**Disney After Hours - Animal Kingdom** FAQ & Discussion Thread

[Haley R]

Tom Bricker’s review: https://www.disneytouristblog.com/after-hours-animal-kingdom-review/

 

[aymiewilson]

My advice is to not stress about it and check wait times right before park close to decide if you want to ride fop again.

Good advice. Thanks.

 

[HatboxHaint]

So I have read you can enter at 7PM, but havn't the events at MK always let you enter at 6PM?

 

[GADisneyDad14]

So I have read you can enter at 7PM, but havn't the events at MK always let you enter at 6PM?

That has mostly been true, but not always. The first few events of 2018 were more like 7, then it drifted to 6ish for most of the year, and now there have been some reports from the last two dates that it was 7pm. So it’s a bit inconsistent.

 

[Nole95]

Too bad they are not running the nighttime version of KS. I assume if you showed up at 7, you still have plenty of time to get it in before the official park close at 8. As we get later into the spring, it will start getting dark later, so the possibility of riding while it is still light out increases.

Really thinking of doing this in April when we are there. We were planning on a day at AK and a day at Epcot anyway. However, it is not really much more to do this event at a very reduced stress level, and then do a day at Epcot. This way we eliminate all the stress of doing the Pandora rope drop stampede and what will probably be a crowded park during the day. Not to mention we never stay a full day at AK anyway.

Figure I will read the reviews for the next few weeks to make sure they do not oversell this event as word starts to really get out.

 

[HatboxHaint]

Too bad they are not running the nighttime version of KS. I assume if you showed up at 7, you still have plenty of time to get it in before the official park close at 8. As we get later into the spring, it will start getting dark later, so the possibility of riding while it is still light out increases.

Really thinking of doing this in April when we are there. We were planning on a day at AK and a day at Epcot anyway. However, it is not really much more to do this event at a very reduced stress level, and then do a day at Epcot. This way we eliminate all the stress of doing the Pandora rope drop stampede and what will probably be a crowded park during the day. Not to mention we never stay a full day at AK anyway.

Figure I will read the reviews for the next few weeks to make sure they do not oversell this event as word starts to really get out.

KS hours have been reduced. I was looking at trying to jump on it in January when we are let in at 7 but I think the new hours have it closing at 5:30(?) maybe it will be back to normal in April tho.

 

[MIAMouseketeer]

HEy All, we are headed To After Hours tonight. If you want to follow along, you can visit my Instastory at DisneyDaysShay. I will post a review later this week too

 

[Nathan.tan]

Going tonight as well. Excited about it. Will recap tomorrow.

 

[MIAMouseketeer]

Just got back! We loved it. Definitely a different feel than the one at Magic Kingdom. I posted a lot in my Instastory along with time stamps to give you an idea of time. My handle is DisneyDaysShay

 

[Nathan.tan]

Going tonight as well. Excited about it. Will recap tomorrow.

Here’s a quick recap. Seemed to be busier than the reports of the first one but still very empty. There were about 70 people at ROL.

Did Everest x5
ROL
Dinosaur x1
FOP x3 (can not skip preshow)
Navi River x5
Stopped with the kids doing the Dino dance party
Stopped and had snacks

Overall it was fun and there seemed to be a decent amount of people but definitely still felt empty

 

[CarolynFH]

On our way home after a very successful DAH. We started in Dinoland (rode Primeval Whirl just before 8:00) so I have no idea what wait times were like in Pandora to start. Everything was a walk-on for us. We rode Dinosaur once, got a Mickey Bar to eat on the way to Asia, rode Everest twice, then picked up a drink on the way to Pandora. Rode FoP once, then NRJ, then FoP again. DH didn’t feel like riding anymore but offered to wait while I did, so I got one more flight on the banshee — might have gotten two more, but something went wrong when we were seated and we had to leave that room and wait through another cycle to load into another room. (Yes, we had to go through the entire preshow AGAIN!)

Anyway, AK was not at all crowded. It reminded me of old E-Ticket Nights in MK, especially the first year or two. Pandora was especially beautiful - we could walk slowly and enjoy it (even noticed some new things by looking up), no worries about bumping into anyone! DH and I agreed it was worth every penny!

 

[0FF TO NEVERLAND]

Here’s a quick recap. Seemed to be busier than the reports of the first one but still very empty. There were about 70 people at ROL.

Did Everest x5
ROL
Dinosaur x1
FOP x3 (can not skip preshow)
Navi River x5
Stopped with the kids doing the Dino dance party
Stopped and had snacks

Overall it was fun and there seemed to be a decent amount of people but definitely still felt empty

5 times Everest? My neck would be broken

 

[Temp77]

I attended last night and had a great time.

