**Disney After Hours - Animal Kingdom** FAQ & Discussion Thread
- Thread starter GADisneyDad14
- Start date
I attended the 10/19 event. We had dinner at Boma and planned to arrive at 7 to get on the safari which closed at 7:30. It began to rain during dinner so we decided to do an extra trip through the buffet and not worry about the safari since we weren’t in the mood to do a night safari in the rain. It was still raining when we left AKL, but stopped on the bus ride to DAK. There was exactly one flash of lightning while we were on the bus which made me worried that some attractions would close, but that didn’t turn out to be an issue. We got to DAK around 7:28 and the security guy in the no bags line made me empty my pockets which was annoying since he only did it to me while everyone else got waved through without even having to go through the metal detector.
We walked by safari around 7:36 and it was closed. It looked pretty empty so I’m not sure if it closed early due to the rain or they just got everyone through the line very quickly. Anything with animals and all shows except River of Light were closed for the day. We didn’t want to wait for any of the After Hours attractions since they would have little to no wait in about 90 minutes. We ended up doing Kali and luckily didn’t get too wet. PW broke down while I was in line so I left. The Dinorama games were also already closed. We caught a little bit of Rivers of Light from afar and my friend concluded that he didn’t need to see it during the event. Interestingly enough, when we walked by again later, there were a decent number of people watching the Rivers of Light showing during After Hours. In most online reviews I’ve seen, the viewing area is almost completely empty. With nothing else to do we decided to do some shopping. I wanted to get one of the Tibetan bags from the Everest shop for a friend, but I didn’t find anything that I liked. I really wish they stocked more handmade items in Asia like they do African items in Harambe. I ended up getting an Orange Bird Park Pal at the Dinosaur Treasures shop in Dinorama. I had been looking for him, but this was the first and only shop I saw him in. We had not been to MK yet at this point in the trip though.
With about 15-20 minutes left before After Hours started, we decided to do Dinosaur, which had a 5 minute posted wait. They ended up having to close the ride while they retrieved an item that had fallen on to the track. The people in the standby line were a mix of day guests and After Hours guests. After a few minutes, they started letting After Hours guests into the Fastpass line even though the ride was down which upset a lot of the guests in the standby line. I wasn’t close enough to the front of the line to hear everything that was going on, but it sounded like people in both lines were arguing their case for which line should be let in first. Once I noticed that it was already 9 and that After Hours had started, I decided to get out of line and head to Everest instead. On the way there we see a few people at the dance party. This would be the only time we saw people there. Every other time we pass by, the host and DJ are just talking to each other.
The bar by Everest is open, but I didn’t stop to see what was being offered. We make it to Everest and are let in through the Fastpass line. The first time, the CM began to take down some of the ropes in the queue so we could get to the station faster as there was no line, but by the second time they had been told to put everything back. I could have ridden all night, but my friend was done after 2 so we decided to head back to Dinosaur.
Dinosaur was working again and we got in quickly. We had to watch the preshow. We ended up only doing it once. I would have done it again, but I really didn’t feel like watching the preshow again. We grab some snacks from Dinorama. The popcorn is fresh here and served in a cup. PW is open and for whatever reason CMs are being allowed to ride it. This attraction was not advertised to be open during the event so it was a nice bonus. I went on TS just to say I was the only one on it, but a family got on at the last second. A few seconds into the ride it stopped and we were lowered back to the ground (it actually comes down pretty fast and was startling). The CM came and apologized. He said that they had to stop the ride because someone stood up and that they would be restarting the ride soon. I decided the couple of seconds I got was more than enough for me and asked to get off. I used the restroom and grabbed a bottle of water. By the time we left Dinorama, TS had not yet restarted and the family that was standing up was being asked to leave. We decide to head to Pandora.
One the way to Pandora, there is another snack station next to Tough to Be a Bug (which, along with the Mickey and Minnie meet and greet, were the two attractions we skipped). From what I could tell, this station only had popcorn (in a cup). There are actually quite a few people watching the Tree of Life projections when we pass by. The snack station near Tree of Life has boxed popcorn, ice cream, and drinks. There is a beer and hot dog cart near Tiffins. Pongu Pongu in Pandora is also open.
