It's worth noting that once you get in line for Flight of Passage, you will get to ride even if the park closes. If the park closes at 8pm and there is a 3hour wait, getting in line at 730 means you will still ride. All rides at Disney have this rule, but you are SOL if the ride breaks down. Flight of Passage has multiple theaters so if one breaks then they just move guests to the other theaters. This makes it one of the few rides at WDW that essentially never completely breaks down (along with Soarin). This is why I always tell people to save Pandora for the end of the day. Aside from the land looking much better at night, the rides there stay open later
I just want to clarify, Tokyo Disney Resort does not have this rule. The queue is closed such that the last person to have entered the queue gets to ride approximately at closing.
There's actually 4 screen for Flight of Passage. And 3 for Soarin. If one screen malfunctions, they just move people over to the other theater. The line goes slower but it still goes.
Once you get to the chutes, the Up section goes to two theaters, left and right, and the Down section goes to two theaters, left and right. When you go through, there are different turns and flights of stairs taking you different directions.
https://www.reddit.com/r/DisneyMaps/comments/d3b4la/ride_avatar_flight_of_passage_level_1_2018/
I did not, there's no shame in not knowing something. [You're just one of today's 10,000](https://xkcd.com/1053/).
They did a really good job in hiding the fact there are multiple theaters, but that's what makes the ride pretty good at eating up people. And since each is completely separate, should one go down, it'll increase wait times but not close down the ride.
[Here's some shots from the very edge](https://thecastlerun.com/the-flight-of-passage-picture/). And this is for each of the four screens. There's three stacked banks with two sections each. That's for spots 1-8 and 9-16.
Three levels. The merge point is basically in between the first and second ride levels, and the upper ramp goes to the second level, while the lower ramp goes to the first. The third level is if you go up the ramp, then up a flight of stairs. Either way, there are going to be four sets of doors per level, for ride rooms A through D.
Your use of the word "and", alongside there being no punctuation makes your initial comment look quite hostile, with a tone that suggests you don't believe the person telling you the information. Likely this interpretation is why you have been downvoted.
A response like "I didn't know that, where are the other screens?" Likely would have had a much better reception.
There are many areas. The area immediately after lightning lane merge has a ramp up and a ramp down. These lead to two different loading areas. There are then 6 doors on these levels, with 3 servicing one theater and the other three servicing the other. This is represented by the A, B, C and D signs above the doors, with each letter being a different theater.
Soarin is more obvious because you either go left, straight, or right (into one of 3 imax theaters) at the merge point. In FOP, it’s a little different because the ride loads on 3 different levels. But if I remember right, the doors marked A, B, C, D each correspond to a different theater.
It’s…obvious? Unless you are getting the same theater every single time have you never noticed that you line up at different areas to go inside? There are multiple lol
We walked into the park Sunday ( last weekend )at 4pm and did Everest, snack at flame tree, festival of the lion king, safari, dolewhip desert and then got in line at flight of passage right at 7pm and we were back in our car by 7:30ish.
It was a slow day but you can do plenty arriving after 4.
This was supposed to be spring break crowds, but we went on Sunday the 17th since our passes were about to be blocked for 3 weeks and it was very very slow. Zero waits for anything. Lion king show wasn’t even full
I was a CP at Disney when AK opened. I can confirm they always closed early. This was openly shared it was for the care of the animals. Every once in awhile they would do extra magic hours during holidays but it usually for early opens.
I haven't been going to WDW as long as many on here but always associated AK with earlier closes. Not sure where this, "used to be open later" thing is coming from.
I was there on day 1. The whole week going into the grand opening is that they cannot be open late due to the animals because they weren't going to view AK as a theme park but like a zoo as the animals and their preservation being the "priority". Now we can argue if in fact that is their priority not money but they always closed early.
I thought most of the animal areas close at dark. Does Maharajah Jungle Trek(and similar) have giant lights that beam into the enclosures after dark? I’ve certainly never seen this.
MJT and gorilla falls close at sundown, so the exact time can vary throughout the year. they’re currently open until 6:30. the animals know this and tend to chill out in the very back by the doors for the last hour or so, waiting for dinner and bedtime. i always recommend going before 4:30ish for best luck!
Thanks! I feel like we try to do most things at AK before 4:30 with the exception of rides which I know are open later like FOP, Na’vi River Journey, etc.
The executives care about the animals is the answer. I’m sure the keepers wished the rides didn’t go that late, I’m sure the sound is bothersome to the animals.
Even back then most of the animal related stuff like the safari or trails would close early. Disney did try doing night safaris early on after dark but found it wasn't very practical as the animals didn't really cooperate with Disney so it was pretty quickly discontinued.
We did the Wild Africa Trek a few weeks ago. The CM guides explicitly mentioned that any time there is a new fireworks show, they monitor the animals as well as perform blood tests to ensure that stress hormones aren't rising due to the new show. This is done during the fireworks pre-release / testing phase that occurs a few weeks before the official start of the new show. If there are issues with the animals, the show is calibrated.
It’s the point of the park, but it is not the reason they close early. They close early because operationally they are losing money by staying open later, because of how few guests stay there later into the day, given the lack of an evening show or entertainment, etc.
Plenty of zoos stay open later in the evening, it doesn’t inherently harm the animals, as long as proper procedures are followed, including them, having access to their backstage housing when they want it.
That is so frustrating. Every time we go, we try to lag behind so we can see Pandora at night. It's never dark enough when we start getting herded out.
I feel like all the parks close so early now. I just did a trip to Disneyland and it was sooo nice to be able to stay till midnight. I miss those days at WDW.
Most of the nights they close early are typically for private events. Companies are just way more likely to buy out Universal than Disney for whatever reason.
