Nighttime Kilimanjaro Safari

[JungleSkip]

I think it's an interesting dilemma, for sure. I'm rooting for all this to succeed, but I think there's one major flaw, and that's there's still not nearly enough to do at the park. Even with the addition of two Avatar rides, I'm not sure it makes a difference when it comes to people staying at night, especially when those two rides will probably be the things everyone hits at rope drop.

Yes, Avatar will look awesome at night, but outside of people taking a walk through it when it's dark, is it going to keep them there longer than an extra 10 minutes in the evening? I'm not sure. And if RoL is as much of a mess as it sounds, I don't think that'll do the trick either.

Again, I'm rooting for nighttime DAK to succeed, but I just don't think the park has enough nighttime offerings that anyone really wants to wait around to see.

 

[Nick]

I think it's an interesting dilemma, for sure. I'm rooting for all this to succeed, but I think there's one major flaw, and that's there's still not nearly enough to do at the park. Even with the addition of two Avatar rides, I'm not sure it makes a difference when it comes to people staying at night, especially when those two rides will probably be the things everyone hits at rope drop.

Yes, Avatar will look awesome at night, but outside of people taking a walk through it when it's dark, is it going to keep them there longer than an extra 10 minutes in the evening? I'm not sure. And if RoL is as much of a mess as it sounds, I don't think that'll do the trick either.

Again, I'm rooting for nighttime DAK to succeed, but I just don't think the park has enough nighttime offerings that anyone really wants to wait around to see.

You say 10 minutes as in ride time, but it could be hours waiting in line.

I do get the overall point though. DAK needs more rides, and i'm already counting Pandora into the ride count. It needs one more decent expansion before it can be even a 3/4 day park imo. And no Dino-Land shouldn't be a priority yet. Dinoland has 3 out of what will be 8 rides in the park. The park needs MORE, not less (or just replacing).

 

[JungleSkip]

You say 10 minutes as in ride time, but it could be hours waiting in line.

Sorry, I wasn't referring to ride time. I was referring to the 10 minutes it'll take to walk around Avatar at night.

I do get the overall point though. DAK needs more rides, and i'm already counting Pandora into the ride count. It needs one more decent expansion before it can be even a 3/4 day park imo. And no Dino-Land shouldn't be a priority yet. Dinoland has 3 out of what will be 8 rides in the park. The park needs MORE, not less (or just replacing).

Yea, in a perfect world DAK, EPCOT, and DHS wouldn't have been ignored for the last decade, and instead of scrambling to try and keep each of them afloat we'd have parks that only need a few additions to stay viable against a full-steam-ahead Universal. I know I get called a Disney "hater" often, but it's more disappointment. It becomes more and more clear at how deep seated their apathy was prior to the last 3 years of Universal eating their lunch. I'm just glad Uni forced them to do SOMETHING, even if I don't think it's enough.

 

[SeventyOne]

I agree they may go back to shorter hours until Avatar (considering RoL isn't working), but to say "I think nighttime AK will be a one and done thing" is simply not true. I mean, Pandora is purposely being built for night.

The existing nighttime layover was clearly more than chump change--it's not pulling crowds.

Nomad Lounge is one of the most beautiful bars on property, probably cost a small fortune--it's not pulling much of anybody.

Throwing money does not make crowds come (cf IoA--the greatest theme park in Orlando nobody visited its first decade of existence). Goes back to the same argument I've made in the Volcano Bay thread. Guest arrive with preconceived notions as to what is and isn't a nighttime park--clearly they don't see DAK as nighttime park. Whether or not Pandora changes that remains to be seen, but that's still a ways off. I expect 6 pm closes again come September.

ETA: I think the animation on the Tree of Life has more appeal to the average guest than wandering the forests of Pandora. But I don't think either is the draw of Wishes or Fantasmic.

 

[Brian G.]

I think we spent more time walking to each ride than actually waiting and riding Dinosaur twice, Everest, and then Bug; and even then that was about an hour of our time.

 

[Nick]

The existing nighttime layover was clearly more than chump change--it's not pulling crowds.

