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

[PolyRob]

Not that they would do this, but at akl they let you use night vision goggles to see animals. That would be sweet if they did that for safari rides lol

That would be so cool if they did that!

Honestly if they don't, you really can't see much at all. The "simulated sunset" is cool in theory, but didn't do much. The drivers share a LOT more facts about plants, trees, etc since there aren't many visible animals at night.

 

[Haley R]

Well, they took a lot of time and effort to install night time lighting a couple of years ago.... although the nighttime experience didn't get a ton of positive feedback (we are one of the few odd ones that actually liked it). I'll be curious to see if they run KS during DAH.

I think a night time safari would be really fun. It would definitely help sway my mind a bit towards doing dah at ak. Otherwise, there just isn’t enough there for that price tag.

 

[Haley R]

That would be so cool if they did that!

Honestly if they don't, you really can't see much at all. The "simulated sunset" is cool in theory, but didn't do much. The drivers share a LOT more facts about plants, trees, etc since there aren't many visible animals at night.

Can you imagine everyone on the truck wearing night vision goggles? It would look so cool lol.

 

[pitpat]

I think a night time safari would be really fun. It would definitely help sway my mind a bit towards doing dah at ak. Otherwise, there just isn’t enough there for that price tag.

think of how much DAH time that would take up. not a great value when you could just ride with a FP during park hours.

DAH at MK was awesome, I just see issues with it at AK and HS. Not enough rides to spread everyone out.

 

[Haley R]

think of how much DAH time that would take up. not a great value when you could just ride with a FP during park hours.

DAH at MK was awesome, I just see issues with it at AK and HS. Not enough rides to spread everyone out.

I still would do it because there isn’t much else to do at ak.

 

[DisneyFranatic]

So we will be at AK on the day of the Disney After Hours Event. Will we be able to stay at the park until regular park closing time if we are not staying for the event? Historically is the park hosting the event more or less crowded on the day of the event?

 

[bigeyedfish]

I can’t imagine they would do late night safaris. If their ultimate goal as caretakers and conservationists is the health and well-being of the animal, are they really going to disrupt their sleep patterns?

 

[Haley R]

So we will be at AK on the day of the Disney After Hours Event. Will we be able to stay at the park until regular park closing time if we are not staying for the event? Historically is the park hosting the event more or less crowded on the day of the event?

Yep you can stay until regular park closing. I don’t think dah has had a huge impact on crowds but that might change with it being at three parks now

 

[GADisneyDad14]

So we will be at AK on the day of the Disney After Hours Event. Will we be able to stay at the park until regular park closing time if we are not staying for the event? Historically is the park hosting the event more or less crowded on the day of the event?

We need to see how they run these new events at AK, but for MK it's not a "clear the park" situation where they shoo you out. Day guests can't ride rides after park closing, but you can make the way out of the park at your leisure.

Impact on crowds is tough to say since there is no event history at AK. At MK, it's been a "non-issue" because the park can absorb so many people... a few thousand more (or whatever the number is) just isn't enough to be noticeable. I suspect AK and DHS will kind of be the same - sure there will be DAH people in the park, but it's likely impossible to truly feel an impact one way or the other (just my initial guess though).

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

I'm considering this for April 3rd. With a relatively short (5 night) trip, my odds of getting FOP FPs aren't great. So this could (in theory) be a great option to get all the Pandora rides done without FP. I'll be curious to see more info about this though, as I share some of the concerns already mentioned about their ability to clear the FOP queue of day guests in time to make this worthwhile. Also, EE being open or not is a deal breaker for us, as we would be using this event in place of a full AK day and EE is my kids favorite ride in all of WDW. Just when I thought I had it all figured out...

 

[sanapp]

I am interested in AK, but I need more details. There doesn’t seem to be enough rides to keep you busy and make it worth it. It also doesn’t list any food included.....

 

[kenshinelite]

I am interested in AK, but I need more details. There doesn’t seem to be enough rides to keep you busy and make it worth it. It also doesn’t list any food included.....

I think more information will come out when its closer to the day you can reserve these. Its just not enough information to make a sound decision. Food, Rides, other events. Its a good amount of money for zero information about how they will work.

 

[HopperFan]

I am interested in AK, but I need more details. There doesn’t seem to be enough rides to keep you busy and make it worth it. It also doesn’t list any food included.....

I think they stated the "included" food here ...

Ice cream, popcorn and select beverages are also included in your Disney After Hours admission

Do you mean what places will be open for purchasing food?

 

[sanapp]

I think they stated the "included" food here ...

Ice cream, popcorn and select beverages are also included in your Disney After Hours admission

Do you mean what places will be open for purchasing food?

The information I read said that for MK only, but didn’t list anything for HS or AK. It also doesn’t really say what rides will be operating.

 

[HopperFan]

The information I read said that for MK only, but didn’t list anything for HS or AK. It also doesn’t really say what rides will be operating.

No, it said those snacks are for all the parks and then went on to give more details for each park. DHS and AK list some rides and I am sure when the link opens for booking (Nov 15) those parks will have a detailed list like MK.