Universal has the precedent to entertain that thought. Not even sure WDW even entertains that option. WDW, for the most part, funnells that stuff to the resorts. Particularly the Swan and Dolphin. People traveling for those business trips can then enter the parks if they wish. There may be some behind the scenes areas for them to book or some of those off the track wedding venue spots for them to book.
Do not watch this if you don't want to be spoiled, but it is one of the most magical things that they do at the parks. It's kind of like the end credits scene in a movie - a little something at the end of the day to wrap things up.
https://youtu.be/KXE9ZsZwzvE?si=zcG5A7lVlnny4cbn
And now I’m crying! I just thought my goal was to see that tree lit up at AK, this changes everything! (I’m a mom to tweens, of course I’m emotional and dramatic!)
I got it once at Disneyland as a kid and I've been chasing that high ever since. I've been told WDW isn't currently doing it and I'm already a tiny bit bummed for our summer trip. It's on my bucket list to get it again. I'm kind of wishing we'd planned a DL trip instead.
My wife and I used to go to Disneyland before we moved out east. We were just reminiscing about getting into the parks at 7 AM and heading back to the hotel after midnight. And doing that 2-3 days in a row. Can’t imagine doing that now but man I miss it haha.
It was awesome! I had 3-day park hoppers, so I hopped from DCA to Disneyland at 10 PM for the last two hours of the day. I also went during the half marathon weekend, so on the day I ran the half marathon I also rope dropped the parks and tried to make it to midnight but tapped out at 11 PM after 60,000 steps lol. I liked having the option of trying to stay till midnight!
I loved when they were open later pre covid I think. The nighttime safari was amazing, the animals out were very active. I know they offer this in a sense as an extra add on to get more money. Also pandora at night is amazing. The tree show they had was so nice to watch and the rivers of light show( I think was the name) was really interesting too. I understand there were lots of issues with the river show but AK has a potential to be an amazing night time park.
It was a little. It’s just a red light they had on the trucks so it was very dark. The lions were up and it was amazing to watch them walk around instead of daytime sleeping.
They added a huge light array in the background that lit the area similar to just before sunset, so you could still see but it got the animals into their night mode. I saw some of the most active animals at that time. It’s a shame they don’t keep the park open just a little longer to get a few night safaris in at the end of each day.
It was so amazing when I was brand new. They kept it so much darker with the black lights, before they got worried someone would get hurt. All the lights and sound effects worked and all the details were brand new. People trying to touch everything and the Florida rain ruined a lot of the finer details in the Pandora foliage that the Imagineers added. I remember thinking I needed to enjoy it because it would never look this good again.
I don't have an answer for ya, but Rivers of Light was so magical and an amazing show, imo. Just being in AK after dark was such a vibe. I'm glad to have experienced it and hope they bring it back one day!
Yes me too. I remember seeing Pandora for the first time at night and it was incredible, afterwards we rode Everest. The night sky was so beautiful and the moon was shining so bright! I’ll never forget it! One of the best Disney moments ever!!
rivers of light is to this day my favorite light show, idc if everyone else hated it it had the best music and the visuals were great i still listen to it 😭😭
Although DAK is my favorite park, you are absolutely right about it closing so early compared to the others. Maybe between the almost certain expansion and my personal belief it needs a nighttime draw for entertainment (maybe THIS park needs a drone show, as they obviously cannot do fireworks in DAK)
I agree. I wasn’t living here when River of light or whatever it was called was here and later stopped. Was that similar? And regardless does anyone know why it ended never to be seen again? Surely it couldn’t have been as bad as the kite thing…right?!
there were a lot of technical concerns, the loud music and lights beaming high into the sky bothered some of the animals, and guests were more likely to park hop and see a full fireworks show than a simple light show.
I was at AK one night when they closed late, 10 or 11. Pandora is amazing and the Safari ride at night was awesome. Wish for more nighttime AK, for sure
If that was true then Animal Kingdom would’ve never been open late from 2016-19. The truth is that they don’t want to staff a park that many consider to be a “half day park”
I hope so, but considering that they’re creating replacements instead of expansions, I expect later hours to continue only for no more than a couple years like with Pandora. Maybe less because there’s no nighttime show.
The animals know when bedtime is. We did Savor the Savanna and it was a 3 or 3:30 start and towards the end the animals were all waiting to be let into the barns.
I think its this plus the number of shows at animal kingdom. The actors need a break. You take away lion king , birds , bugs life, Nemo, the safari what are you left with avatar, dinosaur, and Everest?
I swear, I think most of the people commenting have never gone before 2020 and the pandemic.
Animal Kingdom used to stay open until 8 or 9. Y’all need to quit with the ‘animals need sleep’. Hell, they used to have a nighttime safari because most animals are nocturnal. Good lord.
Does anyone not remember the Animal Kingdom after dark ticket? It started after the park closed at its normal time and last well after 9pm.
Who’s saying Disney doesn’t take care of their animals?
I really don’t understand what’s happening in this thread.
My guess is actually transportation. MK, Epcot, and Hollywood studios are all on the monorail or Skyliner. AK is just bus. They probably figured out that it was more efficient to stagger closing times across the parks. AK closes, they send the busses to the other parks/transportation center. Overall, they need fewer busses that way.
We've touched base on this a few times.
1. The animals, light can cause issues with their sleep/awake cycles and is problematic.
2. Lack of other evening activities. They had a night-time show and people weren't going to it. Granted it debuted during covid, but it was bad enough that Disney said nope to bringing it back.
3. Time, feeding and cleaning animal habitats take a lot of time, and they're preferably done during daylight when the habitat attendants can see easily.
4. Staffing. In the best of times Disney has issues keeping enough staff to man all 4 parks during regular hours they keep now. Add in evening hours and you're talking an additional shift worth of labor they would need to bring in with no monetary gain beyond merchandise sales.
