that park, and EE is on our list of top five rides that we've experienced anywhere, not just Disney.

We left POFQ at about 6:40 pm, and there was only one other couple on the bus with us. Security was a breeze, and since we have APs, we tapped in (zero wait) and headed to the AP check in to avoid the somewhat long special event line. This is where we hit our first snag: I asked a CM at the tapstyles where guests already in the park could pick up their wristbands, and she told me that the line at the front gate was the only possible location to receive a wristband. I knew that wasn't the case, so we just headed for the ToL, and I kept asking CMs on the way until we found one who knew where to send us, to a poorly lit podium past
 
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After AK DAH Thursday night, DH and I both agree it's worth the time and money overall, but there are a few key caveats: first, we have a huge bias in favor of Animal Kingdom to begin with, we remember and long for nighttime EMH in that park, and EE is on our list of top five rides that we've experienced anywhere, not just Disney.

We left POFQ at about 6:40 pm, and there was only one other couple on the bus with us. Security was a breeze, and since we have APs, we tapped in (zero wait) and headed to the AP check in to a kid the somewhat long special event line. This is where we hit our first snag: I asked a CM at the tapstyles where guests already in the park could pick up their wristbands, and she told me that the line at the front gate was the only possible location to receive a wristband. I knew that wasn't the case, so we just headed for the ToL, and I kept asking CMs on the way until we found one who knew where to send us, to a poorly lit podium past
Did one of you have a Totoro hat?
 
After AK DAH Thursday night, DH and I both agree it's worth the time and money overall, but there are a few key caveats: first, we have a huge bias in favor of Animal Kingdom to begin with, we remember and long for nighttime EMH in that park, and EE is on our list of top five rides that we've experienced anywhere, not just Disney.

We left POFQ at about 6:40 pm, and there was only one other couple on the bus with us. Security was a breeze, and since we have APs, we tapped in (zero wait) and headed to the AP check in to a kid the somewhat long special event line. This is where we hit our first snag: I asked a CM at the tapstyles where guests already in the park could pick up their wristbands, and she told me that the line at the front gate was the only possible location to receive a wristband. I knew that wasn't the case, so we just headed for the ToL, and I kept asking CMs on the way until we found one who knew where to send us, to a poorly lit podium past
More than half of my report didn't post: I'm going to try to add it, but I'm having crazy tech issues on site, so it might not happen until I get home.
 
Cont . . .
to a poorly lit podium past Riverside Depot. Finding the spot was not simple at all; it could be and should be marked more clearly. We waited about ten minutes in a loosely formed line, in which the CM in charge only spoke to one group and the rest of us had to ask each other if we were all gathered for the same reason, but at least we received our bands with no trouble.

By 7:05, we headed to Flametree to grab a small meal, since we wanted to take advantage of popcorn and ice cream during the event and not pay for additional food. We then headed to Dinoland, to use a FP at PW before it closed. We were off by 7:50 or so, and the crowds were already thinning. We confirmed that the cart between PW and Triceratop would be open for the event.

A quick aside: the whole half hour between close and the beginning of the event is ridiculous. I get the need to clear out day guests, but Disney doesn't have a clear line as to how that half hour will be for event guests. For instance, we could ride Triceratop Spin, but they wouldn't let us ride Dinosaur. The stores closed (except the ones that remained open all night), and there was no food available.

After the Whirl, we rode Triceratop twice, then walked over to Dinosuar but were turned away and told to come back at 8:30. We returned to and rode Triceratop once more. We kept trying to catch a DJ party, but no one was dancing, and the whole thing was kind of sad and awkward with no characters and no guests. We grabbed an ice cream sandwich, popcorn (in a small cup), and two bottles of water from the Dinoland cart.

Next, we walked to Expedition Everest. We walked right to the queuing area, but were then stopped. As a PP mentioned, they were cleaning and pulling trains out. I don't know about the whole pee thing; a CM told us someone got sick (which I took to mean threw up). I agree that the trains were only wiped a bit, but they were being pulled out of rotation for a more complete clean, which explained the issue to me. I don't know which happened, but the messes did mean we waited while four trains left the station, only two with people on them. We walked right back on and had almost zero wait the second time.

We left Asia and returned to Dinosaur. We walked straight through the queue, but had to watch the preshow. We rode, and then stayed on for a second ride. We returned to Everest and rode again, then grabbed two more popcorns (in a really small cup) and two more ice cream treats. We decided to give RoL a try. We've seen it once and really didn't care for it, so we thought this was an easy, no risk way to see if that was a fluke. We watched for a few minutes and left--just not our thing.