We do Flight of Passage twice and would have done it more except neither one of us could have taken having to watch that preshow again. There was a child with an older woman (possibly his grandmother) on our first ride that didn’t want to leave. They were in the group before ours and once we entered the link chamber they tried to blend into our group and ride again. The cast member told them it would not be possible as our group was full and the woman began saying she was disabled and that the queue was too long for her to walk through again. Eventually another CM came and escorted them out. In between FoP rides we did River Journey once and watched a little of the drum circle. The snack station in Pandora had drinks and fruit bars. I’m not sure if the fruit bars are the same ones they sell during the day or not. They did not have the Pandora exclusive one with 3 different flavors. They had a coconut bar and a strawberry bar (there was also a sugar free strawberry bar available upon request). The strawberry bar was the Helados Mexico brand. We left about 30 minutes early to catch a bus back to Pop. The bus was shared with AoA.
I’m glad I got to experience this event once, but I do not think I would do it again. For the cost, there is just not enough to do in DAK. There might be a little more value if they allowed you to bypass the preshow on FoP and Dinosaur. Still, you would have to have a desire to ride the same handful of attractions multiple times whereas with MK and DHS After Hours you have a lot more variety. They also really need to offer more food options. Towards the end of the event we were quite hungry and also heard lots of other guests asking if there were places to eat. The only really substantial food offering was the hot dog and it was $10. The event ends so late that everything is closed by the time you make it back to your resort. We ended up buying snacks from a vending machine at Pop.
We walked by safari around 7:36 and it was closed. It looked pretty empty so I’m not sure if it closed early due to the rain or they just got everyone through the line very quickly. Anything with animals and all shows except River of Light were closed for the day. We didn’t want to wait for any of the After Hours attractions since they would have little to no wait in about 90 minutes. We ended up doing Kali and luckily didn’t get too wet. PW broke down while I was in line so I left. The Dinorama games were also already closed. We caught a little bit of Rivers of Light from afar and my friend concluded that he didn’t need to see it during the event. Interestingly enough, when we walked by again later, there were a decent number of people watching the Rivers of Light showing during After Hours. In most online reviews I’ve seen, the viewing area is almost completely empty. With nothing else to do we decided to do some shopping. I wanted to get one of the Tibetan bags from the Everest shop for a friend, but I didn’t find anything that I liked. I really wish they stocked more handmade items in Asia like they do African items in Harambe. I ended up getting an Orange Bird Park Pal at the Dinosaur Treasures shop in Dinorama. I had been looking for him, but this was the first and only shop I saw him in. We had not been to MK yet at this point in the trip though.
With about 15-20 minutes left before After Hours started, we decided to do Dinosaur, which had a 5 minute posted wait. They ended up having to close the ride while they retrieved an item that had fallen on to the track. The people in the standby line were a mix of day guests and After Hours guests. After a few minutes, they started letting After Hours guests into the Fastpass line even though the ride was down which upset a lot of the guests in the standby line. I wasn’t close enough to the front of the line to hear everything that was going on, but it sounded like people in both lines were arguing their case for which line should be let in first. Once I noticed that it was already 9 and that After Hours had started, I decided to get out of line and head to Everest instead. On the way there we see a few people at the dance party. This would be the only time we saw people there. Every other time we pass by, the host and DJ are just talking to each other.
The bar by Everest is open, but I didn’t stop to see what was being offered. We make it to Everest and are let in through the Fastpass line. The first time, the CM began to take down some of the ropes in the queue so we could get to the station faster as there was no line, but by the second time they had been told to put everything back. I could have ridden all night, but my friend was done after 2 so we decided to head back to Dinosaur.
Dinosaur was working again and we got in quickly. We had to watch the preshow. We ended up only doing it once. I would have done it again, but I really didn’t feel like watching the preshow again. We grab some snacks from Dinorama. The popcorn is fresh here and served in a cup. PW is open and for whatever reason CMs are being allowed to ride it. This attraction was not advertised to be open during the event so it was a nice bonus. I went on TS just to say I was the only one on it, but a family got on at the last second. A few seconds into the ride it stopped and we were lowered back to the ground (it actually comes down pretty fast and was startling). The CM came and apologized. He said that they had to stop the ride because someone stood up and that they would be restarting the ride soon. I decided the couple of seconds I got was more than enough for me and asked to get off. I used the restroom and grabbed a bottle of water. By the time we left Dinorama, TS had not yet restarted and the family that was standing up was being asked to leave. We decide to head to Pandora.
One the way to Pandora, there is another snack station next to Tough to Be a Bug (which, along with the Mickey and Minnie meet and greet, were the two attractions we skipped). From what I could tell, this station only had popcorn (in a cup). There are actually quite a few people watching the Tree of Life projections when we pass by. The snack station near Tree of Life has boxed popcorn, ice cream, and drinks. There is a beer and hot dog cart near Tiffins. Pongu Pongu in Pandora is also open.