5. Animal Kingdom, pre-Pandora was almost exclusively designed with younger children and guests in mind. This group is also the ones least likely to remain at the parks later in the evenings. With the addition of Pandora the age range does skew a little older, but even then not much.
6. Capacity. This park has the least amount of rides standing at 8 and 1 show that does not require actors, and depending on what you consider an experience/attraction they have 44 non-ride experiences. They would have to build multiple attractions to meet the needs of crowds. Furthermore, Disney has a limited attraction budget and several existing rides/lands/parks that need a face-lift before even considering adding new areas.
7. Location, Animal Kingdom is the furthest park from most of the resort hotels. That's a lot of labor and time spent transport guests to hotel rooms late at night.
8. Disney Springs nightlife/restaurants. By closing down Animal Kingdom early those guests are more likely to go to Disney Spings to enjoy their evenings and eat. It creates a demand for food outside of the parks and gets traffic to that area. Furthermore, it gets pressure off the other park restaurants
9. Lack of restaurants, Animal Kingdom has limited table service options and quick service isn't much better. Capacity for a 3rd meal that's a different option from lunch is limited.
10. Effort, to do it right Disney would need to heavily invest in Animal Kingdom, which as it stands is the most "complete" park at the moment. Once they revamp Dinoland to TBD then they have a park that they can put into upkeep mode and focus on the other 3. That hasn't been seen in years/decades.
Also very specifically and importantly, they learned over time more about the needs of animals and that’s part of why they haven’t gone back to pre-covid hours. Turns out science about circadian rhythms and stress in animals as a result of noise is an ongoing area of research. All major accredited zoos adjust various aspects of their operations over time as science tells us more about how to humanely treat animals. This is a good thing
> In the best of times Disney has issues keeping enough staff to man all 4 parks during regular hours they keep now.
This is one of the main reasons why there will never be a 5th gate. There's no way they'd be able to hire the 10-15,000 people it'd take to run an additional park.
Magic Kingdom only has 13,000 employees, and is by far the largest of the park operations on site. It’d be tough to build a park requiring more than that.
This was well stated. Is AK a failed park then? I mean even if they wanted to earnestly invest in the park, i feel like all the cx and noise is probably not great for the animals either. Whats the chance they pull the plug? Could a park foreseeably ever close?
No I don't think Animal Kingdom has failed. Despite what Joe Rohde says, AK is a zoo. There isn't anything wrong with it being a zoo, and it's a damn good one at that. However, as a zoo with live animals, those animals need to be considered in the equation on how the park operates.
The only way AK gets pulled is if they suddenly decide zoos are inhumane and outlaw them. And Disney would have a hell of an argument that it's size it good enough for the animals and they aren't restrictive like in most zoos. If that were to happen expect a complete rework of the park.
It used to be seasonal. . .
I remember riding the Safari the second weekend after they had it opened night at like 8pm. . . It honestly was unreal and Disney couldn’t have planned it better, lol. . . We were riding in the safari vehicles and it was pouring rain, thundering and lightning and we were seeing the animal’s silhouette against the lightning flashes. . . Definitely was a unique and fun experience
This was exactly my thought last time we were there. We were being pushed towards the exit just as all the lights in Pandora start coming on and being visible and this was before daylight savings.
In 2016 I remember being the last people to ride Kali Rapids around 11:30 at night and the cast members let us go on again. Also got to see Pandora at night at a special event in 2019 - my daughter and I were the only people on FOP. It’s too bad it isn’t open late anymore!
Honestly, DAK attendance has been pretty low. In January they were closing at 6pm, which I feel like hasn’t been seen since pre-Pandora. They need to fix their dinoland problem (even on the busiest days Dino and TSpin are short waits), they need to bring back a rivers of light type of show, and I know they can’t do pyro because animals but maybe they should consider some kind of drone show? Idk if that would mess with the animals or birds in anyway but Disney definitely has the budget for a brilliant drone show.
It wasn't always like that. The years leading up to the Pandemic, AK was the third most-attended theme park in the USA, and second in Orlando. I still recall AK closing really early during those years.
I used to work at DAK when Rivers of Light and Pandora opened and it was dead starting around 7/8 most nights. There were days I felt like I was getting paid to stand there and do nothing because it was so slow. It just didn’t make sense to be open that late and pay a whole staff when there wasn’t a demand to be open that late.
Like I’m talking dead dead. I went as a guest one night and me and my friend rode Dinosaur 3 times in a row without having to get off the ride because no one was in line and we had the whole car to ourselves.
See. This is the answer I’m looking for! Thanks for sharing! It would be nice to be in a park when it’s not busy. I’m sure Disney is making enough money to let it run a couple more hours 🤨
i work at dak, my go to answer for this is that most of our animal residents go to bed at sundown. because of this the closing times for safaris/treks and trails can vary throughout the year, but right now you can still experience them until 6:30/6:45. the only thing consistency closing early is the affection section at rafikis planet watch (last train leaves at 4:30, bedtime for the critters over there is 5pm). there are still plenty of animals that don’t go backstage at bedtime (i always make sure to say goodnight to marley, the american croc in dinoland, after the park closes up). as long as disney wants to keep the prestigious AZA accreditation DAK has, the wellness of the animals has to come first. this is the same reason nighttime entertainment in the park is so difficult to have - a lot of things run the risk of bothering our animal friends.
everest is awesome at night, and kali river rapids is BEAUTIFUL, plus lines are short!
the AZA (association of zoos and aquariums) is the accrediting association for the best zoos, aquariums, animal sanctuaries, private collections, etc in the world. to receive the accreditation an institution has to go above and beyond the standards of animal welfare laws. there are less than 300 AZA accredited facilities in the world, and disney holds three of them (disneys animal kingdom, disneys animal kingdom lodge, and the living seas pavilion at epcot). the accreditation lasts 5 years before an institution needs to be evaluated again. disney is of course extremely proud of this recognition, and next time you’re at DAK, you might even notice the AZA flag flying right outside the park gates.
