OFFICIAL New Animal Kingdom Experiences UPDATE 5/28: Reports from first night in Post #2

[lovethattink]

What time did you get in the FP line? Just trying to figure out if they are lining up before the 8:25 return time.

Around 7:30pm they started loading the theater.

 

[lovethattink]

Is safari line now. FP+ queue is long.

 

[luvallprincesses]

Is safari line now. FP+ queue is long.

Ugh. So they gave out lots of 9:30-ish fastpasses.

 

[Boski]

Yes.

Thoughts on the show?

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I know you can order anything from Tiffins and they can bring it to you in the lounge. As for a nomad specific menu I'd look at wdwnt maybe?

Here is the link: http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/dining/diningdetail.cfm?restaurant.id=676#menu

One review I read liked the ribs, fish balls, and summer rolls. Did say portions were small though. Very impressed with drink list with lots of unique offerings

 

[maryj11]

Around 7:30pm they started loading the theater.

Wow so that is about an hour earlier then what the FP time starts.

 

[10CJ]

Wow so that is about an hour earlier then what the FP time starts.

I agree that sounds early. Does the dining side start that early as well?

 

[maryj11]

I agree that sounds early. Does the dining side start that early as well?

Yes it is early, we have a dining reservation at 6:30, not sure if we will be done eating by 7:30.

 

[lovethattink]

Both sides, both nights opened at 7:30pm.

I loved the show! My husband and son liked the show. We had incredible seats. I could see both the stages perfectly. The water projections were clearly visible.

The songs, storyline, and dancing made perfect sense to me and fit together. My dh and I both felt there were subtle changes between tonight and the videos from last night.

I think your seat matters. Because where I could see the stages and water projections clearly, the people behind me on the safari said they couldn't see from their seats. I showed them a picture I took, and they said their view was no where close to what I saw.

The safari tonight.. We saw lots of animals! ! Several coming right up to our car. Our guide was Frank and he knew how to work his spotlight. He was a great guide! We were surprised by how many we saw!

The

 

[TiggerTrigger]

I know a lot of people are skipping watching the video so they can form their own impressions in person. I get that, but since this show - at least on paper - sounded like an afterthought that was hastily thrown together, I thought a preview was in order if I was going to consider a dining pkg. I was booked in a package at Tusker House, but decided to watch the video because the Tusker pkg would cost me an extra $77 after gratuity for our party of 6 (compared to a regular dinner ADR a Tusker...at least according to pricing on Allears). To me, even though WDW is pricey, I just didn't want to pay the extra $77 without seeing something that made the extra $ seem worth it.

So, I watched the video..OK...'tried' to watch the video. After about 5 minutes, I realized I was still waiting for it to draw me in. After about 10 minutes, I realized that I tuned about the bulk of the last five minutes. I fast forwarded a bit through the video, looking for some change or great crescendo at the end that could make it all worth it. Still...nothing...to me, at least.

I canceled my package ADR and booked a regular old dinner ADR at Tusker. So, hopefully lots of other people will still want to see the shows so we can have shorter lines for attractions in AK.

 

[lovethattink]

I asked when the standby for the safari closes. I was told they let people in up until 11pm. So it does not close earlier than the park.

Ice cream carts were opened at least til 10:30pm. It looked like the fruit stand near the safari closes at 10:30.

The tree of life is the biggest winner of the night! !

 

[maryj11]

I asked when the standby for the safari closes. I was told they let people in up until 11pm. So it does not close earlier than the park.

Ice cream carts were opened at least til 10:30pm. It looked like the fruit stand near the safari closes at 10:30.

The tree of life is the biggest winner of the night! !

I have read where a few people did not get to see the tree of life light show. How often do they have it light up and how should we go about be able to see it?

 

[Lsdolphin]

Both sides, both nights opened at 7:30pm.

I loved the show! My husband and son liked the show. We had incredible seats. I could see both the stages perfectly. The water projections were clearly visible.

The songs, storyline, and dancing made perfect sense to me and fit together. My dh and I both felt there were subtle changes between tonight and the videos from last night.

I think your seat matters. Because where I could see the stages and water projections clearly, the people behind me on the safari said they couldn't see from their seats. I showed them a picture I took, and they said their view was no where close to what I saw.

The safari tonight.. We saw lots of animals! ! Several coming right up to our car. Our guide was Frank and he knew how to work his spotlight. He was a great guide! We were surprised by how many we saw!

