After-Hours, How Will It Change Crowds?

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

Orlando Sentinel reports that Disney is refusing to reveal how many tickets will be sold. That all but eliminates any possibility that the number would be 3,000. If the number were going to be that low, Disney would want everyone to know so that people would storm the box office to make sure they got a ticket. Indeed, if there was going to be any reasonable limit at all, you would think that Disney would want people to know so that they would act fast. The only reason I can think of for Disney not revealing the true number is if it is something like 25,000. At that point, the whole idea of "limited" becomes illusory and Disney would get called out on it. So by keeping the number a secret, we can assume that the number is actually so large that were it to be made known, there would be a groan instead of a cheer.

Remember the Halloween and Christmas parties are "limited' too... But I think it's now "limited" to the fire marshall safety limits

 

[agame2323]

Soooo how does the whole thing work? Is Disney going to physically kick people of the parks in order to make room for those that have ticket? MK is already a nightmare trying to get out off after fireworks. Whats preventing someone from just "hanging" around until the event starts?

 

[MakiraMarlena]

The info released to travel agents says that event guests may not have the park to themselves for the first hour of the event, which makes me think they will be gradually clearing guests without wristbands the way they do for the hard ticket parties, while limiting access to attractions to the wristbanded guests. And why can't someone hang around until the event starts? Guests can hang around until closing time. Then they all have to leave but it may be some time before all of them do.

 

[bryanb]

Orlando Sentinel reports that Disney is refusing to reveal how many tickets will be sold. That all but eliminates any possibility that the number would be 3,000. If the number were going to be that low, Disney would want everyone to know so that people would storm the box office to make sure they got a ticket. Indeed, if there was going to be any reasonable limit at all, you would think that Disney would want people to know so that they would act fast. The only reason I can think of for Disney not revealing the true number is if it is something like 25,000. At that point, the whole idea of "limited" becomes illusory and Disney would get called out on it. So by keeping the number a secret, we can assume that the number is actually so large that were it to be made known, there would be a groan instead of a cheer.

^This... and also the other thing is that these events are a test to gauge demand. It's likely that Disney has only a rough idea how many people will be interested in this offer, and the only way to know for sure is to try it out.

They would probably love to see 25,000 people buy the ticket at $150 each (That's $3.75 million in extra revenue for just 3 extra hours of operations!) but I honestly don't think there's that much demand at this price. (I hope not, as a guest! As a shareholder, it would be interesting.)

If the tickets are ridiculously popular, they can always schedule more cast members and include more attractions and features. If only 3,000 people buy tickets, then revenue would be only $450K and I'd guess that the event isn't very successful. If I were them, I would definitely not publish any public information about the limit or the goal. Imagine the egg on their faces if they said it was limited to 10,000 people and only 3,000 show up! There's just no upside to revealing that information publicly.

 

[JimmyV]

I honestly don't think there's that much demand at this price.

I agree. I doubt that there is actually a "hard stop" figure. They will just sell the tickets in accordance with what the market will bear. That number will likely result in a perfectly comfortable crowd. What is unknown is whether that number of extra guests will have a material impact on the park during regular operating hours.

 

[scrapquitler]

^This... and also the other thing is that these events are a test to gauge demand. It's likely that Disney has only a rough idea how many people will be interested in this offer, and the only way to know for sure is to try it out.

They would probably love to see 25,000 people buy the ticket at $150 each (That's $3.75 million in extra revenue for just 3 extra hours of operations!) but I honestly don't think there's that much demand at this price. (I hope not, as a guest! As a shareholder, it would be interesting.)

If the tickets are ridiculously popular, they can always schedule more cast members and include more attractions and features. If only 3,000 people buy tickets, then revenue would be only $450K and I'd guess that the event isn't very successful. If I were them, I would definitely not publish any public information about the limit or the goal. Imagine the egg on their faces if they said it was limited to 10,000 people and only 3,000 show up! There's just no upside to revealing that information publicly.