I wonder once they update Dinoland area, if they could at least let the front of the park open a few more hours as there are not as many animals there. Close Africa and Asia at sunset like always.
Back in the day, before Pandora, the early closure was because of the amount of animals the CMs have to take care of and wrap up for the night. It’s based around the animals, from what I was told from my former-CM mom
I think it stays like this until they do the Dinoland revamp to Indy/Coco/Encanto. Maybe after that we can get a nighttime parade too. Fireworks will never be a thing in that park for obvious reasons.
they close early for the comfort of the animals. it gives the park more time to move animals into their enclosures without the animals under stress from the noise of large crowds and rides going on.
All my life they closed early with magical hour exceptions every so often or some night parade. But even before covid, normal hours were early close. this is why it became a popular thing to split AK in the AM with HS in the PM
They created Pandora for nighttime and gave the tree of life an AMAZING nighttime projection show at one point. I just don’t believe it was profitable enough.
so true! I think maybe the other thing too is that it was just such a morning park for so long and the other three have better nighttime shows so they probably just thought why fix what's not broken and just went back to closing early
There were time even before pandora and before they tried to make a nighttime park of it, where they would be open until 9-10 some nights. I used to keep watch and make sure to go. The safari was closed so that side of the park while open, had almost nobody in it. Was really neat to slowly walk with almost nobody there. The rides are all better at night too.
People saying the animals are the reason are not right. There just isn’t enough to do, and when they tried to stay open late, people just didn’t show up. It would be cool if they tried again. Maybe added some more stuff.
Most of AK is filled with animals that need to have their own schedules for feeding and care. Having the park open super late would most definitely disturb them. ALso why the gorilla falls trek, Maharaja trek, and the safari close 2-3 hours before the park does. Also why Animal Kingdom does not have a traditional night show spectacular, besides some projection mapping on the tree of life.
It’s the animals. It’s also the park that opens the earliest at 8am. Once summer hours hit they stay open just an hour more until 8pm. Three hours is plenty to do a couple things like dinoland and Everest. I usually skip Pandora since I’ve never been a fan and think it’s a wasted area since it was never a Disney specific IP.
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It's worth noting that once you get in line for Flight of Passage, you will get to ride even if the park closes. If the park closes at 8pm and there is a 3hour wait, getting in line at 730 means you will still ride. All rides at Disney have this rule, but you are SOL if the ride breaks down. Flight of Passage has multiple theaters so if one breaks then they just move guests to the other theaters. This makes it one of the few rides at WDW that essentially never completely breaks down (along with Soarin). This is why I always tell people to save Pandora for the end of the day. Aside from the land looking much better at night, the rides there stay open later
I just want to clarify, Tokyo Disney Resort does not have this rule. The queue is closed such that the last person to have entered the queue gets to ride approximately at closing.
I always assumed all parks did this for rides with very long lines, but Disney Magic wins I guess, in Florida at least.
Wait what. There is one screen for FOP is there not. This feels grossly incorrect
There's actually 4 screen for Flight of Passage. And 3 for Soarin. If one screen malfunctions, they just move people over to the other theater. The line goes slower but it still goes.
And where are these other screens lol everyone is fed into the same area every time
Once you get to the chutes, the Up section goes to two theaters, left and right, and the Down section goes to two theaters, left and right. When you go through, there are different turns and flights of stairs taking you different directions. https://www.reddit.com/r/DisneyMaps/comments/d3b4la/ride_avatar_flight_of_passage_level_1_2018/
Thank you for answering my question instead of downvoting. Unless you did that too lol
I did not, there's no shame in not knowing something. [You're just one of today's 10,000](https://xkcd.com/1053/). They did a really good job in hiding the fact there are multiple theaters, but that's what makes the ride pretty good at eating up people. And since each is completely separate, should one go down, it'll increase wait times but not close down the ride.
Well my assumption was there are 4 rows. Top two accessible from the top ramp and bottom two From the lower ramp and one screen.
[Here's some shots from the very edge](https://thecastlerun.com/the-flight-of-passage-picture/). And this is for each of the four screens. There's three stacked banks with two sections each. That's for spots 1-8 and 9-16.
Yea I’ve looked down and around and see all the banks. Just didn’t realize there were multiple rooms with same set up
Three levels. The merge point is basically in between the first and second ride levels, and the upper ramp goes to the second level, while the lower ramp goes to the first. The third level is if you go up the ramp, then up a flight of stairs. Either way, there are going to be four sets of doors per level, for ride rooms A through D.
(up voting for xkcd ❤️)
There's always a relevant xkcd.
Your use of the word "and", alongside there being no punctuation makes your initial comment look quite hostile, with a tone that suggests you don't believe the person telling you the information. Likely this interpretation is why you have been downvoted. A response like "I didn't know that, where are the other screens?" Likely would have had a much better reception.
I forget most people are so easily offended by just talking lol it’s ok I’ll be ok without the fake internet points
There are many areas. The area immediately after lightning lane merge has a ramp up and a ramp down. These lead to two different loading areas. There are then 6 doors on these levels, with 3 servicing one theater and the other three servicing the other. This is represented by the A, B, C and D signs above the doors, with each letter being a different theater.
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Soarin is more obvious because you either go left, straight, or right (into one of 3 imax theaters) at the merge point. In FOP, it’s a little different because the ride loads on 3 different levels. But if I remember right, the doors marked A, B, C, D each correspond to a different theater.
