After Hours Event - 4/28/2016 Review

[Cirlonde]

I promised to report back after attending this event, so for those interested read on.

First a short back story. My husband had to attend a work conference last week in Orlando and wouldn't be out of sessions early enough to really justify park tickets (even the discounted conference rate tickets). When the After Hours event was leaked, we were hesitant about it due to the high cost. But ultimately, we decided that since it was just the two of us we would go ahead and purchase the tickets this once. The trip itself wasn't costing us much besides my airfare so it was a little easier to swallow the cost.

By the time the event was over, I was very glad that we had opted to attend even at the high price point and I felt like we got enough accomplished to consider the tickets worth it to us. But I'm also 99% sure that we won't be doing After Hours again unless the price drops. I felt like with an efficient touring plan, arriving early and staying late, you could get just as much done on a regular ticket. And knowing that I only had three hours made me feel like I really needed to rush from attraction to attraction.

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. Didn't have to scan our fingers, just the plastic ticket. We got our lanyards and I put them away for the time being, although we did see half a dozen other people with their lanyards already on. I suspect that we could have gotten in earlier, but I didn't ask and we had stopped at Territory Lounge to eat before going into the parks so it really wouldn't have worked out for us to get there much earlier than we did.

I believe the crowd level was predicted as a 5 or so and while it "felt crowded" with all the people on the walkways, most of the wait times weren't bad. The highest I saw Seven Dwarfs was about 80 minutes and it quickly dropped to around 50 minutes. Our plan was to try to get some of the things we don't usually ride out of the way or anything that wouldn't be operating after 10pm and then do any thing with short waits while we waited for Wishes to start. I also had fast passes for Haunted Mansion, Seven Dwarfs and Peter Pan.

First, we rode the train from Main Street around to Fantasyland, something we'd never done before. Then we did the teacups and Pooh. We used the fast passes for Haunted Mansion and Seven Dwarfs, then stopped at Sleepy Hollow for a fruit waffle. It was around 8:15 by this time. We were skipping the electrical parade, so we hurried to cross over to the Fantasyland/Tomorrowland side of the park so we wouldn't get boxed in. It was around 8:40 or so when we did Buzz with a very short wait. Then we got on the PeopleMover and were able to catch glimpses of the parade which was really neat. We used the fast pass for Peter Pan, rode Small World and Under the Sea. Around 9:45 we picked a spot on the bridge next to Be Our Guest to watch Wishes. We love this spot because there's no crowds, even though the view isn't perfect. However, if I could have done anything differently, I would have skipped Wishes. Looking back, I feel like it took up too much of our preciously expensive time when we could have been riding!

After Wishes, we put on our lanyards and I lost track of the order of things. I know we rode Haunted Mansion 3 more times, Astro Orbiter once, Buzz again, Dumbo, Peter Pan and Pooh each twice more, Seven Dwarfs at least seven times. We ate ice cream three different times and got two bottles of water. We only had to wait in line twice...once for Peter Pan at the very beginning of the night and once for Haunted Mansion because we got there after the doors had closed, but there wasn't really a line. We were never invited to just stay on a ride and go again, but we did hear the offer being made to other people...just not on any of the rides we were interested in doing. There were plenty of ice cream stands and we never had to wait behind more than one person to get our ice cream.

As for the park feeling "creepy" because of the low crowds, I think the number of people in the park was perfect. We were never really out of sight of at least a handful of other people but the walkways were definitely more empty than not. Everything was a walk on, but except for our last ride on Pooh, we were never the only people on a ride. We were able to pick our seats/rows. Judging from other reports of the first few events, I think there may have been more people attending the 28th. But not so many more as to really make any significant difference.

About 10 minutes before closing, we stopped riding and just strolled through the empty park making the loop starting from Adventureland. That was a very nice end to the day and the thing I noticed most was the music. I'm rarely aware of the music in each area because of the noise of the crowds. It was nice to be able to stroll along and appreciate the ambiance.

The other topic I've seen lots of questions about is the park clearing process. I didn't notice this at all, but it definitely felt like the park had emptied out within about 20-30 minutes of Wishes ending. We were sent through the fast pass lane of most of the rides the whole night anyway, so I can't really even tell you if there were many people in the stand by lines for stuff. My guess is that since Wishes and park closing were both at 10pm, anyone getting in line at 9:59 for one last ride was through before we started riding.

