Originally Posted By elene I'm sure this has been discussed before but why does this park close so early in the fall and why are there no evening extra magic hours? I understand that the safari might not work as well at night (although a lot of animals are more active at night I'd think especially in Florida where it is HOT during the day) but how many of the other attractions are only ok in the day light? It would be nice if it stayed open a little later at least 1 night a week.
Originally Posted By Disneymom443 I think that they said that it had to do with the animals, for the reason for no EEMH.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip Yes, they bring all animals in at night for feeding and review of their health. (At least that's what I've read.)
Originally Posted By Witches of Morva ORWEN: They also have to bring in the cast members for feeding and review of THEIR health, too. I mean, it just wouldn't do to have hungry, unhealthy cast members greeting you the next day if they didn't do that!
Originally Posted By FerretAfros I doubt too many people would want to do Kali after dark, since it can get you completely soaked. Combine that with the (theoretically) closed safari, and there's really not a ton that could be open at night. Guests could go on Everest and the stuff in Dinoland/Dinorama, It's Tough to be a Bug, and meet the characters in Camp Minnie-Mickey, but that's about it. While there's enough to keep you busy for a couple hours, it's hardly enough to keep the park open with nothing else
Originally Posted By Kennesaw Tom I'm sure as far as WDW management is concerned, evening hours are best spent at "other" parks on property. I don't fault DAK for not having extended evening hours. Althought I have to admit I have seen at least one after hours party at DAK. I'm not sure who it was for, but it was prior to the opening of Everest, it was catered and the public was NOT invited.
Originally Posted By Autopia Deb We did evening EMH at AK back in '06. We saw the Lion King show and they had a soft opening for Everest which we rode 3 times and got to see the fully functional yeti. It was great wandering a nearly empty park at night. So even though all the animal exhibits and attractions are closed, I'm surprised they don't still offer EEMH, because there are things to do.
Originally Posted By elene I can understand closing the safari at night because they don't have the lighting to support it. As for Kali River Rapids, I know the version at DCA is open at night and it is hotter in Florida so I'd think it would get more traffic there than in CA. I guess I like evenings more in Florida than day time because it is usually comfortable so you aren't baking. It just seems like they could be open 1 night a week for extra magic hours. I'm a west coaster so getting up early just doesn't work for my family. I'd rather stay a little later. I must not be in the majority though!
Originally Posted By DouglasDubh We did a night EMH a few years ago, and there is just not enough to do for three hours. Maybe if it is your first visit or you haven't been there in many years you could fill the whole time, but my kids were ready to go after an hour and a half. Of course, the same thing happened last time we were there for regular hours. We have seen all the shows and they weren't interested in seeing them again, so we did the safari, walked the gorilla trail, rode Everest and Dinosaur, and were ready to go. Animal kingdom needs a Pirate or Haunted Mansion type ride - something that lasts 20 minutes or so that is interesting but fairly low thrill.
Originally Posted By elene Are they ever going to do anything with that huge river that goes around the Tree of Life? I guess that was used for something initially but there is nothing going on there now, right? They could do a World of Color type show there in the evening and maybe have something else happen there during the day (not sure what though).
Originally Posted By Kennesaw Tom The Discovery River Boats originally traveled around that river in question. Basically the journey was boring and the Discovery River Boats were stopped and no longer used. Yeah, I know they were used briefly for the Radio Disney thing. One intresting thing about the river boats was that apparently that was the only way you could see the "snoring dragon" near the bridge to camp Mickey - Minnie.
Originally Posted By cheesybaby I remember reading online (a couple years ago?) that they had considered doing a night show on the water, perhaps similar to WOC. The source said WDW had looked into this deeply but determined that for the show to be visible to large numbers of people, great amounts of plants would need to be cut back and seriously trimmed. It was decided that this would require too much cutting back and would dramatically reduce the plant life, atmosphere, and theme of the park, which is really the whole point of the park. So the idea was scrapped. Don't remember where I read this. Possibly Jim Hill, but I haven't visited his site in at least a year.
Originally Posted By sjhym333 I think Disney could build a theater on the lake behind Everest and do a nighttime water show there.
Originally Posted By Kennesaw Tom I'd rather there not be a night show at DAK. The other WDW parks already corner the market on nighttime shows and activities.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip <<I'd rather there not be a night show at DAK. The other WDW parks already corner the market on nighttime shows and activities.>> YES! That is part of the respect I've always had for the AK. They seem to say "Hey... we do what we do, and if you want other stuff there are three other parks." I really like that they remain committed to their primary objective. I still think that in ways it is the best-realized of ANY Disney Park in delivering what it intended to deliver. Maybe not the best at delivering what guests wanted, but the best in fulfilling an apparently very clear vision of what it wanted to be!! (Something all the other parks seem to have lost along the way...)
Originally Posted By demderedoseguys I think that AK has hours that are just fine. For us, getting there early in the morning and out by 3 seems to be about right.
Originally Posted By disney pete Yeah we can live with AK's hours we normally go back the villa for a swim and then head to DD for a nice meal and some Disney ambience