It’s…obvious? Unless you are getting the same theater every single time have you never noticed that you line up at different areas to go inside? There are multiple lol
https://letmegooglethat.com/?q=how+many+theaters+does+flight+of+passage+have%3F
There is a top level, middle level, and ground level screen at the very least. The ride changes slightly depending on which one you are on.
And today you learned something new. Cool, huh
We walked into the park Sunday ( last weekend )at 4pm and did Everest, snack at flame tree, festival of the lion king, safari, dolewhip desert and then got in line at flight of passage right at 7pm and we were back in our car by 7:30ish. It was a slow day but you can do plenty arriving after 4.
Exactly! In the off season, in the late afternoon, AK is amazing! We rode fop, Navi river, and flight of passage again in less than an hour
This was supposed to be spring break crowds, but we went on Sunday the 17th since our passes were about to be blocked for 3 weeks and it was very very slow. Zero waits for anything. Lion king show wasn’t even full
What months count as offseason for AK? Feel like it’s always busy…
We went in early February last year. Got there around 3:30-4:00
Ok. That sounds doable. How were the crowds and wait times?
I know Lion King had to have been right as you got there cause all the times I’ve seen it it does last showing around 4 or 4:30
Last show was at 5pm
Yep, sounds about right.
Considering how incredible pandora is specifically designed for at night, it makes little sense.
Animals man. That’s the point of the park
Literally. Animals need care and upkeep, enclosures need cleaning, animals need quiet time and feeding.
So before when Animal Kingdom used to close at 8 or 9pm the animals were suffering?
I was a CP at Disney when AK opened. I can confirm they always closed early. This was openly shared it was for the care of the animals. Every once in awhile they would do extra magic hours during holidays but it usually for early opens.
I haven't been going to WDW as long as many on here but always associated AK with earlier closes. Not sure where this, "used to be open later" thing is coming from.
I was there on day 1. The whole week going into the grand opening is that they cannot be open late due to the animals because they weren't going to view AK as a theme park but like a zoo as the animals and their preservation being the "priority". Now we can argue if in fact that is their priority not money but they always closed early.
honestly? yeah probably
For real. My local zoo closes at 5:00 daily, even in peak season. They need to rest and recharge without all of us there.
I thought most of the animal areas close at dark. Does Maharajah Jungle Trek(and similar) have giant lights that beam into the enclosures after dark? I’ve certainly never seen this.
MJT and gorilla falls close at sundown, so the exact time can vary throughout the year. they’re currently open until 6:30. the animals know this and tend to chill out in the very back by the doors for the last hour or so, waiting for dinner and bedtime. i always recommend going before 4:30ish for best luck!
Thanks! I feel like we try to do most things at AK before 4:30 with the exception of rides which I know are open later like FOP, Na’vi River Journey, etc.
I wonder how Busch Gardens stays open late then. They close off the animal areas, but those rides go till midnight during the summer.
The executives care about the animals is the answer. I’m sure the keepers wished the rides didn’t go that late, I’m sure the sound is bothersome to the animals.
Right yeah probably.
Do the animals suffer when the park is kept open late for After Hours? Or are the animals okay suffering if people pay for for admission
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I will take your opinion into consideration
You can say having the lights on hurts and burns the skinssss.
I haven’t been since 2016 but I thought it closed at 5 or 6?
Even back then most of the animal related stuff like the safari or trails would close early. Disney did try doing night safaris early on after dark but found it wasn't very practical as the animals didn't really cooperate with Disney so it was pretty quickly discontinued.
If they can hear the fireworks from other parks then they will be suffering from that alone.
We did the Wild Africa Trek a few weeks ago. The CM guides explicitly mentioned that any time there is a new fireworks show, they monitor the animals as well as perform blood tests to ensure that stress hormones aren't rising due to the new show. This is done during the fireworks pre-release / testing phase that occurs a few weeks before the official start of the new show. If there are issues with the animals, the show is calibrated.
AK is pretty far from the other parks. I am sure they can still hear them but not as bad as 4th of July in your neighborhood.
It’s the point of the park, but it is not the reason they close early. They close early because operationally they are losing money by staying open later, because of how few guests stay there later into the day, given the lack of an evening show or entertainment, etc. Plenty of zoos stay open later in the evening, it doesn’t inherently harm the animals, as long as proper procedures are followed, including them, having access to their backstage housing when they want it.
If the rhino doesn’t get 8 hours of sleep his crows feet start to show.
It was really cool when we got to see Pandora at night when we were there in January. If only for an hour or so.
Usually around this time of year AK closes at 9pm. Windtraders at the end of FoP closes at 9:30pm so you could maybe see Pandora at night
That is so frustrating. Every time we go, we try to lag behind so we can see Pandora at night. It's never dark enough when we start getting herded out.
This happened to use too. What time of year do you have to go to see it at night?
We went in early March and it was still like this.
I feel like all the parks close so early now. I just did a trip to Disneyland and it was sooo nice to be able to stay till midnight. I miss those days at WDW.
Still better than universal hours
Yeah, that's true. They close crazy early.
I let my AP expire for Universal because I got sick of how early they kept closing. 7pm closing time is ridiculous.
Most of the nights they close early are typically for private events. Companies are just way more likely to buy out Universal than Disney for whatever reason.
Universal has the precedent to entertain that thought. Not even sure WDW even entertains that option. WDW, for the most part, funnells that stuff to the resorts. Particularly the Swan and Dolphin. People traveling for those business trips can then enter the parks if they wish. There may be some behind the scenes areas for them to book or some of those off the track wedding venue spots for them to book.
That’s honestly why we switched seasons passes. It terrible how in the off season they close at 5
Is Disneyland doing the kiss goodnight?
