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

[GADisneyDad14]

Not all that important an update, but at some point today Disney updated the park calendar so it says “Special Ticketed Event: 8:30pm-11:30pm”. It had previously said 8-11 despite the 8:30-11:30 published event time. Park closing times are still 8pm, at the moment.

Just FWIW!

 

[MIAMouseketeer]

Still very curious to see what happens with park hours and AK Disney After Hours. All of the event dates (including the very close December dates) still have 8pm park closing times at the moment, but 8:30pm-11:30pm Disney After Hours event times. They'll either update park hours to close at 8:30pm, or DAH gets an 'extra' 30 minutes of time. The closer we get to those December dates, it sure does seem like the extra 30 mins could be legit. TBD of course!

I personally think the extra 30 minutes is to allow for the FOP line to die down a bit before the event actually starts. JMO

 

[DisneyDerek92]

I can think of three possible reasons for the later start. One, they want after hours guests to actually be able to walk on or wait very little for rides at the event start, this added 30 minutes will help clear out the day guests. Two, it gives ticketholders the opportunity to catch Fantasmic or Rivers of Light before the event start. I wish they’d do this at the Magic Kingdom event too honestly. Three, being able to book the dessert party for the nighttime shows (which happen to start at 7pm) means more money in Disney’s pocket. Maybe it’s a combination of all of these reasons too, not just greed. Either way it gives you options and a better bang for your buck.

 

[Haley R]

I can think of three possible reasons for the later start. One, they want after hours guests to actually be able to walk on or wait very little for rides at the event start, this added 30 minutes will help clear out the day guests. Two, it gives ticketholders the opportunity to catch Fantasmic or Rivers of Light before the event start. I wish they’d do this at the Magic Kingdom event too honestly. Three, being able to book the dessert party for the nighttime shows (which happen to start at 7pm) means more money in Disney’s pocket. Maybe it’s a combination of all of these reasons too, not just greed. Either way it gives you options and a better bang for your buck.

A fourth possibility is they will end up moving the park close to 8:30. It’s hard to tell at this point though

 

[sanapp]

You don't think it is just so those in line for say FOP can get a chance to ride before DAH starts? I really want to know what is actually going to be open!!! Are there going to be any characters??

 

[GADisneyDad14]

You don't think it is just so those in line for say FOP can get a chance to ride before DAH starts? I really want to know what is actually going to be open!!! Are there going to be any characters??

If the park hours and event times stay so where there’s a 30-minute lag in there, I definitely do think that’s some of the logic/rationale.

As far as characters, Disney hasn’t announced if any will be out/available during DAH yet. They have a DHS, but not AK. The website just says “And More”.... whatever that means...

 

[MjrDucky]

Does anyone know if there are any locations inside AK to "check in" for the After Hours event? If your already inside the park? Similar to MK with the MNSSHP and MVMCP has multiple locations inside the park. Or does one need to return to the front gate?

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Does anyone know if there are any locations inside AK to "check in" for the After Hours event? If your already inside the park? Similar to MK with the MNSSHP and MVMCP has multiple locations inside the park. Or does one need to return to the front gate?

That is currently unknown. Unfortunately I suspect we’ll have to wait for the first event reports to come in to know if it will be an option (which I hope/assume it will be, walking back out front of AK is kind of a pain).

 

[sanapp]

I assume it will be an option as I have read it is for the event at MK.

 

[rteetz]

Attraction line-ups for Disney After Hours at Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios

 

[peeperino]

Drats! I was hoping that "And more!" on Disney's event page would be explained.

 

[sanapp]

Drats! I was hoping that "And more!" on Disney's event page would be explained.

I am guessing we aren’t going to have an explanation until the reviews start coming in. It won’t be much longer at least!!!

 

[peeperino]

Oh yeah -- the first one is next week, isn't it? That's exciting! I can't wait to hear how it goes.

 

[LiveToTravelNicely]

Is there any information on the amount of tickets being sold nightly for AK vs MK DAH? MK offers a lot more attractions than AK, so if the number of tickets is similar between the two events, the lines at AK will be longer. 3000 people spread across MK is much less than 3000 people in line for FOP and Everest. Anyway, this is my hesitation even though I really want to attend AK DAH if it's similar waits to what has been experienced at MK DAH.

 

[Haley R]

Attraction line-ups for Disney After Hours at Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios

That animal kingdom list is pretty tiny.

 

[rteetz]

That animal kingdom list is pretty tiny.

Well they don’t have a lot of ride type attractions to begin with.

 

[Haley R]

Well they don’t have a lot of ride type attractions to begin with.

This is true

 

[neverenoughtime]

This is just an observation, but I am guessing(or hoping lol) that Donald's Dino bash will be going on during this event. If you look at the main page
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/events-tours/animal-kingdom/animal-kingdom-after-hours/
The bottom picture shows the characters in Donalds dino bash. This may be the "and more".

 

[TLPL]

If the selling point for these after hours events is ride rides with short wait. I think they should charge less for the ones for DAK and DHS since they have much less number of rides in those parks.

 

[MIAMouseketeer]

This is just an observation, but I am guessing(or hoping lol) that Donald's Dino bash will be going on during this event. If you look at the main page
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/events-tours/animal-kingdom/animal-kingdom-after-hours/
The bottom picture shows the characters in Donalds dino bash. This may be the "and more".

Who knows? I'm a little nervous about this event though. There really isn't alot open to absorb crowds. If FOP is an hour wait, then what's the point? I feel like everyone will be going there. While I do expect a wait, I cautiously optimistic about the crowd level. We did After Hours at Magic Kingdom in March and loved it. But there, there are a lot more attractions to absorb people. I mean, "It's Tough to Be a Bug"? Why even bother? I can't see many people if any going there during this limited time event.