I am a somewhat unusual Disney fan in that if you asked me what my favorite park was, if absolutely pressed to pick I would probably say Animal Kingdom. I love all the parks but Animal Kingdom is just something special for me. So when they announced that the park will finally have evening hours and be open late, I was super excited to visit Animal Kingdom at night!
There are a number of things that you can do in the park after hours. We spent the morning doing other stuff and then headed over to Animal Kingdom in the afternoon, around 3pm. That night the park was open until 11pm.
Night Safari
They are currently running Kilimanjaro Safaris into the evening hours! We made a FastPass+ reservation for right around when the sun was supposed to set. It seemed everyone else had the same idea, because there were more people in the FP line than the standby line! We waited almost half an hour and by the time we got on it was pretty much pitch black. The animal areas are lit but not well. Knowing this, in retrospect, I would probably make an earlier FP.
I couldn’t get any photos due to the moving vehicle AND the darkness (I’m nowhere near that skilled yet!). After trying for a bit I just put my camera away and enjoyed it. It’s a little more difficult to see the animals, but they were much more active at night. Our safari took quite awhile because so many vehicles had to stop for animals in the road. The rhinos were right next to our truck, and the lions were walking around. It was very neat.
Jungle Book: Alive with Magic
When Disney was unable to get Rivers of Light together for whatever reason, they threw together this show. It’s got the songs from the Jungle Book done by live singers accompanied by Indian-style dancers. There are also some water screens similar to Fantasmic that show scenes from the live action movie. In general before attending I hadn’t heard very positive things about it.
I actually really liked the Jungle Book show but I had low expectations. I thought the talent of the singers, dancers, and musicians was excellent. It just isn’t a “spectacular” like I think people are expecting and doesn’t fit in the big stadium setting. I think if it was in a space like Festival of the Lion King people would be much more impressed by it. I very much enjoyed it.
Tree of Life: Awakenings
Just seeing the Tree of Life lit up at night is pretty cool, but once it gets dark they also do mini projection shows every ten minutes or so. One of the animals carved into the tree comes to “life” and a little story is played out with the projections. It’s really well done and mesmerizing to watch. There are several different ones so you can catch multiple of them if you stay in the area.
Expedition Everest at Night
I love this ride, and it adds an extra element of fun to be on the roller coaster in the dark. Something else pretty neat is that from certain spots in the park you can actually see the Star Wars fireworks from Hollywood Studios just above Everest.
Street Performers
There are lots of groups performing in Animal Kingdom, and they stick around after dark. There is so much talent! I love watching them and dancing along with some of their music.
Have you been to Animal Kingdom at night? What are you most excited about?
I think you and I are kindred spirits. Every time we visit Walt Disney World, I grow more and more in love with Animal Kingdom. It’s a totally different atmosphere from the other parks. It’s more relaxing and laid back. I feel more slow-paced here. In fact, I like to plan this park for our last day if I can. On my trip in a few weeks, though, it’s our first day – and I’m anxious to check out these new nighttime offerings.
I agree on how it feels more relaxed. I can just stroll around and take everything in so much more there than the other parks. And I love when some of the live bands are playing, I’ll just hang out and watch or dance 🙂
It’s funny because for years we skipped AK as it wasn’t our kind of park, and last time we went we left after a few hours but we are trying again on this trip to see what’s so magical about it!
I hope Animal Kingdom is able to win you over this time!
The Jungle Book inspired show sounds like an amazing experience! I grew up watching the animated movie.
Cristina
It was really neat! I’m kind of sad it’s only a temporary show.
We love Animal Kingdom too. People always expect it to be the Magic Kingdom, but to be honest that’s probably my least favourite.
Yeah, I think all the parks have their own charm and they are all so different, but Animal Kingdom wins my heart.
My one and only visit to WDW was before Animal Kingdom opened so I am so excited to check it out when I go back. It seems like an awesome park!
So exciting! I went with my parents a couple of years ago and my mom had never been to Animal Kingdom so it was a ton of fun to introduce her to it!
This sounds awesome! I’ve never been to Animal Kingdom, but I definitely would love to visit when we go to Disney.
I bet your boys would love it! It’s very cool to see all of the live animals, and they also have a “Wilderness Explorers” program where kids can earn badges at different stations around the park by learning about the animals or doing different activities.
I think it would be so fun to ride Expedition Everest at night!
It was a ton of fun, I wish I had left more time to ride it multiple times at night!
Gosh, this looks awesome!! We’ve never been to Animal Kingdom= it’s definitely on our list!
I hope you get the chance to go, it’s an amazing experience!
WHAT!?
Animal Kingdom is HANDS DOWN my favourite park! I’ve never been at night… now I need to plan a trip back to Disney… Previous fave park at night: Epcot (of course), though doing Thunder Mountain at night is a whole new thrill if you’re at Magic Kingdom!
xxox
Laura @ http://www.cookwineandthinker.com
We will pretty much only do Big Thunder at night because it’s so much better! And Animal Kingdom is also going to be adding more stuff to the nighttime experience. The Jungle Book show will eventually be replaced with Rivers of Light, which is supposed to be even more incredible.