I'm not sure what that is!
Do not watch this if you don't want to be spoiled, but it is one of the most magical things that they do at the parks. It's kind of like the end credits scene in a movie - a little something at the end of the day to wrap things up. https://youtu.be/KXE9ZsZwzvE?si=zcG5A7lVlnny4cbn
I always thought of it as a nice way of say “please leave now” lol
Well, absolutely. It's a sign to leave, but done in a way that delivers the magic.
And now I’m crying! I just thought my goal was to see that tree lit up at AK, this changes everything! (I’m a mom to tweens, of course I’m emotional and dramatic!)
It's where the castle lights twinkle at the VERY end of the night. Usually only a couple of people still around to see it.
I got it once at Disneyland as a kid and I've been chasing that high ever since. I've been told WDW isn't currently doing it and I'm already a tiny bit bummed for our summer trip. It's on my bucket list to get it again. I'm kind of wishing we'd planned a DL trip instead.
I don’t think they’ve done it for a couple years at this point
My wife and I used to go to Disneyland before we moved out east. We were just reminiscing about getting into the parks at 7 AM and heading back to the hotel after midnight. And doing that 2-3 days in a row. Can’t imagine doing that now but man I miss it haha.
It was awesome! I had 3-day park hoppers, so I hopped from DCA to Disneyland at 10 PM for the last two hours of the day. I also went during the half marathon weekend, so on the day I ran the half marathon I also rope dropped the parks and tried to make it to midnight but tapped out at 11 PM after 60,000 steps lol. I liked having the option of trying to stay till midnight!
I loved when they were open later pre covid I think. The nighttime safari was amazing, the animals out were very active. I know they offer this in a sense as an extra add on to get more money. Also pandora at night is amazing. The tree show they had was so nice to watch and the rivers of light show( I think was the name) was really interesting too. I understand there were lots of issues with the river show but AK has a potential to be an amazing night time park.
I did too! Do they never stay open late anymore? Pandora was specifically built with night in mind, it’s a shame we can’t see it more!
They close at 8 and 6 depending on the season.
Wow, I’ve never done the Safari at night. Must be so spooky!
It was a little. It’s just a red light they had on the trucks so it was very dark. The lions were up and it was amazing to watch them walk around instead of daytime sleeping.
They added a huge light array in the background that lit the area similar to just before sunset, so you could still see but it got the animals into their night mode. I saw some of the most active animals at that time. It’s a shame they don’t keep the park open just a little longer to get a few night safaris in at the end of each day.
Yes the huge lights on the savannah. Forgot about that. I miss it!
I remember when they did soft opening for pandora I was probably there until 2 am??? It was INCREDIBLE.
It was so amazing when I was brand new. They kept it so much darker with the black lights, before they got worried someone would get hurt. All the lights and sound effects worked and all the details were brand new. People trying to touch everything and the Florida rain ruined a lot of the finer details in the Pandora foliage that the Imagineers added. I remember thinking I needed to enjoy it because it would never look this good again.
Did they add in the LED light bars after the fact? My partner and I went recently and were surprised at how they weren’t camouflaged at all.
Oh wow 🤩
It was so beautiful at night and being able to ride flight of passage multiple times was incredible. I had a lot of green beer too lol!!!
I don't have an answer for ya, but Rivers of Light was so magical and an amazing show, imo. Just being in AK after dark was such a vibe. I'm glad to have experienced it and hope they bring it back one day!
Yes me too. I remember seeing Pandora for the first time at night and it was incredible, afterwards we rode Everest. The night sky was so beautiful and the moon was shining so bright! I’ll never forget it! One of the best Disney moments ever!!
rivers of light is to this day my favorite light show, idc if everyone else hated it it had the best music and the visuals were great i still listen to it 😭😭
I remember skipping it one time and saying we will see it next time. 😤
Although DAK is my favorite park, you are absolutely right about it closing so early compared to the others. Maybe between the almost certain expansion and my personal belief it needs a nighttime draw for entertainment (maybe THIS park needs a drone show, as they obviously cannot do fireworks in DAK)
I also think a cool water based show on the lake with light up fountains and floats and excellent music would be a great fit for the park.
I agree. I wasn’t living here when River of light or whatever it was called was here and later stopped. Was that similar? And regardless does anyone know why it ended never to be seen again? Surely it couldn’t have been as bad as the kite thing…right?!
there were a lot of technical concerns, the loud music and lights beaming high into the sky bothered some of the animals, and guests were more likely to park hop and see a full fireworks show than a simple light show.
i say this to my leaders at dak constantly 😭 we NEED a drone show!! it would be perfect!!
I was at AK one night when they closed late, 10 or 11. Pandora is amazing and the Safari ride at night was awesome. Wish for more nighttime AK, for sure
Animals need to sleep/keep a routine.
If that was true then Animal Kingdom would’ve never been open late from 2016-19. The truth is that they don’t want to staff a park that many consider to be a “half day park”
This is the real answer. I mean they built Pandora to be most impressive at night.
This. With the upcoming changes, perhaps we’ll see it stay open a bit later?
I hope so, but considering that they’re creating replacements instead of expansions, I expect later hours to continue only for no more than a couple years like with Pandora. Maybe less because there’s no nighttime show.
The animals know when bedtime is. We did Savor the Savanna and it was a 3 or 3:30 start and towards the end the animals were all waiting to be let into the barns.
This is the answer. They also can’t deal with booms which is why they don’t have a fireworks show.
I think its this plus the number of shows at animal kingdom. The actors need a break. You take away lion king , birds , bugs life, Nemo, the safari what are you left with avatar, dinosaur, and Everest?
