DAH Questions

[3smithboys]

i have been reading about DAH and am interested in possibly going to AK and HS. We aren’t going until summer 2020, so I have time! Here are my questions...

How far in advance are the dates announced?

I saw that you did not need a park ticket & this acts as your park ticket & you can get in to the event early, but can you get FP’s? If the answer is yes, what time can you start get FP’s?

My next question is more a personal opinion... for people who have done this, do you think it’s great? Worth the extra money? My kids are older (will be almost 22, 17, 17) when we go. That’s why I picked these 2 parks as my possible choices.

Finally, speculation... do you think Star Wars will be included in this next summer??? If so... we’re there!

 

[Haley R]

I think you should look at this thread: https://www.disboards.com/threads/disney-after-hours-magic-kingdom-faq-discussion-thread.3713652/

There’s a lot of good info and first hand reports from people that have done it. There are also threads for the AK and HS ones

 

[3smithboys]

Thanks for your response. I have been trying to read through the two threads, but with over 100 pages each, they got overwhelming. I will go back and dive into them again....

 

[GADisneyDad14]

The DHS and DAK threads are both big threads, but no need to read them all IMO. The first few posts on Page 1 have some of the basics of the event, date history and release info (of which there isn’t a ton as these events are relatively new). There are also links to in thread reviews that can help give a sense of what DISers have had to say about their experiences.

Happy planning!

 

[3smithboys]

The DHS and DAK threads are both big threads, but no need to read them all IMO. The first few posts on Page 1 have some of the basics of the event, date history and release info (of which there isn’t a ton as these events are relatively new). There are also links to in thread reviews that can help give a sense of what DISers have had to say about their experiences.

Happy planning!

Thanks for your response. I’m trying to learn as much as possible so I can convince DH that these are a good idea! Since we haven’t be back in over 4 years, things seemed to have changed a lot and these are very expensive for 5 people. I’ll keep reading!

 

[GillianP1301]

The dates get announced a few months ahead normally. The thread that was referenced will have those exact dates. I'm currently waiting on late August to be released and the last block of dates to be released (May - early August) came out about a month ago, to give you an idea.

I have only done the MK version so far (hoping for DHS and/or AK on my upcoming trip) and it was amazing. We were able to cover off 14 attractions in the 3 hours and the longest we waited was 5 minutes for BTMRR and that was mostly due to the fact that Splash went down and those people queued up for BTMRR. Most of the time was spent entering and exiting the rides. Loved it, will totally do it again if it is available for our trip. DHS and AK were not offered on our last trip, so hoping for this time. Especially DHS because my son and I really like SDD. I'm on the fence about AK only because what is offered doesn't seem like as good a value as the other two parks and the reviews for that one are not as unanimously positive as the other two.

As for the Star Wars question, only time will tell, but I think it's a pretty safe bet that they will have some kind of paid event/experience for Galaxy's Edge at some point.

 

[monkyby87]

I can't really comment on the AK or DHS ones, but the MK one is worth it in my opinion. While you are paying for an extra ticket for what is just a few hours of park time, you can ride pretty much every single ride with no wait. And if there is a wait, it's minimal. So while you only get a few hours in the park as opposed to an entire day, you can do everything there is to do essentially. A regular park ticket would get you an entire day in the park, but there are no guarantees of what you'll be able to ride. Plus, the crowds are very limited at a DAH event. So that makes it worth it in my opinion.

 

[3smithboys]

Thanks for these replies! I was thinking because my family was older that they might not think the MK one was the best choice, but since so many people seem to love it, I will have to rethink it! I would only consider the HS one if it included Star Wars or if there was a separate Star Wars one. They are dying to see that!

As for AK, we really want to see Pandora, but maybe we can get everything we need to get done through FP in an evening?? My biggest concern is we are staying offsite for the first time ever (with extended family-not my choice) so getting FP’s at 30 days out is going to be an issue.

I’m not in the process of convincing DH to go down 2 days early and stay onsite so we can hit AK and HS and get FP’s for those 2 parks at 60 days... I’ve almost convinced him... almost....

 

[GillianP1301]

Thanks for these replies! I was thinking because my family was older that they might not think the MK one was the best choice, but since so many people seem to love it, I will have to rethink it! I would only consider the HS one if it included Star Wars or if there was a separate Star Wars one. They are dying to see that!

As for AK, we really want to see Pandora, but maybe we can get everything we need to get done through FP in an evening?? My biggest concern is we are staying offsite for the first time ever (with extended family-not my choice) so getting FP’s at 30 days out is going to be an issue.

