Shorter AK park hours?!?

[lenshanem]

Just checked the park hours and they have chnaged AK closing from 6 to now 5 for 3 weeks from now! Does thsi seem odd? I thought it was so busy at WDw right now...

 

[Cindy'sCastle]

Wow, that must have just happened. I printed out my schedule and I had the park closing at 6 every night. I don't think it's gonna affect our schedule. I planned on doing everything early and then going to another park by then. Hopefully everything will still work out ok for us!!

 

[jordanyosh]

The powers that be have all sorts of data to pull from when they set hours. Maybe they are seeing some trends in attendance at AK late in the day.For instance, maybe there are many more people exiting between 4-5pm than between 5-6. Maybe the crowds by 6 are so small that they would probably be saving themselves some cash if the closed earlier. If crowds remain high, don't be surprised to see hours at one or all the parks change.

 

[jaysue]

Bummer Shan, it is nicer if they had AK open to avoid the mid day heat - i.e. go mid afternoon for the rest of the day

The hours have been flipped between 5&6 a couple of times now

Send an e-mail to guest services - here is some pixie dust your way for longer AK hours

Thanks
jaysue

 

[bratray]

hi

glad you posted this i thought i was loosing my mind(lol)

we are going 7/16 and i would have sworn the hours for AKL all week were till 6:00 pm

i thought i had lucked out- maybe they will change them again

lisa

 

[jordanyosh]

I think the powers that be may be cutting hours not knowing exactly how things will pan out. I think they would rather say to guests...Look, we are extending park hours today..instead of saying to guests....Due to low attendance, we will be closing at 5 instead of 6 today. Let's all pray for those hours to increase again.......

 

[MrShiny]

I think part of it might be lower crowds in the afternoon, which has been an ongoing issue at AK. I think this is because word has spread that the early morning Killimanjaro Safaris (especially in hot weather) tend to feature moree animal activity. Add to that the fact that there is no real pull for dinner in the park - the restaurants (except for RFC on the edge of the park) are all counter service. That in itself is understandable, as in the cooler months most animal based attractions close at dusk anyway.

So unless they come up with a reason for people to come into the park late (like maybe a seasonal sit down restaurant with great atmosphere and/or entertainment), I bet there just isn't much reason to keep the park open late.

 

[Paris]

I can't wait until Everest opens in two years and change. That should put an end to AK's early closings for good. Ask yourself why Animal Kingdom and Busch Gardens Tampa are so different? Both parks started out as animal parks with a few token shows and rides. BGT has grown its rides to the point that while both AK and BGT open at 9am every morning -- BGT closes at 10:30pm every night (this summer). Sea World? 10pm this summer.

AK is a beautiful park but it suffers from a lack of indoor attractions. So folks get burnt out early, or have little reason to stick around when the afternoon thunderstorm clouds move in.

If the park won't add late hours I'd love to see the park open at 7am or 8am like it used to. Now THAT made for active safaris. Nowadays, 9am is already plenty hot for the animals.

Last week I went to AK a little past 3pm and while the park was set to close at 6pm all of the FastPass machines in Dinoland were only going to 5pm. In other words, either this is the policy or AK made a big mistake because once 5pm rolled around the place was deserted. The only real wait at that point was for the safari -- and we're talking peak summer season here.

Yes, the restaurant argument may be valid, though, when you get down to it, while MGM and Epcot are ripe with sit-down restaurants MOST of the dinner traffic at MK is at the counter-service restaurants (Liberty Tree Tavern, Crystal Palace, Tony's and the Castle only move, I'd say, about 30% of the dinner traffic compared to the counter eateries).

But a dinner reservation won't keep you at a park that has worn you down through heat or through a lack of attractions. AK needs an infusion of family and thrill rides to go along with its great shows and animal viewing opportunities. Once that happens, the crowds will not only come. They will stay.

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

Everest???

 

[PatriciaH]

Originally posted by BibbidyBobbidyBoo
Everest???

Disney has announced a new ride for AK to open in 2005 called Expedition Everest. It will go in Asia and is a mountain theamed roller coaster. You can do a search on the boards or web and find a ton of info and concept art.

It is amazing that even with such short hours AK still beat US, IOA, Bush Gardens and Sea World in attendance according to CNN's latest tally:

1. The Magic Kingdom (Lake Buena Vista, Florida)
2. Disneyland (Anaheim, California)
3. Epcot (Lake Buena Vista, Florida)
4. Disney MGM Studios (Lake Buena Vista, Florida)
5. Disney's Animal Kingdom (Lake Buena Vista, Florida)
6. Universal Studios (Orlando, Florida)
7. Islands of Adventures (Orlando, Florida)
8. Universal Studios Hollywood (Hollywood, California)
9. Seaworld Florida (Orlando, Florida)
10. Disney's California Adventure (Anaheim, California)
11. Busch Gardens Tampa Bay (Tampa, Florida) (tie)
11. Adventuredome (Las Vegas, Nevada)
12. Seaworld California (San Diego, California)
13. Knott's Berry Farm (Buena Park, California)
14. Morey's Piers (Wildwood, New Jersey)
15. Six Flags Great Adventure (Jackson, New Jersey) (tie)
15. Cedar Point (Sandusky, Ohio)
16. Paramount's Kings Island (Kings Island, Ohio)
17. Six Flags Magic Mountain (Valencia, California)
18. Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk (Santa Cruz, California)
19. Six Flags Great America (Gurnee, Illinois)
20. Six Flags Over Texas (Arlington, Texas)
21. Hersheypark (Hershey, Pennsylvania)
22. Busch Gardens The Old Country (Williamsburg, Virginia)
23. Camp Snoopy (Mall of America, Bloomington, Minnesota)
24. Dollywood (Pigeon Forge, Tennessee)
25. Six Flags Over Georgia (Atlanta, Georgia)
26. Six Flags Worlds of Adventure (Aurora, Ohio)
27. Paramount's Kings Dominion (Doswell, Virginia)
28. Silver Dollar City (Branson, Missouri


I say bring back more hours!!!

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

Thank you for explaining. I hadn't heard a word about it before now! Probably on one of the bazillion threads I have missed. There is no WAY to keep up with everything posted on this board- it's so busy!