There’s something so very magical about Walt Disney World Resort theme parks at night! My Tween daughter comes to life again after a busy, fun-filled day at the theme parks with all the excitement that night time experiences bring. “Wishes nighttime spectacular” at Magic Kingdom Park, “IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth” at Epcot World Showcase and Symphony in the Stars: A Galactic Spectacular at Disney’s Hollywood Studios are all among her favorite nighttime shows! And now … another Disney theme park will come alive at night! Disney’s Animal Kingdom is about to transition from a day-into-night theme park showcasing the magic of nature after dark.
This transition will bring so many new and exciting experiences for Tweens! Today, I’m only going to highlight one of them … but stay turned to Disney Parks Blog and the #DisneyTweens posts for more information.
When the sun sets, the popular Village of Harambe will become a hot spot for families with the new Harambe Wildlife Parti. Here, “party animals” like my Tween can dance alongside local street musicians and entertainers, taste some exotic foods and shop for goodies with the merchants. And the new Discovery Island Carnivale will captivate older children with lively music, spirited dance, vibrant costumes, and tasty culinary creations, spreading from one end of the island to the other.
My Tween loves to dance, eat and shop and she can’t wait to party into the night at one of her favorite Disney theme parks beginning April 22! I think your older children will love this new and thrilling transformation of Disney’s Animal Kingdom, too!
For more information on planning a trip to Walt Disney World Resort with your Tween, check out www.disneyworld.com/Tweens.
Comments
Hello Raquel, I know many have been wondering if there will be any preview events for Rivers of Light prior to April 22nd? Or anything happening for Passholders?
Thank you Raquel for writing back and satisfying our worries. I can’t wait for all the new happenings at animal kingdom!
Hi Everyone!
I know you all are so excited that this incredible theme park will be transitioning to a day-to-night park! It’s going to be amazing and I’m just as excited as you! Park hours have not been posted yet but the nighttime entertainment and activation is planned for April 22. Specific hours will be determined very soon. Please, don’t stress out and stay tuned!
Rivers of Light will be shown two to three times nightly, so everyone should be able to get a chance to see it when they are visiting the park. And while the Harambe Wildlife Parti will have the flavor of Harambe Nights, it will be available to everyone with regular park admission. No extra ticket is needed.
I hope this helps to answer some of your questions. There will be so much more information coming out soon!
I hope all of the new Animal Kingdom nighttime experiences are as entertaining as the barrage of blog comments about park hours, fast passes, and dining packages for Rivers of Light. Disney planning is high pressure! Planners unable to plan! Armageddon!
P.S. I could really use this info. If you send me a personal email with all of Rivers of Light details ahead of the general public, I’d appreciate it.
Will this be an after hours ticketed event like Harambe Nights was a few years ago?
We are very excited for the nighttime happenings at AK. We are headed to the parks in May and have a day set aside for this. They look beautiful! But it is very hard to finalize our plans when the park hours, showtimes and fastpass availability have not been updated on My Disney Experience. Please update soon so that we can enjoy our trips in a fun relaxing manner. All these last minute announcements are stressing us out because they affect park ticket & dining purchases.
I don’t have a tween but I do have a trip coming up at the end of April and I’m very much looking forward to experiencing the new night time offerings at Animal Kingdom. Assuming, of course, that I’ll be able to experience them at all. The posted park hours indicate that the park will be closing well before dark every night of my trip even though I’ll be there after April 22 when all of these offerings are supposed to start.
Will updated park hours be available soon to allow me to properly plan to experience these things?
Park hours for April 26 show only open until 6pm – pretty hard to have a party like this when you are not open.
This sounds like fun for all ages. Unfortunately, this is not the information park goers are waiting for. We are able to make reservations 60 days out for Fastpasses and 180 days out for dining. When will we be able to book these items and see park hours for Animal Kingdom, specifically detailing Rivers of Light which has been given a start date of April 22 as well. There is much frustration over the lack of information coming from Disney beyond the start date. It is 5 weeks away and people just want to book and be ready to enjoy their vacations.
There certainly seems to be a lot that is going on at AK at night! We’ll be arriving 4/23 and are really hoping to be able take advantage of some of them. Especially the magical Rivers of Light show we’ve read so much about – that looks spectacular, but without advanced reservations or FPs, it’s doubtful we’ll be able to see it. Do you know when and if these will be available?
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