Sorry for the length, but I wanted to try to include as much detail as I could for anyone trying to decide whether to buy tickets. I'm happy to answer any specific questions if I missed something.

 

[Mikie]

Nice review, thanks for the details!

 

[lugnut33]

Thanks for the report as we will be there this Thursday.

 

[AngiTN]

Thanks for the review.
I've been looking for people to report.
There's only been 1 other Evening After Hours event and that one was considered sold out. Though many of the tickets were gifted to folks.
Sounds like your event was similar to that one in terms of waits.
DH and I are at the one on Sunday

ETA - for those wondering, you can get in at 4:00

 

[Iowamomof4]

Glad to hear another report from one of these events!

 

[Agent Wendy Pleakley]

Thanks for the review--we are attending May 19th and this is helpful info!

 

[VACamm]

Wow you really got a lot done... it sounds fabulous!

 

[Minnesota!]

Thanks for the report! I so wish it was cheaper. I just cannot shell out $600+ for this for my family. But, the actual experience sounds fantastic. I LOVE the background music in the parks...I can often be found on a secluded bench just listening to it.

 

[Mikie]

Thanks for the report as we will be there this Thursday.

Thanks for the review.
I've been looking for people to report.
There's only been 1 other Evening After Hours event and that one was considered sold out. Though many of the tickets were gifted to folks.
Sounds like your event was similar to that one in terms of waits.
DH and I are at the one on Sunday

ETA - for those wondering, you can get in at 4:00

Please come back and review - are you going at full price or AP/DVC discount? (If you don't mind me asking)
Angi - does the event info officially state entry time, or did you figure it out another way? That does add quite a bit more time 4-10 or 11 with regular park crowds plus 3 more hours exclusive. Really starts to allow time for ADR and just about everything but Festival of Fantasy parade.

 

[Iowamomof4]

Thanks for the review.
I've been looking for people to report.
There's only been 1 other Evening After Hours event and that one was considered sold out. Though many of the tickets were gifted to folks.
Sounds like your event was similar to that one in terms of waits.
DH and I are at the one on Sunday

ETA - for those wondering, you can get in at 4:00

Is that a change? I thought entry was at 7.

 

[ravenclawtrekkie]

I went to the DAH event on 4/21 and got in with the event ticket at about 4:30. The special event folks were already out by a set of touchpoints at the entrance. I was fully expecting to have to enter on my maingate and then come back out and re-enter with the event ticket at 7pm.

 

[jade1]

I felt like with an efficient touring plan, arriving early and staying late, you could get just as much done on a regular ticket. And knowing that I only had three hours made me feel like I really needed to rush from attraction to attraction.

We used the fast passes for Haunted Mansion and Seven Dwarfs, then stopped at Sleepy Hollow for a fruit waffle. We used the fast pass for Peter Pan, rode Small World and Under the Sea. Around Peter Pan and Pooh each twice more, Seven Dwarfs at least seven times.

Love the report thanks.

Would like to know the efficient plan that gets a FP+ for Pan and 7DMT-then another 2 times on Pan and at least 7 more 7DMT though, much less Wishes and anything else.

 

[AngiTN]

Is that a change? I thought entry was at 7.

No, not a change.
As with Halloween and Christmas Party tickets, they say 7:00 but let you in at 4:00

 

[AngiTN]

Please come back and review - are you going at full price or AP/DVC discount? (If you don't mind me asking)
Angi - does the event info officially state entry time, or did you figure it out another way? That does add quite a bit more time 4-10 or 11 with regular park crowds plus 3 more hours exclusive. Really starts to allow time for ADR and just about everything but Festival of Fantasy parade.

I actually can't remember how I discovered it now. It was in someone's report somewhere. They are doing it the same way they do for parties. Officially they are 7:00 but you get in at 4:00
Not sure they state anywhere it's 4:00 for those either. It's just known. Though I could be wrong, they may say 4:00 somewhere

 

[lolcow]

I think for those who are doing short trips, perhaps those who are once (or twice) in a lifetime, this is a great deal. I'm in that category and I wanted to do this but my friend didn't which is a bit gutting. What happens when the park closes, do they usher the non EMH people out or can they wander around the park but not ride?

