Disney After Hours Q&A and Experiences Thread

[scrappinginontario]

What about at MK? Boats and monorail still running at the 1 AM close there?

Buses also.

 

[BostonEd]

EDIT: Gaaaaah, I think I messed up. I was hoping to go April 15, but had been checking April 22 by accident. April 15 is either not available, or already sold out. Did it sell out and so am I a moron, or was April 15 never available? If April 15 is actually sold out, what are the chances that some tickets will become available?

 

[Mermaidtails1323]

In looking at the calendar:

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/e...c-kingdom-after-hours/#drawer-card-EventDates

it looks like April 15 was never available.

 

[BostonEd]

Yes, I looked at it again and came to the same conclusion. So, I'm just half a moron.

 

[TheSpooph]

Did the Magic Kingdom After Hours event last night and wanted to provide a quick recap. The short version - it was AMAZING and I’m so glad I decided to do it!

I arrived to the MK around 6:30pm and joined the large crowd of AH guests. I hung to the left hoping they would open a 2nd line there… and they did! The gates open at 7pm and crowds all cheered - it was a happy bunch!

Accomplished between 7pm and 10pm - selfies on Main Street, browsed the Emporium, Journey of the Little Mermaid, it’s a small world, Happily Ever After fireworks, Swiss Family Robinson, Tiki Room, more store browsing (wasn’t sure what was going to stay open all night), and then lined up for Tron around 9:50pm.

Accomplished during the event - Tron (20 min), talked to my kids to help tuck them in by phone, about 5 min of Enchantment (not worth the time), Jungle Cruise, Pirates, Thunder Mtn was down, Haunted Mansion, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (about 25 min), Tron (20 min) and snacks/water as I walked.

By this time it was close to 1am and I was spent. Most stores closed their doors as 1am came and I walked out of the park.

Overall, I had a FABULOUS time and didn’t really think the evening spring break crowd was bad that day. The AH crowd was sparse but still had lines at the E tickets. But - they were all very doable and very worth the time. The lines kept moving the whole time which helped time move a little faster as well!

If I had been more efficient with my time (less window shopping and criss crossing the parks), I think I would have done more attractions. But I was super happy with the pace I took - I’m at a conference this week, and I didn’t want to kill myself… I have to function the next day at a reasonable hour!! Haha

Now I keep talking myself in and out of doing the AH event at Hollywood Studios tomorrow night….

 

[supamaki]

If you had to pick one for two Disney adults.... I love slinky dog sooo much, but something special about MK.

MK. Full disclosure I have never done HS, but most reviews are tempered at best. I have done MK twice and both times it's been amazing. I think because of how cool it is to be in the park with so few guests and the amount of rides that are open.
ID how many rides HS has, but I imagine the popular ones will still be crowded like Slinky, ToT and Rise. There's just not enough rides to absorb the crowds.

 

[NotTheBatesMotel]

Had an amazing time at MK AH last night! We checked in to MK around 6:20 (we have APs) to avoid the wristband line and take advantage of the freakishly low wait times we saw posted on the app! Snagged a DAS for 7DMT-the only thing we needed a DAS for yesterday.

Ride list between 6:20-10:
-Peoplemover (walk-on)
-7DMT (25 min standby, used the DAS)
-Under the Sea (walk-on)
-Tried to go on Haunted Mansion but it was down
-Hall of Presidents (walk-on )
-Grabbed dinner at Sleepy Hollow
-Big Thunder (2 min wait)
-Pirates (walk-on)
-Jungle Cruise (walk-on )

We exited Jungle Cruise at 9:55 and were pleasantly surprised to see the snack carts were already open! Snagged some drinks and snacks and made our way back to Tomorrowland. AH officially kicked off so we hopped on:
-Spaceranger Spin (walk-on)
-Peoplemover (walk-on)
-Teacups (walk-on)
-Winnie the Pooh (walk-on)

After this my family wasted 25 precious, expensive minutes having our annual Disney Parks meltdown. Decided to stop bickering and resume the fun. Tried to go on HM again but it was still down. Made our way to Big Thunder right as it went down too. Up next:

-Magic Carpets (walk-on)
-Space Ranger Spin (walk-on)
-Space Mountain (20 min wait-slow loading time last night)
-Astro Orbiter (walk-on)
-One last ride on Peoplemover (walk-on) to enjoy the views of the empty park. At this point it was 12:57 so we made our way to the bus stops.

We made NUMEROUS snack/drinks stops last night and found that carts were plentiful, they weren’t running out of things like they have in previous AH events, and the CMs were fantastic as always. Great event!

