Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World is often labeled a “half-day park,” but that reputation overlooks how much there is to experience beyond rides, from immersive trails and live entertainment to animal habitats that easily can fill a park day.
When the new Tropical Americas land opens in 2027 after construction completes, the popularity of Animal Kingdom will likely begin to match the other parks, which might also motivate Disney to fix Animal Kingdom’s biggest problem. In fact, recent construction activity inside the park suggests those changes may already be underway. At Mickey Visit, we report on the recent Disney news, like the major construction projects happening at Disneyland and the most recent news regarding Disney’s disability access pass.
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Animal Kingdom’s Biggest Problem
Animal Kingdom consistently has the shortest operating hours of any Disney World theme park. It is rare for the park to remain open past 6 PM, which is often the latest closing time it ever receives aside from peak times of the year. Even during peak periods like Christmas week, traditionally the busiest week of the year, Animal Kingdom’s posted hours still don’t go past 8 PM.
At least in the winter, you get to see the park at night, but the rest of the year, most days, guests are leaving before sunset. It is no surprise that so many guests continue to view Animal Kingdom as a half-day park when its operating schedule does not even span a full day.
This also limits the types of experiences Animal Kingdom can offer. Shorter operating hours leave little room for additions like a nighttime spectacular, something the park has been without since 2020. Extending park hours would also open the door for more evening entertainment that encourages visitors to stay later.
One of the biggest drawbacks of Animal Kingdom’s early closing time is that many guests miss the chance to experience Pandora – The World of Avatar at night. When the park closes before sunset, visitors never see the land transform after dark. At night, Pandora truly comes alive, with the plants, pathways, and surrounding landscape glowing with a bioluminescent effect designed to mirror the otherworldly beauty seen in the Avatar films.
Disney Begins Pandora Nighttime Refurbishment
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Disney has been actively restoring the glow-in-the-dark pavement throughout Pandora, a key element of the land’s nighttime design and one of the most striking features of how the area transforms after dark.
This refurbishment project focuses on repainting the pavement to restore the glow-in-the-dark effects to their original brightness from when the land first opened. In the photo above, the difference is clearly visible, with the right side of the pavement showing the results after the restoration. You can see the photo of the visible difference below.
Here’s a look at the difference before and after. https://t.co/kU3H6SgMAX pic.twitter.com/9YYj0AYmx7
— James Krill 🧢 (@whalebait99) January 23, 2026
Longer Animal Kingdom Hours Coming Soon in 2027?
This is a great sign that Disney World is investing in the nighttime features of Pandora, which is likely part of a general theme park update as the park prepares for the opening of Tropical Americas in 2027. This new land, commonly referred to by Disney fans as the Tropical Americas, is officially named “Pueblo Esperanza,” which translates to Village of Hope. The land will also be home to two signature attractions: an Indiana Jones experience and the first-ever Encanto-themed ride-through attraction. Construction is already moving quickly in the area of the land featuring the Encanto attraction.
This 11-acre expansion at Animal Kingdom will replace Dinoland, U.S.A., with the remainder of the land, including the DINOSAUR attraction, closing permanently on February 2, 2026, to allow construction to begin. Once this land opens to the public in 2027, Animal Kingdom will likely finally see longer operating hours return. The addition of new attractions and experiences is expected to generate significant demand, giving guests more reason to stay in the park later into the evening.
Seeing Disney World invest in refurbishments to Pandora that specifically enhance the nighttime experience is a strong sign that the resort may finally be preparing to address Animal Kingdom’s biggest problem.
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