Until we know what Anmal Kingdom’s hours are after the opening of Rivers of Light, how can we possibly have any faith in recent/current park recommendations for dates in the short months following? I mean, the snowball effect will make dramatic changes to both crowd levels and the recommended parks to visit on any one particular day. With our 180 day mark approaching, we’re now at a disadvantge booking our ADRs. Woe is me! (And everyone else visiting WDW shortly after the Rivers of Light opening.)
On a more positive note, I can’t wait to see this new Animal Kingom addition!
I’m so excited to see Rivers of Light! I travel in May and same thing…I’m hovering waiting to make touring plans based on the evening entertainment in AK. I know Disney just updated their park hours in May and now AK is open an hour later every night in May…not sure if that’s a hint or just an adjustment for crowd potential…
Very anxious to hear a start date
They will not adjust park hours to reflect Rivers of Light until after they officially announce when it will open. There are rumors and assumptions that it will premier on Earth Day (April 22nd). The “basis” for this is the obvious thematic connection and the fact that AK itself opened on Earth Day - but again, this is just conjecture at this point.
I don’t know that RoL is going to have a huge impact on CLs at AK, and almost no effect on the other parks. What I DO see happening is the “lull” that was common at AK between 2:00 and closing will go away, and the crowds will be pretty steady all day. It could possibly even make RD crowds a bit lighter; people who (erroneously) consider AK to be a “half day” park and want to be their in the PM for RoL may sleep in and come to the park later - or hop to AK after an RD at DHS.
[quote=“bswan26, post:10, topic:19930”]
I don’t know that RoL is going to have a huge impact on CLs at AK, and almost no effect on the other parks[/quote]
I’m not sure I agree with this statement, and I think you start to explain why with the rest of your post (so maybe I’m just disagreeing with your choice of words). At the very least, having a nighttime show will change when people visit Animal Kingdom. Initially, I’d expect a flood of people in the evenings, since folks always flock to see any significant new attraction in the parks. When those folks will arrive is a different question, but it could be similar to folks who flocked to the Studios to see Osborne Lights in the winter (though, without the parking lot closures). If the show is well-received, then those crowds will likely continue through the summer.
As for where those people will come from, some will be local, so they’ll just add to the number of people on property. For those who are giving up time from some other park, it would seem the Studios would be the logical park that they’d take time away from, with all the construction over there. I’d suspect that crowds for Fantasmic will drop.
Of course, it’s also possible that the new show could be slow to find an audience, since return visitors aren’t in the habit of visiting Animal Kingdom at night. I haven’t heard much about the nighttime safaris lately, but if those start later this year, then that would be another thing to draw people to check out the park after dark.
In terms of changing CL’s and the effect that new attractions at a park can have on them, I’m interested to see how HS CL’s change as the year goes on especially after April when more closures are occurring. I’m traveling in September and am interested to see if HS experiences lighter CL’s or more due to there being less to do.
