MK Saturday Evening - A Waste?

[Retro Magic]

Usually I would never even think of going to Magic Kingdom on Saturday. However, this coming Saturday they are open until 2am. We all have 8-day park hoppers and this would be our first park day. Would it be worth it for us to go at around 10pm to relax around the park and then start doing some rides around 12-2am?

If everything is still going to be shoulder to shoulder and hour long waits at 1am, there really isn't a point to it if so.

 

[CounselorX]

It's becoming a tradition for us to go to MK after we check into our resort which is always on a Saturday. We get to MK probably around 4:00 or 4:30 and stay until closing which is midnight to 2:00 AM. I don't think it's a waste at all. You can still schedule FP+ and after 10:00 or so the crowds will start to die down. However, my experience is with off-peak times. I'm not sure if it would be different for you but easywdw indicates that it's a crowd level 5 day, so I would still think it should be decent.

 

[heidijanesmith]

We love going to MK for really late EMH. MK is beautiful at night and so much fun. The later the night the better the crowds.

 

[Canuck16]

If you don't mind using one day of your PH tickets for only a few hours then go for it.

We loved being in MK last May when the park was open until 2 am.

 

[Astylla]

We aren't arriving until around 7-8pm on a Saturday May 9th and intend to take full advantage of the late hours. We actually got 7 day parkhoppers just for this reason. As we don't have late night extra magic hours at Disneyland I am excited to be at the park and rides so late. As we are flying from California we expect our internal clock will be on California time anyway.

 

[dkellumw]

We arrived around 9pm on March 7th, crowd level 6 according easywdw. We had a great time riding a lot of rides. Love being at MK late at night. This time was our first time to finish a ride around 2 a.m. and leave the park around 3 a.m. because of daylight savings time.

 

[mrzrich]

No need to wait until midnight to hit the rides. Fp+ ensures that you can start riding as soon as you get there

 

[Retro Magic]

Thanks!!! You all helped make this decision much easier
Looking forward to it!

 

[AllieBoo]

We always go to MK for a few hours on arrival day! We are going this June and will get to MK about 6 pm on a Saturday. I was able to get fastpasses for 7DMT, Peter Pan and BTMRR!

 

[cakebaker]

That's our plan in June. We'll arrive early in the day, hope our room is ready and just relax for the day, then head to the MK around 8-9pm and stay till they close at 2am. We got fp+'s for sdmt, hm and wishes. I get to sleep in the next day while the rest head out to SWW. I love late nights at the MK.

 

[Figmentmommy]

Absolutely do this! We love to start our vacation at the MK -we have done these late hours on 2 trips and it was great being there so late! We got so much done. My boys rode Space Mountain for the first time ever at 2 in the morning and we rode everything in Fantasyland that night too! They still talk about that night after all these years! Enjoy!

 

[lroger01]

The benefit of going to the MK on arrival day is it will make the crowds the rest of the week seem lighter!

The disadvantage is staying too long and leaving foot sore and tired - and then getting up early the next morning for a full park day. It can be tough to recover if you do too much.

Also, since it's your first time that trip in the park, you might be more inclined to wait in a line for something that will be a quick wait on another day. Fastpass+ at least helps with that.

 

[lauradis]

Mk first always even if it just to walk around. Oh I love evening magic hours, less little kids.

 

[maryj11]

I was wanting to do the evening EMH at MK . The latest we have ever stayed is 11:00. We have the chance to do it this coming August but, Sunday is our departure day and we have our flight leaving at 1:00. We use the magic express and I know they leave 3 hours early. I dont know if we would be able to handle getting to bed late and then getting up early enough to get stuff ready to leave.

 

[grecorj]

Especially since the cost of going from 7 day PH to 8 day PH is so nominal, we do the same thing. This year we'll probably mosey on into MK around 730/8 with three FP+ in hand and hit some night time favorites. Leave as Wishes is in full swing to beat the crowd to the monorail and watch the finale as we zoom back to the hotel. Perfect!

 

[marchingstar]

our plan for a few weeks from now too--we arrive just before 7, and even if we don't get to the park for a few hours, with a 2AM closing (and with us still being on mountain time...) we can get some great park time, and a yummy snack, in! I might feel differently if we were only going for a few days, but adding an extra day to 5 or 6 day tickets is worth getting into the park on our first day for a bit.

 

[Bluejean78]

This is so fun!! I have been wondering whether to schlep my 3 year old down to the park at 9 the night we arrive because we will still be on TX time and it might be easier for her to stay up that first night. On the other hand I worry it will make her too tired to be at the park the next morning at 8. Unfortunately 12-2 is not doable for us .

 

[eyehartdisney]

There's nothing so amazing as riding 7dm as the fireworks go off. It's jaw dropping, if you can arrange it.

 

[kerplop]

We love to go to MK on a Saturday when we have no touring plans at all and we're just there for the atmosphere. Typically we'll make an ADR for a late dinner, catch the fireworks/parade, people watch after for a bit and then leave in time to get some sleep for rope drop the next day!

 

[lllGurulll]

PM EMH at MK is OUTSTANDINGLY FUN!!!! The lines become shorter and shorter. Me and my kids were riding Space and Thunder back to back non stop. Had a blast. Both were practically walk on after 1am.