 

[Perrypooh]

Do day guests lag around during after hours mainly in the hub that aren't attending the event? Do they force them out like the holiday parties? How does that work?

 

[Shughart]

Is the answer buses no matter where you're staying? We're on the monorail loop (poly) so not sure if buses run from MK to poly as well?

 

[Lsdolphin]

Is the answer buses no matter where you're staying? We're on the monorail loop (poly) so not sure if buses run from MK to poly as well?

Monorails stop running an hour after park closes to regular guests there are busses to all Disney resorts at during AH events. Some busses will drop off at multiple resorts including resorts on Monorail loop.

 

[jadejazzkayla]

I want to know too. I’m parking at the TTC and want to know if busses will take us there or we walk from the Poly.

 

[scrappinginontario]

I want to know too. I’m parking at the TTC and want to know if busses will take us there or we walk from the Poly.

You will be taken to the TTC. You will not need to walk from Poly.

 

[mmouse50]

Do you think that they will announce any AH for the fall? Won’t be going until the first of October was wondering if one would be at the Studios? Probably slim chances since Halloween party at MK and Food and Wine at Epcot though. Does anyone ever remember one in the fall?

 

[Swaggerwagon]

My family did the Hollywood Studios After Hours on 4/3 and it was our favorite part is the trip. The weather wasn’t good that afternoon, so we were nervous but it ended up clearing up enough for us to watch Fantasmic before we started hitting the rides. At first ToT was down, so we went to Rise and rode that with no wait. Then we went to Millenium Falcon that had a posted 15 minute wait but was actually more like 30 (maybe because
It started raining again). Then we got the snacks and went to Alien Saucers which was really fun at night and a walk on. Slinky was also down, so we headed over to Mickey And Minnie’s Railway and walked onto that ride and then had more snacks. At this point, the map was showing ToT down and Slink down, so we split the group and half did Toy Story Mania while other half went to ride Rise again. But as we were walking by, Slinky went back up and we were able to get on with about a 10 minute wait. It was my first time riding Slinky at night and it was so much fun!! After that, we checked the app and saw that ToT had a posted 13 minute wait. Yay! We ran across the park because it was 12:15am. We got on and had a blast. To our surprise, when we got off the ride, they were still allowing people in line even though it was 12:40am. So we hopped back in and rode a 2nd time. It was an absolute highlight of the trip, the cast members were all really in character and everybody was laughing and cheering and having fun. I would definitely do the after hours party again, especially for Hollywood Studios!

 

[Skywalker3]

Hi,
I'm still researching, but having some trouble finding what I"m looking for. Does anyone know if HS had after hours events in Oct. 2023? I know lots can change year to year, but we're looking at an Oct 2024 trip, where my son and I likely don't' have Disney tickets, but might be interested in an after hours event, wondering if HS has had them in Oct in the past. Also same question, but for AK. THanks!

 

[jsergent]

But as we were walking by, Slinky went back up and we were able to get on with about a 10 minute wait.

We were there at the same time! My kids and I got off Aliens and I saw the line staging to get into Slinky. I grabbed the others in our party and we got there just as the ride re-opened. Probably a 10 minute wait as well. It is a really fun ride, but even better at night.

We didn't get to the park until 8:45. Still, we got in 7 rides by 12:30. We were pleased with all we accomplished and felt it was a good event.

 

[Jsharp13]

I did a search for this but didn't see the answer.
For AH at Hollywood Studios, has anyone seen characters? Specifically Star Wars characters, out and about? Chewbacca? Hoping to see Mandalorian and Grogu?

 

[jsergent]

I did a search for this but didn't see the answer.
For AH at Hollywood Studios, has anyone seen characters? Specifically Star Wars characters, out and about? Chewbacca? Hoping to see Mandalorian and Grogu?

We didn't see any characters at all this past week at HS AH event. Seems they are all away from the rides, I assume to help disperse those in attendance.

 

[focusondisney]

I did a search for this but didn't see the answer.
For AH at Hollywood Studios, has anyone seen characters? Specifically Star Wars characters, out and about? Chewbacca? Hoping to see Mandalorian and Grogu?

No Star Wars characters. I think it was more like Pinocchio, Jimminy Cricket & Raffki that I remember listed on the park guide. They were in the courtyard in front of the Chinese theater.

 

[Jsharp13]

We didn't see any characters at all this past week at HS AH event. Seems they are all away from the rides, I assume to help disperse those in attendance.

I wonder if we'd have a chance to see any Star Wars characters if we enter earlier like 7? (Our actual plan is to use a park day ticket and go even earlier in the day!)