Disney After Hours - MK vs AK

[LJS87]

Those who have done one or both, which would you recommend??? I have 2 thrill seekers, 12 & 15. We have been to both parks but not since Pandora opened. The MK event runs till 1am, AK till midnight. This will be our only Disney park activity during a Spring Break trip, the rest of the time will be pool, Universal or other, smaller parks.

 

[Thecouch]

Animal kingdom is only really worth it for flight of passage. AK has only a few rides and a few a closed during after hours. I think primeal whirl, rapids and safari are all closed. Magic kingdom normally every major ride is open and there is lot more options there even on normal days

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Perhaps oddly, Primeval Hurl has been reported as open for recent DAHs if I’m not mistaken, but with that ride YMM(definitely)V!

This is a tough one. DAK is about a few key rides, atmosphere, and a state of mind. MK is about gobs of rides. Both have value/appeal, but will be personal preference for most folks.

Not a particularly helpful post, I know.

 

[Unvoiced_Apollo]

You can get a couple of mild thrills from the MK rides. Do your kids care about the tamer rides? If not, it might be more worth it to get on a a couple of thrill rides multiple times. Which would mean AK.

That said I would personally go with MK due to the amount of attractions available.

 

[mekay1012]

If my 13 year old had the choice, she would probably choose AK. She would love the chance to ride Expedition Everest and Flights of Passage over and over and over! EE at nighttime is probably one of her favorite things ever!

 

[Haley R]

When we did it at AK we had to wait 30+ minutes for flight of passage. Not that that will happen to you but I wouldn’t go expecting to ride it a bunch. It also has a really long preshow. If your plan is to get 1-2 rides on it you should be good.

I would 100% pick mk over ak mainly for the atmosphere of that park at night. I also like riding thunder and space multiple times

 

[ezma]

A vote for Magic Kingdom... have you thought of doing the Villains after hours at M.K... We are doing the Villains in Feb. we are not much into the Villains but I guess its more of a party atmosphere... the castle looks amazing with all the colors of blue green and purple ...plus Space M. and Pirates of the C. will have a twist with the Villains! Google the event it looks fun..Also Maleficant the Dragon makes an appearance fire and all! The rides are still the same as M.K. after hours plus all the ice cream !!!

 

[LJS87]

While the Villans one sounds like fun, the date doesn’t work for us. We will be at Universal Friday and Saturday and it is Friday Night, so it would cut into our universal time and make for 2 very long days.

 

[SorcererDC]

We’ve done both. AK wasn’t bad...but there are only a few rides open. Wait times were really low (walk on for most rides, but they make you sit through the pre-show) but it’s long walk between the rides so that was a negative.

I prefer MK.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

I would choose MK. I just don't think the bang for the buck is there at AK.
1. FoP will take a while to clear out from day guests as they can get into line up to 1 min before close.
2. FoP takes a long time to ride, walk around, get back on, ect and is a long way from Everest, the other thrill ride open.

 

[LJS87]

Ok! You guys have made up my mind. We are going to do MK this trip. Thanks!

 

[Mom2Kids2003]

My kiddos are 11 and 16 and huge thrill ride fans too. We did MK After Hours in December and they loved it so much, we are doing it again next week. I asked them if they wanted to do the AK one instead but they wanted more rides and the longer time in a park.

 

[mkla2015]

We did both last February- MK was great! I would definitely do it again. We were able to ride everything with minimal waits- i think the longest was 15 minutes for 7DMT and Peter Pan. The longest lines were for the snacks.

I would not do AK again... I'm not sure if something happened the night we went but we were only able to ride FOP once- the wait time went up to 90 minutes right before 9pm and never dropped any lower. We actually ended up leaving a little early to beat the rush out of the park and go to find food at Disney Springs.

 

[Farro]

Animal kingdom is only really worth it for flight of passage. AK has only a few rides and a few a closed during after hours. I think primeal whirl, rapids and safari are all closed. Magic kingdom normally every major ride is open and there is lot more options there even on normal days

Oh wow, I'm going to be the opposite of just about everyone. I would pick AK in a heartbeat and we haven't done either! In fact we are doing DAH at AK instead of Villians at MK for our May trip.

Just being able to be in a nearly empty Animal Kingdom after dark, soaking up all the beauty, the lighting, the music and the atmosphere...I honestly can't wait.

 

[Daniella_t]

Me either!! I'm going to AK after hours for the first time on Dec. 14th and I can't wait!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Rich M]

I have never been to either but am doing both in December. Our decision on doing AK boiled down to wanting to see the park empty and doing EE at night. We are hoping it will be worth it.

 

[LJS87]

Now you guys have me wanting to do both!

 

[LJS87]

I have never been to either but am doing both in December. Our decision on doing AK boiled down to wanting to see the park empty and doing EE at night. We are hoping it will be worth it.

Are you doing regular park days too? Or just the after hours events?

 

[Rich M]

Are you doing regular park days too? Or just the after hours events?

We are doing 5 day park hoppers. But we will only be going to MK for the AH and Christmas Party. We will not be going there during the day at all.