Hours needed for Animal Kingdom...

[FunkyDuckToo]

The day that I had planned for our family to visit AK, (Dec. 11th) it seems to be closing at 6pm as opposed to 8pm. I am debating switching my schedule...but to say the least that will be a daunting task since I have all my dining in place. Is 9 hours enough to spend in AK? We have not been since before Pandora was installed. Would appreciate any opinions on the matter. TIA

 

[BingoJoe]

Animal Kinngdom is one of those places that can take as long as you like really.

A lot of it is about themeing, looking at animals and walking around.

I am sure you could do it all in 9 hours, but it would be a shame to miss the night time stuff.

 

[FunkyDuckToo]

Animal Kinngdom is one of those places that can take as long as you like really.

A lot of it is about themeing, looking at animals and walking around.

I am sure you could do it all in 9 hours, but it would be a shame to miss the night time stuff.

I know...I am bummed to miss any of the night entertainment. We are bringing two "first timers" also and I really wanted them to see everything as well.

 

[SaintsManiac]

Way too early for final park hours.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

The day that I had planned for our family to visit AK, (Dec. 11th) it seems to be closing at 6pm as opposed to 8pm. I am debating switching my schedule...but to say the least that will be a daunting task since I have all my dining in place. Is 9 hours enough to spend in AK? We have not been since before Pandora was installed. Would appreciate any opinions on the matter. TIA

I don't think I've seen confirmation of just why 12/10 & 12/11 have 6pm closings on the calendar for DAK. Typically that means a special private event of some sort as 6pm is not a normalDAK closing time these days.

Generally speaking, some segment of guests will arrange their schedules to avoid DAK that day since they won't get the benefit of nighttime hours, Rivers of Light, Pandora in the evening, etc - so it may be out to be a good day to go crowd wise. Again, generally speaking.

If the 6pm closings hold on those two days, I suspect you might see them bump the park opening time from 9am to 8am, so keep an eye out. That's just a guess on my part though, no guarantees.

As to your question, I think you can make a great DAK day in 9 hours. Start at rope drop and use FPs wisely, I suspect you can cover pretty much everything and more.