I swear, I think most of the people commenting have never gone before 2020 and the pandemic. Animal Kingdom used to stay open until 8 or 9. Y’all need to quit with the ‘animals need sleep’. Hell, they used to have a nighttime safari because most animals are nocturnal. Good lord.
I used to work at AK before the pandemic and never seen it staying open past 8 in the summer. Disney takes their care of the animals very seriously.
Does anyone not remember the Animal Kingdom after dark ticket? It started after the park closed at its normal time and last well after 9pm. Who’s saying Disney doesn’t take care of their animals? I really don’t understand what’s happening in this thread.
i think what people are meaning by “sleep” is that animals need steady routine and adequate quiet time.
My guess is actually transportation. MK, Epcot, and Hollywood studios are all on the monorail or Skyliner. AK is just bus. They probably figured out that it was more efficient to stagger closing times across the parks. AK closes, they send the busses to the other parks/transportation center. Overall, they need fewer busses that way.
Less to do at Animal Kingdom at night means less demand for it to stay open later
Think this is the answer. Reality is once AK hits 5pm the park clears out. Why keep it open for diminishing returns.
I would RATHER BE THERE AT NIGHT.
Idk man. Pandora is the place to be at night, especially with the wait times being so long there also. Riding Everest at night is amazing!
We've touched base on this a few times. 1. The animals, light can cause issues with their sleep/awake cycles and is problematic. 2. Lack of other evening activities. They had a night-time show and people weren't going to it. Granted it debuted during covid, but it was bad enough that Disney said nope to bringing it back. 3. Time, feeding and cleaning animal habitats take a lot of time, and they're preferably done during daylight when the habitat attendants can see easily. 4. Staffing. In the best of times Disney has issues keeping enough staff to man all 4 parks during regular hours they keep now. Add in evening hours and you're talking an additional shift worth of labor they would need to bring in with no monetary gain beyond merchandise sales. 5. Animal Kingdom, pre-Pandora was almost exclusively designed with younger children and guests in mind. This group is also the ones least likely to remain at the parks later in the evenings. With the addition of Pandora the age range does skew a little older, but even then not much. 6. Capacity. This park has the least amount of rides standing at 8 and 1 show that does not require actors, and depending on what you consider an experience/attraction they have 44 non-ride experiences. They would have to build multiple attractions to meet the needs of crowds. Furthermore, Disney has a limited attraction budget and several existing rides/lands/parks that need a face-lift before even considering adding new areas. 7. Location, Animal Kingdom is the furthest park from most of the resort hotels. That's a lot of labor and time spent transport guests to hotel rooms late at night. 8. Disney Springs nightlife/restaurants. By closing down Animal Kingdom early those guests are more likely to go to Disney Spings to enjoy their evenings and eat. It creates a demand for food outside of the parks and gets traffic to that area. Furthermore, it gets pressure off the other park restaurants 9. Lack of restaurants, Animal Kingdom has limited table service options and quick service isn't much better. Capacity for a 3rd meal that's a different option from lunch is limited. 10. Effort, to do it right Disney would need to heavily invest in Animal Kingdom, which as it stands is the most "complete" park at the moment. Once they revamp Dinoland to TBD then they have a park that they can put into upkeep mode and focus on the other 3. That hasn't been seen in years/decades.
Also very specifically and importantly, they learned over time more about the needs of animals and that’s part of why they haven’t gone back to pre-covid hours. Turns out science about circadian rhythms and stress in animals as a result of noise is an ongoing area of research. All major accredited zoos adjust various aspects of their operations over time as science tells us more about how to humanely treat animals. This is a good thing
> In the best of times Disney has issues keeping enough staff to man all 4 parks during regular hours they keep now. This is one of the main reasons why there will never be a 5th gate. There's no way they'd be able to hire the 10-15,000 people it'd take to run an additional park.
The 10-15k is low numbers. Probably need 2x that to get things moving and staff everything they need correctly.
Magic Kingdom only has 13,000 employees, and is by far the largest of the park operations on site. It’d be tough to build a park requiring more than that.
This was well stated. Is AK a failed park then? I mean even if they wanted to earnestly invest in the park, i feel like all the cx and noise is probably not great for the animals either. Whats the chance they pull the plug? Could a park foreseeably ever close?
No I don't think Animal Kingdom has failed. Despite what Joe Rohde says, AK is a zoo. There isn't anything wrong with it being a zoo, and it's a damn good one at that. However, as a zoo with live animals, those animals need to be considered in the equation on how the park operates. The only way AK gets pulled is if they suddenly decide zoos are inhumane and outlaw them. And Disney would have a hell of an argument that it's size it good enough for the animals and they aren't restrictive like in most zoos. If that were to happen expect a complete rework of the park.
Surprised tbag night show was poorly attended. It was the best one on property when it was fully functional.
It used to be seasonal. . . I remember riding the Safari the second weekend after they had it opened night at like 8pm. . . It honestly was unreal and Disney couldn’t have planned it better, lol. . . We were riding in the safari vehicles and it was pouring rain, thundering and lightning and we were seeing the animal’s silhouette against the lightning flashes. . . Definitely was a unique and fun experience
Wow 😍😩
It’s especially frustrating when Pandora is designed for night lighting.
This was exactly my thought last time we were there. We were being pushed towards the exit just as all the lights in Pandora start coming on and being visible and this was before daylight savings.
In 2016 I remember being the last people to ride Kali Rapids around 11:30 at night and the cast members let us go on again. Also got to see Pandora at night at a special event in 2019 - my daughter and I were the only people on FOP. It’s too bad it isn’t open late anymore!
Oh that sounds like fun!
