OFFICIAL New Animal Kingdom Experiences UPDATE 5/28: Reports from first night in Post #2

[Tigerlily125]

easywdw currently has AK as the most recommended park on its crowd calendar for Friday April 15.. do you think that recommendation will still hold true given the ROL preview being announced for April 15?

 

[AJA]

Thank you for the post OP.

AK is my daughters favorite park. We can't wait to see all the new attractions/experiences.

 

[bigbabyblues]

• Harambe Soccer Meerkats
  Cheer on the village’s finest soccer players as they ramble through the streets rallying anyone within sight for a quick pick-up game—entertaining with comic soccer moves inspired by African animals and delighting with skillful acrobatic teamwork and dancing

I know nobody knows, but I'm going to ask anyway. My 15-yo loves soccer and everything about it. He is not a fan of AK, and I'm hoping if he gets to participate in this, it will make his day at AK much better. Any ideas how he would be chosen to play? I don't know if they did this during the Harambe Nights or not, we haven't been to WDW since 2013 and I didn't pay attention to most events the last couple of years.

 

[rteetz]

easywdw currently has AK as the most recommended park on its crowd calendar for Friday April 15.. do you think that recommendation will still hold true given the ROL preview being announced for April 15?

Yes because if there is a preview on the 15th it will be a hard ticket and of course will be later in the day.

 

[OhioStateBuckeye]

easywdw currently has AK as the most recommended park on its crowd calendar for Friday April 15.. do you think that recommendation will still hold true given the ROL preview being announced for April 15?

If I had to guess I think you'd be fine. The party doesn't start until after the park is already closed for the day. If anything, there might be some sort of crowd influx during the last hour or so of the day.

 

[phabric]

Keep the information coming.

 

[jseiden420]

Great Thread! We will be in WDW May 8-17. Hopefully all the kinks will be worked out and there will be a thread of "secrets"!

 

[lpizzuro123]

Hoping to be there end of May. Having everything in first post is great(especially new things in red).

 

[caflygrl]

Totally following this... thanks for the info!!

 

[RedAngie]

Hmmm. I hadn't planned on going to any Disney park during my vacation the last week of April, but this might be a game changer. Maybe I'll buy a one day ticket for AK now, pick a date of use, and get FP+s for it 30 days in advance. Hopefully everything will operate smoothly the first full week of nighttime operations, but I'll be willing to overlook some inefficiencies.

I am really looking forward to Expedition Everest at night. My family is full of adrenaline junkies and can't wait to up that thrill factor. I'm also looking forward to the night time party atmosphere.

Everest during dark is awesome!!! I had the chance to ride it (multiple times) when AK, for some inexplicable reason, stayed open until 8pm in early March several years. The park was pretty much deserted after 630pm when darkness fell. They were actually holding the trains for several minutes before launching, hoping enough guests arrived to get them at least half full. After riding, we would run thru the gift shop at the exit station, then hop right in to the train waiting in the entrance station.

 

[tlmadden73]

For people who complain that Disney doesn't do anything new .. I think transforming this park into a night park is a pretty big deal. It still needs more attractions (even after Pandora) though ...

 

[Brancaneve]

I apologize if this question has been answered somewhere in the thread.......

I am a bit confused about something. ROL and other night time programs will be offered late into the evening but the park hours are showing closing on May 31st at 7:00 pm. Will the evening shows NOT be shown daily or have the hours not been updated yet to reflect the additions?

I will be picking my FP soon and may need to cancel my Boma ADR's in order to attend all the fun!

 

[ImagineersApprentice]

Not sure if this was asked before, but since live streaming seems to be the parks blog's new favorite thing, I wonder if maybe they'll stream the new night time shows when they premiere?

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

Not sure if this was asked before, but since live streaming seems to be the parks blog's new favorite thing, I wonder if maybe they'll stream the new night time shows when they premiere?

That would be cool! If I were them, I would probably wait a bit until the kinks were worked out, but I'd bet they will at some point... not that Disney ever experiences kinks, of course...

 

[Cluelyss]

I apologize if this question has been answered somewhere in the thread.......

I am a bit confused about something. ROL and other night time programs will be offered late into the evening but the park hours are showing closing on May 31st at 7:00 pm. Will the evening shows NOT be shown daily or have the hours not been updated yet to reflect the additions?

I will be picking my FP soon and may need to cancel my Boma ADR's in order to attend all the fun!

The hours have not yet been updated. It is expected that the evening entertainment will be held nightly.

 

[soniam]

Saw them working on lights for ROL on Saturday morning. These were not for ambient lighting, but lights used for the show. They were on poles, near EE. Didn't see any testing though. Lot less walls at AK than last March.

 

[Camping Disney Man]

Wonderful info. We'll be down first week of April and looking forward to seeing all the progress.

 

[soniam]

I totally missed this thread since I was on vacation. Excellent info!

 

[magical nugget]

Super excited for EE at night! Thrill rides are usually even better at night

 

[Sparkie]

Great information- thank you!

Finally something I am looking forward to.