After Hours Events - Ask Questions and Share Experiences Here

[Cherrychip]

Sharing our experience at MK AH on 3/4. I have a 3 year old, 10, year old and 13 year old. My DH and 3 year old didn’t participate so my report is only for the 3 hours of the event after park close as we did MK earlier in the day then took a break and returned around 8:45 pm to do a few last things together as a family before DH took DS back to go to bed. Our priority for AH was to ride the coaster rides. We got in the regular line for 7 DMT at 9:57 pm to ride as a family so DS 3 could have his first ride ever on it, which probably isn’t the most efficient way to begin AH but it didn’t take too long and was a priority for us to get him one ride at a low wait time since we don’t buy Genie+. We loaded onto the ride around 10:15 pm. After we got off, we said goodby to DH and DS and took a quick restroom break then did 7DMT a second time, on the ride by 10:45 pm. Big Thunder showed as down on the app and showed down every time I looked all evening, so we headed to Tomorrowland and spent the rest of the evening there. We got ice cream, then did Space Mountain which was a walk on. We headed over to Tron as fireworks were going off, got in line at 11:12 with a posted wait of 15 minutes, took around 17, another restroom break, back on line for Tron at 11:45 pm with a posted wait of 25, took around 28 minutes, then another restroom break, headed back to Space but stopped for ice cream and popcorn first, rode Space 3 more times. Exited the last Space ride at 12:59 pm and sent my daughters back in for a 4th final ride just before the line closed while I ran to grab more ice cream for all of us to eat as we walked out of the park. Tron jumped up to posted wait of 30 minutes for at least part of the last hour if not all. We had a great time and would do MK AH again for sure!

 

[patm95]

How is everyone liking HS after hours in 2024? We are considering going on May 29. Are they usually selling out? Looking at the ride times tonight on the app, SD is approaching a hour and Mick and Min RR is down. :-/

 

[0FF TO NEVERLAND]

How is everyone liking HS after hours in 2024? We are considering going on May 29. Are they usually selling out? Looking at the ride times tonight on the app, SD is approaching a hour and Mick and Min RR is down. :-/

Ride times are not what are posted during after hours. I never waited more than 10-12 mins. Most were walk on as the night went on, including rise. Slinky is usually the only one with a little wait but nothing crazy.

Never had a bad experience at one.

 

[TeeKo]

How is everyone liking HS after hours in 2024? We are considering going on May 29. Are they usually selling out? Looking at the ride times tonight on the app, SD is approaching a hour and Mick and Min RR is down. :-/

I’m here now.
M&MRR is down
ROR was down when the event started
We are in line now, 20 minutes so far. Listed at 40 and seems legit
We have a ways to go
Slinky dog has been around 50
The snack stand ran out of water, no joke.
The kids aren’t impressed
We did this in May 2023 and it was great

 

[patm95]

I’m here now.
M&MRR is down
ROR was down when the event started
We are in line now, 20 minutes so far. Listed at 40 and seems legit
We have a ways to go
Slinky dog has been around 50
The snack stand ran out of water, no joke.
The kids aren’t impressed
We did this in May 2023 and it was great

Oh my. I’m so sorry to hear that! I hope it gets better for you!

 

[TeeKo]

ROR turned out to be 30 minutes
In line for Slinky now
We have been on TOTx2, walk on
RORx1
There is 68 minutes of the party left.

The weather is perfect and the kids are having fun. We have each had one ice cream treat.
Our tickets with DVC discount, not including tax $145 each
I think we will get four rides in for the 3 hours
We started at ROR but was down, went to Slinky but 60 minutes, went to MMRR down. So we did use our first 45 minutes just crossing the park

 

[Mango7100]

I’m here as well and it’s not very good. We waited 35 for Slinky, in line for Smugglers and it’s been 25 and counting. We did Toy Story Mania 5 minutes after close and the parties in front of us and behind us did not have wrist bands on, so they were not checking right away. Runaway Railway was down until around 11 and Rise was down until about 1010. So it’s 1130 and we have done 3 rides. Not as good as other After Hours we have done

 

[TeeKo]

MMRR opened back up. We were clipping along in line
But the ride broke down
Being evacuated now
Tough night for Disney

 

[patm95]

ROR turned out to be 30 minutes
In line for Slinky now
We have been on TOTx2, walk on
RORx1
There is 68 minutes of the party left.

