$149.00 After hours event question

[Dbktmc]

I have a friend who will be visiting Disney for the first time in about 2 weeks. This is a last minute trip and they do not plan on purchasing park tickets before they arrive so they will be unable to get Fastpass+ reservations ahead of time. They are only planning on going to Disney for only 2 days and will spend the rest of their week at their offsite hotel.

She just told me that there is an after hours event planned for one of their nights that they are in FL and they are considering purchasing tickets to this event instead of a regular ticket. I think that this would be a great deal for her as they only have one day at MK and can't get any fastpasses ahead of time. She was worried about not being able to see a lot of the shows/attractions but I told her that she will be able to get into the MK early enough to see a lot of these things.

Does anyone know what time the after hours ticket holders are being admitted? I told her that I thought it was 7 p.m. but that I might be wrong. Also, I looked at Disney's website and they are only listing a few rides that are open. (Big Thunder, Peter Pan, 7 Dwarfs, Space Mountain and the Princess Fairytale Hall.) Are there additional rides open? Is there a comprehensive list that I can find/look at?

Thank you in advance!!

 

[Irish_Mike]

Does anyone know what time the after hours ticket holders are being admitted? I told her that I thought it was 7 p.m. but that I might be wrong. Also, I looked at Disney's website and they are only listing a few rides that are open. (Big Thunder, Peter Pan, 7 Dwarfs, Space Mountain and the Princess Fairytale Hall.) Are there additional rides open? Is there a comprehensive list that I can find/look at?

After hours ticket holders can get in starting at 7pm. Attraction wise, there are 29 attractions open - the list on the Disney website is just some of the more popular ones that normally carry a long wait. I've yet to find a comprehensive list on which ones are open, but there should only be three closed.

The podcast team just did an episode on the after hours event and their thoughts, so I'd also check that out for some opinions. Overall, they thought it was worth the price.

 

[DisneyPanthersFan]

Yes, you can get in at 7:00 PM!

Check out #65 for a picture of the available attractions:

http://www.disboards.com/threads/new-after-hours-event-a-must-or-a-bust.3502011/page-4

I went the second week (that picture is from the first week) and while I don't have my pass in front of me, that looks about right.

Your friend should definitely be able to hit the rides/shows not listed, especially if they have their dinner before they arrive at the park. I think the Liberty Square Riverboat stops at 8:00 PM and Hall of Presidents at 9:00 PM (or at least they did when we were there), so they'd just need to be aware of that if they wanted to ride/see those attractions.

I highly recommend the event, especially for someone (like your friend) who doesn't have a lot of time at MK!

 

[Iowamomof4]

I thought @AngiTN had seen somewhere that you can actually get in at 4:00 with these tickets.

 

[Iowamomof4]

Found it! http://www.disboards.com/threads/after-hours-event-4-28-2016-review.3507229/page-2

 

[DisneyWishes14]

After Hours is a great idea for your friends! For all the bellyaching that went on on these boards regarding this event - your friend is the demographic WDW was going for when they created this. Hope they enjoy it.

 

[gap2368]

I have a friend who will be visiting Disney for the first time in about 2 weeks. This is a last minute trip and they do not plan on purchasing park tickets before they arrive so they will be unable to get Fastpass+ reservations ahead of time. They are only planning on going to Disney for only 2 days and will spend the rest of their week at their offsite hotel.

She just told me that there is an after hours event planned for one of their nights that they are in FL and they are considering purchasing tickets to this event instead of a regular ticket. I think that this would be a great deal for her as they only have one day at MK and can't get any fastpasses ahead of time. She was worried about not being able to see a lot of the shows/attractions but I told her that she will be able to get into the MK early enough to see a lot of these things.

Does anyone know what time the after hours ticket holders are being admitted? I told her that I thought it was 7 p.m. but that I might be wrong. Also, I looked at Disney's website and they are only listing a few rides that are open. (Big Thunder, Peter Pan, 7 Dwarfs, Space Mountain and the Princess Fairytale Hall.) Are there additional rides open? Is there a comprehensive list that I can find/look at?

Thank you in advance!!

I did the after hour party on the 28 of april I went to my hotel to rest before the party and got to the MK around 6;30 ( the time may vary but I would say get there at 6;30 and if they are not there wait) and they were handing out ticket ( you get a lanyard with a kind of big placker on it ) most of the rides are open they meet and greet at fairway cool is open and Mickey is open you get free ice cream and soda I would say it is worth it for your friend every thing was a walk in or 5 minutes

 

[mrsR123]

I agree that the DAH event is just right for OP's friends.

 

[Accident]

I loved the event.. see below for my review of 4/21. There's a picture of my lanyard which has the list of what was opened (and a few things not on it).. The short, you get in at 7 with the regular crowd. plenty of time to do some rides that may not stay opeend, see the place with more people in it, catch the night entertainment and fireworks.. at 10 or 11 (depending on date your going) the park closes for everyone else and you get the place to yourself for 3 hours with no wait for anything.

 

[JimmyV]

The short, you get in at 7 with the regular crowd.

There are reports that place the time of entry as early as 4:00. Here is a review where the poster was admitted at 6:15.