The

Can you select your own seat? If so where would you suggest sitting? I am assuming you sat on Asian side

 

[Planogirl]

I know a lot of people are skipping watching the video so they can form their own impressions in person. I get that, but since this show - at least on paper - sounded like an afterthought that was hastily thrown together, I thought a preview was in order if I was going to consider a dining pkg. I was booked in a package at Tusker House, but decided to watch the video because the Tusker pkg would cost me an extra $77 after gratuity for our party of 6 (compared to a regular dinner ADR a Tusker...at least according to pricing on Allears). To me, even though WDW is pricey, I just didn't want to pay the extra $77 without seeing something that made the extra $ seem worth it.

So, I watched the video..OK...'tried' to watch the video. After about 5 minutes, I realized I was still waiting for it to draw me in. After about 10 minutes, I realized that I tuned about the bulk of the last five minutes. I fast forwarded a bit through the video, looking for some change or great crescendo at the end that could make it all worth it. Still...nothing...to me, at least.

I canceled my package ADR and booked a regular old dinner ADR at Tusker. So, hopefully lots of other people will still want to see the shows so we can have shorter lines for attractions in AK.

LOL, I watched the video too and felt much the same. It didn't look bad but not all that compelling either. I liked some of the music and the dancing was fine but I think that I would go elsewhere if I was at AK that late.

 

[lovethattink]

I have read where a few people did not get to see the tree of life light show. How often do they have it light up and how should we go about be able to see it?

We easily would have missed it. CM told us it's random. After our safari ride, we stopped to take a picture of the tree. We stood there for a while and different animals began to moved periodically. Eventually, the tree turned into a waterfall for a few minutes. Then it stopped and went back to animals periodically moving. Around 11pm, an actual show took place. It was amazing! We bumped into friends there who told us besides that show, they had seen 3 different ones.

Can you select your own seat? If so where would you suggest sitting? I am assuming you sat on Asian side

We were early, we could have picked any seat. There are a few reserved seats though. My son wanted to sit in the front row. The CM suggested we sit further back for a better view. We sat in the 6th row. The concrete seats were HOT.

Yes, we sat on Asia's side. There are 3 barges further out on the lake. You want to make sure you can see the center barge. That's where the singers are. You also want to have a good view of a barge closest to land. Those are for the dancers and musicians.

 

[ArielSRL]

Wow so that is about an hour earlier then what the FP time starts.

It is but she said that the FP section wasn't full so it doesn't sound like you HAVE to get there that early. I know we won't.

 

[Accident]

I just changed our night safari to one during the day. Do you really think they will make a little better as time goes on? Now I'm not sure if I should change it back to night lol. We will be there at the end of June.

If you love seeing the animals and everything, daytime is better, you can actually see them. If you want something different, it is interesting but it's rough to see them and don't recommend it for your first and only time. It's different, I liked it...

It's all about where the animals are during the ride. This is new for them too, they usually sleep alone and now there is trucks with headlights and someone talking driving around them.. They need time to adjust as well. some animals aren't nocturnal so you may never get a good view of them but that's where they seem to have added some notural animals in so there is something moving. It's dark but it's interesting. There is a good chance you'll end the ride after the wait to get on and the ride length which is a lengthy ride and maybe see only 1 or two things that you could make out as not a rock..

 

[Accident]

FYI: I'm back from day 2 of AK at night (tiffins, jungle book and the tree).. I started my posts in the trip report and today starts at http://www.disboards.com/threads/an...kend-2016-05-27-and-28.3514445/#post-55844218

I'm still posting and I have a lot to say about the show and dramatic improvements from disney just overnight for the rest of the park. So far it's tiffins (and some time I spent at epcot earlier) posted.. it's late so not sure I'll get the show and tree posted tonight but we'll see...

 

[lovethattink]

It is but she said that the FP section wasn't full so it doesn't sound like you HAVE to get there that early. I know we won't.

We were there shortly after 7:30. We had our pick of seats. Closer to 8:30 the FP+ area was just about full.

This was our view. 6th row, 2nd section from the left and all the way right to the stairs.

 

[ArielSRL]

We were there shortly after 7:30. We had our pick of seats. Closer to 8:30 the FP+ area was just about full.

This was our view. 6th row, 2nd section from the left and all the way right to the stairs.

Nice view!