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

[eagle1992]

Was at the tuesday event and waited 45 mins on passage. I asked why so long and was told by FOP workers that they only run half of the ride during after hours because there would be many empty seats if they didn't. Didnt really seem like a great answer considering you're charging $130 for a 3 hour event and it's the most popular ride in wdw. So that was disappointing to hear. Otherwise, it was still fun.

Oh wow...that's not cool at all...I mean seriously...so what if there are lots of empty seats...given the price and what they are advertising (minimal to no wait) then they really should run it at full capacity to ensure the lines aren't as long....

 

[PolyRob]

Oh wow...that's not cool at all...I mean seriously...so what if there are lots of empty seats...given the price and what they are advertising (minimal to no wait) then they really should run it at full capacity to ensure the lines aren't as long....

Half capacity rides = reduced staff = less payroll = more money for Disney.

Isn't that the whole point of DAH? Stop extending park hours and up-charge it as a premium event.

Nothing against the events (I have the MK one booked), but it is what it is.

 

[eagle1992]

Half capacity rides = reduced staff = less payroll = more money for Disney.

Isn't that the whole point of DAH? Stop extending park hours and up-charge it as a premium event.

Nothing against the events (I have the MK one booked), but it is what it is.

That's fine so long as it doesn't impact the expected experience you are expected to deliver...in the case of FOP, 45 minutes is not delivering on the expectation of minimal to no waits...

 

[GeneralTso]

Yes, heard the same. FOP was NOT a walk on. Not even close. Folks spent half their time waiting for that ride. For $125????
Nope.

 

[TISHLOVESDISNEY]

Hopefully those who experienced the waits email to complain.

 

[Haley R]

We watched about 5 minutes of it. My hubby isn't big on any nighttime show, let alone this one. There is plenty of time to watch it though. We got to the park right at 8:30pm and left at 11pm and did everything we wanted and never rushed around.

We haven’t seen it yet either and I completely forgot about it for this upcoming trip but I think we’ll watch it when we go.

 

[mamapenguin]

Hopefully those who experienced the waits email to complain.

I agree. Even with the AP discount this event is not worth the money. There are very few open attractions, and FOP with a 45 min wait during a 3 hour event is unacceptable. Pass.

 

[Haley R]

I agree. Even with the AP discount this event is not worth the money. There are very few open attractions, and FOP with a 45 min wait during a 3 hour event is unacceptable. Pass.

We will be there 1/31. I'm hoping they fix this before then, but I'm doubtful.

 

[Iowamomof4]

If FOP continues to be a 45 min/ride proposition, we will definitely not be doing this event. I'm actually on the fence now about the DHS one as well. I just think they either need to lower the price or figure out a way to make FOP more of a walk on throughout the 3 hours.

 

[Haley R]

If FOP continues to be a 45 min/ride proposition, we will definitely not be doing this event. I'm actually on the fence now about the DHS one as well. I just think they either need to lower the price or figure out a way to make FOP more of a walk on throughout the 3 hours.

I might have to ask Dh what he thinks about doing the AK event. The whole point of our trip was to do all DAH, but we wouldn't wait 45 minutes for FOP. I've waited a lot less than that before with a fp. The one time we waited around 45 minutes is because the ride broke and the fp line was backed up. There are 2 more events before ours so maybe people will see an improvement.

 

[mckennarose]

I am doubtful that Disney would do something to reduce the wait times for FOP. I hope they do adjust it, but I won't hold my breath.

1. They have to staff it, which costs money. It saves money to run only one theater.

2. Disney uses wait times for crowd control and they want people to spend time in other areas as of the park also. FOP is arguably the most popular ride in AK and WDW as a whole. People would spend all night riding it if they could. After experiencing a 30 - 45 minute wait people would move on to other rides so they aren't wasting time standing in line for FOP all night.

3. Higher wait times supports the idea that FOP is the best ride on property. Getting to ride it once is special; getting to ride it 2 or 3 times is like finding a golden unicorn. A lot of people would be satisfied with one or two rides.

From a quick search I found the ride capacity per hour as 1,440 people. Anyone know how many tickets they sell on an average DAH night?

 

[Haley R]

I am doubtful that Disney would do something to reduce the wait times for FOP. I hope they do adjust it, but I won't hold my breath.

1. They have to staff it, which costs money. It saves money to run only one theater.

2. Disney uses wait times for crowd control and they want people to spend time in other areas as of the park also. FOP is arguably the most popular ride in AK and WDW as a whole. People would spend all night riding it if they could. After experiencing a 30 - 45 minute wait people would move on to other rides so they aren't wasting time standing in line for FOP all night.

3. Higher wait times supports the idea that FOP is the best ride on property. Getting to ride it once is special; getting to ride it 2 or 3 times is like finding a golden unicorn. A lot of people would be satisfied with one or two rides.

