AK in the evening

[Alice121078]

Anyone go on Kilamanjaro Safari in late afternoon/early evening? Are the animal trails open after dark?
We’ll be going to MNSSHP the night before AK, so we want to let our little one get rest the next morning. Middle of the day will be too hot, so I’m thinking of a mid-afternoon lunch at Rainforest Cafe and then doing the park around 4 when it might cool down a bit.

 

[Capang]

Not sure about the animal trails but the safari in early evening is great. After sunset it is harder to see the animals but many times they are very vocal, especially the lions.

 

[Cinderumbrella]

We do the late afternoon through close at AK in the summer. Last Safari was about 1 hour prior to close. Trails were definitely still open after 6pm per my time stamp on my pics (we went second week of June)

 

[mel&me]

In april we went late and trails were still open

 

[EEEEE]

I've read that the animals are most active in the late afternoon to early evening time. I've never been to AK in the evening, but am planning to do that this year and have a FP for the Safari later in the day.

 

[shocker]

I had heard good things about an evening safari ride & took my first one two weeks ago. It wasn't great. A lot of blank space with no animals out. I did 2 morning safaris this same trip & they were both normal rides.

 

[Shellbells]

We were there last month and the trails closed before the park. I think it was 2 hours before the 9pm closing but to be honest I dont remember the exact time.
I just remember we barely made it in.

 

[Alice121078]

We do the late afternoon through close at AK in the summer. Last Safari was about 1 hour prior to close. Trails were definitely still open after 6pm per my time stamp on my pics (we went second week of June)

Thank you!

 

[starchef]

one thing i can recommend for viewing animals in the evening is to head over to animal kingdom lodge and go out back to where it over looks the Savannah and that is where they do a lot of feeding of the animals so you can see them up close. the people who stay in the lodge stay there for this reason. have done this many times, have also eating at Boma, that is good as well.

 

[roylanc]

Anyone go on Kilamanjaro Safari in late afternoon/early evening? Are the animal trails open after dark?
We’ll be going to MNSSHP the night before AK, so we want to let our little one get rest the next morning. Middle of the day will be too hot, so I’m thinking of a mid-afternoon lunch at Rainforest Cafe and then doing the park around 4 when it might cool down a bit.

We did the the safari Late afternoon on our last trip around 16:00-16:30pm.
For us at that time it seemed as though there was less to see animal wise.
We have also done it first thing in the morning & found there seems more animals about at that time.
But I have heard the later you can get in the more Animals will be active.

 

[Klayfish]

I've read that the animals are most active in the late afternoon to early evening time. I've never been to AK in the evening, but am planning to do that this year and have a FP for the Safari later in the day.

No truth to that, IMO. They're wild animals. You never know what you're going to see and when. Safari is probably our favorite attraction in AK, been on it dozens of times. We've had tours in the morning that were awesome, in fact the best one ever was in the morning. We've had afternoon/early evening tours where the CM had to ad lib because there weren't too many animals around. We've also had the opposite of that. You really never know. Your experience may be "x" and someone 8 trucks behind you experiences "y".

The safari itself is really pretty as the sun sets. After dark the tour isn't so good simply because it's hard to see.

AK at night in general has a really fun vibe. Plus it's not so stinkin' hot. We love it!

 

[gharter]

I have wanted to do a later evening safari, but haven't to date.
Our last trip, we did a 5 pm. As a PP noted, there seemed to be fewer animals out. The Savannah was nearly deserted.

 

[igrsod]

We did a night time safari and it was hard to spot very many animals. I prefer the daytime. BUT, early evening prior to sunset would be great I'm sure.

 

[mbcary]

This time of year, I believe both trails close at 7pm. I know when we are there in the fall, they close even earlier than that.

 

[BalooFan]

I did a safari at sunset and took a nice picture of some animals with the sun setting between the trees in the background. Also, the lions were active and the male was pacing around and roaring. In my experience, there have been more animals on the morning safaris. However, this was the most active I have ever seen the lions. The most active I have seen the tigers at Maharajah Jungle Trek was in the late afternoon.

 

[Hardline]

We did the safari after sunset once and there really wasn't a lot to see. The animals weren't around as much and well, it was dark! That was a bummer for us. I'd definitely try to get there while it's still light out.

 

[Alice121078]

Maybe we will aim to start doing the safari and jungle trail by 4:00. That should be plenty of time.
Thank you everyone for the help!

 

[Debbie Jean]

Agree with what has been posted. After dark there isn't much to see on safari... found it very disappointing.
Just before sunset is another story though, so try heading out a little earlier.

 

[jerseygal]

We always do the Safari about 9 or 10 and there are always animals out. We are going to change it up in August and do it around 4 this time.

 

[PrincessVi]

I've had better luck with viewing animals in the morning than in the evening. I was excited about seeing the Painted Dogs that they introduced when they extended the Safari operating hours into the evening, but they were in the den sleeping when we went in the evening, during the day they had been running around. Apparently they didn't get the memo that they were evening entertainers. I still had fun, it is worth doing any time of day. I would however recommend arriving a bit earlier if this is the only day you have at AK. Check the show times online for your dates, specifically for Finding Nemo the Musical, and Festival of the Lion King both are indoors and the last show was at 5PM and 6 PM respectively in February. The Maharajah and Gorilla Trails closed at 7pm. The Gorilla's that we're very active at park opening we're no were to be seen at 5Pm, but each day is a different story. The trails around the Tree of Life are open until park close. My kids enjoyed finding and identifying the animals carved into the tree. The Winged Encounters last showing is at 3:30 in front of the Tree. It doesn't last long but it is impressive if you don't have a bird phobia. A large group of parrots fly freely around the tree then swoop over the crowd and come to roost on a nearby perch. Up a Bird Adventure last showing was 5PM but that is outdoor bleachers. You are wise to recognize the importance of down time. I would select the items that would fit your families interests, but bear in mind that Disney gives the animals a big area to roam and rest away from the crowds, so sometimes the animal experiences are unbelievable and other times they're a bust. My family just cracks a joke and moves on it's all about togetherness and managing expectations and I'm not one that has the luxury of going often, so I make the best of the hand that is dealt.