The weather is perfect and the kids are having fun. We have each had one ice cream treat.
Our tickets with DVC discount, not including tax $145 each
I think we will get four rides in for the 3 hours
We started at ROR but was down, went to Slinky but 60 minutes, went to MMRR down. So we did use our first 45 minutes just crossing the park

Well if the kids has fun that’s the main thing! Sounds like it got better towards the end.

 

[patm95]

I’m here as well and it’s not very good. We waited 35 for Slinky, in line for Smugglers and it’s been 25 and counting. We did Toy Story Mania 5 minutes after close and the parties in front of us and behind us did not have wrist bands on, so they were not checking right away. Runaway Railway was down until around 11 and Rise was down until about 1010. So it’s 1130 and we have done 3 rides. Not as good as other After Hours we have done

Dang. Hopefully this was a rare exception tonight. I hope you got lots of snacks

 

[NotTheBatesMotel]

Sorry to hear about everyone’s experiences yesterday! We’ve had 1 iffy HS AH event and know how frustrating that can feel.

 

[pangyal]

We were there last night as well and were also sorely disappointed. We have attended many AH and this just seemed to be a rolling pile of bad luck that hit every part of the event. We rode Star Tours before the event started, so I’m not counting that in our ride numbers. We were so excited to see that Rise was a walk-on at 9:05pm and got all the way to the room that holds the interrogation cells when we were told that the ride was down with no ETA to come back online. So, we had to wait 35 minutes until we could be walked out backstage, then another huge line for some reason to exit the ride, so it all took a big chunk out. When Rise came back online an hour later, it stayed at about 35-40 minutes for the rest of the event, which I feel is an unacceptable wait for an AH, so we skipped it. We next headed to Falcon along with all of our closest Rise evacuee friends it seemed- we were on in 25 minutes (posted 10) but it was 50 minutes posted when we got off. It was now past 10pm and we had done one ride, which we didn’t even need to wait for since we always do single rider for it during the day and the AH wait time was about five times that usual wait time.

We were getting frustrated by seeing that MMRR was still down, so we jumped into Oga’s for a quick fifteen minute break and strategy session. We decided to head to Toy Story land to see if we could do some low-tier rides and Slinky. One of those strategies worked, as we were able to do Saucers and TSMM within a space of about 20 minutes. Slinky’s line was longer than it would be at rope drop (posted 45) so we decided to check on TOT and would return after that. TOT was the only highlight, as we waited minimally and only for the next group to go, but of course, to criss cross the park takes time, even with walking quickly, so it was now about 11:45 and we had done absolutely nothing that we couldn’t accomplish for a lot less money with Genie+. We saw that MMRR was up and decided to do that, then run to Rise with snacks and drinks picked up along the way, so that we could at least get Rise in during the event. Well, after a 20 minute wait for Railway, what do you know…the ride stopped suddenly, all of the lights came on, and an automated voice said, “Powering down…” which didn’t seem good in any shape or form. We ended up being stuck on the ride until 12:40am, when everything (including the drinks and snacks that we got exactly zero of) was closed and pulled down.

In summary, for $145 per person less DVC discount, we did Saucers, TSMM, Falcon, ToT and MMRR in the space of three hours. I’m pretty upset about the total waste of time and money, in all honesty, and I will hesitate to book another of these since the issues can’t be attributed to sold-out status, only mechanical, and there is just no way to know if and when these issues will hit another event in the same way.

ETA: I want to add that the cast members were the absolute highlight of our night. They were fun, engaging, and also extremely sympathetic to what was going on, as they could see everybody being caught in the downtime turmoils all night. Also, the line for guest relations at 12:45am was quoted as being two hours long…I’m not sure what those people who waited to speak to GR after the event were given, if anything, but there sure was a lot of them.