We arrived at Magic Kingdom about 6:15, easily found the dedicated turnstiles for the After Hours event and were let in with no trouble.

 

[Accident]

There are reports that place the time of entry as early as 4:00. Here is a review where the poster was admitted at 6:15.

Interesting.. they really stressed on the phone that entry is 7pm when I picked up discounted tickets for the last day of the event. Nice to know they didn't turn people away if they were early though.

 

[JimmyV]

Nice to know they didn't turn people away if they were early though.

I actually come out on the other side of this. I think that they should set a time and stick to it. The whole point of the event is to enjoy the MK under unusually uncrowded circumstances. That is what people are paying for. So letting them in during the crunch of the mid to late afternoon hours seems antithetical to that. But I don't make or enforce the rules.

 

[Accident]

I actually come out on the other side of this. I think that they should set a time and stick to it. The whole point of the event is to enjoy the MK under unusually uncrowded circumstances. That is what people are paying for. So letting them in during the crunch of the mid to late afternoon hours seems antithetical to that. But I don't make or enforce the rules.

There wasn't much of a crowd on 4/21 at 7pm. Many rides were walk on already, the hub wasn't full for wishes. I think they picked the right days.. Now at 10:30 i could see the event crowd starting to grow but many were already leaving after wishes and I felt it was balanced. I was finding tier 1 fastpasses available. I was also in the park another event night but didn't attend and the additional people didn't make it more crowded.. I do agree 7pm should be 7pm.

 

[JimmyV]

There wasn't much of a crowd on 4/21 at 7pm. Many rides were walk on already, the hub wasn't full for wishes.

Agree. We were in the park that day. We went to Skipper's Canteen at 6:15 and probably finished dinner around 7:30-7:45. Between then and 10:00, we had no issue with crowds. I mean, it wasn't like the park was empty or anything. This is Disney World after all. But we were able to find a place to sit on a boardwalk in Frontierland 15 minutes before the MSEP parade started and watched Wishes from behind the castle near the New Fantasyland Turrets and were in an almost empty area.

 

[Cirlonde]

I actually come out on the other side of this. I think that they should set a time and stick to it. The whole point of the event is to enjoy the MK under unusually uncrowded circumstances. That is what people are paying for. So letting them in during the crunch of the mid to late afternoon hours seems antithetical to that. But I don't make or enforce the rules.

I'm guessing they do it this way so that they don't have all 3,000 people showing up to get in right at 7pm. I imagine that's what lets them have only one turnstile dedicated to the event. Allowing people to stagger in between 4pm and 7pm (or later) is a good crowd management tactic. We didn't want to risk having to just stand around waiting if we got there at 4pm only to find they were keeping to a hard 7pm opening, with it being so new. That and the fact that we wanted to eat at Territory Lounge (which doesn't open until 4:30) kept us from testing out how early we could get in. If I ever did After Hours again, I would definitely show up at 4pm and just risk being turned away. Certainly adds value to the ticket!!

 

[JimmyV]

I'm guessing they do it this way so that they don't have all 3,000 people showing up to get in right at 7pm.

I suppose you're right. But they have chosen to employ the same method of entry for an event of 3,000 (allegedly) that they use for 20,000 for the other parties. They could make the event start at 8:00 officially and then let word leak out that you can get in at 7:00; or start the event at 7:00 and let word leak out that you can get in at 6:00. Either would allow for orderly entry of 3,000 people, many of whom are probably already in the park. In the end, it's matters little.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

They won't have time to cover all of MK. You'd do well to give them a short list of high priority attractions, and advise them to study the park maps a bit so they don't lose time wandering. Maybe on the plane ride?

I've been in MK a great many times when the parks weren't busy. We are also brisk walkers and know the complete layout by memory; even all the restrooms!

Even when it is empty, the number of rides we can cover in three hours is fairly limited.

If they want to see most of the rides in MK, then they should also add regular park tickets for the day.

 

[Accident]

Even when it is empty, the number of rides we can cover in three hours is fairly limited.

but this is a no crowd event. nobody is in your way for any ride or getting to the next one, even with a casual stroll. we didn't try but I think it's safe to say we could have done everything in the 3 hours... We did excessively stay on a few rides though and that's when you start to run out of time..

You'd do well to give them a short list of high priority attractions

I would also recommend a second list of rides that are longer and usually not long lines in the evening. Jungle Cruise, pirates, tiki room, country bears, little mermaid, the race cars, buzz etc can easily be done before the 3 hours starts including catching the night entertainment so when the 3 hours starts, your ready for everything else that you may want to ride a few times or doesn't take as long to ride..

 

[Dbktmc]

Thank you everyone for sharing your expertise!! I am excited to share all of this information with her.

 

[maryj11]

I loved the event.. see below for my review of 4/21. There's a picture of my lanyard which has the list of what was opened (and a few things not on it).. The short, you get in at 7 with the regular crowd. plenty of time to do some rides that may not stay opeend, see the place with more people in it, catch the night entertainment and fireworks.. at 10 or 11 (depending on date your going) the park closes for everyone else and you get the place to yourself for 3 hours with no wait for anything.

I just read your review and that sounds like an awesome time ! I hope they extend this into June, we will definitely get tickets.