Nomad Lounge is one of the most beautiful bars on property, probably cost a small fortune--it's not pulling much of anybody.

Throwing money does not make crowds come (cf IoA--the greatest theme park in Orlando nobody visited its first decade of existence). Goes back to the same argument I've made in the Volcano Bay thread. Guest arrive with preconceived notions as to what is and isn't a nighttime park--clearly they don't see DAK as nighttime park. Whether or not Pandora changes that remains to be seen, but that's still a ways off. I expect 6 pm closes again come September.

ETA: I think the animation on the Tree of Life has more appeal to the average guest than wandering the forests of Pandora. But I don't think either is the draw of Wishes or Fantasmic.

If Rivers of Light can ever get operational and is actually worth it, it could entice people to stay. Just look at Epcot. Most people spend the day in Future World and then the night in World Showcase... riding virtually nothing.

 

[twebber55]

Avatar is still a year or a little less away, and who knows when ROL happens. I've been to AK twice since they offered it, and while I love the offerings (except *fart noise* Jungle Book) it's been pretty tame with crowds.

As much as ROL looks great, I don't think it would have made a difference with crowds. There is still a nighttime show, and while it may not be as grand as ROL's plans, the GP are more often than not clueless of any differences - especially since Jungle Book is an "It" thing now.

Only thing that seems to get a wait is Safari, and that's around 45-60 min wait. Disney may ride this out for the Summer, but put it back on the shelf until Avatar is ready to go.

oh i agree and i took his comment like he meant the late hours wont last maybe i should ve taken it more like i did it once and that was plenty

EDIT: to me its hard to speculate what the nighttime will be like until the two biggies (ROL and Avatar) open up....there will be more than just two rides in pandora

 

[UNIrd]

It doesn't help that the nighttime offerings have gotten such mixed reviews, from The Jungle Book (which I cannot imagine is as bad as I hear) to the nighttime safari (literally have had two different people say they "couldn't see s--t"). But like you guys are saying, there's still not many attractions. So until Avatar opens (and even then), this will maybe become the leave it for nighttime park or take a nap and come back later park.

 

[IzzyB]

DHS is not a full day park, nowhere close, yet it stays open late. I think a lot of this depends on ROL and when that gets up and running, because part of the reason crowds stay at night for DHS is fantasmic and now star wars fireworks. So if there is good offering they will stay even if the rides don't exist.

 

[Mad Dog]

DHS is not a full day park, nowhere close, yet it stays open late. I think a lot of this depends on ROL and when that gets up and running, because part of the reason crowds stay at night for DHS is fantasmic and now star wars fireworks. So if there is good offering they will stay even if the rides don't exist.

The crowds though, have been regimented into going there in the evening for Fantasmic, Fireworks & SOA Christmas. It's not crowded in the morning at DHS. It's a "second half of the day" park. Animal Kingdom is the opposite. People are regimented to go earlier in the day. It's basically a "first half of the day" park. It'll take a while to get people used to the night at AK. I'll bet there were always tons of tourists that would attend AK during the day, and then go see "Fantasmic" at DHS for the evening or jump to MK for Wishes & the Electric Parade.

 

[IzzyB]

The crowds though, have been regimented into going there in the evening for Fantasmic, Fireworks & SOA Christmas. It's not crowded in the morning at DHS. It's a "second half of the day" park. Animal Kingdom is the opposite. People are regimented to go earlier in the day. It's basically a "first half of the day" park. It'll take a while to get people used to the night at AK. I'll bet there were always tons of tourists that would attend AK during the day, and then go see "Fantasmic" at DHS for the evening or jump to MK for Wishes & the Electric Parade.

I agree it is going to take time. But DHS is pretty crowded in the morning. I have been there around opening and the major rides have long lines in the morning. But maybe I caught an off day. But I agree, people's habits need time. So many are confused and don't realize it is open at night. I am on a Facebook group and so many people still think it closes early and have no clue there are night time shows. And these are people who are in a group that try to really plan. I can't imagine the regular guest who isn't even part of a group or doesn't research and just does what they did last year.