We do Flight of Passage twice and would have done it more except neither one of us could have taken having to watch that preshow again. There was a child with an older woman (possibly his grandmother) on our first ride that didn’t want to leave. They were in the group before ours and once we entered the link chamber they tried to blend into our group and ride again. The cast member told them it would not be possible as our group was full and the woman began saying she was disabled and that the queue was too long for her to walk through again. Eventually another CM came and escorted them out. In between FoP rides we did River Journey once and watched a little of the drum circle. The snack station in Pandora had drinks and fruit bars. I’m not sure if the fruit bars are the same ones they sell during the day or not. They did not have the Pandora exclusive one with 3 different flavors. They had a coconut bar and a strawberry bar (there was also a sugar free strawberry bar available upon request). The strawberry bar was the Helados Mexico brand. We left about 30 minutes early to catch a bus back to Pop. The bus was shared with AoA.
I’m glad I got to experience this event once, but I do not think I would do it again. For the cost, there is just not enough to do in DAK. There might be a little more value if they allowed you to bypass the preshow on FoP and Dinosaur. Still, you would have to have a desire to ride the same handful of attractions multiple times whereas with MK and DHS After Hours you have a lot more variety. They also really need to offer more food options. Towards the end of the event we were quite hungry and also heard lots of other guests asking if there were places to eat. The only really substantial food offering was the hot dog and it was $10. The event ends so late that everything is closed by the time you make it back to your resort. We ended up buying snacks from a vending machine at Pop.
wacowgirl
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- May 29, 2011
This is why I don't particularly care for doing AK DAH. I would spend that money say at HS or MK but not AK. I'm holding out hope for additional DAH or early hours when I go over spring break
Keckster
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Oct 18, 2018
Are you sure there is a AK DAH on November 30? I don't see one on the schedule for that date. I'll be there on Saturday (10/26) and I booked a 6:30-7:30 FP+ for Safari. I don't plan on going in until 7PM. However, the park is open to 9:00 on 10/26 so Safari is still running when I arrive. If the park closes earlier, Safari may stop running sooner.
ninafeliz
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 30, 2001
Oops, I meant October 30th!
Cinderella94
I miss my tags!
- Joined
- Oct 21, 2005
We’re on the bus back to our resort from this event now. Very successful evening! Thought I’d give a little report for anyone who might be interested.
Is it worth it for everyone? No, probably not. I wouldn’t book this on every trip even if it was offered every time, but the uniqueness of it was very cool to experience and I probably would do it again at some point. We had a great time and accomplished everything we wanted to!
- Got here around 7:00, browsed in a few stores and then rode Dinosaur 3x in a row. After the first time we got off and walked back on; between the second and third times we stayed and went straight through. Our ride pictures show they were taken at 7:29, 7:40 and 7:45
- Rode Everest once after that- it showed a 20 minute wait but was probably actually just under 10
- Took our time getting over to Pandora and did a photopass picture just before 9:00. This was the last photopass photographer we saw for the night, besides the one with Mickey and Minnie. I was keeping an eye out.
- Got in the FOP line at exactly 9:00. DAH guests used the FP queue while the standby line was wrapping up. It was nearly a walk on (as much as FOP can be, with having to sit through those preshows) but we got delayed briefly a couple of times during the preshows and finished here around 9:45
- Walked on to NRJ after that, then rode FOP a second time. We definitely could have ridden again without waiting but we wanted to look for food and I needed a break (I don’t truly get motion sickness but I do get paranoid and in my head about it).
- Went back to dinosaur and rode twice, didn’t have to leave in between. On the second time, the ride stopped and they had to turn the lights on for a moment while we were in front of the iguanodon- I’m a huge Dinosaur fan so that was very exciting for me! Ride pic here shows time 10:45
- Sat for a few minutes in Dinoland and ate a chili dog, then rode primeval whirl with no wait (shocking, I know). Found it to be much more jarring than I remembered and we were totally confident in saying “no!” when the CM asked if we wanted to stay on again.
- Rode Everest one last time with no wait
- Met Mickey and Minnie - the only other group there when we walked in was the group currently meeting them. Photopass pic time 11:27
- Walked across to ITTBAB, show was about to start right as we walked in and finished around 11:45
- Left after that and had to wait maybe 2 minutes for a bus
Is it worth it for everyone? No, probably not. I wouldn’t book this on every trip even if it was offered every time, but the uniqueness of it was very cool to experience and I probably would do it again at some point. We had a great time and accomplished everything we wanted to!
