Nighttime at Animal Kingdom

[DOOMBOT]

AK late hours failed no matter what they tried in the past. I doubt they'd revisit. AK touring, probably due
to the 'nature' of the park, is different than the other Orlando WDW parks. Crowds come real early, the kids
tire out, and AK starts to empty at 4:00 PM.

I wonder how much of that is the nature of the park, like you said, and how much of that is the consistent lack of must-do rides for over 2 decades. You can reasonably ride Kilimanjaro, Everest, Dinosaur, Flight of Passage, and River Journey before 4pm, so after that point, if you're not invested in looking at the exhibits, why wouldn't you go back to the room for a nap and spend the night at Epcot or MK?

I agree that Nighttime DAK is an uphill battle. I feel like the park needs a solid bit of daytime expansion before people start to change their patterns, and I don't believe an Encanto dark ride and a carousel alone will do it. Hope we see more movement in this park sooner.

 

[Jake S]

Yeah, I think it’s still at least one big E-Ticket away from consistent night time operation, unfortunately.

 

[UNIrd]

I need this park to stay open later if just for food. The food at DAK is so good and it sucks to never be able to plan an 8pm dinner at Yak & Yeti.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

I wonder how much of that is the nature of the park, like you said, and how much of that is the consistent lack of must-do rides for over 2 decades. You can reasonably ride Kilimanjaro, Everest, Dinosaur, Flight of Passage, and River Journey before 4pm, so after that point, if you're not invested in looking at the exhibits, why wouldn't you go back to the room for a nap and spend the night at Epcot or MK?

I agree that Nighttime DAK is an uphill battle. I feel like the park needs a solid bit of daytime expansion before people start to change their patterns, and I don't believe an Encanto dark ride and a carousel alone will do it. Hope we see more movement in this park sooner.

Chicken & egg, and after the last time who knows if they'll want to try again. Did a quick touring plan on TP on a 5/10 day and found you can tour the whole park, rides to trails to meet and greets, by 3pm. The best way to get this park to longer ops will be slow and steady additions, not just swaps or the Iger Special (new land + side attractions + new nighttime show).