From a quick search I found the ride capacity per hour as 1,440 people. Anyone know how many tickets they sell on an average DAH night?

The problem I’m having is Disney advertises little to no wait for attractions. 30-45 minutes is not a little wait especially when that’s almost 1/3 of the entire event. If they advertised it like “get to ride fop 1-2 times” then maybe

We’ve seen the number 3,000 thrown around for ticket sales but no one really knows the exact number

 

[mckennarose]

The problem I’m having is Disney advertises little to no wait for attractions. 30-45 minutes is not a little wait especially when that’s almost 1/3 of the entire event. If they advertised it like “get to ride fop 1-2 times” then maybe

We’ve seen the number 3,000 thrown around for ticket sales but no one really knows the exact number

I definitely understand and it's why I'm watching this thread also. I don't want to wait that long either if they are advertising the event as little to no wait. In the grand scheme of things though, those wait times for FOP are much shorter than you would wait during the day in SB line.

With 3,000 attendees then I could see why the wait times are higher than walk on. If that's the case then Disney could be overselling it like they do for the parties. But people are reporting the park not crowded. It will be interesting to see how if the waits times change and more reports from those who attended.

 

[Haley R]

I definitely understand and it's why I'm watching this thread also. I don't want to wait that long either if they are advertising the event as little to no wait. In the grand scheme of things though, those wait times for FOP are much shorter than you would wait during the day in SB line.

With 3,000 attendees then I could see why the wait times are higher than walk on. If that's the case then Disney could be overselling it like they do for the parties. But people are reporting the park not crowded. It will be interesting to see how if the waits times change and more reports from those who attended.

I think Dh and I will go ahead and buy our hs dah next. I’d like to wait on some more reports from this one before we buy our tickets. Our goal was to do all 3 but $125 isn’t cheap per person and to stand in line for that long. I guess we’ll see

 

[DisMomma241]

To do it in less than 30 would be impressive. It just takes a while in general with the 2 holding rooms, so waiting any amount of time in the loading area will make total experience time around 30min. We were annoyed we got held up the first time through as we waited in the loading area a good 20min or so, but that seemed to be due to the ECV situation.

There's been a lot of discussion about a 45 mins wait, but the original poster indicates that 45 mins includes the experience time with the loading area and ride....and indicates that there was a hold up bc of an ECV issue. I'm hoping that the wait was more of a one off.. we are attending Jan 31st

 

[Iowamomof4]

Was at the tuesday event and waited 45 mins on passage. I asked why so long and was told by FOP workers that they only run half of the ride during after hours because there would be many empty seats if they didn't. Didnt really seem like a great answer considering you're charging $130 for a 3 hour event and it's the most popular ride in wdw. So that was disappointing to hear. Otherwise, it was still fun.

There's been a lot of discussion about a 45 mins wait, but the original poster indicates that 45 mins includes the experience time with the loading area and ride....and indicates that there was a hold up bc of an ECV issue. I'm hoping that the wait was more of a one off.. we are attending Jan 31st

Actually, it was lexybear's post that really got me. If they are limiting the ride capacity during the event to the point where it causes noticeably longer waits at the flagship attraction, I just think that's penny wise but pound foolish on Disney's part.

 

[TISHLOVESDISNEY]

Actually, it was lexybear's post that really got me. If they are limiting the ride capacity during the event to the point where it causes noticeably longer waits at the flagship attraction, I just think that's penny wise and pound foolish on Disney's part.

This

DAH is advertised as little to no waits. Disney needs to make sure that holds true for ALL rides.

Hopefully it is a matter of the first nights being so slow, they realized they didn't need all rooms open, to now they do to accommodate more people...

We don't go until March so I will be keeping a close eye on reports. (Not that it matters, tickets bought )

 

[phinz]

Does anyone know if they are being a stickler about the 7pm entry? The safari will be open only until 7 on the day I am going. I heard that they let people in around 6:30 at MK earlier this week, but haven’t heard about getting in that early at AK.

They weren't even giving wristbands to people who were already in the park (hence, they'd already paid full admission or were AP holders) until 7, and that line got really long really fast.

 

[eliseisawkward]

They weren't even giving wristbands to people who were already in the park (hence, they'd already paid full admission or were AP holders) until 7, and that line got really long really fast.

Hmmm, good to know. I guess I’ll keep an eye out to see if anyone mentions getting in a little earlier. I do wonder if the gate vs. inside the park might be a little different? But I suppose we won’t bank on getting in early.

 

[AngiTN]

Yes, sorry. We got in line at 9:25. We walked thru FP line to the loading area. Which was full. It was basically like any other day with a FP. First go round we were on bottom right hand side which seems to be where they do ECV transfers, alot of ECVs, they were loading them first. So that was the hold up. It always seems to take 30-45min with a FP, so I was prepared for that.

Wait, so your wait wasn't 45 min but the total time, from getting in line till walking out?