This is from Disney Parks Blog .....


Disney After Hours events have been such a huge hit among Disney fans and we wanted to share this good news with you first: not only are more event nights set for Magic Kingdom Park, but for the first time, Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Disney’s Animal Kingdom will join in on the fun!

In case you aren’t familiar with Disney After Hours events, these evening events are your opportunity to experience the magic of a Disney theme park for three hours after regular park hours, which means little-to-no wait for attractions, experiences and character greetings! You can even enter the park early – at 7 p.m. on your event night – before Disney After Hours begins. Ice cream, popcorn and select beverages are also included in your Disney After Hours admission, which is a separately priced ticket from daytime park admission.

Here’s what to expect at each park:

Magic Kingdom Park
Enjoy classic favorite attractions from Haunted Mansion, Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Space Mountain as well as newer favorites like Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, plus many more. Event nights will run on: Nov. 26; and Dec. 3, 10, 2018; and Jan. 7, 17, 24 and 28, 2019; Feb. 7, 14, and 28, 2019; and March 7, 2019.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios
Imagine having little-to-no wait for newly opened Toy Story Land attractions, including Slinky Dog Dash, Alien Swirling Saucers and Toy Story Mania! Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror and other attractions will also be available. Select quick-service food & beverage locations will also stay open for purchases throughout the night. Event nights at Disney’s Hollywood Studios will be: Dec. 8, 15 and 22, 2018; and Jan. 5, 12 and 19, 2019; Feb. 2, 9 and 16, 2019; March 2, 9, 16, 23 and 30, 2019; and April 6 and 13, 2019.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom
Enjoy the best Disney’s Animal Kingdom has to offer at night, including heart-tugging Tree of Life Awakenings, the adventures within Pandora – The World of Avatar and more. Select quick-service food & beverage locations will remain open throughout the night for purchases. Dates at Disney’s Animal Kingdom are: Dec. 4, 12 and 18, 2018; and Jan. 8, 16, 22 and 31, 2019; and Feb. 5, 6, 12, 13, 19 and 26, 2019; and March 5, 20 and 27, 2019; and April 3, 2019.

 

[PatMcDuck]

One way that it could work at AK and Studios, is to add LOTS of rare character meet & greets, and some other entertainment. For example, if Studios presented some stuff they used to do at SW weekends, that would be amazing fun. There are simply not enough RIDES, to spread out a crowd. At MK (I have done it twice) people even ride small rides like Barnstormer, TTA, Grand Prix, etc. (we decided to ride the rides that we NEVER ride, along with the bigger popular ones. We did not even get to ride them ALL. We did ride some twice without getting off though).

 

[GADisneyDad14]

One way that it could work at AK and Studios, is to add LOTS of rare character meet & greets, and some other entertainment. For example, if Studios presented some stuff they used to do at SW weekends, that would be amazing fun.

Part of me is hoping something like this gets announced when they provide more details. Although the other part of me says it's wishful thinking and they'll go lower budget. I hope it's the former!

 

[Haley R]

One way that it could work at AK and Studios, is to add LOTS of rare character meet & greets, and some other entertainment. For example, if Studios presented some stuff they used to do at SW weekends, that would be amazing fun. There are simply not enough RIDES, to spread out a crowd. At MK (I have done it twice) people even ride small rides like Barnstormer, TTA, Grand Prix, etc. (we decided to ride the rides that we NEVER ride, along with the bigger popular ones. We did not even get to ride them ALL. We did ride some twice without getting off though).

That would be really cool if they did some special meet and greets. I would definitely think more into it for both parks. We were in that group of people who rode things we had never ridden before: people mover, dumbo, barnstormer....I’m sure there might be some more.

 

[Haley R]

Part of me is hoping something like this gets announced when they provide more details. Although the other part of me says it's wishful thinking and they'll go lower budget. I hope it's the former!

I couldn’t recognize you with your new picture! It would be so nice if they would throw some special things into dah.

 

[HopperFan]

One way that it could work at AK and Studios, is to add LOTS of rare character meet & greets, and some other entertainment. For example, if Studios presented some stuff they used to do at SW weekends, that would be amazing fun. There are simply not enough RIDES, to spread out a crowd. At MK (I have done it twice) people even ride small rides like Barnstormer, TTA, Grand Prix, etc. (we decided to ride the rides that we NEVER ride, along with the bigger popular ones. We did not even get to ride them ALL. We did ride some twice without getting off though).

This would be the only way I could see success long term for at least AK. SWL would help DHS. If they are banking on FoP and SDD to sell these, I think they will fail. I don't care they are offering food/drink spots open for me to purchase, I'm not wasting part of my three hours (aka $33-40 per hour) to pay more. Right now, there are not enough rides at AK or DHS for me to pay to do it ..... but if you throw in some characters and more like you say ... booking it.

Part of me is hoping something like this gets announced when they provide more details. Although the other part of me says it's wishful thinking and they'll go lower budget. I hope it's the former!

You are starting to sound as optimistic as me. Here, have a snickers.