I'm seriously considering going to the first one. It's only 3 weeks from tomorrow and it was only announced yesterday, and tickets won't even be fore sale until April 6th, if you believe the thing I saw posted yesterday. I'm seriously doubting that they will sell very many tickets in that short amount of time given the unknowns of how this will work, the price, and what the 'and much, much more!' will include. I'm thinking that even if they plan to sell 20K tickets, there's no way that's going to happen for the first couple of parties, so they might be a REALLY REALLY good time to be in the park with low numbers, and that the numbers will increase for the parties in May.

 

[tlmadden73]

Right . it all depends how many people buy into the event.
I also doubt Disney has a "hard" number .. they are looking to see what the demand is and will increase that limit as demand grows, but definitely cut it off to under what they allow in the parks for the holiday parties. Look at how much those grew due to demand.

So .. it all depends how many people attend the party and how many people show up at 7:00 PM .. It seems like the parks will be more crowded than normal. The guests that leave early (due to young kids) and don't stay late will just be filled in by the people attending the party that night .. so 7-10 PM could be just as crowded as the afternoon. It also depends how many people who are attending the party that night just was spending the day at MK "normally". In that case there won't be any "net new" people, but it still will be more crowded after 7:00 PM than a non-party night.

Basically, I would think you should avoid MK the day of the party if you are planning on staying there after 7:00 .. just like the general advice is avoid a park if you don't plan on using the EMH.

 

[JimmyV]

It's only 3 weeks from tomorrow and it was only announced yesterday, and tickets won't even be fore sale until April 6th, if you believe the thing I saw posted yesterday.

If you go to Disney's website for information on the event, there is a box right now that says:

Call for Tickets
(407) 827-7185

I don't know if you would be told to call back on April 6, or if they will sell you a ticket then and there. I am assuming the latter.

 

[JimmyV]

Basically, I would think you should avoid MK the day of the party if you are planning on staying there after 7:00 .. just like the general advice is avoid a park if you don't plan on using the EMH.

I don't think this is "apples to apples". The number of people who will be in the MK all day long who then intend to stay for an extra 3 hours at a cost of $149 has got to be miniscule. If you've already been in the park since 8:00 or 9:00 in the morning, are you really going to fork over $149 to stay until 1:00 a.m. or 2:00 a.m.? I would think that people who go to the MK from RD until 7:00 will not notice one iota of difference in crowd levels. From 7:00p.m.-10:00p.m. may be a slightly different story. I don't think people should change their plans because of this. I will practice what I preach because we are scheduled to be in the MK on 4/21 and I don't intend to flip my plans around because of the After Hours event. TP and easywdw both still have the MK as a "best park" for that day, and I'm going to take my chances. I typically avoid parks with EMHs as you suggest, but I am not going to tread DAH the same as EMH. Hope I am right.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

This isn't an EMH. I think JimmyV is right and it is worth taking your chances between 7 and 11. It might also be speculated that guests attending the event will wait on the headliners until after the event starts and they have better access. I'm sure there will be reports from April 14 for him to see.

 

[Smbmoyers]

I probably wouldn't chance it. I'd hop to a different park, or in my case go to epcot instead after our afternoon nap

 

[Mimifree]

We were at MK on two party days in October and stayed until close. The park was more congested between 4 and 7 p.m. but it did not affect our touring. I don't see a reason to avoid the park on DAH days.

 

[mjr0483]

I have an annual pass, why would I pay $600 for a family of 4 for a 3 hour "event". For that $600 I could add a night at the Grand Floridian. Someone at Disney has lost their mind.

 

[DebbieB]

There were tickets left, they are giving them free to DVC members.

http://www.disboards.com/threads/not-sure-149-disney-after-hrs-event-is-doing-well.3501469/

 

[PetePanMan]

Let's face it, this is a test case for them. They will sell as many as they can.