 

[Mermaidtails1323]

We were there last night as well and were also sorely disappointed. We have attended many AH and this just seemed to be a rolling pile of bad luck that hit every part of the event. We rode Star Tours before the event started, so I’m not counting that in our ride numbers. We were so excited to see that Rise was a walk-on at 9:05pm and got all the way to the room that holds the interrogation cells when we were told that the ride was down with no ETA to come back online. So, we had to wait 35 minutes until we could be walked out backstage, then another huge line for some reason to exit the ride, so it all took a big chunk out. When Rise came back online an hour later, it stayed at about 35-40 minutes for the rest of the event, which I feel is an unacceptable wait for an AH, so we skipped it. We next headed to Falcon along with all of our closest Rise evacuee friends it seemed- we were on in 25 minutes (posted 10) but it was 50 minutes posted when we got off. It was now past 10pm and we had done one ride, which we didn’t even need to wait for since we always do single rider for it during the day and the AH wait time was about five times that usual wait time.

We were getting frustrated by seeing that MMRR was still down, so we jumped into Oga’s for a quick fifteen minute break and strategy session. We decided to head to Toy Story land to see if we could do some low-tier rides and Slinky. One of those strategies worked, as we were able to do Saucers and TSMM within a space of about 20 minutes. Slinky’s line was longer than it would be at rope drop (posted 45) so we decided to check on TOT and would return after that. TOT was the only highlight, as we waited minimally and only for the next group to go, but of course, to criss cross the park takes time, even with walking quickly, so it was now about 11:45 and we had done absolutely nothing that we couldn’t accomplish for a lot less money with Genie+. We saw that MMRR was up and decided to do that, then run to Rise with snacks and drinks picked up along the way, so that we could at least get Rise in during the event. Well, after a 20 minute wait for Railway, what do you know…the ride stopped suddenly, all of the lights came on, and an automated voice said, “Powering down…” which didn’t seem good in any shape or form. We ended up being stuck on the ride until 12:40am, when everything (including the drinks and snacks that we got exactly zero of) was closed and pulled down.

In summary, for $145 per person less DVC discount, we did Saucers, TSMM, Falcon, ToT and MMRR in the space of three hours. I’m pretty upset about the total waste of time and money, in all honesty, and I will hesitate to book another of these since the issues can’t be attributed to sold-out status, only mechanical, and there is just no way to know if and when these issues will hit another event in the same way.

ETA: I want to add that the cast members were the absolute highlight of our night. They were fun, engaging, and also extremely sympathetic to what was going on, as they could see everybody being caught in the downtime turmoils all night. Also, the line for guest relations at 12:45am was quoted as being two hours long…I’m not sure what those people who waited to speak to GR after the event were given, if anything, but there sure was a lot of them.

So sorry you guys had this experience.

We did one MK AH that was wonderful.

Last year we did the first Epcot AH, which was similarly bad due to multiple ride outages. I had initially wanted HS, but it was sold out, so we went for Epcot. I agree that the ride outages can completely ruin the experience, and is not something you can predict. Guest Relations listened, but that was about it (we didn’t expect to get anything from them, but did want them to know how bad it was).

We LOVE the rides at HS and are contemplating AH on an upcoming trip. However, nights like this would ruin the experience for me, and I’m not sure that would be worth it. Lots to think about…

 

[SaintsManiac-vol.2]

It’s always disheartening to hear bad reports, but it’s definitely not the norm. I have tickets for 5/29 at HS. I’ve done HS AH in the past and had no complaints. Our Jollywood experience was a disaster, so I understand how bad it feels when things go so wrong.

