I'm not a regular on this board (I hang out on the DLR board since that's my home park) but I attended last night's After Hours at Animal Kingdom (2/13) and thought I'd leave my thoughts here in case they help anyone else.
As mentioned, I'm a DLR pro (and AP) but have extremely limited WDW experience (a
MVMCP at MK 2 years ago, 1 day at Epcot this past Sunday plus about 2 hours at DHS that morning) and had not been to DAK. I am in town by myself for a conference and after having a great day at Epcot and DHS on Sunday decided this after hours event would be a great way to get a little taste of the rides. I know I'll be back some day with the family. It seems a bit pricey for a few hours of exclusive park time but it fit well for my situation. I would definitely hesitate to pay for this for my full family of 5.
As for the event itself, I loved it. Rode everything except TriceraTopSpin. I only did Primeval Whirl once but everything else at least twice and watch Rivers of Light. I enjoyed Primeval Whirl, I just liked EE and FoP better and didn't make it back over to that area to ride again.
All rides were a walk on. I nearly had my own TRAIN for EE the second time I rode but 2 other people walked up at the last minute. What a great ride!!
LOVED Rivers of Light but that type of show is right up my alley (I used to be a theatrical lighting designer so I'm a sucker for pretty, dramatic lighting). Walked up 5 min before showtime and had excellent seats. The amphitheatre was almost empty. Enjoyed the Tree as well though found it a little annoying that there wasn't an exact schedule. It just said "every 10 minutes" but I stood there for almost 25 minutes before anything happened.
Pandora is just beautiful at night. I'm curious to see (some day) if its as impactful during the day without all the lighting. FoP is a fantastic ride but the aforementioned preshow is a little painful, especially after the first time. On my second ride I looked around at the ride mechanics a bit during the ride and can see that its quite a feat to get everyone from all the different rooms ready to ride together so I guess this is the reason for the long preshow (as well as coverage for folks who need assistance) but it's pretty cheesy too.
FoP was also a "walk on"- at least into the preshow. I rode it twice but could have ridden more. Also loved the Na'vi River Journey.
The snacks were a little bit variable in how they were distributed. All spots had Mickey Bars, Ice Cream Sandwiches and the Strawberry bars. By Pandora they had boxes of popcorn (that did seem a bit stale) and bottles of soda/water/drinks. But a regular popcorn cart on DI was giving out fresh popcorn in large drink cups (and I think large fountain drinks but I didn't get a fountain drink there). Thirsty River/Trek snacks was giving out fresh popcorn and drink as well but in small cups (annoying). I left the Dino area before they started giving out the snacks there so not sure what the setup was back there.
All in all I was very happy I went to the event and it fit the bill perfectly for what I wanted- check out the rides with minimal stress and wait after conference hours. But as mentioned above, I would hesitate quite a bit more if I was paying for more than 1 or 2 tickets.