 

[Kimberly9701]

Thanks for the review! I can't repeat this enough- I hope this gets extended and becomes a permanent fixture during the spring/summer months!

 

[Mikie]

I actually can't remember how I discovered it now. It was in someone's report somewhere. They are doing it the same way they do for parties. Officially they are 7:00 but you get in at 4:00
Not sure they state anywhere it's 4:00 for those either. It's just known. Though I could be wrong, they may say 4:00 somewhere

Good point about the parties just being "known". But this is a bit different to me. I thought parties were a 7-12 event with 4-7 "bonus time". I thought of the DAH event as 10-1, with the 7-10 portion being the "bonus" entry time, and now it's really 4. Quite a lot of "bonus time"!

 

[Mikie]

I think for those who are doing short trips, perhaps those who are once (or twice) in a lifetime, this is a great deal. I'm in that category and I wanted to do this but my friend didn't which is a bit gutting. What happens when the park closes, do they usher the non EMH people out or can they wander around the park but not ride?

Seems like all reports I've read are saying that guests aren't really ushered out, but they can't ride, get the ice cream or beverages, and one person even reported non-ticketed family getting turned away from buying food at Casey's. Looks like they can stay, but only to wander around and it doesn't sound like any noticeable number are doing that.

 

[Cirlonde]

Love the report thanks.

Would like to know the efficient plan that gets a FP+ for Pan and 7DMT-then another 2 times on Pan and at least 7 more 7DMT though, much less Wishes and anything else.

I'm just making an anecdotal observation based on the last trip we had (October 2015). One of the nights we were there with Evening Magic Hours until 1am, we were able to ride 7DMT 4 or 5 times and probably could have done more if we hadn't also been riding Haunted Mansion half a dozen times! If you figure you can get one ride (or maybe 2) in right at rope drop and an additional ride with FP, plus several rides at the very end of the night then I think it's definitely possible. Now, possible during peak crowds? Maybe not. But I don't have any experience with peak times. Also, we definitely waited in line longer during those EMH but even still...the wait was only 10 or 15 minutes.

Plus, if I hadn't spent $300 for three hours of short lines, I don't think I would have felt the need to cram so many rides into such a short amount of time. I would have been perfectly satisfied with a slightly slower pace and only riding the hits a couple of times instead of as many times as possible, which is easily done with a rope drop ride and a FP. The fact that I *could* walk onto everything made me feel like I *had* to take advantage.

I want to stress that we had an absolute blast and I don't regret the money spent on the tickets *at all*!! It would just be much harder for me to justify the cost during a regular vacation, when we're going to be visiting for 5 or 6 days. But if we are ever in a situation where we will only be able to do a single day at WDW, then I think there is a very strong argument to be made for the After Hours tickets instead of a one day ticket.

 

[Cirlonde]

I think for those who are doing short trips, perhaps those who are once (or twice) in a lifetime, this is a great deal. I'm in that category and I wanted to do this but my friend didn't which is a bit gutting. What happens when the park closes, do they usher the non EMH people out or can they wander around the park but not ride?

I'm assuming it's similar to how they work the holiday parties. In my experience with those, they have cast members stationed through out the park at narrow points in the paths (usually the entrances to each land). Those cast members ask to the see the bracelets indicating you've got a party ticket. If you don't have a bracelet, they direct you back towards Main Street. After about the first hour of the party, those cast members leave and bracelets are just checked at the entrance to rides and even that gets pretty lax by the last hour or so.

I would think the big lanyards made it easier to clear the park because it was super obvious if you didn't have one on. Whereas with a bracelet, it's easy for a sleeve to conceal it. So needless to say, we were never asked to show our lanyards. I did see one guy turned away at 7DMT because he didn't have a lanyard and he was told he could wait at the entrance for the person he was with (who did have a lanyard). I didn't hear the whole conversation, but it sounded like maybe he just hadn't picked us lanyard up yet or something. Or at least that's what he was claiming...