 

[Mango7100]

So we ended up waiting 40 for Smugglers Run which was posted 20. We were able to do Rise quickly (about a 20 minute wait). Got off Rise at 1223, saw Runaway Railway was posted at 20, so booked it to the front to get there at 1228 only to be told it was down again. By this time we could not go to another ride before 1230 closing which we totally had time to do if the app had updated to reflect it being down. So we ended up doing TSMM 2 times (one before 930), Slinky, Smugglers Run, and Rise. We were not taking it slow either, we were hustling to get to things. We stopped for 2 ice creams and did see Thumper. While it was still fun, it was not worth the money compared to other After Hours we have done. We have done much more with Genie for less wait on busy days (like New Years and Presidents Day weekend) for way less money. It just seems like HS has few enough rides that if one goes down it cascades and really affects waits for others. We had 2 rides down plus RnRC out for refurb. I did stop at guest services and express my disappointment in the waits—never have done this before. After quoting my waits, the CM said that that was expected to get 4-5 rides in plus we got free treats. I wanted to counter with the cost I did expect to get more than 5 rides in in 3 1/2 hours, but I didn’t. She did give us an anytime LL for today. There were lots of people at Gueat Services when we left

 

[deedubb]

I was at the DHS event last night and I am sad to read that so many people had such a poor night. It definitely did not get off to a good start with RotR and MMRR down. This being our first event, we would definitely do it again.

Before the event started, we were able to do:
- Star Tours x2
- Alien SS
- Toy Story Mania

During the event:
- Smuggler's Run 20 min wait (while RotR and MMRR were both down)
- RotR 15 min wait
- MMRR 2 min wait
- ToT walk on
- Toy Story Mania walk on
- Slinky Dog 20 min wait

We each had 3 ice cream treats, 1 box popcorn and 3 sodas.

I think we got lucky. Probably got on RotR and MMRR shortly after they started running again.

 

[melissa70]

This is in line with the Facebook reports I’ve been seeing about the after hours party at Hollywood Studios. They also said that the place was filthy and there was vomit on the ground and when they reported it to a cast member, they were fluffed off. if this happens when I go next week, I will be demanding my money back. I’m sorry, but there is no excuse for filth. And what is with all these rides being down? For the money Disney is charging they really need to step up their game.

 

[Mango7100]

I was at the DHS event last night and I am sad to read that so many people had such a poor night. It definitely did not get off to a good start with RotR and MMRR down. This being our first event, we would definitely do it again.

Before the event started, we were able to do:
- Star Tours x2
- Alien SS
- Toy Story Mania

During the event:
- Smuggler's Run 20 min wait (while RotR and MMRR were both down)
- RotR 15 min wait
- MMRR 2 min wait
- ToT walk on
- Toy Story Mania walk on
- Slinky Dog 20 min wait

We each had 3 ice cream treats, 1 box popcorn and 3 sodas.

I think we got lucky. Probably got on RotR and MMRR shortly after they started running again.

Wow! You 100% got lucky and probably hit things shortly after they went up again. Glad it worked better for you! We had one walk on for TSMM and one 15 minute wait for it, 35 for Slinky, 40 for Smugglers run (that was actually to the preshow), about 20 to first Rise preshow, and never could make it to Railway.

 

[melissa70]

I was at the DHS event last night and I am sad to read that so many people had such a poor night. It definitely did not get off to a good start with RotR and MMRR down. This being our first event, we would definitely do it again.

Before the event started, we were able to do:
- Star Tours x2
- Alien SS
- Toy Story Mania

During the event:
- Smuggler's Run 20 min wait (while RotR and MMRR were both down)
- RotR 15 min wait
- MMRR 2 min wait
- ToT walk on
- Toy Story Mania walk on
- Slinky Dog 20 min wait

We each had 3 ice cream treats, 1 box popcorn and 3 sodas.

I think we got lucky. Probably got on RotR and MMRR shortly after they started running again.

Sounds like you got lucky. There are numerous complaints from others. I hope I have good luck next week

 

[MIChessGuy]

I did DHS AH once, several years ago before Galaxy's Edge opened. I recall everything operating more or less normally, including the snack/water situation which was excellent. Today the event sounds more like a crapshoot that depends on whether the super-headliners decide to keep working or not. I am thinking of doing this again in June, but it's a tough call given Disney's current approach to ride maintenance.

On a side note: are they going to stick with the unofficial 7:00pm start time for AH? I had been wondering whether this also might be going away in the relentless pursuit of cost-cutting.