 

[Mad Dog]

I agree it is going to take time. But DHS is pretty crowded in the morning. I have been there around opening and the major rides have long lines in the morning. But maybe I caught an off day. But I agree, people's habits need time. So many are confused and don't realize it is open at night. I am on a Facebook group and so many people still think it closes early and have no clue there are night time shows. And these are people who are in a group that try to really plan. I can't imagine the regular guest who isn't even part of a group or doesn't research and just does what they did last year.

Yes, it takes time to change peoples' long term habits. Sometimes a company has to bite the bullet and take some early losses to get the results down the road. Disney would be better off keeping it open in the evenings before Avatar opens, even if they lose money for a few months. Get people acclimated to the late hours and it will pay off in the long run., But, in reality I think they'll do what BriMan says and cut the hours after summer. Disney is in such a penny wise pound foolish business mode right now, I can't see them accepting any losses. Hope I'm wrong though.

 

[IzzyB]

Yes, it takes time to change peoples' long term habits. Sometimes a company has to bite the bullet and take some early losses to get the results down the road. Disney would be better off keeping it open in the evenings before Avatar opens, even if they lose money for a few months. Get people acclimated to the late hours and it will pay off in the long run., But, in reality I think they'll do what BriMan says and cut the hours after summer. Disney is in such a penny wise pound foolish business mode right now, I can't see them accepting any losses. Hope I'm wrong though.

I hope you are wrong too. They have the hours right now as posted longer in Sept and Oct from what I have heard, so right now there plans are to keep it open later.

 

[Cliff]

Old thread back from the dead
I recently rode Kilimanjaro at night. A white rhino walked past us upclose in darkness as I seated on the edge. They had a guy in a pickup move it and another rhino so we can go. All this in front of the lion enclosure/island. As we turned ppl we're goin "look at the lions!"........Let's just say the mighty jungle, the male will sleep tonight

 

[Yabbadabba Doh]

Since we did the second ROL show, we had time to walk back and try out the nighttime safari last week. One negative I do have in general about DAK is that it is VERY VERY dark in many areas, and that you can easily get lost since much of the signage is also not lit. The nighttime safari was very different from the daytime and we did in fact see many animals that are normally out of sight. A hippo out of the water and three lions growling/roaring were some of the highlights.

 

[Ashhanbre]

Since we did the second ROL show, we had time to walk back and try out the nighttime safari last week. One negative I do have in general about DAK is that it is VERY VERY dark in many areas, and that you can easily get lost since much of the signage is also not lit. The nighttime safari was very different from the daytime and we did in fact see many animals that are normally out of sight. A hippo out of the water and three lions growling/roaring were some of the highlights.

How was the atmosphere of the ride in general, compared to doing it in the daytime? Was it any different/better?

 

[epcyclopedia]

How was the atmosphere of the ride in general, compared to doing it in the daytime? Was it any different/better?

Essentially the first segment before the savannah has nothing to look at unless the hippos are doing something particularly interesting. So the guide speeds through it.

Then savannah.

Then more general speeding unless you come across a rhino.

Then the lions.

Then lots of speeding to get to the end quickly.

 

[Prototype_82]

Quick comment about the night safari. It's fantastic even if its over in a flash. But when I rode it again last month, I feel like they added more foliage in front of the amazing LED sunset. My girlfriend couldn't even tell what it was. I loved the crazy wash of pinks flowing through there. Anyone know whats up with this? My guess was to mask the screen further during the day.

 

[twebber55]

i liked it the one time i did it this summer
lions were active and a rhino literally walked side by side with our truck

 

[epcyclopedia]

Quick comment about the night safari. It's fantastic even if its over in a flash. But when I rode it again last month, I feel like they added more foliage in front of the amazing LED sunset. My girlfriend couldn't even tell what it was. I loved the crazy wash of pinks flowing through there. Anyone know whats up with this? My guess was to mask the screen further during the day.

It probably has been tweaked. The original effect when tested was blindly bright.

It's an LED screen - a big one - and it's showing a sort of sunset image. I think in theory you could look and see the sun setting on the horizon but they realized that's like staring into the real sun considering how dark it is out there otherwise.

So tweaks and changes wouldn't surprise me.