I’m not in the process of convincing DH to go down 2 days early and stay onsite so we can hit AK and HS and get FP’s for those 2 parks at 60 days... I’ve almost convinced him... almost....

The MK one just gives you more bang for your buck because of the sheer number of attractions and with rides like Space Mountain, Splash, Big Thunder, there is plenty for the older kids to enjoy as well.

I wanted to throw out a suggestion for AK, last year we did the Ultimate Night of Thrills VIP Tour and that gets you on just about every major attraction in that park, including both Pandora rides and it includes a light meal at Satu'li Canteen and a reserved seat for the Rivers of Light show. Now, it costs about twice as much as the After Hours event and it requires you have a park ticket for that day, but if it's in your budget it is a great way to see a good chunk of AK in a very stress free way. The day we did this tour, we started at a different park in the morning and used fastpasses there and then hopped to AK for the late afternoon/evening tour. It made for a fantastic day.

 

[3smithboys]

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The MK one just gives you more bang for your buck because of the sheer number of attractions and with rides like Space Mountain, Splash, Big Thunder, there is plenty for the older kids to enjoy as well.

I wanted to throw out a suggestion for AK, last year we did the Ultimate Night of Thrills VIP Tour and that gets you on just about every major attraction in that park, including both Pandora rides and it includes a light meal at Satu'li Canteen and a reserved seat for the Rivers of Light show. Now, it costs about twice as much as the After Hours event and it requires you have a park ticket for that day, but if it's in your budget it is a great way to see a good chunk of AK in a very stress free way. The day we did this tour, we started at a different park in the morning and used fastpasses there and then hopped to AK for the late afternoon/evening tour. It made for a fantastic day.

Thanks for having me investigate the MK one further. It really wasn’t on my radar to begin with; however, now I think it might be on the top of my list! If HS includes SW then that’s where we would want to go first... but you are right, MK give the most!

 

[whiporee]

Also, keep in mind there's a good chance next year's DAH will be much different from what has been going on before. At MK, the Villains overlay will change things -- hopefully not in terms of crowds, but I'm almost certain the cap will be inflated dramatically -- and with all the Star Wars stuff going on, it would surprise me if they have an After Hours event at any time before 2021 (they held off a year on Pandora, if I'm not mistaken). My suggestion would be to plan without a DAH, and if one pops up then you can decide to take advantage of it, but given the fluid nature of the event in the last three years, projecting what it will be next summer is nothing more than guessing.

 

[Haley R]

Also, keep in mind there's a good chance next year's DAH will be much different from what has been going on before. At MK, the Villains overlay will change things -- hopefully not in terms of crowds, but I'm almost certain the cap will be inflated dramatically -- and with all the Star Wars stuff going on, it would surprise me if they have an After Hours event at any time before 2021 (they held off a year on Pandora, if I'm not mistaken). My suggestion would be to plan without a DAH, and if one pops up then you can decide to take advantage of it, but given the fluid nature of the event in the last three years, projecting what it will be next summer is nothing more than guessing.

I think there's a high chance they will have an event just for Star Wars land, but I'm not sure if it'll be like DAH or more like EMM.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

I guess it depends on how long Disney waits to ‘cash in’ on special events when it comes to SWGE. With Pandora, they opted for extended park hours over upcharge events for around 1.5’ish years (Pandora opened 5/27/17, the first DAK DAH event was 12/4/18). Will be interesting to watch.

 

[Gehrig1B]

I can't imagine a DAH for Galaxy's Edge being any value. The value for us is to get more done as crowds are minimal. There are only two ride attractions at Galaxy's Edge. Don't think I'm interested in paying $139 to get multiple opportunities to ride two attractions. My two cents. At MK we were able to ride almost every attraction in 3 hours or so. Add in the rest of DHS and the value increases obviously.

 

[3smithboys]

I can't imagine a DAH for Galaxy's Edge being any value. The value for us is to get more done as crowds are minimal. There are only two ride attractions at Galaxy's Edge. Don't think I'm interested in paying $139 to get multiple opportunities to ride two attractions. My two cents. At MK we were able to ride almost every attraction in 3 hours or so. Add in the rest of DHS and the value increases obviously.[/QUOTE

I agree with what you are saying.... and my hope is that they would add the SW attractions into the AH event. Maybe that’s too much to wish and hope for! But wow, what an evening that would be! Now, my family would really love it!