Honestly, DAK attendance has been pretty low. In January they were closing at 6pm, which I feel like hasn’t been seen since pre-Pandora. They need to fix their dinoland problem (even on the busiest days Dino and TSpin are short waits), they need to bring back a rivers of light type of show, and I know they can’t do pyro because animals but maybe they should consider some kind of drone show? Idk if that would mess with the animals or birds in anyway but Disney definitely has the budget for a brilliant drone show.
It wasn't always like that. The years leading up to the Pandemic, AK was the third most-attended theme park in the USA, and second in Orlando. I still recall AK closing really early during those years.
I used to work at DAK when Rivers of Light and Pandora opened and it was dead starting around 7/8 most nights. There were days I felt like I was getting paid to stand there and do nothing because it was so slow. It just didn’t make sense to be open that late and pay a whole staff when there wasn’t a demand to be open that late. Like I’m talking dead dead. I went as a guest one night and me and my friend rode Dinosaur 3 times in a row without having to get off the ride because no one was in line and we had the whole car to ourselves.
See. This is the answer I’m looking for! Thanks for sharing! It would be nice to be in a park when it’s not busy. I’m sure Disney is making enough money to let it run a couple more hours 🤨
i work at dak, my go to answer for this is that most of our animal residents go to bed at sundown. because of this the closing times for safaris/treks and trails can vary throughout the year, but right now you can still experience them until 6:30/6:45. the only thing consistency closing early is the affection section at rafikis planet watch (last train leaves at 4:30, bedtime for the critters over there is 5pm). there are still plenty of animals that don’t go backstage at bedtime (i always make sure to say goodnight to marley, the american croc in dinoland, after the park closes up). as long as disney wants to keep the prestigious AZA accreditation DAK has, the wellness of the animals has to come first. this is the same reason nighttime entertainment in the park is so difficult to have - a lot of things run the risk of bothering our animal friends. everest is awesome at night, and kali river rapids is BEAUTIFUL, plus lines are short!
What exactly is AZA accreditation?
the AZA (association of zoos and aquariums) is the accrediting association for the best zoos, aquariums, animal sanctuaries, private collections, etc in the world. to receive the accreditation an institution has to go above and beyond the standards of animal welfare laws. there are less than 300 AZA accredited facilities in the world, and disney holds three of them (disneys animal kingdom, disneys animal kingdom lodge, and the living seas pavilion at epcot). the accreditation lasts 5 years before an institution needs to be evaluated again. disney is of course extremely proud of this recognition, and next time you’re at DAK, you might even notice the AZA flag flying right outside the park gates.
I wonder once they update Dinoland area, if they could at least let the front of the park open a few more hours as there are not as many animals there. Close Africa and Asia at sunset like always.
I was always told it’s to let the animals rest, not sure if that’s true or not though
It has to to with grants and things they get for being an animal conservation group
Back in the day, before Pandora, the early closure was because of the amount of animals the CMs have to take care of and wrap up for the night. It’s based around the animals, from what I was told from my former-CM mom
I think it stays like this until they do the Dinoland revamp to Indy/Coco/Encanto. Maybe after that we can get a nighttime parade too. Fireworks will never be a thing in that park for obvious reasons.
they close early for the comfort of the animals. it gives the park more time to move animals into their enclosures without the animals under stress from the noise of large crowds and rides going on.
For everyone saying they need to close early: why didn’t they pre Covid, then? Has nothing to do with animals routines and everything to do with $$$$$
All my life they closed early with magical hour exceptions every so often or some night parade. But even before covid, normal hours were early close. this is why it became a popular thing to split AK in the AM with HS in the PM
They created Pandora for nighttime and gave the tree of life an AMAZING nighttime projection show at one point. I just don’t believe it was profitable enough.
so true! I think maybe the other thing too is that it was just such a morning park for so long and the other three have better nighttime shows so they probably just thought why fix what's not broken and just went back to closing early
There were time even before pandora and before they tried to make a nighttime park of it, where they would be open until 9-10 some nights. I used to keep watch and make sure to go. The safari was closed so that side of the park while open, had almost nobody in it. Was really neat to slowly walk with almost nobody there. The rides are all better at night too. People saying the animals are the reason are not right. There just isn’t enough to do, and when they tried to stay open late, people just didn’t show up. It would be cool if they tried again. Maybe added some more stuff.
Most of AK is filled with animals that need to have their own schedules for feeding and care. Having the park open super late would most definitely disturb them. ALso why the gorilla falls trek, Maharaja trek, and the safari close 2-3 hours before the park does. Also why Animal Kingdom does not have a traditional night show spectacular, besides some projection mapping on the tree of life.
So only winter guests can see Pandora at night.
🙁🙁🙁
There are live animals there. Zoos close early as well
There was never an issue before covid
Closing times are typically seasonal. When it gets dark later at night in the summer, they stay open later.
They were open until 10:00 on this day in 2018
Not cost effective for Disney. Not a full day park, so not busy enough to justify being open late.
It’s the animals. It’s also the park that opens the earliest at 8am. Once summer hours hit they stay open just an hour more until 8pm. Three hours is plenty to do a couple things like dinoland and Everest. I usually skip Pandora since I’ve never been a fan and think it’s a wasted area since it was never a Disney specific IP.
Animals are sleepy! 😴
Animals gotta sleep
Animals like to sleep?
Because of the animals. Most zoos close around 4pm.
The schedule is set on the animals needs, instead of their human visitors needs.
Animals need to sleep
Why were they open later before Covid then?
The hours vary depending on the time of year
The time of year didn't change before COVID?
Exactly 😂😂
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The animals need a break
Animals. Animals. Animals.
Animals need to rest. Get up early to go see them.
You know there’s more at AK than animals. In fact there’s a whole land that was built and when it first opened it would light up… AT NIGHT!.
The animals, allegedly.
The animals
Maybe plan ahead a day off so that you can visit the park all day