At this point, we decided it was time to head to Pandora and spend the rest of our night on FoP. We walked straight through the FP line: DH times, and we reached the ramps in two minutes. We were sent to three, and this is where the story turns a bit dark.

We were stopped near the top of the ramp, maybe twelve or so people back. We could see the CMs as they sorted people. I'm sorry don't know exactly how long this next bit was, but it was at the point we knew something was wrong that a group hadn't been led to the preshow. Then, CMs led two sets of riders back out of the ride, lined them up in two open lines, telling them to stay in their same order. They cleared two bays, started two more, and then those groups rode first--fair, but since the preshow takes so long, it really created a delay for everyone else. We waited, and in total, it took forty-seven minutes to ride FoP. Clearly, this was out of the ordinary, but it was a huge bummer. We'd hoped to ride at least two or three times, plus once on River, but after that whole experience, we were out of sorts and left.

Overall, we really enjoyed it, and I know the delay at FoP wouldn't happen every time. We plan to do it again if the chance presents itself.
 
Cont . . .
to a poorly lit podium past Riverside Depot. Finding the spot was not simple at all; it could be and should be marked more clearly. We waited about ten minutes in a loosely formed line, in which the CM in charge only spoke to one group and the rest of us had to ask each other if we were all gathered for the same reason, but at least we received our bands with no trouble.

By 7:05, we headed to Flametree to grab a small meal, since we wanted to take advantage of popcorn and ice cream during the event and not pay for additional food. We then headed to Dinoland, to use a FP at PW before it closed. We were off by 7:50 or so, and the crowds were already thinning. We confirmed that the cart between PW and Triceratop would be open for the event.

A quick aside: the whole half hour between close and the beginning of the event is ridiculous. I get the need to clear out day guests, but Disney doesn't have a clear line as to how that half hour will be for event guests. For instance, we could ride Triceratop Spin, but they wouldn't let us ride Dinosaur. The stores closed (except the ones that remained open all night), and there was no food available.

After the Whirl, we rode Triceratop twice, then walked over to Dinosuar but were turned away and told to come back at 8:30. We returned to and rode Triceratop once more. We kept trying to catch a DJ party, but no one was dancing, and the whole thing was kind of sad and awkward with no characters and no guests. We grabbed an ice cream sandwich, popcorn (in a small cup), and two bottles of water from the Dinoland cart.

Next, we walked to Expedition Everest. We walked right to the queuing area, but were then stopped. As a PP mentioned, they were cleaning and pulling trains out. I don't know about the whole pee thing; a CM told us someone got sick (which I took to mean threw up). I agree that the trains were only wiped a bit, but they were being pulled out of rotation for a more complete clean, which explained the issue to me. I don't know which happened, but the messes did mean we waited while four trains left the station, only two with people on them. We walked right back on and had almost zero wait the second time.

We left Asia and returned to Dinosaur. We walked straight through the queue, but had to watch the preshow. We rode, and then stayed on for a second ride. We returned to Everest and rode again, then grabbed two more popcorns (in a really small cup) and two more ice cream treats. We decided to give RoL a try. We've seen it once and really didn't care for it, so we thought this was an easy, no risk way to see if that was a fluke. We watched for a few minutes and left--just not our thing.

At this point, we decided it was time to head to Pandora and spend the rest of our night on FoP. We walked straight through the FP line: DH times, and we reached the ramps in two minutes. We were sent to three, and this is where the story turns a bit dark.

We were stopped near the top of the ramp, maybe twelve or so people back. We could see the CMs as they sorted people. I'm sorry don't know exactly how long this next bit was, but it was at the point we knew something was wrong that a group hadn't been led to the preshow. Then, CMs led two sets of riders back out of the ride, lined them up in two open lines, telling them to stay in their same order. They cleared two bays, started two more, and then those groups rode first--fair, but since the preshow takes so long, it really created a delay for everyone else. We waited, and in total, it took forty-seven minutes to ride FoP. Clearly, this was out of the ordinary, but it was a huge bummer. We'd hoped to ride at least two or three times, plus once on River, but after that whole experience, we were out of sorts and left.

Overall, we really enjoyed it, and I know the delay at FoP wouldn't happen every time. We plan to do it again if the chance presents itself.
I feel like we might’ve been in the same group lol. We literally had almost the EXACT touring plan as you. Hardly anything was different. I know we saw his Totoro hat quite a few times. I completely agree about the half hour. We literally wandered and had no idea what to do during that time
 

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