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

[SamanthaH]

We also did the event last night (08/12) and had a fantastic time. In fact, we all agreed it was the highlight of our trip. AK is truly magical at night, and it such a pleasure to be able to enjoy the atmosphere without the hordes of people. The only snafu was the weather earlier in the evening that lead to the cancellation of our Kali fastpass, as well as, the cancellation of our Primeval Whirl fastpass earlier this month. I burned a ticket day so we could do Safari, Kali, and Primeval Whirl before the event started. In hindsight, I would just purchase the event ticket and get fastpasses for the 6:30-7:30, 7:30-8:30, and 8:30-9 time frames or thereabouts. I would make it a pool, Disney Springs, golf, or water park day prior to the event.

We used our fastpass for Safari around 7pm, after a storm blew through and have never seen so many animals out and about (hippos, rhinos, lions, crocodiles, elephants, giraffes, wildebeests, flamingos, cheetahs, etc...) The animals seem more active in the evening, or perhaps due to the cooling off effect of the rain. Then we ate at Rainforest Cafe at 7:30pm. That place was a mad house! We headed over to EE and used our replacement fastpass for Kali at 8:30pm. Kids rode twice more. Then walked onto Dinosaur. Loved being in the front row. Then, we watched It’s Tough to be a Bug, followed by River of Lights. Despite the lackluster reviews, I thought River of Lights was beautiful. I absolutely loved it. I highly recommend seeing the show during the party and not trying to cram into the last show during park hours. It is really nice walking up right before the show starts and watching from a mostly empty theater where you can pick your own seats and not be packed in like sardines. I think it gives you a different perspective. There is a snack stand in Asia right across from the theater entry. We drank sodas and had ice cream and popcorn during the show. Kids hit Everest twice more. We finally headed over toPandora and rounded out the night with Navi and FoP. We left a little before 11:30pm. We only did the Avatar rides once, but we could have done them multiple times at the end of the night. I also noticed a couple snack stands in Pandora.

Hope this helps. Three thumbs up from our party! It was nice to escape the crowds and summer heat. Magic Kingdom seemed particularly busy this trip, so we found this event a nice respite.

Just wanted to add that I agree with a previous poster that they were running preshow for FOP. That ate up more time than any wait due to the volume of people.

 

[igrsod]

I'm also wondering if there are any recent reviews? We are going next week and already have tickets for DAH, but I want to adjust my expectations in case the crowds at AK DAH are getting as big as what people have been reporting for Villians After Hours at MK.

We did an event at the end of July. The crowds were big in the 2 hours prior to the start of the event (waited an hour to do the safari as it isn't open during the event), but the last 3 hours were awesome... no real waits for anything, even FOP. We rode it twice and what stopped us from riding a 3rd time was how tired we were and the fairly long walk through the queue. We had a blast. It felt weird to see the park so empty.

 

[123SA]

We did the last two villains after hours and AK on 8/12. Loved the villains show, but Ak was awesome in terms of crowd (none) and AK at night is beautiful. We waited 5 minutes for FOP but the entire experience, walking in to walking out, took 1/2 hour. Everything else was basically a walk on. Snacks were plentiful except on Dino land. Save room for the ice cream bars in Pandora. So good. I loved the low stress atmosphere of this event. At MK I felt pressured to keep moving. There is less to do at this event, so if you’re not an AK fan, it’s not for you.

 

[igrsod]

One other funny thing was the cast members trying to get us to "save" the popcorn at the end of the night. They kept piling it up in my daughters arms. We walked out with easily 10 boxes of popcorn. It made for a funny picture and popcorn to munch on for a few days after (we had ziplock bags back at the room that helped keep it fresh).

 

[22Tink]

One other funny thing was the cast members trying to get us to "save" the popcorn at the end of the night. They kept piling it up in my daughters arms. We walked out with easily 10 boxes of popcorn. It made for a funny picture and popcorn to munch on for a few days after (we had ziplock bags back at the room that helped keep it fresh).

Shucks we missed out on that!!

 

[Gerweniel]

Personally if I was doing an AH event (and I would love to do one if I get the chance), I wouldn't bother using an admission for the day. I'd just go the few hours before the party starts since they let you in early anyways. I'd use the morning/afternoon to rest up.

That's a point I hadn't thought of. Appreciate the insight. I had planned on rope dropping AK for the Safari and then possibly staying for the DAH event, but I realized I'd be so tired by the evening after dinner it would be a waste.

 

[lvloopingbag]

Waiting for December dates. I recall last year they were announced fairly late......

 

[kittyab]

What is better the AK After hours or the HS After Hours?

 

[Chickinvic]

What is better the AK After hours or the HS After Hours?

I haven't personally experienced either, but I know my choice (if I had a choice) would be HS.

 

[Iowamomof4]

What is better the AK After hours or the HS After Hours?

Seems like kind of a false choice since there is no after hours at Hollywood Studios for the time being. If they ever implement one again, then it will be a completely new experience compared to what we have experienced recently. So pretty much impossible to compare the REAL AK after hours event to the potential, but still theoretical, after hours at DHS. Just my 2 cents.

 

[kittyab]

Seems like kind of a false choice since there is no after hours at Hollywood Studios for the time being. If they ever implement one again, then it will be a completely new experience compared to what we have experienced recently. So pretty much impossible to compare the REAL AK after hours event to the potential, but still theoretical, after hours at DHS. Just my 2 cents.

They are still having it just have not released the new dates. Just curious which event is better. We are heading to Orlando in 2020.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Disney has all but erased references to Disney After Hours at DHS from their website. I really don’t see it coming back anytime soon in its current form and price structure.

In theory you have two rides and a land that are going to have long lines, even late into the day/regular park closing time. That doesn’t work well with a concept like DAH. DAK just sort of barely gets away with it with FoP as some of the early hysteria has faded a bit. But the crossover traffic is a real factor that I suspect Disney needs to get as handle of before any sort of post closing event.

Just my two cents.

 

[rteetz]

What is better the AK After hours or the HS After Hours?

I haven't done DHS yet but I loved AK After Hours. Such small waits in FoP and I rode Everest basically 6 times in a row no wait.

 

[SaintsManiac]

They are still having it just have not released the new dates. Just curious which event is better. We are heading to Orlando in 2020.

There really won't be a valid comparison, since the original version of HS will no longer exist.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Just a quick thank you to the many DISers who stop by and post experiences about their DAK DAH evenings. Post #10 is updated regularly with links to event review posts. I'm always amazed and appreciative of the time people take to put their thoughts and experiences to words - so helpful to others.

So now with 6 events left on the calendar through 9/23, it seems we should be about due for another round of data releases sometime soon, I suspect. ?? Stay tuned!

 

[CarolynFH]

Just a quick thank you to the many DISers who stop by and post experiences about their DAK DAH evenings. Post #10 is updated regularly with links to event review posts. I'm always amazed and appreciative of the time people take to put their thoughts and experiences to words - so helpful to others.

So now with 6 events left on the calendar through 9/23, it seems we should be about due for another round of data releases sometime soon, I suspect. ?? Stay tuned!

Hoping against hope for one the week of Nov. 2-8....

 

[SaintsManiac]

I'm willing to bet it continues at AK. There really isn't a reason NOT to continue it there.

 

[AntJulie]

New dates through March 2020...New price $129

 

[cakebaker]

No dates for us. We arrive 9/24, leave Oct 2. I love DAH at AK.

 

[Rick195275]

New dates through March 2020...New price $129

Where did you see them?