I arrived a little before 6:30 and saw people lining up to get in but as they weren’t letting anybody in with just an event ticket I used my AP to get in early.

I headed straight for Pandora to eat at Satu’li Canteen and it was so much more crowded at that time than Pandora was when I returned later.

After eating I checked in for DAH and got my wrist band at the Ticket Corner by Discovery Trading before heading to ROL for the 7:30 show.

After ROL I headed to Dinosaur. There was a problem with the ride 1st time I got on owing to a failed seat belt check so we had to get off and wait 5 minutes or so whilst they ran a safety check. I rode two more times after that. We were allowed to stay on when I rode the second time as there was nobody waiting.

I then rode Everest once before getting snacks outside Everest. The snack place was offering hot chocolate as well as cold drinks. Everest was a walk on but I only wanted to ride it once.

I then headed to Pandora where I spent the rest of the evening. I rode FOP 4 times and Na’vi 3 times and also enjoyed walking round a deserted Pandora taking photos. The first time I rode FOP a couple who were on the ride before us were allowed to stay on as there was a couple of empty spots in our group. After that time everyone was made to get off and go round to get on again. There was next to no wait each time I rode FOP but the rooms were almost always filled which is probably why people weren’t allowed to stay on after riding.

So in summary I was able to ride FOP x 4, Na’vi x 3, Dinosaur x3 and Everest x 1 as well as getting snacks. I didn’t rush at all and could have rode more if I wanted. Definitely a successful and enjoyable night!

 

[Haley R]

I attended last night and had a great time.

I arrived a little before 6:30 and saw people lining up to get in but as they weren’t letting anybody in with just an event ticket I used my AP to get in early.

I headed straight for Pandora to eat at Satu’li Canteen and it was so much more crowded at that time than Pandora was when I returned later.

After eating I checked in for DAH and got my wrist band at the Ticket Corner by Discovery Trading before heading to ROL for the 7:30 show.

After ROL I headed to Dinosaur. There was a problem with the ride 1st time I got on owing to a failed seat belt check so we had to get off and wait 5 minutes or so whilst they ran a safety check. I rode two more times after that. We were allowed to stay on when I rode the second time as there was nobody waiting.

I then rode Everest once before getting snacks outside Everest. The snack place was offering hot chocolate as well as cold drinks. Everest was a walk on but I only wanted to ride it once.

I then headed to Pandora where I spent the rest of the evening. I rode FOP 4 times and Na’vi 3 times and also enjoyed walking round a deserted Pandora taking photos. The first time I rode FOP a couple who were on the ride before us were allowed to stay on as there was a couple of empty spots in our group. After that time everyone was made to get off and go round to get on again. There was next to no wait each time I rode FOP but the rooms were almost always filled which is probably why people weren’t allowed to stay on after riding.

So in summary I was able to ride FOP x 4, Na’vi x 3, Dinosaur x3 and Everest x 1 as well as getting snacks. I didn’t rush at all and could have rode more if I wanted. Definitely a successful and enjoyable night!

Sounds awesome! It’s pretty cool that they did hot chocolate this time around

 

[ErinBoBerin]

Just got back! We loved it. Definitely a different feel than the one at Magic Kingdom. I posted a lot in my Instastory along with time stamps to give you an idea of time. My handle is DisneyDaysShay

Haha your husband on Navi "I can smell it I can smell it!!"

 

[ErinBoBerin]

Thanks for all the reports guys!! 2 questions -
1) Do you need to bring anything with you to pick up your wristband?
2) What were the buses like leaving that night, if anyone bused?

 

[Haley R]

Thanks for all the reports guys!! 2 questions -
1) Do you need to bring anything with you to pick up your wristband?
2) What were the buses like leaving that night, if anyone bused?

They just scanned our magic bands when we went. As long as your tickets are linked to your account then that will work

 

[ErinBoBerin]

They just scanned our magic bands when we went. As long as your tickets are linked to your account then that will work

Sweet thanks!

 

[neverenoughtime]

They just scanned our magic bands when we went. As long as your tickets are linked to your account then that will work

There were only four other people on the bus with us last night coming home. Rode each of the pandora rides twice, everest 6 times, dinosaur once, and spent a good bit of time walking around pandora and the dino party with my dd. Weather was really nice. We all had a blast. Hopefully the Hollywood Studio one is just as good.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Thanks for all the reports guys!! 2 questions -
1) Do you need to bring anything with you to pick up your wristband?
2) What were the buses like leaving that night, if anyone bused?

IF your tickets are connected/linked to your MDE account, you don’t need anything but your MagicBand. If your tickets are NOT linked, you have further steps.