I'm wondering if the new 11PM closing time at Animal Kingdom will make a lot of guests alter how they plan their day. I'm assuming that many people will want to enjoy the evening offerings so will they hold off on arriving until later in the day? If so, would this make for lighter than usual morning crowds? I'm asking because on our July trip I have a day where we have a pre-opening ADR at Tusker then lunch at Tiffins. We'll leave after lunch and plan to go to HS at night for late EMH. If I can assume lighter crowds at AK I'd use my FPs at HS, specifically I'd get one for Fantasmic (these never seem to be available on the day of), but I'm worried I'll regret it if the lines are super long for the Safari or if we can't get into FOTLK at the time we want. These are my children's AK must dos and I don't have a lot of flexibility on the FOTLK showtime because of the 2 ADRs.
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Will the Extended Evening Hours at Animal Kingdom Make the Mornings Less Crowded?
- Thread starter lemon meringue
- Start date
Time will tell.
Gee Thanks.
I was hoping someone had an opinion, or maybe someone on the forum has been there already and might be kind enough to help me out with my planning decision.
You are welcome.
JohnD
Well-Known Member
My current plans have me being one less guest in the morning. I plan on visiting AK on Sunday, October 30. I rarely get to try Sunday brunch so I have a 9:30 brunch ADR at Narcooses. I'll just take the AK bus from GF after that.
In the fall don't know if there will be closure at 11pm but hopefully assume in the evening. I guess earlier because the sun will go down earlier but I'm there the last week of daylight time.
In the fall don't know if there will be closure at 11pm but hopefully assume in the evening. I guess earlier because the sun will go down earlier but I'm there the last week of daylight time.
Chef Mickey
Well-Known Member
Mornings at AK are crowded?
Thank you for taking the question seriously and giving a helpful answer. I was hoping to determine if people will change their habits based on the evening offerings and your reply answers the question exactly. Sample size of one but appreciated none the less
JohnD
Well-Known Member
Thank you for taking the question seriously and giving a helpful answer. I was hoping to determine if people will change their habits based on the evening offerings and your reply answers the question exactly. Sample size of one but appreciated none the less
I was also looking at 11/3 because my original plan for HS still didn't yet have any shows for Fantasmic in MDE. In that event I had a Boma ADR scheduled first with a jump to AK after that. But Fantasmic opened up so I switched my AK and HS days.
KikoKea
Well-Known Member
Not sure about AK during the summer, but we've found it to be much less crowded in the mornings during other periods of the year- especially EMHs. If the Safari is your first priority, I'd head there, then EE, Dinosaur, Bug's Life, FoTLK, etc depending on what your family wants to do.
WondersOfLife
Blink, blink. Breathe, breathe. Day in, day out.
AK gets crowded?
Andrew C
You know what's funny?
Africa does.
Clamman73
Well-Known Member
It'll be interesting to see if there is a shift in wait times this year as compared to a few prior (which will be seen in the wait times numbers) but then once Pandora opens, what that does to the overall crowd distribution and levels within the Park during the first few hours after opening.
Personally, I hope Pandora is enough of a success that it draws the MK crowd away a bit.
Personally, I hope Pandora is enough of a success that it draws the MK crowd away a bit.
KikoKea
Well-Known Member
Me, too!
Sordicampos
Active Member
I am planning my next trip and I think I will arrive at Animal Kingdom later than usual.
For those posters replying as though they've never experienced crowds at AK, all I can say is lucky you! We visited four times in 2015 and once earlier this year. Our trips were during a variety of seasons and on every trip we encountered crowds at some point. The bottleneck areas on and around the bridges that connect the different areas were especially difficult to navigate. The stand by safari line on every trip was at 60-90 minutes. All of the shows were packed when we attended. Maybe we were just unlucky every time, but yes- I've seen it crowded. You are fortunate that you have not.
KikoKea
Well-Known Member
I've seen the Safari line be long, even in off season. Still, I think your plan is a good one to see it and AK early, then go to HS later with FP.
DfromATX
Well-Known Member
This is my plan for our trip in July. Not showing up until our first FP around 11:00. It's my nature to be early/on time so this may make me nervous, but I promised my family if they would do rope drop at MK we could be leisurely the next morning for AK.
bethymouse
Well-Known Member
We're doing the same. That day they have 8am EMH, but I can't do 14 hours at the parks ( I used to in my younger days
). We'll get there around noon, eat at Tusker House and stay for the nighttime "shows".
DfromATX
Well-Known Member
We're doing the same. That day they have 8am EMH, but I can't do 14 hours at the parks ( I used to in my younger days
I don't know if it'll be worth it or not, but we are doing the dining package for Jungle Book at Tusker House. If ROL ever shows up I may switch to that.
SyracuseDisneyFan
Well-Known Member
I don't know. I'd hope so, though.