Keckster
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Oct 18, 2018
I was at AK DAH on 10/26. Arrived at 7 PM and headed to Kilimanjaro Safari. I don't recommend KS once it gets dark you are basically, if lucky, just looking at the shadows of animals. The lions on their rocks were nicely lit and still a highlight. But once it gets dark, KS is sort of a waste of time. I then headed over to Everest. I had a FP+ for 8:30. Riding it at night was a different experience. As soon as I got off, I got right back on through single rider line. I was happy when 9:00 rolled around as I was dying of thirst (still too humid in October) and guzzled my first free bottle of water fairly quickly. Got a Mickey Bar and headed to Dinosaur. One time was enough for me. Was surprised to see Primeval Whirl up and running but choose not to ride as I remember how jerky it is. Arrived in Pandora around 9:15 and got on Flight of Passage. DAH used FP line while the remainder of regular day guests were in standby. Didn't take long to get through the line (maybe 5-10 minutes). Spent the next 30 minutes or so taking Pandora pictures using tripod. Rode through Na'vi River, which the short dark ride was worth it when it is a walk-on. Back to FoP for another round and again pretty much a walk-on. Could have done it again (and again), but decided to take a leisurely stroll back to park entrance, grabbing a couple of drinks and popcorn for the road. I was out of the park and on the bus at 11:50 PM.
AK DAH was nice and time went faster than I thought it would. Low crowds and the ability to easily move around was very nice. I could stand in the middle of the walk ways to take pictures and have no impact on others. I think it's fine as a stand alone ticket, but if I was already in the park for the day, I wouldn't add it on to the same night.
AK DAH was nice and time went faster than I thought it would. Low crowds and the ability to easily move around was very nice. I could stand in the middle of the walk ways to take pictures and have no impact on others. I think it's fine as a stand alone ticket, but if I was already in the park for the day, I wouldn't add it on to the same night.
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We are considering doing the DAH during our March trip. We will not have Park tickets that day, so plan to arrive just before 7. However, we could also just add one day onto our resort ticket package and spend a regular day at Animal Kingdom. The difference between adding a day to our pass and buying DAH for the two of us would be about $60. However, the AH is very appealing because of the ability to do the safari before regular park close. And then enjoy the after hours events. But, on the day that we’re planning to go, the park closes at 8 and DAH doesn’t start until 9. Will we still be able to do the Safari? Thought I would ask the experts which plan seems to make the most sense. We would enjoy being in the park at night, and getting to ride EE and FOP multiple times is also appealing.
hiroMYhero
I'm satisfied with my care...
- Joined
- Dec 20, 2014
Keckster
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Oct 18, 2018
Unless you are actually on the ride vehicle and moving before it gets dark, I think you'll be disappointed. Sunset for 10/26 was 6:46 PM. I had a FP+ for 6:30-7:30, but couldn't get in the park until 7:00 for After Hours. So by the time I got to the ride and on the vehicle, it was 7:15-7:20 PM and essentially dark. I could see animals, but mainly in silhouette. Pictures not really possible. I much preferred past ride experiences, typically before 10:00 AM. If you can time it to the "golden" hour before sunset, I think it would be great. Pandora at night is very unique, but I think the whole park is really better and has more to offer in the daylight. Now if you want to ride Everest, Dinosaur, Flight of Passage, Na'vi River, multiple times with little to no waits, then AK AHP is designed for you. Included soft drinks and ice cream/frozen fruit bars are nice, but the popcorn is typically chewy and stale at that point. I think you'd get more from good tour planning (FP+ strategy) for the park.
I appreciate your insight. That will be just after we switch to daylight savings time, so sunset will be about 7:30. We don’t have to decide today, and may end up just extending our tickets so we can see AK in the daylight. I would miss getting to walk the gorilla trail.
Cinderella94
I miss my tags!
- Joined
- Oct 21, 2005
We didn’t ride but saw a sign saying the safari closed at 7:30 last night. So guests with only an AH ticket, and not a regular day ticket, would’ve been able to ride.
Keckster
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Oct 18, 2018
I only had an AHP ticket, but since they let you in the park starting at 7 PM, it was possible to catch Safari. I even had a 6:30-7:30 FP+ for it. But, from my point of view, it was a waste of time to ride at that time (I actually regretted rushing to it).
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Keckster
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Oct 18, 2018
That you definitely won't be able to do with only AHP ticket.
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